Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Excuse me, who is Director Liang? …
Liang Xin hugged the plum blossom and said, "10 points."
"Only 10 points?"
Lu Chongfeng saw from the front window that there was no one on the road, so he took Liang Xin's hand and kissed it, "Try to get 20 points next time!"
Liang Xin wanted to pull her hand back, but she didn't move. "I just got off the train, why are you kissing me?"
"I was training in the wild and ate everything."
Lu Chongfeng put Liang Xin's hand to his nose and sniffed it. "It smells good, like the scent of vanishing cream."
"It's Friendship Body Butter, specially made for hands."
Liang Xin had just gone to the bathroom to wash her face and hands and tidied her braids before getting off the train. Seeing that she couldn't pull her hand back, she let him go.
But because of this interruption, I forgot to reply to him that 10 points is the full score.
Liang Xin thought for a moment and said, "It's out of 10. I'll give you 10 points."
The corners of Lu Chongfeng's mouth immediately curled up. He held Liang Xin's hand and kissed her twice. "Just count it as 100 points. I will continue to work hard to learn and improve!"
Liang Xin followed suit and laughed, "Drive carefully."
When they got home, Xiaoju first bent his body from the sofa, yawned, jumped off the sofa, and raised his front legs to support himself on Liangxin's legs.
Liang Xin touched the spoiled little orange and said, "You're starting to gain weight."
"Are you hungry?"
Lu Chongfeng followed behind with his luggage. After putting down his luggage, he picked up the thermos and poured water into the enamel basin. He prepared towels and soap. "My sister-in-law next door specially made some dumplings and sent them over. I'll go cook them."
"Where did Xiaobai go?"
"I went with the training."
Liang Xin rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands, "She really has become a military dog."
After washing her hands, Liang Xin took out all the things that her mother-in-law had packed in the luggage.
This time, I packed a lot of New Year's goods such as salted chicken, sausage, bacon, salted fish, rice cakes, etc.
She specially bought gold-plated Spring Festival couplets from Jiangjing and brought them back with her, as well as an electric blanket, so that even though her house was by the river, it wouldn't be cold this winter.
After packing her luggage, Liang Xin walked to the kitchen in the backyard.
Lu Chongfeng had just boiled the water in the big stove. He walked around to the stove, picked up a basket of dumplings, and put them into the pot one by one.
The plump white ingot-shaped dumplings rolled in the pot, emitting the warm aroma of white flour, and Liang Xin’s fatigue from the journey was half gone.
"The water in the thermos is ready." Lu Chongfeng picked up the spoon and stirred the dumplings in the pot. "Want to take a hot bath after eating the dumplings? I'll help you adjust the water."
Liang Xin glanced at him indifferently.
“This is not a romantic thing.”
Lu Chongfeng picked up the pot lid and covered it, "No need to rate me."
Liang Xin: “….”
"Didn't they say we should eat dumplings when we get on the bus and noodles when we get off? Why are we cooking dumplings when we get off the bus?"
Lu Chongfeng was stunned, and immediately strode to the cupboard, opened the drawer, took out the noodles, grabbed a handful and put them in the pot.
Liang Xin: "I'm just saying, how can you cook noodles and dumplings in the same pot?"
"I put in a lot of boiling water so that it won't get burnt." Lu Chongfeng used chopsticks to stir the noodles. "Serve them separately later. I'll make some soy sauce soup with the noodles, and put the dumplings on an enamel plate. That way both of you can eat them."
Liang Xin walked to the stove and looked at the fire. She watched Lu Chongfeng take out an enamel bowl, scoop a spoonful of lard, soy sauce, pepper, MSG, and salt into it, and then sprinkle some chopped green onions in.
While cooking noodles and dumplings with the lid open, he took the frying pan to the honeycomb coal stove and fried an egg.
Lu Chongfeng scooped up a spoonful of noodle soup and first mixed the seasoning in the enamel bowl into soy sauce soup, then took out the noodles and put them in, continued to add a few spoonfuls of noodle soup, then put the poached egg on it and dripped a few drops of sesame oil. The green chopped green onion and fragrant sesame oil floated on the soy sauce soup, and the poached egg was golden and crispy.
Liang Xin first picked up the chopsticks and started eating the tempting soy sauce noodles. Just after taking two bites, a plate of hot dumplings was placed on the table.
Lu Chongfeng brought a small dish of vinegar. Knowing that Liang Xin loved pickles, he took out the washed and cut dried radish, kimchi, pickled garlic, and chili peppers that had been opened in advance and placed them in front of her.
