A campaign to eradicate the four pests brought Zhou Jiao back into the public eye. Her collaborative murals and her own promotional cartoons wowed everyone who saw them.
After Zhang Guoqing returned to work after the holiday, he learned from his colleagues that his wife had done something big.
He took the newspapers they handed him and saw that each one contained numerous reports. No wonder his colleagues happily invited him and his wife to treat him to a meal.
Zhao Dashan came out of his office and said with a smile, "You didn't just find out now, did you? Jiaojiao really made our county famous this time. Especially those pictures of the elderly and children holding rats by their tails. They made Zhou Jiao's name known throughout the provincial capital."
Zhang Guoqing listened to his colleagues' jokes and laughed repeatedly. "I really didn't know. I went back to the village to clean up the yard these days. Jiaojiao didn't tell me about this in advance. No need to say anything. It's such a happy occasion. I'll treat everyone to lunch in the cafeteria. Brother Wen, do you think my salary this month is enough to treat you all to a meal?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.
Speaking of wages, there's a story. Zhang Guoqing was a warm and hospitable person, with incredibly good relationships with his colleagues. When he first started working, he was constantly dragged to the cafeteria by his colleagues. When he collected his salary, he discovered he'd been eating other people's food.
As a result, without telling his colleagues, he secretly arranged with Xiao Wang, the cafeteria meal ticket collector, to charge all future meals he and his colleagues shared directly to his account. Before the end of the month, Xiao Wang loudly complained that his salary wasn't enough for food. This incident caused his colleagues in the armed forces to tease him for several days.
Accountant Wen knew Zhang Guoqing was a man of integrity and generosity. However, Zhang Guoqing also had to support his wife and son, so he secretly withheld his salary. When he asked about this, he smiled and said, "Don't treat us to a meal. Just bring some wine this afternoon."
Seeing his colleagues all agree with Brother Wen's suggestion, Zhang Guoqing didn't refuse. He exchanged glances with Zhao Dashan and smiled. He was mentally planning to bring some bacon.
Ever since Xiao Wang exposed the meal ticket incident, his colleagues were all aware of the situation and wouldn't let him get away with it. Zhang Guoqing felt a little embarrassed after taking advantage of so many people, so he tried to go home for lunch whenever he wasn't busy.
Seeing that it was time to go to work, Zhao Dashan smiled and said, "Okay, let's get to work. Xiaowu, remember to send these newspapers to your father-in-law to read."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded. He had just mailed a package and letter to Beijing a few days ago, and he wondered if his father-in-law and the other guys in the compound had received them. He assumed his godfather, Zhao Chuangguang, must have mailed these newspapers to Beijing a long time ago.
After work at noon, Zhang Guoqing took the newspaper and went home immediately. When he entered the yard, he found Zhou Jiao feeding her son egg custard with two newspapers thrown beside her.
He bent down to pick up the newspaper and smiled playfully at Zhou Jiao, "You're not being honest. Why are you playing around again? Do you still want to go to work?"
Zhou Jiao fed the child carefully, oblivious to the teasing in his tone. She simply said, "It'll be ready soon. We'll talk later." Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief as the child finished his egg custard. Her son was such a chatterbox. He wouldn't even want to eat when he saw someone else, but would instead start yelling excitedly. She was truly impressed by him. She didn't know where he got so much excitement from.
Glancing at the newspaper on the table, Zhou Jiao frowned slightly. "Let's eat first. I didn't expect this. Last time, it was Aunt Wang and a few old men who asked me to help. I didn't think much about it and just started painting. But today, Uncle Li sent someone to deliver the newspaper and asked if I wanted to go to work. I got a headache."
Zhang Guoqing took the child and listened to her with a smile. He was now seriously considering Li Aiguo's suggestion. He could refuse the job, but he couldn't be so obvious. Since the message came from an outsider, he needed to think it over carefully.
After washing his hands, Zhang Guoqing thought for a moment and said, "You can't go to work yet. I don't trust anyone with my son. You have to wait until he's one year old and can communicate with others before sending him to a nursery. You can go to work then."
Uncle Li, I'll go back in person later. He said the job is nothing more than following those young people around all day painting slogans, murals, and blackboard newspapers. That won't do; it's tiring and dirty. I told you you have kids to look after and school to finish, so you wouldn't be able to work. If he needs you, just let him let you know."
"Will people say I'm lax and not proactive at work? I see everyone is very proactive right now, so I'm a little worried about the negative impact."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head. "You're going to work now. Do you want to be as active as them and speak out? You want to spend all day carrying a paint bucket and painting crows? Don't worry about the impact. Aunt Wang from the neighborhood will probably ask you for help often in the future. You can even volunteer to help those young people when you have time. That's not a good image."
Zhou Jiao nodded happily. It would be best if he could help her. She would rather spend her free time with her son than running around with those people.
After returning from her hometown yesterday, she was planning to clean up the space and prepare some cooked food. She was now trying to find a way to compress the supplies in the space, otherwise she was worried that she would have no place to store them when she went up the mountain again.
Zhang Guoqing wholeheartedly agreed with her idea. The foundation of life must be prepared first. He was currently preparing a stockpile of coarse grains. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the quantity would be substantial. Unlike Zhou Jiao, he preferred to store coarse food, coarse cloth, and coarse supplies. He was reluctant to let his wife and children suffer, but others were different. He didn't dare test people's hearts. Just in case, he was even preparing to store away the bran.
He didn't tell Zhou Jiao about these things, fearing that she would be frightened. If he didn't have such a large family like the Zhang family behind him, with his father-in-law, the three of them wouldn't have suffered.
But now that he was no longer an orphan, his relatives and friends had become involved with him. At a certain point, he couldn't let his father-in-law become a burden.
After lunch, Zhang Guoqing went out to visit Li Aiguo. Li's home wasn't far from him, less than half an hour's walk. On the way, he began planning a weekend trip back home. It just so happened that the family he was staying with was also moving out in the next few days. There were still a lot of wild animals left in the space that hadn't been processed. It wasn't as convenient in the county town as in the village, and the slightest aroma of meat was enough to make it all the more noticeable.
Li loves the country, and Zhang Guoqing tells his thoughts in great detail. He treats sincerity with sincerity, and he believes that Uncle Li will understand.
Li Aiguo nodded with a smile on his face and kicked his son.
Li Qinglin screamed in surprise and was slapped a few times by his mother. Only then did he sit up straight on the floor with a smile on his face.
Before leaving, Li Aiguo offered some advice: have Zhou Jiao contribute regularly, integrate with the crowd, and never neglect the honor of being an advanced member. In particular, Zhang Guoqing should quickly apply to join the organization within the next two years.
Zhang Guoqing was deeply grateful for the man's sincere words. After thanking him, he left with Li Qinglin, who was heading to school. Along the way, Li Qinglin talked about school life, the conflicts among his classmates, and Zhang Yuntao's naiveté. Finally, he discussed plans to get together with a few people to play football, see a movie, and have a good time.
These entertainment programs made him a little distracted. At the same age, he had much more to bear than his wife. And what about Zhou Jiao? He realized that he had neglected his wife's thoughts since he started working.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
