Chapter 130 The Grand Finale: Kapok Flower and Barley Soup with Crucian Carp...
"Look, this thing looks just like a TV."
"Can we watch Princess Pearl?" Manlikanmu asked curiously, peering out the window.
"I don't know. Didn't we just send Xia to study there a few days ago? You can ask him."
Manlikanmu waved to the people inside the house: "Xia, Xiayang, stop what you're doing and come over here to open one and let us see it."
The city purchased a batch of computers this time, and each bureau received several. The Public Security Bureau received a few extra because it handles a lot of data and information.
There were six computers in total, which came back with Xia Yang. Yalikun arranged for someone to set up a special room to house these valuables.
Xia Yang, wearing blue shoe covers, was carefully assembling the computer following the instructions in the book.
First connect the monitor to the computer, then plug in the keyboard and mouse.
"Put on your shoe covers before you come in." Xia Yang heard the voice and turned his head to see two faces distorted by the glass.
He stood up, stretched, and teased, "Manli, are you completely unconcerned about your image now?"
Manlikanmu moved from the window to the door of the computer room, then leaned lazily against the door. "What's the use of me paying attention to my image? Dressing up in the police station, throwing flirtatious glances at blind people."
"Hey, what are you saying? We have so many single, talented young men in our bureau, right? What do you mean by 'blind'?"
Xia Yang didn't like hearing what Manlikanmu said; he was still waiting for his teacher's wife to introduce him to a sweet and soft girlfriend.
"Alright, enough talk, give me the shoe covers," Manlikanmu commanded.
"It's right on the table next to you. Just take it yourself."
"The table is inside the server room, and they won't let me in without shoe covers. How am I supposed to get it?"
Xia Yang looked at the mess of data cables and parts on the ground and hesitated, saying, "Then you can wait a bit. The boss is coming to inspect in a while, and I haven't finished my work yet."
"You—" Manlikanmu stomped her feet in anger, turned around and left in her little leather boots.
What an idiot, humph.
After the computers were finally assembled, Ji Yu, the newly appointed head of the Criminal Investigation Department, came to inspect them with the bureau chief.
Yalikun stood with his hands behind his back, squinting as he watched Xia Yang type on the keyboard.
Xia Yang casually tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and a line of text appeared on the computer screen: "Wumu City Public Security Bureau".
"Xia, how did you type this character? I don't understand it," Yalikun asked.
Xia Yang picked up the book "Teach You How to Use a Computer in Ten Days" that was on the table and explained, "Director, this is called the Wubi input method. You can see in this book that each letter corresponds to the radical or component of several Chinese characters."
Once you memorize everything in this table, you'll be able to type Chinese characters too.
Yalikun flipped through the book a few times, but the small print inside made him dizzy. He closed it and tossed it to Ji Yu.
"Xiao Ji, you young people should learn these things. I'm almost retired, so I won't get involved."
Ji Yu reminded her, "You're not fifty yet. Retirement is still a long way off."
Arikun wore a kind smile, but his eyes betrayed him. “Little Ji, I order you to learn how to use this thing within a month, and make sure it can do more than just type; ideally, it should be able to help you solve cases.”
"Did you understand?"
"Understood, mission accomplished!" Ji Yu snapped to attention, bringing his feet together and raising his hands in salute.
Yarkund: "I have a meeting to attend, I'll be leaving now."
As soon as he left, Ji Yu patted Xia Yang on the shoulder, "Did you hear that, apprentice? Study hard. I have to go now. I'll be waiting for your report next week."
Xia Yang nodded with a miserable expression. He knew that what kind of good thing could be sending a newcomer like him to further his studies?
At the kapok farm, dozens of kilometers away, it's harvest season again.
Pickers from all over the country, speaking various regional dialects, gathered together.
"Qiu Sina, where are you from? Your surname is so unique," Xu Tingting asked curiously.
"My hometown is Hunan, what about yours?"
"Me? I'm from Shandong. I originally came to pick cotton, but when I got here I found out that the cotton wasn't ready for harvest at all."
Xu Tingting placed the bamboo basket full of peaches on the open ground next to her, picked up another empty one, and continued picking peaches.
If she encountered a fully ripe fruit with a damaged skin, she would wipe it on her clothes and eat it herself.
"You know what, these peaches are really delicious." Xu Tingting gestured for Qiu Sina to try some. "They're just too expensive, so we can only eat them here."
Qiu Sina covered her face with the basket, looked around a few times, and whispered, "Be careful, Tingting, don't let the family see you and scold you."
She shook her head and refused the peaches Xu Tingting offered; she didn't dare to steal other people's food.
Xu Tingting showed no sign of guilt whatsoever. Seeing Qiu Sina's frightened appearance and considering how clumsy she was at work, she was quite pleased with herself.
"Sina, you've never worked in the fields before, have you? We eat whatever we get in the fields, we can't possibly finish it all."
"I...I ran away from home," Qiu Sina stammered.
She didn't want to marry a complete stranger, so she secretly ran away.
Xu Tingting suddenly realized: "No wonder, I knew you dressed much better than us, with such fair and delicate skin."
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's get to work." Qiu Sina didn't want to say more, so she picked up her small basket and went to the other side.
