Chapter 106 Entering the City to Receive Rewards
Under Fubao's guidance, every household in the Pingxi Production Brigade soon began collecting fern roots, filtering the root powder, and using it to steam hot steamed bread. These steamed bread, while not as delicious as cornmeal or sorghum flour versions, did fill the stomach, a bounty for the hungry locals.
The news spread quickly, and other production teams were also curious about the fern root powder and came to learn about it. Then the news spread to the commune and the county.
Chen Youfu was asked by the commune to write a report on how to use fern root powder to make food. This was his first time writing such a report, and he asked Huo Jinyun to help him polish it. After completing it, he submitted it. The report quickly spread from the commune to the county, and from there back up. Suddenly, the matter became a major event. News spread that a production brigade in a certain county in a certain province had used fern root powder to solve its food problem. The Pingxi Production Brigade's case was made a model, and its leader, Chen Youfu, was rewarded and commended.
Fubao, the discoverer of fern root powder, was also nominated for a commendation. She instantly became a celebrity. The commune invited her to give a lecture on fern root powder production to the entire commune, and the county also invited her to give a lecture to the county's representatives. The county also awarded her a certificate, a bonus, a notebook, a pen, and even a television appearance with a red flower.
All the scenery and glory came at her, and Fubao suddenly saw the big world outside. She took the bus, the tram, the car, and even went to the county hall. She also shook hands with the leaders of the commune and the county, and was warmly greeted and praised by them.
Fubao was most pleased to see Secretary Li Mingshuan again. Secretary Li Mingshuan was now a top official in the county. He was overjoyed to learn that the girl who had discovered fern root powder and helped everyone to have food was actually Fubao. He had always been thinking about the little girl he had taken from the nunnery. He had previously asked Chen Yongfu, who was attending a meeting in the county, about her. He was very pleased to learn that she was now in school, that her family was well off, and that her academic performance was outstanding. He never expected that this little girl would actually accomplish such a great feat.
He personally put the big red flower on Fubao and asked his lover to take Fubao for a walk around the city.
Li Mingxuan's wife, Yanhong, was surnamed Sun. She had previously worked in the cold, remote frontier, but had been transferred here in recent years, under the guise of joining relatives, finally reuniting the family. She now worked at the Women's Federation. She was slightly overweight, with short hair and a face as plump and white as a freshly steamed bun. She had narrow eyes, loved to smile, and had a warm disposition, like the neighborhood auntie.
She fell in love with Fubao the moment she saw her. She had heard Li Mingshuan mention her before when they were separated, and she knew that he had always felt guilty about her. But now that she had seen her, she had never expected that she was such a pretty girl. She was really lovable.
Sun Yanhong took Fubao to visit various places in the county and told her about this and that, which really opened the eyes of the country bumpkin Fubao.
To be honest, this was the first time she saw a street light.
Finally, Sun Yanhong took Fubao to the bookstore, where she was stunned by the dazzling array of books. There were virtually no extracurricular reading materials in the countryside, and she knew all the extracurricular reading materials her father had bought her years ago by heart. Every time new textbooks were distributed, she and Gu Shengtian loved to review the Chinese textbook. Unfortunately, new textbooks were only distributed every six months, which was far from satisfying.
Now seeing so many new books, Fubao's eyes are shining and he wishes he could move the entire bookstore back home.
But she has limited money, so she definitely can't just buy anything.
Before leaving, her grandmother gave her ten dollars and asked her to buy whatever she wanted. Her parents gave her twenty dollars and asked her to buy whatever she wanted. She also received a bonus of thirty-eight dollars, which made sixty-eight dollars in total.
Sixty-eight yuan was not a small amount of money in that era. For example, Sun Yanhong's monthly salary was only more than 30 yuan. Sixty-eight yuan was the two-month salary of Sun Yanhong, the director of the Women's Federation.
Of course, Fubao is reluctant to spend all the money. There will be many opportunities in the future and many places where she will spend money. She always hopes to save some money for the family, so she can only choose her favorite books as much as possible.
Sun Yanhong looked at Fubao, who was staring at the book and couldn't bear to move his feet, and couldn't help but chuckled. "You really love to study. You can tell at a glance that you are a smart kid. No wonder you can do so well in the exam. Hey, let me tell you, my son is one year older than you. But because I was working in the border areas and the education conditions there were not good, he only studied at night for a year. Now he is going to junior high school like you. He is not a good student and doesn't like to read books. He just fiddles with wooden guns all day. If he could be half as good as you, I would be very satisfied!"
When talking about this, Fubao pursed his lips and smiled: "Auntie Sun, there is no such bookstore in our village. Usually we can only read textbooks. There are also a few books that the educated youth in our village have and lend them to us. There is nothing else."
Poor conditions, few resources and scarce resources make rural children have an inherent greed for books, just like the greed of old farmers for food.
Curious, want to read the wonderful stories in the book, want to see the world.
