Chapter 112
There are not many people like Qin Huai who would rather spend 30 yuan a month to rent a car than live in the dormitory of the Information Department. At present, Qin Huai is the only one. The dormitory of the Information Department costs 5 yuan a month, which is for water and electricity, and a meal card for one meal a day in the canteen. Their work includes two meals, breakfast and lunch, or lunch and dinner. They can choose which two meals to eat, but most people will choose lunch and dinner. In the past, many people did not have the habit of eating breakfast, or just drank something to mix. Now, it is very good to be able to sit in an office with heating, be a little hungry in the morning, and have a full meal at noon and in the evening. In addition, those who stay in the dormitory also have extra meal cards, and can also have midnight snacks. They can take half of the midnight snacks home and eat the remaining half for breakfast. That day is full and they will not be hungry at all.
Qin Huai had three colleagues before, and they all came after receiving the notice. Not surprisingly, they all chose to stay here. It was too cold here, and their families did not have the conditions to rent a car to go to get off work like Qin Huai. The only one who had the conditions at home was Zhou Chuanghong, who was alone. He was alone and had no relatives around him. It was the same whether he rented a small apartment to live in, or lived in the dormitory. The five dollars for the dormitory included water, electricity and one meal, which was much more cost-effective than an apartment building, so why bother going far away?
The three of them were quite happy to see Qin Huai again, or rather, they were very happy to see them who used to be in the same office again after such a long time. Qin Huai and his friends lived in District 2. Although District 2 was not a single-family villa, it could be considered a villa building. Those with worse conditions could not move in, let alone whether they could live there or not, and affording the rent was a big problem. Therefore, those who could live there had good conditions, and at least they had the ability to stay when it was so cold, so they would not freeze to death at home.
But the place where Zhou Chuanghong and his family lived was different. The environment inside the apartment building was particularly messy. Some families of more than ten people squeezed into a small house of more than 60 square meters. If so many people went to the greenhouse, they might not be able to afford it. Don’t say that as long as you are willing to work, you can always support yourself. Some poverty makes people helpless and sad no matter when it is. Especially for those who have elderly parents and young children, when so many people in the family can only rely on one laborer who is not even very strong to support them, the hardship is something that people who have not experienced it personally can never imagine. Therefore, in the apartment building, there are actually many people who did not go to the greenhouse and finally froze to death at home.
Because there are many examples of death around me, it is particularly emotional to see my former colleagues after being cooped up for so long.
Zhou Chuanghong and Shu Bin have all been converted to regular employees. It should be said that the timing was good. At that time, only their residential area was gradually rebuilt, and many survivors had not been rescued yet. In order to rebuild the network, they were recruited. In addition, they had good abilities and did re-establish civilian communications, so they were converted to regular employees. Now, during the days of staying indoors for most of the winter, their residential area has been rebuilt to more than ten districts, which can be regarded as a small new city. It is said that there are nearly 300,000 survivors. Anyway, the search and rescue outside are still going on. A city with a population of tens of millions cannot have only so few left. But with so many survivors, there are many former professional programmers. This is also a technical job. Even if they did not choose this job after graduation, they have signed up to try when they encounter the opportunity of expansion, just in case they are selected.
With so many applicants, there naturally had to be an exam to screen them. The exam questions were discussed and set by Qin Huai and the military communications officers. There were nearly four hundred applicants in total, and the new recruitment was not just for programmers, but also for equipment maintainers. Those who know how to use software may not be able to handle hardware, but this only applies to some people. Some basic equipment maintenance is still no problem, but in order to ensure smooth operation in the future, we cannot hire people with the basics, and we have to try to find people with the right skills in this area, so the scope of recruitment has become much larger.
Qin Huai and one of the communications soldiers are responsible for the unified recruitment of programmers. There is a written test first, and then the initial review after passing the written test, and then computer operation. After passing the first two rounds, there is the final interview. It can be said that it is very strict.
What Qin Huai didn't expect was that he actually saw Jiang Xuan among a group of applicants.
Jiang Xuan originally planned to apply for a business university, but later, perhaps because of Qin Huai, or perhaps because of Qin Huai's influence, even though Qin Huai went abroad and it was impossible for him to study in the same university as him, he still chose the major that Qin Huai chose, which was IT. So Qin Huai set up a company and started his own business after returning to China. Jiang Xuan resigned and joined Qin Huai's company. It was not just because of his interpersonal relationship, but because Qin Huai was also in this major. Now they were recruiting talents with this expertise, so it was not surprising that Jiang Xuan would apply.
Qin Huai had completely treated Jiang Xuan as a stranger. No, he was a little more than a stranger. At least he would be polite to strangers, but he had zero tolerance for Jiang Xuan. The harder his life was now, the more scared he was. When he thought of Mu Nan's damaged body over the years, and his current uneasiness about being wary of others, although his departure was the main reason, Jiang Xuan's deception was also to a large extent responsible. He blamed himself for not being able to judge people well.
