Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Who is the one who caused the trouble?

“One, two… one, two…”

Loud shouts were heard in the bamboo forest, and several people slowly moved out carrying a dark red wooden wardrobe.

Several people who were chopping garlic in the corridor looked towards the dam at the same time.

The weight of this wardrobe is truly astonishing, enough to make several gay men sweat profusely.

"Your new neighbor is not simple. You can't buy this mahogany wardrobe without some connections."

Sister Xu was well-informed and recognized the wood of the cabinet immediately, and exclaimed with admiration.

Wang Nian and Liu Chaoxian looked at each other, the former asking with his eyes who it was, while the latter snorted angrily at the three empty rooms on the first floor.

"Director Luo's youngest son, Luo Shunli."

"No wonder he can afford such fine furniture." Sister Xu held back her tears and quickly put the minced garlic into the basin and continued, "Director Luo's son is a 'capable man' with a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

The word "capable person" is obviously put in quotation marks. To put it bluntly, Luo Shunli is just a lazy guy who does nothing.

At this point, Sister Xu lowered her voice, her face full of confusion: "As I was talking, I realized that every famous leader in our factory has a useless child at home."

How did Wang Nian and the others respond to this? After all, Sister Xu’s lover, Secretary Hu, was also a core leader.

"Look, isn't that Luo Shunli?"

He was wearing an army green cotton jacket, his hat tilted, his hands clasped in his sleeves, and even his walking posture revealed a sense of cynicism.

He took two steps and looked back three times, stopped to sniff his nose, and cleared his throat: "Walk faster, why are you dawdling?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Hurry up and reincarnate!"

The female comrade who answered the question was pushing a bicycle. She had two short braids sticking out from behind her ears. Apart from her buck teeth which were a bit eye-catching, she looked pretty overall.

It's just that the voice he spoke in didn't sound like someone with a good temper. After scolding Luo Shunli, he rolled his eyes fiercely.

"It's Luo Shunli and Sun Xiumei." Xu Fen recognized the woman and Qi Xiu'e who was walking behind the bicycle: "And his mother-in-law."

Wang Nian's gaze quickly turned to Qi Xiu'e who was far behind.

Qi Xiu'e doesn't deserve the word old at all. Although she is already in her forties, she looks like she is in her thirties.

The bulky cotton jacket couldn't hide her curvy figure, and her waist swayed slightly when she walked, neither too fast nor too slow, which was completely different from her daughter's hot-tempered state.

It seems...he is not a serious person.

Wang Nian's eyes fell on Qi Xiu'e, who had unbuttoned the second button. Her snow-white neck immediately reminded him of the white figure he had accidentally glimpsed that day.

"You can start a fire and pour oil."

While Liu Chaoxian went to fetch firewood, Wang Nian took a colander and went to the water pipe to flush it.

During this time, I happened to pass by Qi Xiu'e and her family.

Luo Shunli's gaze swept across Wang Nian's face and quickly withdrew without any unnecessary fluctuation.

Sun Xiumei smiled to show her friendliness.

On the contrary, it was Qi Xiu'e who swept her eyes over Wang Nian's body, her eyes darkening and darkening, full of sharpness.

Wang Nian didn't want to have anything to do with her, so he turned his head away as if he didn't see anything.

"Mom! It's so cold, why haven't you buttoned up your quilted jacket?" Sun Xiumei frowned, stabilized the bicycle frame, walked over and helped button it up herself, her tone full of impatience: "This is not home."

"I didn't notice it for a moment." Qi Xiu'e waved Sun Xiumei's hand away: "I don't know when it was blown away by the wind."

Wang Nian walked back with the basket and passed by the mother and daughter again.

I happened to hear Luo Shunli sneer, and mocked him directly without giving him face: "I don't know what kind of wind is blowing today, it can blow all the buttons of my clothes off."

“…”

Qi Xiu'e couldn't get down from the stage, and didn't dare to quarrel with her son-in-law. She was so angry that she rolled her eyes, stomped her feet, and rushed into the house.

Sun Xiumei was very embarrassed. She raised her eyes and secretly glanced at Wang Nian, fearing that someone would hear her previous embarrassing incident.

Fortunately, Wang Nian didn't seem to notice at all. He walked up the stairs without even turning his head.

Luo Shunli was not one of those people who should not let shameful things get out of the family. He warned Sun Xiumei with a gloomy face, "I only brought her to live with us for your sake. If she does something shameful like that again..."

