Chapter 83

Ye Manzhi did not get the expected comfort from Wu Zhengrong, so she could only go to the VIP ward to visit Liu Jinbao with a heart full of jealousy.

Comrade Liu Jinbao made great contributions, and there were many fruits and canned foods in the ward for visiting patients.

When she entered the room, the child was waiting for his mother to feed him with his mouth wide open.

Seeing her knock on the door and come in, Liu Jinbao quickly closed his mouth and greeted her weakly but warmly, "Director Xiao Ye is here. When did you come back?"

"I got back last night. I just heard you were injured today, so I rushed over to see you." Ye Manzhi placed a net bag of fruit on the bedside table and asked with concern, "What happened to you? Why are you injured so badly?"

The interrogation of the spies has not yet been completed, and the public security department has not disclosed the details to the public.

Ye Manzhi only heard that Liu Jinbao had cooperated with the public security work this time and had paid a lot. Not only was he injured, but he also sacrificed his chastity. He was considered the great hero of the whole thing.

Everything else was understandable, but this matter of "sacrificing one's chastity" was beyond Ye Manzhi's comprehension.

It was the first time she heard about a gay man sacrificing his chastity, so she came to the hospital to visit the patient with a strong desire to know.

Liu Jinbao had introduced his glorious deeds to others several times, but when facing Ye Manzhi, he still felt a little awkward.

He caught a spy and was stabbed by him. It's really a long story.

If you trace it back carefully, you can trace it back to the day when Ye Manzhi registered his marriage.

Liu Jinbao is two years older than Ye Manzhi. They started working at the same unit at the same time. In his heart, they are of the same age.

People of his age were getting married, but a young man like him had never even had a partner, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

So, when his mother suggested finding a partner for him again, Liu Jinbao finally agreed.

As for his requirements for a partner, he would look for someone similar to Ye Manzhi.

He used to have some feelings for Ye Manzhi, but Ye Manzhi was a very decisive girl. As soon as she realized that he had such intentions, she politely rejected him on the grounds that "you can't shit where you eat."

Now that they have gotten married, Liu Jinbao certainly wouldn't be so tasteless as to think about someone else's wife.

He just used Ye Manzhi's conditions as a reference standard for the matchmaker to introduce him to a partner.

Comrade Liu Jinbao believed that with his conditions - a state cadre, a junior high school education, good-looking, rich, good-dressing, and from a good family background - he should find someone with the same conditions as Ye Manzhi.

Beautiful, educated, from a good family, a state cadre, and has a harmonious family.

Is it difficult to find such conditions?

Liu Jinbao found it not difficult, but the matchmaker was stumped.

Female comrades with such conditions are looking for male comrades with better conditions. Who would look for you, a small street cadre?

After being dissatisfied with several recommended candidates, the matchmaker introduced him to an actor from the Pingju Opera Troupe.

He has only a junior high school education, comes from a middle-peasant family, and both his parents are dead. He is three years older than him.

The basic conditions are average, but the girl herself is very beautiful.

After meeting the other person, Liu Jinbao felt that no one is perfect and he should not set his own expectations too high.

So I officially started dating Comrade Xiao Zhou.

Comrade Xiao Zhou has a good temperament and good conversation. We often discuss current affairs with him, and his words are meaningful.

Liu Jinbao was looking forward to meeting Xiao Zhou at first, but after meeting him a few more times, he always felt a little awkward.

This girl is so ambitious. She's an opera actress and she always asks him about the latest policies in the city or what new work the street office is promoting.

He is in charge of street security work and has the task of preventing rapists and spies, so he is quite vigilant in this regard.

However, he initially attributed this to the other party just trying to accommodate him and talking about some topics he was familiar with.

If Xiao Zhou is really a spy, with her appearance, she can definitely find someone with a higher position to date.

There is no need to waste time on a small cadre like him.

After Liu Jinbao convinced himself, he continued to interact with others. However, the reason why he was able to stay in the street office with a high vote was not only because he had a good relationship with his superiors, but most importantly, he knew the times and was smart enough.

After he had doubts, he always remained alert when he met Xiao Zhou.

When Xiao Zhou brought up the topic of Factory 656 again, Liu Jinbao casually said, "The deputy director of our unit is the lover of the chief military representative of Factory 656."

