Deputy Director Ning was in a great mood and didn't care about their sarcastic remarks at all. He said with a smile, "Luck, it's all luck."

"It was just a coincidence that I helped Director Xu with a small favor. Director Xu is a very polite person, so he thought of treating me to a meal."

"Actually, I didn't really want to go. After all, having dinner with the boss is always a bit stressful, don't you think? Hehehe."

To you, M!

Seeing Deputy Director Ning's smug, self-satisfied expression, the other two deputy directors were already grinding their teeth in anger.

......

When Zhang Yumei saw Xu Fang return, she immediately threw the groceries she was holding into the basket and walked excitedly to Xu Fang: "Fang, has the name been changed yet?"

"It's been changed. The eldest son is called Xu Jianwen, and the second son is called Xu Jianwu."

Xu Fang responded to Zhang Yumei with a smile. Strangely enough, it was unclear whether it was because the child had changed to her surname or because Xu Jianwen had just stood in front of her to protect her.

Xu Fang felt no sadness at all now. She had money and a son, and her older brother and sister-in-law treated her well. What difference did it make whether she had a husband or not?

"Good, good, good! Xu Jianwen and Xu Jianwu sound much better than the previous names!"

Zhang Yumei took the household registration booklet and looked at the name on it with a smile. Then she wanted to show Xu Jianwen and Xu Jianwu her new name as well.

When they discovered that Xu Fang was only followed by Xu Weiguo, Zhang Yumei was terrified, thinking that the two children were lost. She asked in a panic, "Fang, where are Jianwen and Jianwu?!"

"Why are only the two of you back? Did the child get lost?!"

Xu Fang quickly waved her hand and explained, "They didn't get lost. My older brother and I took them to school. It's still early, so I thought we'd let them go to school."

Zhang Yumei patted her chest and relaxed: "It's good that I didn't get lost."

After saying that, she pulled Xu Fang to sit down with her and asked Xu Fang to pick vegetables with her.

Zhang Yumei felt that it was best not to leave Xu Fang alone during this period. It would be better to find something for her to do that could pass the time but wouldn't be too tiring.

That way, she won't overthink things when she's alone and quiet, which would only make things worse.

However, I haven't thought of anything yet, so let Xu Fang accompany her to pick vegetables for now.

Zhang Yumei looked at Xu Weiguo, who was still standing there, and asked curiously, "Don't you need to go back to work? Why are you standing there like an idiot?"

When Xu Weiguo saw that Zhang Yumei had finally noticed him, he approached her with a fawning expression.

He skillfully stepped forward to massage her shoulders and asked ingratiatingly, "Honey, well, today a deputy director in the bureau helped get Chen Ming fired."

"I figured they must have done this because of me, even though firing a temporary worker isn't a big deal."

"But he did help me out, so I was thinking of treating him to lunch at a state-run restaurant today. You know, you can help me out a bit, right?"

Zhang Yumei knew that Xu Weiguo wouldn't be so obsequious unless he needed something from her. However, she felt quite pleased to hear that Chen Ming had been fired.

So she was very generous and gave Xu Weiguo five yuan: "It's just the two of you eating, five yuan is about right. If it's not enough, you can make up the difference from your allowance."

Xu Weiguo was overjoyed to see Zhang Yumei being so generous this time, and in his excitement, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you, honey! I won't be coming home for lunch; I'm going back to work now."

After saying that, Xu Weiguo seemed afraid that Zhang Yumei would change her mind, and ran away in a flash.

Zhang Yumei, however, felt remorseful. The kiss Xu Weiguo had given her earlier had disgusted her so much that she kept wiping her face with her hands.

If Zhang Yumei had known that giving him money would result in being kissed, she wouldn't have given him the money.

Xu Fang suppressed a laugh as she looked at Zhang Yumei: "Is it really that exaggerated? Sister-in-law, you've almost scraped your face raw."

Zhang Yumei said with disdain, "Of course there is. Look at your older brother now, he's not handsome like he used to be at all."

"If he were the same as before, I definitely wouldn't mind. But now he's so greasy, if he kisses me, I feel nauseous for half a day."

Xu Fang was amused by Zhang Yumei's words, and then told her about the gossip she had heard a few days ago: "Sister-in-law, let me tell you..."

......

Because the harvest season is about to begin in a few days, most of the people in Huangjia Village are preparing for the autumn harvest.

So when the power company's vehicle arrived at Huangjia Village, there was absolutely no disturbance. Not even the children came to watch.

It wasn't until they drove the car to the village office that a few people peeked out to take a look.

Huang Qinqin walked into the office and excitedly called out to Village Chief Huang, "Village Chief! The comrades from the power supply bureau are here today to install the power lines."

"Once the installation is complete, the village will be able to start using electricity immediately. I also brought some light bulbs for the village, so we can test them as soon as they're installed."

Village Chief Huang was surprised that Huang Qinqin had acted so quickly, coming to install it today.

"Okay, how much is that light bulb? I'll give you the money; I can't let you pay for this."

"One costs 14 cents, and I bought ten, which cost a total of one dollar and 40 cents."

Huang Qinqin had no intention of giving the light bulb to Village Chief Huang for free; she understood the principle that kindness can breed resentment.

Huangjia Village can receive help, but it cannot receive help unconditionally.

After Village Chief Huang finished placing the light bulb, Huang Qinqin whispered a reminder: "Village Chief, there are more than ten people who came to install the wiring today."

"On the way here, I asked around and they said it would take about two or three hours to install the wiring."

“In this way, they won’t stay in the village to eat, so I think we can prepare one or two bottles of pickled vegetables for each of them to express the village’s gratitude to them.”

Upon hearing Huang Qinqin's words, Village Chief Huang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Qinqin, you're right. I'll have them prepare right away."

The electricians from the power supply bureau originally had quite a few complaints about Huangjia Village.

Normally, there are no time requirements for their installations, but this time when they came to Huangjia Village, the leaders above actually asked them to get it done in one morning.

As a result, the dozen or so of them haven't dared to rest for a moment since they arrived, for fear of being too late.

Once the wiring was installed and it worked properly, they wanted to go back immediately and didn't want to stay a second longer.

Village Chief Huang could tell that they seemed to have some issues with Huangjia Village. After they said that the installation was complete, he immediately distributed the pickled vegetables he had prepared to them.

"Thank you all for your hard work, comrades. This is a small token of our appreciation. We hope you won't find it offensive."