Chapter 050: One Year Travel
Before going to bed, Wei Dai carefully used an iron to iron the newspaper. To do this, Wei Dai even went to the kitchen to light a fire and heat the iron.
This iron was said to be bought from a department store, but it was actually made by Wen Jiajia two months ago.
After the ironing, the newspaper was as smooth as new. Wei Dai cut the newspaper in half, leaving only the half with Wen Jiajia's article. Wen Jiajia couldn't understand it, so why didn't he cut it first and then iron it?
"You want to put it up?" Wen Jiajia asked, crossing her legs. "Be low-key. Just put it in a drawer with a book clip."
Wei Dai ignored her and solemnly pressed the newspaper under the glass, preparing to find a piece of wood to make a frame when he had time and hang the glass frame on the wall of the living room.
He said sharply: "If you don't show your achievements to others, it's like wearing a gorgeous dress at night. Didn't you see that when Jiang Jie was named an excellent mediator, she almost had these five words carved on her door? You have made such great achievements, you must let others know about it."
Wen Jiajia was a little scared, so she stopped stretching, put her legs down, and sat up, cross-legged. "Don't shout about this outside, I'm afraid people will nag me."
"What you?"
"Just gossiping about me!" Wen Jiajia snorted.
Jiang Baiying was awarded the title of "Excellent Mediator" in June, because this title caused a lot of trouble.
When Jiang Jie was in June and July, she really wanted to put these five words on her forehead, but not long after, she was accused of being too high-profile.
Whenever she fails to do a job well in the future, the deficiency of three points will be said to be five points.
Wen Jiajia felt that if Wei Dai promoted her outside, it would definitely bring her a lot of trouble.
Wei Dai returned to bed: "What's the problem?"
Wen Jiajia rolled her eyes: "What if someone thinks my manuscript is well written and asks me to write one for him, or to teach him how to write one?"
Ordinary people can still refuse, but what if it is the leader who speaks? Can a small person like her refuse?
What a fool, he doesn't even use his brain to think.
Wei Dai was so overwhelmed with joy that he finally reacted after Wen Jiajia reminded him: "Yes, I can't tell you."
Then he sighed and said, "What a pity! Such a big happy event, if it were in our hometown, we would have to set up two tables of wine."
Wen Jiajia was really speechless because of him. She leaned over and pushed him like this: "Why are you putting out the wine? Turn off the lights and go to sleep!"
“Pah—”
The lights went out and the room was silent.
But after a while, the room was filled with ear-reddening and heart-pounding sounds. Both parties had no place to vent their excitement, so they could only vent it on the bed.
The next day.
The weather was clear, and birds were chirping and carrying twigs and soil in their beaks as if they were trying to build nests under the eaves of her house.
How could this be possible! She didn't want to face the risk of bird shit turning around all the time.
So Wen Jiajia took a bamboo pole and drove the cute little bird away, and even poked the bird's nest, which already had chicks, to the ground.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were very loving little girls. They looked at the bird's nest on the ground with tears in their eyes.
Wen Jiajia was also a little embarrassed and coughed twice: "Ahem, it's not that my aunt is too much, but... you don't want to stand under the eaves and have bird shit fall on your heads, right?"
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, who were full of sympathy, shook their heads. Of course they were unwilling. Only a fool would be willing.
How could a child living in the countryside not know what bird droppings are?
Wen Chun said, "Can we put the bird's nest on a tree? We have two trees in our yard anyway."
Wen Jiajia doesn't mind as long as the bird's nest is not built on her house.
But, she pointed to the bird's nest on the ground and said, "But the nest is broken."
Wen Chun pursed her lips and said, "It's okay, auntie. We can build a new bird's nest."
Wen Jiajia didn't have time to do it: "You guys do it, I have to go cook."
Wei Dai left early again today. Wen Jiajia had exercised too much last night so she didn't even know what time he got up and left the house this morning.
I had boiled rice yesterday and fried rice today.
The leftover rice steamed in a wooden barrel is most suitable for scrambled eggs and fried rice. It’s a pity that there is no ham sausage, otherwise Wen Jiajia would have cut two pieces and put them in.
But there are corn kernels and green beans, which can be kept for three days once peeled, and are especially suitable for making fried rice.
The fried rice with egg is very fragrant, and Wen Chun and Wen Xuan especially like it.
