Era: After foreseeing the future, I changed my fate using spatial abilities.

Chapter 135 Troubled Times
He casually opened his wallet, intending to re-clamp the exposed piece of paper inside.

But after opening it, Su Ning's fingertips paused slightly, and her pupils widened in disbelief: This... is her?
It turned out to be a sketch, and even after being folded several times, its size still exceeded the edge of a wallet.

The scene depicted in the painting is likely from the day they departed from the ancient city and traveled by car to Shanghai.

The problem is, in the painting, she's asleep with her shoulder pressed against someone's, cough~ that's an undeniable fact.

But was it really necessary to include that suspicious water stain in the drawing?
For a moment, she didn't know how to describe her complicated feelings.

There was a mix of awkwardness and exasperation, a desire to punch him in shame, and a frantic, uncontrollable heartbeat.

He stared blankly at the piece of paper, lost in thought, until he was jolted awake by the ringing of a bell.

"Ling ring ring~"

Quickly following the marks, Su Ning folded the paper back into the pocket of her wallet, took a deep breath, regained her usual calm and composure, and took the receiver from the communications officer.

"Grandpa Fu?"

“Hey Ning, take a note and I’ll read it to you now.”

"Okay, please wait a moment."

I borrowed paper and pen from the messenger, wrote down the number that Grandpa Fu read out, and the two checked it once to make sure there were no mistakes. Then I explained a few words to him and hung up the phone.

"Could you please dial this number again, comrade? Thank you."

When the receiver was returned to her hand, this time a somewhat distorted voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, came from the other end.

"Hello, this is Zhao Qian, who is this?"

"Grandpa Zhao, I am Su Ning."

Zhao Qian on the other end of the phone paused for a moment in surprise, but immediately reacted, "Ning girl? Hahaha, why did you suddenly think of calling me?"

"Grandpa Zhao, I don't come here unless I need something. I have an urgent matter and would like to ask for your help."

Zhao Qian stopped smiling and asked seriously, "What happened? Tell me, Ning girl."

Because there were other people present, this matter couldn't be explained too clearly over the phone.

After a quick thought, a great idea immediately came to mind.

"Grandpa Zhao, have you ever touched a textbook since you retired?"

At first, Zhao Qian was a little confused. Did this urgent matter refer to the analysis of Zizhi Tongjian?
Until the questions she asked became increasingly bizarre, all of them involving horizontal or vertical page layouts and so on.

The shrewd Zhao Qian immediately noticed the hidden meaning in her words and was secretly pleased: her quirky personality was exactly like his old friend's.

They truly are a grandfather and grandson!

After he silently connected all the key words she mentioned in his mind, he finally understood what she was asking for.

The eldest son mentioned the Yan family's affairs last night when he came back.

How could Suning, located far away in southern Hunan, know about this matter and have any dealings with the Yan family in Shanghai?

Judging from their attentive manner, their relationship seems to be quite close.

After hanging up the phone and chatting briefly with the people from the neighborhood office, Zhao Qian walked out the door with his hands behind his back, his mind full of worries.

The Yan family is now like a hot potato; everyone wants to take a bite, but they're afraid of burning their mouths and hands.

It's not about retrieving the fish; it's about stirring up the muddy waters and taking the opportunity to interfere...

Nodding to himself, Zhao Qian, who had some ideas in mind, did not return home but instead went to the government building where his son worked.

……

After hanging up with Grandpa Zhao, Su Ning didn't stop but made two more calls in quick succession.

Everything that needs to be done has been done; as for the results, all we can do is wait.

After paying a considerable phone bill, I walked out of the post office and saw the person still in the same position, quietly waiting for me.

"Yanbei..."

"Ok?"

"Ah."

He handed the wallet back to him, saying he would pay him back later, and then Su Ning stared straight at the ground.

After a long silence, just as he was about to speak, he looked up and whispered, "Yan Bei, it seems something has happened to the Yan family."

"Ok?"

"You should remember the three brothers I helped when I was in Shanghai. They live in my grandmother's little red house and help me with simple shopping and trading. Today is the day to send them the money, and he just told me the news."

After a pause, Su Ning explained in the most concise way possible, "It's said that the news has spread like wildfire in Shanghai. I reckon you and Fu Jiaming will receive calls from home when you get back."

