Chapter 26: Visiting Mrs. Jones

  It had been snowing with rain without knowing when it started, and it still hadn't stopped by the time we got up in the morning. When I left Thailand, I didn't realize that Washington had already entered a severe winter season, and stupidly, I didn't prepare any winter clothes. Fortunately, Jason was thoughtful, and early in the morning, he sent me boots, thermal underwear, suits, and coats.

  After finishing breakfast and getting ready to go out, Jason asked me: "Muddy, where is the sunglasses I gave you?" "Sunglasses... are in my backpack, why did you ask this suddenly?" I asked puzzled. Jason smiled and said: "Take it out and wear it!" "What?" I was completely confused by him, asking: "Jason, don't you see what the weather is like today, do you need to wear sunglasses?" Jason said: "Sunglasses are not just for shading, they have many other uses. Look at your suit, how neat and stylish it is! If you add sunglasses, it will be super cool!"

  I chuckled and said helplessly, "What's wrong with you? We're going to do something serious today, not show off. Why did you dress me up like this?" Jason said, "You just don't get it, have you seen the spies in movies? They all dress cool like this." I said to Jason, "Yes, but that's for acting, real spies are the most unnoticeable people in the crowd, who would dress up so flashy?" Jason laughed and said, "Don't be so serious, we're not going on a mission today, just visiting my aunt, trust me, you won't lose out." "Okay, I'll listen to you, guest follows host, who let me fall into your hands today anyway?" I said while walking back to the room to get my sunglasses. "Hurry up...I'm waiting for you in the car!" Jason shouted from behind. I waved my hand and said, "Alright, alright."

  Here is the translation:

  On a cold and wet morning after a winter rain and snow, the few remaining leaves on the trees along both sides of the road were gently swaying in the chilly wind; in the thin fog, the high and low buildings seemed to appear and disappear. At some point, the rain mixed with snow turned into light snow and fell more heavily; on the road, vehicles of all sizes drove by quickly or slowly, their tires making a hissing sound on the wet pavement. I asked Jason: "Don't your parents and sister live with you?" Jason said: "My father and mother have gone on vacation and won't be back until Christmas, and most of the time they live in the city, not in this house in the suburbs. As for my sister, she's already married and naturally doesn't live with us. And I'm a completely free prince." "Oh! Then when your father comes back, you must take me to visit them," I said to Jason. Jason said: "Okay, no problem. Look, Muddy, that's the White House." Jason pointed into the distance as he spoke. Following Jason's pointing direction, the White House, symbolizing the highest political power in the United States, suddenly appeared before my eyes. The car drove on and finally stopped in front of a high-end apartment building after passing through two blocks. After getting out of the car, Jason pointed up and said: "We're here, my aunt lives on the third floor."

  As I walked up to the third floor and knocked on the door, a woman of about 40 years old with an extraordinary temperament smiled and welcomed me. The woman was of medium height, slender figure, with short hair that reached her ears, wearing a suitably elegant beige dress - she was Jason's aunt, Ben Green Jones. Before meeting Mrs. Jones, I had heard from Jason that she was 45 years old this year, but when I really saw her, I found that she looked much younger than her actual age. It was within my expectation that Mrs. Jones had such a temperament and image, but what exceeded my expectations was her skin color. Mrs. Jones was Jason's aunt, but she was white, not black like Jason.

  Later, I found out that Jason's skin color was a typical example of skip-generation inheritance. Jason's parents, aunt, and even his sister were all white, while Jason was black because of his maternal grandfather. His maternal grandfather was a black man who was once an outstanding figure in American politics. Jason inherited his dark skin from his maternal grandfather through skip-generation inheritance, so not only did he not receive discriminatory contempt for his unusual skin color, but he also gained everyone's affection. Everyone thought that since Jason had inherited his maternal grandfather's dark skin, he must have also inherited his excellent qualities and would definitely become an outstanding person like his maternal grandfather in the future.

  "Oh, Jason, dear boy, you're here!" Mrs. Jones exclaimed, embracing Jason as soon as they met. Jason smiled and said, "Hello, Auntie! I've missed you so much, and you look even more beautiful after just a few days!" Mrs. Jones laughed and said, "You always have the sweetest words, okay, stop chatting at the door, come on in quickly." After entering the house, Jason said to Mrs. Jones, "Auntie, let me introduce you, this is my good friend Mudskipper, whom I've often mentioned to you, we met at the Seabury Battlefield Hospital. Mudskipper, this is my aunt."

  "Hello, ma'am!" I said politely. The lady shook hands with me and smiled, saying: "Hello young man, Jason often mentions you, saying you're an excellent soldier, and indeed, you have a good demeanor." "You flatter me, ma'am!" I humbly replied. Mrs. Jones said: "Alright, let's sit down and talk, don't just stand there like fools! Jason, what would you like to drink? Coffee, milk tea, juice or something else?" Jason said: "Coffee, auntie!" "Okay, how about you young man?" Mrs. Jones asked me again. I bowed slightly and replied: "Thank you ma'am, I'll have a cup of coffee too!" "Alright, just wait for a moment!" she said, then got up and walked into the kitchen. Before long, two steaming cups of coffee were placed in front of us.

