Chapter 24
When Ye Manzhi arrived home, Lin Qingmei had been waiting there for a long time.
Seeing the heroine come back, she immediately loosened her grip on Mai Duo and pulled Ye Manzhi into the room.
"How are you two doing today?"
"It's a huge success!" Ye Manzhi held her chin in her hand and said dreamily, "The Western restaurant on the second floor is even more luxurious than the theater at the Youth Palace. The ceiling has golden patterns, the chandeliers sparkle, and the plush curtains are incredibly soft to the touch. I imagine the ball in 'Anna Karenina' would have looked just like this—so magnificent!"
"Is it really that good? The dishes are not cheap, are they? How much did you spend on your treat?"
"No money was spent. Wu Zhengrong had a gift voucher. Hey, he's quite frugal. If the factory gave me a gift voucher every month, I'd definitely spend it all. But he actually never went to eat. Today was the first time he used the gift voucher!"
“…”
Lin Qingmei folded her arms, half leaning on the desk, staring at her with a half-smile in silence.
"What's with that expression on your face? It's disgusting!" Ye Manzhi turned away in disgust, changed into a cotton nightgown, and then lay on her back on the bed with her arms and legs spread, sighing comfortably.
Lin Qingmei leaned over to her pillow and whispered, "It was clearly your treat today, but it turned out that Captain Wu chose the restaurant and paid for it. Even though it was a gift voucher, the factory benefits are still real money. Why does this sound like a secret date between revolutionary comrades?"
Ye Manzhi turned sideways, resting her head on her arm and asked, "Do you think this feels like a date?"
“Yeah, like.”
"I think so too," Ye Manzhi shook his head regretfully, "but it's really not the case."
"Why not? Even though the previous blind date ended in failure, I don't think a soldier like him, who comes from an educated family, would keep contacting his previous blind date for no reason."
"Our work overlapped. And he made it clear during that blind date that he was only the temporary military representative and might not stay at 656 for long. He didn't know when he would be transferred."
Lin Qingmei was speechless: "You believe that! This is obviously just an excuse for him to deal with the blind date because he didn't want to go on a blind date at the time, right?"
"He couldn't possibly be lying about this!" Ye Manzhi whispered. "When our neighborhood's Sino-Soviet Friendship Association branch was established last time, Director Mu drew up an invitation list. She thought Commander Wu would be there in person, so she included his name. In the position column, there was a parenthesis after the title of Chief Military Representative stationed at the factory: acting."
"Ah..." Lin Qingmei looked regretful. "I think Captain Wu is quite good. You two look quite a good match standing together."
"Wu Zhengrong is so good-looking, handsome, and a beauty. Who wouldn't like him? His eyelashes are the longest I've ever seen, like they're from a fairy. It's a pity that I can only look at such a beauty..."
Ye Manzhi couldn't bear to leave her parents, and her parents couldn't bear to leave her either.
She wants to stay with her parents and it is impossible for her to marry far away.
Communication was difficult these days, and it was normal for a letter to take ten days, half a month, or even one or two months to arrive.
Telegrams usually consisted of only a few concise words, and the cost of long-distance calls was outrageous.
She might be a little wishful thinking, but once she marries and moves to another place, she might not be able to go back home for several years and not see her parents.
She would definitely not be happy about that!
Seeing that she was just obsessed with his beauty but still had some rationality, Lin Qingmei stopped mentioning this person.
Since it is impossible, don't let Ye Lai Ya continue to sink, otherwise there will be endless troubles.
She quickly changed the subject and talked about things at work.
"Let me tell you about our section chief. He looks decent, but he always looks at people with a lecherous look. He's so annoying! I went home and told my dad about it, and he told me not to criticize the leaders..."
All he said was curses at the section chief.
Ye Manzhi chimed in, "Our deputy director is a bit better than your section chief. He's not as lecherous, but he always finds fault with me! If I get a perm, he'll find fault with it. If I wear a shirt with a little lace, he'll say I love dressing up too much. Aunt Feng and I are in charge of publicity, writing and drawing on the bulletin board, and he complains we use too much chalk and waste office funds..."
Balabala just kept complaining about his leader.
The two of them lay on the bed and vented their emotions, finally relieving the unhappiness that had accumulated at work recently.
However, Ye Manzhi had just complained about his boss the night before, and the next day at work, Chen Caixia told him a piece of news that was not sure whether it was good or bad.
"When I came to the office this morning, I overheard Deputy Director Zhang and Director Mu proposing a vote to decide whether the four of us should stay or go."
