Chapter 112
In her previous life, she was confused and had a stupid brain. She couldn't see many things clearly and didn't even know she was being cheated. But she had a very good memory, so when she woke up, she could sort out those things just by thinking about them.
Of course, in his previous life, Kong Liangchao kept a mistress outside, and he did it very directly without hiding it at all, but she could hardly notice it. That was because she was bullied by Kong's mother and had no strength left, so she had no energy to focus on Kong Liangchao's affairs.
But because of this, Kong Liangchao always felt that she was easy to deceive and fool, so he would not do many things behind her back. Xia Qingtang had seen his friends who did not do good things, and roughly knew that they had been doing some shameful things, but she did not have the ability and energy to take care of these things in her previous life.
In this life, although she took revenge on Kong Liangchao as soon as she came back to life and made him lose his job and dignity, no one in the Kong family is a good person. Without his job, Kong Liangchao might do bad things more unscrupulously. Otherwise, is he really waiting to eat up all his wealth?
Even though Kong Liangchao is such a coward, his mother is not. In fact, the entire Kong family is headed by his mother.
She could no longer keep her son and daughter's jobs, but how could she be willing to let it go like this? According to common sense, she would be more anxious than in her previous life to do those shady things.
Yes, Kong Liangchao and his mother did do a lot of shady things, otherwise, how could the Kong family live so well?
The consumption and enjoyment of the siblings Kong Liangchao and Kong Liangjing far exceed those of Xie Jinxuan, the child of a big leader. It is easy to guess what is going on in the Kong family.
The man with the black mole appeared around this time in his previous life, and he appeared several times afterwards. Every time he would discuss things with Kong Liangchao behind closed doors. Not only would Kong Liangchao participate, but Kong's mother would occasionally go into the room and sit for a while. The whole family just did this behind Grandpa Kong's back.
In her previous life, Xia Qingtang had never thought about what they were doing, but because she had to serve them tea and water, or make some food and send it in, she had heard some of their conversations.
Once, it was very late and the whole family had gone to bed. Kong Liangchao came back from outside with the man with the black mole. As soon as he came back, he woke up Xia Qingtang and asked her to make some midnight snack for them and send it to the small guest room downstairs.
Xia Qingtang made two bowls of noodle dumpling soup and sent them in. He heard Kong Liangchao say to the man, "Are you sure? Is he really hiding in Hongxing County?"
The man with the mole glanced at Xia Qingtang with a suspicious expression. Kong Liangchao said disdainfully: "Don't worry about her. This woman doesn't know shit. You can talk about your own business!"
The man with the black mole said, "Sure enough, Mr. Li has a woman who is raised in Hongxing County, but no one else knows about it. Their relationship is very secretive, and the authorities haven't found out about it. But I happen to have a relative who is the woman's cousin, and I only found out about this through my relative. Mr. Li is very careful in what he does, and the woman gave birth to a little son for him, who is also raised in Hongxing County. Since he has a son, how could he not keep those things with his son? Even if it's not all the things, he has to leave something for his son..."
Xia Qingtang put down two bowls of dumpling soup, refilled their tea, and went out with the tray.
At that time, she was not interested in the conversation between the two people at all, because she was busy with her own affairs. Dealing with Kong's mother and Kong Liangchao had consumed all her energy. No matter what Kong Liangchao said, she didn't want to know what it was.
For a period of time after that, Xia Qingtang heard Kong Liangchao and his mother whispering a name: Li Dan.
Li Dan is probably known to everyone in the entire provincial capital. He was the biggest leader of the local fan faction back then, and later became the head of the provincial revolutionary committee. Because he did so many bad things, after those years, his old case was thoroughly investigated last year and he was waiting to be executed.
Of course, although the man was arrested, there are still many things that have not been solved. For example, he once hid a lot of gold and silver treasures, but his entire family was arrested, and no matter how much they interrogated him, they only found a part of the treasure. The remaining half is still missing.
Xia Qingtang heard from Xie Jinxuan a few months ago that the province still had a special task force in charge of this matter, but if they couldn't find the truth in another six months, they would probably give up. The day they gave up, Li Dan would be executed.
I didn’t think these things were related before, but now after comparing them, Xia Qingtang suddenly realized what Kong Liangchao and the man with the black mole were talking about in his previous life!
What they were talking about should be the treasures hidden by Li Dan, or some of them, which were hidden with a woman in Hongxing County.