Then he pulled out a stool and watched Liang Xin eat.
"There are so many, would you like to eat some too?"
"I don't want to eat."
Liang Xin didn't care whether he looked or not. The food on the train was far worse than before. She would rather have snacks than buy meals in the dining car. Now that she saw the freshly-cooked noodles and dumplings, she couldn't help but eat them in big mouthfuls.
Lu Chongfeng watched Liang Xin eat her meal. The satisfaction on his face was even greater than Liang Xin's. His eyes were full of smiles. "Eat slowly."
Liang Xin picked up the pickled chili pepper and took a bite. The spicy taste instantly stimulated her taste buds and made her sweat all over. She picked up a dumpling stuffed with cabbage and pork and sighed with satisfaction. "It's always Sister Li Mao who makes dumplings for us. This year I'll make some dumplings for her to try."
"What kind of filling do you make for your dumplings?"
Lu Chongfeng took out a handkerchief and wiped the noodle soup from the corner of Liang Xin's mouth. "It's New Year's Day. Once the service center opens, the chicken and fish balls will be sold out in less than an hour. I got up early, I'll go buy some."
"To make shrimp dumplings, buy some shrimp and fat."
Liang Xin ate a poached egg, half a bowl of noodles and ten dumplings, and couldn't eat any more. "I buy whatever I can find. I often go shopping and prepare dishes for the New Year."
Lu Chongfeng stood up and followed Liang Xin around the kitchen, "Okay, prepare all the dishes for New Year's Eve to the sixth day of the first lunar month."
Liang Xin stopped and looked at him who was following her closely. "I'm digesting my food. Don't follow me."
Lu Chongfeng hugged Liang Xin and said, "I haven't seen you for such a long time. I just wanted to follow you."
Liang Xin held back her laughter, "You're not going to work?"
"We are finishing up the public opinion polls these days. I just finished counting the last round of anonymous votes this morning and went to pick you up." Lu Chongfeng said, "So I can give you a hot bath when I have time."
Liang Xin touched her bulging belly and said, "I just finished eating, so I can't take a shower for a while."
"Then I'll take a walk with you to help you digest your food."
Liang Xin: “….”
Liang Xin walked to the backyard and looked at the frozen yellow chrysanthemum greens in the vegetable garden. "This vegetable looks very sweet."
Lu Chongfeng came over and took a look, "I'll make some soup for you to try at noon."
"Li Jiankang from Beijing Aviation Food Factory No. 1 found me through Yueji, and we reached a cooperation agreement on bread supply." Liang Xin said while strolling, "I will go back next. I need to stay in Beijing for a while."
"Healthy brother?"
Lu Chongfeng said, "He's fine. Wait, Beijing? Are you going to Beijing again?"
Liang Xin was amused by his reaction. "It shouldn't be long. I'm wondering who can go over and be the store manager."
Lu Chongfeng said: "If you continue to develop like this, the bakery will not have enough manpower with the few family members."
Liang Xin nodded, "I came back this time to solve this problem. We need to increase our manpower, but the families of the 11th Division are basically military families, so it's not a big deal to have them live apart."
"Don't worry about it."
Lu Chongfeng walked forward and walked side by side with Liang Xin. "A group of cadres will definitely be demoted before the New Year. If you really can't find anyone, just pick one from among the cadres."
Liang Xin looked at him and said, "You cadres are not even willing to be the director of the factory for dependents of the military, so how can you be willing to be an employee in our bakery?"
Lu Chongfeng: "If you don't like it, go to the farm."
Liang Xin held his hand and said, "Pay attention to the method and approach."
"Don't worry." Lu Chongfeng inserted his fingers into Liang Xin's five fingers and clasped them tightly. "I remember the results of the leadership's education on my husband and wife reform."
Liang Xin pushed him away, and was pulled into his arms, with her chin lifted and her lips kissed.
Lu Chongfeng finally squeezed into Liang Xin's bathtub and took a hot bath together under the warm winter sun.
The next morning, Liang Xin came to the bakery and talked about the development of the bakery in Jiangjing, which stunned the four people.
"Beibeibei...Beijing?"
Zhong Xuelian, who was usually calm among the four people, asked in disbelief: "Still, still getting on the plane?"
"What's wrong?"
Li Mao reacted and said in a bluffing tone: "Our bakery is eaten by cadres every day. Even if we are on the plane, we are still cadres. Why are you so excited?"