"Wait for me, I'm going to make a phone call."

"Okay." Yan Bei's face showed an unusual panic. He ignored the loud thud of the bicycle falling to the ground and rushed into the post office.

Silently, he lifted the tires of the old bicycle that were rolling away, but in his heart he was thinking that since the Yan family had already met with misfortune, there should be no one in the family he could contact.

However, this matter has indeed spread in Shanghai today, so no matter who he calls, he will get accurate information.

……

Xinyuan Street, Shanghai.

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Qiao didn't bother to respond to Director Liu's caring words, who had always been kind to him. He rushed out and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, what's that kid doing running so fast?! Is something chasing him?!"

"It must be something urgent. I just heard him call out 'Sister Ning,' Director, do you think it could be Comrade Su?"

"You're making trouble again. Stop talking nonsense and get back to get off work. You're not leaving until you've finished!"

"what!"

Panting heavily, Xiao Qiao ran back to the little red building without taking a break, and immediately climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

He pulled the large box containing the Little Red Book and Xinhua Dictionary that Suning had bought for him before leaving, as well as his primary and junior high school textbooks, out from under his desk.

He moved the top red book aside, took out the Xinhua Dictionary, and pieced it together one by one according to the coded words she had spoken.

"The Yan family?"

Xiao Qiao and his two brothers had spent years making a living in the city, so they naturally knew some unorthodox sources of information.

In order to better serve Suning, Xiao Qiao even made some dealings with those people to barely become familiar with them, and gave them a lot of benefits.

Of course, the returns were good too. They were willing to help out with anything that needed exchanging or any important news.

He really didn't know anything about the Yan family's affairs these past two days since he hadn't gone out to wander around.

"Ah Feng, Xiao Tong!"

"What's up, Brother Qiao?" "Brother Qiao, I'm here!"

Upon hearing the shout, the two people who were busy in the kitchen quickly put down what they were doing and ran upstairs while responding to the call.

When they got upstairs, they found Xiao Qiao standing by the window with a serious expression, and the two brothers shuddered.

They... don't seem to have done anything wrong, right?

"what happened?"

"Ah Feng, take this money and go find Ming Ge and the others to inquire about the Yan family. Come back immediately after you've found out, don't delay, understand?"

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

Tang Feng didn't ask why, took the money handed to him, turned around and ran downstairs without hesitation.

"Xiao Tong, go and count how much money Sister Ning left behind, and also pack all the gold from the items you got in exchange separately."

"Oh, good brother Qiao, I'll go count them."

After the two left, Xiao Qiao returned to his room, changed into a set of tattered clothes, and then smeared a thick layer of black ash all over his buzz-cut face and hands.

They stopped when the original shape was no longer recognizable.

After he finished tidying up, Yan Tong also completed the tasks he had been assigned.

"Brother Qiao, after exchanging the items from the previous two days, we still have over six hundred yuan left. The gold is all in this little box."

"Sweetie, Xiao Tong is going out for a bit. You stay home and wait for A Feng. When he gets back, neither of you should go out. Wait for me to come back, okay?"

"I remember."

Seeing that he had changed into the beggar's clothes that indicated he was involved in the black market, Yan Tong knew that he had something urgent to attend to and obediently nodded in agreement.

He patted his head, then Xiao Qiao stuffed the money and gold into a patched cloth bag, carefully placed it close to his body, and quickly went downstairs and left the house.

Although I don't know why Sister Ning said to give these things to that Yan family at that location, and to do it without anyone knowing.

However, their livelihood, home, and future hope were all given by Sister Ning. Even though he could tell from her words that this matter was not simple, he still had to do it without hesitation, even if there was danger.

……

Military compound in Shanghai.

Apart from Grandpa Yan and his wife, as well as Yan Bei who was far away in southern Hunan, all of them, from their two sons and daughters-in-law to their grandchildren, were escorted to the police station as quickly as possible.

There was no prior warning, not even a trace.

The group hiding in the shadows truly took the words "fast, accurate, and ruthless" to the extreme this time.

Looking at the courtyard that was completely surrounded, Grandpa Yan patted his wife's hand reassuringly, "Old woman, I'm afraid I'll have to make you suffer with me in our old age."

Abuse of power for personal gain, overseas connections, treason?!
Those letters, those ledgers… this is an attempt to crush the entire Yan family.