And the Kong family really found those treasures in the previous life, otherwise, would they have lived such a good life afterwards?
After their divorce, the Kong family caught up with the first batch of commercial housing and bought five or six large houses in one go. This was later told to Xia Qingtang by a busybody. If they only relied on the family's salary income, they would not be able to afford it even in another hundred years...
After figuring this out, Xia Qingtang suddenly stopped.
"Qingtang? What's wrong?" Xie Jinxuan asked in a low voice.
Xia Qingtang whispered, "I think Kong Liangchao is not right. He must be here to do something bad. The man with the mole doesn't look like a good person. Who knows what they are going to do when they get together. When I think about him doing bad things to cheat people out of money, I really want to beat him up!"
She couldn't tell what she knew, so she could only say it vaguely.
Xie Jinxuan nodded and said, "I agree with you. There is nothing in Hongxing County worth him coming here, but since he is here, it must be abnormal. I haven't paid much attention to him for a while. I only know that Kong Liangchao's grandfather is in worse and worse health, and the Kong family is not in good financial condition now. Kong Liangchao's wife gave birth to a son. Now Kong's mother attaches great importance to her and the son, so she is trying to find a job for her son, but unfortunately there is a shortage of jobs everywhere now, and his family doesn't look down on temporary workers, so Kong Liangchao must get money from other places... Wait, get money?"
Xie Jinxuan paused for a moment, looking thoughtful.
Xia Qingtang said immediately, "Yes, they must be making money. I heard that the Kong family usually lives a luxurious life. They have to eat the best and drink the best. They often eat meat and only drink Maotai. Not to mention the past, Kong Liangchao and his sister haven't worked for so long. How could their family still live so luxuriously? I think, based on his temperament, their family must have some illicit income!"
In any case, Xia Qingtang didn't want Kong Liangchao to be able to obtain the wealth hidden in Hongxing County in this life.
She herself was not very interested in these riches, but as long as they were not obtained by the Kong family, she didn't care who got them!
Xie Jinxuan smiled and said, "You still hate the Kong family so much."
"Of course I hate it. I hate those so-called cadre families who use power to oppress ordinary people the most. I will remember that hatred for the rest of my life. They can easily ask the factory director to arrange me to the most unreasonable position to suffer and force me to submit. Then they must have bigger problems in other places. Besides, aren't their ill-gotten gains exploited from the people? As a member of the people, if I find such a thing, I have the responsibility to report it. Unfortunately, I don't have any evidence now, and I don't know what he is doing in Hongxing County. You also said that this county has little output and no money. Is he here to dig for gold? Maybe there is really some gold buried underground, and it was discovered by the man with a black mole, and he wants to find Kong Liangchao to dig it out together!"
Xia Qingtang seemed to be speaking casually, but she mentioned the word gold mine on purpose, because in her previous life she had seen the gold bars privately collected by Kong's mother, and they were all genuine and good things. Now that she thought about it, who could be sure that they were the gold bars that Li Dan left for his illegitimate son?
Sure enough, the word "gold mining" attracted Xie Jinxuan's attention. He was a very smart man and was good at association.
He pondered the word "gold mine" for a while, and said slowly: "You are right. If it is not for digging gold, who would come to such a place? In the past few years, our family also hid some family heirlooms in the dark, and other people's homes must have them too. Although this is a small county, every county has had rich people. When I go back, I will contact my friend and ask him to check the man with the black mole here. As for Kong Liangchao, I will continue to find someone to keep an eye on him. Don't worry, as long as he does something bad, I will never let him go. Just like you said, the people have the right to supervise."
Seeing Xie Jinxuan understand, Xia Qingtang nodded with relief: "Yes! We must keep a close eye on Kong Liangchao's family and never let them continue to do evil!"
Afterwards, Xia Qingtang naturally changed the topic, wandered around the county town with Xie Jinxuan, and then returned to Ren's house.
It was almost four o'clock when Guan Jueming came back with Xiaojun. The father and son were walking hand in hand. Xiaojun was holding a half-eaten candied haws in his hand. Guan Chenxiang followed behind with a big bag of things in his arms, all wrapped in paper, which looked like food.
Comrade Tang said, "Why did you buy so much food? Now Xiaojun doesn't have to eat properly. He just wants to have snacks later."