Zhong Xuelian turned her head and looked at Li Mao: "Then why is your voice shaking?"
"I......"
"Don't argue." Xia Xia looked at Liang Xin. "It's different after all. If this happened to me, I wouldn't even dare to think about it. I thought it was a great thing for the bakery to be able to open like this. I never thought it could develop like this!"
"Develop, develop to, the sky, go!"
Wang Daya finally managed to speak, "Director Liang, you, you are really awesome!"
"We can put Beijing Jiangjing aside for now." Liang Xin took a sip of the hot tea. "The most urgent thing is to come up with a name for the bakery."
"we would like?"
While kneading the dough, Zhong Xuelian said, "...Airplane Bakery?"
"What's the name of this?" Li Mao said, "People call it Dongfanghong, Hongqi, Xiangyang, which are easy to remember and have a good reputation. Can an airplane be considered a name?"
Xia Xia said: "Then call it Red Flag Bakery!"
"Business licenses are being issued everywhere in the city, and these names are repeated too often." Liang Xin said, "Think about it again."
"this......"
Li Mao pulled out a chair and sat down. "Among the four of us, Daya and I finally got into the technical secondary school of the Logistics School last year. Sister Xia Xia also went to the TV University. You are the only one who is a serious college student. You are the most educated, so you should think about it!"
"I thought of a few, and the repetition rate is not low."
Liang Xin stood up and took the blackboard, erased today's supply, and wrote: [Names will be collected for a fee within three days. The comrades whose names are finally selected by the bakery can choose three types of bread at will. 】
“This is good!”
Xia Xia picked up the blackboard and said, "There are so many people in the whole division, and there are as many pens as outside. I'm sure we can pick out a name that is both easy to remember and nice to hear!"
As soon as the blackboard was placed at the door, the families of the cadres who had rushed to the service center to buy New Year's goods before the New Year immediately gathered around.
After finding out that they were helping to name the bakery branches that would be opened in Jiangjing and Beijing, everyone was so excited that they didn't even buy food and stood in front of the bakery to think of names.
"I think we should call it Dongfanghong. What's wrong with having the same name? We already have the Dongfanghong Tractor Factory, and it won't hinder the development of the Dongfanghong Sheet Factory, the Dongfanghong Shoe Factory, and the Dongfanghong Sugar Factory. I've never heard of a bakery called Dongfanghong, so this is a good name!"
"Since Comrade Liang Xin is calling the names of the whole division, it means he doesn't want to use these familiar names. I thought of a name called Hongshun Bakery, which means great ambitions and smooth sailing!"
"The specialty of a bakery is the bread. It is a pastry shop, not a time-honored brand. Hongshun is too old-fashioned. I think it would be better to call it Pearl Bakery, a pearl grown by the 11th Division of our Jiangkou Base!"
"Vulgar, too vulgar! From now on, when people say Pearl brand, those who don't know will think it is a cosmetics brand of daily chemical factory. I thought of one. Look at Guizhou Moutai liquor, Zhenjiang vinegar, Shanghai brand watches... they are all named after places. I think it should be Jiangkou Bakery!"
"I think Changjiang is better! Just call it Changjiang Bakery!"
........
More and more people gathered in front of the bakery, even more than the first time the egg cakes came out of the oven, and the bakery was almost completely packed.
It attracted the leadership of the division.
Before the division leader could speak, he suddenly discovered a group of familiar-looking people appeared in the 11th Division.
"Commander Yang, oh! We're here! It's Commander Yang!"
"Political Commissar Zheng, it's true, I saw him 20 years ago, I recognized him!"
The people who were busy naming were soon attracted by the women and children who swarmed in, covered in dust and dirt.
Liang Xin was standing at the door and saw women of both old and young, from adults to babies in swaddling clothes.
Suddenly, a woman with a striped towel wrapped around her head and a tattered cotton jacket pointed at the bakery and said, "I smell the fragrance, this is the bakery!"
Liang Xin instantly saw the green light of wolves seeing meat in these women and children. Then, the women also ran forward like wolves pouncing on meat, scrambling to squeeze through the crowd and forced their way to the door of the bakery.
"Excuse me, who is Director Liang?"
It was the woman in the grey cotton jacket who spoke first. Liang Xin looked at her and said, "It's me."
The woman immediately held Liang Xin's hand and said, "Director Liang, benefactor, I am Zhang Guoqing's family member. I heard that the additional subsidy given by the 11th Division is the income from the bakery. Thanks to your extra subsidy, I can go to the Southern Xinjiang Martyrs Cemetery to take a look at Guoqing's tombstone..."
