Chapter 162
Before, due to various reasons, these people from the union had never had a good chat with each other. Now, Ke Jiantong enthusiastically chatted with everyone about family matters. Liu Dandan and Wu Lei also suddenly opened up and talked about some things in their families.
It can be seen that both of their families are quite happy, and they are looking forward to dividing the houses after the Chinese New Year next year. Whenever the matter of dividing the houses is mentioned, everyone's eyes are shining.
"However, if I move here, it may not be so convenient. Like where I live now, I can buy all kinds of things by turning right and walking a short distance. I have to get up later than others to buy food." Liu Dandan said.
Ke Jiantong said, "How could that be? We have so many people in the factory. There will be hundreds of families living here, big and small, old and young. As long as there are more people living here, all kinds of businesses will emerge here. We can make it as convenient as we want."
"Yes, with people living here, there will be popularity, and with popularity, people will naturally appear to sell things. Moreover, with so many people living here, the villagers from the village over there will probably come over with their loads on their shoulders and sell their goods door to door. I heard from single employees living in the dormitory that if they walk over there after work, they can buy cheap vegetables from the villagers' private plots. They are fresh and delicious, and they don't have to fight for them. Anyway, I think that if they move here, life might be more comfortable." Wu Lei also said so.
Liu Dandan nodded and laughed: "That's great, our place will definitely become more and more lively in the future. However, it's still a bit far for the children to go to school. It takes half an hour to walk from here to the nearest elementary school."
"There's nothing we can do about it, but by that time, every household's children will have to go to school, so it won't be a big deal for the children to form companions," said Ke Jian.
Xia Qingtang said, "Don't worry about that. I heard from the factory office that when our factory's family quarters are occupied, the city will open a bus route here, passing by the elementary and middle schools here. The children can go to and from school together by bus."
"Really? The city is so good to our factory!" Liu Dandan was very surprised.
"Because after the Chinese New Year, not only will our factory have a large family quarters, but we will also start building a new factory building opposite our factory. However, the factory building opposite is larger, so we will have to wait until the year after next to officially start production." Xia Qingtang said with a smile.
This was the news she heard from the Xie family. In order to ensure the smooth operation of the electrical appliance factory in the future, another group of foreigners came to conduct on-site inspections and decided to build a new factory here.
This is a very good phenomenon. With more new enterprises, the economy can develop better.
Wu Lei immediately said, "I've heard about this news, too. It seems to be a car factory, right?"
"right."
"Producing cars?" Liu Dandan's eyes widened. "That's a big factory."
"Yes, so this area will definitely become more and more lively in the future. You can just move here and live here peacefully." Xia Qingtang said.
Ke Jiantong said, "Secretary Xia, don't you plan to move to the family quarters?"
Before Xia Qingtang could say anything, Liu Dandan said, "Secretary Xia lives in the provincial party committee compound on Zhongxin Road. She and her husband live in a big house with a small yard. If she moves in, the house will become smaller."
"I see." Ke Jiantong said, "But I heard Assistant Yan said that the factory's shuttle buses will be reduced in the future. If I don't stay here, it will be less convenient to commute to get off work."
Xia Qingtang said: "It doesn't matter. When there are buses, I can take them. When it doesn't rain in spring and autumn, I will ride my bike to work and treat it as exercise."
After climbing the mountain on November 11, her calves were sore for two days and her body did feel a little tired. If she could ride a bike intermittently in the future, her physical fitness would definitely be much better than it is now.
Ke Jiantong said: "In fact, living far away has its advantages. For example, in the past, I lived too close to my workplace, and whenever I needed to work overtime, my colleagues would push the responsibility to me. They always said that I could walk home in a few minutes, and that working overtime would not affect anything. I couldn't say anything, so I had to stay and work overtime every time."
Liu Dandan said, "That's great. Secretary Xia will not have to work overtime if he lives far away. If there is anything that needs to be done, we can just do it."
Xia Qingtang laughed and said, "Thank you, Director Liu. If you need me to work overtime, I will do it during lunch time as I do now, and I will make sure that I will not delay work."
After a lively lunch, several people took their empty lunch boxes to the sink to wash them. Xia Qingtang said, "I'm going to go find my friend. You guys go back and take a nap first."
"Why don't you go find the master? Then I'll take your lunch box back." Liu Dandan took Xia Qingtang's lunch box and left with Wu Lei and Ke Jiantong.
