Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Unfounded Worry

"Yes, we have a TV at home—"

Shi Shuwen dragged his sister into the house first.

Shi Xiangming walked into the house holding the newly bought black-and-white TV amid the envious looks of his neighbors.

"Wang Nian, from now on, everyone will have to watch TV at your house."

Liu Chaoxian was joking with a smile on his face, while his men were firmly controlling Zhang Liye, who was eager to rush to the next room.

"Come whenever you are free." Wang Nian smiled brightly, and for the first time, he felt like holding his head high.

The key TV station did not spend money to buy the ticket, but the lover won it by participating in a national competition - it is the only one in the factory.

The housekeeping staff who had delivered the TV had not yet left. Two of them were holding measuring tapes, ready to measure the land for the factory reward.

Among the two larger prizes is an 88-square-meter vegetable plot.

The Housing Affairs Department gave Shi Xiangming full respect and even consulted the couple on the choice of site. Wang Nian did not expect that Shi Xiangming would propose the site behind their yard.

Behind the 43rd family building is the Party Committee Office, and the open space in the middle has always been occupied by weeds.

The Housing Department agreed very readily and promised to help them build the fence after measuring the land. It can be said that the service was quite thorough.

While Xu Fen's family was still struggling in the hospital, they went to the store to exchange the TV.

"Let my son Guiqiang go and help. Just tell me if there's anything I can help you with."

"Guohua, go and help deliver the bricks and tools and so on." Xie Yulan turned around and called Huang Guohua.

Shi Xiangming was very proud this time. Look how polite those guys in the housekeeping department who usually look down on others are today. Xie Yulan didn't understand what the role model mentioned in the big-character poster meant, but she knew that Wang Nian's man would definitely have a good future.

"I suggest pushing the yard over here so it's more square."

The staff of the Housekeeping Department walked around the yard and suggested demolishing the east wall, which would increase its length and make the yard more square.

Shi Xiangming also had this idea.

The wall without a foundation was almost demolished with just a few hammer strikes, and with more people helping, a path was cleared in no time.

After measuring the land, we have to build the wall, which will definitely take a while to finish.

Wang Nian stood at the door and watched for a while, then decided to go about his own business.

"Sister Liu, shall we go buy groceries together?"

"That's what I was going to do! To get some peas and some beehive coal."

"Are there peas at the vegetable station?"

"Yes! They are new peas this year, perfect for cooking."

The union office was separated from the supply and marketing cooperative by a wall, so Liu Chaoxian would go next door whenever he had nothing to do. If there was anything good there, he would be the first to know.

For example, peas, which can be bought without a ticket, are hot items.

Yesterday, Liu Chaoxian found out the arrival time of the goods, so he would definitely be the first to get it.

Wang Nian also understood that good things cannot wait, so he picked up a basket from the corner and the two of them rushed to the vegetable stand.

As for Xie Yulan, Wang Nian saw that her family had been eating cabbage and radishes for three consecutive days, so she said she wanted to save the money and exchange it for cloth coupons in a few days.

Huang Guohua's parents and their two children are preparing to move south in the next few days. There will be a lot of expenses to support a family of seven in the future.

So Wang Nian didn't greet her. He just waved as he passed by. She just shook her head. Both of them knew what was going on.

At lunch time, there were only a few people in front of the vegetable stand.

The store was being stocked, the glass door was closed, and the people outside the door automatically lined up in a row.

These are well-informed...

The two of them lined up at the end of the queue. Perhaps because Liu Chaoxian was not wearing enough clothes, he started rubbing his hands tremblingly as soon as he stood still.

"Dacron is not cold-resistant. Why don't you wear a cotton coat in such a cold day?"

Wang Nian had already put on a thin cotton jacket, but Liu Chaoxian was still wearing a Dacron jacket and a shirt, which looked almost like nothing when the cold wind blew.

"Who would have thought it would be so cold in November?" Liu Chaoxian blew on his frozen hands and began to jog in place: "I was still wearing a shirt last November."

"This day is strange this year." Wang Nian put his hands into his sleeves, a little worried: "I have to chop more firewood before the mountain road freezes."

Even if it wasn't snowing, the road into the mountains was frozen and unwalkable.