He carefully observed the other person's expression. When he saw her eyes flashing and she asked curiously about Ye Manzhi and the military representative, especially the military representative's situation, Liu Jinbao felt really cold in his heart.

He did not dare to take any chances. After thinking for a few days, he reported his recent discoveries to Chief Liu of the police station.

Chief Liu asked him to continue interacting with the other party and stabilize him first.

"Chief Liu, she might be a spy. I don't dare to date her anymore!" Liu Jinbao's baby face was full of sorrow and he felt uneasy.

"If you suddenly stop talking about it, it will easily alert her. From what you've described, she seems to be quite fond of you. You should temporarily sacrifice your own selfishness and seduce her with your beauty to keep her company!"

Liu Jinbao: “…”

What's so good about him? He's just bragging, how can you take it seriously?

Liu Zuo patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Sacrifice your appearance for a moment, eat when it's time to eat, go to the movies when it's time to go, and continue your date as normal. This will buy us some time for our investigation!"

Liu Jinbao had no choice but to continue associating with the suspect, using her beauty and sweet words to seduce him.

There was gradual progress on Liu's side. After investigation, it was discovered that Xiao Zhou's real situation was slightly different from what the matchmaker said. Her so-called death of both parents actually meant that her mother died and her father fell into the water and disappeared.

And including Liu Jinbao, this girl has been on seven blind dates.

Four of them only met once and nothing happened, while the other three involved formal dating, and all three involved cadres.

Chief Liu had a hunch that something was amiss, so after a secret visit, he was surprised to discover that the girl had not broken up with her previous boyfriend before she went on a blind date with Liu Jinbao!

That comrade was transferred from the Municipal Industrial Bureau to the Anyang County Industrial Bureau and could return to the city twice a month. When he was not in the city, Liu Jinbao filled the vacancy.

What's even more clever is that when Xiao Zhou was dating another gay man, they often discussed current affairs and each other's work.

Chief Liu felt that there were many suspicious points about Xiao Zhou, especially her father who fell into the water and disappeared, so he decided to let Liu Jinbao get the man out and arrest him without disturbing too many people.

Liu Jinbao usually only patrolled the streets wearing a red armband, taking charge of fire prevention and theft prevention, and never personally participated in the operation of capturing enemy spies.

There is a high probability that the other party is a spy, how could he dare to date her!

Since the subdistrict office and the police station were neighbors, he simply decided to meet at Guangming Street, and had someone wait for him at the office gate after get off work, and then go to the canteen of Factory 656 for dinner together.

Being able to enter Factory 656 is still quite tempting for Comrade Xiao Zhou.

Everything was planned well. According to their plan, they would arrest someone at the door of the street office and send him back to the police station for interrogation in just a few steps.

Even if they wrongly accuse a good person, it will not alarm the Pingju Opera Troupe and affect her reputation in the unit.

However, perhaps there were flaws revealed in the previous dates, or perhaps he was too nervous that day and the other party noticed the clues.

Without waiting for the police to surround him, Xiao Zhou wanted to run away alertly.

There are 81 trials and tribulations, and she has already passed 80 of them. She only has to go through the last one and she will become a Buddha immediately. Liu Jinbao certainly cannot let her escape at this critical moment.

When the police surrounded the enemy from the front, he stayed behind to cover their retreat, blocking all the enemy's routes.

Compared with the police officers in uniform, Liu Jinbao looked much weaker and his fighting ability did not seem to be that strong. So when Xiao Zhou realized that the matter might be exposed, he took out a folding knife from his pocket and stabbed Liu Jinbao in the lower abdomen without any hesitation.

Then she ran away from him while shouting "molest".

After listening to his moving account of what had happened, Ye Manzhi patted her chest and said, "Jin Bao'er, you're so brave! You were able to catch someone even with a knife stuck in your stomach."

Thinking of the scene of him chasing the spy on the street with a knife in his stomach, Ye Manzhi was full of admiration.

That must be so painful!

Eh——

Liu Jinbao said thankfully, "It's actually not that bad. Luckily, the pants my mom bought me were two sizes too big!"

There is a quota for cloth coupons now. Between making clothes and buying ready-made clothes, Mother Liu chose the latter.

Because she found that no matter what size the ready-made clothes were, the price and amount of cloth coupons required were the same.

