Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Fire

Meng Yufei said, "Director, I heard that every quarter, the Women's Committee organizes a meeting for all the women in the hospital. I think this quarter's meeting hasn't started yet."

Director Wang nodded and said, "Yes, this quarter's meeting was originally planned to be held at the beginning of the month. Who knew there would be so many things to do this month? It has been delayed until now. However, it will definitely be held this week. This month will soon be over."

Meng Yufei suggested, "Director Wang, how about we hold this meeting tomorrow? We can hand out the tickets at the meeting. First, I can get to know the military families more quickly; second, it will be more convenient for the families, as they don't have to make two trips."

After hearing this idea, Director Wang slapped his thigh and said, "Xiao Meng, this is a good idea. Now that we hear that invoices will be issued tomorrow, I wonder who will not come to the meeting."

The main task of the Women's Committee's quarterly conference is to promote women's rights. Many people find it boring to come and listen to these policies, so every time there is a conference, people from the Women's Committee have to go door to door to invite and urge people to attend.

Even so, the number of participants at each conference is still sparse.

It was a good idea to combine the meeting with the invoice issuance. The people who originally received the invoices in this affiliated hospital were female comrades, and they were the same group of people who came to the Women's Committee meeting!

The more Director Wang thought about it, the better he thought this was. He immediately stood up and told his subordinates, "Xiao Cui, we're going to hold this year's first quarter women's conference tomorrow morning. Hurry up and go to the Propaganda Department. Have them use the loudspeaker to notify everyone before they get off work."

I specifically reminded him, "Remember, I will emphasize again after the notice that tickets for this month will be distributed at the meeting tomorrow, so that the family members who haven't received their tickets yet should remember to come on time tomorrow."

"Ah? Director, then who should I look for in the Publicity Department?" Xiao Cui asked in confusion.

Xiao Cui only started working at the Women's Committee this month, and she has not yet mastered many of the tasks.

Without waiting for Director Wang to say anything, Xiao Zhang said, "Director Wang, I'll take her there. I happen to be familiar with the people in the Publicity Department."

Director Wang nodded and said, "Okay, then please take her there."

Xiao Zhang took Xiao Cui out of the Women's Committee and walked to the back. The Propaganda Department is a department of the Logistics Department, on the second floor of the cafeteria.

After the two of them left, Meng Yufei said, "Director Wang, I have something else I want to consult you about."

Director Wang smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, just tell me directly."

Meng Yufei said: "That's right, I want to ask, why has there never been a kindergarten in our family compound?"

Director Wang sighed and said, "Both the Logistics Department and our Women's Committee are responsible for this. According to regulations, our family compound should not only build a kindergarten, but also an elementary school and a middle school. But as you can see, the conditions on the island are indeed limited. There is no need to think about elementary and middle schools, and as for the kindergarten..."

She paused and continued, "I also discovered this problem when I first came here. Many children in the family compound who don't go to primary school are at home. It's okay for families with a few children, but if there are many children, the parents can't take care of them at all, especially for working families. They can only send their children to kindergartens in town. Not to mention how far it is, they have to go back and forth four times a day to pick them up."

"Let's talk about the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Xue family who were here just now. Because the daughter-in-law just gave birth to a child last year, there are two small children at home, one is five years old and the other is three years old. Neither of them is old enough to go to elementary school. So they had to ask the mother-in-law to take care of the children. There is noisy every day."

Meng Yufei listened and said, "Look, it's necessary for our family compound to build a kindergarten. To be honest, I took Qinqin to the kindergarten in the town yesterday. There are many children and few teachers there. Not to mention that we have to walk four times a day. The child is so young, and I really feel sorry for her walking so much every day."

Director Wang said, "When I first came here, I mentioned that we wanted to build a kindergarten, but our Women's Committee didn't have the funds. After I told the Logistics Department about it, the then Chief of Finance insisted that there was insufficient funds in the account, so the matter was put on hold."

Meng Yufei said: "After sorting out the accounts these days, I found that the funds in the account can still build a kindergarten. The current difficulty is that there is no place."

Director Wang said, "I do have a place here. When I first told Director Fu about this, he said that there was no space in the family home. If we want to build a kindergarten, we have to build a new building, which is not only expensive but also troublesome. I thought about it and cleaned up the two rooms to the west of our Women's Committee. When it was first built, it was a classroom for family members to take literacy classes. There have been no classes in the past two years, and the room has been empty."

There are four large tiled houses in this row of the Women's Committee, covering a large area, which is enough to show the importance attached to women's work at that time.