"My husband Guiqiang asked me to buy some more coal slag so that I can light a charcoal pot to keep warm when the weather gets cold."

"Should we... buy some more potatoes and carrots as a backup?"

The situation was almost the same as in the hotel. Wang Nian expressed his guess, but the response he got was completely different.

Liu Chaoxian barely hesitated for a second, approached Wang Nian and asked, "I'll listen to you. How much do you want to buy? If you don't have enough tickets, go home and get more."

"It should be enough for two months." Wang Nian thought for a moment and said, "There's no rush today. Let's buy some every day and stock up slowly. I think there shouldn't be any problem before December."

"Then let's go to the mountains to chop firewood tomorrow. I'll call my son Guiqiang to come with us." Liu Chaoxian said again.

She is impatient. Once she decides to do something, she will act immediately, otherwise she will always hesitate and worry.

"Okay." Wang Nian was very grateful that Liu Chaoxian believed in him, but he still had to say what he needed to say first: "These are just my guesses. Don't blame me if I'm wrong."

"Why should I blame you!" Liu Chaoxian smiled cheerfully: "It won't be wasted. With those two little bastards at home, everything they eat tastes delicious!"

Wang Nian only felt the warmth spread all over his body. He smiled and patted Liu Chaoxian's shoulder without saying anything more.

She thought again of her past life which seemed so distant.

Every month or every few months, a few friends who hardly keep in touch with each other would meet on the pedestrian street, have a meal and chat about their recent situation, and then rush home when it gets dark.

Everyone's focus is on family, and friends have become just occasional seasoning in life.

Now I have a friend with whom I can chat about other people's gossip and talk about trivial things in life.

"The door is open, come in!"

As soon as the glass door of the vegetable market opened, the previous queues were no longer effective. Everyone rushed forward and whoever got the food first got it.

Liu Chaoxian grabbed Wang Nian, who was still in a daze, and quickly drilled in through the gap on the right.

"Xiaohui, Xiaohui, I'm here..."

There seemed to be an acquaintance of Liu Chaoxian in the vegetable stand. As soon as they entered, she pulled Wang Nianjing straight to the counter on the right.

"Ms. Liu."

The lesbian behind the counter was very gentle and had two dimples on her cheeks when she smiled, which made her look even more approachable.

"Xiaohui was my former neighbor in the building where my family lived." Liu Chaoxian introduced her casually, and while trying to resist the pressure from behind, he hurriedly asked, "What are the dishes that don't require a ticket?"

"Today, several varieties of beans don't require tickets, and there are also those potatoes from the northwest, but they don't look very good."

Xiaohui moved very skillfully. While talking to Liu Chaoxian, she was also able to write down what the people around her wanted.

Put a few small baskets on the counter for them to see first, and then immediately weigh the dishes for others.

"How is it?"

Wang Nian picked up the peas and took a look at them in the palm of his hand. They were indeed this year's peas, and the green color of the skin had not yet completely faded.

Moreover, the soybeans in the other small basket were of very good quality, and it was obvious at first glance that they were not Vinci’s local soybeans.

The Red Flag Brigade grows soybeans every year, but half of the harvested beans have black spots and don’t have much bean flavor when cooked.

"I also want to buy some soybeans," said Wang Nian.

"Then I'll buy some too. My mother-in-law knows how to cook tofu." Liu Chaoxian supported himself on the counter with both hands and half of his body leaning forward, trying to see what else was on the shelf.

Unexpectedly, when Wang Nian and her friends wanted to buy the beans, no one else asked.

The reason why everyone was crowding in front of the counter was actually to grab the lotus roots.

As soon as the lotus roots were sold out, the crowd quickly left, leaving behind only a patch of mud scattered all over the ground.

"Sisters, take your time to choose. I actually have some lotus roots left. If you want them, I'll go to the warehouse and get them."

Xiaohui reached out from the other side of the counter and took Liu Chaoxian's arm, expressing her affection before standing up with a smile.

"No lotus roots, let us take a look at the potatoes you just mentioned."

"Wait, I'll move it right away." Xiaohui went into the warehouse.

There were six salespeople in the vegetable stand. As the store became less crowded, they gathered in groups of three or four behind the counter to chat.

Wang Nian's mind moved, and he quietly moved a few steps to the left to make sure he could hear what they were talking about.