"I will tell her, don't worry." Sun Xiumei lowered her voice and looked at Luo Shunli almost pleadingly: "Let's talk about it when we get home."

"You're such a pervert." Luo Shunli spat, then turned and went into the house.

The noise was so loud that not only Wang Nian could hear it, but also several family members on the second floor who were watching the excitement in the corridor and heard it clearly.

"It's the children who are the ones who are embarrassed because of their own mistakes." Sister Xu shook her head.

...Just now I mentioned the unfilial sons and grandsons, and now here comes someone who is disrespectful to the elderly.

"Let's make a fire." Wang Nian said.

As the firewood burned, Wang Nian poured the rapeseed oil into it.

As the oil started to heat up and smoke started to rise in the pot, Sister Xu became anxious: "The garlic will definitely get burnt if we pour it in."

Wang Nian explained: "The oil we use is rapeseed oil. If it is not refined, it will have a smell."

Seeing that the oil was almost done, Wang Nian asked Liu Chaoxian to turn off the fire: "Let's add garlic when the oil cools down."

"No wonder my food tasted weird and bitter. It must be because the oil was not cooked enough."

"It's not easy to control the temperature on a wood stove. The best way is to rinse the minced garlic with water."

The bitterness is actually the bitterness caused by fried garlic.

Fried garlic crisps may seem simple, but if any step is not done well it will easily affect the taste.

While the oil was cooling, Wang Nian brought out some green onions from inside the house to cut.

"Scallion oil? This is the first time I've heard of it." Sister Xu cut the scallions as Wang Nian said, and took a look at them curiously: "Where did you get the scallion seeds? Why are they different from the ones we grow?"

"The purple scallions that my uncle from my mother's side sent me are more fragrant than white scallions." Wang Nian smiled.

"Yes." Liu Chaoxian was choked to tears.

The ingredients needed to make black scallion oil are much more complicated than those for garlic oil. The finer the cuts, the better. Garlic and ginger can be directly broken up with the back of a knife before chopping.

"What is this?"

"Thirteen spices!" Wang Nian unwrapped the cloth wrapped around it and handed it to a few people to smell: "Our village chef gave it to me. Does it smell good?"

"I've seen it before in the supply and marketing cooperative. It's placed in the top shelf."

Wang Nian's mention of the old chef made Liu Chaoxian even more certain that it was the chef Yu from the Red Flag Brigade who taught her the skills. She no longer found the Thirteen Spices strange at all.

All the materials are ready, and Luo Shunli's move is nearing completion.

Zhong Manli, who had disappeared from next door for a few days, finally walked out of the house, holding some melon seeds in her hand and walking towards room number three with a joking look on her face.

Today, the target of the trouble has changed from Wang Nian to the new neighbor.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Zhong Manli finished her opening remarks.

Wang Nian also asked Liu Chaoxian to light the fire: "Small fire."

As the moisture in the minced garlic gradually evaporated, the garlic turned from white to golden yellow. Although it didn't look crispy yet, Wang Nian scooped the oil and garlic into the bowl at this time.

"If you wait until the garlic is a little brown before you pick it up, the residual heat will fry it and burn it."

A few people responded with a half-comprehending tone.

Afterwards, Wang Nian poured in rapeseed oil again and repeated the process of burning the oil and cooling it.

Although it can save a lot of oil by burning enough oil for two times at one time, the oil for the garlic crisps was brought by Sister Xu herself, and Wang Nian must use his own oil for the scallion oil.

And... Wang Nian, the rapeseed oil at home, has also evolved.

Relight the firewood, add pork fat, green onions, ginger and garlic, and stir slowly along the edge of the pot with a spatula.

The aroma of the scallions is extremely strong. After being slowly soaked in hot oil, the whole family building is filled with this aroma.

"If I offer to buy it, will Comrade Xiao Wang agree?"

In fact, the garlic oil had already gone cold, so Sister Xu could have just taken the bowl and left. There was no need for her to stay and spend more than an hour watching Wang Nian fry the scallion oil.

But she stayed until the end, until Wang Nian scooped the scallion oil into several half-sized rice bowls.

Xu Fen shook her head. If she was thick-skinned, she would just ask directly.

But it was clear that neither of them was that kind of person.

"Then we'll go back. You can keep the money first." Sister Xu couldn't help drooling as soon as she opened her mouth. She pursed her lips and stuffed the money into Wang Nian's pocket: "I'll come back to you next time."

