Meanwhile, Huo Haocheng drove to the city as fast as he could.

Originally, he wanted to do as Ruan Ruan suggested and have Gu Jinghe take care of things when he returned. However, after thinking about it, he realized that this was their own business. No matter how well Gu Jinghe handled it, it would leave an impression on others. As Ruan Ruan said, they would still have to interact in the future, so the best solution was for him to make the trip himself.

Normally, it takes more than an hour to travel from the military region to the city, but perhaps because of the rain and the absence of pedestrians on the road, Huo Haocheng arrived in less than an hour.

He first went to the supply and marketing cooperative as Ruan Ruan had suggested and bought a pound of brown sugar for Sister Zhang. He felt that since Ruan Ruan had given her a job, this was enough to show her care for her for the past two days. Otherwise, it would be bad to spoil her appetite.

Afterwards, he bought Director Tian a few feet of cloth. This was a light item, and it could be wrapped in newspaper so that it wouldn't be noticeable. This was to avoid giving her something valuable that might give her something to use against her. What was originally a good thing could end up being a bad thing.

After buying the items, Huo Haocheng drove to the Women's Federation.

He arrived at exactly 4:30, and Director Tian was the only one in the office, which was just right.

As soon as he got out of the car, Director Tian saw him and immediately opened the door. "Comrade Huo, why are you here? Where is Ruan Ruan?" As she spoke, she looked into the car.

"Director Tian, ​​Ruan Ruan has other things to do today and is worried about delaying the payment of wages to the aunties, so she asked me to come here specifically." Of course, he couldn't say that it was raining today. My wife has a habit of not going out on rainy days. He's not stupid; how could he say that about his wife in front of outsiders?

Upon hearing Huo Haocheng's words, Director Tian recalled what her husband, Lao Hu, had told her before about Ruan Ruan taking over a patient. She figured that Ruan Ruan was probably busy with that matter, so she didn't think much of it.

"Oh, I see. Well, thank you for making the trip. Please, come in and have a seat."

After welcoming her inside and pouring her a glass of water, Huo Haocheng took out the thank-you gift he had prepared for her from his pocket when he saw that there was no one else outside.

"Director Tian, ​​my wife asked me to give you this as a thank you gift to express her gratitude for all the help you've given her. It's nothing expensive, just a few feet of cloth. My wife doesn't know how to sew, so I'll have to trouble you to make it yourself."

As she spoke, she placed the items on her table and then retreated to sit in the chair by the door.

Seeing his expression, Director Tian knew that even if she returned the item, he wouldn't accept it. The two of them getting into a fuss might lead to gossip. After thinking it over, she figured they'd have other opportunities to interact in the future, so she decided to keep it for now and find a way to return it later.

"Ruan Ruan is too kind. I haven't done anything special, so I'll accept this as a token of my appreciation. If you ever need my help in the future, just come to me. I'll definitely do my best to help you."

After that, he put the items into his bag, as it wouldn't look good if someone saw them.

Neither of them were good with words, especially since the other person was of the opposite sex. Huo Haocheng could only stand up, holding his cup, and wait outside. Director Tian saw that he was a tactful person and lowered his head to continue working.

Around 5 o'clock, Sister Zhang and the others returned after cleaning.

A group of people returned chatting and laughing. From afar, they could see military vehicles parked in front of the Women's Federation, and Huo Haocheng standing to the side.

They quickly walked over as well.

Seeing them return, Huo Haocheng turned and went into the office, put down his cup, took out a form, placed it on the table, borrowed a pen from Director Tian, ​​placed it on the form, and stood aside.

Upon seeing them enter, he addressed them, “Everyone, I am Comrade Ruan Ruan’s wife. She has other matters to attend to today, so she asked me to distribute your wages. I apologize for not saying much due to my position. Please line up and sign your names on this form, then collect your wages from me.”

After saying that, he took out the change he had exchanged at the supply and marketing cooperative from his bag.

Seeing this, they lined up obediently, received their money, and were done in less than two minutes. After receiving their money, the others, seeing it was getting late, left. In the end, only Sister Zhang and two of her close friends remained.

"Comrade soldier, this is the key that Comrade Ruan Ruan gave me. Please take it back to her." The reason why Sister Zhang was the last to collect her money was that she wanted to return the key.

She took the key, put it in her pocket, and then took out the brown sugar she had bought earlier. "Sister Zhang, this is a thank-you gift from Ruan Ruan to you. She thanks you for helping to open and close the door these past two days. Otherwise, it would be very tiring for her to come and open and close the door herself, given how busy she is."

Although he said that, everyone knew it was just an excuse. "No, no, comrade soldier, Comrade Ruan Ruan has already helped us a lot by allowing us to earn some money to supplement our household income. I absolutely cannot accept this." Sister Zhang hurriedly declined. She was already very grateful for his help, how could she accept his gifts?

"Sister Zhang, please accept this first. I have something to trouble you with, and I'll feel embarrassed to ask if you don't accept it."

There was no other way; he had to complete the task assigned to him by Ruan Ruan.

Seeing his reaction, Sister Zhang looked helplessly at Director Tian and said, "Just accept it. Didn't Comrade Huo say he has something else to trouble you with?"

Seeing that Director Tian had already said so, she couldn't refuse any longer, so she accepted it. "Comrade, is there anything else I can help you with?" She was also worried that she was just an ordinary person with no special abilities, so there was nothing she could do to help them.

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