Old Ren smiled and said, "It's okay. The child is not usually a greedy person. Today is a good day. Let him be happy for a few days."
Comrade Tang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Guan Chenxiang placed all the paper packages, big and small, on the dining table and said, "Some of them can be kept for a while, like peach cakes and walnut cakes, so you don't have to eat them all in a hurry. We also brought malted milk and brown sugar in the car. Although your family doesn't need these, you should accept them. They are all brought by your brother for Xiaojun."
"Okay, you are thoughtful. Xiaojun is a lucky child." Lao Ren said kindly.
This person is indeed very personable. Although he can be a little hypocritical sometimes, he will never embarrass anyone no matter what he says or does. He is a very good person. Comrade Tang has good vision in marrying such a person.
Xie Jinxuan took out malted milk and brown sugar from the car and placed them on the dining table.
Guan Jueming took out a small red paper bag and put it in his son's hand. He said, "This is some pocket money your dad gave you. As for how to spend it, you should ask your mom."
Xiaojun hugged Guan Jueming tightly again and said, "Dad, when I have winter vacation, you can come pick me up, okay?"
"Okay, I'll come pick you up as soon as you have your winter vacation." Guan Jueming's eyes were red, and he said, "It's almost the end of the semester, you have to review well and listen to your mother."
"I will, don't worry, Dad. You had such good grades before, and I will never embarrass you." Xiaojun's eyes also turned red, and he hugged Guan Jueming and didn't want to let go.
Comrade Tang said, "Xiaojun, the winter vacation will start in a month. Then you can go live with your father. It will be soon."
"I know." Xiaojun loosened his arms, wiped his eyes, and said, "Dad, you still have to write to me."
"I will. I will write to you when I get back! I will write to you three letters a week. Reply when you are free. If you are not free, you don't have to reply. Dad will write to you anyway." Guan Jueming also wiped the corners of his eyes.
"Okay, I'll wait for Dad's letter." Xiaojun took a deep breath and said bravely, "Then Dad, you guys go home. It's not safe on the road after dark. You guys go back now. I'll feel relieved only when Dad is safe."
"Okay, Dad will go back now." Guan Jueming's voice choked.
Comrade Tang said, "Okay, stop being so fussy. It's not like we won't see each other again in the future."
"You're right. It's not like we won't see each other again in the future." Guan Jueming sniffed and said, "Then we'll go back now. Thank you and Comrade Ren for today. Thank you both."
As he said this, Guan Jueming bowed to the couple.
Lao Ren said, "I don't deserve it, you don't have to be so polite. If Xiaojun goes to the provincial capital to take the college entrance examination, you, as his father, will have to take good care of him."
They sent a few people outside the yard, and everyone got into the jeep. Xiaojun leaned against the car window and whispered, "Dad, don't miss me too much. We will see each other in a month."
"Okay, Dad will look forward to it in a month." Guan Jueming reached out and touched his son's face. "Go home quickly. I heard that you have a lot of homework today. Go and study, so you don't have to stay up late at night."
"I'll watch your car drive away and then I'll go do my homework." Xiaojun seemed very stubborn.
He let go of the car window, Xie Jinxuan glanced at Guan Jueming's expression, and still started the car resolutely.
The jeep drove out slowly, and Xiaojun stood there as expected, waiting until the car turned a corner. Only then did Guan Jueming cover his face and cry silently.
Guan Chenxiang held his arm: "Brother... don't be sad, we will be able to see Xiaojun soon..."
"It's okay. I'm just happy. I'm really happy to see that Xiaojun is a good kid... I'm... so excited that I don't know what to say." Guan Jueming let go of his hand and said, "Jinxuan, our Xiaojun is really good, very good. He is kind-hearted, upright, and smart. He is very much like me... very much like me..."
"Congratulations to Teacher Guan. I told you that Teacher Guan's children wouldn't be bad." Xie Jinxuan said with a smile.
"I was still very worried before, after all, he was raised by Tang Zilan, but I asked later and found out that Tang Zilan did not reveal her true nature in the process of raising Xiaojun and Xiaojun. The mother Xiaojun saw was a gentle, kind, and self-sacrificing great woman." Guan Jueming said: "It's good this way, he should have had a mother like this."
