Another, slightly more mature female voice followed up, her tone more enthusiastic: "Yes, yes, we can help!"
Zhou Qiqi frowned upon hearing the voice.
She turned her head and looked out the kitchen window, and sure enough, Zhou Shuhua and her daughter Lei Yuhua were standing brazenly in their yard.
Zhou Qiqi wiped her hands, and she and Shen Huaichuan exchanged a glance before walking out together, their expressions not very good.
But Zhou Shuhua was still thinking about helping out, so she quickly stepped forward and started talking non-stop:
"Qiqi, Yuhua and her military region's cultural troupe happen to be off-duty to the countryside this week! The dance they've been rehearsing recently is in the traditional Chinese style. There are over a dozen girls, all beautiful and graceful, with that classical charm! It absolutely meets your requirements! And..."
She spoke quickly and urgently, almost without taking a breath, as if she wanted to continue.
Lei Yuhua, who was standing nearby, quickly and quietly tugged at her sleeve, gently shook her head, stepped forward, and, with an apologetic look on her face, pointed to the courtyard gate.
"Sister Qiqi, Brother Huaichuan, we're so sorry. We knocked on the door just now, but we might have been too quiet. You were busy and didn't hear us. We noticed the door wasn't closed properly and were worried something might have happened, so we rushed in. We didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation."
Zhou Qiqi was taken aback. The water had been boiling quite loudly, and she and Shen Huaichuan hadn't noticed the noise outside the door.
As for the courtyard gate, Xiangyang came to call Zhouzhou to go out and play, and probably just casually closed it without closing it properly.
Her deep-seated dislike for Zhou Shuhua and her daughter made her subconsciously feel that the other party was ill-mannered.
Looking back now, how is my preconceived prejudice any different from the way Zhou Shuhua looked at her back then?
As she was thinking, Zhou Shuhua rubbed her hands together, her face showing obvious embarrassment, and her voice lowered several decibels:
"It's...it really wasn't intentional. We...we came to deliver photos."
She quickly pulled a brown paper envelope from her bosom and handed it over.
Zhou Qiqi took the envelope, pulled it out, and saw that it contained several photos.
The photo shows a newly renovated cemetery, with clean bluestones and solemn tombstones.
The date shows that the photo was taken just two days ago.
She had only been away from Xujia Village for two weeks, but Zhou Shuhua had taken it to heart. Not only was she quick to act, but she also seemed to put a lot of effort into it.
She flipped through the pages one by one.
The cemetery is not large, but you can tell that the materials and workmanship are solid.
The tombstones of Father Zhou Shuisheng and Mother Qi Lin stand side by side, with the exact same layout, without the slightest bias.
What touched her heart even more was that her grandmother Qi San Niang's old grave, which stood alone at the foot of the mountain, had been carefully repaired.
The old courtyard has also been tidied up. A previously empty room has been converted into a clean mourning hall, where several memorial tablets are quietly enshrined.
Finally... he can rest in peace.
Zhou Qiqi held the photo, her expression complicated. After a long while, she glanced at Zhou Shuhua and whispered, "Thank you... for your trouble."
Zhou Shuhua was taken aback when Zhou Qiqi spoke to her, and she waved her hands repeatedly.
"You're welcome, you're welcome, it's nothing, it's all my pleasure..."
She seemed to want to smile, but her lips looked stiff.
She was clearly having a hard time lately; she looked like she had been drained of her energy and was extremely haggard.
Although she was wearing a hat, the glaring white hair at her temples was still visible, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were much deeper. She was completely different from the shrewd, capable, and even somewhat aggressive persona that Zhou Qiqi had first met.
Zhou Qiqi felt a little uneasy.
She wasn't a saint, and past grudges couldn't be erased overnight, but she also couldn't stand seeing older people behaving so humbly and cautiously.
She turned her face away, unsure of what to say.
The atmosphere became a little tense for a moment.
Lei Yuhua broke the silence at the right moment, "Qiqi, I just overheard something, is it that you need performers from the performing arts troupe for your new product launch?"
Her tone was crisp and clear.
“What my mom said earlier is right. Our performing arts troupe is indeed free this week, and we’re rehearsing classical dance. The girls’ appearance and figures are quite a good match for the ‘ink-wash style’ you mentioned. Your new model is having problems with the raw materials and you urgently need help. Would you like to consider it?”
How did Lei Yuhua know that there was a problem with her new raw material? She didn't seem to have mentioned that earlier?
A hint of doubt crossed her mind, and her gaze unconsciously drifted to Shen Huaichuan beside her.
The meaning couldn't be clearer: did you tell them that?
Before Shen Huaichuan could speak, Lei Yuhua immediately waved her hand: "Hey, don't misunderstand, Brother Huaichuan! It wasn't him who told on us."
She smiled.
“You forgot? Didn’t we ride our bikes into town together before? You even told me that the ‘Guanghua’ coat would be available at the department store in a couple of days. I went to ask first thing on the third day, but I couldn’t find it. It just so happened that the manager there was my high school classmate, and he whispered to me that your factory’s new model seemed to have encountered some problems and had to be postponed… That’s when I guessed it.”
She paused, then looked at Zhou Qiqi with sincere eyes:
"So? If you need manpower right now, our group can really help. I won't help you for nothing,"
She smiled, a hint of playfulness in her expression.
"I've been waiting for that pale yellow 'Radiance' coat for so long! If you help me find the right people, you can send me a brand new coat when the time comes, how about that?"
Her words were frank and honest, and her little selfish motives were laid bare, which made it hard for people to dislike her.
Zhou Qiqi was never a coy person.
Right now is a time when we desperately need manpower, and the opportunity is knocking on our door. There's no reason to drive ourselves to ruin over some old grievances.
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