Xia Qingtang stood at the door of the canteen and waited for a few minutes, and then Shi Xiaoyu and Shen Wen came out together.
"Xiao Xia, how is your new colleague?" Shi Xiaoyu ran over immediately.
Xia Qingtang said: "He is a very nice person, very enthusiastic, likes to talk and likes to laugh."
"After all, Assistant Yan personally asked for them. They are really good." Shi Xiaoyu said, "Will you eat with them in the future?"
"No, it was my new colleague who suggested it today. I will still ask you to have lunch with me next time." Xia Qingtang said with a smile.
Shi Xiaoyu immediately became happy: "Come on, let me tell you about my mother-in-law while I wash the lunch box..."
After listening to the trivial matters of Shi Xiaoyu's family for a while, Xia Qingtang went to the small conference room with Shi Xiaoyu to take a nap. After that, she got up early and went to her favorite place to bask in the sun and memorize words.
Although she no longer needs to translate for foreigners, Xia Qingtang does not intend to lose this skill that she has learned with great difficulty, so she often reviews it to learn new things so that she can use it in time if there are any emergencies in the future.
After reciting for about twenty minutes, Yan Jianshun and Cheng Shuangmin happened to pass by, and Xia Qingtang stood up and greeted them.
Yan Jianshun said, "Xiao Xia, why don't you take a nap? What are you looking at here?"
"I'm reviewing words." Xia Qingtang said, showing the paper in his hand.
Yan Jianshun was stunned for a moment and said, "You don't need to go to the workshop to do translation in the future, why are you still reviewing words?"
"Not having to do translation is one thing, but it would be a shame if you forget what you have learned with great difficulty. Languages become unfamiliar if you don't use them often. That's what my foreign language teacher told me." Xia Qingtang said with a smile, "Although I don't need to take foreign language classes anymore, I still have to continue to study on my own."
Yan Jianshun gave him an approving look and said, "You are very good and ambitious. Keep reciting. We will go over first."
Yan Jianshun took Cheng Shuangmin a few steps out, then turned back and asked, "By the way, what do you think of the new leader of your union?"
Xia Qingtang was startled: "How is the new leader?"
"Yes, I want to hear your opinion as an old employee."
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Assistant Yan, don't make fun of me. In fact, you already know exactly what our new leader is like. Why do you need to ask me?"
Yan Jianshun smiled and said, "Not bad, you've become more cunning. Let me practice Tai Chi with you."
Xia Qingtang said: "Please let me go, leader."
"Okay, if you have any major problems, don't hide them from me. You can come to me anytime." After saying that, Yan Jianshun left.
Cheng Shuangmin followed with big strides, and after walking a few steps, he turned back and smiled helplessly at Xia Qingtang.
Xia Qingtang made a face at him and continued to memorize words after they walked away.
In fact, she didn't care much about these twists and turns, and she knew that Yan Jianshun currently treated her as his own, but there were some questions that she could answer, and some questions she didn't want to answer.
She is currently just a small clerk, and no matter how she evaluates her direct supervisor, it is actually not a good thing.
When she got home, she could talk to her family, but at work, she should forget it. Even if she said something nice, it would not be a good thing if it got to Lin Shuang's ears. Her boss would think she was a gossip.
The best way is to keep silent. Whether it is good or bad, there are higher-level leaders watching her, so she is too lazy to say anything.
However, Lin Shuang is really a very good leader. In October, she held a meeting for all the employees in the factory. After that, all the work was put on the right track. Everyone has their own work, and everyone just needs to go to get off work and leave on time.
Every Monday morning, Lin Shuang would hold a small meeting with everyone, and another meeting on Saturday afternoon to make a small summary. Every time, he would ask Xia Qingtang to take minutes of the meeting, and would also back up the information afterwards, so that it would be easy to find even after a few years. Everything was very organized.
All the union secretaries adapted well. The two new members, Liu Dandan and Wu Lei, were able to work on their own by the end of October. Lin Shuang specifically praised them both at the summary meeting on Saturday afternoon, and they were all very excited.
When leaving get off work, Liu Dandan kept saying: "I really like going to work now. I am a little disappointed when I think that I can't go to work tomorrow."
Wu Lei smiled and said, "Secretary Liu, you are too hardworking. I am different. I am thinking about taking a day off tomorrow."
