“Uncle Fugui, your household registration isn’t in Zhoujia Village! If you need a letter of introduction, you should go to the neighborhood committee in town.” Zhou Dazhu frowned.

“Captain, I don’t know anyone in town. I’m just worried that the neighborhood committee will only give me a day or two of leave! You know, a medical check-up at the hospital takes a long time.” Zhou Fugui looked troubled.

"Okay, I'll get you one as soon as we get back to the brigade headquarters." Zhou Dazhu thought Zhou Fugui's words made sense, so he nodded and agreed.

"Thank you, Captain, thank you, Captain. I knew you were a good person." Zhou Fugui thanked him repeatedly, but a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes as he lowered his head.

You made the right bet.

Tian Shanhua didn't dare tell Zhou Dazhu about their past; otherwise, Zhou Dazhu definitely wouldn't have agreed to give her a letter of introduction today.

The headquarters of Zhoujia Village was located in the village's assembly hall.

Upon entering, there are two offices on each side.

Zhou Dazhu's office was the largest. Besides a desk, there was a long counter against the wall. On it sat a telephone, a rudimentary broadcasting system, and a thick stack of official documents.

Zhou Dazhu, the brigade leader, holds several positions. After the old Party Secretary passed away three years ago, Zhou Dazhu also took on the role of Party Secretary of Zhoujia Village. When needed, he also serves as the village's broadcaster.

In those days, most villagers had wired radio installed in their homes.

A loudspeaker is mounted on the large locust tree in the middle of the village.

When notifying villagers of a meeting or to study the spirit of a document, Zhou Dazhu would turn on the device, say "hello, hello, hello" a few times, and then repeat the notification content several times.

Notifying villagers to come to the brigade headquarters to answer the phone is also an option.

As long as the equipment wasn't broken, Zhou Dazhu would just shout it out through the loudspeaker.

Of course, opportunities to call someone to answer the phone are rare. After all, making phone calls is expensive, and unless it's an extremely urgent matter, many people are reluctant to do so.

Zhou Dazhu's office was a place Zhou Fugui used to frequent.

Zhou Fugui had long since observed exactly where everything was placed.

After Zhou Fugui entered, he took advantage of Zhou Dazhu's head down writing a letter of introduction and casually walked to the long cabinet.

Just as Zhou Fugui was about to reach out and touch the official document, Zhou Dazhu looked up and saw him.

"Uncle Fugui, don't move," Zhou Dazhu said.

"Captain, what's wrong?" Zhou Fugui asked, pretending to be calm.

“Uncle Fugui, those are special official documents, don’t touch them.” Zhou Dazhu explained, “This is our village’s quota for several years. The higher-ups ordered the printing factory to print it specially and distribute it. Once it’s used up, we have to submit a report to apply to the higher-ups. If we run out, I won’t be able to explain it to them.”

"Aren't they all just paper? What's the difference?" Zhou Dazhu's eyes flickered slightly.

“Uncle Fugui, look, it has the words ‘Zhoujia Village Brigade’ printed on it! It’s a new regulation that started two years ago. The village needs this kind of paper to issue letters of introduction and certificates. The name of the brigade must match the name on the official seal, otherwise it’s invalid.” Zhou Dazhu pointed to the big red characters at the top of the document and explained.

"Huh? Are these papers that important? Then I can't touch them." Zhou Fugui said, pretending to suddenly realize something.

In reality, Zhou Fugui cursed the person who made the rule to death in his heart.

Such strict rules have prevented many people from taking advantage of loopholes.

Zhou Dazhu held all the official documents and the brigade's official seal. The educated youth from Zhoujia Village who wanted to return to the city had to get their certificates from Zhou Dazhu.

After Zhou Dazhu stamped the letter of introduction with the official seal, he casually put the seal back into the drawer.

Only after Zhou Dazhu closed the drawer did Zhou Fugui reluctantly look away.

"Uncle Fugui, the letter of introduction is ready. It's for fifteen days. If that's not enough, you can come back and renew it." Zhou Dazhu handed the letter of introduction to Zhou Fugui.

"Captain, thank you so much!" Zhou Dazhu thanked him profusely after receiving the letter of introduction.

"Uncle Fugui, I have some things to attend to, so I won't keep you company any longer. Please make yourself at home." Zhou Dazhu gave him an unceremonious dismissal.

Zhou Dazhu wasn't lying; he really was busy. Busy making money!

The autumn harvest is over. After Zhou Bingqiang finished compiling the data yesterday, he handed the ledger to Zhou Dazhu.

Zhou Dazhu needed to finish reading the ledger as quickly as possible, and he also had to carefully consider which amounts could be manipulated and which ones could not be changed at all.

This kind of thing is not only exhausting, but it also has to be done in secret.

Zhou Dazhu is in a real bind and can't wait for Zhou Fugui to leave.

Zhou Fugui noticed the coldness in Zhou Dazhu's expression and had no choice but to leave the brigade headquarters dejectedly.

On his way home, Zhou Fugui's mind kept replaying that stack of official documents.

Zhou Fugui carefully read the letter of introduction that Zhou Dazhu had given him. It stated that Zhou Fugui, a villager from this village, was going to visit his daughter in Qingshan County. The visit was for fifteen days.

This letter of introduction is only valid in Qingshan County. It cannot be used elsewhere.

Zhou Fugui had a bold idea: he wanted to steal a few sheets of official paper, stamp them with the official seal, and make a few blank letters of introduction.

When the time comes, Zhou Fugui can just write down wherever he wants to go. He can fill in the dates however he wants. Isn't that better than having to come to Zhou Dazhu every time?

Since you've made up your mind to run away, money, tickets, and letters of introduction are essential.

Zhou Fugui needs to hurry up and start preparing step by step.

The Zhou family.

When Ding Xiaocui learned that she would only receive one room in the family division, she jumped three feet high in anger.

"Bingxing, this division of the family property is unfair. I don't accept it. I'm going to talk to Mom and Dad." Ding Xiaocui rolled up her sleeves and rushed out the door.

"Come back. Come back here." Zhou Bingxing grabbed Ding Xiaocui's waist and pulled her back with her buttocks sticking out.

Ding Xiaocui tried desperately to walk out, while Zhou Bingxing tried desperately to pull her back into the house.

They accidentally used too much force and the two of them tripped and fell, rolling into a heap.

Zhou Bingxing quickly sat up and helped Ding Xiaocui up as well.

"Zhou Bingxing, why don't you go find my parents? We have no money or food at home, and all they gave us was a room. Do you want us to starve to death?" Ding Xiaocui was so angry when she saw Zhou Bingxing's smiling face that she sat on the ground and wiped away her tears.

“Xiao Cui, how much money do your parents have? At most, only two or three hundred. If Dad doesn’t want to divide it, then so be it,” Zhou Bingxing gently persuaded.

"Two or three hundred is nothing? Zhou Bingxing, you're getting cocky! Do you know how dangerous your thinking is? I've never even touched fifty yuan in my life!" Ding Xiaocui glared, her teeth clenched.

"Keep your voice down, don't let Dad hear you, he'll be upset." Zhou Bingxing hurriedly covered Ding Xiaocui's mouth.

"If you're unhappy, then you're unhappy. Who told this old man to be so biased? He only gave us one room. Were you born from an affair? Or were you picked up from outside?" Ding Xiaocui said angrily.