Guan Chenxiang sighed and said, "Yes, I talked with Xiaojun for so long today, and now I can let go of the past. No matter what happened before, as long as Xiaojun is fine, nothing else matters. No matter how bad Xiaojun's mother is, she raised Xiaojun, and she has been pretending to be a good woman in front of her son for so many years, which is quite capable of her. Forget it, I should let it go..."
"Really?" Guan Jueming glanced at his sister.
"Yes, I let it go. After all, I can't say bad things about his mother in front of Xiaojun. If I don't let go of those things, I will only ask for trouble. Besides, so many years have passed. If I don't settle some accounts with her, God will settle them with her." Guan Chenxiang sighed and said, "It's all in the past."
Xia Qingtang looked back at her and saw a look of relief on her face. Facing the setting sun, she looked beautiful and relaxed.
Guan Jueming reached out and patted his sister's shoulder, saying, "It's a good thing that you can let it go. Now that we have found Xiaojun, we must work harder and save money in the future. Your health is better now, and there is almost no problem with your legs. After the New Year, I will ask someone to find you a partner..."
"Stop! Brother, please stop! Don't think about these things. I'm not a child anymore. I know my own business, so don't worry about me." Guan Chenxiang said.
"But... you are still young, you can't live alone like this for the rest of your life..."
"Why not? I think this is great. I'm healthy now, and I can start teaching next semester. I will shine at my job, and I can live my life like this. What's wrong with that?"
"What will you do when you get old?"
"The school won't ignore me when I get old. There are so many single old teachers in our school, and everyone is living a good life." Guan Chenxiang said with a smile: "Besides, don't we still have Xiaojun?"
"That's right. Xiaojun is here. He will definitely not ignore you as his aunt." Guan Jueming sighed and wanted to say something but closed his mouth.
This trip to Hongxing County was the biggest gain for the Guan siblings. After returning, Guan Jueming even bought a string of firecrackers from a roadside store, saying he would wait until New Year's Day to set them off.
"Then I'll buy one too. Even though it's not Chinese New Year, it's the 1980s and everyone takes this event very seriously. I'll buy a string of firecrackers to go with the occasion." Xie Jinxuan also bought one.
He drove the car to the fleet of the provincial university. After the staff checked and confirmed that everything was correct, Guan Jueming signed to confirm that the car had been returned safely.
It was already dark. Guan Jueming looked at his watch and said, "Jinxuan, Xiaoxia, you've worked hard today. Although it's a little late now, the canteen should still be open. Let's go. I'll treat you two to a good meal in the canteen."
Xie Jinxuan smiled and said, "That's fine, it saves us from having to cook when we get home."
Xie Jinxuan pushed the bicycle and several people went to the school cafeteria.
Generally, leaders and teachers come to the canteen to eat, and students come here occasionally. Various stir-fries are provided here. As long as you have a ticket, you can eat chicken, duck, fish and meat, and the cooking skills are very good.
It was almost seven o'clock now, and there were only a few people left in the small cafeteria. There were no staff members in the cafeteria. There were only two tables of people on the left and right who were still drinking.
People who come to the canteen to eat delicious food are definitely here to treat each other, so drinking is a common thing. Therefore, the canteen closes late, but they don’t have to prepare breakfast, so the staff don’t feel tired.
Guan Jueming said, "You guys go sit over there, I'll go in and ask someone to cook some dishes."
Xie Jinxuan said, "Teacher Guan, just keep it simple. It's already this late, just eat whatever you have. Don't make it too complicated."
"Don't worry, I know what to do." Guan Jueming smiled and walked into the kitchen to call people to cook.
Guan Chenxiang took them to a table near the window and sat down. After they sat down, she took out her thermos cup from her bag and said, "I'll go get some water. Do you want some, Qingtang?"
"I'll go with Teacher Chenxiang." Xia Qingtang handed her cross-body bag to Xie Jinxuan, then took the thermos and went to the back with Guan Chenxiang.
Guan Chenxiang found the thermos bottle with familiarity. She filled both cups. Xia Qingtang looked at her hands and said, "Teacher Chenxiang, I'm going to go out and wash my hands. Can you please bring the cups to me?"
"Okay, go ahead." Guan Chenxiang smiled.
Xia Qingtang did not go to the back hall to wash her hands. Instead, she went to the row of public sinks outside the cafeteria door.
After dark, the temperature dropped. When the cold water came out, Xia Qingtang shivered, but she still washed her hands carefully, then turned off the faucet and stood in front of the sink and breathed a sigh of relief.
