Chapter 56: I Made He Shui Xiu Brave

  Kang Fan and Mei Xiang came out of the US embassy, passing by He Shui Xi's house, they paid a visit to He Shui Xi and gave some mountain goods to her parents-in-law. Mei Xiang handed over the gift she had prepared for He Shui Xi, who was delighted and pulled Mei Xiang into the inner room.

  "Kang Ge, you sit down, we sisters will go back to my room and chat." He Shui Xiu said to Kang Fan.

  Kang Fan looked very dissatisfied, "Can't even talk to big brother?"

  He Shui smiled foolishly and ran towards Kang Fan, pouting her small mouth, then pulled Mei Xiang and ran away.

  Kang Fan chatted idly with He Shui Xiu's parents, feeling extremely bored. When He Shui Xiu and Mei Xiang came out, Kang Fan found that both of them looked worried and unhappy, Mei Xiang seemed to have cried, and he was puzzled in his heart.

  On the way to the palace, Meixiang was in a bad mood. Kang Fan wanted to ask what's wrong, but seeing that Meixiang didn't seem to want to explain, he held back and didn't ask.

  The Empress Dowager Cixi also liked the women's goods brought by Mei Xiang, but unlike Zhu Di and He Shuixiu, she also liked the mountain products they brought, perhaps because she was a Manchu person and knew the wonders of these things.

  After that, Mei Xiang would occasionally enter the palace to accompany Empress Dowager Cixi, and Kang Fan became Mei Xiang's personal driver. Except for busy official duties, he would frequently shuttle back and forth between Nanmen Base and Beijing, picking up Mei Xiang and sending her off, until one day when he ran into He Shuisheng outside the palace, all of this came to a stop.

  It was winter when I met He Shui Xiu. Kang Fan drove from the palace to pick up Mei Xiang, and at Yongdingmen in the south of the city, he saw He Shui Xiu standing alone in the cold wind with a large bundle, her slender body looking weak and fragile, as if she was still shivering. At first, he quickly got out of the car, took over her bundle, and supported her into the car.

  He Shui Xiu's face was not good, dodging Kang Fan's gaze. Mei Xiang pulled He Shui Xiu and hid in the living room behind, never to come out again.

  Kang Fan was dazed for a moment, then slowly started the car.

  The command center of the Nanmen Base is a 5-story building. Kang Fan has a suite on the third floor, with an office, study, living room, kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms. After returning, Mei Xiang accompanied He Shui Xiu to the bathroom to take a bath, and Kang Fan started cooking. She selected a few of the mountain goods that Mei Xiang had brought back and cooked them, heated up some steamed buns, boiled some millet porridge, and sat at the dinner table waiting for the two of them. After Mei Xiang and He Shui Xiu came out of the bathroom, their mood had improved, and they looked refreshed.

  "Two beauties, hurry up and eat," said Kang Fan.

  He Shuixiu sat down beside Kang Fan with great enthusiasm, eating and saying: "Kang brother's cooking is really delicious. It's been many years since I've had Kang brother's cooking, today I must eat more."

  Kang Fan smiled, "Now it's closer, if you want to come, big brother can pick you up at any time."

  "Shui Xiu will be living with us from now on, so you don't have to pick her up anymore," said Mei Xiang.

  Kang Fan was stunned and looked at He Shui Xiu, "What's going on, Shui Xiu?"

  He Shui Xiu put down her chopsticks, and was once again filled with worry. After Mei Xiang explained the reason, Kang Fan finally understood: He Shui Xiu's husband was born with a disability, and his parents had hidden this fact, which meant "no descendants", and had loudly arranged for their only son to get married. The relatives of the He family who were officials in the imperial court had considered that He Shui Xiu's father-in-law could help them in their official careers, so they shamelessly kept it from He Shui Xiu and privately agreed to the marriage. As a result, He Shui Xiu, a beautiful woman, tragically wasted several years of her youth.

  "I didn't want to see Shui Xiu suffer, so I advised her to run away," said Mei Xiang.

  Kang Fan's liver fire burst forth upon hearing this, and he grabbed He Shui Xiu's hand, "Why didn't you tell big brother earlier?"

  He Shui Xiu lowered her head and said in a low voice, "If I had told you earlier, you would have definitely taken me away. But if I left, my relatives in the imperial court would have been implicated. So I endured it."

  "Have you considered them? Have they ever considered you?" Kang Fan was so angry that his body was shaking, "What kind of relatives are they!"

  He Shui Xiu panicked, grasping Kang Fan's sleeve, "Big brother, you absolutely must not go find them, they're all relatives, forget it. I've already run out now, that's enough suffering for them."

  Kang Fan suddenly jumped up from his chair and paced back and forth in the room. Mei Xiang and He Shui Xi stared at him, their eyes wide with surprise. The food on the table was steaming hot, filling the air with a savory aroma, but no one made a move to touch it.

  The next morning, Kang Fan scolded two of He's relatives in front of all the officials, but spared He Shuisheng's father-in-law: he was already very sad, so let's leave him some face.

  Back at the Nan Kou base, Kang Fan's anger had dissipated. Mei Xiang and He Shui Xiu were cooking, chatting and laughing together. First time update.

  "Shui Xiu, can you cook now?" Kang Fan asked in surprise.

  He Shui's face turned red, and she pouted discontentedly: "I'm not a kid, how can I not cook?"

  Kang Fan laughed and said, "I only remember your silly appearance back then."

  "I originally wanted to go to the cafeteria to eat, but Shui Xiu was shy and didn't dare face so many soldiers, so I just ate at home." Mei Xiang said while wrapping dumplings: "Zhou Team Leader sent over two fish that were just caught from the base's reservoir, you go cook them."