These two people eat in bursts.
Sometimes they like to eat steamed buns, sometimes they like to eat noodles, but after eating them a few times, they get tired of them. Even if they say they don’t get tired of them, judging by the speed at which they eat, they are indeed tired of them.
The only thing I have eaten is fried rice with egg, every now and then for two months, and I never get tired of it.
If Wen Jiajia hadn't urged them to eat slowly, they could have finished the CD in three minutes.
The egg fried rice was a bit choking, so Wen Jiajia made three bowls of egg soup.
Wen Jiajia felt comfortable with a mouthful of rice and a mouthful of soup. After all, she could count the number of times she had eaten breakfast since she went to college.
I went to work right after dinner. Today was another day of being watched by people like a monkey.
The leader of the Propaganda Department actually wanted her to teach a class, but Wen Jiajia quickly refused.
Are you kidding? Can you take this job?
Everyone knows that your publicity department is the best at picking out words. If I say something inappropriate out of my mouth, my whole family will be killed.
So she refused very decisively and firmly, and almost made the leader feel overwhelmed. After all, it was rare for someone to refuse a leader so strongly.
The excitement of National Day has not yet passed.
The weather was good today, so an awards ceremony was held in the auditorium.
There were individual and group awards, as well as some other awards, but Wen Jiajia didn't hear clearly, after all, she was sitting in the last row.
Although the auditorium is large, not all employees can fit in. There are thousands of employees in the pharmaceutical factory, and if they all come in, the auditorium will collapse.
Wen Jiajia was selected because of that newspaper yesterday.
Because the newspaper arrived late and she had only started working this year, she had not won any awards. So she clapped her hands the whole time and her hands were almost broken.
As leaders went on stage to give speeches one after another, Wen Jiajia began to think about when to buy a radio.
It will take a long time for Wen Chun to collect eggs. By that time, the reform and opening up will have been going on for many years and the radio will no longer be valued.
Anyway, now that we have the tickets and the money, we can buy them sooner and enjoy them sooner.
When leaders give speeches, this aspect often remains unchanged for decades.
The sunlight shone in from the windows in the back row. Because it was partially filtered by the leaves outside the window, it was warm but not burning people. Wen Jiajia supported her head with her hand and felt drowsy under the influence of the sunlight.
Finally, the award ceremony was over before lunch.
"Hey, enter first to get a personal reward of 20 yuan, two tickets, and a pair of enamel cups." Wen Jiajia heard someone say this when she was leaving.
"Our factory is rich. I heard that the prize from the neighbor was only 18 yuan, no ticket, not even an enamel cup, only two towels."
"We also got a lot of advanced collective awards from our pharmaceutical factory, a full 100. Although it was shared by the entire workshop, it was still 100! And there was also a pair of thermos bottles, so when winter comes, we can drink hot water in the workshop..."
Wen Jiajia was quite excited when she heard this. 20 yuan was almost half a month's salary.
Back in the office, facing the curiosity of the other three, Wen Jiajia was unable to say anything.
“I was sitting in the last row,” she said. “To be honest, I didn’t hear much.”
Sha Yue regretted: "I have never been to one. I am curious."
Wen Jiajia rubbed her head and whispered to her, "Don't be curious. You'll just get sleepy if you go."
She had to hurry up and eat, then take a nap to be energetic in the afternoon.
To celebrate National Day, the food in the cafeteria has been particularly excellent these days.
Because eels are not out of season yet, the stir-fried eel that Wen Jiajia thinks about every week was served twice.
But there is none today. Today’s meat dish is pork with preserved vegetables.
This dish is not bad, she likes it very much. But because it is troublesome to make, she likes to eat it but not to make it.
Wen Jiajia eats very fast. After finishing the meal, she even put two servings of Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables into her lunch box, intending to take them home.
The braised pork with preserved vegetables in the cafeteria tasted very good. Even Shayue, who was a frugal person, couldn't help but order a portion home for her husband to try.
"Alas, only after I became the head of my own household did I realize how expensive daily necessities are." She sighed while holding her lunch box, then laughed, "But it feels great to be able to eat whatever I want and buy whatever I want."
Wen Jiajia patted her on the shoulder and said, "It will be more enjoyable in the future."
Feng Yu started to earn a high salary not long after entering the research institute, and his salary will only get higher as his working age increases.
