Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Bai Ling knew that Ximen Lang might not care about anything else, but he would definitely care about Zheng Chaoyang and would definitely go to his house to take a look.

after all
"Hey, never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. Go if you want, there's nothing wrong with it. But you...didn't you say you had something to do?"

"Who? Me? I'm fine."

Seeing that Bai Ling helplessly rubbed her forehead and agreed to Ximen Lang's wish to visit Zheng Chaoyang's house, she immediately turned her attention to herself.

It's obvious that she doesn't want to get involved in this mess.

How is this possible?

I haven't even eaten the melon yet!

Therefore, the answer was absolutely certain.

One sentence.
"I'm fine."

This immediately made Bai Ling's face fall.

"This is a possibility."

"No, really. Besides, didn't Ah Lang just say that we should get less involved in specific matters and spend more time traveling and enjoying nature, cultivating our minds? I've been doing exactly what Ah Lang suggested! Or is there something you're hiding from me that you're trying to conceal?"

As expected, Bai Ling was so angry that she immediately gritted her teeth and spoke.

"There's nothing I can't tell anyone! What do I have to hide?!"

Naturally, he could only reluctantly agree to Xia Yiyi's request, which involved both provocation and bringing up Ximen Lang as a gossipmonger, to go and watch the drama unfold together.

Then, he was so angry he felt like his liver was hurting. Under the watchful eyes of Ximen Lang and Xia Yiyi, these two curious little girls, he greeted the local comrades, telling them to go about their own business and not waste their time. After that, the convoy went straight to the famous Bund.
It was in front of a standard tenement building.

Pointing to the tenement building in front of her, which wasn't exactly luxurious, but in this era it could definitely be considered a mansion, Bai Ling said helplessly.

"Look, that's Zheng Chaoyang's house. So, are you going up now, or later?"

Upon realizing they had arrived at Zheng Chaoyang's house, Ximen Lang immediately began to survey his surroundings.

"I'm sure the place the convoy just passed was the famous Bund," Simon exclaimed.

"This environment is great, and it's right next to the Bund, did you guys notice? If this area gets demolished in the future, round after round of demolitions, Zheng Chaoyang will make a fortune just from the demolition compensation and resettlement housing! No wonder he's the protagonist, he's really lucky!"

Of course, this is on the premise that he can get through those ten years safely.

However, given Zheng Chaoyang's extremely poor family circumstances...
In the original historical trajectory, it would have been quite difficult.

It's not just a little difficult.

"But now that I'm here, everything will be much easier."

Thinking this, he saw that after Bai Ling finished asking her question, he was about to go upstairs without saying another word.

Ximen Lang quickly stopped her.

“He’s an old colleague, an old comrade-in-arms, and he even saved your life. How can you not even offer a fruit basket? Doesn’t he have a child at home? Wait a minute.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a huge gift bag of toys and snacks from who-knows-where.

Under Bai Ling's speechless gaze, Ximen Lang finally nodded.

"Look, that's more like it! What you did just now, what kind of behavior is that?"

After saying that, Ximen Lang led Xia Yiyi, who was already incredibly curious, upstairs amidst everyone's curious gazes.

It was truly a coincidence that Ximen Lang and his large group had just arrived at the floor where Zheng Chaoyang lived when they saw Zheng Chaoyang, who looked exactly like Officer An.

Before coming here, Ximen Lang had a lot to say to Zheng Chaoyang and a lot of things he wanted to know from him.

However, when he saw Zheng Chaoyang, who was only in his early twenties, already had half a head of white hair like an old man, and a happy smile that he couldn't erase from his face.

Ximen Lang suddenly didn't want to say anything anymore.

With mixed feelings, Bai Ling introduced her to Zheng Chaoyang.

Zheng Chaoyang was naturally quite surprised by the arrival of Bai Ling and Ximen Lang.

I never expected them to come to see me.

He wiped his hands on his clothes again and again before extending his palm to grasp the hand that Ximen Lang had already offered, and said warmly.