"Hi, I think our union is really good, the leaders are good, the colleagues are good, I am happy every day, the food in the cafeteria is good, and it is really energetic to come here to work!" said Liu Dandan.
Ke Jiantong said: "I agree with what Secretary Liu said. I have been working for many years, but the working environment of our factory union is really inspiring."
Several people talked as they walked towards the bus stop. Xia Qingtang walked at the back. She waited until Shi Xiaoyu came over, then walked forward with her hand in hand.
Shi Xiaoyu said: "My wife and I are going to visit relatives tomorrow. It's really annoying. I finally have a day off, but we have to go to their relatives' house."
"Why do we have to visit relatives at this time when it's neither New Year nor a festival?" Xia Qingtang was a little curious.
"His uncle is going to celebrate his 60th birthday, and his son-in-law has made great progress this year and has become a minor official, so he wants to set up two tables of wine for him and let us all join in." Shi Xiaoyu said.
"Isn't it better to have a banquet? His son-in-law has become successful again, so there will definitely be a feast of fish and meat."
"I don't care about eating any fancy food. I was planning to go back to see my parents. Besides, I don't like his relatives that much. By the way, Xiao Xia, do you like your lover's relatives?"
Xia Qingtang said: "Some I like, some I don't. After all, people are good and some are bad. But some of his close relatives, such as his aunt and uncle, are not here, so we don't have much contact. Moreover, his grandfather and grandfather-in-law don't have many children, so there are not that many relatives to contact. As for other relatives who are not so close, there are quite a few, but I don't need to visit them. I only see them once during the Chinese New Year."
"Your marriage is so good! I really envy you this time. You don't know that my wife's grandfather has eight children! Most of them are in this city. When I first got married, it took me a long time just to get to know everyone. I don't have many relatives on my side of the family. My grandfather has only three children, and they are all good people. I like to interact with my uncle and aunt very much. They all like me very much. Even though I am married now, my aunt will buy me snacks when she sees me."
Xia Qingtang said, "Now it's my turn to envy you. Almost none of my parents' relatives treat me well. I was forced to associate with them when I was a child, but now that I'm working, I choose not to associate with them."
Shi Xiaoyu was a little surprised: "Can you really stop associating with your relatives? Won't your parents say anything about you?"
"To be honest, I seldom interact with my own parents. I got married on my own and only went home to inform my parents after registering. So my situation is quite special, and you don't have to envy me."
Shi Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, she said, "Xiao Xia, you are really an amazing person, but I can't do that. Even if my parents or relatives are not nice to me, I can't completely stop associating with them."
Xia Qingtang patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry too much about these things. Relatives are just relatives. You don't need to care so much. It's no big deal to really interact with them. Just be perfunctory when you meet. Also, if you really don't want to go tomorrow, you can actually pretend to be sick. You know, everything depends on human effort."
Shi Xiaoyu's eyes lit up: "You're right, I went home at night and said I had a headache, and the next morning I said I couldn't get up!"
Just then the door of the bus opened, and Shi Xiaoyu waved goodbye to Xia Qingtang and happily got on the bus.
Xia Qingtang also took the bus to work. She didn't want to talk to anyone today, so she picked a window seat in the last row. She sat down and closed her eyes to rest. Other familiar people saw that she was sleeping, so no one went over to disturb her.
Xia Qingtang took the bus comfortably to Central Road. After getting off the bus, she bought a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts. Then, while eating, she walked to the gate of the compound. She saw Zhao Zhiqiang standing there holding a cloth bag and looking over here.
The moment he saw Xia Qingtang, Zhao Zhiqiang immediately smiled and shouted from a distance: "Qingtang! Qingtang, you're off work!"
Xia Qingtang frowned slightly, then walked over: "Why is uncle here?"
She hadn't seen Zhao Zhiqiang for a long time. When she saw him again today, she found that he had started to have white hair. It was obvious that his eldest cousin's affairs really worried him a lot.
Although the brother and sister Zhao Zhiqiang and Zhao Meizhen are different in many aspects, they are both devoted to their son.
"I...your aunt and I miss you. Your aunt said she hasn't seen you for a long time, so she asked me to come and bring you something. These are the dried vegetables made by your aunt herself. You know, the dried vegetables made by your aunt are especially delicious. You can take them back and eat them..." Zhao Zhiqiang almost nodded and bowed as he stuffed the cloth bag into Xia Qingtang's hands.