At this point, the woman burst into tears and was unable to finish her words.
Liang Xin was slightly startled, and before her eyes appeared a grassroots cadre with thick eyebrows and a square face in the 27 black-and-white photos on the publicity board of the Jiangkou base.
The family members of the cadres gathered in front of the bakery were all stunned like Liang Xin.
Some of the cadres present had already recognized the familiar faces.
This group of women and children were all relatives of martyrs from the 11th Division.
There are families of martyrs who died in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.
There are families of martyrs who died in □□.
There are family members of martyrs who died in the snowstorm while guarding the border.
The younger women are all family members of the 27 martyrs who died in the Vietnam War early last year.
Commander Yang walked up to a woman with fine wrinkles on her face and said, "Is this Sister Lanhua?"
The old woman nodded, tears streaming down her face before she spoke, "Xiao Yang, I haven't seen you in years."
Commander Yang said with a heavy face, "Captain Gao has been sacrificed for 27 years. We haven't seen each other for 27 years. What's going on?"
The old woman pulled her little grandson and a young girl over and said, "This is Ergou's child. Ergou went to the battlefield last year and never came back. This is Ergou's wife."
Commander Yang, a group of cadres' families, and Lu Chongfeng who rushed over after hearing the news, all looked gloomy at the same time, with the same pain flashing across their faces.
"Sister-in-law Lanhua!"
Shi Lanzhi ran over from a distance and held Li Lanhua's hand. Tears instantly flowed from both of their eyes. "Sister-in-law, we haven't seen each other for many years. The last time we met, you still had black hair. How come more than half of your hair is white now? You are still young!"
Liang Xin listened to the martyrs' families weeping, looked at their sun-bathed faces, and interrupted the crying that continued to grow louder and louder:
"I heard this sister-in-law speak, she seems to be from Hunan? This one seems to have a Northwest accent? It takes several days and nights to get from there to Jiangkou by train. What happened?"
"yes!"
Li Mao wiped away his tears and said, "Sister-in-law, you look quite old. Why did you suddenly come to the teacher's house with your family?"
The woman in the rag-padded jacket said, "We heard that there is a good factory manager in our division who is very capable. He is not only willing to teach all his skills to his apprentices, but also to pay them 30 yuan a month, teach them to read and learn, and even give them a house. So we came here as soon as we heard the news."
Lu Chongfeng's expression turned cold first, "Who told you that?"
The division leader, who had originally looked surprised after hearing what was said, knew that there was something wrong when he saw Lu Chongfeng's reaction, and his face darkened.
"I received a telegram."
Li Lanhua held her grandson's hand tightly. "My eldest son said it was a telegram from the 11th Division. What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this?"
A martyr's relative who was good at observing the expressions of others knew something was wrong when he saw the faces of the leaders. However, he noticed that Liang Xin's face was calm and held on to the last glimmer of hope and asked:
"Director Liang, is this true? I...I heard about this good news, so I plucked up the courage to separate from the old family and took a train for seven days and six nights to rush here. If, if this is not true, the three of us mothers will..."
"We only get 26 cents a day for working in our brigade. All the subsidies for the martyrs' families of Jianguo were used by my father-in-law to subsidize his eldest grandson. Our Xiuying and Cuiying can't even eat an egg for half a month..."
A woman collapsed to the ground, her face showing fear, "I also had a falling out with them... If I go back..."
"It's okay to fall out!"
The old woman Li Lanhua supported her daughter-in-law's arm and said, "I've heard that the country is going to implement the contract responsibility system and distribute land to each household. After the family is divided, you will all have your own land when you go back. With land, as long as you have hands and feet, you won't starve and you don't have to live by other people's wishes!"
The woman collapsed on the ground, looking at her two daughters who were as thin as kittens, couldn't help crying, "Without cows and tractors, how can I plow the fields and move the crops by myself?"
"Don't worry, sisters-in-law!"
Suddenly, Yu Honghong's voice came from outside the crowd. She walked forward and helped up the woman who had collapsed on the ground. "Our Director Liang is a hero, a college student, a man of great ability, and a very kind heart. Look at this female comrade."
