Chapter 59

The training course for grassroots cadres has been running for more than two months. Among the classmates, Wang Min has a good impression of the young comrade Ye Manzhi.

Their class is a regular advanced training class. There is no roll call or sign-in in class, and only a final exam is organized at the end of the semester.

I rely entirely on my own initiative in class.

Ye Manzhi is one of the few people who always attends classes perfectly, and is happy to discuss the troubles encountered at work with everyone.

Although he always asked silly questions that made people laugh, she could see that the young man had some creative ideas in his work.

The second-class model awarded to Guangming Street this time is a stunning achievement.

This immediately made Wang Min want to poach people.

The economy of Honglian Township mainly relies on agriculture. In terms of industry, apart from a few scattered production cooperatives, there are only family handicrafts that farmers use as sidelines.

She now needs a capable person to take over the family handicraft industry, which accounts for a large proportion.

"Xiao Ye, Mu Lan and I are acquaintances. You don't have to worry about what Director Mu thinks of you. As long as you are willing to come to our Honglian Township, I will explain to her when the time comes!"

Ye Manzhi really didn't expect that he would be noticed by a female village chief just because he was in the newspaper once.

The recognition from the leader of another unit made her heart flutter.

However, this time it was Director Mu who recommended her to attend the grassroots cadre training class, and there was only one precious spot available.

It would seem unfair for her to switch to another unit during the training course.

Mao Qionghua, who was sitting on the other side, interrupted and asked, "Xiao Ye, what level of cadre are you now?"

"I just started working and my grade is 25."

"Then you can be transferred to Honglian Township as the Director of the Industrial Office. You'll be at level 23 at best, and you'll get an extra ten yuan a month. But don't let Township Head Wang and the position of Industrial Office fool you! Township salaries are far inferior to those in the city, and many township officials want to find ways to work in the city. Instead of going to Honglian Township, you might as well come to our Xincheng Subdistrict Office. After all, we're in the city center and the largest subdistrict in the city!"

Ye Manzhi: “…”

The new house she bought at the end of the year is on Xincheng Street.

The conditions of Xincheng Sub-district Office are among the top three in the city.

She glanced at Township Head Wang, then at Deputy Director Mao, and asked suspiciously, "Did you two leaders already discuss this and tease me together?"

Mao Qionghua glared at her and said, "Why are you teasing me? Our street does have a staff shortage. If you come, you can be in charge of the family handicraft industry."

Ye Manzhi said with a smile, "If you just want to increase your income from your family handicraft business, I can just share my experience with you. There's no need to go through all the trouble of transferring me over."

It is impossible for her to be transferred horizontally.

The city center is nice, but it's too far from home.

It now only takes her ten minutes to walk to work, and she can go home for lunch and sleep at noon. Her leaders at work are also very nice to her.

There is really no need to go far away and go to an unfamiliar environment.

Ye Manzhi thought about it carefully and declined the invitation of the two leaders. Then he briefly talked about his experience in increasing income through family handicrafts.

She was so happy that she wanted to return the favor. Although she did not accept the invitation, she could not offend the person.

Wang Min could guess some of the young man's thoughts and smiled. "Honglian Township isn't as well-off as the city, but you have the final say in the Industrial Bureau. It's a great development opportunity for young people. Don't rush to reply. Go back and think it over carefully."

*

Ye Manzhi was confused by the sudden appearance of the olive branch.

The director of the township's industrial office is still a clerk in terms of administrative level, but she can be promoted from a level 7 clerk to a level 5 clerk, and her salary will increase by ten yuan, which makes her, a young cadre with little experience, very tempted.

Old Ye and Chang Yue'e didn't want their daughter to work in such a faraway town, but becoming a director at such a young age did sound like a good opportunity, so they had to let their daughter make her own decision.

Ye Manzhi couldn't bear to leave home, and it was not easy to transfer jobs.

She planned to put it aside for now and talk about it after the Chinese New Year.