The last time they met was at Xia Qinghai's wedding. At that time, Zhao Zhiqiang said some very unpleasant things to Xia Qingtang. But now that he is in trouble and wants to seek help, his attitude suddenly changed.
Judging from the way he changes his face, it’s no wonder that he was able to please Kong Liangchao in his previous life and get both sons to succeed him.
Xia Qingtang didn't take the cloth bag. She said coldly, "I don't dare to accept anything from my uncle. When I was a kid, I ate a bowl of sweet potatoes from my uncle's house and my aunt asked my dad for food coupons. If I accept this bag of dried vegetables, I don't know what my uncle and aunt will ask me to give them."
"Hey, kid, what are you talking about? How could your aunt and I be that kind of people? It was just a joke before! When you came back to our house with Meizhen, did we ever not give you food?" Zhao Zhiqiang still had a smile on his face, and his wrinkles were exposed because of his smile.
Xia Qingtang said, "Of course we have food to eat. Every time Zhao Meizhen took us to visit grandma, she always brought food coupons and money. How could you two make a mistake in your calculations?"
"You kid, you just like to joke around." Zhao Zhiqiang could actually laugh. "These dried vegetables are really prepared by your aunt for you. They are all good stuff. You can take a look. There are eggplants, cowpeas, old cabbage and pumpkin slices. They are all good and very clean. When it's cold, you can steam them with rice and eat them. They are very fragrant. Take a look, take a look..."
"Uncle, I don't want the dried vegetables. We have fresh vegetables even in winter. You can't have come to me just to give me some dried vegetables. What do you want to say? Just say it directly."
Zhao Zhiqiang still smiled: "I came here with all my heart to bring you some dried vegetables. These were specially prepared by your aunt for you. But, I also wanted to ask you... Did Qinghai tell you about this before? It's about your cousin..."
"Are you talking about our electrical appliance factory recruiting workers?"
"Yes, yes, that's it! We heard that your factory will recruit workers again before the Chinese New Year, but we have been waiting until now and there is still no news. Your cousin is waiting anxiously at home. He is not young anymore, and he still doesn't have a formal job. This is not a solution! I am also anxious, so I want to come to you to ask."
Xia Qingtang said: "I don't know the exact time, but we should be recruiting at the end of this month. By then, the job announcement will be published in the newspaper, and you will definitely see it."
"At the end of this month... ah, yes, it's November now. So can we really recruit workers at the end of this month? After recruiting, can we go to work next month?" Zhao Zhiqiang's eyes lit up.
"Yes, recruitment will be completed at the end of this month, and training will begin next month. After the training, we will be able to go back to work as normal."
"Then there will be salary for training, right?"
"Yes, it's the apprentice's salary."
"That's good, that's good!" Zhao Zhiqiang looked at the people coming and going, and lowered his voice and said, "Qingtang, your brother said that you would help your cousin. I want to confirm with you, is this true?"
"I would like to ask first, has my cousin been slacking off at home these days? Our factory is very strict in recruiting workers, and has very high requirements for physical fitness. I asked my brother to tell you, has my cousin insisted on running and exercising every day?" Xia Qingtang suddenly frowned.
Zhao Zhiqiang immediately said, "Yes, yes! He has to go running every day! Your cousin has been weak since he was a child. Running is really hard for him! But this is your order, how dare we disobey? Your aunt and I will watch him run every day."
Xia Qingtang said seriously, "You'd better watch him run every day. I'm not kidding you. In our factory, other conditions can be relaxed, but physical fitness is the only thing that can't be relaxed. If he can't practice running well, then even if I can go to the factory to make connections, people will say something about me. Although I'm an officer, you have to know that I'm not a leader. I also owe people a favor to do this."
"I understand! I understand! We all know that you must ask the factory leaders for help!"
"If you understand, don't waste your time here. We will be recruiting at the end of this month. Go home and ask your cousin to exercise seriously so that he can present a good appearance when the recruitment comes. Otherwise, you will lose face for me and I will be angry too." Xia Qingtang's tone was very serious.
Zhao Zhiqiang became nervous. He said forcefully, "Don't worry. I really run with him every day. He can run a long distance in one breath now. There is absolutely no problem. I came here this time just to ask you, if your factory is recruiting again, do we need to answer any questions? You are from the factory, can you...reveal something?"