The beating Jiang Xuan gave him last time was far from enough for him, but he was not so domineering as to do something behind his back just to prevent this person from appearing in front of him. As long as Jiang Xuan didn't provoke him, he would control his temper. If Jiang Xuan provokes him, don't blame him for being cruel. He has never been a kind person. In this regard, Qin Huai really felt that he might have inherited some genes from that man. When he was cruel in some aspects, human life was nothing in his eyes.
Jiang Xuan was also surprised. He didn't expect to meet Qin Huai under such circumstances. However, there was a big difference between their identities. He applied for the job and Qin Huai was the invigilator. The moment he saw Qin Huai, Jiang Xuan felt guilty and flustered. He even wondered if Qin Huai would make things difficult for him. But he couldn't help thinking that if he could be successful in the application and become a colleague with Qin Huai in the future, it would be very convenient for him to do anything. Of course, what he was thinking about now was no longer love. After being beaten by Qin Huai, Jiang Xuan no longer had that kind of romantic thoughts. From then on, what he wanted in his heart was to make Qin Huai regret it, and regret it with tears!
So after a moment of panic, Jiang Xuan answered the questions more seriously. He wanted to try his best to stay. His ability was no worse than Qin Huai's. He wanted to do better than Qin Huai. He wanted to see with his own eyes how Qin Huai was dragged down by that burden.
Qin Huai naturally didn't know about Jiang Xuan's little thoughts. After collecting the test papers, he left without looking back. Because there were many applicants, there was no condition to grade the answer sheets by machine. It would take some time to grade hundreds of test papers, so those who finished the exam in the morning did not leave. A free lunch would be provided, and the names of those who passed the written test would be listed in the afternoon, and they would take the computer test tomorrow.
Qin Huai and other people who were converted to regular employees not only had to supervise the exams, but also had to mark the test papers, including the signalmen. It was not until noon that they finished marking all the test papers. The remaining score statistics and selection list were not their responsibility.
Zhou Chuanghong stretched and stood up: "I didn't expect that there would be a day when I would have to grade exams for others."
Zhang Qi, who was sitting next to Zhou Chuanghong, said: "Some people just write nonsense, all sorts of messed up things, thinking that writing a few characters is a language formula. It's ridiculous."
Qin Huai looked at the time and said, "Let's go and have dinner."
Hearing about having a meal, of course he responded positively. Qin Huai took his lunch box to the cafeteria. Their building was later rebuilt. It used to be a small office where meals were kept for people to get. Now that the staff has been expanded, some necessary public facilities have naturally been improved, and a special cafeteria has been built.
Those who came to apply for the jobs in the morning were also queuing up for food. Probably the idea was to not let them take up the time for regular employees and soldiers to eat and rest, so a separate window for food was opened. The dishes were the same, however, otherwise with hundreds of people coming to get food, it would take a long time to queue up. The applicants had nothing to wait for in the afternoon, and it would be a waste of time for those who had work to do.
Qin Huai carried his lunch box to the window where employees could get their meals. Seeing that the lady serving the meals was still an old acquaintance, he smiled and said, "Aunt Fang, long time no see."
The plump Aunt Fang looked at Qin Huai with a smile: "Xiao Qin, you have grown more handsome after not seeing you for a few months. What would you like to eat today? I will prepare some more dishes for you."
Qin Huai asked, "Are there any candied corn tortillas today?"
Aunt Fang smiled and said, "Yes!"
Qin Huai said, "That's great. My brother is thinking about you. I brought my own food today, so I won't be eating. Please save some candied corn tortillas for me. I'll come get them after I finish my meal."
Aunt Fang naturally agreed, and even took a lunch box and took a few pieces of sugar-filled corn tortillas to Qin Huai and put them aside. As for the staple food on the other side where there was a long queue, there were also corn tortillas, but they were not sugar-filled. They had not officially joined the company yet, so how could they have such good treatment? Sugar was rare now.
Jiang Xuan, who was in the team next to him, heard their conversation and sneered in his heart. As expected, he brought a burden with him. He even had to take the food provided by the unit back to feed that burden.
Jiang Xuan finished his meal, and then chose a seat by the window with the few people he had just met. When he walked over, he saw the lunch box Qin Huai had just carried was placed on the table next to him, but he didn't know where he had gone. There were some empty seats at the back, but out of some dark thoughts, Jiang Xuan said casually: "Let's sit here. Although it's by the window, it should be okay if we're not next to each other."
It was very cold outside, and sitting by the window was not a good place to enjoy the scenery. In order to keep warm, the whole building was covered with thick cotton cloth. However, the windows were not as heat-insulated as the walls, so it would be chilly if you got too close. But they arrived late, and some of the good spots had already been taken, so they could only find a place to sit.
