Chapter 11 Goodbye Zhou Xiye
The team leader's house had a large courtyard with three main rooms and two side rooms. The walls were made of adobe, and the window frames were very old. The broken glass was covered with newspaper.
The yard is big, but there is nothing in it. There is a big stone mill in the middle of the empty yard. The grooves are very deep, and it is obvious that it is quite old.
Old Liang called to his wife, "Dazhuang's mom, come out quickly! We have guests today, so we'll make some white noodles for dinner."
Old Liang's wife, Yang Fengmei, came out of the house. Her coarse cloth clothes were patched, and she looked unhappy: "There's only so little wheat flour left. If we eat it now, what will we eat for the New Year?"
Old Man Liang felt embarrassed and glared at his wife. "Just do what I told you to do. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Isn't the purpose of growing food to be eaten? Are you going to starve to death in the winter? Go do more. The leaders will be here later."
Yang Fengmei then noticed that there was a young woman beside her husband. She glanced at her for a few seconds, but her eyes were filled with hostility and disdain. She curled her lips and said, "Then maybe we can ask the team to reimburse the meal for us."
Jiang Zhizhi didn't quite understand where Yang Fengmei's hostility came from. Was it because she could get food coupons if she ate her family's grain?
Old Man Liang glared angrily: "I told you to go, so you go. Why are you talking so much? I think you deserve a beating!"
As he spoke, he banged his pipe on the stone mill, making a loud bang. Yang Fengmei shivered in fear and quickly ran to the kitchen to cook.
Liang Dazhuang was no longer surprised and even greeted Jiang Zhizhi warmly: "Comrade Jiang, I'll get you a stool."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled and sat down, feeling that there was something strange about this house.
After sitting down, Old Man Liang called Liang Dazhuang to make tea, and then chatted with Jiang Zhizhi: "I only have one son in my family, and my three daughters are all married. There are few laborers in the family, so my husband is very stingy. Don't take it to heart."
Jiang Zhizhi nodded in understanding: "It's okay, I can use food coupons for meals."
Old Liang immediately shook his head: "How can I take your food coupons? You're an expert from the province, there are reception expenses, which can be reimbursed. Haha, don't take my wife's words to heart, women have long hair but short brains."
Realizing he might have said something wrong, he tried to explain, but then heard a car approaching from the doorway. He quickly stood up and said, "It's probably the military leaders. Comrade Jiang, please sit down while I go check on them."
Old Liang went out and soon brought in two people.
Jiang Zhizhi had just taken the enamel mug containing freshly brewed tea from Liang Dazhuang when she saw Zhou Xiye and Zhang Zhao follow Old Man Liang in. Startled, she spilled the tea on her hand without even noticing the heat.
She was impersonating someone else to commit fraud, and she was going to be exposed so soon?
Zhou Xiye was also somewhat surprised to see Jiang Zhizhi. He noticed the panic in her eyes and the slight tremor in her hand when she saw him. She calmly looked away and stopped Zhang Zhao, who was full of surprise, saying, "Go to the car and get the notebook down."
Zhang Zhao's exclamation was forcibly suppressed again. He turned around to get something from the car and realized that his boss didn't allow him to say hello to Jiang Zhizhi.
Old Liang enthusiastically introduced to Zhou Xiye: "Sir, this is Comrade Xiao Jiang, the expert sent from the provincial capital to repair tractors. Don't let her young appearance fool you, she fixed our tractor in no time."
Jiang Zhizhi stood up with a stiff upper lip, flashed her little tiger teeth at Zhou Xiye, and smiled slightly, thinking that if he found out, so be it, she could just go somewhere else.
To her surprise, Zhou Xiye calmly nodded at her as a greeting. He didn't say they knew each other, nor did he ask what was wrong with her.
Jiang Zhizhi had no idea what Zhou Xiye was up to. Since he hadn't exposed her, she decided to continue observing.
Old Man Liang then called to Liang Dazhuang to make tea: "Brew some of the best tea leaves from the cabinet for the leader. Also, urge your mother to hurry up and cook, and put in plenty of oil."
Zhou Xiye quickly stopped him: "No need to eat, we just came here to talk about the military and civilians working together to build that road in the mountains."
Old Liang was very excited: "If that road is completed, it will be much more convenient for us to go to the city in the future. Moreover, with your help, we can speed up the road construction process. Thank you so much. If you need anything, just let us know, and our village can provide manpower."
Zhou Xiye shook his head: "No need. It was originally built as a military road. We just need to inform the villagers that they should not go into the mountains in three days. If there is any blasting, innocent people will be hurt. In particular, we need to keep an eye on the children and not let them go to the mountains to play."
Old Liang nodded quickly: "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll go door to door to inform them, and I'll make sure they don't run around or cause trouble."
Zhang Zhao also came in with a notebook, but his eyes kept glancing at Jiang Zhizhi, who was holding a teacup with her head lowered.
Zhou Xiye took the notebook, opened it, took out a pen from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, wrote the specific construction dates and some precautions in the notebook, then tore it off and handed it to Old Man Liang.
"I've written down everything you need to know. Make sure you make sure everyone is informed. We'll also set up checkpoints at the foot of the mountain, but we can't guarantee that everything will be foolproof. So it's crucial that you make sure everyone is informed and that all precautions are taken."
Old Liang respectfully took the note: "Alright, alright, don't worry, I will definitely make sure to notify them."
As Zhou Xiye spoke, he glanced at Jiang Zhizhi and noticed that she kept her head down, staring at the tea leaves swirling in the teacup. Her slender fingers kept stroking the raised patterns on the teacup, revealing her guilty conscience.
Old Man Liang carefully put away the note and tried to persuade Zhou Xiye to stay again: "Leader, please stay and have a simple meal. There's nothing good at home."
Jiang Zhizhi also hoped that Zhou Xiye would refuse again. After all, they were soldiers and could not take a single needle or thread from the people, much less eat the food of the people.
As she pondered this, she cautiously looked up and glanced at Zhou Xiye.
And Zhou Xiye discovered it!
Zhou Xiye looked at Jiang Zhizhi's furtive gaze, which was still a little wary and tentative. He suddenly changed his mind and nodded in agreement: "Since Captain Liang is so enthusiastic, we will stay, but we can't break the rules."
After saying that, he quietly instructed Zhang Zhao to go and get the grain coupons from the cart.
He glanced at Jiang Zhizhi's eyes, which were full of expectation just now. When he said to stay, the look dimmed instantly. He pursed his lips and felt a little better.
Zhang Zhao was very surprised. In the past, when he went out with Zhou Xiye, he never had the habit of eating at ordinary people's homes.
Why did he agree this time? Was it because of Jiang Zhizhi?
Also, they clearly knew Jiang Zhizhi, so why did the boss pretend not to know her? What was he trying to say?
And when the boss looked at Jiang Zhizhi's eyes, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't like the boss looked at them, serious and emotionless...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