She threw up her hands and said, "Who would have thought that after I found a place, the finance department would say there was no money in the account. Isn't that infuriating?"

Director Wang took her out to look at the two rooms next door. "At first, we wanted to connect this room to use as a conference room so that the women's conference could be held here. But later we thought that the area was a bit small for a hundred people, so we didn't connect the rooms. We still held the meeting in the cafeteria."

Meng Yufei looked at the two rooms. The space inside was indeed very large, and each room also had a blackboard, which was simply perfect.

"These two rooms are more than enough for a kindergarten. We took a look at the number of people in the family home these past two days and found that there are 32 children under the age of six. It will be just right to divide them into two classes when the time comes."

Director Wang said, "If this kindergarten is really built, it will save a lot of trouble for families with children. Now that I have confirmed that there is money in the account, I will go to Director Fu to apply for it tomorrow."

Meng Yufei said: "Not only will it save trouble for us families with children, but this kindergarten can also provide several jobs. I think Director Fu and Chief Chen of the Personnel Department will have fewer worries."

Job placement for military dependents has always been a big problem, not to mention that this is an island, so there are even fewer job opportunities.

Director Wang clapped his hands and laughed, "Yes, this kindergarten will need at least two or three teachers, and then we can solve the job problems of several family members. Because of this job placement issue, Director Fu now sees that the family members are avoiding him, and I have reduced his burden this time, so he has no choice but to agree."

The two happily agreed on the preliminary construction of a kindergarten in the family home.

The announcer's voice came from the loudspeaker outside:

"Hey, hey, all the family members, please pay attention. All the family members, please pay attention. Gather in the cafeteria at 8:30 tomorrow morning to hold the women's conference for the first quarter of this year. All women comrades, please attend on time."

"Family members who have not received their tickets this month, please remember to stay after the meeting and collect your tickets at the venue."

The loudspeaker broadcast it three times in a row.

In the family home, most people did not take the previous notice seriously. They just sat there and listened to the leaders speak during each meeting. If it were not for Director Wang's face, many people would have simply passed by without even bothering to do so.

But the latter sentence caught everyone's attention. More than half of the people in the family compound had not received tickets yet. Finally, they could get the tickets!

No matter what, you have to attend the meeting tomorrow.

After Meng Yufei finished discussing things with Director Wang, she took Xia Qinqin to the cafeteria and got dinner before going home.

Xiao Zhang just happened to come down from the building. She walked over and said with a smile, "Sister Meng, now we can distribute the tickets almost by tomorrow morning. The cafeteria is big, unlike the previous office upstairs where it was crowded and noisy. It takes at least two days to distribute the tickets each time."

Meng Yufei said: "This is also due to the convenience of the Women's Committee, but we are all serving the families, so it will be easier for everyone if we solve it together."

Xiao Zhang nodded and said, "Sister Meng still has a way."

The cafeteria cooked steamed sea bass today. The chef's taste was so light today. This fish had few bones and was suitable for children. Meng Yufei ordered one portion and spent 23 cents.

I also ordered a portion of scrambled eggs with leeks, a bowl of seaweed soup, and half a pound of rice.

When I got off work at noon today, Xia Junshan did not come back for lunch. He sent a little soldier to my house to inform me that he had a mission to perform and would not be back until the evening.

Not knowing what time he would be back at night, Meng Yufei did not pour the food out of the lunch box after arriving home, fearing that it would get cold by then. She put the food in the lunch box and covered it with a lid to keep it warm a little longer.

After Xia Qinqin got home, she looked around the living room and then ran to a few rooms to take a look. Meng Yufei asked from behind her, "Qinqin, what are you looking for?"

Xia Qinqin turned around and asked, "Mom, where's Dad?"

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Do you miss your dad?"

Xia Qinqin pouted and said, "Did Dad leave again?" He was not at home since noon.

Meng Yufei walked over to her, squatted down, looked Xia Qinqin in the eye and said, "No, didn't Dad ask Uncle to tell us at noon that he was going to carry out a mission and would be back in the evening?"

Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin's hand and said, "Let's go clean up the yard with mom, okay? Dad will start planting grapes in two days."

"Yeah, okay." Xia Qinqin nodded obediently and followed her mother to the yard.

The weeds that were pulled out in the yard yesterday have been cleared out by Xia Junshan. The yard is now a little bare, with some weeds and dirt on the ground, plus the mud puddles created when pulling out the weeds, making it look a bit messy.

Meng Yufei picked up the shovel that Xia Junshan brought back yesterday and filled the mud pit. Xia Qinqin picked up the scattered weeds in the yard and piled them together. The mother and daughter worked together and soon cleaned up the yard, which looked much cleaner.

