Due to the poor beam of their flashlights, Li Weidong and his two companions failed to notice the Zhao Honghui brothers, who were blending into the darkness not far away, and stopped in front of the brigade leader's house.
Li Weidong knocked on the courtyard gate and shouted, "Captain, are you home?"
Who is it?
Aunt Tian heard the noise and came out to see what was going on. "Oh dear! What brings you all here? Come in quickly!"
Zhao Honghui watched as the three of them were welcomed into the courtyard, then lowered his eyes and fell into thought.
"Could it be because of the fight among the female educated youth?"
Zhao Jianbin was certain that she was a female educated youth because the scars on her face were clearly made by fingernails, as only women would use fingernails when fighting.
Zhao Honghui's gaze snapped over, "Who's fighting with whom?"
"Yang Zhiqing's face was scratched, but she wouldn't tell me when I asked her." Zhao Jianbin was extremely annoyed and wished he could run over and eavesdrop.
Zhao Honghui frowned, recalling Xie Yuyao's condition during the day, but he didn't find anything unusual.
At the brigade leader's house, Yang Shumei placed the bag on the table. Seeing this familiar scene, the brigade leader first glared at Xie Yuyao, then looked at Yang Shumei and said, "Yang Shumei, if you have any difficulties, just tell me. Take these things back with you later."
"Captain, she felt embarrassed by what Jiang Yan said last night, and suddenly attacked me, scratching my face." Yang Shumei briefly summarized the origin of the attack and explained her purpose. "I'm afraid of her, so I thought I'd pay to avoid trouble and build a house at my own expense."
The brigade leader had seen many fights between women, but this was an internal matter of the educated youth team, and he couldn't interfere. So he didn't ask any questions when he saw the clues during the day. He never expected that the matter would be related to dried fruit.
He agreed to Yang Shumei's request to build her own house. After all, the educated youth compound was very large, and the open space at the back was useless. It had been empty for many years, so there was nothing wrong with building a house for her, and it would also free up an extra bed.
Besides, he also knew that if Yang Shumei and Jiang Yan continued to live together, who knew what kind of trouble might arise.
If things really escalate, he won't be able to explain himself to the commune or Yang Shumei's father.
Anyway, given Yang Shumei's family situation, funding the construction of a house wouldn't be a big problem. It's just that it's a bit wasteful for her and Xie Wazi to build their own houses.
"I see that you two get along so well, why don't you just build a bigger house together? It would save money."
Yang Shumei looked at Xie Yuyao. She was already used to communal living and regarded Xie Yuyao as a close sister, so she had no objection to living together.
But Xie Yuyao couldn't do that; she couldn't reveal her secret even to her best friend. So she said, "How about we build three rooms? We'll share the central hall, and each of us will have a bedroom on one side. Just like the houses in the educated youth compound now."
Yang Shumei nodded, "That's fine too."
Xie Yuyao continued, "Captain, I want to build the house as soon as possible. We're all suffering here and can't get any rest."
"But now we're busy making dried fruit..."
Seeing the team leader hesitate, Li Weidong immediately said, "We'll start construction after all the sour pears from the orchard have been brought back."
"Yes, even if it's just working an hour or two after work every day, it's good to accumulate experience little by little."
The captain looked at Li Weidong and Xie Yuyao, who were singing in unison, and recalled Li Weidong's reaction at the meeting that morning. He thought to himself, "Oh no, could they be getting together? What will happen to Honghui then?"
"Captain?"
Xie Yuyao's voice brought him back to his senses. He coughed and said, "It might take two days. You can take some time to bring the blue bricks back. I'll give you the note tomorrow."
"Thank you, Captain!" Xie Yuyao smiled broadly, then added, "By the way, today Jiang Yan cooked a huge plate of chili peppers for lunch as revenge, leaving all the educated youth at a loss for what to do. Shumei and I had to cook separately."
The captain frowned at Li Weidong, clearly displeased: "How could you allow Jiang Yan to do that?"
"Captain, please don't misunderstand Brother Li. What can a young man like him do to a female educated youth?" Xie Yuyao chimed in, secretly thanking Jiang Yan for her intervention, which allowed her to have freedom of firewood and food ahead of schedule.
"Fine, I can't interfere in your internal affairs."
Xie Yuyao quickly leaned forward and said, "Captain, please don't say that. Only with your justice can we be alright."
"Hmph, always causing me trouble!"
"No, no, I wouldn't dare."
The brigade leader and Aunt Tian laughed when they saw Xie Yuyao's grinning face.
"By the way, now that the factory is starting to be set up, what kind of positions are you looking for?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yuyao and the other two exchanged glances, all indicating that they had no idea yet.
"Xie Wazi, do you want to be the factory manager?"
Hearing the captain's question, Xie Yuyao was stunned. "Captain, to be honest, I don't really want to work at the dried fruit factory."
Why?
"I don't like being restricted. I'm perfectly content with this lawn-cutting job."
"You silly kid, why don't you think long-term? Can you do grass cutting for the rest of your life? Once you get into the dried fruit factory, your status will be different!"
"But I..."
The captain interrupted her: "What do you mean 'but'? This dried fruit factory is in your hands. Start the preparatory work tomorrow, and don't refuse again!"
Xie Yuyao looked helplessly at the energetic old man in front of her, and for a moment she thought of her own grandfather.
The Xie family is large and powerful, and her grandfather, as the actual head of the family, has many children and grandchildren around him. Naturally, he doesn't pay much attention to her because she doesn't get close to them.
However, this was her own choice, and she not only did not complain, but was also grateful to her grandparents and parents for giving her a comfortable and affluent life.
Xie Yuyao truly felt the care from the brigade leader, but he was still disappointed.
"Is this a good idea? Let me first see who in our Qingshan Village is most suitable to be the factory manager. If there really isn't a suitable person, then I'll take over."
Anyone with eyes could tell that this was just an excuse. The brigade leader wanted to say something more, but Aunt Tian stopped him.
Aunt Tian advised, "This factory won't start production until next year. It doesn't have to be decided now. Give Yuyao some time to prepare mentally."
"Aunt Tian still loves me the most!" Xie Yuyao giggled, which made the brigade leader hum again.
Xie Yuyao cracked a few jokes and recited songs and dances until the brigade leader was no longer upset, then she took her leave.
Aunt Tian and Yang Shumei went through another round of polite refusals. Xie Yuyao took the bag from their hands and put it back on the table, pouting and feigning anger, "Aunt Tian, you can't just be nice to Shumei, or I'll get jealous!"
This left Aunt Tian both amused and exasperated. "What can I say to you!"
"Hehe, we're leaving now, no need to see us off." Xie Yuyao pulled Yang Shumei away, leaving Li Weidong to say goodbye to them.
The two ran out of the courtyard gate and chuckled softly in the darkness.
Even if the two brothers, who were not far away, could not see the expressions on the two women's faces, they could still picture their joyful appearance in their minds.
"cough!"
Zhao Honghui coughed and got up to walk towards the two of them.
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