Ye Manzhi's nerves immediately tensed up, and she asked hurriedly, "How do we vote? Our stay or departure is decided by him and Director Mu, right?"
"From what he said, it seems that he wants the four current official cadres to cast two votes each, and the two with the highest votes to stay."
Ye Manzhi frowned and said nothing.
That vote sounds fair.
The subdistrict office now has the system of old cadres mentoring new ones, with each formal cadre mentoring a new person on probation.
The teacher who guides you knows best how you perform.
If everyone's performance is recognized by the master, then everyone will have at least one guaranteed ticket.
But Ye Manzhi really couldn't understand the intention of Deputy Director Zhang's proposal.
Do you really want to share the personnel power with others?
Zhang Qinjian was the one who dared to send canned flies to the district to seek credit. How could he be willing to give up his power?
Chen Caixia's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death. She sighed and said, "I have a feeling Deputy Director Zhang might not vote for me."
She has been following Zhang Qinjian for the past two months, responsible for sanitation, safety, and the repair of dilapidated buildings.
But the two people Zhang Qinjian likes to criticize the most are Ye Manzhi and her.
She told Ye Manyi about this because they were in similar situations.
Aunt Feng is not an easy person to get along with, and Ye Manzhi may not be able to get Aunt Feng's vote.
What she could think of, Ye Manyi could certainly think of as well.
She felt that she got along well with Aunt Feng, but Aunt Feng was not a talkative person. Her biggest hobbies were reading newspapers and practicing calligraphy, and she seldom communicated with her.
She really wasn't sure whether she could get Aunt Feng's vote.
Because of this unexpected news, Ye Manzhi was uneasy the whole day, always feeling that his official position was a little uncertain.
Although she was hired with Wu Zhengrong's letter of recommendation, others also had what she had, so everyone was on the same starting line.
In order not to offend anyone, Director Mu will most likely agree to Zhang Qinjian's proposal and hold a collective vote.
Ye Manzhi felt that with her current work experience, she could not come up with a proper solution.
So, after she returned home, she asked for advice from Foreman Ye, the only one in the Ye family who had been an official.
Ye Shouxin drank the tea made by his daughter late at night, sat down on the chair with his arms folded, and began to give advice on the affairs of state.
"Let me ask you, how do you feel about your work over the past month?"
"It's pretty good. Look how lively our Marriage Law Promotion Month was. Everyone learned about the Marriage Law, and they learned tailoring patterns from me. I'm even going to publish a book about it. And we're doing a pretty good job eradicating the four pests. Director Mu even praised me for using flies instead of rat poison, saying I was being creative and putting my head to work. And I've done an excellent job helping the families in need. I sent Zheng Dongmei on an apprenticeship, and I've also arranged for handicraft jobs that three other families can do at home..."
Fourth Brother had already slept on his simple wooden bed, but upon hearing her words, he stood up and complained, "It seems you're always the best at your job, and you never perform poorly!"
"I'm being realistic. I've been working really hard to stay here!"
Ye Shouxin threw the stinky socks into Lao Si's arms, "A big carrot doesn't need shit to water it, and a smart person doesn't need a stupid person to teach him! You don't even have a job, what qualifications do you have to laugh at Lai Ya? Go wash my socks!"
Then he turned to his daughter and said, "If you think you've done well, then don't worry about it. The votes are in other people's hands, and you can't influence who they choose to vote for. Just do your job well. People see things as a yardstick, and good work will naturally be noticed."
The street office has a shallow pond and many turtles, all of whom are relatives of the people.
The recommendation letter is only the public relationship. No one can tell what other relationships there are in private.
"The subdistrict office isn't the provincial or municipal party committee. It doesn't matter if we can't stay. If it doesn't work out, we can find other jobs."
However, after Ye Shouxin finished his boast, he thought about the current job search situation and hurriedly added: "However, you still need to put more effort into Comrade Feng Chaoyang. At the very least, you have to win her vote!"
"Back then, when I was 13, I left the countryside and came to the city to beg for food. I worked as a farmhand for your grandfather. At first, I just ran errands for him. If I hadn't been quick-witted and attentive, I wouldn't have been chosen by your grandfather to learn a craft."
"Comrade Feng Chaoyang is working with you, which is like half your master. According to the old rules, you are not qualified to be an apprentice. After a month of working together, you still don't even know your master's preferences!"
Ye Manzhi nodded. She still valued her father's advice very much.
After all, Lao Ye himself is a success story.
Although he had to marry Chang Yue'e for the second time, he was able to grow from a farmhand to a skilled worker, and then transformed himself into the son-in-law of his former employer. It can be said that he reached the pinnacle of his life in one step!