"Why did they deliver potatoes and radishes again today? Each box weighs several dozen kilograms."

"It's strange. In previous years, there should be cucumbers at this time, but why haven't we seen any this year?"

"My mother has been talking about amaranth for a long time, but I haven't seen it yet."

"Do you think something happened at the farm?" Someone finally figured out the key to the problem.

Unfortunately, there are still only a few people like this. As soon as the female salesperson said this, she was glared at by the salesperson next to her: "What can go wrong? It's just that other factories have taken away the good food first, leaving the bad ones for us."

"Yeah, if anything happens, Lao Li and the others will definitely tell us."

"I don't know if I can eat leeks in the next few days. I even saved a pound of meat tickets to make dumplings."

"Do I need to buy chives? I can just plant some seeds wherever there's open space in front of my house."

Wang Nian pursed her lips, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Xiaohui coming out with a sack, and then moving back to Liu Chaoxian's side.

The vegetables that the salesmen just mentioned are those that are afraid of cold and will go bad as soon as the temperature drops.

Today, the food stand sells mostly long-lasting vegetables such as lotus roots and potatoes.

It seems...there is indeed something wrong with the weather in the neighboring province.

"Don't be fooled by its black skin. It is much more durable than our local potatoes and is not easy to sprout."

The potatoes Xiaohui took out of the bag were... not very good looking.

The skin is gray and puffy, with pits all over it, just like the surface of the moon. It is also small in size and a bit soft when pinched, which shows that it is a bit dehydrated.

But as Xiaohui said, this kind of potato is indeed more durable than new potatoes.

And right now, what Wang Nian and the others need is patience.

"Do you want a ticket?" Wang Nian asked with a smile.

"No one asks for tickets if they don't want them, so who would buy them if they do?" Xiao Hui dusted off her hands and pointed carefully at the middle-aged man at the left counter: "We haven't sold a single bag of potatoes that we brought in the day before yesterday, and the manager is getting really mad."

The manager of the vegetable stand was the one who just said that all the good vegetables had been snatched away by other factories.

Wang Nian asked again: "Can I get a discount if I buy two bags?"

"Two bags?" Xiao Hui looked Wang Nian up and down, thinking that she might not understand the weight of a bag, so she opened her palm and asked again: "One bag is fifty kilograms, two bags will be a hundred kilograms."

Wang Nian smiled widely and said, "I plan to send some to my parents' home as well."

"That's fine! Wait for me to ask the manager. If you buy more, you may get a lower price."

Liu Chaoxian, who had been patient for a long time, hurriedly asked in a low voice: "Okay?" Wang Nian nodded, and she immediately called Xiaohui loudly and said: "I want a bag too."

Potatoes were five cents a pound, two bags for five yuan, and the vegetable market manager gave Wang Nian a ten-cent discount.

Including twenty pounds of soybeans, twenty pounds of peas, and some miscellaneous taro and yam, the total cost was eight yuan.

The manager of the vegetable market lent the two people a cart, and before they left, he asked them to introduce relatives and friends to buy potatoes as well.

This was exactly what Wang Nian wanted, and he kept saying, "I will definitely come again."

When I got home, the housing department staff had already left and the backyard wall had been built. It looked at least several circles larger than before.

"More than 88 square meters, right?"

Wang Nian casually measured the backyard with his steps and was sure that it was at least over 100 square meters.

Shi Xiangming was using a putty knife he had borrowed from somewhere to scrape excess cement from the surface of the wall onto the wooden board. Upon hearing this, he just raised his head and smiled.

"They said that the gaps would be easy for children to play in, so they just gave more and borrowed the wall of the party committee office building."

Shi Xiangming did not mention that the gap was large enough for three people to walk side by side, and the unused cement and bricks were left behind as if forgotten.

Now their yard is probably the largest in the entire 431 factory.

"Then we can be completely self-sufficient in the future."

Wang Nian couldn't help but open his arms and happily circled the firewood shed which was now in the middle of the yard.

Shi Xiangming just looked at her with a smile, and waved when she stopped: "Come here, I have a surprise for you."

"What surprise?" Wang Nian ran over happily.

"Look there!"

The direction he pointed to was the corner of the wall, but there was no wall. Instead, there was an opening that was barely wide enough for one person to enter and exit.

