Chapter 153 Departure
Song Lubai found the paper that the instructor had mentioned tucked inside the notebook in the public housing.
The first column on the left is everyone's name, and the rest is where you write your evaluation. It seems like you only need to write about half a line for each person's evaluation.
After receiving the form, the instructor asked her, "You should know all your people, right?"
Song Lubai said, "I don't know everything. What? You want to take my opinion?"
The instructor asked, "So, what are your opinions?"
Song Lubai chuckled: "Of course I want you to give me a good review."
Who doesn't have selfish motives?
The instructor smiled and waved his hand, "Go write your draft, don't just stand there."
Even after being kicked out, Song Lubai remained delighted.
She could almost see the day she would leave the 25th Company.
Although she no longer has to do physical labor, she desperately wants to fly into the city, instead of opening her door every day to find herself facing the vast Gobi Desert.
Despite the low morale due to the cold weather, everyone persevered until the arrival of the second heavy snowfall.
The snow fell silently at night, and when I woke up in the morning, the heavy snow was flying into the house with the airflow. Everything in sight was white, and the snow was already several centimeters thick. You could leave a footprint on it.
Feng Ying, with her neck hunched, excitedly turned around and said to everyone, "It's snowing heavily, so we don't need to go to the fields."
Someone inside responded, "It's already the 28th. Last time, Director Wang said he would leave at the end of the month."
Everyone chimed in with their own thoughts, all hoping to leave as soon as possible.
The temperature is dropping day by day, and the cooking crew has moved their cooking area inside the building.
Smoke billowed from the chimney, its color almost identical to the gray sky.
The bucket by the well was covered with a thick layer of ice.
Seeing the company commander come out, someone called out and asked, "Company commander, you don't have to go to the fields today, right?"
The company commander said, "I won't stop any of you from going."
Despite the cold weather, everyone was in a good mood.
Drinking sweet potato and millet porridge and eating boiled cabbage with only salt, everyone ate as if it were the most delicious food in the world.
The door was open, and someone saw a basin of large, frozen chunks of pork being carried by the cooks. Someone licked their lips and asked, "When did you buy this meat? Are you cooking it today?"
To be honest, the 25th Company hasn't seen meat for almost two months.
Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw the meat.
The female cooks said, "The company commander said we made it today. It's a farewell dinner for the comrades from the Commerce Department. They're leaving soon, so we're having dumplings before they go."
Eating dumplings means eating white flour.
Everyone who heard this was overjoyed.
The company only makes dumplings once a year, and it's like celebrating the New Year. Today is truly a special day.
Song Lubai went to find the instructor and asked if they could leave tomorrow.
The instructor said they could leave once Director Wang returned, which would be within the next couple of days.
Song Lubai almost jumped up.
Great, great, they're finally leaving!
Seeing her like that, the instructor scoffed, "You think you can just leave like that?"
"You've stayed for five months, so aren't you even a little bit reluctant to leave?"
Song Lubai said against her will, "Of course I can't bear to part with it."
Now, her heart is filled with the joy of leaving, and she can't find anything to be reluctant about. "I won't talk to you anymore, I have to tell everyone this good news."
The instructor watched her walk away with a smile.
To be honest, he was quite reluctant to see these people from the Commerce Department leave. They had helped the 25th Company with a lot of their tasks this year, increasing the area of arable land for next year.
With a large number of people in the company, the eighteen female cooks had to make dumplings for more than two hundred people, a huge task. Under Li Huijun's call, all the female cooks who knew how to make dumplings joined the dumpling-making team.
The men chopped dumpling filling for nearly an hour, sweating profusely even in the dead of winter.
Outside, the wind howled and snow fell heavily, but inside, it was warm and cozy, and the women were busily making dumplings.
Whatever friction may have occurred in the past, it has all vanished without a trace today.
The frozen dumplings were piled up on the table outside, making it easy to place freshly made dumplings on top.
Thousands of dumplings were quickly made, filling the table and cloth at the entrance to the brim.
The men would occasionally come over to take a look and comment on which style of dumplings looked better and which style would fall apart easily when cooked.
After wrapping the dumplings, Li Huijun counted them.
There are a total of 5,320, and each person can get about 22.
There's definitely not enough for men with big appetites, but there's nothing we can do. We're lucky to have dumplings at all today.
The water boiled, and the frozen dumplings were put into the pot. As the steam rose, the plump white dumplings tumbled in the boiling water.
Bowl after bowl of dumplings were served, and the sounds of conversation in the camp gradually faded away.
Everyone's mouths were stuffed with dumplings, and they cherished this hard-won meal of meat dumplings.
Song Lubai blew on the piping hot cabbage and pork dumplings, recalling that cabbage and pork dumplings were the most common filling her family made at home.
Her family can eat dumplings two or three times a year, two of which are definitely during the Chinese New Year. The rest of the time, it depends on whether they have meat coupons to buy meat and whether they can buy flour.
Remembering Lin Dahai's attitude towards her eating meat, she bit a dumpling into pieces.
She wanted to live a life where she didn't have to worry about what others thought, where she could eat whatever she wanted at the dinner table, as much as she wanted, and where she could be in charge.
She can earn her own salary, so she doesn't have to put up with anyone else's attitude.
The snow hadn't stopped overnight. When you stepped into a snowdrift, the snow completely submerged your shoes. Before long, everyone's cotton-padded trousers were soaked through at the ankles.
The colleagues in the business department were eagerly waiting for Wang Haiquan. Some lingered at the intersection, hoping to see him appear.
Although we don't know when Director Wang will be back, that doesn't stop everyone from packing their luggage first.
Compared to before, apart from cotton, the amount of stuff the big guys hadn't increased much.
Song Lubai searched through the entire contents of the large cloth bag, but nothing was missing. The two stones she had bought didn't take up much space in the bag.
Everything is ready, except for Director Wang's return to lead them away.
Around 6 o'clock, a truck drove in from the intersection.
"Director Wang is back! Director Wang has come back with a truck to pick us up!"
Hearing the noise outside, everyone rushed out together.
Wang Haiquan was surrounded by people as soon as he got out of the passenger seat.
He said with a smile, "You're so welcoming."
He knew why, and he was also affected by the expressions on the faces of these people.
Hearing the urging from the crowd, he said, "Hurry up and pack your things. Let's send one group of people to the headquarters to get on that truck. The truck is parked at the entrance of the Armed Forces Department and they're still unloading. We'll come back to pick up the second group later."
After giving their instructions, under Wang Haiquan's watchful eye, everyone hurriedly went back inside to carry their bags, and soon the truck bed was crammed full.
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