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In today's large collectives, everyone works together, but many people slack off and procrastinate. Qijia Village is still better; at least if you do a lot of work, someone will see it and you can get rewards and praise. In many villages, it's not like that.

A little while later, Liang Hongyu came over and called He Tiantian.

He Tiantian took two sets of clothes to change into. It would take three or four days for her to go back and forth, and the weather was hot, so she couldn't go without clothes to change into.

Upon arriving at the county commune, Niu Peng personally led a group of over thirty outstanding representatives from Taoyuan County, who then boarded the car one after another.

These cars were directly transferred from the bus station and delivered to Huai City; there's no need to wait for the bus tomorrow morning.

The bus was crowded. He Tiantian sat with Zhao Hongying, another female model worker from Qijia Village. He Tiantian felt sleepy as soon as she got on the bus and fell asleep quickly.

He Tiantian slept all the way to Huai City. There were more people on the road, and the cars were frequently braking, making her feel swayed and uncomfortable. That's when she woke up.

I visited Huai City once before and wandered around the area, but I wasn't particularly curious about it.

Zhao Hongying pointed outside and said, "Sweet girl, it's good that Huai City is bigger than our county commune."

“Hehe, this is a city, and our place is a county, so of course it’s bigger,” He Tiantian said. “If I have time, I’ll take Aunt Zhao out for a stroll.”

"Huh?" Zhao Hongying asked in surprise, "Sweetie, you've been here before?"

"I've been here before," He Tiantian said with a smile. "I came with Xiaoyan when she auditioned for the performing arts troupe!"

“That’s right.” Zhao Hongying smiled. “Okay, let’s go out for a stroll sometime. If we don’t have money to buy anything, we can just look around. It doesn’t cost anything to look.”

Very Sweetie liked Zhao Hongying's straightforwardness and laughed, "Yes, it's free to look at it."

Before long, they arrived at the guesthouse; it was already dark outside.

Niu Peng should now be County Chief Niu, the "Deputy" title has been dropped.

Because of his outstanding political achievements, Niu Peng successfully took over the position after a struggle following the transfer of County Chief Liu!

After arranging the rooms, Niu Peng called everyone down for dinner.

The meal was simple, with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, but there was plenty of steamed buns!

I don't eat big white steamed buns very often.

He Tiantian ate three fist-sized steamed buns and already thought it was a lot, but she was even more surprised when she learned that Zhao Hongying had eaten five steamed buns!

Ah, in later generations, with enough oil in their bellies, even a grown man can be full by eating two steamed buns.

I hope that the land can be distributed to individual households as soon as possible. Although we will still not be rich then, at least we can eat our fill. We can eat steamed buns when we want to eat steamed buns, and we can cook rice immediately when we want to eat rice, instead of counting the grains of rice like we do now.

The next morning, He Tiantian dressed neatly and followed Zhao Hongying into the auditorium with everyone.

Huai City has seven counties under its jurisdiction, and each county has about twenty or thirty outstanding representatives. Taoyuan County has a relatively large number of people, who enter in order. Soon, the auditorium is full. Qijia Village's achievements this year are truly remarkable, so they are seated in the front middle row.

In this kind of situation, it's not a time for He Tiantian to speak; she should just listen.

At the beginning, the Party Secretary of Huai City delivered a passionate speech.

Next, County Head Niu of Taoyuan County gave a speech, recounting the drought relief efforts this year, and specifically mentioned Secretary Qi.

Secretary Qi even stood up in the crowd so that everyone could get to know the selfless Secretary Qi.

Then labor representative Zhao Hongying stepped forward to speak.

This Zhao Hongying is no ordinary person. Before she got married, she was recognized as an advanced worker every year in her parents' home; after she got married, she was also recognized as an advanced worker every year.

He is strong and works harder than men. He is also straightforward and efficient. Not only do the people of Qijia Village like him, but the county leaders also respect him. He often gives reports in the county without being nervous at all.

Zhao Hongying's report was simple and clear, yet very relatable, earning her applause.

Finally, He Jingyu, an expert who had been transferred from other provinces to support Huai'an City, took the stage to speak.

When He Tiantian heard the name, she thought she had misheard and whispered to Zhao Hongying beside her, "Aunt Zhao, was it said that the person on the other end was expert He Jingyu?"

"Yes," Aunt Zhao said, "His name is He Jingyu! He shares the same surname as you, do you know him?"

Upon hearing this, He Tiantian raised her head and stared wide-eyed ahead as a tall, middle-aged man walked up to her.

He Tiantian covered her mouth, trying not to shout out in excitement.

Seeing He Tiantian's expression, Zhao Hongying could easily tell what was going on. She asked in a low voice, "Do you really know this person?"

He Tiantian calmed herself down and turned around repeatedly, saying, "I know him, he's my dad!"

Zhao Hongying was stunned, covered her mouth, and said in disbelief, "What a coincidence! This person looks so young, yet he has a daughter as old as you!"

"Yes, what a coincidence! I had no idea. Dad came to Huai City without even writing to tell me," He Tiantian said reproachfully. "If I hadn't come to attend the awards ceremony, I wouldn't have known either!"

"By the way, your father is here, so your mother is all alone in Nanshi?" Zhao Hongying asked. People who were close to He Tiantian knew about her family situation.

He Tiantian frowned, shook her head and said, "I don't know. I'll ask my dad after the meeting."

He Jingyu was giving a report at the front when he happened to see He Tiantian sitting in the middle seat in front of him.

He Jingyu was taken aback and forgot to speak, but fortunately he reacted quickly, stammered a couple of times, and continued to give his report.

He Jingyu hadn't expected his daughter to attend the commendation ceremony. He and his wife had been here for half a month and had just settled down. They were preparing to study and analyze the soil environment and also visit their daughter in Qijia Village. He never expected to see her under these circumstances.

After finally finishing his report, He Jingyu walked over and sat down.

He Tiantian and He Jingyu were extremely anxious, but the conference was not over yet, and no one could leave.

Finally, at noon, the commendation ceremony ended amidst applause.

He Tiantian followed the others out one by one. As soon as she stepped out, she saw her father standing not far away, with her mother beside him.

He Tiantian ran quickly but couldn't catch up. She was excited, her face was flushed, and her eyes were red.

"Dad, Mom..." He Tiantian choked out, "Why are you here? You came without telling me!"

Wang Shuping hugged her daughter tightly and said, choking back tears, "We haven't been here long, and we didn't tell you because we were afraid you would worry. We're going to collect soil samples tomorrow and the day after, and we'll be going to Qijia Village then, so we didn't tell you."

After hearing her mother's explanation, He Tiantian felt less resentful and said, "Okay, I'm not angry anymore."

At this moment, Secretary Qi, Zhao Hongying, and Qi Shugen also came over and asked, "Sweetie, do you know each other?"

(To be continued.)