Chapter 54: A Pragmatic Man】

It was the first time that Huo Qingchi saw Ye Qingyue taking such an initiative, and he actually felt a little flattered.

He asked, "Have you been waiting for me?"

Ye Qingyue nodded, "Yes."

When Huo Qingchi didn't come, Ye Qingyue was still worried that he was in danger.

Hearing this, Huo Qingchi's eyes deepened, and he explained, "I went shopping in the morning, and then went to visit my aunt in the brigade where she went to work in the countryside, which delayed me until now."

"Do you have another aunt?" Ye Qingyue asked knowingly.

"Well, her name is Huo Qiuyi, and she is about the same age as you."

Huo Qingchi said this, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Comrade Ye, do you know the Red Flag Brigade in the neighboring Qunshan County? What's the atmosphere there?"

"I know. The Red Flag Brigade is one of the relatively wealthy brigades in Qunshan County. The annual grain output is relatively high, and the educated youth are treated well. I have heard of educated youth going hungry in other brigades, but not in the Red Flag Brigade."

Ye Qingyue heard something behind Huo Qingchi's words, so she asked: "Why are you asking this? Did you encounter anything strange?"

She immediately thought of Huo Qiuyi.

Huo Qingchi nodded and said, "I didn't see my aunt in the Red Flag Brigade. I asked the people in the brigade and they said that my aunt didn't go to work today. Maybe she was just slacking off."

"Although my aunt is used to her family, she is a very disciplined person and will never evade her responsibilities."

Huo Qingchi was still very confident in Huo Qiuyi's character.

"Are you worried that your aunt was bullied by someone, so she suddenly skipped work?"

Ye Qingyue heard the hidden meaning of Huo Qingchi's words.

"Yeah."

Huo Qingchi nodded. "I found other educated youth in the brigade, gave them money, and asked them to go to the guesthouse to notify me when my aunt comes back. If she hasn't come back by the afternoon, I plan to call the police."

"Call the police? Speaking of this..."

Ye Qingyue pretended to hesitate: "Comrade Huo, there is something I don't know whether I should say."

Huo Qingchi asked doubtfully: "Comrade Ye, if you have any ideas, just say it."

"I went to the county town to buy things this morning, and heard that the red armbands found strange things. Some people said it was an enemy spy, and some said it was a human trafficker who came to our side."

Ye Qingyue said: "So, have you ever thought that maybe your aunt didn't skip work, and the people in the Red Flag Brigade didn't bully her..."

Huo Qingchi's pupils shrank: "Enemy spy? Human trafficker?"

If Ye Qingyue's guess is correct, then isn't Huo Qiuyi in danger now?

"Comrade Ye, thank you for your information. I will go to the police station to inquire about the situation now."

Feeling uneasy, Huo Qingchi did not waste time on love affairs.

He handed the bamboo basket in his hand to Ye Qingyue, "This is a thank-you gift. I don't know what you like, so I bought some at random."

Ye Qingyue took the bamboo basket: "You should go to the police station quickly."

It must be in time now.

There is no price tag behind Huo Qiuyi's name like the others.

It proves that the human trafficker has not completed the transaction with the other party and handed Huo Qiuyi over.

Now the red armbands are searching for the human trafficker's whereabouts. He certainly dare not commit a crime against the wind, and he may not even return to the place where Huo Qiuyi is imprisoned.

Therefore, Huo Qiuyi is most likely safe.

"Yeah."

Huo Qingchi did not stay any longer and left in a hurry.

Ye Qingyue carried the bamboo basket back to the house.

The bamboo basket was quite heavy, but Ye Qingyue inherited Ye Xianghong's strength and was naturally bigger than the average person, so it was not difficult for her to carry it.

After opening the lid, the type of gifts revealed Huo Qingchi's character.

Fruits, brown sugar, White Rabbit milk candy, pork belly with fat and lean texture...

all expensive food.

He was a pragmatic man, and attentive, and he knew what she needed most right now.

If Huo Qingchi wanted to give her a gift like a necklace or a watch, Ye Qingyue would not wear it out, as it would seem ostentatious, and it would end up gathering dust in the room.