As soon as they sat down, several Qinhuai colleagues came over with lunch trays. They were not allowed to eat in the office. Although they could eat in the break room, they had to return the trays after eating. If they wanted to take the food away, they had to bring their own lunch boxes, which they had to wash themselves. It would be better for them to eat in the cafeteria before leaving.
Zhou Chuanghong saw Qin Huai's lunch box and looked around: "Where is Brother Qin?"
Zhang Qi said: "Captain Shi is coming. I just saw them talking. I guess he will be here soon. Come and eat. The food is getting cold." Although there is heating, it is not very warm at this temperature. It is good enough if the indoor temperature can be kept above zero. If you don't finish the food quickly, it will get cold soon.
Just as they started eating, Qin Huai came back. They didn't ask Captain Shi why he wanted to see Qin Huai, and they started eating busily.
Qin Huai opened the lunch box, and the aroma of pickled peppers immediately spread out. Zhou Chuanghong took a look and couldn't help but said, "Wow, fried rice, it looks delicious."
Qin Huai's lunch box is rechargeable and heated, so there is no need to heat it in the microwave. It is always hot when you take it out and eat it. In addition to the fried rice, several people couldn't help swallowing their saliva when they saw the bowl of tomato soup. Zhang Qi was even more curious and asked, "Are there tomatoes for sale now? Green peppers, there are still green peppers!"
There was no way to share the soup with others, so Qin Huai couldn't accept it, so he could only push out the small bowl of tiger skin pepper: "Try it."
The few of them were really greedy. Although the food in the small canteen was pretty good and the food was made as delicately as possible under limited conditions and the taste was not bad, there were no vegetables or meat after all, only some rehydrated dried food. When they saw and smelled the green peppers, their saliva could not help but overflow and they could not control themselves. However, they were not so rude as to take one each. Although there were four in the small box, they could not let them all finish it, so Zhou Chuanghong smiled and said, "Then we won't be polite. Let's share one among the three of us. Don't eat up all of Brother Qin's lunch."
Naturally, other people had no objections. Green Chili Pepper, it’s been a long time since we last saw her. This is so rare.
Zhang Qi took a bite and almost burst into tears. This was the kind of food people should eat. But he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Qin, where did you get these things?"
Qin Huai said: "My brother grew them at home. He bought some insulation film and built an indoor shed to grow some tomatoes and peppers."
Zhou Chuanghong sighed: "I'm so envious." They knew that the younger brother Qin Huai was talking about was his little lover. Although homosexuality has been much more tolerated now, as long as it is not recognized by the law, it will always be a minority group. So outside, Qin Huai usually calls him younger brother. But it seems that Qin Huai said this not to avoid anything, as if it was purely a habit.
While they were eating, Shi Yuanfei came over with a plate. When he saw Qin Huai's lunch box, he exclaimed, "Wow, fried rice with minced meat and green peppers."
Qin Huai asked, "Try it?"
Shi Yuanfei was no longer the Shi Yuanfei who Qin Huai had met at the beginning and never took anything from the people. After so many times of meeting Qin Huai, they were considered old acquaintances. So he took one without hesitation and whispered to Qin Huai: "Next time you have fruit at home, can you sell me some?"
He knew that Qin Huai and his friends had captured a lot of deer when they went hunting, and he also knew that they grew vegetables at home. As they were all in this circle, any news would spread quickly. He knew that Qin Huai's family was currently in good condition, although it was a pity that Qin Huai seemed to have never really needed his help. He remembered the favors of catching doomsday thugs, earthquake warnings, and rice donations, and he even registered himself. He hoped that they would help Qin Huai solve his problems at any time if he needed anything. But Qin Huai was too capable. He had meat and rice to eat, and he didn't need them at all. Instead, he wanted to use Qin Huai's vegetable shed.
Qin Huai smiled and said, "I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while. The seasonings for the batch we just harvested have been changed, and the rest are not yet ripe."
Shi Yuanfei hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, no problem!" At least there is some hope of waiting for Qin Huai's family, but as for waiting for the greenhouses at the base, it is still unknown how long it will take. Now most of the greenhouses are occupied by people and it is temporarily impossible to plant anything. Only a few planting sheds have started planting, but except for a small number of vegetables, most of them are grains such as rice, which is the only thing that can fill the stomach. It is still unknown what the future will be like. Only by growing more grain can one feel at ease. Although those vegetables are also indispensable, they are still ranked behind in importance compared to rice.
Even Shi Yuanfei envied Qin Huai's food, not to mention others. Jiang Xuan, who wanted to see how miserable Qin Huai was, almost broke the chopsticks in his hand, and those who had just met him were also envious. Although they were embarrassed to stretch their heads to see what others were eating, they could smell the fragrance. Moreover, the officer just mentioned minced meat fried rice. It must be very good to eat meat at this time. Even if it was canned meat, not to mention the price, it was not so easy to get it even if it was limited to rush purchase earlier. Moreover, it seemed that the family had grown vegetables in the house. Smelling the smell of green peppers in the air, some people were already scratching their hearts and livers.