Sun Yanhong looked at the shyness and longing that flashed in Fubao's clear, dark eyes and couldn't help but sigh. She thought, "Comparing yourself to others is really frustrating!" She had also tried so hard to buy books for her son Jianbai, but who knew this brat just didn't like reading? Suddenly, she felt even more pity for Fubao, thinking that the little girl hadn't had an easy life and truly loved studying.
You have to know that parents who hope their children can study hard and make progress can't help but envy and love other people's "good children who study well" and wish they were their own children.
She smiled and said, "Fubao, after you buy the books, have lunch at my house today. You can talk to my kid and teach him how to study."
Fubao: "How can I feel good about that?"
Sun Yanhong didn't mention this matter anymore, and said with a smile: "Read the book first."
Fubao had no choice but to stop asking and lowered his head to read.
The books in the bookstore were placed on the shelves. If you liked a book, you could ask the salesperson to pick it out. Fubao picked out several books at once, and the salesperson got upset and asked, "Which one do you want to buy?"
She felt that although Fubao was very good-looking and his clothes were well-made, he was obviously not from the city because people in the city did not wear square-toed shoes.
Someone like her who comes from the countryside would definitely not be willing to buy so many books. It would be good enough if she could just pick out one to buy. Of course, she doesn't want to waste her time. She could use that time to knit a few more sweaters.
In those days, salesperson was a sought-after position. They had high status and tended to be indifferent to people who came to buy books.
Seeing this, Sun Yanhong stepped forward and said, "Comrade, could you please bring these books over for me to have a look?"
Once she said it, the feeling was different.
Don't be fooled by his usual smiling face, but now that he's serious, he has the aura of an official.
Who can blame her for having been the director of the Women's Federation for many years? She did it in the frontier and she does it here too. She's used to it.
As soon as the salesperson took a look, he immediately felt that something was different. This person must not be from the countryside, but from a government agency!
I didn’t dare to say anything at the moment and honestly took a few sets and gave them to Fubao.
Sun Yanhong then called out, "Bring me 'The Stone Baby,' 'Red Cherry Blossoms on the Battlefield,' and 'The Shining Red Star.'"
In the past few years, the publication of many periodicals was stopped, and some of them have been gradually resumed in the past two years, but the bookstores in their county have not yet been restocked, so there are not many books to choose from in the bookstores now, only about a hundred kinds. Sun Yanhong, as the director of the Women's Federation, is knowledgeable and knows that these are children's novels, which are just right for Fubao to read.
The salesperson looked reluctant, but still took it.
Sun Yanhong checked them all and let Fubao take a look himself. Fubao was dazzled by the choices. He looked at the prices on the back and found they were not expensive. Thinking about the bonus he had just won, he made up his mind and bought them all!
When Fubao said he wanted to buy something, the salesperson was stunned: "You need a book ticket to buy a book. Do you have one?"
Country girl, do you know what a book ticket is?
Fubao was stunned. She really didn't know that you needed book tickets to buy books. But when you think about it, you need meat tickets to buy meat, and grain tickets to buy grain. How could you buy books without tickets?
She was helpless: "Then I won't buy it——"
Before she could even open her mouth, she heard Sun Yanhong say, "Book tickets are fine. I don't have much on hand right now, so I can give you some first. I'll send the rest back later. Don't worry, I won't run away. If I don't send it within three days, go to the county party committee compound and find Secretary Li Mingshuan and hold him responsible."
The salesperson was startled. "The county party committee? Secretary Li Mingshuan?"
Sun Yanhong: "Well, Li Mingshuan is my lover, so don't worry, I can't run away, and I can also collect the book tickets for you."
Of course Fubao refused: "Aunt Sun, forget it, I don't want it. It's not an urgent book. You don't have to go out of your way to get it for me."
If Sun Yanhong already had them, she could have shamelessly taken advantage of them for the sake of the books, but Sun Yanhong also had to collect them again, so how could she have the nerve to ask for them?
Sun Yanhong was very firm and would not tolerate any refusal: "You have to buy these books today. You have the money, and I will pay for them. Isn't that perfect? Since you call me Auntie Sun, don't be polite to her. I'm still looking forward to you taking good care of my silly boy when I get home! If you don't want me to pay for them, don't you want to help me teach my brat a lesson?"
Her attitude was so tough, her posture and momentum made Fubao speechless.
It turns out that as the director of the Women's Federation, her words are different.
The salesperson was also shocked, her mind racing, the director of the Women's Federation, the man is Secretary Li Mingshuan, oh, she knew!
I've heard that it was only transferred to the local area in the last one or two years!
The salesperson thought of his previous attitude and immediately regretted it. He quickly smiled and said, "Look at what you said. Of course I'm not afraid of you running away. You can take the book first. There's no rush for the ticket. Don't worry."
Sun Yanhong smiled; "You're welcome then."
After saying that, he asked Fubao to pay the money and stamp the document, and then took Fubao directly home.
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