During this period, she also has to organize a handicraft service club to sell goods and buy some New Year's goods.

In order to facilitate residents in purchasing New Year's goods, the "Anti-Imperialist Fair" will be open every day starting from the Little New Year and will continue until New Year's Eve.

Yes, because Britain and France invaded Egypt and bombed Cairo, we peace-loving people must support the just struggle of the Egyptian people. This free market jointly organized by Guangming Street and Gongnong Township was named "Anti-Imperialist Free Market", and the residents simply called it "Anti-Imperialist Fair".

The Anti-Imperialist Fair was the closest free market to the urban area. Many citizens who heard the news rushed to the outskirts of the city to attend the fair, causing the scale of the fair to grow larger and larger.

When it first opened, the "Anti-Imperialist Market" only occupied more than 200 meters of the street. By the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the market had stretched for two miles.

The Industrial and Commercial Bureau, police station and street office all sent people to the market to maintain order.

While Ye Manzhi was on duty at the market, he also had to purchase some New Year's goods.

The coal furnace factory has performed well this year. She discussed with Director Mu and Zhang Qinjian and decided to demonstrate the superiority of socialism during the Spring Festival by giving each regular and temporary worker a New Year's gift.

There are 24 people in the factory. Based on the standard of 3 yuan per person, the total salary is only about 70 yuan.

Ye Manzhi had already negotiated with an agricultural cooperative in Gongnong Township yesterday to purchase 120 kilograms of apples from their cooperative.

Today I took the strong Zhao Erhe to the market to pick up goods.

Around nine o'clock in the morning was the busiest time. Ye Manzhi followed the crowd and walked forward. When passing the stall of the Family Handicraft Service Center, she found that there were quite a lot of residents squatting on the ground to look at the goods. Several aunties from the service center were busy collecting money and greeting customers, while also answering some people's questions.

There was an old man who seemed to ask too many questions, and he annoyed Aunt Li.

Aunt Li said bluntly, "These small sundries are all handmade by us. I'm just a salesperson. I don't understand what you're talking about taxes and profits. There are comrades from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau over there. You can go ask them yourself!"

There were staff members wearing industrial and commercial armbands on duty next to the stall.

Upon hearing this, he took the initiative to walk over.

"Comrade, what do you want?"

Ye Manzhi was familiar with the staff of the street industrial and commercial office. She had never seen this young man before and guessed that he was sent by Gongnong Township.

The old man smiled kindly and asked, hands behind his back, "Do we have to pay taxes on these handmade sundries sold on the free market?"

"No taxes, just a ten-cent management fee per stall." The young man answered seriously, "If you want to set up a stall, you can come anytime. As long as it's unplanned daily necessities and small local products, you can set up a stall freely."

"Are stalls only open for daily necessities and small local farmers? I just saw a pork stall selling pork!"

The young man stumbled over his words, not knowing how to tell him that the boundaries of this small local specialty were rather vague.

In order to have good luck during the Chinese New Year, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau turned a blind eye to some things, and his colleagues might have regarded local pork as a local specialty.

"The pork stall might be set up by another unit," the young man said calmly, changing the focus. "Anyway, if you want to set up a stall, just come. If anyone charges you an unreasonable fee or levies, just ignore them and report the situation directly to our comrades on duty."

Ye Manzhi thought that this young comrade might be new, and if he was one of the old hands in the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, it was impossible for him to answer every question honestly.

She walked along with the crowd and when she was about to leave the service center's stall, she looked back at the old man's clothes. He was wearing a black cotton jacket and a brown woolen hat with two threads on the top. He looked quite simple.

But the pair of big-toed cowhide shoes on the old man’s feet must not be cheap.

People like this shouldn't set up stalls in the free market, right?

"Do you think that old man looks familiar?" Ye Manzhi asked Zhao Erhe who was walking behind him.

"I don't think so." Zhao Erhe stared at the old man for a long time and shook his head.

Ye Manzhi frowned and thought for a while.