"This is a door." Shi Xiangming walked to the opening and gestured, while Wang Nian looked outside over his arm.

“…”

A small stream hidden in the weeds is just a few steps away. The stream is not wide, but the water is clear and you can see the bottom. You can even see small fish swimming in the water.

"There is actually a stream here!" Wang Nian was overjoyed.

"Don't say we don't know. Even the files of the Housing Department don't record it." Shi Xiangming hugged Wang Nian's waist, with a faint smile in the corner of his eyes: "I guess there must be an underground river nearby. When the house was built, it affected the direction of the water flow, and finally formed a stream here."

The stream ends at the factory's artificial drainage ditch, so no one discovered it before.

"We are so lucky." Wang Nian sighed.

This makes it much more convenient to water the vegetable garden, and you can also use the terrain to directly bring water into the yard.

"There's more..." Shi Xiangming pointed to the bricks in the corner and said, "There are some bricks and cement left. I plan to build a greenhouse in the middle."

"Hothouse?"

This is a direction that Wang Nian has never considered... What better way to deal with frost than a greenhouse?

It's like a one-time solution!

"I have been reading about winter vegetable planting methods these days. Combined with the actual situation of our factory, I have a rough idea in my mind. I will do it after the yard is ready."

Wang Nian: “…”

Before knowledge changes destiny, it must first change the brain.

"How come you are so awesome..." Wang Nian had no choice but to look at his lover with admiration, crossing his hands and clenching his fists, and pouring out compliments as if they were free.

Shi Xiangming swallowed hard, feeling embarrassed at first but gradually becoming unable to laugh or cry at the compliments.

"Auntie Wang Nian, someone is looking for you."

Unfortunately, someone suddenly visited and interrupted Wang Nian's endless chatter, otherwise Shi Xiangming would definitely have seen another more amazing side of Wang Nian.

"Who?"

"Hello, Comrade Wang Nian."

The visitors had walked straight into the house and came to the backyard. The leader stood at the door and saw the backyard, and was shocked.

Even if the factory manager applied for a yard this big, he probably wouldn't be able to afford it, but it seemed that the family in front of me had already planted a lot of vegetable seedlings.

"Hello comrade, who are you?"

Several of them were wearing gray Lenin suits, with a pen pinned to their left breast pocket, and some were holding a blue-covered notebook.

"Hello, we are from the factory's safety management department, and I am the section chief, Wang Xiangjun." The man extended his hand to Wang Nian and shook it. Then he turned to look at Shi Xiangming, raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Chief Engineer Shi?"

"Hello, I'm Shi Xiangming."

"I wonder what the Safety Management Department wants to see me about?"

The Safety Management Department is responsible for all safety matters in the factory, and the Security Department is just its subordinate department. Even driving away wild animals outside the factory is under their jurisdiction.

"Comrade Wang, don't be nervous. This is what happened..."

Wang Xiangjun was very polite to Wang Nian and asked her in a gentle tone about what happened in the factory hotel that morning.

The Health Department reported that a large-scale food poisoning incident occurred today, involving more than 40 people.

This was a major security issue, which immediately attracted the high attention of the Security Department, which quickly dispatched personnel to investigate.

The hotel in the factory area naturally became the main suspect for the food poisoning.

During the interviews and surveys, many people mentioned the situation when Wang Nian pointed out that the beef was not fresh.

So this time, they came mainly to ask Wang Nian how he discovered that there was something wrong with the beef.

Wang Nian finished listening and pointed to his mouth. "The beef was marinated with salt before it was cooked, but it still couldn't cover up the stench of the meat. This means that it has been spoiled for more than one or two days. It is possible that it has already gone bad during transportation."

"Is it just from eating?" Wang Xiangjun continued to ask.

"Yes!" Wang Nian answered affirmatively.

Wang Xiangjun nodded solemnly, then put away the notebook: "Fortunately, your two children didn't eat it. You don't know that all the people poisoned this time are children. Fortunately, their lives are not in danger, but they will suffer a great punishment."

The parents were reluctant to eat the beef and left it all for their children, which led to the children all being poisoned.

"You can check the hotel manager's lover, I believe you will gain a lot."