So, when she bought pants for her son, she deliberately bought two sizes larger so that she could cut the extra fabric and make something else with it.

When Liu Jinbao was putting on his new pants, his mother didn't have time to help him roll up his trouser legs. In order to prevent his trouser legs from dragging on the ground, he tried to pull the waistband up as much as possible.

The waistband of his pants, which was supposed to be stuck on his hips, was pulled up by at least ten centimeters.

When Xiao Zhou stabbed with the knife, the waistband of his pants helped him block some of the force. Although he was bleeding, his spleen was not injured. It was a blessing in disguise.

Ye Manzhi frowned and asked, "Who else have you told about these pants?"

"I didn't tell anyone except Director Zhang and my uncle." Liu Jinbao asked, "What happened?"

"Don't tell anyone about the pants incident from now on. It's a fact that you were stabbed while trying to catch a spy. As for the extent of your injury, there's no need to describe it in detail. I think your story should be reported to the district for this year's outstanding individual selection. If there's further progress from the police, perhaps you can even win an award at the municipal level or above."

This deed is also of great benefit to Guangming Street in selecting advanced collectives.

No wonder Zhang Qinjian applied for a high-end ward even though his injuries were not serious.

Mother Liu quickly realized, "Director Xiao Ye was right. You're lucky this time because the waistband helped you block it. If it weren't for this layer of fabric, you might not have been able to survive!"

Ye Manzhi stood up and said, "Jin Baoer, just rest assured and recover in the hospital. Director Zhang and I will fight for you to find someone who is yours. If there are any good girls, I will also help you keep an eye out for them."

The first time Liu Jinbao dated someone, he was a spy and was stabbed by him.

But please don't have any psychological trauma.

*

The police still had to follow the clues and catch Xiao Zhou's superiors and subordinates, so Liu Jinbao's deeds were not widely publicized.

When he recovered and was discharged from the hospital, it was National Day when several local newspapers published the major achievements in preventing rapists and spies.

Because the incident happened on Guangming Street, the residents delayed their discussion from before National Day to after National Day. Several old comrades even presented banners to the police station and the street office.

The streets were bustling for several days.

However, the public's attention was soon drawn away by another major event.

On October 6, the People's Daily published an article on the front page titled "The Soviet Union took the first step in interstellar travel, and the first artificial satellite was successfully launched."

When Ye Manzhi saw the newspaper at work in the morning, he was still wondering what this artificial satellite was and how it could be on the front page!

When she returned home at noon, she was given a science education by the radio broadcast from Factory 656.

Today's announcer is our next-door neighbor Chang Haitang.

Whenever there is an important notice or major news, Chang Haitang is responsible for the broadcast.

After lunch, Ye Manzhi didn't even take a nap. He kept his ears perked up to listen to the noise coming from the loudspeaker.

"Laiya, what's the point of you remembering all this?" Chang Yue'e saw her quickly making notes in her notebook and couldn't help but lean over to take a look.

"For something this big, our unit and the district will definitely have to hold another meeting to discuss it. I'll take note of a few key points and use them for my speech when the time comes."

The radio said that this world-shaking news marked the beginning of a new era in scientific development.

Ye Manzhi didn’t know much about science, but she understood that “the Soviet Union had the most advanced science and technology in the world.”

Like most people, she felt that the Soviet Union was her own country, and that the strength of the Soviet Union meant the strength of the socialist camp.

This is indeed something worth celebrating.

When she went to work in the afternoon, some business owners had already spontaneously hung colorful flags and banners at their doors. The first and second neighborhood committees also organized good news announcement teams and congratulation teams, who beat drums and gongs in the alleys to publicize the good news.

The street office is also discussing the issue of artificial satellites.

Zhang Qinjian suggested that the Guangming Street branch of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association hold a celebration event this weekend.

At that time, we will buy some fruits, peanuts and melon seeds, and invite members to perform a few shows on stage so that everyone can have fun together.

Of course Ye Manzhi agreed with both hands, and it would be even better if a ballroom dance party could be held.

The street office hasn't had any important work lately, except for selling government bonds and registering recipients of relief, and she really wants to join in the fun.

Ye Manzhi listened to the talk about artificial satellites all day. When she returned home at night, she excitedly pulled Wu Zhengrong aside to ask him what artificial satellites looked like.