Today, I followed them to Hongxing County, but I didn't do anything. However, Xia Qingtang still felt a little tired. After thinking about it, she thought it was probably because she saw Kong Liangchao and the man with the black mole, which reminded her of some unpleasant past events, so she felt tired.
She sighed heavily several times and just as she took her handkerchief out of her pocket and was about to dry her hands, she heard a familiar voice coming from not far ahead.
"Don't be like this, didn't we agree on this? You said you wouldn't force me!" This was obviously Gu Xing'an's voice.
Xia Qingtang quickly looked over there, but there was a whole row of trees under the pool. Because they were evergreen plants, they did not lose their leaves even in winter, and they just happened to block the view of the person who was speaking.
After hearing what Gu Xing'an said, Xia Qingtang's first reaction was that he and Hu Yanni had a quarrel. When she was hesitating whether to hide, she heard a strange girl's voice.
It was a relatively deep female voice, but it was obvious that the owner of the voice was a young man.
She said, "I'm not forcing you. I'm just asking you, how long do you want me to wait? You clearly said before that you and your partner have no feelings for each other, and you just got together because you were suitable. If that's the case, why can't you break up with her?"
Xia Qingtang shuddered all over and immediately stopped moving.
What's going on? Is Gu Xing'an doing something bad behind Hu Yanni's back?
"I have said this before, but I have been with my girlfriend for such a long time. Her family knows about me and my family knows about hers. There is no problem between us. You want me to break up, how can I do that? What reason do you have for breaking up?" Gu Xing'an lowered his voice this time and his words were almost inaudible.
The woman said: "What reason do you have? Just say it's inappropriate! I'm sincere to you, you should know that! That day at your home, I showed you my body..."
"Wait! You took off your clothes suddenly! I ran out of the house immediately. What do you want to do by saying this now?" Gu Xing'an's voice sounded very flustered.
Xia Qingtang's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a mosquito to death. Fortunately, it was deep winter and there were no mosquitoes.
The woman said, "I know, so I respect you even more. You ran out immediately, which shows that you are a gentleman. I just want to tell you that I am serious about you. You are the only person I have ever loved in my life. Senior Gu, I am really more suitable for you than your partner. You and I are from the same school, which means that our intelligence levels are the same, but your partner is in a teachers' college, which is a school for people with low scores."
"Don't say that. Her situation is different from yours. You have someone to help you with your homework, but she relies on herself..."
"So what if we rely on ourselves? She can only be a teacher in the future, and teachers can only live a poor life, but we can both become cadres. You know my family situation very well. My father is still very young and is in his rising period... Senior Gu, if you are with me, I promise you will have a bright future."
"you……"
"Senior Gu, I'm pretty too, not worse than your date... You shouldn't be with her, you should be with me, I'm the best match for you... In fact, you also think your date isn't good enough, right? You're also considering me, if you were devoted to your date and were really that determined, you wouldn't have bothered with me a long time ago! But you're still dating me, which means you're hesitant. I'll give you time to hesitate, but Senior Gu, if you wait too long, I'll be sad..."
"Stop talking! I don't think that way! I associate with you because you are my direct junior schoolmate. We usually study together, and the teacher also wants us to help you freshmen..."
"Really? Do you dare to say in your conscience that what you are saying now is true? Do you dare to say that you don't like me at all?"
Gu Xingan suddenly stopped talking. After a while, the woman continued, "Senior Gu, I really can't live without you. If I can't have you, I would rather die! I tell you, I can really do it. For you, I can die!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Why are you going to die for no reason?"
"Then you promise me that you will break up!"
Gu Xingan stopped talking again. The woman started to cry, and he whispered to comfort her, "Don't be like this. I've said before that I need time to think it over. If you force me like this, I can only stay away from you because you scare me."
"Then I won't force you, but can you give me some time? How long do you want to think about it? One month? Three months? Or half a year? You can't think about it for a year, right?"
"I... will tell you the answer after the New Year." Gu Xing'an whispered, "Don't think too much. Life is so precious. You must live well. I'm not a good man. It's not worth it to do that kind of thing for me."
"You are a good man, you are the best man in the world. In my heart, no one can compare to you!"
Gu Xingan sighed: "You were crying just now, and now you are laughing again. You are really a child."
"I am the only child in my family. My parents spoil me rotten."