  We sat down, chatted for a bit after some small talk, and Jason directly said to Mrs. Jones: "Auntie, I brought the mud eel today, what about the matter we discussed before? Is it settled today?" Mrs. Jones picked up her coffee, took a light sip and said: "Jason, I'm meeting you in private today, so let's not discuss official business." As soon as Jason heard this, he immediately showed dissatisfaction, complaining: "Auntie, didn't we agree before that as soon as the mud eel arrives in America, you would immediately recruit him into the Foreign Intelligence Bureau?"

  "Jason, don't say that, this matter can't be decided by just one person, let's discuss it thoroughly." Mrs. Jones said in a firm tone. After finishing speaking, she looked at me again with an examining gaze. At this time, I was relatively calm and collected, seeing Mrs. Jones' gaze, I politely nodded my head as a response to her. But Jason couldn't sit still at this time. "Forget it, Auntie, put away your politician's face, don't pretend to be formal in front of us, you already agreed with me earlier, please don't go back on your word!" "Jason, don't speak to me like a child who doesn't know what's going on, there are guests sitting next to us." Mrs. Jones said seriously.

  Jason said, "What guest, the catfish is my good friend, my brother." Facing Jason's rudeness, Mrs. Jones seemed to be a little angry, she calmed down and said to Jason, "Alright, can you let me talk to your friend alone?" "No, auntie, I think whatever you have to say, it's better to say it in front of both of us, really, I don't think there's anything to hide." Jason said firmly. "Okay!" Facing Jason's rudeness, Mrs. Jones seemed to be already used to it, she sighed and said, "You can stay, but please don't interrupt when we're talking, if you can do that, then you can keep sitting here, otherwise, please leave for a while." Jason said, "Alright, alright, just treat me like I'm deaf and mute."

  Mrs. Jones looked at me, changing her serious attitude with Jason, and said kindly: "Young man, I'm sorry to have made you see our unpleasant conversation earlier. I hope it didn't affect your good mood today." "No, ma'am, don't worry about it! It's actually my fault for causing the trouble, I apologize sincerely." I replied calmly. Mrs. Jones said: "Don't say that, this kind of small argument is very common and has nothing to do with you. So, I can see that you're a straightforward person, so I'll be frank with you. Jason has always said that you're an excellent special forces soldier, and after seeing you today, I also believe that you're indeed an outstanding warrior, and more importantly, what we need. However, there's one thing we both understand: you're a wanted criminal by the Chinese government online. If we really recruit you into the Foreign Intelligence Agency, it will inevitably add many troubles to our country's diplomacy."

  At this time, Jason hastily took over the conversation and said: "Oh, Auntie! Don't treat the loach as a criminal, really, he's innocent!" "Jason..." Mrs. Jones looked at Jason and reminded him: "Please shut your mouth, have you forgotten our agreement?" Jason helplessly waved his hand and wisely closed his mouth. "Madam..." I thought for a moment and said: "Please believe in my innocence, also, I want to say that I didn't come to the United States as a fugitive seeking asylum, but rather as a warrior seeking help to continue the fight that I should have continued; I believe that through my efforts, I won't harm America's national interests, nor will I bring any trouble to you or your country. On the contrary, perhaps I still have some value for you and your country."

  Here is the translation:

  Mrs. Jones looked at me with a smile in her eyes and said calmly: "Young man, your words seem to make some sense, I'm starting to appreciate you more and more, I think we need to get to know each other better." I understood the meaning behind Mrs. Jones' words and knew she had basically accepted me, so I thanked her and said: "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, I will prove with my actions that your decision is correct." Mrs. Jones said: "No need to thank me, let's see your actual performance..." Jason asked excitedly: "Auntie, does that mean you've agreed to recruit Mudskipper into the Foreign Intelligence Bureau?" "Not yet, at least not for now," Mrs. Jones replied calmly.

  Jason said, "Now that's what I call a principle agreement! Oh... that's great!" Mrs. Jones smiled and said, "Well, if you understand it that way, let's just leave the business talk for now, shall we have lunch together? There's a pretty good Chinese restaurant around here, what do you think?" "That sounds great, I love Chinese food," Jason exclaimed. I smiled and said, "Guest follows host, whatever you say, ma'am." Mrs. Jones stood up, put on her coat, and smiled, saying, "Alright then, let's get going..."

  After lunch, as we were saying goodbye to Mrs. Jones and driving away, I said to Jason: "Jason, you shouldn't have been so rude to your aunt just because of me, it makes me uncomfortable." Jason laughed and said:

  "Loach, you're overthinking it. My aunt and I have always been like this. We've got a way of talking that's not straightforward, but I'm not being rude, just standing firm on what's right. Haha... don't think too much about it!"

  Three days after meeting with Jones, we had another in-depth conversation. In this conversation, I introduced my experience in a more detailed but reserved manner and provided some of the intelligence I had obtained. A week later, I was formally recruited into the US Foreign Intelligence Agency as Botte. Mrs. Jones promised that if my name were to be cleared and I wanted to return home in the future, she would definitely support me.

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