Wu Zhengrong handed her a magazine, pointed to the picture and said, "It probably looks like this."

Ye Manzhi only glanced at the picture, then stared at his expression for a long moment before asking, "Why aren't you in such a good mood? You don't seem happy even with such a big happy event."

"What's there to be happy about?"

"The Soviet Union's science and technology are the most advanced in the world. We are on the same side, so of course we are happy."

"Tsk..." Wu Zhengrong sneered, "We're in the same group, not the same family. They're getting married, and you got drunk first."

Ye Manzhi pointed at him and said, "Comrade Military Representative, what's wrong with you? Why are you so unprogressive?"

The military representative was in a bad mood and didn't want to argue with her.

But Ye Manzhi was worried about him and didn't even bother to wash up. She first stripped off his coat, pulled him into the quilt, and then covered their heads with the quilt and whispered to them.

"You can say those things to me, but don't tell anyone else. The People's Daily has already reported it on the front page, so why do you have to contradict it?"

Wu Zhengrong sighed and said, "The first successful launch is nothing. If the second and third launches are also successful, and the success rate reaches 100%, then we will truly be the best in the world. If even the Americans can't compare to him..."

That might not be a good thing.

Ye Manzhi didn't understand what he was about to say, but she felt a sudden panic in her heart. "What do you mean?"

Wu Zhengrong asked: "Will the mayor be friends with you?"

"No way. The last time I met the mayor, I only exchanged a few words before I followed the district leader and sent him off. The gap in status is too big. Let alone being friends, small cadres like us can only obey the leader's instructions."

Wu Zhengrong hummed, "Don't you understand the principle?"

Ye Manzhi lifted the quilt to let in some fresh air and pondered the deeper meaning of his words.

Both husband and wife fell silent.

Wu Zhengrong was indeed in a bad mood today. Before leaving get off work, he received a call from his former teacher and also communicated with Dean Wu on the phone.

The launch of this satellite has given everyone a sense of urgency.

Although the fields they are engaged in have nothing to do with aerospace, a single leaf can give us a glimpse into the whole situation.

They are left behind in every aspect.

For a conceited person like Wu Zhengrong, when he realized this once again, the inner depression and embarrassment he felt was something that others could not understand.

Ye Manzhi really couldn't understand his feelings, and she didn't have any lofty ambitions, but she could guess why Wu Zhengrong was in a bad mood.

So, she put her arm around him and said, "Genius is indeed amazing, but there are always people better than you. The gods in heaven must be even more amazing than the geniuses on earth, right?"

Wu Zhengrong nodded in cooperation.

"But there are still 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals in heaven! No matter how smart a person is, he is just a small soldier in heaven. So, geniuses on earth are nothing, don't put too much pressure on yourself! Geniuses like you, no matter how many satellites you have launched on earth, will be treated the same after you go to heaven. You are all one of the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals. How insignificant!"

"..." Wu Zhengrong chuckled, "What a twisted logic."

"That's obviously a very useful truth!" Ye Manzhi reached out to push him, "Go boil some water for me to take a bath. If you're not home in a couple of days, I'll have to boil the water myself."

Wu Zhengrong had just received a notice to go to Beijing to attend a meeting of military representatives.

"While I'm not at home, how about letting our mom stay with you for a few days?"

"No need, Lihua is here to keep me company!"

*

Wu Zhengrong was away for more than ten days. The couple did not abide by the agreement of working two days and resting one day, and moved their rest days to the days when he was away on business.

When Ye Manyi finally sent the person away, he still felt a burning and bloated sensation in his body.

I don’t know what sensitive nerve Wu Zhengrong had that was touched by the Soviet Union’s launch of an artificial satellite. He has not been sleeping well for the past two days. Ye Manzhi finally calmed him down with her own actions. But when he got up last night, he found that the light in the study was still on.

"Why--"

Ye Manyzhi, who occupied the entire study room alone, let out a long sigh.

Qin Xiang and Zhou Mu both went to college, and Wu Zhengrong liked to stay in the study more than before. If she didn't study hard, it would seem that she was not making any progress.

Ye Manzhi took out her high school textbooks and decided to review the four subjects of Chinese, geography, history and politics during Wu Zhengrong's business trip.

If she is not selected as a candidate for transfer to a cadre position without taking the entrance exam next year, she will have to prepare to take the college entrance exam.

