Chapter 26 The little girl smiled at him with her eyes crinkling.

Jiang Zhizhi frankly and directly told Zhou Xiye her true thoughts: in her previous life, an unexpected incident occurred during a mission, and she was betrayed by her most trusted superior.

I'm exhausted, and my heart is dead!

I don't want to relive those days, nor do I want to recall them!

Zhou Xiye was momentarily speechless. In this day and age, who would dare to be so frank about having low awareness and lacking a spirit of dedication?

Everyone is vying to be an advanced worker or a model worker. If you dare to say that, you're likely to be labeled a backward element.

Jiang Zhizhi looked at Zhou Xiye with her clear black and white eyes and asked cautiously, "Is that what you mean by having outdated ideas?"

Zhou Xiye shook his head: "No, everyone has their own choices."

I felt a little regretful; such a promising talent.

Perhaps there are other regrets? He couldn't tell either.

Seeing Zhang Zhao and the other man glancing over from time to time, Jiang Zhizhi smiled and waved her hand, "Captain Zhou, you go ahead and get busy, I'll head back now."

With a slight smile, she waved again, turned around, and quickly left.

Zhou Xiye then walked over. The man standing next to Zhang Zhao was Xiao Minglei, who was in the army with Zhou Xiye in the same year, but was a political officer and was now a staff officer in the city's military region.

He was also very curious: "Who is that woman?"

Zhou Xiye's answer was very simple: "A technician from Qingquan Village."

Xiao Minglei was quite surprised. When had Zhou Xiye ever taken the initiative to talk to a female colleague? It was only for work-related matters.

I just stepped over there, and my steps were rather hurried.

After thinking for a moment, he still reminded Zhou Xiye: "Your marriage application has been approved and stamped with a big red seal by the leader, which means you are now married. Don't make any mistakes."

Zhang Zhao looked at Xiao Minglei and thanked Staff Officer Xiao for speaking his mind.

Zhou Xiye frowned: "What are you thinking? Besides, I've already refused the marriage proposal."

Xiao Minglei said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. Your old man called the political commissar's office several times a day, insisting that this matter be handled. And the political commissar, seeing that you're not a young man anymore, stamped the document."

"Besides, the Jiang family is not bad either. After all, you both came from the same compound and can be considered childhood sweethearts."

Zhou Xiye frowned, clearly resistant: "What childhood sweetheart? I'm eight or nine years older than that girl, and I've barely even met her."

Zhang Zhao thought to himself, "That Comrade Jiang looks ten years younger than you, yet you seem to be having a great time chatting with him."

Xiao Minglei shook his head: "There's nothing we can do about it. Why don't you find some time to talk to the political commissar? Or you can meet with the girl from the Jiang family and make things clear to her face to face. If she also disagrees with the marriage, then this matter will be easier to resolve."

Zhou Xiye was also quite puzzled. Zhou Xiaochuan said that Jiang Zhizhi had already taken the train to find him, so why hadn't she arrived yet?

Xiao Minglei checked the time: "Alright, I'm going back to the city. When will you guys be able to come out after you go into the mountains?"

Zhou Xiye shook his head: "I don't know, maybe the mountains will be closed due to heavy snow."

It's not just about building a road, but also a military base; they just publicly announced it's for the benefit of ordinary people.

Xiao Minglei nodded: "Okay, I'll come see you guys when I have time. I'll be going now."

After Xiao Minglei left, Zhou Xiye called for Zhang Zhao to get in the car.

As Zhang drove through the village, he happened to encounter a group of educated youth leaving work. He couldn't help but say, "Boss, didn't you ask why Comrade Xiao Jiang beat up the educated youth?"

Zhou Xiye closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair to rest. After listening to Zhang Zhao's words, he said coldly, "You're so gossipy. When you're discharged from the army, why don't you go to the street office or become the women's director?"

Zhang Zhao immediately fell silent, sensing that his boss had been in a strange mood lately, always being sarcastic and unfriendly!

...

Jiang Zhizhi was waiting for Sun Xiaoyue to dare to come out and cause trouble for her.

As a result, instead of Sun Xiaoyue, they were greeted by Dong Xinguo, the secretary of the commune.

Dong Xinguo was dressed simply, his face was lined with wrinkles that hinted at the vicissitudes of life, and his eyes were full of fatigue, but he looked like someone who got things done.

As soon as he saw Jiang Zhizhi, he hurriedly apologized: "I'm so sorry, I've been really busy lately. I wanted to come after the meeting a couple of days ago, but then a working group from the city came."

Jiang Zhizhi was too embarrassed to have a secretary apologize to her: "It's alright. You're so busy, I feel bad for making you come all this way in person."

Dong Xinguo was carrying a leather bag with the handle wrapped in cloth and sewn shut. After greeting him, he said directly, "I've looked at your drawings. I've also asked some people recently, including those from the city's water resources bureau. They all think this method is very good, but it's very difficult to implement. First of all, no one knows how to make pressure tanks. If we want to make them precisely according to your drawings, we really need highly specialized personnel. Our city is in dire need of such personnel."

Jiang Zhizhi had expected this, and now she straightened her back and said, "It's okay. If I can draw, I can make it. As long as you give me some people, I can lead them to do a good job."

Dong Xinguo was surprised: "I didn't realize you were such a capable girl?"

Old Liang chimed in, "Don't underestimate Comrade Jiang just because she's a woman and young. She's incredibly capable. She can even fix tractors and can tell what's wrong just by listening to the sound."

Dong Xinguo was even more surprised: "Comrade Xiao Jiang, what brings you to Qingquan Village?"

Jiang Zhizhi knew that her lies might fool Old Man Liang, but they probably wouldn't fool Dong Xinguo.

I went back and got a letter of introduction, which stated where I came from, where I was going, and that I would be received along the way.

Zhou Xiye's name wasn't written down, after all, Zhou Xiye's status was different and he needed protection.

She gave the letter of introduction to Dong Xinguo: "I am not satisfied with the marriage arranged by my family. I don't want to get married, so I want to stay in Qingquan Village."

Old Liang didn't know what was written on the letter of introduction, but he assumed it was what Jiang Zhizhi had said, so he quickly said, "Your parents are something else. Such an excellent girl, yet they insist on you marrying an old man."

When Dong Xinguo saw that Jiang Zhizhi's eyes were about to well up with tears as she spoke, he believed her to a large extent. After all, what bad intentions could a pretty young girl have? So he immediately decided, "I will apply for you to stay as a technician. You will receive a monthly salary and food rations. I will also ask Secretary Liang to find you a place to live in the village office."

Old Liang readily agreed: "No problem, but why don't you stay at my house?"

Dong Xinguo glared at him: "It's not good if word gets out that a delicate young girl like her is staying at your house all the time. You should arrange a dormitory for her at the village committee."

Jiang Zhixi was overjoyed. She never expected to have her own place to live so easily, and she could really spend the next few years lying down.

"Thank you, Secretary Dong."

Dong Xinguo smiled and said, "If you want to thank me, then show me some results. Let's work together to do something that benefits the country and the people."

Jiang Zhizhi was so moved by Dong Xinguo's words that she felt her blood boiling: "Please rest assured, Secretary Dong."

Dong Xinguo was amused by Jiang Zhizhi's sincere appearance: "Okay, now let's go to the river and take a look. Tell me in detail where would be the most suitable place to build it..."