The two men were still in the office.
Qiao He saw Jia Jia coming in with a lunch box that was obviously filled with food, so he asked, "Does Canteen No. 2 have meat dishes?"
His mouth finally didn't sound so irritating to Wen Jiajia anymore, so sometimes they would exchange a few words.
As we communicated, we became familiar with each other.
Wen Jiajia: "Yes, go quickly. But it's pork with preserved vegetables, with lots of meat and preserved vegetables, and it tastes really good!"
When Qiao He heard this, he picked up his lunch box and ran without hesitation, without even having time to put the manuscript on the table into the drawer.
Even Li Haijun took out his lunch box and went out, but he had to maintain his demeanor, so he walked a few steps slowly.
Wen Jiajia burst out laughing, and Sha Yue couldn't help it either, and laughed out loud with her head down.
The afternoon passed quickly, and it was almost five o'clock when Wen Jiajia went to the workshop to count the inventory.
Just as she was packing up and preparing to go home, someone called out outside the office door: "Jia Jia, someone is looking for you."
The person who called out was Wen Jiajia's friend in the workshop, Hao Qingying. She got along well with this girl and last month Hao Qingying even took her home for dinner.
Her father is the descendant of a famous chef who works in a big hotel in the city that specializes in receiving distinguished guests. His skills are absolutely first-rate, and the dishes he makes are definitely the best that Wen Jiajia has ever eaten in her two lifetimes.
"Who?" Wen Jiajia asked.
"Liu Sihua from Workshop 1. Oh, by the way, she said her aunt knows you."
After Hao Qingying finished speaking, Wen Jiajia knew who she was: Sister Hong’s niece!
Wen Jiajia never went to look for her after she started working. It wasn't because she forgot or didn't want to, but because she wasn't familiar with her and had never even met her. There was no point in looking for her unless you ran into her.
However, the pharmaceutical factory was too large, and the first workshop was at least fifteen minutes away from their sixth workshop. Even the door they chose to enter the factory was different, so it was not normal that they did not encounter it.
Wen Jiajia went out with her bag on her back. When she arrived at the outer door of the workshop, she saw a girl wearing work clothes with two thick braids hanging on her chest.
For a moment, she had some crooked thoughts in her mind, thinking that everyone in this era had thick hair... If she had seen these two braids in her previous life, she would have been drooling with envy.
Liu Sihua walked forward a few steps, came in front of Wen Jiajia, and said with a smile: "Comrade Wen, my name is Liu Sihua, and Liu Hong is my aunt."
Wen Jiajia also treated the young man, an acquaintance, with some familiarity: "Hello, Comrade Liu, what can I do for you?"
Seeing that she was carrying a backpack, Liu Sihua said straight to the point: "Comrade Wen, can you help me pass this bag of things to my aunt?"
As she spoke, she handed a cloth bag to Wen Jiajia.
Wen Jiajia took it: "No problem."
It was a small matter, but she was happy to help.
Liu Sihua didn't bother him any more. He thanked him repeatedly and left immediately.
It was still daylight and the sun had not yet set.
Wen Jiajia went to the carport to ride her bike, and when she left the pharmaceutical factory, she just happened to catch the elementary school students from a nearby school getting out of school. Looking at these children who were blooming like flower buds, she felt a little happier.
She arrived at the military unit a few minutes earlier than usual today. She did not go home directly, but went around to the family building area and went upstairs to Sister Hong's house.
There was a quarrel going on in Sister Hong's home. With so many children in the family, quarrels were inevitable.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan are as close as conjoined twins. On average, they quarrel about once a week.
She knocked on the door and called out, "Sister Hong."
A child's voice came from inside: "Who is it? Mommy's not home."
"Not home?"
The neighbor next to them also said, "Sister Hong went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. She was gone only a short while ago. Jiajia, do you want to talk to her about something?"
Wen Jiajia picked up the cloth bag in her hand and said, "Sister Hong's niece asked me to bring her something."
"Gao Fei, come out and help your mother get something. What are you doing with the door closed in broad daylight?" the neighbor shouted towards Sister Hong's house.
The door opened with a click, and a girl who looked not much older than Wen Chun came out.
Wen Jiajia recognized her; she was Hongjie’s daughter Gao Fei.
"Aunt Wen?" Gao Fei looked timid.