Because she had just been in the newspaper a while ago, she has been paying special attention to the photos in the newspaper recently.

Why did she feel like she had seen the old man's face in the newspaper before?

Ye Manzhi handed the basket to Zhao Erhe, then put on her red armband and turned back to the stall of the handicraft service center.

"I haven't seen you before. Are you a comrade from Gongnong Township?" Ye Manzhi asked the young man first.

"No, I'm from the Guangming Street Industrial and Commercial Bureau."

"Oh, then you are the new comrade?" Seeing the other party nod, Ye Manzhi turned to the old man and said, "This comrade is new and is not familiar with some of the work. If you have any questions, please ask me."

The old man looked at her with interest and asked the same question again.

"Oh, you want to sell some sundries, right? That depends on whether you're selling it individually or as a group!"

"Is there any difference between the two?"

"Of course there is a difference!" Ye Manzhi pointed to the stall next to him. "This is the stall of our street family handicraft service club. It's considered a collective stall. Every item sold must be counted in the collective account, and taxes must be paid uniformly when the time comes. If you are just an individual setting up a stall, selling a few small handmade sundries, and you haven't established a scale, our Industrial and Commercial Bureau will not collect taxes."

The old man nodded, his hands behind his back. "It's reasonable to impose taxes on large-scale transactions, but do the industrial and commercial bureaus register and file all the collective enterprises in the market?"

Ye Manzhi is not from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, so how would she understand these things?

However, from what he blurted out, it was either "bulk transaction" or "registration and filing", which clearly showed that he was not an ordinary old man.

So, she said carefully: "I am a cadre of the street, and I am not very familiar with the specific situation of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. However, your suggestion is quite good, and I will let this person..."

The young man standing next to her said, "My name is Liang Yan."

"Well, I'll have Comrade Liang bring it up with Director Li later," Ye Manzhi said with a smile. "Our 'Anti-Imperialist Free Market' has only just opened, and we're still exploring and finding our own shortcomings. The Lunar New Year is coming soon, and everyone wants to do their best to serve the public and ensure that citizens can get all their New Year's goods at the market."

"Our subdistrict office and Gongnong Township have specifically contacted the municipal food company and the non-staple food store to reserve stalls for them at the market. The food company distributes 170,000 kilograms of pork to the suburbs each year, and the stalls at the Anti-Imperialist Market are one of the sales points. If you want to buy pork, just bring your meat coupons. The price is the same as at other markets, but we have a more abundant supply here."

She answered a few of the old man's questions, then left first, saying she had other work to do.

After walking out of the other person's sight, she gave the money for the apples to Zhao Erhe and asked him to get the apples himself.

Then he turned around and quickly returned to the street office.

Ye Manzhi ignored the sweat on his forehead, took off his gloves and went to look through the old newspapers on the newsstand.

After flipping through several copies, I saw the photo of the old man in the "Binjiang Daily" from a week ago!

The news headline was "The enlarged meeting of the Municipal People's Committee passed 20 measures to overcome bureaucracy."

There was a line of small words under the old man's photo, "Mayor XXX declares the 17th of every month as a 'no-meeting day' for municipal agencies."

Ye Manzhi: “…”

Did she just answer questions for the mayor?

Still calling the mayor "uncle"?

Ye Manzhi quickly told Director Mu and Zhang Qinjian about this discovery.

Zhang Qinjian, who was drinking tea, choked on the tea and started coughing. Two streams of water spurted out of his nostrils and dripped back into the teacup.

Ye Manzhi was so disgusted that she pretended not to notice his embarrassment and glanced away.

"What is the mayor doing at our fair? Did you see it wrong?"

If the mayor wants to come for an inspection, he usually issues notifications layer by layer and is accompanied by a large group of people.

How could he come here alone?

"You're not mistaken, that old man looks the same as the person in the photo." Ye Manyi handed him the newspaper.

Mulan asked, "Is there anyone else with him?"

"I didn't notice. When I went over there, he was the only one standing by the stall, asking questions."