"You must be Mr. Simon Lang, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

This is surprising.

"you know me?"

"I don't know you. But I happened to hear your name in a letter Lao Hao sent me. He said you were an exceptionally handsome man, and now that I see you, the rumors are indeed true!"

"Well, he's just average, nothing special, just average-looking. But you, I remember you're only in your early twenties, how come you have so much white hair?"

This unexpected and unpredictable behavior caught Zheng Chaoyang completely off guard.

But since Ximen Lang had asked the question, Zheng Chaoyang was determined not to let the topic fall flat.

He replied, half-jokingly and half-revealing his true feelings.

"There's no way around it, the pressure of life is immense. After having a wife and kids, I have to take care of everything. The kids need care, and I also have to work hard to make ends meet. You see, I'm so worried my hair has turned white. Please excuse my appearance."

Ximen Lang clearly understood the implication behind Zheng Chaoyang's words, but he obviously hadn't come for that reason.

After all, no one understands Bai Ling better than him.

Therefore, Zheng Chaoyang didn't actually need to do that.

However, although it is not necessary to go to such lengths, his attitude is still very commendable.

In addition, Ximen Lang admires Zheng Chaoyang, Officer An, and even Zhang Yi himself.

Ximen Lang simply spoke his mind.

"It's not just that, is it? I noticed that in just this short time, your good neighbors have already been peeking at us several times. If it's like this at home, then it goes without saying that things must be even more difficult at work. So, Zheng Chaoyang, you're having a tough time."

Such directness and unbridled speech were clearly something Zheng Chaoyang had not anticipated.

Not wanting to spoil Ximen Lang and the others' fun with his own affairs, and even less wanting to involve them, Zheng Chaoyang quickly changed the subject.

"Look, what's the point of talking outside all the time? Come in, let's talk inside." With that, he welcomed Ximen Lang and his group into his home.

Meanwhile, Ximen Lang finally got a full glimpse of Zheng Chaoyang's home.

There's really nothing to pay attention to, because in those days, homes were generally quite simple and the area was relatively small.

It was completely open to the public; Ximen Lang had already surveyed Zheng Chaoyang's house in just one glance.

Because he suddenly lost interest in getting to know Zheng Chaoyang better, after a few simple pleasantries, he casually found an excuse to send Zheng Chaoyang's wife, who looked like a lady from a good family, and her lovely daughter to the back room.

Ximen Lang went straight to the point, continuing the conversation from before, and asked his question.

"Zheng Chaoyang, you're a meritorious official, and now you're being treated like this. Don't you feel resentful?"

Zheng Chaoyang never expected that Ximen Lang would be so persistent.

Even though I had tried my best to avoid the topic, he kept steering me back to it.

This left Zheng Chaoyang very puzzled; what exactly was Ximen Lang trying to do?

Seeing Zheng Chaoyang's doubts, Ximen Lang immediately answered them without hesitation.

"Don't worry about implicating me. Didn't you see that Lao Luo and Bai Ling didn't say anything? What does that mean? It means that your little matter is nothing to me. Just tell me, what are you really thinking?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chaoyang immediately looked towards Lao Luo and the others.

As expected, neither Bai Ling nor Lao Luo seemed to notice anything unusual about Ximen Lang's bluntness.

Combined with the obviously unusual guard battalion outside the building, they realized that Ximen Lang's identity was definitely not simple.

Zheng Chaoyang finally began to take this problem seriously.

"To be honest, at first I was definitely a little uncomfortable. Because I had also performed meritorious service and shed blood. But later, I came to terms with it."

"Oh, how did you come to this realization?"

"Because I'm a professional too. Putting myself in their shoes, if we switched roles, if I were them, I certainly wouldn't be able to treat our own people, who have been repeatedly exposed to spies in our family, and not just any spies, but top-level ones, with the same ordinary perspective. I would definitely have to do something, otherwise it would be dereliction of duty."