"Since you're not crying anymore, go back to the dormitory. It's already late."
"Then take me back."
"No, others will see us. You go your way, and I go mine."
"You are so heartless... But okay, I'll go my way." After saying this, the woman walked to the right alone.
Xia Qingtang tiptoed into the canteen like a thief before Gu Xing'an came out.
She ran into the warm room, her heart still pounding.
"Qingtang, come and sit down." Guan Chenxiang waved at her.
Xia Qingtang adjusted his breathing, walked over, and sat down opposite Guan Jueming.
Xie Jinxuan noticed that her expression was not right, but she didn't ask anything. She just asked her if she wanted some water.
"Okay, drink some water and get ready to eat." Xia Qingtang smiled.
Guan Jueming said, "There's nothing left in the kitchen. Chef Wu asked us to make a Chinese cabbage vermicelli and meatball soup, stir-fry some shredded potatoes, stir-fry some black fungus and yam, and heat up the remaining steamed buns and bring them to us."
"Wow, it tastes so good? Teacher Guan, we don't need to eat meatballs. You should save the meat ticket and give it to Xiaojun during the winter vacation." Xia Qingtang said.
"It's okay. Xiaojun told me that he gets to eat meat every month there. The food at home is good, and he doesn't crave meat. Thank you both for accompanying us today. I can't drive, and if Jinxuan wasn't here, I wouldn't be able to go. After the winter vacation, I will still trouble Jinxuan to help me make a trip."
Xie Jinxuan said: "This is a good opportunity for me to practice driving. I also want to thank Teacher Guan."
Guan Jueming smiled and said, "You are a good talker. Our Xiaojun should spend more time with you. It would be great if he could be half as smart as you."
"When Xiaojun comes, Teacher Guan can ask him to come to our house to play with Xiaoyun. Then, I can accompany them." Xie Jinxuan said.
"That's great! I was just worried that there were no children of the same age to play with him. So I must treat you to a good meal. You really saved my life!"
After a while, the food was served. The cooking skills here were very good. Xia Qingtang filled a bowl with meatball soup and ate it with coarse flour buns dipped in the soup. After a while, his body warmed up.
After a very satisfying meal, the group separated at the door of the canteen and went back home.
Xie Jinxuan rode a bicycle with Xia Qingtang back to the compound, and first went to the small Western-style building to tell their family that they had returned safely.
Grandma gave Xia Qingtang another bag of sesame cakes, and then the two of them went back home to boil water for washing.
Xia Qingtang made herself a cup of hot tea with the water she had boiled in the morning, and then sat there with a sad face.
"What's wrong with you? I noticed that your face looked strange before. Did something happen when you went out to wash your hands?" Xie Jinxuan asked.
Xia Qingtang nodded: "It did happen, but I can't tell you."
"Then you can't always be so sad. The new year is coming soon. You should be happier." Xie Jinxuan said.
Xia Qingtang gulped down the tea, then slapped the table and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely solve this problem!"
The next day was Monday, a normal working day, but after arriving at the office, no one was in the mood to work. They were all discussing the New Year's Day cultural performance the next day.
Tomorrow is the first day of the year 1980. The whole city will be on holiday and a large-scale cultural performance will be held. Many units have put on programs and the cotton mill is no exception. Several young female workers in the workshops organized a chorus. Li Yue also participated. She was discussing with everyone enthusiastically whether she should borrow some cosmetics to dress herself up tomorrow.
"Cosmetics? Who can I borrow from?" Wu Feng asked curiously.
"Only the art troupe has cosmetics. If we need to borrow them, our union can borrow them. I'll bring them over tomorrow afternoon and put some makeup on for the girls." Li Yue said excitedly.
Zhang Ning didn't say anything. He didn't understand this kind of thing, so he didn't express his opinion.
Feng Xinhui said, "That's a good idea. If we can borrow some cosmetics and put some stage makeup on everyone, we will look energetic when we are seen from the audience. But I have a question. I heard that makeup is not something you do randomly. Li Yue, can you put on makeup?"
"I... I don't know how, but that shouldn't be difficult, right? I've seen people from the art troupe put on makeup. Isn't it just putting powder on the face, drawing eyebrows and lipstick, that's it?" Li Yue said.