Xia Qingtang said: "The test questions should not be much different from the last time. Just let the cousin look at the materials he read last time, that is, the basic knowledge of the electrical appliance factory. They should have all of them."
"Is that really all? But last time we took the test on these same questions, your cousin failed."
"That's because my cousin is so bad. He was hired when others went with him to recruit workers. This time, you can ask my cousin to memorize the knowledge better and run faster. I'll be there later, so there will be no problem. But the competition for recruitment this time is even greater. Don't say I didn't warn you. If my cousin doesn't work hard and only relies on me, it will be impossible."
"He works hard, he really works hard! He's so old, but he doesn't even have a proper job. If he continues like this, won't he never get a wife? Not to mention that we want him to work hard, he himself really knows how to work hard." Zhao Zhiqiang's eyes turned red as he spoke. He wiped his eyes and whispered, "Qingtang, I saved your life when you were a child, and your eldest cousin always took you to play. These are all our relatives, you must do him a favor!"
Xia Qingtang rolled his eyes in his heart, and then said: "As long as my cousin can work hard, I am willing to help him with this."
This recruitment at the end of the year is in preparation for the new production line. The requirements for workers are actually similar to the last time. Since my cousin only lost in running last time, there should be no problem now as long as he trains his physical strength well.
Zhao Zhiqiang sniffed, still holding Xia Qingtang's sleeve with concern, and then said anxiously: "Our whole family will remember this favor. After all, we are relatives after all. If you marry into a family like that, and your relatives are not doing well, they will look down on you, right? Only when we are all well, your in-laws will look up to you. I am doing this for your own good, right?"
"Yes, yes, but I don't need you to do good for me. Just take care of your own business." Xia Qingtang pulled his sleeve back impatiently.
Zhao Zhiqiang came closer again and continued to pull her sleeve: "Qingtang..."
"If you have something to say, just say it nicely. Stop pulling my sleeve." Xia Qingtang frowned.
"What's wrong? Who is this? Is someone causing trouble for you?" Leng Feng suddenly came over from behind on a bicycle. He stopped the bike beside Xia Qingtang, then frowned at Zhao Zhiqiang.
"Who are you? I'm Xia Qingtang's uncle, and I'm talking to her! Why are you causing trouble?" Zhao Zhiqiang said rudely.
Leng Feng looked at Xia Qingtang: "Really?"
"Really, this man is my uncle. Thank you, Comrade Leng." Xia Qingtang still thanked him. After all, Leng Feng was still a qualified policeman.
Leng Feng said: "If you are relatives, why are you standing here talking? I thought someone was causing trouble for you."
Xia Qingtang said: "It's all right now, thank you, you can go back and rest."
Leng Feng said, "I need to go find Jin Xuan for something."
"Then you go first."
Leng Feng stared at Zhao Zhiqiang again before riding his bike in.
Zhao Zhiqiang was so shocked by his look that he broke out in a cold sweat. After he entered, he said, "Who is this guy? He looks fierce!"
"This is my wife's good friend. He's a criminal police officer, so he should look fierce."
"Oh, a criminal policeman..." Zhao Zhiqiang patted his chest, "It seems that Xiao Xie's friends are all capable."
"Yes, they are all very capable. Uncle, have you finished what you wanted to say?"
"That's all. But Qingtang, you really have to help. If your cousin doesn't have a formal job, something bad will happen..."
"I told you, go back and ask him to work hard. If you keep nagging me, I won't help you." Xia Qingtang said with a dark face.
Zhao Zhiqiang shuddered: "No, that won't work. I'll go back now... Then... Then I'll leave it to you..."
"Okay, go back now. The last bus will be gone soon." Xia Qingtang walked towards the gate.
"Hey, Qingtang, these dried vegetables!"
"No need, just take it back and eat it yourself." Xia Qingtang didn't look back and walked straight in.
She would not really help her eldest cousin, nor did she want to have anything to do with her eldest uncle's family, so there was no way she would accept those dried vegetables, even if the dried vegetables made by her eldest aunt were really delicious.
When he returned home, Leng Feng was indeed sitting in the living room talking to Xie Jinxuan.
Xia Qingtang walked in and hung up her bag, then placed the sugar-roasted chestnuts she had bought on the coffee table. She said, "I'm sorry, Zhao Zhiqiang came to see me just now, and delayed me for a while."
