Even those who had some reservations about Lu Kai yesterday felt that he was a really good person after hearing this today.
Some older comrades wanted to say a few words in support of Lu Kai, but were pulled back by the people next to them, who gestured for them to look at Gu Zhiyuan.
Gu Zhiyuan held out his hand, signaling Lu Kai to shut up: "My girlfriend made it very clear yesterday that this is a matter between her and the Xu family, and I respect her choice! So, Engineer Lu, you don't need to tell me this!"
Without even glancing at Lu Kai's expression, she said, "Alright, let's assign today's tasks. Everyone, come over here—"
He clapped his hands, signaling everyone to gather around, and then began assigning tasks for the day.
Lu Kai had a lot more to say, but he swallowed it all back, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
Seeing that everyone's expressions had changed and they were listening seriously to Gu Zhiyuan's work assignments, I couldn't bring myself to talk about personal matters during work hours, so I had no choice but to go over as well.
Once interrupted, if he tried to bring up Xu Ningyan and the Xu family again, Gu Zhiyuan would use the excuse that he was capable and could handle the assigned tasks with ease, and that he had extra time.
In order to discover more and greater potential in Lu Kai and to prove our trust in him, we gave him more and more tasks.
After two attempts, Lu Kai stopped mentioning it; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to complete the tasks assigned to him even if he didn't eat, drink, or sleep.
Gu Zhiyuan finally got some peace and quiet.
On Xu Ningyan's side, the training began, and Xu Zhenzhu was also training with her.
There are dozens of people who can be trained; if you don't want to talk to them, you can simply avoid them.
The training took place in the department store's auditorium, which could accommodate several hundred people. Almost all the trainees were sales clerks. The training content included learning product knowledge, operational techniques, calculation skills, and service methods.
It's what's called "understanding, familiarity, competence, and speed."
Xu Ningyan has to memorize the product name, aliases, market conditions, specifications, place of origin, unit price, performance, quality, usage and maintenance methods of each product every day.
We also had to practice using the abacus, one of those old-fashioned big abacuses for each person, making a loud, clattering sound as we worked on it.
I'm about to have an EMO.
I realized with deep regret that I hadn't assigned her to be a sales clerk at the counter, or she would have gone crazy.
She wanted to slack off, but seeing the people around her, even the older woman in her forties whose memory wasn't as good as the younger ones, who spent all her time memorizing these things except for eating and sleeping, she could only grit her teeth and memorize along with them.
In order not to attract attention during training sessions, you have to be just as enthusiastic as everyone else around you.
When I got home, all I wanted to do was collapse on the bed and not want to move at all.
Fortunately, I have a lackey at home. Every day when I come home, I lie on the deck chair in the yard and pet the lackey a couple of times to relieve my depression.
This lackey adapted perfectly to city life.
Every morning after dropping Xu Ningyan and Gu Zhiyuan off at work, it would crawl out through the dog hole and play until mealtime before coming back.
When I first returned home, I was in a sorry state, with signs of a fight on my body.
Xu Ningyan examined it and found that it had only lost some fur and had a few small wounds, nothing serious. It was the kind of thing that would heal in a couple of days if left unattended.
A few days later, the henchman's injuries disappeared. Instead, every time he returned, several dogs followed him to the dog hole. He would bark a few times before the dogs would disperse.
Several times I saw it leading a pack of dogs in the wasteland near the alley, confronting another pack of dogs, looking every bit the boss among them.
When they come back occasionally, their bellies are still round and full; I wonder what delicious food they've eaten outside.
Xu Ningyan had reminded it several times not to eat food fed to it by others or anything of unknown origin.
Most people in this era are considered simple and honest, but that may not be the case when it comes to dogs.
Thanks to her feeding him big bones and chicken legs, the dog now has a lush and shiny coat, and well-proportioned muscles; he's practically a handsome male dog.
In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it's probably just a big pot of delicious dog meat hot pot.
The lackey is intelligent and perceptive; Xu Ningyan felt it must have listened to her, since it seemed to be living a pretty comfortable life.
Gu Zhiyuan originally thought it would be good for Xu Ningyan to participate in the training and then get a permanent job.
Seeing Xu Ningyan's lifeless expression every day when she comes home is both funny and heartbreaking.
If it were someone else, he would definitely think it was pretentious, that they didn't know how to cherish such a good learning opportunity.
But to Xu Ningyan, he only offered words of comfort, saying that if it really didn't work out, she shouldn't force herself.
She had secretly asked Sun Zhou to make connections so that even if she became a permanent employee, she would still be doing her old job in the sales department. Otherwise, she would probably feel incredibly stifled.
Sun Zhou mocked Gu Zhiyuan, saying, "Isn't he always strict with himself and others? How come he has no principles at all when he's with his young wife? It's like the old house has caught fire, and it's out of control!"
Gu Zhiyuan said earnestly, "She's still young, and her future doesn't need to be limited to Jingshan County! After we finish the projects we have, I will teach her to read and write every day. With her abilities, she will have a better future in the future!"
Sun Zhou put away his teasing intentions. Judging from Old Gu's words, he was wholeheartedly planning for Xu Ningyan, this country girl, and had even thought about how she would proceed in the future.
Whether he genuinely considered Xu Ningyan as his partner, out of a sense of responsibility, or had truly developed feelings for her, it was all quite rare for Gu Zhiyuan.
He immediately asked, "Are you really interested?"
Gu Zhiyuan remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Is there anything Sun Zhou doesn't understand?
She tossed out a sour remark: "It's clear she took it to heart; that makes all the difference—"
Gu Zhiyuan kicked him out of the door, and he obediently went to do his business.
Fortunately, the last two days of the training were spent in small groups visiting and learning from various street-level supply and marketing cooperatives.
They were divided into groups of three, and Xu Ningyan was grouped with the two older women.
They went up to draw lots to determine which supply and marketing cooperative they would go to, and the older woman drew the one near the county garment factory.
The two women were seasoned veterans who had attended this kind of training several times. They walked around the supply and marketing cooperative for a bit and then came out, saying they had heard that a certain grocery store had just received some fresh fish that day, and if they went now, they might still be able to snag some.
He even asked Xu Ningyan if she was going or not.
Xu Ningyan shook her head. She wasn't going to join in the fun. Even a fool could tell there would be a long queue, and in this sweltering heat, this fish wasn't something she absolutely had to eat.
If you really want to eat it, you can just buy it from Sun Zhou on the black market.
The two older women didn't insist and happily waved goodbye at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xu Ningyan checked the time and saw that it was still early. He had nothing to do back home, so he remembered that there seemed to be a scrap metal recycling station nearby. He hadn't been there to buy anything for a long time. Why not take advantage of today to go and check it out?
Having identified the direction, Xu Ningyan strolled leisurely towards the scrap metal recycling station.
Go through another alley, and at the end and turn the corner, you'll find the scrap yard.
As soon as Xu Ningyan stepped into the alley, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
Lu Kai was walking out of a small courtyard in the middle of the alley when a slender woman with long hair followed behind him. She stood at the door and talked to him. The two were very close, and the woman even reached out to straighten Lu Kai's collar, looking very intimate.
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