"And they've been really good to me, and they've been very considerate of my feelings. So, I've really come to terms with it now. It's normal, really, it's all part of the normal investigation process. As long as I'm upright and have nothing to hide, it's not a big deal."

That was definitely a heartfelt remark.

But there is one thing that cannot be avoided no matter what.

Although Zheng Chaoyang had taken the matter in stride and tried his best to convince himself not to care, it did cause him considerable trouble.

Otherwise, his hair wouldn't have turned so white at such a young age.

"What about your brother, Zheng Zhaoshan? How is he doing now?"

"Him? He's trying his best to make up for the mistakes he made in the past. After all, no matter what, his rank and the things he's done are there for all to see. He has so much blood on his hands, he has to do something to make amends."

"However, things are a bit complicated now, because a lot of time has passed. They've started to realize he's abandoned his ways, and many things have been adjusted accordingly. So now it's very difficult for him to continue his work."

"So, they came to you to find out what happened."

One sentence silenced everyone.

Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly become gloomy, Ximen Lang also felt that there was no point in continuing to dwell on these things.

After all, no one was at fault in this matter; it was just a matter of timing and fate. Zheng Chaoyang was unlucky, and it was his turn to be caught in this situation. There was nothing he could do about it.

After all, who told him to get into all these bizarre situations?

There's absolutely no point in worrying about these things.

"So, let's think about how to change all this. First of all, from any perspective, I certainly don't want to see a hero like you fall into such a predicament."

"Because whether it's your partner or your lover, they've all been tested and proven to be true to us. And the children are even more innocent."

"But your situation is indeed quite special. So here's my plan: you shouldn't continue doing what you used to do."

"Speaking of which," Ximen Lang asked curiously.

"Hey, by the way, where are you guys working now?"

“I work at a museum, and my partner works at a library.”

"No, no, putting you in a museum or library is definitely not going to work. The jobs are nice and relatively easy, but who are you? You're talented people! Putting you in a place like that would be a waste! But your original professions aren't suitable for you either."

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into Ximen Lang's mind.

"Hey, how about you guys go swimming?"

"Go to sea?"

"Don't get the wrong idea! It's not about 'going into business,' but about getting them to start businesses! Isn't his wife from a merchant family? Generations of them have made a living through business. Having been exposed to it all, her business acumen is bound to be excellent."

"You may not have her advantages, but I believe that someone like you, no matter what you do, will definitely excel if you put your heart into it. Coincidentally, we are currently undergoing a transformation and are in dire need of talent who can navigate the business world."

"Since that's the case, why don't we stop wasting time in museums and libraries? Let's choose a field that you're good at and interested in, then delve into it deeply, and make a fortune with our products and our people. What do you think? Isn't this a brilliant idea?"

That's a great idea, absolutely fantastic!

Although it was against the rules, since it was Ximen Lang who proposed it, Lao Luo and the others were willing to respect Ximen Lang's opinion.

But that's precisely Zheng Chaoyang's situation.
"Of course, I don't doubt Zheng Chaoyang. We're old comrades-in-arms, and we know him better than anyone. But this is a bit against the rules. Your situation, even the slightest bit, is top secret, the most top secret of all! This is something no one wants to see!"

In fact, if Ximen Lang hadn't said he wanted to visit Zheng Chaoyang's home, Lao Luo wouldn't have been so willing to let Ximen Lang meet with Zheng Chaoyang.

Even though Zheng Chaoyang's life was indeed incredibly difficult and he desperately needed Ximen Lang, a guy who could override principles, to lend him a hand.

However, as mentioned earlier, this is Ximen Lang's will.

As long as Ximen Lang persists and does not violate the bottom line and principles of Beijing, sometimes it is appropriate to make some concessions.

And Ximen Lang was fully aware of this.

Therefore, I saw that Lao Luo wanted to say something more.

Ximen Lang spoke directly.

"No need to say anything more, Lao Luo, just do as I say. As for my safety... that might have been a problem before, but now, it's no longer a problem. At least in our world, it's absolutely not a problem!" (End of Chapter)