"Then take this bowl of scallion oil back and eat it."

Sister Xu is a generous person. When she was making scallion oil just now, she had already scooped out most of the bowl and brought it into the house. Of course, Wang Nian couldn't be stingy.

"Then you're welcome, big sister."

"You have kept Teacher Xu busy for so long, you should take some back to try." Wang Nian brought another small bowl to Xu Fen: "Just remember to return the bowl to me, otherwise we won't have any bowls to eat when guests come to our house."

It was divided into several bowls specifically for giving as gifts, and the bowls in the cupboard were already arranged.

"I'll let my husband Cui return it later." Xu Fen smiled.

After seeing the two off, Wang Niancai brought a big bowl to Liu Chaoxian. Regardless of how close they were, they still got points.

After all the helpers were arranged, Wang Nian brought the remaining bowls into the house.

"Send the bowl to Sister Qiuhong first. For the remaining two bowls, give Sister Yuying one bowl. I'll put the remaining bowl in a can and you can send it to Director Luo. I heard that Director Luo's wife is also from Guangdong Province, so she should like it."

Shi Xiangming responded to Wang Nian's arrangement with a smile.

Several families in the factory with whom the couple have good relations have already thought of this, and as for Director Luo...it was purely out of gratitude.

If it weren't for Director Luo's strong recommendation, Shi Xiangming would not have had the opportunity to step out of Changshenggou and be invited by major machinery factories in the county and even the provincial capital.

Four years ago, it was Director Luo who personally rushed to Anhuai City to bring Shi Xiangming to Factory 431.

Shi Xiangming also quickly repaid this kindness.

Factory 431 has successfully made a name for itself in the country. This year, the factory won an order for military automobile parts, and the military even allocated a research and development fund for the factory to conduct special research.

As the couple chatted, Shi Xiangming expressed his gratitude to Director Luo, and Wang Nian took his words to heart.

"Then I'll ride my bike there this afternoon and submit my application materials while I'm there."

Wang Nian stopped pouring the oil and asked doubtfully, "Is it about work?"

"The higher-ups proposed that we develop our own car engine. I actually did some research on this when I was abroad, so I wrote an application to apply to join the research."

Shi Xiangming was willing to share work with Wang Nian, and even though she did not understand the mechanical principles, she could still give the most positive feedback.

Wang Nian's eyes widened with excitement after hearing this, and he clapped his hands: "In the future, people all over the country will be able to drive cars that are made entirely of domestically produced parts."

"It's not certain whether I can apply for it." Shi Xiangming smiled.

"Even if it doesn't work this time, it will definitely work next time." Wang Nian firmly believed.

"good."

The sun fills the house...

The kids were chasing and playing with the dog in the backyard...

Everything was so warm that Shi Xiangming's smiling eyes seemed to be coated with light.

***

When he rode the bike a little faster, the cold air penetrated into his collar through his scarf. However, Shi Xiangming didn't feel the cold at all and rode faster and faster against the cold wind.

I don’t know if it’s because life is going well, my body is full of energy, or because I’m in a good mood, but this winter is not that hard to endure.

Luo Yongde's home is in the No. 1 family building behind the factory office.

The No. 1 Family Building was the first cadre family building to be built. It is mainly bungalows, but the area in front and behind the houses is a bit larger.

The Luo family lives in the last row of three houses, which are surrounded by wooden fences in front and back, and are now all planted with vegetables.

Luo Yongde's wife Fu Fang was weeding in the yard, while her granddaughter was sitting at the door playing with a rag doll so old that the color could not be recognized.

Shi Xiangming parked his bike steadily beside the fence, propped up his long legs, and smiled faintly: "Hello, auntie."

Fu Fang looked up and it took her a long time to recognize who it was.

The backlight was the main reason, and for a moment I couldn't believe that the smiling person in front of me was actually Shi Xiangming.

Every day he is either disassembling machines in the workshop or drawing and doing research in the office. Fu Fang's impression of Shi Xiangming is that he is taciturn and has a sullen face.

Does marriage really have such a big impact on a person?

Fu Fang was thinking in her heart, with a very enthusiastic look on her face. She put down the hoe and hurriedly invited Shi Xiangming to come into the house and sit for a while.

"Is Director Luo here?" Shi Xiangming smiled, and after parking the car, he took off the net bag hanging from the handlebars. "My wife made some scallion oil today, and my aunt took it home to make noodles."