After wiping the sweat from her forehead, Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to wash her hands and asked softly, "Are you tired?"

Xia Qinqin shook her head and said, "Not tired."

Meng Yufei wiped her daughter's sweaty forehead with a towel, then reached out and touched her back, which was also sweaty.

"Let's take a shower first, or you'll catch a cold from the wind." Meng Yufei said.

Xia Qinqin asked: "Mom, can you heat bath water?"

Although Xia Qinqin is young, she knows the division of labor at home very clearly. Her mother buys groceries and cleans the table, her father washes dishes and boils water for bath. The bath water at home is boiled in a big pot, and only her father knows how to use that pot at home.

"Uh..." Meng Yufei paused, thought for a moment and said, "I think so."

In the kitchen.

Meng Yufei sat under the stove, picked up the matchbox, turned to Xia Qinqin and said, "Mom is going to start lighting the fire. It's very dangerous. You are not allowed to come in. Do you understand?"

"Okay, I got it." Xia Qinqin lay at the kitchen door, looking at her mother seriously.

With a crackling sound, Meng Yufei lit the match and placed the hay above the flame. Thinking that the outer flame had the highest temperature, she lifted the hay two centimeters upward.

Whoosh, the flame grew bigger and the hay was successfully ignited.

Meng Yufei quickly put the dry grass into the stove and grabbed another handful of dry grass in.

Then, the fire went out...

The flame disappeared, but the dry grass was still smoking. Meng Yufei learned to blow it, and more black smoke suddenly came out of the stove.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Meng Yufei was snorting and coughing. Xia Qinqin, who was at the kitchen door, hurriedly called out, "Mom, Mom, are you okay?"

Meng Yufei quickly replied: "Mom, I'm fine. Don't come in. It's very noisy here."

She got up and left the stove, opened the kitchen window as wide as she could, and went out to open the front door. The kitchen was right next to the front door, so the smoke could dissipate quickly.

Xia Qinqin said worriedly: "Mom, let's wait for Dad to come back before heating it. Qinqin is not in a hurry to take a bath."

Meng Yufei: "..."

At this moment, there was a sound coming from the courtyard gate. Meng Yufei looked through the open door and saw Han Jianhong standing at the gate.

She smiled and said, "Jianhong is here, come in and sit down."

Han Jianhong smiled and walked in. As soon as she reached the door, she smelled cigarette smoke and asked, "Aunt Meng, what is being burned at home?"

Meng Yufei said awkwardly, "I was preparing to heat water for bathing. I have never used this earthenware stove before. Not only did it not light up, but it also emitted so much smoke."

Han Jianhong said, "Let me help you heat it." Then he went to the kitchen and sat down under the stove. Meng Yufei hurried over and said, "Oh, no, you'll get your clothes dirty if you sit down like this."

Han Jianhong said: "It's okay, I'm wearing old clothes."

As he spoke, he lit a match skillfully, grabbed a handful of hay to ignite it, put it into the stove and added more hay. The flame grew bigger and bigger, and no more black smoke came out.

Meng Yufei said: "Yeah, it's lit now."

Xia Qinqin clapped her hands and said, "Sister is so awesome!"

Han Jianhong lowered his head and smiled a little embarrassedly, "I am a country kid, I have been used to using a clay stove since I was a child."

After putting a few dry branches in the stove, Han Jianhong clapped his hands and stood up and said, "When these branches are burned, the water in the pot will be hot. You are heating the water for bathing, so it doesn't need to be too hot."

Meng Yufei nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, thank you, Jianhong, come out and wash your hands." Then she pulled Han Jianhong to the faucet to wash her hands.

After washing her hands, she took her to the living room to sit on the sofa. Meng Yufei poured her a glass of water and asked Xia Qinqin to get some candy from the cupboard.

Han Jianhong said hurriedly: "Aunt Meng, you don't have to be polite. I'm not a child anymore. I don't eat candy."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "You call me aunt, but you are a child to me."

Xia Qinqin opened the candy box skillfully. There were only a few White Rabbit candies left from Hai City. She grabbed them all and stuffed them into Han Jianhong's hand.

"Sister, please have some candy."

Han Jianhong took the candy, touched Xia Qinqin's braid, and said softly, "Thank you."

Meng Yufei sat on the other side of the sofa and asked, "Jianhong, what are you doing here?"

Han Jianhong said: "I came to thank you for the shoes..."

Meng Yufei waved her hands and said, "It's nothing. The shoes were made from head to toe by Mrs. Zhang. I just provided some scraps of cloth."