Zhang Qinjian looked at Mulan, "What should we do? Should we report it to the district?"

Mulan inquired in detail about Ye Manzhi's conversation with him, then said, "I'll notify the district. Old Zhang, go talk to the police station and the Industrial and Commercial Bureau first. We can't be too lax with some planned products, or we might run into trouble."

The mayor was wearing a tattered cotton jacket and a tattered hat, wandering around the reopened market. It was obvious that he wanted to go on a secret visit, and it would be bad if he was caught by a group of unfamiliar subordinates.

She calculated the time in her mind and estimated that by the time the district leaders arrived, the mayor would have already left.

Only then did he pick up the phone and report the situation to the district leaders.

*

Ye Manzhi didn't understand what her leader was thinking, but she was very excited anyway.

Although I have met Vice Mayor Liu before, it is almost the same as if we have never spoken.

The person she met today was the mayor, and she chatted with him for a long time!

Old Ye has never met the mayor in his life. Isn't this considered as surpassing his predecessor?

She is so promising!

After the rehearsal at the Workers' Club that night, Ye Manzhi secretly shared this matter with Lin Qingmei.

Lin Qingmei's reaction was indifferent, and she also shared a new thing with her.

"On New Year's Day, the Municipal Cultural Bureau held a ballroom dance, and I even danced with the deputy mayor in charge of cultural affairs!"

"Wow!" Ye Manzhi asked curiously, "Is the deputy mayor good at ballroom dancing?"

"It's okay, average for the agency, but not as good as your Captain Wu." Lin Qingmei winked at the audience, "Captain Wu has been fiddling around for a long time. What is he doing?"

Ye Manzhi didn't know what was going on either. She put away her pipa, picked up the case and quickly ran to the audience seats.

Wu Zhengrong came to pick her up "from get off work", but since entering the club, he has been tinkering with a black thing.

"What is this?"

"camera."

"How can a camera look like this?"

Ye Manzhi had seen a camera in a photo studio. It was a machine that could stand on the ground with a big head on top.

"This is a portable camera," Wu Zhengrong showed her the body, "it can take detailed pictures of the finished product. A vertical camera is not convenient to use."

Ye Manzhi leaned in closer and asked, "Is this the camera from your military representative's office? Comrade military representative, are you using public property for personal gain?"

Wu Zhengrong imitated her and teased in a low voice, "Comrade Xiaoye, please keep this secret for me. You're not satisfied with the rosy cheeks the newspaper has painted on you, right? I'll take a few more photos of you."

Seeing that he actually wanted to take a photo of her, Ye Manyzhi was surprised but also a little flustered.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If I had known, I would have changed into something nicer."

"I bought two boxes of film, which should be enough for about 20 photos," Wu Zhengrong admitted. "I've only used it to take partial photos of military equipment before. This is my first time taking portraits, so I might not be very good. Let's just shoot a roll first to practice. When you officially enter the competition, try to take photos that you're satisfied with."

"How are your photography skills now? Did you take any pictures just now?"

Wu Zhengrong smiled and said, "So far, I've only taken a picture of you playing the pipa on stage, and a picture of your orchestra. I'm not sure how it will turn out yet. I'll tell you after I develop the film and take a look."

Ye Manzhi propped up her chin and asked, "Can you take a photo of me and Qingmei?"

"Okay, call your friends over."

After the rehearsal, most of the people attending the concert had already left.

Lin Qingmei was still doing the final finishing work on the stage, and her expression was still confused when she was called down to take a photo.

When Ye Manzhi hugged her neck and pressed his cheek against hers, he heard the sound of a shutter click and heard her begging in his ear, "Qingmei, please take a picture of me and Wu Zhengrong too!"

Lin Qingmei had never used a camera before, so she waved her hand and said, "I don't know how to take pictures."

Ye Manzhi cooed to her, "Just stand where he is now and let him tell you where to press. As long as we can be included in the photo, that's all that matters."