"It shouldn't be that simple." Feng Xinhui said, "How about I go with you to the art troupe at noon to ask. Several art troupes in the city will participate in the art performance tomorrow, and the people in them should know how to put on makeup. We don't need to borrow cosmetics from them. When we get there tomorrow, can't we just ask them to help our comrades put on makeup?"
"Okay, Secretary Feng, are you willing to go with me?"
"Of course we are. This is for the good of the factory. Our union should be involved," Feng Xinhui said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go together at noon." Li Yue was very excited. She took out a small mirror and looked at her face again and again. Then she suddenly looked at Xia Qingtang who had been silent all the time and said a little unhappy: "Xia, although you were not selected into the choir, you are tone-deaf. You can't blame others! Look at you, we are all happy, but you are the only one with a stern face. What are you doing? Doing this is not conducive to unity and friendship among comrades!"
Xia Qingtang came back to his senses: "Ah... I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well last night, so I don't have much energy today. Comrade Li, I'm happy for you too. I believe you will perform well tomorrow and bring glory to our cotton mill."
She actually slept quite well last night, but when it was almost dawn, she had a bad dream. She dreamed that Gu Xing'an was cheating on her and was discovered by Hu Yanni. Then Hu Yanni started fighting with the girl whose face was blurred. She went to separate them, but was pushed away by someone and then woke up.
So after getting up early this morning, she was in a bad mood. She kept thinking about the incident with Gu Xingan and was also hesitating whether to tell Hu Yanni, so she was absent-minded.
Li Yue said: "That's more like it. I thought you were holding a grudge against me for joining the choir."
"How could that be? I know that I sing out of tune. I'm not like Director Li. Your singing is as melodious as a lark. Everyone praises you." Xia Qingtang said with a smile.
She was willing to praise Li Yue on such an insignificant little matter. After all, it was just a matter of words and didn't cost any money.
Li Yue was very happy: "Really? Everyone says that I sing well. It's a pity that my family didn't have the conditions when I was a child. If I had been trained, I could have joined the art troupe and become a singer."
"Indeed, it's a real pity." Xia Qingtang agreed.
Li Yue was encouraged and simply gave a female solo performance in the office. She sang really well, so everyone applauded and cheered for her.
At noon, Feng Xinhui accompanied Li Yue to the Municipal Federation of Trade Unions Art Troupe. The people there were also very generous and said that after their own people finished their makeup the next day, they could help the comrades from the cotton mill to do their makeup as well.
After returning, Chairman Qin praised Li Yue and Feng Xinhui, and then watched the cotton mill's choir rehearse for the last two times before holding a meeting for everyone to end the last day of the year.
Xia Qingtang had thought it through in the office that afternoon. She decided to go to the provincial university first to find out, so as not to bring harm to Hu Yanni.
She rode her bike to the provincial capital university and happened to meet Xie Jinxuan and several of his classmates.
"Qingtang? Are you here to see me?" Xie Jinxuan asked.
Xia Qingtang said: "No, no, I'll find someone else."
Seeing her serious expression, Xie Jinxuan thought of what happened last night and said, "Do you want me to wait for you to go home together?"
"Okay, wait for me outside Teacher Guan's house. I'll be there in a minute." Xia Qingtang said as she rode her bike to the office building of the Department of Political History. After waiting for a while, she saw a student coming out of the department office. He looked very upright and down-to-earth. She followed him on her bike and shouted, "Classmate, classmate!"
The male student stopped and looked at Xia Qingtang curiously: "Are you looking for me?"
"Yes, classmate. I am a freshman in the Foreign Languages Department. I saw senior Gu Xing'an eating with another female classmate in the cafeteria that day. I was sitting next to them. After they finished eating and left, I found that the female classmate had dropped a handkerchief on the table. I only know senior Gu Xing'an, not the female classmate, and I don't know who I should return the handkerchief to." Xia Qingtang said with a smile.
The male student was indeed very upright. He immediately said, "Ah, the person having dinner with Senior Gu should be Chang Xiaohong. They have a good relationship and often study together. She is also a freshman like me."
"Ah, classmate Chang Xiaohong, I understand. Thank you, classmate. I will return the handkerchief to her later." Xia Qingtang said with a smile, and rode his bike to the girls' dormitory building.
She knew which building the girls from the Department of Political History lived in, so she randomly found a female student to help her go up and call out Chang Xiaohong. After a while, a short female student in a gray tweed coat came down.
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