Not far away, Chen Mianmian was checking the number of peaches picked with the group leader, Li Hongmei was leisurely sitting on a deck chair next to her, basking in the sun, and Minmin was holding a peach in her hand, her face covered in juice.
“Mian, look at those two little girls over there. Don’t they look just like us when we first came to Xinjiang?” Li Hongmei said, pointing to Qiu Sina and Xu Tingting.
One was a loud and boisterous tomboy, the other ran away from home because she didn't want to get married.
Chen Mian waved her hand, letting the group leader go about his business, and looked up at the two young girls.
Golden sunlight filtered through the shadows of the trees, dappling the girl's body like a misty veil.
"Back then, we didn't have any trees to shade ourselves from, and we didn't have any sweet peaches to eat when we were thirsty," Chen Mian joked with a smile.
Li Hongmei: "So everyone's life is getting better and better. You see, we suffered when we were picking workers."
Now that we're the bosses, we try our best to make things more comfortable for the other young women while they work.
This year, Chen Mian not only provided breakfast and lunch for the harvesters, but also specially prepared mint and mung bean soup to help them cool off.
The workers' tents were also separated according to men, women, young and old, and those who were close could stay together to look after each other.
Chen Mian didn't think she had done anything particularly special; she just felt that it wasn't easy for everyone who left their hometown to work.
Her things didn't cost much, but for the pickers, they meant more time to rest and more wages to be saved.
Lin Huijun and Yan Yuhua, along with their families, were responsible for logistical support. Today, they made a meatball stew with cabbage, glass noodles, tofu skin, kelp strips, and slices of fatty pork.
Each person gets a bowl of stew, and there's plenty of steamed buns and rice.
He Maimiao brought back the restaurant's insulated containers, specifically for storing dishes and rice.
Yan Yuhua hasn't experienced this kind of communal meal in a long time. "The last time so many people cooked and ate together was when we were earning work points, haha."
"Yes, I wasn't married back then, and now decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and Mianmian is married now," Lin Huijun said with emotion.
He Maimiao wiped the insulated bucket with a damp cloth. "When everyone is working together towards the same goal, we all have more energy to do our jobs."
"What are you all talking about? You started picking without even calling me." Yu Xiaoyue walked in through the gate with a carefree attitude. Ji Feng held a parasol for her with one hand and carried his daughter with the other.
"Xiaoyue, what brings you here? Come in quickly." Lin Huijun lifted the mosquito-proof curtain with delight and went out to greet her.
"I'm so bored at home I'm practically growing mold, so I came out for a stroll."
Yu Xiaoyue pushed aside the parasol above her head with disdain and walked quickly over.
"Is there anything I can help with? I haven't been active for months, my bones are practically rusting."
Lin Huijun hesitated, "You only gave birth six months ago, you should rest more."
There are many of us, and the food is already prepared. Have you two eaten yet? If not, come and eat with us.
Yu Xiaoyue waved her hand: "We came over after we finished eating."
Lin Huijun: "Where's Ji Yu? Why didn't she come with you?"
Yu Xiaoyue saw the peaches on the table, picked one up and ate it. After thinking for a moment, she put one in her daughter's hand as well, saying, "Eat with your dad."
"Him? He's probably gone to Taoyuan to see his wife again, and he's being all mysterious, saying he wants to give Mianmian a surprise."
…
"Mianmian, look what I brought you!" Ji Yu excitedly pulled a beautifully packaged box from her bosom.
Chen Mian put down the notebook in her hand, reached out and took it, untied the red ribbon wrapped around it, and opened the dark box.
Inside was a gold bracelet, like two braids intertwined, one with sharp edges and the other adorned with countless stars.
Ji Yu pulled Chen Mian's left hand and gently helped her put it on.
"So, do you like it?"
He had this idea after receiving the prize money, and spent half a month learning from the goldsmith at the jewelry store before he was able to make the bracelet himself.
Ji Yu said seriously, "Once we put on this bracelet, we will be entangled together for the rest of our lives."
“It means living happily together, not being entangled,” Chen Mianmian corrected with a smile.
"Okay, you said it yourself."
Ji Yu took Chen Mian's hand and walked towards the roadside. "I also made you some soup."
What flavor?
"Stir-fried kapok flowers and barley with crucian carp soup..."
The air was filled with the sweet scent of peaches, and the warm sunlight shone on the two figures, slowly intertwining them.
Ji Yu didn't say anything more, but simply held his wife's hand tighter.
Chen Mian took a big step forward, turned her back, and walked backwards, with a bright smile on her face and dimples appearing and disappearing at the corners of her lips.
[End of article]
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Author's Note: Ahhhhhh, it's finally finished! Let me scream for a bit first, ahh ...
This story has been brewing in my mind for years, and I've always felt it represents another possibility for my parents' generation. They weren't confined to their hometowns for life because of the elderly and children. Whether it's Chen Mian, Lin Huijun, or even Yan Yuhua, women of every age can have the courage to just pack up and go, and can pursue the life they want.
This might be why I enjoy reading historical fiction; people from that era possessed a vibrant and upward-looking vitality, filled with boundless hope for the future.
Anyway, my first novel is finally finished, and I feel a little empty inside. I hope my little cotton ball is happy in its own world.
Goodbye, see you in the extra chapter.
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