Chapter 23 "He really didn't mean it that way?"...
Chapter Twenty-Three "He really didn't mean it that way?" As soon as Xu Yaodong entered, he saw Lin Su snorting at the boss, seemingly unhappy, while the man's expression was serious and helpless.
He looked at him, suppressed a laugh, and asked, "Boss, what's for lunch?"
Zhou Yunqi said, "Take her to get some boxed lunches."
After thinking for a moment, I added, "Let's walk there and let her stretch her legs."
"Alright." Xu Yaodong looked at Lin Su: "Let's go, Xiao Lin."
As soon as he stepped outside with three lunchboxes in hand, Xu Yaodong asked Lin Su gossipily, "Did you just have a fight with the boss?"
“We didn’t argue. He just wanted me to move to the inner room to study.”
"Isn't this great? It's quieter inside, and no one will bother you."
"He felt that I was bothering him."
Xu Yaodong finally let out a loud laugh.
Lin Su said, annoyed, "What are you laughing at? So arrogant."
"Did you bother him?" he asked.
"Maybe. I secretly drew his sketch, and he found out," she said smugly.
Xu Yao opened his mouth in surprise: "That's amazing, awesome."
Then he muttered to himself, "Even if you just sit there doing nothing, it will still affect him."
Lin Su didn't hear clearly: "What? What could I do that would affect him?"
"It's nothing. By the way, why did you come to the sugar factory? No one cared about you on the farm."
Lin Su sighed, "It's busy season now, everyone is out cutting sugarcane, and I'm the only one left learning on the farm. I feel embarrassed."
Xu Yaodong nodded: "I understand. Then you can rest assured and follow the boss. He's not in the office all the time."
Lin Su walked and chatted with Xu Yaodong. They ordered three stir-fries at the state-run restaurant, and then packed rice for them. Xu Yaodong carried the rice back to the factory in a net bag.
Upon entering the office, she sensed something was amiss. Zhou Yunqi was setting up a smaller desk in the inner room. Seeing her return, he said, "If you still don't behave, you can go inside and study."
Lin Su stood at the doorway, looked around, and replied, "I understand."
I won't bother you.
Lin Su behaved herself for two days, sometimes studying in the outer room and sometimes going to the inner room by herself.
Zhou Yunqi said he was sleepy and should just lie down on the bed to rest. Lin Su agreed, but didn't actually take over his bed.
People come to see the factory manager from time to time, and he has a lot to do, so he can't just sit in the office all the time.
When he was away, Lin Su would answer the phone for him and write down the contents of the call, or if someone came to his office looking for him, Lin Su would also write it down.
One warm, sunny afternoon, he returned home and saw the note on the table. He smiled and said, "Looks like it's not entirely useless. At least it can be used as a secretary."
Lin Su was sitting opposite me reading a book of classical Chinese translations when she said, "But you haven't paid me a salary."
He clicked his tongue: "How dare you talk about salary? Do you think I feed you so well without spending any money? If your salary is all gone, I'll have to pay you out of my own pocket."
Lin Su pursed her lips, deciding not to argue.
She couldn't explain why, but she liked the word "paying extra" that he used.
Zhou Yunqi glanced at the person who was pursing her red lips and smiling shyly, her gaze lingering on her slightly sunken dimples, before looking away and returning a call.
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Hearing that a meeting was being held to discuss how to address the demands raised by the educated youth, the youth finally ended their protests, returned to their posts, and quietly awaited the outcome.
The atmosphere on the farm is still the same as always. After dinner, people gather together to play cards and chat.
The weather wasn't cold, only in the teens or twenties, so a base layer and a jacket were enough.
One day, Lin Su overheard them talking about the New Year's Eve party. Wang Ping said, "Su Su, Xiao Qing said you're preparing a dance performance. Are you rehearsing yet?"
Lin Su was astonished: "When did I say that? I've been at the sugar factory these past few days."