Just as Wang Xiangjun put away his notebook, Shi Xiangming suddenly interrupted and raised his hand: "I hope Section Chief Wang will not record my random guess."

“…”

After a brief silence, Wang Xiangjun nodded.

"Then we'll leave, you guys continue with your work."

Wang Xiangjun had a general understanding of the personnel relationships in the factory, and a name instantly popped up in his mind: who is the hotel manager's lover?

If Shi Xiangming hadn't pointed this out, he wouldn't have thought of that person.

If the hotel manager were to put it this way, the beef might ultimately be treated as...improperly stored.

The few people left very quickly and disappeared in the corridor in just a few steps.

"Who is her lover?" Wang Nian asked curiously.

"Deputy Chief of the Transportation Department." Shi Xiangming smiled.

In fact, the reason why I suddenly thought of this person was because Wang Nian just guessed that the beef might have gone bad on the way.

"You..." Wang Nian pinched his chin and looked Shi Xiangming up and down: "Aren't you doing research and development in the workshop every day? Why do you care about who my lover is? Tell me! Have you always been paying attention to me?"

Shi Xiangming smiled and let Wang Nian continue chattering in his ear without moving.

Ten days later.

The results of the investigation and handling of the food poisoning incident in the factory hotel are posted on all the factory bulletin boards.

Hotel manager Zhou took advantage of her husband Yang's position in the transportation department and bought cheap, spoiled beef as good beef and brought it to the hotel to make dishes.

The beef originally purchased by the purchasing department was sold by the couple to a speculator, who made a profit from the difference.

Both the husband and wife were fired from the factory and have been sent to the county public security bureau for further processing.

All chefs and waiters who knew about this were fired.

The last one was a notice that the hotel in the factory area was closed and no longer in business.

From now on, the work of entertaining and welcoming foreign guests will be taken over by the small canteen in the factory area, and the factory hotel will no longer be open.

The news did not have much impact on ordinary employees, but a notice posted immediately afterwards made everyone more concerned.

"Thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't feel as at ease as I do now."

On the way back after reading the notice, Liu Chaoxian kept rubbing his chest and chattering to Wang Nian half worriedly and half relieved.

The notice required all factory employees to stock up on cold-resistant foods such as potatoes and cabbages to prepare for the cold winter.

According to the forecast of provincial climate experts, there will be widespread frost damage across the province this year, and agricultural crops may suffer large-scale yield losses.

However, snow has already fallen in neighboring provinces, and the supply within the province is insufficient, so the farm will no longer supply Factory 431.

The factory managed to order a large number of potatoes, radishes, etc. from the north in advance, and they will arrive at the vegetable market one after another in the next few days.

Once frost arrives, it will be much more difficult for transport vehicles to enter the Eternal Trench.

Therefore, the factory also calls on everyone to do their best to solve life problems.

People kept pouring into the vegetable market, but Wang Nian and his companion were walking in completely opposite directions.

"Do you know where to buy vegetable seedlings?"

"You bought seedlings..." Then Liu Chaoxian immediately remembered the greenhouse that Shi Xiangming had been busy with these days: "Could it be that Comrade Shi really built the greenhouse?"

Wang Nian smiled and nodded.

Shi Xiangming is the kind of science and engineering man with extraordinary action ability. Once the blueprint is drawn, he will immediately take action.

I set up the scaffolding a few days ago, and on Saturday I went to the black market in the county town and bought plastic sheeting at a high price. If the cost wasn't too high, Wang Nian would have wanted to make a few more.

These few days Shi Xiangming has been busy fixing the plastic sheeting on the greenhouse to complete the work.

"Tell me what sin I committed in my previous life that I have to live next door to you. I am just jealous every day." Liu Chaoxian put his hands on his hips, looking so angry that he rolled his eyes.

Wang Nian laughed and asked her, "If you have the ability to grow vegetables in the future, don't eat them."

"That won't do. Who asked you to be so unlucky as to live next door to me?"

As more and more people saw the notice, the streets were filled with people running to the vegetable market, and some even rode bicycles.

Wang Nian and Liu Chaoxian were going to the factory store.

While others were busy grabbing vegetables, they went to buy a pickle jar and salt, planning to pickle the bitter herbs they bought yesterday.

Maybe, sometimes it's a good thing to worry about nothing.