"I heard from Leng Feng." Xie Jinxuan said, "He came here for his eldest son's job?"
"Yes, I told him that our factory will definitely recruit workers at the end of the month, and asked him to go back and urge his cousin to run well."
"So we can recruit workers?"
"It should be possible. The requirements are similar to the last recruitment. The main requirement is good physical fitness and at least a primary school graduate." Xia Qingtang said: "My eldest cousin is a high school graduate. As long as he can pass the running test, there will be no problem."
Xie Jinxuan said: "Then I hope he can be recruited this time, and he won't bother you anymore."
"It's OK. Xia Qinghai must have threatened him, so he only came this once." Xia Qingtang put on an apron. "What are we having for dinner?"
"Today, Aunt Six sent me half an old pumpkin. I have already washed and cut it and put it there. There is also a piece of tofu, which is also fresh."
Xia Qingtang thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have pumpkin stewed with rice, and then make some spicy tofu. If we stew it for a while longer, it will definitely be delicious."
"Okay, let's eat this." Xie Jinxuan said with a smile.
Xia Qingtang walked to the living room: "Comrade Leng, are you going to have dinner here tonight?"
Xie Jinxuan and Leng Feng were both stunned by this. Leng Feng hesitated for a moment and said, "I'd better go back to eat. I won't disturb you. I'll come back after dinner."
Xia Qingtang already knew the purpose of his visit, so he asked, "Do you want my help?"
Leng Feng hesitated again and said, "Then let me tell you."
Xie Jinxuan quickly handed Xia Qingtang a cup of hot tea. Xia Qingtang drank the tea while listening to what Leng Feng said.
Xia Qingtang didn't have a very deep impression of this case. He just remembered that it was published in the newspaper around the Chinese New Year. The neighbors next door seemed to have talked about it at the time, but because it was not a particularly sensational case, he did not have a deep impression.
But although the impression was not deep, Xia Qingtang still recalled some key points. For example, she remembered that the murderer was a relative of the victim, so she talked about it in this direction.
Leng Feng said: "At the beginning we speculated whether it was this person who did it, but this person has a witness who testified that the two of them were together at the time, and the two are not blood relatives, so the testimony can be accepted."
"They are not blood relatives. Is it possible that they have some other shameful relationship?" Xia Qingtang said: "Of course, this is my feeling. I am not responsible for it. You must verify it."
Since Xia Qingtang's words gave important hints the previous two times, Leng Feng took it very seriously. So even though Xia Qingtang's words were a little unreliable this time, after thinking for a moment, he still said, "You have a point. I will check it out tomorrow. If they really have some shameful relationship, then the testimony will not count."
"Okay, you guys continue, I'll go cook." Xia Qingtang picked up the radio and went into the kitchen, then listened to the radio while cooking.
I heard a lot of familiar yet unfamiliar news in the news. Xia Qingtang remembered that starting from the end of the year, some old shops in the city began to restore their former names, and by the next year, many new shops also opened.
Although it is not a store opened under a private name, it is actually possible to do so with some connections.
While cooking, Xia Qingtang was thinking about whether he should start taking this path next year.
Dinner was simple. After the stewed rice was ready, she put the pot in a straw jar to keep it warm, and then started to make spicy tofu.
Because she wanted to eat tofu stewed into a honeycomb shape, she added more water and stewed it for a while longer. When the whole house was filled with fragrance, the spicy tofu was ready.
Xia Qingtang walked out with a smile: "Jinxuan, it's time to eat."
Leng Feng cleared the things on the table and stood up: "I'm going back to eat too, I won't be here for a while."
Xie Jinxuan said, "Okay, I'll take you out. By the way, next Sunday, Xiang Qian wants to bring his partner to our house for dinner and drinks. If you're free, come along."
Leng Feng thought for a moment and said, "I'll try my best, but it also depends on the progress of the case."
"Then if you can, come over on Saturday night and tell me. If you don't, I won't cook for you on Sunday."
"good."
Xie Jinxuan sent Leng Feng out, then locked the yard door and came back pulling a small chive from the ground.
Xia Qingtang laughed: "How did you know to pull back a green onion?"
"I forgot to pick the green onions before, but I remembered that you needed green onions to make spicy tofu, so I brought them back." As she said that, Xie Jinxuan washed the green onions in the sink and then deftly cut them into chopped green onions.