Wen Jiajia smiled at her: "Do you still remember me? Your cousin asked me to give this to your mother. Take it home, but don't touch it. Give it to your mother when she comes back."
There seemed to be some medicine in the bag.
Gao Fei took the cloth bag and nodded.
Wen Jiajia said goodbye and left. When she returned home, Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were already there. It showed that the beating yesterday was very effective.
"My clothes didn't get dirty today." Wen Xuan ran to Wen Jiajia excitedly and said when she saw her coming back.
Wen Jiajia teased them: "Really? I have to check it when I take a shower."
Wen Xuan quickly said, "Mud dots don't count."
Wen Jiajia understood immediately, she looked down at her trouser legs and saw that there were indeed spots of mud.
This is another puddle.
Wei Dai came back late today. It was almost seven o'clock and he still hadn't come back. Wen Jiajia didn't wait any longer and called the two children to eat.
Not surprisingly, pork with preserved vegetables is their favorite.
After being steamed again, the pork with preserved vegetables has a rich aroma, and the black preserved vegetables are soaked in oil.
Wen Jiajia likes to mix rice with preserved vegetables, then mash the meat and eat them together.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan also learned this way of eating, and they ate with their mouths drooling, finally getting full after not eating for a long time.
"Go for a walk," Wen Jiajia said. "Walk for half an hour and then come back to take a shower."
There is still one third of the preserved vegetable and pork belly left, and I have to keep it warm in the pot after the bath water is ready.
Wei Dai didn't leave a note today, so he will probably go home for dinner.
Wen Jiajia guessed right.
He came back at 9:30 in the evening when the power was out. Fortunately, Wen Jiajia was still awake at that time.
If she was woken up when she was about to fall asleep, her head would throb.
Wei Dai came back covered in mud again. Wen Jiajia took a towel to wipe his face, took out the warm food from the pot and put it on the table, lit the kerosene lamp on the table, and carefully observed Wei Dai. She was relieved to see that there were no injuries on his face.
It is also very easy to get injured during this kind of training. Wen Jiajia once saw Xie Yang from next door with a big cut on his head, and he had to wear a gauze on his head for many days.
Wei Dai saw the pork with preserved vegetables and asked: "Wow, is this from your factory cafeteria or the hotel outside the factory?"
Wen Jiajia sat next to him and yawned, "From the cafeteria. The food in our cafeteria has been really good lately."
Wei Dai: "The troops have been doing well these past two days. There are big bones in the soup, and they are beef bones."
Wen Jiajia smiled and said, "The inspectors are finally here?"
Wei Dai nodded.
Then both husband and wife couldn't help laughing.
This is how the military works. When someone from above comes to inspect, the food will be extra good.
Wei Dai had been leaving early and returning late these past two days, and the roads in the army had suddenly become flat and easy to walk on, so Wen Jiajia knew that the leader who had been saying he would come to inspect had finally arrived.
She was quite happy because there were no protruding rocks or even gravel on the road, which made it much easier to ride her bike.
Not only that, even the trees are pruned.
Wenchun and Wenxuan said that their school even replaced the doors and glass.
"When will you be done?" Wen Jiajia asked.
Wei Dai quickly ate his rice and swallowed it before saying, "I don't know, I'm afraid it will take until the end of the month."
"No way, will the inspection last until the end of the month?"
Wei Dai laughed: "Of course not, he left today. He has other things to do."
Wen Jiajia nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
It gets cold here earlier than in my hometown, the temperature is much lower, and it even snows.
Wen Jiajia thought that when Wei Dai was free, she would have to ask him to prepare firewood and coal for the winter.
She yawned again, stood up and said, "There's hot water in the thermos, pour it out when you take a shower. Oh, and the uh... bird's nest on the chair by the door, help Wenchun put it on the osmanthus tree after dinner."
Wei Dai ate up only half of the rice in the large bowl, and his hunger was finally relieved.
He poked his head at the door and asked, "Did you destroy the bird's nest on our eaves?"
Wen Jiajia: "Yes, otherwise who can stand the white bird droppings on the ground?"
Wei Dai: "Okay, go to sleep."
Wen Jiajia went back to the room.
After Wei Dai finished his meal, he washed the dishes and then put up the bird's nest.
Looking at the bird's nest in my hand... can it be called a bird's nest? It's just a ball made of branches and mud. It would be a miracle if a bird could stay on it.
