Chen Fangfang took the note, looked at it carefully, and silently recited it several times in her mind. After confirming that she had memorized it, she threw the note into the stove and watched it turn to ashes before saying, "I'll just memorize it! Given my in-laws' situation, I can't let them know this address!"
After saying that, she bowed to Xu Ningyan with tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you!"
After saying that, she picked up the stack of books and left the yard without looking back.
But this time, the steps on the way back were no longer as heavy as when they came; they became light and energetic.
Xu Ningyan watched Chen Fangfang's retreating figure and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile. When people have hope and goals, it's not difficult to get through these tough times.
When they went to the brigade headquarters to calculate work points and distribute grain, probably because of Xu Ningyan's gift of books, Chen Fangfang's mother-in-law approached Xu Ningyan, wanting to know if Xu Ningyan's family had anything else to give away, such as clothes, grain, furniture, etc.
He was rebuffed by the captain's wife.
The brigade headquarters calculates work points and distributes grain twice a year. Everyone is familiar with the process, so it goes very smoothly.
Xu Ningyan's final work points were all exchanged for fine grains. In the end, he even spent money to collect 150 jin of fine grains, 100 jin of rice, and 50 jin of flour.
I've already told Old Yang that he'll help deliver it to the commune first thing tomorrow morning.
Knowing that Xu Ningyan was going to the capital and would probably not come back for long, most of the families in the Tuanjie Brigade were reluctant to see him go.
What I'm reluctant to see is whether the cooperation between the Unity Brigade and the department store can continue if she leaves.
This is related to their annual income in the future.
A few people were also eager for Xu Ningyan to leave the Unity Brigade as soon as possible.
For example, the Xu family in the past.
For Xu Ningyan's family, being able to leave the Tuanjie Brigade was truly a relief.
Otherwise, every now and then Xu Ningyan would come back, and their family would be ridiculed by the people in the brigade.
Once Xu Ningyan is gone, who will remember what happened three or five years ago? Their family will finally be able to hold their heads high and find wives for the remaining men in the family.
Therefore, the Xu family was overjoyed and couldn't wait for Xu Ningyan to leave immediately.
Whether they were reluctant to let Xu Ningyan go or were eager for her to leave, they only murmured a few words in their hearts or behind her back, and dared not say a word to her face. They all smiled and congratulated Xu Ningyan.
Some of the more cunning ones started nagging Xu Ningyan, saying that she had made it big now and had climbed the social ladder, and that she should remember to help them out in the future.
Xu Ningyan has always refused to indulge or give hope to these people.
She felt she had already done enough for the Unity Brigade. With the sales and purchase relationship established with the department store, the machinery factory, out of consideration for her and Jiang Zhiyuan, also allocated a tractor quota to the brigade, which they could pick up in the spring.
These are the only two things they've ever received. In all these years, with so many people in the Unity Brigade, no one has ever given them these benefits.
If these people are content, she will not be stingy with any benefits she can give them in the future.
But these people were too greedy. They implied in their words that they wished Xu Ningyan would not forget them even after he arrived in the capital, and that he would give them any benefits he could.
Jiang Zhiyuan was too far away in the capital, so they simply inquired about Xu Ningyan's work in the county town. Their intention was to leave the county town job to their Tuanjie Brigade before Xu Ningyan left, which was a bit excessive!
They refused on the spot, without giving him any face at all.
The brigade leader and the brigade secretary were busy working nearby and didn't notice for a moment, which led to this incident.
By the time they arrived, Xu Ningyan was already cold-faced and bluntly stated, "How I handle my job in the county is my business, what's it to you? Why should you care? What do you have to do with me? You say you're surnamed Xu, but my license isn't from your Xu family! My martyr father's surname was also Xu!"
"I'm willing to bring benefits to the brigade, that's my choice! If I'm not willing, none of you are getting a single penny out of me! You're all trying to pull strings right in my face, do you think I don't know what you're up to?"
"Don't even dream about it! Do you really think I'm some kind of good-tempered person? Have you forgotten what happened to the Xu family? Do you want to keep them company? Should I grant your wish?"
...
The brigade leader and the brigade secretary were startled. Who was so blind as to offend this ancestor!
He rushed forward and gave those who had designs on him a good scolding, then turned around to comfort Xu Ningyan.
Since Xu Ningyan was about to leave, she naturally had to give the captain and his men face, so she suppressed her temper.
I had planned to leave early the next morning, so I wasn't in the mood to stay any longer.
They simply said they were leaving that afternoon.
The brigade leader and the brigade secretary tried to persuade her to stay, but to no avail. They dared not force her to stay, fearing they might anger her. So they had to arrange for Old Yang to drive over.
After loading the allocated grains onto the cart, he returned to the small courtyard, packed up his belongings, and threw them into the cart.
He gave the remaining keys to the captain's wife and then gestured for Old Yang to hurry up and leave.
The brigade leader and his men couldn't leave easily, since the work points hadn't been calculated yet and the food hadn't been distributed.
All he could do was instruct Old Yang to take good care of her and escort her to the outskirts of the brigade, telling Xu Ningyan to come back whenever she wanted, as this was still her home.
Xu Ningyan just smiled and nodded. The brigade leader and the brigade secretary knew that those words had hurt their feelings, but that was all they could do.
Watching the person walk away, the two exchanged a glance, and when they returned, they gave those who had ulterior motives a good beating.
Not only were the work points settlement and grain distribution left at the very end, but they were also directly assigned to work on building a reservoir at the end of the year.
In previous years, the men would go in shifts. This time, the brigade leader and the brigade secretary were furious, so they sent all the men from those families. They would be gone for several months and wouldn't even be able to come back for the New Year.
The men looked miserable; after enduring these past few months, they were all exhausted.
Xu Ningyan was unaware that the captain and his men had pulled this stunt after she left. Even if they had known, they would probably have just sneered.
Old Yang took her to the commune, intending to wait for the bus with her, load her things onto the bus, and then go back.
Xu Ningyan directly refused, telling Old Yang to go back to the brigade, since the work points and food hadn't been distributed yet.
Old Yang also remembered it, since he relied on it all year round, so he went back.
It was cold, the market had just ended, and there weren't many people in the commune.
Waiting for a car by the roadside again, and seeing that no one was around, Xu Ningyan put the grain into her spatial storage, leaving only a small bag with her.
When the bus to the county town arrived, I easily boarded it.
Back in the county town, the next morning, Li Jianguo came to find her, saying that Jiang Zhiyuan had called and said he would call back in half an hour, and asked him to come and call Xu Ningyan to wait for the call.
Jiang Zhiyuan's timing was impeccable; the phone rang precisely half an hour later.
Li Jianguo was very sensible and didn't go into the office. Instead, he waited at the end of the corridor, smoking.
As soon as I answered the phone, Jiang Zhiyuan's familiar voice rang out: "Yan Yan, the flowers are blooming along the path; you may return slowly!"
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