Wu Dazhu was clear-headed, but Zhu Jiaojiao was different. She couldn't bear to see Wu Yuanyuan suffer. She had been good to Wu Yuanyuan for twenty years, and even though she had once made her faint from anger, Zhu Jiaojiao couldn't let her go anytime soon.
After Wu Dazhu left the house, she gritted her teeth, took five hundred yuan, and went to Captain Huang's house to find someone.
Captain Huang wasn't home, so she sat there nervously for a while before leaving the Huang family home.
On the way home, I ran into Captain Huang, who had just finished discussing the allocation of worker-peasant-soldier quotas with Party Secretary Li.
Zhu Jiaojiao rushed forward, and seeing that no one was around, she whispered her purpose. Before Captain Huang could speak, she secretly slipped five hundred yuan into his hand.
Captain Huang stared at the thick wad of ten-yuan notes in his hand, and in a fit of anger, threw all the money back at her. Zhu Jiaojiao didn't react in time, and some of the notes fell to the ground.
Captain Huang: "Old Wu, you're insulting me. I, Huang Hongbing, have been a captain for over ten years and have never done anything to betray the people."
"You want me to betray the people and the Party today? Your intentions are so sinister, you must not be let off lightly. Starting tomorrow, you will go and pick out a month's worth of rice to wake up your brain."
Enraged, he roared louder, and nearby residents came out to check, only to find the ground littered with uncut sheets of paper.
Recalling the words Captain Huang had just uttered, some quick-witted individuals immediately realized what had happened.
An older woman remarked, "Tsk tsk, so much money, the Wu family must be quite wealthy."
Another older woman said, "They have a worker in their family who earns tens of yuan a month. A few hundred yuan is nothing to them. No wonder they dared to say they would give Yuanyuan a hundred yuan dowry back then."
Zhu Jiaojiao was stunned, not expecting Captain Huang to be so angry. When she heard the voices of the older women, she quickly squatted down to pick up the money.
Zhu Jiaojiao burst into tears. For the sake of an unfilial daughter, she had ruined the reputation she had built up over half a lifetime.
In order to get things done quickly, Captain Huang spoke with Hou Dayong the next day and announced the allocation of worker-peasant-soldier quotas.
Only then did the team realize that Hou Dayong, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, had quietly bypassed everyone else to get a spot.
Some people disagreed and wanted to object, but Captain Huang refuted them one by one.
Hou Dayong's worker-peasant-soldier quota was thus decided.
When Huang Guihua came to visit again, she asked about this matter: "Did you already know that Hou Zhiqing got the quota?"
Yu Rujia: "I heard a bit of a rumor, but I'm not sure, so I can't tell you."
Huang Guihua knew that Gao Shujing and Captain Huang had a good relationship, and that the decision to give the spot to Hou Dayong might have been made by the two of them, but it was only announced now.
Huang Guihua: "With such connections, no wonder you advised me not to pursue him. Forget it, if he doesn't work out, I'll find someone else; I can always find someone else."
She was a little disappointed that she hadn't figured it out sooner, but since things had come to this, she could only turn her attention to other people.
Yu Rujia: "If you're determined to find a partner for Taohua among the educated youth, you must keep your eyes wide open. There are good ones among the educated youth, and there are bad ones."
Huang Guihua: "My eyes are sharp, I'll definitely find a good one for Tao Hua. Isn't Hou Zhiqing a good one? It's just a pity I made my move too late."
Yu Rujia: "Why don't you talk to Taohua about this? She's been working at the factory for over a year and has met a lot of young people. Maybe she already has a boyfriend."
She understood Huang Guihua's desire to marry off her daughter, but not every child is willing to follow the path arranged by their parents. They usually keep their anger bottled up inside, and if it accumulates too much, it might explode one day.
Wu Yuanyuan used to be such a quiet and reserved person; who would have thought she could go crazy like that after her outburst?
Huang Guihua: "I asked, and they said no. If she had, I could have just gone to check it out directly, and I wouldn't be so worried now."
"I'll keep looking. If educated youth aren't suitable, I'll look for workers. If you have any suitable candidates here, please introduce them to me."
When Hou Dayong was leaving, his position became vacant. Some cunning individuals wanted to impress Wei Hanjie in order to get the vacant position, while others coveted the position of a brick kiln worker.
Before they could cause any trouble, Wei Han swiftly promoted Cheng Qi to replace Hou Dayong and also promoted Huang Liangjia to work as a brick kiln worker.
Huang Liangjia is Huang Lijie's older brother and Cheng Qi's brother-in-law. He is in his early twenties and has only graduated from junior high school.
He didn't do very well in school before, and he failed the worker's exam several times in town, and he also failed the teacher's exam. Now he has given up on the worker's exam and is working in the fields obediently.
Of course, Huang Liang's academic performance was not good, but he was a hard worker and usually earned full work points.
Only a minority of people in Wayao Village have a junior high school education or above; most are team members, and some have never even been to school.
Huang Liangjia became a brick kiln worker. He was hardworking, his sister was a worker, and Huang, the brigade leader, was his uncle. No one would be so blind as to question him.
Cheng Qiyuan had originally intended to take the worker-peasant-soldier quota, but after seeing his wife and daughter being affectionate, he had a different idea.
His wife was a factory worker, but she didn't look down on the meager work points he earned in the fields. She respected and understood him, and the rest of the family treated him like family.
After careful consideration, he did not ask his family to help him secure a spot, and waited patiently for the results.
Hou Dayong accepted the spot without complaint.
Although he lost his spot, he became the second-in-command of the brick kiln, which was some consolation.
The much-discussed quota system for workers, peasants, and soldiers came to an end, and Hou Dayong packed his things and left the Shangfen Brigade where he had stayed for six years a few days later.
The news that Zhu Jiaojiao wanted to bribe Captain Huang to get a spot spread throughout Shangfen Brigade. While marveling at the Wu family's wealth, people praised Captain Huang for remaining unmoved in the face of such a huge temptation.
Zhu Jiaojiao was punished by being forced to pick rice for a month. Apart from the Wu family father and son who felt sorry for her, no one else seemed to care.
Zhou Likang and Wu Yuanyuan made no response whatsoever, just like the previous year, the two families had no contact with each other, which was disheartening.
Wu Xinjie was young and hot-blooded. He was so angry about what happened to his mother that he wanted to put a sack over Zhou Likang's head and beat him up.
Wu Xinjie and Wu Yuanyuan are siblings; one resembles their father, and the other resembles their mother. Wu Yuanyuan resembles Wu Dazhu, while Wu Xinjie resembles Zhu Jiaojiao.
Director Wu Yuan was tall, while Wu Xinjie was petite, just 1.6 meters tall. Because of this, even though he was handsome and had a job, the girls in town would back down as soon as they saw his height. At twenty-three, he was still unmarried.
Wu Xinjie, who is this tall, tried to put a sack into Zhou Likang, who is over 1.7 meters tall, but failed and was instead beaten up by him.
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