Chapter 162: Organizing Information
On Sunday morning, just as the sky was getting light, Gu Qiuyue got up quietly.
She deliberately changed into that light blue Dacron shirt and put on a dark green knitted cardigan, making her look energetic without being too ostentatious.
The aroma of millet porridge wafted from the kitchen. Xie Shiyu was frying eggs. Seeing her come in, a gentle smile appeared on his lips: "Why don't you sleep a little longer? It's still early."
"I can't sleep." Gu Qiuyue took the spatula from his hand, "Let me do it, you go and see if the children are awake."
Xie Shiyu didn't move. He gently put his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. "This is your first time at the Economics Institute. Are you nervous?"
Gu Qiuyue nodded honestly: "A little bit. After all, it was Professor Liu's manuscript, and I was afraid that I wouldn't do it well enough."
"I'm sure you'll be fine." Xie Shiyu said firmly, "I remember the first time I led a team in an exercise. I was so nervous I couldn't sleep the night before, but once it really started, I calmed down."
These words made Gu Qiuyue feel much more at ease.
She took the golden fried eggs out of the pan and suddenly heard a soft voice behind her: "Where are you going today, Mom?"
Shuangshuang rubbed her sleepy eyes and stood at the kitchen door. Huahua followed behind. The two little guys had messy hair, like two kittens who just woke up.
Gu Qiuyue squatted down and hugged the two children in her arms: "Mom is going to work in a place with a lot of books today, and will be back in the evening."
"Is it like when dad went to the army?" Xiaoyu asked with his head tilted.
"Almost." Gu Qiuyue couldn't help laughing and kissed their little faces, "You must listen to grandma at home."
After breakfast, Gu Qiuyue went out carrying the cloth bag she had prepared. The bag contained a notebook, a pen, and the old notebook given to her by Professor Zhu. She always felt that carrying it would bring her good luck.
The Provincial Economic Research Institute is located in an old red brick building with ivy covering half of the wall. Gu Qiuyue registered at the door and followed the instructions to the information room on the second floor.
"Comrade Gu Qiuyue, right? I'm Zhao Ming." A well-mannered, middle-aged man wearing glasses came forward with a warm smile. "Professor Zhu is full of praise for you."
Gu Qiuyue relaxed a little: "Hello, Director Zhao, I will do my best to sort it out."
Zhao Ming took her into the inner room, where the scent of old books and ink hit her face. Several stacks of manuscripts were neatly placed on the large table, with white gloves, pencils and notes prepared nearby.
"These are some of Professor Liu's manuscripts," Zhao Ming said solemnly. "Many of them were written during a special period. The handwriting may not be clear, and the content is a bit scattered. Your job is to identify and classify them, and make some preliminary summaries."
Gu Qiuyue put on white gloves and gently turned over a page of the manuscript. On the yellowed paper, the densely packed handwriting was vigorous and powerful, with occasional traces of revisions and marginal notes.
She was instantly attracted, as if she could see through the words the old economist whom she had only met once, working at his desk.
"I can do it." She raised her head with a firm look in her eyes.
Zhao Ming nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, you can get familiar with it first. If you have any questions, feel free to come to the office next door to find me."
The information room became quiet, with only the rustling sound of turning pages. Gu Qiuyue quickly immersed herself in it. She found that Professor Liu's mind was extremely active, often jumping from one topic to another, but his internal logic was very strict.
Halfway through her work, she discovered several pages of drafts of a more in-depth discussion of the dual-track pricing system, which coincidentally corresponded to the pages of Professor Zhu's notes she had seen earlier.
At noon, Zhao Ming came over to take a look at the progress. When he noticed that Gu Qiuyue not only completed the basic organization, but also made some valuable related notes, there was obvious appreciation in his eyes.
"Xiao Gu, you're even more attentive than I thought." Director Zhao picked up a note and looked at it. "You've captured these connections very accurately. We're having a small academic seminar next weekend on the topic of market regulation. If you're interested, you can come and listen."
Gu Qiuyue was delighted: "Really? That's great, I will definitely come."
During lunch break, she sat alone on a bench outside the information room and ate her lunch box.
While sorting out the manuscript, she suddenly thought that perhaps some economic thinking methods could be incorporated into middle school teaching. For example, when explaining planning and markets in political classes, could she use more vivid examples? This idea excited her, and the teaching paper seemed to have a direction.
The work in the afternoon went more smoothly. At around four o'clock, there was a gentle knock on the door of the information room.
"Teacher Gu, there's a call for you." A young staff member poked his head out and said.
The call was from Xie Shiyu. The children's laughter could be heard in the background: "Yueyue, how are you? Is everything going well? Shuangshuang and Huahua insisted on talking to their mother right now."
Then the two children's voices came from the receiver, vying for the first place: "Mom, I miss you!" "Mom, come back soon!"
Gu Qiuyue felt warm in her heart: "Mom will be back soon and bring you some delicious food."
After hanging up the phone, she felt full of energy again.
At the end of the day, Zhao Ming came over and said, "Xiao Gu, you did an excellent job today. These are some of the journals the institute has recently subscribed to. You can take them home and have a look." He handed over a few economic magazines and said, "Just come over by the end of next week."
As the sun sets, Gu Qiuyue walks out of the Institute of Economics holding a magazine and her cloth bag, her mood as brilliant as the sunset in the sky.
When she returned home in the evening, the children had already gone to bed. Gu Qiuyue was sorting out the day's gains at the desk when she suddenly found a strange note in the cloth bag. It seemed that it had been accidentally brought out by putting it in a magazine.
The note was very old. It had the name of a meeting written on it: "Informal Seminar on Frontier Issues in Economic Reform", but the date was three years ago. There was also an address and several unfamiliar names below. The strangest thing was that there was a small triangle symbol drawn in red pen in the corner.
Gu Qiuyue frowned as she thought back, certain she hadn't seen the note while sorting through her manuscripts. Why was it stuck in the magazine? What did the red triangle represent?
She carefully put the note into the drawer, a hint of doubt rising in her heart.
The moonlight outside the window was just right, and the soft silver light sprinkled on the desk. Gu Qiuyue took out the draft book of her teaching paper and began to record today's inspiration.
What she saw and heard at the Institute of Economics, Professor Liu's thoughts, and her observations from teaching practice... these seemingly unrelated things are slowly merging in her mind, giving birth to new possibilities.
Late at night, she gently pushed open the children's door and tucked in the corners of their quilts. The two sleeping faces were peaceful and beautiful, making her feel that all her efforts were worth it.
Returning to the desk, Gu Qiuyue took one last look at the mysterious note, then gently closed the drawer. No matter what unknown challenges lay ahead, she was ready.
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