  Kang Fan laughed and agreed, casually touching He Shui Xiu's occipital bone. "Eat well at big brother's place, eat until you're white and chubby, when you return to Shanxi, let your father be delighted."

  He Shuixiu was rolling out the dumpling wrappers with a slightly clumsy motion while smiling sweetly at Kang Fan.

  As Empress Dowager Cixi began to reuse Kang Youwei, big and small things had to be consulted with Kang Youwei, so Kang Youwei became busier and busier, and the number of times he entered the palace also became more frequent. In this way, he could not easily leave the Nan Kou base.

  By the end of the year, the main project of the Nankou Military Base was fully completed, and what remained was just some trivial work such as adding equipment and repairing local areas. The Jin army's regular troops and inner guard troops who were summoned to Beijing finally didn't have to camp outdoors, and all moved into a fully-equipped, spacious and clean military camp.

  In this way, Shanxi simultaneously had two bases in Tianjin and Beijing, controlling the Beijing-Tianjin region and making the Taiyuan-Beijing-Tianjin railway lifeline more stable. Kang Fan handed over both bases to the General Staff Department's Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau for management. With the support of these two bases, relevant work in the entire Beijing-Tianjin surrounding areas can be carried out better.

  As the chief administrative officer responsible for communication and cooperation between the Shanxi government and the US government, Judy worked diligently. Under her strong urging, after Christmas, the first batch of Americans officially dispatched by the US government arrived at Nankou Base, marking the formal start of cooperation between Shanxi and the United States.

  Under the cooperation framework agreement signed with the United States, the US will dispatch a large number of excellent experts and scholars to work in Shanxi, providing paid support to the region. The US will also receive on a paid basis outstanding students selected by schools from various parts of Shanxi for further studies in the US, including military academies, helping Shanxi cultivate modern professional technical talents urgently needed for local construction in all industries.

  The Shanxi government will export local products such as daily necessities, household appliances, medicines and medical equipment, as well as industrial machinery and electrical products to the United States at preferential prices. At the same time, it will also import a large quantity of American goods at preferential prices, including machinery, minerals, agricultural products, books, etc.

  The first batch of Americans who arrived were mainly talents in education and medicine, and the corresponding departments in Shanxi Province, the Department of Culture and Education and the Department of Health, would be responsible for their work and life. As the Minister of Health of Shanxi Province, Mei Xiang had to return to Shanxi to preside over the work. Therefore, when this batch of American friends arrived in China, Kang Fan also had to bid farewell to them.

  Kang Fan, after confirming the relevant matters with Shanxi via telegram, instructed Mei Xiang: "After returning, urge your Minister of Culture and Education to arrange the related matters for the first batch of students going to study in the US as soon as possible. I have already selected the candidates from the military who will go to study in the US, just waiting for you to prepare everything before departing together." He then turned to Zhu Di and said: "After you arrive in Shanxi, Minister of Finance Zhong Hanqiang will hand over the first batch of scholarship funds to you. After completing the handover, you can lead our students directly from Shanxi to Tianjin Port, where your brother's ship is waiting for you."

  "Judy asked: "Aren't you going to America with me?""

  Kang Fan shook his head and smiled wryly, "The situation in Beijing is still unstable, I can't leave yet. Besides, you must visit your parents this time when you go back, since you didn't even return for Christmas. They yearn to reunite with you but won't welcome me, my presence will disrupt the harmony of the Wood family. It's better for me to stay in China and wait for your return."

  Judy bit her lip and furrowed her brow.

  He Shui Xiu, under Mei Xiang's instigation, broke through the feudal shackles and ran away from home, indeed requiring some courage. As the initiator, Mei Xiang must take responsibility for He Shui Xiu to the end. Fortunately, He Shui Xiu was born into a family of scholars, with a solid foundation in literature, and wrote beautiful characters full of flavor. Therefore, Mei Xiang hired her as a secretary in the Health Department, which can be considered as using the right person for the job.

  "Do you know why Shui Xiu is so brave this time?" Mei Xiang asked Kang Fan in a low voice before boarding the train.

  Kang Fan didn't understand, "What?"

  Mei Xiang poked a finger on his forehead, "Because you're Water Scholar, that's why you're so brave."

  Kang Fan was taken aback, "Because of me?"

  Mei Xiang gave him a resentful glance, "I tried every way to persuade Shui Xiu to run away from home, but she refused. Later, I told her it was you who asked me to come and persuade her, that's when she agreed. By the time she found out she had been deceived, it was already too late."

  Kang Fan hesitated for a long time before saying, "In any case, I support your approach this time."

  "I knew you'd support me, so I did it." Mei Xiang said with a smile.

  Kang Fan asked: "What is Shui Xiu thinking in her heart?"

  She raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "She had always wanted to run away, but didn't have the courage to take action. It was your and my support that led to her actual actions."

  "That's great." Kang Fan felt relieved, looked up and saw He Shui Xiu in the carriage excitedly gesturing to Judy who was sitting opposite her, while Judy was also smiling and gesturing back, both of their expressions were very interesting.

  "The political struggle in the capital is very treacherous, after leaving the base you must be with our Jin army, don't go out alone." Meixiang reminded, "You have offended so many sinister and cunning people, there are many who want to deal with you, I'm really worried about you."

  Kang Fan smiled and nodded, "I know. The Security Bureau's brothers are all over the capital city, even if I go out alone, nothing will happen to me. Before I completely bring you back to your parents' side, I won't let myself die."

  Mei Xiang warmly hugged Kang Fan and turned around to enter the carriage.