Chapter Summaries

Song Ning decided to recruit Yu Zhengyang’s trusted men for the hospital and bought the neighboring Siheyuan Courtyard for eighteen thousand yuan. After Tang Wei worried that his small allowance would make Miss Chen look down on him, Song Ning reassured him and hinted that Lao Jiang could help him see Ya Wen.

• Song Ning told Jiang Chengshi that nearly twenty of Yu Zhengyang’s men in Rong City were willing to help, and that A Qing and A Zhong would arrive soon.
• Tang Wei told Song Ning that the owner of the neighboring courtyard wanted to sell it instead of renting it, and Song Ning chose to buy it.
• Song Ning negotiated the price down from twenty thousand to eighteen thousand yuan and completed the purchase and registration that day.
• Tang Wei worried that Miss Chen would look down on his modest allowance, but Song Ning reassured him by comparing it with Gu Zheng’s.
• Tang Wei asked when he could see Ya Wen, and Song Ning said he should get on Lao Jiang’s good side.

Song Ning welcomed Yu Zhengyang and nineteen others to Capital City to help with her hospital project, while the courtyard she had bought was handed over and prepared as their lodging. The newcomers settled in, and Yu Zhengyang agreed to inspect the hospital site the next day.

• Lao Jiang insisted on visiting Song Ning every evening to supervise her venture, and the others teased him for freeloading meals.
• The former owner delivered the keys to the neighboring courtyard and left, and Song Ning offered its rooms to Song Lan and Song Mei.
• Yu Zhengyang arrived with Xiang Ping and eighteen others, explaining that he had stayed with Yu Ting through the seventh day after her death and intended to honor her wishes.
• Song Ning welcomed the group, assigned tasks, and showed Yu Zhengyang her hospital blueprints; he said he could assess the renovation work after inspecting the site.
• Tang Wei and several men cleaned rooms in the new courtyard, while Han Xiao and Xiang Ping fetched dinner for the group.
• As everyone ate in the lively courtyard, someone knocked at the gate again.

Gu Zheng returned from a secret work trip and reunited with Song Ning, then caught up on the investigation into Chen Yuting’s death and Harbor City. He told Song Ning he had learned what Lin Xiaoming and his people were looking for, leaving the answer unrevealed.

• Gu Zheng arrived at Song Ning’s courtyard and embraced her, embarrassing them both in front of the many guests.
• Yu Zhengyang took the visitors to the rear courtyard, while Gu Zheng, Song Ning, and Han Xiao discussed what had happened during Gu Zheng’s absence.
• Han Xiao reported that the investigation into Chen Yuting’s connections and hand symbol had yielded no useful leads, while the Balai Nightclub still refused to hand over the killer.
• Gu Zheng said he would return to the Military District the next day to meet Regiment Commander Lei and review the Harbor City situation.
• Song Ning checked Gu Zheng’s recovering left arm, and he revealed that he had learned what Lin Xiaoming and his people were looking for.

Gu Zheng told Song Ning that the Dawn Project’s biggest obstacle was developing a heat-resistant carbon-quartz composite for its missile warhead, and that the missing black jadeite sample could solve the problem. They connected the sample’s disappearance to attacks on materials research bases, including Xiaolu Mountain, while Gu Zheng maintained that there was no evidence to suspect Lu Changqing.

• Gu Zheng explained how the Dawn Project’s many teams worked together and said Blue Shield still estimated completion by the end of 1981.
• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that researchers had settled on a carbon-quartz composite for the missile warhead but had not solved its production process.
• Gu Zheng said evidence suggested someone had developed the composite and that the 'K' organization was searching for a missing sample called black jadeite.
• Song Ning connected the search to her hometown, and Gu Zheng confirmed that Xiaolu Mountain Base had focused on new materials and suffered devastating losses in 1975.
• Song Ning asked whether Lu Changqing might have brought out more than two code strings, but Gu Zheng said there was no evidence against him and noted that he worked in a basic Unit 331 department under close watch.

Song Ning worried that the case surrounding the sample was full of contradictions, while also wrestling with her uncertainty about marrying Gu Zheng. The next morning, she organized funds and personnel for the hospital renovation and recruitment, leaving Yu Zhengyang’s crew to measure the site as she arrived to oversee interviews.

• Song Ning wondered whether the Zhou Family’s kidnappings and Chief Engineer Zhou’s death were connected to the sample, and Gu Zheng comforted her before leaving to report to the Military District.
• Song Wang asked Song Ning whether she planned to marry Gu Zheng, and Song Ning privately admitted she was uncertain how long she could remain in this era.
• Song Ning gave Xiang Ping two thousand yuan to manage shared expenses and told Zheng Chang'an to recruit staff for the hospital.
• Song Ning toured the hospital with Yu Zhengyang and urged him to recruit more workers and make the renovation the crew’s first construction project.
• Yu Zhengyang and Xiang Ping began measuring the hospital while Song Ning went to the recruitment room, where a young woman stood up and called out to her.

