This is called professionalism!
“ID photo?”
Zhao Dongchuan had a few photos left over from when he applied for his work permit in Huangyuan.
But with his system glasses on, he looked like two different people to outsiders, so they wouldn't work.
“Actually, I don’t have any…” Zhao Dongchuan waved his hand and said.
“No matter, since you paid a high price, I’ll definitely get it done for you…”
As he spoke, Old Hu sized up Zhao Dongchuan, then rummaged through a large bag to pull out a small one, untied the string, and started searching inside.
Before long, he pulled out an ID photo and handed it to Zhao Dongchuan.
“Hehe, kid, take a look at this!”
Zhao Dongchuan took it and saw an ID photo of someone wearing glasses, about seventy to eighty percent similar to his current look.
It turned out that the small bag was full of various ID photos; he guessed there were men, women, old, young, tall, short, fat, and thin.
“What do you call professional? This is professional!!!”
It was quite a skill to collect so many different photos; he wondered where they came from.
Zhao Dongchuan didn't dwell on it and nodded.
At this time, inspections were not as strict as in later generations; as long as it was close enough, no one would look too deeply into it.
“Alright, then I’ll go with this… What unit do you want? What name? What rank?”
“Just…” Zhao Dongchuan hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Let’s call him Han Li. As for the unit, a certain factory in Jinmen, a deputy section-level cadre!”
“Alright, you wait!” Saying this, Old Hu pulled out a green-covered booklet from a satchel, its cover indeed from Jinmen…
He also laid out a pile of tools from another bag.
There were fountain pens, inkpads, and some other miscellaneous tools.
Zhao Dongchuan waited patiently by the side.
Watching Old Hu’s skilled movements, he knew this old man indeed had some tricks up his sleeve.
While waiting, he looked around at the surrounding stalls.
If he saw something interesting, he would chat with the stall owner and haggle over the price…
During this time, he also bought some trinkets based on his feeling; they weren’t expensive anyway and didn’t cost much money.
Time slowly passed like this…
When he was about to move to another stall to chat, he habitually glanced at Old Hu and noticed that he seemed to be finishing up.
He immediately got up and walked over.
“Old man, are you done with the work?”
“Hehe, of course! My work is time-tested!”
Saying this, Old Hu picked up the work permit and blew on the freshly stamped, bright red seal.
On another piece of paper was a standardized cadre introduction letter, which read: “To a certain unit, this is to introduce… Comrade Han Li… to your unit, please make contact! Contact content… visiting and learning, etc…”
At first glance, it was impossible to tell if it was real or fake.
Unless one called the other unit to verify, it would be impossible to tell.
Normally, unless one was acting suspiciously and caught red-handed, no one would go to verify.
“Hehe, come on, kid, check the goods!”
Saying this, he handed over the work permit and introduction letter together.
Zhao Dongchuan took them and examined them carefully.
Not only were the unit and the seal perfectly aligned, but even the inside pages of the booklet itself had been aged.
“Good!”
Zhao Dongchan nodded with satisfaction. Although the style of this work permit was different from his work permit in Huangyuan, the format looked very authentic.
“Hehe, my golden signboard isn’t just for show… I guarantee your satisfaction!” Old Hu finished his work and smiled proudly.
“Eighty yuan, please!”
Zhao Dongchan pulled out a handful of change from his pocket, counted out eighty yuan, and handed it to Old Hu.
Putting away the work permit and introduction letter, Zhao Dongchan smiled slightly and joked, “Old man, you are indeed a professional. I’ll come to you for future documents. You must give me a regular customer discount!”
“Hehe, certainly, certainly!”
With the matter settled, he didn’t plan to stay much longer. The sky was already gradually brightening, and it would probably be fully daylight soon.
“Old man, farewell! Hope to see you again!”
Zhao Dongchan turned around and disappeared into the gradually thinning crowd…
“This kid is quite interesting!”
Old Hu stroked his beard, looking at his retreating figure and chuckling.
…
After leaving the black market, Zhao Dongchan found a secluded corner, took out a lounge chair from his space, lay down, and caught up on some sleep.
When he woke up, it was already past 8 AM.
He found a state-run restaurant, ordered a bowl of tofu pudding, a few sesame seed cakes, and of course, his favorite meat buns.
After eating and drinking his fill, and settling the bill, Zhao Dongchan strolled through the streets of the capital with his satchel, occasionally buying trinkets.
Now with his work permit and introduction letter, he could find a guesthouse to stay in for a few days, without having to search for places everywhere, and his mood was much more relaxed.
After he had explored enough, Zhao Dongchan found a guesthouse. The front desk staff quickly completed the check-in procedures, only glancing briefly at his introduction letter and work permit before returning them to him.
Before long, he received the key and the slip, and went directly into the room.
“Hoo…”
Lying on the soft bed, Zhao Dongchan couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He was finally sleeping on a bed!
For the next few days, Zhao Dongchan didn't go anywhere, staying in the guesthouse to study the mysterious iron plate he bought at the black market.
He found some clean water and a towel, and slowly wiped away the dirt and rust from the surface of the iron plate.
For areas that couldn't be cleaned, he used a small knife to pick at them bit by bit.
Finally, after a day, he had cleaned the iron plate.
He then put the iron plate he got from Tian Er and the one from the black market together.
Sure enough, as expected, they were a match!!!
Looking at the iron plate with its complete outline, drawings, and characters, Zhao Dongchan couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.
He was finally going to unravel this mystery.
The front of the iron plate was engraved with “Yuanxi County, Shuangshui Village, Shenxian Mountain,” and the back was engraved with a crude map of mountains and rivers, with a dot in the very center.
“What is this, could it be a treasure? Don’t be ridiculous!” Zhao Dongchan felt a sense of anticipation but also something was off; he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
…
After confirming the matter, he became idle again. Apart from occasionally going out for a meal and then taking a stroll to aid digestion, he spent the rest of his time in the guesthouse.
On the fifth day of his stay in the capital, he took out the teleportation bracelet from his space and felt the information being transmitted back from the bracelet in his mind.
Indeed, the teleportation cooldown had ended, and he could activate teleportation again.
“It’s time to go!” he murmured to himself.
Before leaving, he also went to the seismic bureau and felt relieved after learning that Director Liu had submitted the analysis report to a certain academy.
He had done what he needed to do; the rest was up to the leaders to decide.
Zhao Dongchan paid his room fee at the front desk, went to an unoccupied corner, and took out the teleportation bracelet.
With a thought, he selected the “secret base” coordinate in Huangyuan, clicked teleport… and his figure disappeared from the spot.
Huangyuan City, secret base, backyard, master bedroom.
Zhao Dongchan’s figure quietly appeared!