Han Jianhong said: "Not only this matter, but also..." At this point, she paused for two seconds and continued: "And the recent rumors about her in the family compound. I know that you and Aunt Zhang are using this method to help me again. Thank you."

Meng Yufei said, "Wei Shufang was wrong in the first place. Since she dared to do it, she shouldn't be afraid of what others say. If she does these things behind your back again, you should speak out directly. If you don't speak out, you will suffer the consequences."

Han Jianhong lowered his head and said, "What's the point of saying it? Those people will only discuss it behind my back and won't change anything."

Meng Yufei held her hand and said, "Have you ever heard of the phrase 'what people say is scary'? There are indeed people in this world who can completely ignore the opinions of others, but most of them are ordinary people. They can't avoid dealing with people in life, so they still need to maintain their reputation."

"Look at Wei Shufang. She has been working hard to build a good reputation on the island. She obviously cares about it. Now that her disguise as a good stepmother has been exposed, it must be a big blow to her."

Han Jianhong listened and slowly raised his head, muttering: "No one has ever told me this before."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Some things are enough for smart people to hear once, but for those who don't understand, it's useless to say them no matter how many times. Auntie believes that you are a smart child."

Han Jianhong thought for a moment and asked, "So from now on, should I show weakness at home? Will this allow my... my father to seek justice for me?"

Meng Yufei patted her hands and said, "When two people have a conflict, most people's first reaction is to sympathize with the weaker one. Appropriately showing one's own weaknesses can indeed gain more support. However, for parents, some will favor the weaker child, while others will give resources to the strongest child."

She looked into Han Jianhong's eyes and said, "It depends on what you want."

Han Jianhong was startled, then nodded and said, "Thank you, Aunt Meng. I understand."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "You are still young and have a long way to go in the future. If you can't change some people, then focus more on yourself and think about what kind of life you want to live in the future."

"The future?" Han Jianhong shook his head and said, "I have never thought about it."

Meng Yufei: "It's not too late to think about it now. You still have a long life ahead of you, so take your time to think about it."

Han Jianhong nodded earnestly and said gratefully: "Thank you for what you said to me today. I will think about it carefully when I go back."

After seeing Han Jianhong off, Meng Yufei went to the kitchen and touched the bath water in the pot. The temperature was just right, so she quickly went into the house to find her pajamas and took Xia Qinqin to take a bath.

Xia Junshan came back only after the mother and daughter had finished their bath.

Xia Qinqin quickly went up and hugged her father's legs, "Dad, you are finally back."

Xia Junshan bent down, picked up his daughter, and said with a smile, "Dad went on a mission today, so he came back late."

Meng Yufei took out a lunch box from the kitchen and placed it on the dining table, then asked, "Have you eaten?"

Xia Junshan shook his head and said, "Not yet, why don't you eat first, it's so late." He lowered his head and said to Xia Qinqin in his arms, "Our Qinqin must be hungry."

"Uh-huh."

Meng Yufei laughed and said, "Why send you to carry out the mission when the commander doesn't even provide meals?"

Xia Junshan held his daughter and sat at the dining table, saying with a smile, "Next time I'll take you to his house to blackmail him."

As he was talking, he noticed that both mother and daughter had changed into pajamas, and asked, "Have you taken a bath?"

Meng Yufei nodded, and Xia Qinqin rushed to say, "Dad, it was Mom who heated the bath water today. Mom burned a lot of smoke, and the whole room was filled with it. Later, it was my amazing sister who came over to help and lit the fire."

She spoke in a flurry, and Xia Junshan heard the ins and outs of her words, wondering, "Where did this amazing sister come from?"

Meng Yufei explained: "It was Jianhong. When I lit the fire and put it into the stove, it went out. When I blew, the smoke came out all of a sudden! Fortunately, Jianhong came over and helped me light it."

Xia Junshan asked with concern: "Is the smoke not affecting you?"

Meng Yufei said: "No."

Xia Junshan said: "Next time, wait for me to come back."

Meng Yufei put the dishes and chopsticks in place and said, "I watched Jianhong's movements carefully today and learned some tricks. I will definitely succeed next time."

Xia Junshan took the chopsticks and said with a smile: "You want to learn how to make a fire? I'll teach you after dinner."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay."

Xia Qinqin said, "Dad, I want to learn how to make fire, too."

Meng Yufei hurriedly said: "No, children can't play with fire."

Xia Junshan nodded in agreement: "Yes, children should not play with fire."

Xia Qinqin puffed up her lips and said angrily: "Why are there so many things that children can't do!"