If they count carefully, they haven't eaten vegetables for almost two years. Although they could still eat some meat when it got hot at the beginning, the heat later became too severe and the meat went bad too quickly. At that time, supplies became scarce, and until now, they have not had a good meal. Even though they are adults, they still can't help but look over there, drooling uncontrollably and whispering with envy.
"That seems to be a team leader, responsible for civilian communications. If we are hired, will we be under his charge?"
"I hope I can get the job. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get some food from him once in a while."
"It's great that we have a vegetable shed at home. We won't have to worry about vegetables anymore."
"Well, if I don't get the job, I'll try growing some vegetables at home. I think selling vegetables can make a lot of money now."
"We are both programmers, but can I say that I envy his hair more?"
"Eat quickly, there won't be many opportunities like this to have a free meal." If he didn't get the job, this meal would be gone.
Several people were talking in low voices. Jiang Xuan tried hard to keep a straight face and not distort it. Why? Why did Mu Nan have such a good life!
The lucky Mu Nan was plucking chicken feathers at home. Qin Huai worked so hard that he definitely couldn't wait for him to come back to cook. He wasn't very good at cooking some dishes, but stewing some dishes was much easier. He just had to put the seasonings and ingredients in the pot and cook them until they were done.
Qin Huai sent a message to Mu Nan before going home. Once he left the office building, the temperature outside would be so low that his cell phone could not be used at all, even in the car with the heater on. So Mu Nan calculated the time, got dressed early and waited on the first floor. As soon as he heard the car horn outside, he hurried out to open the door.
Qin Huai parked the car in the garage. As soon as he entered the house, Mu Nan handed him hot water: "Is it cold? Did you have a smooth work today? Is the road slippery?"
Qin Huai took a sip of water and said, "It's going smoothly. The road is not slippery. The snow is piled up high on both sides of the road. Even if you slip and can't stop the car, you will rush into the snow. So there will be no danger. Don't worry."
Mu Nan touched Qin Huai's hand, which was icy cold, and pushed him onto the kang. "I've already cooked the rice. There's a chicken cooking in the pot, and I've put lettuce in it. Let's cook it for a while. The chicken and lettuce will be cooked until they're soft. What else do you want to eat? I'll go cook it for you."
Qin Huai pulled him to his side and said with a smile, "Are you so well behaved today?"
Mu Nan held his face and kissed him: "You have worked hard in this freezing weather. It would be too much to ask you to come back and cook for me."
Qin Huai said: "Going to work is my hobby, cooking for you is my pleasure, but I am also very happy if you cook for me occasionally."
Mu Nan chuckled: "I do have some cooking skills." She couldn't do it before and had to rely on takeout to make ends meet, but now, she watches Qin Huai cook every day, and there are a lot of recipes and tutorials in the space, so stewing a chicken and stir-frying a vegetable is no problem for her.
Mu Nan put the stewed chicken in the pot into the hot pot. Since the electricity had started to be supplied, although they still slept on the kang, at least some electrical equipment did not need to be so troublesome with batteries. They simply connected a power strip to the kang and ate the hot pot while it was hot. It would not get cold if they ate it slowly.
While eating, Qin Huai said, "Many people applied for the job today, including Jiang Xuan."
Mu Nan was chewing a chicken leg. When he heard Jiang Xuan's name, he was stunned. He thought they would never meet again in this life.
Qin Huai said: "His expertise in this area is still acceptable."
Mu Nan felt that the chicken leg in his hand no longer tasted good.
Qin Huai looked at him and smiled: "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai and said, "So you two will be colleagues again?"
Qin Huai said: "If he has not lost his professional knowledge, there is a high possibility that he will be selected."
How could Mu Nan be happy after hearing this? He thought he would never have anything to do with Jiang Xuan in this life. He thought that Qin Huai had beaten him up, and he didn't know what happened in his previous life, so he just treated it as a complete interruption. But now this thing was tied up again, and they would become colleagues in the future. The words that asked Qin Huai to resign were stuck in his throat.
Qin Huai rubbed his hair and said, "If he had stayed away from me, I wouldn't have bothered him on purpose. But since he came to me, you can't blame me."
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai: "Ah?"
Qin Huai smiled and said, "What? When have I ever let go of someone who bullied you?"
Mu Nan hesitated and said, "But if he becomes your colleague, it won't be good to fight again. What if it affects your work?"
Qin Huai smiled when he heard this: "Who said that fighting is the only way to teach someone a lesson? How can the pain of the flesh be compared to the pain of attacking the heart?"
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