Wang Ping said, "They all say you're a great dancer. Why don't you organize some dances for everyone? Group dances, solo dances, anything is fine."
Someone immediately chimed in, "Yes, otherwise it would be just like last year, listening to Dahua play the erhu, the more you listen, the more desolate it becomes."
"And listening to Old Zhu tell ghost stories made it even more creepy."
"Yes, yes, so this year you women should contribute more performances, whether it's singing, dancing, or choral singing."
Before Lin Su could answer, Zhou Yunqi asked, "Who's organizing this year?"
"No one is organizing it, just like last year."
Zhou Yunqi said, "How can that be? Wang Ping, why don't you make the arrangements? Doesn't the farm have a sound system?"
Wang Ping said, "The microphone is broken."
"We can temporarily use the factory's equipment. All of you with many talents can sign up. We'll also get some prizes to encourage you this year. You've worked hard all year, so you should treat yourselves."
With his support, Wang Ping readily accepted the job.
He then said directly to Lin Su, "Su Su, you're in charge of the dances. The female educated youth should put on at least two dances."
"Two dances?" Lin Su frowned. "This is too difficult. There are only ten days left until the New Year, and everyone has to work during the week, so they can only practice dancing at night."
Wang Ping said, "Then why don't you do a solo dance? Anyway, you don't have to do any work."
Before Lin Su could say anything more, she said, "This is a task, assigned to you."
Lin Su had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, "Fine."
That evening, she discussed it with the girls who had gone to the bonfire party together, and they finally agreed to dance "By the Butterfly Spring" together, with Lin Su in charge of organizing the choreography and teaching.
Sun Xiaoqing asked, "Susu, what kind of dance do you do?"
Lin Su said, "How about I choreograph a simple Dai dance?"
Sun Xiaoqing tapped her chin: "That's pretty good. Once you've mastered it on your own, you can practice ours tonight without any problems."
This excited everyone, and they all said, "Then let's practice harder."
"Lin Su, you'll start choreographing tomorrow, no, you'll start now."
"That's so exaggerated," Lin Su said. "I should at least listen to some music and find some inspiration."
Sun Xiaoqing asked, "Does our farm have a cassette tape of 'Butterfly Spring'?"
"Yes, yes, yes, the deputy director listens to this song all the time."
"What about the music or songs of the Dai people?" Lin Su was unsure, but she vaguely remembered that "Phoenix Tail Bamboo Under the Moonlight," the most suitable song for the peacock dance, had not yet been created.
One of the educated youth said, "There seems to be a song called 'There is a Beautiful Place,' which is a song about the Dai ethnic group."
"Yes, yes, the deputy director has them too."
"Why don't we go and check?" Lin Su said. "If they don't have it, I can buy it tomorrow."
So Lin Su, Sun Xiaoqing, and the others went straight to the deputy director's office to look through the tapes.
It was almost 10 o'clock, and the deputy director was getting ready for bed when several girls knocked on the door, clamoring for the cassette tape.
The deputy director was extremely helpless: "You young educated youth, when we asked you to put on a show, none of you wanted to, but now you're so excited that you come knocking on the door in the middle of the night."
Wang Ping said, "If you're going to do it, do it well. Deputy Director, you love listening to songs so much, why don't you sing one?"
"Sing, just don't complain if I'm off-key."
Lin Su found the cassette tape of folk music and said with a smile, "Both of them are on it."
Someone said, "Why don't we listen to it? What if it can't be released? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"
Deputy Director Guo assured him, "It can be released, it definitely can be released."
"We'll borrow this tape recorder and tapes for rehearsals these next few days."
Zhou Yunqi stood at the door, looking at the noisy crowd, arms crossed, and chuckled softly: "You're all full of energy, what are you planning to dance?"
Lin Su said, "There are two ethnic dances: one is the Bai ethnic group's 'Butterfly Spring,' and the other is a solo dance by the Dai ethnic group."
