Chapter 55: Chapters 73 (Part 2), 74, and 75 (Three-in-One)

While explaining the project design she had been working on recently, she placed the newspapers and the design materials from the document bag in front of her grandfather.

"...Now, the necessary materials are almost all prepared, and all that's left is to mail the design documents to Denmark. I don't know anyone reliable who can send international express parcels, so I wanted to ask Grandpa how I can safely mail my project design materials to Denmark."

Grandpa Lin first picked up the Danish newspaper, and then looked at the translated version of the article.

"Did you read this article in the newspaper yourself, Xiaolan?"

Guessing what her grandfather was worried about, Lin Yilan nodded. "I translated the newspaper article myself without hiring a translator. As for the design materials, there are too many of them, and the project organizers might need to review them, which is why I asked a professor from Beijing University for help."

Grandpa Lin nodded in silence, carefully thumbing through his granddaughter's design materials. Although he did not understand architectural design, he could still tell what looked good and what did not.

Regardless of anything else, the design drawings his granddaughter had drawn were simply stunning. He figured they were easily no worse than the work of those foreign devils.

After pondering for a moment, he stood up and took out a small notebook.

Lin Yilan glanced at the cover, which looked like her grandfather's phone directory.

"I'll give someone a call and ask if they have any ideas." He picked up the reading glasses hanging around his neck. "Xiaolan, don't worry. Grandpa will definitely make sure all your things are safely delivered to Denmark intact."

While flipping through the phone directory, Grandpa also pushed the cookie tin on the table toward her to comfort his granddaughter.

Looking at the cookie tin before her, Lin Yilan was torn between laughter and tears. She picked up a cookie. "Grandpa, I'm neither anxious nor worried. You're the one who shouldn't be so flustered."

Grandpa Lin flipped to a page and pointed at a phone number on it. "How can I not be anxious? Our granddaughter drew such a wonderful design; Grandpa will definitely mail it out for you. It's such a glorious matter for our country."

"I'll go outside to make a call. Be a good girl and wait for me here at home." Grandpa Lin took off his glasses, tucked the phone directory under his arm, and strode out quickly.

Lin Yilan smiled and shook her head, then picked up another cookie.

Where on earth were these cookies bought? They were so delicious; how come she had never tasted them before?

She pulled the cookie tin closer and examined it carefully.

Not only were the cookies crisp without being hard, but they also carried a rich milky fragrance that melted in the mouth almost instantly.

So fragrant!

Lin Yilan crinkled her nose.

Although she felt that ever since she grew up, she rarely ate snacks anymore.

Still, snacks really were delicious.

*Creeak—*

The sound of the front door opening made her instinctively close the cookie tin and push it a little further away.

When Grandpa Lin came back in, he saw his granddaughter, her mouth covered in cookie crumbs, feigning deep concentration as she stared blankly at the floor.

"Are the cookies good?"

"Good... ah?" Lin Yilan looked at her grandfather's smile with a trace of embarrassment, but still nodded. "They're quite delicious."

Grandpa Lin sat back down in his previous spot and pushed the cookie tin back toward her. "If you like them, eat a few more. When you go back later, I'll have you take two more boxes with you."

Lin Yilan waved her hands in refusal. "No need, Grandpa. Save them for Lingling and Ping'an to eat."

"It's rare to find something you actually like." Grandpa Lin made the final decision. "A bite or two won't matter to those two kids."

"I just called my old comrade-in-arms. His child works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now. I asked him about it, and he said that as long as there are no issues with your materials, he can directly have his child help mail them over."

Grandpa Lin winked at Lin Yilan. "Don't worry, their channels are safer and much faster."

***

Lin Yilan was both happy and apprehensive now. "Grandpa, won't this cause any bad repercussions?"

Grandpa Lin patted her on the head. "If you were asking people to buy refrigerators and household appliances for us from overseas, then I wouldn't bother him with this.

To put it nicely, what we are doing is bringing honor to our country."

"...Grandpa, you're being so exaggerative." Lin Yilan's old face flushed red. To call this level of minor project competition "bringing honor to the country"—her grandfather was definitely overestimating her.

Grandpa Lin disagreed, saying with a straight face, "Tell me, are there foreign designers competing in this project along with you?"

"And if you get selected, won't the compensation they give you be in foreign currency? You can't look down on it just because the amount is small."

"Comrade Lin Yilan!" Grandpa Lin called out her name with a resounding voice.

Lin Yilan immediately stood up, standing straight and tall. "Present!"

Grandpa Lin also stood up and patted her on the back. "Chest out, head up! We must take pride in things we ought to be proud of. Excessive modesty is just a form of arrogance! Do you understand?"

Lin Yilan said firmly, "Understood!"

Whether it was because he hadn't trained any young soldiers in a long time or not, Lin Yilan's cooperation made Grandpa Lin's passion surge.

After eating lunch, Lin Yilan dragged her exhausted body and hurried back home.

The materials and the mailing address had all been left with her grandfather. Once the translation was finished, she would just need to bring the Danish version of the materials over.

