Li Jianguo let out a long sigh, unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, and took a couple of sips of tea. "Oh, now that the outsiders are gone, we can finally have a chat!"
After making sure no one was outside the courtyard, he pulled a bulging envelope from his pocket: "This is a reward for your honesty, which was unanimously decided by the leaders of our county department store. You must accept it!"
Xu Ningyan hesitated for a moment, intending to decline, but Li Jianguo noticed and said, "Comrade Xu, this is a reward from the government, don't refuse it!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ningyan took it and immediately guessed that it contained not only money but also receipts.
Seeing that Xu Ningyan had accepted the envelope, Li Jianguo picked up the two large bags he had brought: "These are a small token of our purchasing department and my own appreciation. Please keep them safe! They're nothing valuable, just some food and nutritional supplements. You need to take good care of your health!"
He opened the bag, which contained two cans of malted milk powder, two pounds of White Rabbit milk candy, two pounds of calcium milk biscuits, two pounds of steamed egg cake, and two pounds of brown sugar.
These are indeed good things for nourishing the body in this era.
Xu Ningyan hadn't expected Li Jianguo to be so generous.
They not only presented a banner and gave money, but also these other gifts.
Although none of them were as lucrative as the jobs arranged for Xu Zhenzhu as described in the book, she wasn't the kind of person who was greedy.
I'm already content with this kind of reward for such a small act of kindness.
Even if things are settled between Li Jianguo and her, she will not take advantage of his kindness to make demands or ask for favors.
All she wanted now was for Li Jianguo to leave quickly so she could go back inside and count the rewards she had received that day.
My secret stash is probably going to increase again.
You should know that Gu Zhiyuan gave her twenty yuan the day after they agreed to the fake marriage, saying it was for her monthly living expenses, but it was actually just living expenses.
Whenever Gu Zhiyuan went out, he would also buy rice, flour, meat, and other similar items, which were not included in his daily expenses.
Xu Ningyan's so-called "buying" at the commune actually mostly involved taking food from his spatial storage, all of which was priced according to black market rates.
The items in her space were bought with real money. Even a big shot can't just eat and drink for free, right?
She even bought a notebook specifically for keeping track of her expenses.
The main focus is on something that is traceable and based on evidence.
It's important to understand that in such a complex cooperative relationship, the biggest taboo is the mixing and lack of transparency in finances.
She had previously thought Gu Zhiyuan was in a bad situation and planned to subsidize him in various ways, which she considered an investment, hoping to profit from his rare find and receive returns in the future.
Now that they know Gu Zhiyuan's conditions are actually better than they thought, their relationship is one of cooperation and mutual benefit.
In any case, keeping public and private matters separate is always the right thing to do!
Gu Zhiyuan also guessed that every time Xu Ningyan went to the commune, the things she bought came from the black market, otherwise where would she get so many kinds?
However, they both kept it to themselves.
In this way, Xu Ningyan can earn fifteen yuan a month just by storing the goods in her space, even if it's a bitter pill to swallow.
This is all her money!
Unexpectedly, Li Jianguo not only didn't leave, but also sat down firmly, which gave him time to examine Gu Zhiyuan.
Gu Zhiyuan sat quietly, letting Li Jianguo scrutinize him for a long time, without showing the slightest change in expression.
Li Jianguo's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head and said, "There are no outsiders here now, so I'll just call you Yan Yatou. You can call me Uncle Jianguo. Your brigade leader and the Party Secretary have already told me about your situation on the way. Don't worry, from now on, I'm your family, your mother's family! If you need anything, just tell me. Don't be shy!"
Xu Ningyan was taken aback, not expecting Li Jianguo to say that, but she appreciated his sentiment.
"Uncle Jianguo, I understand your intentions! But I'm doing quite well now, and besides, I'm married and Brother Gu is taking care of me!"
Li Jianguo then asked, "Comrade Gu's accent sounds like it's from Beijing?"
Gu Zhiyuan nodded, enduring Li Jianguo's gaze.
"Is Comrade Xiao Gu a sent-down youth from Beijing?"
Gu Zhiyuan remained silent.
Meanwhile, at the brigade headquarters.
The other people were all driven away by the captain.
He then rushed home to tell his wife that leaders from the commune and county were coming to dinner, and that she should kill the old hen and the two crucian carp in the water tank, and make the meal as lavish as possible.
Inside, Director Zhang was asking the Party Secretary about Xu Ningyan: "What is the relationship between Comrade Xu Ningyan and the man in her family?"
The Party Secretary's face stiffened. Xu Ningyan's marriage to Gu Zhiyuan was forced by rumors, and Gu Zhiyuan's family background was not good. If the leaders found out, wouldn't it leave a bad impression on them?
Therefore, he stammered, "Comrade Gu is Comrade Si Ya's boyfriend—"
Director Zhang immediately sensed something was wrong and frowned: "How old is Comrade Xu Ningyan?" She looks like a petite little girl, how come she already has a boyfriend?
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, the Party Secretary vaguely explained the situation.
Director Zhang's expression changed drastically, and he slammed his hand on the table: "Foolish! Xu Zhihua, you two are both veterans, how could you make such a mistake?"
The Party Secretary gave a wry smile. What could he say?
He still offered a few words of explanation: "Isn't it true that rumors can drive people to their deaths? Besides, although Comrade Gu was sent down to our Tuanjie Brigade, he is more honest than those other educated youth. In the time he's been in our brigade, he has completed all the tasks assigned to him on time and has never caused any trouble."
"He kept his distance from everyone in our brigade, and he was the one who saved Siya from falling into the water. Besides, didn't you tell us to take good care of Comrade Gu? That's why we—"
Director Zhang was taken aback at first: "This Xiao Gu, is that Xiao Gu?" He was wondering why the name sounded so familiar.
So this is the son of his old friend whom his former boss entrusted to him?
At the time, the old leader only said to arrange a quiet place for me and not to pay special attention to it.
After much deliberation, he remembered that the Unity Brigade was the quietest place in the commune after such a tragedy had occurred there. So, when the list was released, he assigned Gu Zhiyuan to the Unity Brigade.
He also gave Xu Zhiguo, the captain of the Unity Brigade, a few words of advice, asking him to arrange a quiet place for them and not to disturb them.
He was busy that day and didn't even see Gu Zhiyuan in person.
Moreover, as time went by, Xu Zhiguo never mentioned it, Gu Zhiyuan never contacted him, and the old leader never asked about it; he had long forgotten about it.
Who would have thought such a bombshell would drop today!
He was so angry that he couldn't speak for a moment.
He paced around the room, exasperated, pointing a finger at the Party Secretary: "What do you know! Why didn't you report such a big thing to me beforehand? Foolish! What kind of rotten, incompetent work have you done! Truly, utterly ignorant!"
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