But giving food was different.

She was planning to give nutrition to her family, and these things were good for the body.

After taking out the food, Ye Qingyue discovered that there was something hidden underneath.

At the bottom of the basket, there were three pairs of army green Liberation shoes of different sizes.

Ye Qingyue was stunned, took them out and compared them, and found that one pair was exactly her size.

She looked down at her feet.

The gray cloth shoes had the uppers sewn with old clothes that could not be worn.

Because the front end was worn out when doing farm work before, Ye Xianghong patched it with a new piece of cloth, but the color was still slightly different from the original upper.

Ye Qingyue took off the old cloth shoes and put on the Liberation shoes.

The sturdy and durable Liberation shoes were much more comfortable to wear than the old cloth shoes.

Ye Qingyue looked at the other two pairs of shoes of different sizes and called Ye Feng.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

Ye Feng had just woken up and was still a little unsteady when walking.

Ye Qingyue looked at his feet.

Compared with her patched shoes, Ye Feng's shoes were worse.

Not only are they old, but the size is not right.

Every time Ye Feng lifts her feet, the heels fall down a little.

These are the old shoes she discarded, but Ye Feng continues to wear them.

The Ye family is very harsh on the eldest daughter, and they especially dislike Ye Feng who only knows how to spend money and can't do any work.

Other children change their clothes every two years, but Ye Feng has never worn new clothes or new shoes since he was a child. They were all picked up by Ye Mei or Ye Qingyue who couldn't wear them.

In this era, it is normal for younger brothers and sisters to pick up their older brothers and sisters' old things and continue to use them.

Ye Qingyue, however, feels a little sad.

His younger brother is fourteen years old this year, but he has never had a pair of new shoes of his own.

Even in this era, it is rare.

When Ye Qingyue worked in a big hospital in her previous life, many of her colleagues were from the city and had never suffered any hardship.

An older aunt complained that her son loved playing football and had to buy seven or eight pairs of new shoes every year, always buying expensive ones.

She bought her son cheap shoes, but he was still unwilling to wear them, saying that his good brothers would laugh at him if he wore them outside.

Immediately, another aunt joined in.

"My son is the same. He can buy cheaper clothes and pants, but he always buys expensive shoes."

"Isn't it? I heard from my husband that when they were little, they also loved to compare shoes with others. Whoever had better and more expensive shoes would be very impressive for a while!"

Ye Qingyue only then realized that boys like shoes so much and would compare with their friends.

What about her brother?

Although Ye Feng is weak, he has several good friends in the village.

What does he think when he sees other children wearing new shoes?

She seems to have never heard Ye Feng mention such a thing.

"Ah Feng, try these shoes and see if they fit your feet." Ye

Qingyue handed the Liberation Shoes in her hand to Ye Feng.

When Ye Feng saw the shoes, his sleepiness disappeared instantly. "Sister, why did you buy shoes for me? They must cost several yuan a pair, right?"

During the Chinese New Year, Goudan's father came back from the camp and brought Goudan a pair of Liberation Shoes.

Goudan immediately put on the new shoes and showed them to all the boys in the village, showing off very much.

When he played with his friends, he would deliberately stretch his legs and "inadvertently" show his Liberation Shoes to everyone.

"Sister, can I return this?"

Ye Feng thought about the few dollars he spent on the shoes, which was enough to buy dozens of kilograms of rice, enough to feed his family of three for a month.

He felt distressed and said, "I am weak and rarely go out, so it would be a waste to buy shoes."

But he was young after all, and couldn't hide the truth.

Ye Feng advised Ye Qingyue to return the shoes, but when he looked at the Jiefang shoes, his eyes showed love.

But more of it was gloom.

When he was a child, when his friends showed off their new shoes, Ye Feng couldn't help but beg his family to buy him a new pair of shoes.

Old man Ye slapped me in the face and cursed: "I don't know how many pairs of new shoes I could have bought with the medicine I bought for you! And you still ask for this and that, you ungrateful ungrateful bastard!"