***

A few days later, Lin Yilan received the Danish version of the materials as promised.

Instead of taking them straight to her grandfather, she borrowed a brick-thick dictionary from the library once again, roughly checked everything over to ensure no inappropriate items were mixed inside, and only then did she deliver them to her grandfather.

It was not that she was overly paranoid, but there were simply too many spies in this era; she could not afford to be careless.

Once a problem arose with the materials sent out from her hands, she would be bringing disaster upon herself. Moreover, it wouldn't matter if something happened to her, but implicating her family would be an unforgivable crime.

After handing the materials over to her grandfather, he also told her the scheduled time to meet with his comrade and the comrade's son, instructing her to come along then.

Before long, the appointed day of the meeting arrived.

Lin Yilan deliberately woke up early, pulled out the outfit she had worn the last time she collaborated with Wang Liming, and styled her hair into a particularly spirited look.

"Perfect!"

Standing in front of the small mirror, she spun around and nodded in satisfaction.

She hopped on her bicycle and went early to her grandparents' house to help them out.

When Lin Yilan arrived, her grandparents and a hired worker were busy preparing lunch.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie Niu, what can I do?" She rolled up her sleeves and walked over to their side.

Grandma Lin pointed at the vegetables by the kitchen door. "Xiaolan, go ahead and trim the greens."

Lin Yilan carried a small stool, took a vegetable basket, and began the task of trimming the vegetables.

Busy as a bee, as the appointed time drew near and all necessary preparations were complete, Lin Yilan quickly straightened her attire once more.

As soon as the clock struck ten, knocking sounded from outside the door.

How punctual!

Lin Yilan hurried over to open the door. "Coming."

Standing in the doorway were an elderly man with a stern expression and a kind-looking middle-aged uncle.

"Grandpa Liu, Uncle Liu, good morning."

After exchanging greetings, she pulled the front door wide open.

"You must be Xiaolan, right?" The elderly man squeezed out a smile as he stepped inside. "I've often heard your grandfather mention you before, and you're every bit as exceptional as he said."

Lin Yilan lowered her head and smiled shyly.

At that moment, Grandpa also emerged from his room and greeted them.

"Old Liu, long time no see. You've become an old man now too."

Grandpa Liu immediately puffed out his chest, stood straight, and gave a military salute to Grandpa Lin.

"Chief, Liu Sanzhi reporting to you!"

Grandpa Lin returned the salute in kind. "Comrade Liu Sanzhi, hello!"

It was only then that Lin Yilan, standing nearby, developed a tangible sense of "my grandfather really is extraordinary." As the two men saluted, she noticed a certain aura surrounding her grandfather and this Grandpa Liu—an aura that those of them who had never experienced the baptism of military service could never possess.

Watching the three elders chat animatedly, she quietly walked behind them, secretly observing her grandfather's expression.

Unlike the lively demeanor from his usual daily life, the animation on her grandfather's face right now was something she had never seen before.

Once inside the house, Grandma Lin stood at the entrance with her eldest brother's two children to greet the elders, and then took the opportunity to introduce Auntie Niu standing nearby.

After a round of pleasantries, the conversation finally shifted to the main purpose of today's gathering.

Grandpa Lin gave Lin Yilan a subtle cue, and she got up to fetch her design materials from her grandfather's study.

Emerging from the study, she saw Grandpa Liu looking at her with great excitement.

"Lass Xiaolan, bring your design drawings over for us to take a look. You have no idea how much your grandfather has been bragging about you to us retired old codgers here in Beijing, making all of us old folks endlessly curious."

Thinking of that scene, Lin Yilan felt a sudden wave of second-hand embarrassment.

She could finally empathize with the awkwardness of hearing others recount how one's parents used to summon all their relatives to watch one perform in childhood.

"Grandpa is exaggerating. He looks at me through the eyes of a doting grandfather, so no matter how he looks at it, everything seems good."

"Hey now, saying that is doing me a great injustice. I seriously and carefully studied your design drawings from start to finish," Grandpa Lin protested, feeling deeply wronged.

Grandpa Liu burst into laughter. "Alright, today I'll act as a judge for the Chief to see whether the Chief was exaggerating or if Xiaolan is just being overly modest."

The three stacks of materials were thicker than Lin Yilan had anticipated. She separated them and placed them onto the table one by one.

"Grandpa Liu, Uncle Liu, these three sets of materials are completely identical, except that I prepared them in three language versions: one in Chinese, one in English, and the last one in Danish.

The Danish version was translated with the help of Professor Zhao from Beijing University, whom I troubled."

The Uncle Liu who had been relatively quieter compared to Grandpa Liu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He actually knew Professor Zhao from Beijing University.

Grandpa Liu picked up the Chinese version, turned to his son beside him, and said righteously, "You can read foreign languages, so go look at the foreign language version."

Uncle Liu helplessly accepted his elderly father's instruction and picked up the English version.

Although he worked in the Department of European Affairs, he was not familiar with Danish either. He knew Professor Zhao simply because their paths crossed professionally.