She carefully asked her father how he had flattered her grandfather in the past. After gaining rich experience, she went to the bookstore, bought a copybook, and began to learn calligraphy.
According to Lao Ye, it is useless to just talk, she also needs to make the master feel that she is teachable and willing to guide her.
Now that the Marriage Law Promotion Month is over and the Four Pests Eradication work is continuing as planned, she can focus more on civil affairs and publicity work.
By practicing calligraphy, I can also have more communication with Aunt Feng.
Aunt Feng seemed quite calm about her sudden practice of calligraphy.
Occasionally he would circle a few words she wrote better, but most of the time he would just shake his head and look at her as if he were looking at a piece of block.
However, Ye Manzhi's wooden knot soon came in handy!
The two hottest news stories on Guangming Street recently are that the paralyzed Zheng Dong is divorcing Xue Qiaoer, and that Qiu Xiaoyan bit off half of her husband's ear in anger.
The investigators from the subdistrict office and the police station all knew that Qi Maolin was not innocent.
But outsiders don’t know!
Nowadays, when couples quarrel, someone always says, "It's better to marry Qiu Xiaoyan than you," or "You will be more obedient if you marry someone like Qiu Xiaoyan."
Anyway, the name Qiu Xiaoyan has become an adjective.
If it was just the incident of biting off an ear, Qiu Xiaoyan's reputation would not be so well-known.
But it was an open secret that Aunt Qi and her young daughter-in-law were not on good terms.
In the building where the Qi family lives, you can often hear the sounds of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arguing and fighting.
That day, Director Mu assigned a task to Aunt Feng and Ye Manzhi.
"Qi Maolin wants a divorce, but Qiu Xiaoyan disagrees. Now the matter has come to our subdistrict office. You two are in charge of civil affairs, so you should go and mediate this matter."
Ye Manzhi glanced at Aunt Feng who was frowning, and quickly agreed to the matter.
There aren't so many people getting divorced nowadays, so they usually just register their marriage. Apart from Zheng Dong and Xue Qiaoer, this is the first divorce mediation case Ye Manzhi has handled.
On the day they received the task, they went to Qi's house.
The courtyard was very quiet on a summer afternoon. When I walked into Building 9 where the Qi family lived, the only sounds I could hear were the chirping of cicadas outside the window and the sound of Aunt Qi cursing.
Qi Maolin had gauze wrapped around his ear. He had been recuperating at home due to an injury and was currently lying on the bed reading a newspaper.
Seeing the people coming from the street, he quickly put down the newspaper and said weakly, "Leaders, you are finally here!"
As if he had suffered a great injustice.
Aunt Feng always got to the point when she did things, and she said frankly, "Qi Maolin, you are not innocent in your handling of the issue of your relationship with Xue Qiaoer, and your wife has not completely wronged you."
"Oh, how can you speak like that, comrade!" Aunt Qi said unhappily, "Mao Lin has nothing to do with Xue Qiao'er."
"He knows best whether they're related or not," Aunt Feng said without emotion. "Both husband and wife have problems in this matter. If the court were told the truth, they might not grant a divorce."
Qi Maolin sighed and said, "Leader, let me tell you the truth. I'm really scared of my wife now. I tremble every time I think of her. How can I live like this?"
When Qiu Xiaoyan bit his ear, they were about to make up after a fight at the head of the bed.
He had his ear bitten off by the other party at a critical moment, which left him with a psychological trauma towards Qiu Xiaoyan.
Aunt Qi said bitterly, "Maolin doesn't have any children yet. Do you think they'll ever be able to have children if their relationship becomes like this?"
I don’t know what sad thing she was thinking about, but she started wiping away tears as she spoke.
Ye Manzhi was the one who played the good cop this time, comforting her, "Auntie, they're still young, and they'll have children sooner or later. Don't cry, first tell me about their basic situation, like when they got married, whether they got a marriage certificate or just had a wedding banquet, and what their financial situation is."
"What kind of property could they have? This house was allocated to my old man by his work unit. The money Maolin earns from riding his bike is only enough for the young couple to eat and drink." Aunt Qi found a piece of paper folded in four from the wicker box at the bottom of the wardrobe. "This is their marriage certificate. Take a look for yourself."
Ye Manzhi asked her those questions mainly to calm her down, as the marriage certificate would not be used during the mediation stage.
However, she still opened it and took a look.
The content is written vertically from right to left.
Married people, male, successful together.
Married person, female, Qiu Xiaoyan.
Ye Manzhi paused, looked up and asked, "Auntie, who is Qi Chenggong in your family?"
"Qi Chenggong is my old man."
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