He couldn't stand it, so he processed it before putting it on the tree.
The next morning, Wen Jiajia opened the door and walked to the small terrace. When she tiptoed to look up at the osmanthus tree, she saw two birds resting on their nest.
That was good, she felt relieved. Then she decided to make a few more nests.
When Wei Dai returned home after a long journey, he saw a row of bird nests of different shapes and could only help her process them again without complaint.
——
Winter comes quickly, as if in the blink of an eye, people walking outside are wearing thick clothes.
It's a rest day today, and Wen Jiajia took out her winter cotton jacket to dry it as the weather has been good these two days.
She set up three bamboo poles in the yard, and hung colorful clothes on the long poles.
"Hey, Jia Jia, the colors of your clothes are all very bright." A passerby laughed.
Wen Jiajia smiled and said, "We have two little girls at home, and they like colorful clothes like this."
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan did not go to the Yuhong class today because of the recent season change and some children in the class were coughing.
It’s not a big deal if one child coughs. What’s serious is that more and more children start coughing the next day and the day after. The teacher was so scared that she didn’t dare to let the children come to class anymore, saying that they had to wait until everyone was better.
The holiday came suddenly, and the two girls ran in and out of the house excitedly.
At this moment, they were playing hide-and-seek under the bamboo pole again. Seeing this, Wen Jiajia wanted to scold them: "You guys can play as you please, but if you knock down the bamboo pole and have nothing to wear, don't come looking for me."
Wen Chun bent over and came out, hugged her thighs and giggled: "No way, we are paying attention!"
Wen Jiajia pinched her face, then went back to the room and took out the thick quilt to dry it in the sun.
After sunbathing, I lay down on the bamboo chair in the yard.
The bamboo chair creaked and swayed, and the sun made people feel warm and comfortable.
Then she asked Wenchun to pour her a cup of osmanthus honey water. She held it in her hands and took a sip. It was so comfortable. This was how life should be.
When Wei Dai came back, he saw this scene and asked with a smile, "Didn't you say you were going to the market this morning?"
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan's eyes lit up and they ran to Wen Jiajia and looked at her pitifully.
Wen Jiajia pushed the two girls' heads away and said, "Don't block my sun."
He put the enamel cup in his hand on the table next to him, sat up and said, "We'll go together when you come back."
She was going to buy a radio, and she was going alone. What if the radio was stolen when she came back?
"Don't you have time today?" she asked.
Wei Dai took off his clothes and said, "Yes."
Only then did Wen Jiajia notice that he was wearing a brand new military coat.
"The team is distributing clothes again?" Wen Jiajia was surprised.
Wei Dai: “Yes.”
Wen Jiajia took it and looked at it carefully: "It's much longer than the old one."
Wei Dai smiled and said, "The old coat was given to me when I first joined the army."
Wen Jiajia: "You've grown a lot taller."
Not to mention, he only grew to 1.8 meters after joining the army, and he stopped growing after he was 20 years old.
Cotton coats are not easy to wash, and their warmth retention will be greatly reduced after washing. Fortunately, the cotton coats at this time are made of real materials, so you just need to put them in the sun to dry them.
After lunch, the two went to the market.
Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were very clingy, and Wen Jiajia didn't want to take them with her at first, but the two girls were too clingy, so she had to take them with her.
"Don't complain about the pain in your butt." Wen Jiajia said.
But having said that, Wen Jiajia still put a straw mattress on the back seat.
Wei Dai's mouth curled up when he saw this. The day he and Wen Jiajia met for the second time, Wen Jiajia also sat in the back seat like this.
"What are you laughing at?"
Wen Jiajia's train of thought was completely different from his. She just felt crowded and really wanted to keep these two annoying people at home.
Wei Dai coughed twice and said, "It's okay."
"Come, Wen Xuan, come to the front." Wei Dai said, and then carried Wen Xuan into the car basket.
Wen Jiajia: “…”
"Is this even possible?" She was dumbfounded.
Wei Dai started the bike and drove out the door: "It's OK. I welded the basket, it's very sturdy."
Okay, Wen Jiajia hugged Wei Dai's waist, with Wen Chun in between.
The leaves on both sides of the road turned yellow, and a gust of wind blew, and many leaves fell with the wind.
Another winter is here.
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