Shi Xiangming delivered the homemade food openly, handing the net bag over in front of other neighbors.

"Comrade Xiao Wang is really skillful." Fu Fang took the net bag and hugged it with a smile: "My old Luo is at home, you two can have a drink tonight."

"My wife and children are still waiting for dinner at home. I have an application form to hand over to Director Luo. This information is very important. Please help me, Auntie."

"Then you give it to Auntie, I'll take it in right away."

Shi Xiangming handed a stack of application materials to Fu Fang with both hands, then immediately got on his bike and said, "I'll be back first."

"When you have time, ask Comrade Xiao Wang to come over to Auntie's house to play."

Fu Fang watched Shi Xiangming ride away until he could no longer be seen, then she walked into the middle room with a look of emotion.

Luo Yongde fell asleep on the sofa, snoring loudly.

At this moment, Fu Fang was really glad that Shi Xiangming did not stay for dinner. She wondered what he would think if he saw Luo Yong like this.

"I can't stop drinking you!"

I drank with an old comrade who came to visit from the provincial capital until late last night. Now I guess the factory has been bombed and no one can wake up.

Fu Fang kicked Luo Yongde and gently placed the stack of application documents on the desk.

He slept until dark, and Luo Yongde finally woke up with a splitting headache.

"You still remember to eat!"

Fu Fang happened to enter the room carrying some dishes. She glared at Luo Yongde before turning around and pulling down the light cord.

As soon as the living room was lit up, the eldest son and his family came out of their houses.

Luo Yongde took the hot towel and wiped his face. He glanced around and didn't see his youngest son Luo Shunli. He yelled subconsciously: "Where has Shunli gone again?"

"You've gotten married successfully, but you still worry about your child causing trouble."

"I was so sleepy!" Luo Yongde patted his forehead. When he woke up, he smelled the fragrance in the air: "What delicious food will you cook tonight? It smells so good!"

"Noodles." The eldest son Luo Jiefang pushed the door open carrying two large bowls of noodles, and placed the largest bowl in front of Luo Yongde with a smile.

“Can noodles taste like this?”

"I added some scallion oil that Chief Engineer Shi sent me this afternoon. The eggs were also sent by someone."

"Chief Engineer Shi! Shi Xiangming?" Luo Yongde raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Besides Shi, who else is there in our factory?"

The family sat around the table. It was just an ordinary bowl of plain noodles, but it smelled so good that everyone, big or small, drooled.

Luo Yongde asked everyone to eat and picked up the chopsticks himself.

"It's really delicious. Just a few bites are enough to make it fragrant. It really has the taste of black scallion oil from Guangxi," commented Fu Fang.

Luo Yongde finished the big bowl in no time, put down his chopsticks and burped with satisfaction.

"Shi Xiangming's wife is really capable. Just a bowl of noodles made our whole family remember her."

So gift-giving also requires skills. Even a bottle of scallion oil can leave a deep impression on people.

Fu Fang agreed: "Look, those kids drank up all the soup. I will definitely go find her after they finish eating in a few days..."

After these two interactions, they naturally became close.

"I didn't expect Shi Xiangming would come to our house to deliver something. It's really surprising." Luo Yongde sighed.

"It's really different to marry a good wife." Fu Fang smiled and glanced at Luo Jianshe and his wife: "If the wife is a ruiner, even the best family will be broken up."

Luo Jianshe's wife, Zheng Lihua, is a person who won't even help if a oil bottle falls over. She doesn't get involved in household affairs or children at all.

I was tricked into marrying this daughter-in-law by the introducer, and only after the marriage did I realize how lazy she was.

When she had her younger son, she thought about letting him fall in love freely so that he would have more time to get to know each other.

The result is... the daughter-in-law is good, but the mother-in-law has a bad reputation.

Fu Fang became worried whenever she thought of her two sons.

Looking at Shi Xiangming again, his whole spirit has changed. His daughter-in-law is not only skilled in cooking, but also has methods in dealing with people and things.

"Shunli now lives in the same building with Shi Xiangming and his wife. Let him walk around more often if he has nothing to do."

After swallowing all the noodles and the soup, Luo Yongde's stomachache finally eased, but he couldn't help but worry about his little son.

"There are so many people in the factory, why do you value Shi Xiangming so much?" Fu Fang couldn't help but be curious.

