Gao Shujing hung up the phone; a few words had cost him one or two yuan.

After taking the money, Captain Huang casually asked, "What, is your brother coming over?"

Gao Shujing was quite far away, so he couldn't hear the voice on the other end of the phone, but he could hear Gao Shujing's own words clearly and deduce the content of their conversation from them.

I already knew this family was well-off, but I didn't expect they had a phone at home. Their background is terrifying. Judging from this conversation, their family is even planning to send him money.

Captain Huang once again considered having the other party marry his daughter. If Xiaoyu married him, she would be blessed for the rest of her life. However, when he thought of Yu Rujia, he dismissed the idea.

Gao Shujing: "My dad is worried that I won't adapt to the environment here, so he wants my younger brother to come over during his winter vacation."

Captain Huang: "Hey, the people in our brigade are always kind, your dad's worries are a bit unnecessary."

Gao Shujing: "That's what I was thinking too. When my brother comes, I'll take him around our brigade so he can understand the situation. When we get back, I'll tell my parents so they won't worry."

Back home, Gao Shujing told Yu Rujia about Gao Guojing's plans to come over during the winter break.

Yu Rujia: "When your dad left, he gave me more than two thousand yuan and various receipts. I've been here for a few months and have used a few hundred yuan and some receipts. If you need money, I'll give you half of the money and receipts."

Gao Shujing: "No need. I brought more than a thousand yuan with me, and I haven't even used half of it. I've prepared most of the things at home, and I'll need even less money later. I have enough money to last me a long time."

“My dad was worried we wouldn’t have enough money, so he asked my brother to bring it over. He was also worried about them and wanted my brother to come and check on them so he could go back and explain it to them. It’s not convenient for us to leave any written notes here, so it’s perfect that Guojing came over.”

Although Xia Taishun didn't say these words on the phone, he could guess them.

Yu Rujia: "Guojing is only fourteen years old, and I'm not very comfortable letting him come alone."

Gao Shujing: "Guo Jing has been practicing martial arts since he was a child. He has been training with the soldiers in the army for nearly ten years. He is very skilled. Most strong men can't beat him. Moreover, he is always accompanied by someone except on the train. He should be fine."

Yu Rujia: "If you really want him to come, you should tell him to mind his own business on the train, and not to get involved in anything, or to argue with people if they say something sarcastic to him."

Gao Guojing and Xia Jingxing have very similar personalities; they are both the chuunibyou type, the kind of people who practice martial arts but not their brains.

Ever since he hung up on Director Liu on the phone last time, Captain Huang has been dragging his feet and not wanting to go to the commune.

Unfortunately, 1966 passed and a new year arrived. They had to go to the commune to do the annual summary of 1966 and the plan for 1967. Even if he was unwilling, he still had to go to the commune.

When Director Liu saw him, he joked, "I thought you weren't coming to the commune."

Captain Huang smirked: "You don't want to come, but we have to come to the annual summary meeting, whether you want to or not."

"Speaking of this, I have to say something. Commune leader, that's not fair of you. Our brigade finally got a useful talent, and you want to poach him to the commune? How are our brigades supposed to develop?"

Director Liu smiled and tapped him, saying, "You're making false accusations first. Don't you think about how capable Gao Zhiqing is? If he were in your brigade, how much could he do? Could he compare to what he did in the commune?"

"As the brigade leader, don't you know which is more important, the development of a brigade or the development of a commune? It's wrong to keep people with you just because of your own petty thoughts."

Team Leader Huang: "What can you do by transferring people to the commune? To provide electricity to other brigades? Do they even have power lines? You know how much effort we put into getting those power lines. Do they have what I do?"

Before Director Liu could finish speaking, Captain Xu of the Xiafen Brigade, who had just stepped into the office, couldn't help but yell, "Hey, who are you looking down on? Who's incompetent? Name them!"

"So what if you've met a capable person? Look at you, acting like no one else can do anything. If Gao Zhiqing were with me, I would manage people much better than you. In our commune, I, Old Xu, am the first to make good use of educated youth."

The captains who followed him in also voiced their dissatisfaction.

"Old Huang, you think you're all grown up now, like an old ox with wings that can fly? You've gotten a little something from being a sent-down youth and now you're all high and mighty? I think you're asking for a beating."

“I think he deserves a beating. Let’s have a go at him so he won’t feel uncomfortable.”

Seeing that a full-blown brawl was about to break out in his office, President Liu quickly called for a stop.

President Liu: "Alright, you're all so idle that you've forgotten why you came here today, huh? Come with me to the conference room. If any of you fail to complete your tasks, I'll teach you a lesson. You're all always causing trouble for me."

Intimidated by Chief Liu, the brigade leaders stopped beating Brigade Leader Huang, but they were still indignant and decided to gang up on him after leaving the commune.

Through its own efforts, Shangfen Brigade got electricity and became the undisputed number one brigade in Dongyuan Commune. Chief Liu gave special praise to Brigade Leader Huang and then began the annual summary meeting.

After the meeting ended, President Liu wanted to talk to Captain Huang about Gao Shujing, but before he could speak, a group of captains pulled him out.

Captain Huang knew he would suffer if he went with them, so he managed to free his head a little from Captain Xu's seemingly friendly but actually oppressive hand.

Captain Huang looked at President Liu for help and said, "President, I still have something to report..."

Captain Xu covered his mouth with one hand: "Chief, Lao Huang said he wants to discuss with us how to get rich, we'll be leaving now."

Captain Fang of the Tongfeng Brigade pulled President Liu aside as if on cue: "President, I have something I'd like to ask you. It's like this..."

In the brief pause between sentences, Captain Xu and his men successfully pulled Captain Huang out of the commune and out of Director Liu's sight. Captain Fang then made up a few random remarks and slipped away.

President Liu saw right through their scheme and laughed, cursing, "They're all a bunch of old foxes."

Secretary Ma, who witnessed the whole process, asked, "President, is Captain Huang alright?"

President Liu twitched his lips and said, "They know what they're doing and won't act recklessly."

It's all for the development of the brigade. It's a good thing that the subordinates can actively find ways to make progress. Subordinates who are eager to improve are much better than a group of subordinates who need to be whipped to move forward.

President Liu was satisfied with his subordinates.