When Ye Lihua was allowed into the study for the first time, Ye Manzhi was afraid that it would tear up Wu Zhengrong's books, so he only let it lie on the windowsill or desk.

She forced herself to keep her drooping eyelids open and read until after nine o'clock. When she got tired of studying, she would pet the cat for a while.

Just when I was feeling listless, I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.

The man and the cat both got furious almost at the same time.

It’s so late, who is knocking on the door?

This was the first time in Ye Manzhi's life that she had spent the night alone, and the knocking on the door at night made her very nervous.

She opened the study window and called out, "Who is it?"

"Ye Lai Ya, it's already past nine o'clock, why aren't you sleeping yet?" It was Old Ye's voice.

Ye Manzhi quickly ran out with the cat in her arms, "Dad, why are you here?"

"You don't have to open the door for me, just go inside and go to sleep!" Ye Shouxin whispered outside the door, "Before Zhengrong went on a business trip, he asked me to come over to see you at night. I knew it wasn't reliable to let you stay alone, leaving the lights on in the middle of the night!"

"I'm studying. Oh, Dad, please go back quickly. I'm going to sleep now." Ye Manzhi asked, "Did he ask you to bring me breakfast?"

"Yes, I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow. Don't stay in bed. If you make me late for work, you'll have to bear the consequences!"

"Then don't send it to me. I want to go to the convenience service station to eat buns tomorrow morning!"

Although Old Ye dotes on his daughter, he doesn't spoil her to the point of feeding her meals. When she heard that he didn't have to bring her meals, she was just happy to relax.

He walked away muttering to himself, with his hands behind his back.

He had just found out that Wu Zhengrong actually had to bring her lunch every morning.

Spoiling people beyond recognition.

…

Without Wu Zhengrong's take-out breakfast service, Ye Manzhi would have to get up a quarter of an hour earlier every morning and go to the convenience service station to eat, which was considered as an indirect support for the street work.

That day, she had just finished breakfast and strolled into the office when she received a call from the district.

The other party asked the street office to send a representative to attend the Zhengyang District Election Committee meeting.

"What to choose?" Ye Manyi still couldn't react.

"What are you electing?" the other party laughed on the phone. "People's representatives! This concerns the allocation of seats for the third term of people's representatives. Your street office must send someone to attend!"

Ye Manzhi put down the phone and turned to ask, "Director, the district is going to hold a general election for people's representatives. They want us to send someone to the meeting. Who of us should go?"

When the first people's representatives were elected, she was not yet eighteen years old and was not eligible to vote.

Although she voted in the second election, she was about to graduate from high school at the time. As required, she cast her vote in the ballot box and left.

She has never seriously participated in the election of people's representatives, and she actually wants to go to the district meeting.

Zhang Qinjian waved his hand and said, "If you're free, you can represent Guangming Street. Right now, we're just preparing for the election. I don't know how many seats our street will be allocated. You can go and listen."

This kind of pre-election mobilization meeting is long and complicated, so Zhang Qinjian doesn't like to attend it.

He has been inviting the deputy director of the Grain Bureau to give the fourth lesson at the People's Classroom these days, so he really doesn't have time to go to the district to attend such a meeting.

Zhang Qinjian is not willing to go, but Ye Manzhi likes to hold meetings!

After getting the confirmation, she put on her backpack and rode her bike to the district committee.

Although Wu Zhengrong was not at home, the bicycle did not have time to rest. Ye Manzhi rode the bicycle around these days.

When she rode her bike to the district committee, there was still more than half an hour before the scheduled meeting time.

She stored her bicycle and went to District Chief Mu’s office on the second floor to sit for a while.

When Mulan heard that she was there for the election committee meeting, she smiled and said, "Then you must listen carefully and strive to get more representatives for the neighborhood committee."

"We still have to fight for the representative quota, right?"

"Yes, among the representatives of the District People's Congress, there are representatives of workers, farmers, political parties, and women. In short, there are more than a dozen categories of representatives. Among them are representatives of government agencies, and among the government representatives, there are also a few spots for street cadres. I was one of the government representatives in our district last term. Whether Guangming Street can get a spot this time depends on you."

“…”

Ye Manzhi thought to herself, if she could get a spot, could she also participate in the election and become a representative of the district people's congress?