Song Ning met Chen Xiaoyu at the hospital’s recruitment interviews and learned why she had left the Guo'an Machinery Factory. Chen Xiaoyu began explaining that her resignation was connected to Chief Engineer Zhou’s murder.

• Song Ning recognized Chen Xiaoyu, who said she had secretly come to apply for a job after leaving the Guo'an Machinery Factory.
• Chen Xiaoyu entered the interview for an accounting position, where Zheng Chang'an asked why she had resigned and remained a trainee for two years.
• Chen Xiaoyu discovered that Song Ning was running the hospital and asked her to believe the truth.
• Chen Xiaoyu explained that her supervisor had given her permanent position to a relative, and that she had been told to wait another year after reporting it.
• Chen Xiaoyu said her reason for finally resigning was connected to Chief Engineer Zhou's murder.

Chen Xiaoyu explained why she left the Machinery Factory and interviewed for a finance job at Song Ning’s hospital. After seeing Tang Wei again, she revealed that Public Security had questioned her repeatedly because she was an eyewitness to Chief Engineer Zhou’s murder case.

• Chen Xiaoyu told Song Ning that her supervisor had threatened her permanent employment unless she married his nephew, prompting her to seek work elsewhere.
• Song Ning and Zheng Chang'an completed Chen Xiaoyu’s interview, and Song Ning walked her to the lobby.
• Chen Xiaoyu recognized Tang Wei as the soldier who had saved her and Shuangshuang, then tried to invite him to a meal as he hurried away.
• Song Ning explained that the hospital would publish its recruitment results in three days and asked why Public Security had questioned Chen Xiaoyu so often.
• Chen Xiaoyu said she had helped receive foreign manufacturer representatives on the afternoon before Chief Engineer Zhou was murdered, making her an eyewitness.

Song Ning questioned Chen Xiaoyu about the people who visited Chief Engineer Zhou before his murder, hoping to learn more about the killer. She then helped plan the hospital’s underground space and discussed recruitment procedures with Zheng Chang'an.

• Song Ning realized that the killer in Chief Engineer Zhou's murder case had posed as a foreign manufacturer representative and that K organization had been involved.
• Song Ning asked Chen Xiaoyu to recall the five visitors and their conversation with Chief Engineer Zhou, but Chen Xiaoyu remembered little beyond a tense exchange.
• Song Ning told Chen Xiaoyu to check the recruitment results at the hospital entrance in three days, then returned to help Yu Zhengyang's crew plan the underground section.
• Song Ning and Yu Zhengyang's crew worked at the hospital while Zheng Chang'an continued interviewing applicants, and everyone gathered for dinner at the State-Run Restaurant.
• Zheng Chang'an told Song Ning that several applicants looked promising, including Chen Xiaoyu, and agreed to wait until the announced results rather than hire anyone early.

Song Ning discussed Tan Min’s sentence with Han Xiao, Chen Liang, and Gu Zheng, but remained troubled by how Tan Min’s behavior had changed. She proposed that Tan Min’s emotional collapse after Gu Zheng returned injured might have been an act designed to mislead everyone.

• Song Ning learned that Tan Min had been dismissed from the hospital and discharged from the military, and might receive a suspended sentence for helping Lin Xiaoming commit academic fraud.
• Han Xiao asked why Song Ning still looked troubled, and she said she could not figure Tan Min out.
• Gu Zheng joined them and angrily condemned Tan Min for betraying her fallen brother’s sacrifice, then encouraged Song Ning to speak openly.
• Song Ning described Tan Min as calculating beneath her warm, straightforward appearance and noted that her behavior changed dramatically after Gu Zheng returned injured.
• Han Xiao suggested Tan Min had fallen apart because she cared about Gu Zheng, but Song Ning asked whether Tan Min had acted that way to make everyone believe it.

Song Ning suspected that Tan Min had used her feelings for Gu Zheng to conceal her role in delivering an anesthesia plan that benefited Zhou Yuanhang. Gu Zheng agreed to investigate the possibility of a hidden K organization operative, and Song Ning proposed a way to draw that person out.

• Song Ning argued that Tan Min’s apparent confession of love for Gu Zheng could have covered up her deeper involvement with Lin Xiaoming and the K organization.
• Song Ning connected Tan Min’s delivery of the anesthesia plan for Elder Zhou to Zhou Yuanhang, suggesting Tan Min might have acted on his orders.
• Chen Liang questioned why Zhou Yuanhang would betray his family, and the group struggled to reconcile the suspicion with his history.
• Gu Zheng said they would investigate the Zhou brothers and the unresolved cases, while taking Song Ning’s suspicions seriously.
• Song Ning said they could prove whether someone remained behind the scenes by luring the snake out.