"If you want to take a photo with him, can't you go to the photo studio and take the photo together when you take your wedding photos?" Lin Qingmei couldn't stand her pestering and walked over to take the camera from Wu Zhengrong.

Ye Manzhi smiled at her ingratiatingly.

Seeing that everyone else had left, only the three of them were left in the concert hall.

Ye Manzhi quickly pulled Wu Zhengrong over, asked him to take off his military coat, revealing his military uniform underneath, and sit in the seat where Qingmei had just sat.

She also took off her coat and stood behind Wu Zhengrong wearing only a white wool cardigan.

Then he put his hands on the other person's shoulders.

Lin Qingmei poked her head out from behind the camera and said speechlessly, "You asked me to take your picture, didn't you just want to take a more intimate picture? Then don't be reserved, quickly put your arms around my neck and put your face close to mine!"

Ye Manzhi had just taken a photo with her in this pose.

This girl had obviously planned it in advance, but she backed down at the critical moment.

Ye Manzhi did plan to do so, but she still felt a little uncomfortable in front of Qingmei.

It was not until Wu Zhengrong held the hand on her shoulder that Ye Manzhi mustered up the courage to press her blushing face against his.

When taking photos in a photo studio, you should pay attention to the impact. Recently, couples who came to register their marriage brought photos of them sitting side by side.

Occasionally, the bolder ones would move their heads closer to the other person.

It is impossible to take a photo of them like this, hugging shoulders, holding hands, and touching faces.

Ye Manzhi felt that today was a rare opportunity. It was just a little embarrassing in front of Qingmei, but it was worth it to be able to leave a rare and intimate photo.

However, after the photo was taken, Qingmei didn't have any special reaction, but Wu Zhengrong kept turning his head to look at her from time to time.

After they parted ways with Qingmei in the compound and arrived at the corridor where the Ye family lived, Ye Manzhi finally asked, "Why do you always look at me?"

She could even feel the heat from the gazes above her.

Wu Zhengrong didn't say anything. He reached out and pulled her scarf down a little, then leaned over and kissed her lips.

Although his movements were still gentle, Ye Manzhi felt that this time was different from before. He seemed to kiss her particularly fiercely today.

In just a few seconds, she was kissed until she couldn't breathe.

There were footsteps on the stairs, and Ye Manzhi pushed him on the chest, signaling him to stop.

Then she heard a very obvious swallowing sound from the other side. Wu Zhengrong said "hmm" and pecked her lips twice.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and Ye Manyi got nervous and pulled him out of the corridor again.

The two stood in the shadow of the corner, neither speaking for a moment.

After calming down for a moment, Wu Zhengrong suddenly said, "Originally, the military representative office had someone who developed photos. It seems that I not only need to practice portrait photography, but also learn how to develop photos."

Ye Manzhi grabbed the ball on her scarf and asked, "How much is a camera? If I sell another 10,000 books, can I buy a camera?"

"able."

Ye Manzhi thought to herself that if she could get the second payment for her royalties, she would use the money to buy a camera.

Let Wu Zhengrong take pictures of her every day!

Wu Zhengrong tied her scarf again and took out an invitation from his pocket and gave it to her.

"My grandma invites you to visit my home during the Spring Festival."

"Will it be lively then?" Ye Manzhi asked.

"Probably not."

"Then why did you give me an invitation?"

Ye Manzhi thought his family was going to have a party or hold some event.

"She probably thinks it's more formal this way," Wu Zhengrong said, sometimes puzzled by the old man and woman's behavior. "The specific time hasn't been set, probably sometime between the third and fifth day of the first lunar month. The old lady said it depends on your schedule."

Ye Manzhi held the invitation. Although she felt it was too formal, she could feel the other party's respect from it.

"I'll go home and discuss it with my parents and tell you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Wu Zhengrong thought for a moment and added, "My parents will be back in Binjiang for the New Year this year, and I might get to meet them then. We haven't seen each other for several years, so you don't need to make any special preparations, just a casual visit will be fine..."