He has already trained himself and can cut vegetables very skillfully, but he is still not very good at cooking and the dishes he makes are not very tasty.
If there is any obvious shortcoming of this person, it might be that he will never learn to cook.
The hot spicy tofu and pumpkin stewed rice were served on the table. Xia Qingtang took the rice spoon and filled a big bowl of rice for both of them, then took a sip of hot tea and quickly tasted it.
"Ah, this old pumpkin is quite sweet." Xia Qingtang said, pouring another spoonful of spicy tofu into the bowl, then stirring it and eating it together.
She likes to eat such sweet and salty things, but Xie Jinxuan doesn't like it. When he eats tofu, he eats tofu exclusively and will never mix it with rice.
"Why are you suddenly so nice to Leng Feng today?" Xie Jinxuan asked curiously.
Xia Qingtang said: "He hasn't offended me all year, and we didn't have such a big grudge before. In addition, he helped me a lot this year. Just now, Zhao Zhiqiang was arguing with me at the door, and he saw it and went to help immediately. I thought, although this person has prejudices against me, he is not a bad person and is a competent policeman. Let it go. There is no need to treat him like an enemy. As a person, it is better to be free and easy."
Xie Jinxuan laughed: "You are always the most free and kind."
"That's not the case. I'm definitely not as kind as you. For example, I will never forgive Zhao Meizhen in my life." Xia Qingtang said, "I can forgive many people, but she is the only one I can't do."
"Because she is your mother, she should give you love, but she didn't, so it's right for you to hate her for the rest of your life." Xie Jinxuan said in a low voice.
"I don't hate her that much. When I think of her, I feel more of a persistent emotion. I think it's good to see her only once or twice a year." Xia Qingtang said, "I hope it can continue like this in the future."
What she hated the most was actually her past life self. As for Zhao Meizhen, Xia Qingtang would rather be a stranger to her.
She is living a smooth and hard-working life now, and as long as those people from the past don't cause her trouble, she won't do anything to them.
Xie Jinxuan reached out and touched her back: "Don't worry, your elder brother and your father are both quite sober now, and they should be able to continue like this."
After dinner, while Xie Jinxuan was cleaning the kitchen, Xia Qingtang went to get some water to wash up. When she came out, she held her notebook and began to recite seriously.
Xu Zhenhua said that he would give her a small test during class tomorrow, so Xia Qingtang was a little nervous, afraid that she would not do well in the test.
After washing up, Xie Jinxuan sat opposite her and started doing her homework.
The two of them read and studied together under the light. At around eight o'clock, Xia Qingtang got up and made two cups of milk. Just as he brought them to the table, he heard a noise coming from outside.
"What's wrong?" Xia Qingtang looked outside curiously.
There was no power outage today. Under the light of the street lights, I could see someone being caught by several people on the other side. Some were crying, some were screaming, it was a mess.
Xie Jinxuan said: "It seems like they are here to arrest someone."
"Arresting people? Are you still arresting gamblers recently?" Xia Qingtang looked outside for a few times and was hesitating whether to go out and take a look when someone came and knocked on the door.
"Open the door! We are the police!"
Xia Qingtang said: "They really are cracking down on gambling. I thought that since they have cracked down on gambling several times before, no one dares to gamble anymore."
Xie Jinxuan walked over and opened the door. He said, "How can this kind of thing end? This year's life is better than previous years. I heard that the grain harvest is also good. There must be more people who want to gamble."
Xia Qingtang sat at the table and drank milk slowly. After a while, Xie Jinxuan came in with a few policemen.
When they entered the house, they saw many books on the dining table and were stunned for a moment.
"Comrade, please open all the rooms so we can check." said a middle-aged female police officer in charge.
Xie Jinxuan nodded, and took them to open the doors one by one and showed them.
The other rooms were empty, with only two young people, Xie Jinxuan and Xia Qingtang, in the entire house.
The young man at the end whispered, "Are you the only two living in such a big house?"
Xie Jinxuan smiled and said, "Yes, my wife and I are the only ones living here."
"How come it's so good..." the young man said enviously.
"Xiao Liu, stop talking nonsense." The middle-aged female police officer said, "We have checked and there is indeed no one else in your room. You look like good comrades. However, I still want to remind you that the weather is cold, don't think that if you hide in the house to play cards, others will not find you. It is also said above that in a compound like yours, inspections must be strengthened."
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