Song Ning explained why her suspicions about Zhou Yuanhang were difficult to prove and wondered whether he still had feelings for her. The next morning, she went with Han Xiao to the hospital to meet Zhou Yuanhang, who had been waiting for them.

• Gu Zheng rejected Song Ning's plan to use herself as bait to draw out anyone still searching for the K organization's secret, and ordered Han Xiao to stay beside her during her visit to Zhou Yuanhang.
• Song Ning asked Han Xiao whether Zhou Yuanhang still liked her, then listed the dangers she had survived and questioned whether Zhou Yuanhang might be protecting her from behind the scenes.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao discussed contradictions in her suspicions, including Ding Yongsheng's harassment, and Han Xiao urged her to rest until she could see Zhou Yuanhang.
• Song Ning assigned Tang Wei to help Yu Zhengyang's Construction Team identify materials and contact suppliers.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao arrived at the Military District General Hospital, where Zhou Yuanhang hurried over and apologized for making them come.

Song Ning confirmed Elder Zhou was recovering well and could be discharged, provided he stayed in Capital City until his wound healed. After helping organize new staff and reviewing job applicants, she learned that Chen Liang had arrived to resume dual guard duty with Han Xiao.

• Song Ning examined Elder Zhou and approved his discharge, advising him to remain in Capital City for three months before returning to Rong City.
• Song Ning refused the Zhou family's cash gift, explaining that she had military status and would continue checking on Elder Zhou after his discharge.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao discussed Zhou Yuanhang's sincere-seeming behavior and returned to the hospital.
• Yu Zhengyang assigned A Zhong to manage construction materials and A Qing to recruit workers for the construction crew.
• Song Ning reviewed uncertain job applications with Zheng Chang'an and Jiang Chengshi.
• Chen Liang arrived with luggage and told Song Ning that he and Han Xiao were resuming dual guard duty.

Song Ning reviewed the hospital’s first hiring round and arranged for the new employees to begin work while preparing formal contracts. Chen Liang and Han Xiao then explained Gu Zheng’s concern that Zhou Yuanhang might have kept Song Ning alive only because he needed her medical skills for Elder Zhou, leaving her to reconsider the danger she faced.

• Song Ning reviewed the eighteen successful applicants and agreed with Zheng Chang'an to put them to work before they signed contracts with Professor He present as legal counsel.
• Song Ning assigned one administrative hire to help Chen Xiaoyu with the accounts and said she would keep searching for qualified finance staff.
• When Gu Zheng failed to arrive, Chen Liang told Song Ning that foreign criminals had been sentenced and that border tensions had made him worry about her safety.
• Han Xiao revealed that Gu Zheng suspected Zhou Yuanhang had spared Song Ning because he needed her to operate on Elder Zhou, not because he liked her.
• Song Ning recalled Zhou Yuanhang’s knowledge of her role in Elder Zhou’s treatment and realized she might have lost her usefulness after Elder Zhou recovered.

Song Ning’s hospital recruited its first staff, attracted doctors to a nationwide exchange program, and continued its preparations for opening. Gu Zheng returned from Rong City and told Song Ning he had tested the plan to lure the snake out of its hole.

• On February 8, the first twenty-six recruits signed contracts to join Song Ning’s pilot hospital, which soon announced a second round of recruitment for qualified professionals.
• The Ministry of Health’s staff exchange program included Song Ning’s hospital, and doctors from major hospitals applied to work there temporarily.
• Chen Xiaoyu asked Song Ning to recruit her retired accounting teacher, and Song Ning agreed to visit and invite her.
• Yu Zhengyang expanded the construction crew, Zheng Chang’an organized the hospital’s preparations, and Song Ning’s shipment of medical equipment sailed for Hua Country.
• After several days away, Gu Zheng arrived at Song Ning’s home at night and said he had returned from Rong City after testing the plan to lure the snake out of its hole.

Song Ning learned that Gu Zheng’s operation to draw out any remaining K operatives had found no suspicious activity, while the search for the black jadeite sample continued. As Song Ning focused on her work and the approaching New Year, she suspected Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi had developed feelings for each other.

• Gu Zheng told Song Ning that surveillance in Rong City and Capital City had revealed no remaining K operatives, and explained that Chen Liang had concealed the operation to keep her safe and the ruse convincing.
• Gu Zheng said the black jadeite sample had appeared in Capital City but was in neither their hands nor K’s, and that they were reviewing intelligence for new leads.
• Yu Zhengyang asked Song Ning to revise part of the construction plans, and they discussed underground building problems until nearly eleven at night.
• Song Wang reported that the Distillery’s sales were going well, and Song Ning suggested inviting Zheng Chunzhi to celebrate New Year with them; Song Wang’s flustered reaction made Song Ning suspect he had feelings for her.
• Song Ning decided to visit the Distillery to learn more about Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi, then slept until nearly eight the next morning.
• Han Xiao teased Song Ning for sleeping late, and Song Ning joked that employees preferred bosses who paid them over bosses who shared their hardships.