Yu Honghong pointed at Wang Daya, "She is neither a martyr's family member nor a military family member, but she is pitiful. Her former husband was a worthless person. Director Liang did justice for her. After the divorce, he not only allowed her to continue working in the bakery with a salary of 30 yuan a month, but also helped her and her mother to divide a house. Moreover, after ensuring that they would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives, he also urged her to make progress. Now this comrade, who could not read or write, is about to graduate from a technical secondary school!"
All the relatives of the martyrs present exclaimed and looked at Wang Daya.
Wang Daya was trembling all over and looked at Liang Xin worriedly.
Lu Chongfeng pushed through the crowd and walked forward, but was stopped by Liang Xin's eyes.
A relative of a martyr looked at Wang Daya and asked, "So this comrade, does he have skills?"
"All her skills were taught to her bit by bit by Director Liang!"
After Yu Honghong finished speaking, the martyrs' families exclaimed again, and looked at Liang Xin with eyes longing for admiration.
"So!"
Yu Honghong's mouth was almost curled up to the back of her ears. She looked at Liang Xin and said, "Director Liang can even help a comrade like this. You are all true martyrs. Director Liang will definitely take you all into the bakery, teach you skills, let you get paid, give you houses, and let you live in the 11th Division for the rest of your lives. Don't you think so, Director Liang?"
Liang Xin said, "Yes."
Just as Yu Honghong's eyes showed a hint of smug smile, she heard Liang Xin say again: "As long as Minister Yu allocates money to build houses for the bakery employees, and allocates another sum of money to the bakery's chicken farm and the bakery branch in Jiangjing Beijing."
Liang Xin looked at Yu Honghong, whose lips were frozen, and said, "All the sisters-in-law can stay."
Yu Honghong's smile suddenly turned ugly: "What does this have to do with my dad? Director Liang is so capable, how could he need help from others? This is just a small matter, a hero like you can definitely solve it by yourself, am I right?"
"If I can solve it myself..."
Liang Xin smiled and said, "That's fine. Then I won't return to the 11th Division after graduation. Aunts and sisters-in-law who came here today, don't worry. I'll go back to Jiangjing to borrow money and start my own business, then I'll hire you back to work."
As soon as Zou, the division's logistics chief, arrived, he heard that Liang Xin was going to start her own business and scolded her, "Yu Honghong, what are you doing?"
Zheng Zheng also said with an unpleasant expression: "Secretary Wang, go call Director Yu of the base!"
The only trace of pride in Yu Honghong's eyes disappeared completely, and her face turned pale. "This is the bakery's business, the 11th Division's business, what does it have to do with my dad! Why did you call him!"
No one paid any attention to Yu Honghong.
Yu Honghong became increasingly panicked. "Why did the 11th Division's affairs involve my dad? Do you have any sense?"
Liang Xin held Li Lanhua's hands, which were covered with frostbite and cracked fingers, and said, "Aunt, you guys stay in the guesthouse for a few days first, and then go back and wait for half a year after you have rested. I am actually willing to hand over all the technology to you, but Minister Yu's daughter asked me to solve it myself, which means that the base and the division will not take care of the bakery. I can't bear to let you go back and suffer, so I can only go out and start a self-employed business, so this will take some time."
"You are a college student. Once you graduate from school, you will become a government official. If you don't return to the 11th Division, you can't be a self-employed person!"
Li Lanhua held Liang Xin's hand, tears streaming down her face again. "Although my eyesight is blurry, I can see that there is a misunderstanding here. My dear girl, we can survive on our own. You can't sacrifice your own future for us. Let's go now!"
"Aunt, you guys stay here first. It's more important to get some rest."
Liang Xin stopped Li Lanhua, looked at the martyrs' families and said, "Everyone stay here and spend the New Year at the 11th Division. After the New Year, we will leave together."
Minister Zou's facial muscles twitched twice, and he glared at Yu Honghong, "Comrade Liang Xin, providing jobs for the martyrs' families is a great thing. When Minister Yu comes, I believe he will definitely meet your request!"
Yu Honghong's legs went limp and she leaned against the wooden door of the bakery, looking at Liang Xin hatefully.
Originally, he wanted to take this opportunity to expose the true face of the fake hero and fake good guy, but he didn't expect that it would not only give Liang Xin the opportunity to pretend to be a good person, but also cause such a big trouble for her father!
Now if her father doesn’t agree to allocate funds to those areas of 11th Master Bakery that need money, her father will become the bad guy!
Thinking of her father's truly furious reaction, Yu Honghong's teeth began to chatter.
Lu Chongfeng looked at Liang Xin, his black eyes filled with tiny smiles like stars.
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