Xu Yaodong also came over and exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing! Do you need to wear uniforms?"
"Uniforms?" Lin Su asked doubtfully. "Wouldn't that be too formal?"
Some of the educated youth said, "Do you want to buy it? We don't have any money."
Zhou Yunqi said, "If we're going to do this, let's do it properly. We should be able to rent costumes from these two ethnic groups; the county's song and dance troupe probably has some."
Lin Su looked at him excitedly: "Then, Director, could you help us rent some? We need six sets of Bai ethnic clothing and one set of Dai ethnic sarong."
Zhou Yunqi said casually, "Sure, you lead them in practice, and I'll take care of the costumes."
Because of the choreography, Lin Su didn't go to the sugar factory the next day and spent the whole day listening to music to find inspiration.
When they finished work in the evening, Lin Su organized everyone to rehearse under the shed where they had picked peanuts. However, as soon as they started rehearsing, several people gathered around.
Wang Ping's daughter, Nana, tugged at her clothes and said sweetly, "Teacher Lin, I want to dance too. Can you teach me?"
Lin Su smiled and said, "But I can't spare the time."
Wang Ping said, "Then give me some advice on what kind of dance the children should do. I'll let the kids play by themselves."
Lin Su: "How about 'Our Motherland is a Garden'? Or a chorus would be fine too, they all know how to sing that song."
After finally getting the children off, Lin Su taught everyone a few moves, which attracted even more people who all watched them with smiles.
Sun Xiaoqing said readily, "We've only just started practicing, so please don't crowd around us and make us feel uncomfortable."
Xu Yaodong said, "Wouldn't it be better if we offered you some suggestions along the way?"
"What's so good about it? How are we supposed to practice if you're just giving us random advice?"
Amid the commotion, Zhou Yunqi walked over and said, "Let's practice in the conference room. Move the table aside; it's a bit windy here."
Xu Yaodong exclaimed, "You guys are getting such great treatment! You have a dedicated rehearsal room, and the boss is even going to help you borrow costumes."
Sun Xiaoqing teased him, "Why don't you organize the male colleagues to dance a song? The manager will give you good treatment."
"No, thank you. I'm not an active member of the arts and culture movement."
Zhou Yunqi looked at Lin Su and tilted his head slightly: "Come with me to get the keys."
Lin Su followed behind him and asked, "Manager, did you inquire about clothing today?"
He turned to look at her, then suddenly chuckled, "If I manage to borrow it for you, how will you thank me?"
"We should thank you." Lin Su said, puzzled. "You were the one who wanted to make it look decent, so isn't it only right that you help us?"
He clicked his tongue and said, "I provided the venue and the costumes, and I still got criticized by Xu Yaodong. Don't you think I made a huge sacrifice?"
Lin Su shook her head: "I don't think so."
"ungrateful."
He took the key out of the drawer and handed it to her: "Here, keep it safe and don't lose it."
Lin Su took the key with a smile: "Thank you, Manager."
He looked at her with a gentle smile, his eyes tender, and raised his hand to smooth the hair on her forehead: "Why are you going there to be exposed to the wind? It's messed up your hair."
A commotion erupted at the entrance. Xu Yaodong and several girls waiting for rehearsal stood outside, all dumbfounded.
Zhou Yunqi calmly withdrew his hand: "Go ahead, and make sure the rehearsal goes well."
Lin Su was also dumbfounded, but could only pretend nothing was wrong: "Oh, then I'm leaving."
As soon as they entered the meeting room, someone couldn't help but ask, "Lin Su, the factory manager has been treating you like this, does he really not mean it?"
Lin Su: "Huh?"
No, there isn't.
"You're overthinking it."
Sun Xiaoqing shook her head and sighed: "Self-deception."
Lin Su: "..."
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Author's Note: Um, I'll probably change the update time to 10 PM tonight [poor face]. I'll write it in the announcement.
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