Song Ning visited the Xingfu Road Winery and saw how its new staff and rules had improved the business. She found Song Wang comforting Zheng Chunzhi, and the chapter ended with Song Ning teasing her that her brother had hugged her first.

• Song Ning told Han Xiao she planned to visit the winery, and they went there with Chen Liang.
• A new employee named Little Yang welcomed them, and Song Ning explained that pre-job training had improved the staff’s customer service.
• Song Ning went into the production building alone and saw Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi talking privately.
• When Zheng Chunzhi began sobbing, Song Wang pulled her into his arms, and she hugged him back.
• Han Xiao and Chen Liang joined Song Ning as Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi separated, and Song Ning teased Zheng Chunzhi that her brother had hugged her first.

Song Ning helped Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi admit their feelings and agree to marry, then learned that Han Xiao wanted her help finding out whether someone in their courtyard liked him. The families planned to visit Zheng Chunzhi’s grandmother the next day, while Han Xiao remained nervous about confessing his own feelings.

• Song Ning asked Zheng Chunzhi and Song Wang whether they liked each other, and both admitted they did and agreed to marry.
• Song Ning reassured Zheng Chunzhi that her family welcomed her and proposed visiting her grandmother together the next day to formally ask for her hand.
• Song Ning left the Distillery relieved that Song Wang and Zheng Chunzhi would build a family together.
• In the car, Han Xiao asked whether Song Ning could help with relationships in their courtyard, and she said she could only help if both people felt the same way.
• Han Xiao admitted he had not confessed his feelings and asked Song Ning to find out how the woman felt; Song Ning agreed to ask her that night.

Song Ning received Mike’s equipment manuals and learned that Chen Xiaoyu had overheard foreign businessmen discussing a “black stone.” Suspecting the phrase referred to Black Jadeite rather than coal, Song Ning hurried to find Gu Zheng.

• Song Ning visited the hospital’s preparatory offices and learned that Mike had sent equipment documents from De Country.
• Song Ning planned to have Qingbei University’s Medical School translate the manuals before staff studied and trained on them.
• Chen Xiaoyu recalled hearing foreigners mention a “black stone” while speaking with Chief Engineer Zhou, along with words about equipment, metal, high heat, and burning.
• Song Ning realized “black stone” might mean Black Jadeite rather than coal and asked Chen Liang to take her to the Military District to find Gu Zheng.

After learning that Chief Engineer Zhou Weide’s murder might have been connected to the coveted “black jadeite,” Song Ning and her colleagues began revisiting the case while she pursued a possible identification of Lu Changqing. She prepared to support Song Wang and Chunzhi’s marriage proposal, but ended the night wondering what role Lu Changqing had played in the struggle over the carbon-quartz composite.

• Song Ning and her colleagues reported the possible black jadeite connection to Lei Ming, who ordered Unit 331’s intelligence team to review related cases and obtain Zhou Weide’s complete case files.
• Song Ning asked Han Xiao to get Lu Changqing’s photograph so she could check whether Chen Xiaoyu recognized him, but Chen Xiaoyu had already left work.
• Song Ning bought gifts for the visit to Chunzhi’s grandmother and told Song Wang that Chunzhi would receive the full bride price and wedding items when the time came.
• Song Wang agreed to follow Song Ning’s plan and promised that he and Chunzhi would manage the distillery well.
• Song Ning lay awake connecting Lu Changqing, Lin Xiaoming, Zhou Weide’s murder, the codes on Lu Changqing’s body, and black jadeite, and wondered what part Lu Changqing had played.

Song Ning, Song Wang, and Zheng Chunzhi visited Zheng Chunzhi’s relatives to announce her marriage, but her grandmother and second uncle attacked and insulted her. Zheng Chunzhi confronted them about their past cruelty and declared she would cut ties with them, but her second aunt blocked her from leaving.

• Zheng Chunzhi’s grandmother attacked her with a feather duster, and Song Wang shielded her while Song Ning took the duster away.
• Zheng Chunzhi introduced Song Wang as her fiancé, and Song Ning presented gifts before explaining that the Song family would arrange the wedding themselves.
• Zheng Chunzhi’s second uncle demanded a matchmaker and betrothal gifts, accusing the Song family of trying to marry her without proper formalities.
• Zheng Chunzhi condemned her relatives for refusing to help her father, blaming her for his illness, and trying to seize her home.
• Zheng Chunzhi said she was getting married and would no longer let her relatives interfere in her life, but her second aunt blocked her path.