"He has real talent." Luo Yongde raised his index finger. "With just a pen and a notebook, he managed to improve the brake discs of domestic vehicles. How can we not value such talents?"

Outsiders may not understand how important Shi Xiangming is to Factory 431, but Luo Yongde knows it best.

If Shi Xiangming hadn't been in charge of the newly opened production line, the pass rate would never have been able to meet the standard.

This involves too much professional knowledge that Luo Yongde cannot understand. He only envies others' high salaries, but has no idea why they are so high!

"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten what application materials Shi Xiangming came to submit this afternoon..."

Fu Fang suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly stood up and walked to the desk.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this, and the neatly stacked documents were now scattered all over the table.

"Who moved the information on the table?" Fu Fang turned around and yelled at her grandchildren, "Who did it?"

Luo Yongde's face changed drastically. He stood up in a hurry, knocking over the chair. He ran to the desk in two or three steps and picked up a piece of paper.

This is a document with the red stamp of the Municipal Engineering Academy.

The document clearly stated that Comrade Shi Xiangming was invited to participate in the research and development of state-owned automobile engines.

He personally took this document from Professor Wu Bin and handed it to Shi Xiangming.

As long as the application form is filled out and submitted, the Provincial Academy of Engineering will immediately allocate funds to help Factory 431 establish a research laboratory.

This Friday, Luo Yongde specifically instructed Shi Xiangming to fill out the application form and send it directly to his home so that he could go directly to the provincial capital for approval on Monday.

The result...is now half a piece of waste paper covered with soot.

Luo Yongde became furious and slammed the table hard.

"Who on earth... who on earth moved the things on the table? Where did the other half go?!"

At this time, the eldest grandson pointed at the little sister tremblingly and said: "Sister wrapped the baked potatoes, and mom tore them..."

"What should I do?" Fu Fang was so anxious that she was sweating all over. Her legs went limp and she fell into the chair: "You...you will...will you..."

"What do you mean by yes or no?" Luo Yongde's forehead was throbbing with veins. Even if he was angry, he couldn't vent it on a one-year-old child. He took a deep breath and stepped back to the dining table: "Whether I can still do a stable job as the factory director next year... That depends on God's will."

Fu Fang was so angry that her whole body was shaking, and she glared at the culprit Zheng Lihua.

"It was a great misfortune for my family to marry you into our family."

Zheng Lihua was also frightened at the moment, and after being glared at so fiercely by Fu Fang, two lines of tears instantly burst out.

"What should we do now?"

"There's nothing we can do." Luo Yongde sighed and covered his face, his voice choking with sobs: "The application form was issued by the National Academy of Engineering, and there is only one for more than a dozen counties..."

"Then we can just say that Shi Xiangming didn't send the application form to our house, and Mom will insist that she didn't take it over."

Suddenly, Zheng Lihua shouted these words in a crying voice.

As soon as the words fell, the room fell into deathly silence. Luo Jianshe looked at his wife in disbelief. He simply couldn't believe that these words came out of her mouth.

Luo Yongde's eyes were wide open, and he could only loosen his clenched fists powerlessly in the end.

"If it's our fault, it's our fault. You just blame others. People like you are not worthy of educating children."

Fu Fang couldn't care less to blame her daughter-in-law at this moment, and anxiously asked: "Lao Luo, what should we do now?"

Luo Yongde pondered for a while and sighed deeply: "I will go and talk to Shi Xiangming first. I will take the initiative to admit my mistakes to the party branch on Monday. As for the punishment result... we can only wait for the factory meeting to decide."

Luo Yongde accepted any punishment, but he felt that the person he felt most sorry for was Shi Xiangming.

This not only destroyed the opportunities of Factory 431, but also the bright future of others.

"I'll go with you. This happened because of my carelessness. I'll be fine even if I have to kneel down to him." Fu Fang untied her apron with a determined look.

Luo Jianshe also wanted to go with him, thinking that he would try his best to take all the responsibilities on himself.

Luo Yongde is an upright person, and he is not the kind of person who would dare to do something but not to admit it.

Now that I have decided to go, I have already thought of the worst possible outcome.

But the subsequent developments were far beyond his expectations.

The whole family rushed to Shi's house and told her their purpose. Fu Fang almost fell to her knees.

Who knew that Shi Xiangming just smiled slightly after hearing it, indicating that it was all a small matter.

What had made the Luo family anxious for most of the day seemed insignificant to others.