Chapter 33
The light behind the curtain was dim, and Ye Manyi couldn't see the other person's expression, but his question, along with the high-pitched sound of the erhu, entered his ears.
"My three brothers often come to rehearsals with me, so it's most convenient to call you my brother." Darkness emboldened Ye Manzhi. She looked up at the tall figure in front of her and asked in feigned confusion, "You don't want to be my brother, do you want to be my uncle?"
Thinking of the words "Uncle Wu" that had made him feel so upset, Wu Zhengrong's tone was filled with helplessness. "Am I really that shameful?"
Ye Manzhi whispered, "Please! Please recognize yourself first! There are employees from our factory here. You're very famous in the factory. If I announce your name, everyone will definitely come to stare at you! How will you explain your presence here then?"
Wu Zhengrong said frankly: "You can tell everyone openly that I am pursuing you."
"That's so embarrassing. If you want to say it, go ahead and say it. I won't." Taking advantage of the darkness, Ye Manzhi boldly pushed him. "Don't be angry. You're Brother Zhengrong. You're different from the other brothers."
After the words were spoken, the two of them fell silent almost at the same time.
The distance was too close, causing Ye Manzhi to subconsciously hold his breath, his face flushing red.
"The branches are full of leaves."
"Um."
"I came here in military uniform today..."
Before Ye Manzhi could understand what he meant, she felt a figure suddenly pressing down from above.
Her heart was pounding, thinking that the other party wanted to kiss her here. The voices and piano sounds outside the curtain made her turn her head away in shame.
But Wu Zhengrong just leaned forward and took the violin case from her hand.
She misjudged the situation and turned her head to avoid the other person's lips, which just happened to brush against his cheek.
“::::::”
The debugging outside the curtain is still going on, and the tinkling sound of the yangqin is as exciting and clear as the falling of spring water and rocks.
Her heartbeat quickened with the sound of the piano, and Ye Manzhi apologized awkwardly: "I didn't mean to..."
Wu Zhengrong stood up straight without a word. After a few seconds of pausing, he said, "I'm wearing a military uniform today. Maybe next time."
Ye Manzhi heard it clearly this time, and a blush instantly spread from her cheeks to her neck.
The footsteps outside the curtain are getting closer and closer, and someone else is coming.
Without looking at the other person's expression, she whispered, "Go wait for me in the audience."
Without waiting for the other party to respond, he ran backstage with his violin case.
The complete meaning of Wu Zhengrong's words just now was probably, "I'm wearing a military uniform today. I'll kiss you next time."
She stroked her forehead and recalled.
Wu Zhengrong rushed over from the factory today. He was not wearing a shirt, but was wearing military pants.
When he wore his military uniform, he always seemed serious and restrained.
During the few times when their relationship made slight progress, Wu Zhengrong seemed to be wearing casual clothes.
A set of military uniform can seal away all his unusual and inappropriate thoughts and actions.
She carefully speculated based on various clues. After a while, Lin Qingmei came in and asked everyone to gather on the stage.
Seeing her distracted look, Lin Qingmei asked softly, "What's wrong with you? You left her out here, wondering what on earth you're doing?"
Ye Manzhi had already confessed to Qingmei the progress of her relationship with Wu Zhengrong, but there were some things she couldn't say even to Qingmei.
"Nothing, I haven't been here for a long time, I need to adjust my state."
Everyone has arrived, and Ye Manzhi can't delay any longer.
She walked onto the stage holding her pipa and found her seat.
She raised her eyes and glanced at the audience.
A few folk music enthusiasts were sitting scattered in the empty auditorium.
Wu Zhengrong was sitting alone in the first row and was easily found by her.
The stage was very close to the audience seats. Ye Manyi deliberately ignored the gazes fixed on her and tried her best to focus on the president's requirements for rehearsal.
She missed several rehearsals, and the president asked her to play "Spring River Moon Night" with the flute and guzheng first.
Ye Manyi nodded, pressed the strings with his left hand, and the sound of strings like beads rolling on a jade plate flowed out from his fingertips.
Wu Zhengrong in the audience remained seated, staring intently at the stage.
He actually didn't know anything about folk music. Apart from having seen it when he accompanied his grandmother to the theater to watch operas when he was young, he never had the opportunity to come into contact with these instruments again.
The person on the stage lowered his head and plucked the strings of the piano. The faint sound of the piano was lingering and melodious. He could not give a higher level of praise except beauty and elegance.
Fortunately, the accumulation of his childhood still reminded him of the saying "Turning the axis and plucking the strings a few times, the melody is already emotional before it is formed", which prevented him from being like a vulgar illiterate.
After quietly enjoying three pieces of music, when the clock pointed to two o'clock, Wu Zhengrong had to signal her to come off the stage.
"Are you leaving now?" Ye Manzhi asked.
"Um."
Wu Zhengrong took out a key from his shirt pocket and put it in her palm.
"There's a lot going on at the factory this month, so I might not be able to attend to you once I get busy. Here's the key to mailbox No. 16 in the Family Compound. If you don't want to call me, you can leave a message in the mailbox."
Ye Manzhi held the key and asked, "Will it involve confidential information?"
After all, his identity is quite special.
"No, all official correspondence is sent to the military representative office. This mailbox is a backup mailbox that the factory logistics department arranged for me in the family housing complex. I haven't used it yet." Wu Zhengrong paused and said, "From now on, I will go to open the mailbox once every morning and evening."
He could ask Xiao Qin to help deliver things and letters, but Xiao Qin was a young bachelor after all, and it would be easy for people to misunderstand him if he always went to see her.
Wu Zhengrong stuffed another note into her hand, then glanced at his watch and said, "I have to go now. If you have anything, please call me or leave a message..."
Seeing her nodding while holding the key, he turned around and quickly left the concert hall.
Ye Manzhi thought that the content on the note would be the specific location of the mailbox.
However, she carefully put the key away, and when she unfolded the note, she saw a line of flowing cursive script.
"The crescent moon in the sky, its reflection in the water, so close, yet so untouchable."
Ye Manzhi stared at the line of words for a long time. At first, he was confused and didn't understand what his intention was in leaving this sentence. He just felt that it matched the atmosphere created by the concert.
However, after staring for a long time, her face suddenly turned red, and she felt both angry and amused.
Intellectuals are so shameless that they can write "didn't kiss" in such a literary way!
Ye Manzhi blushed and hesitated for a while, but finally folded the note and put it in the music score.
She was a little curious about the private mailbox, so after the concert rehearsal, she went straight back to the military industrial compound.
Mailboxes are usually placed at the entrance of the compound or at the entrance of the corridor. Wu Zhengrong lives near the east gate of the compound, so the mailbox is most likely placed at the entrance of the east gate.
However, the mailboxes at the east gate entrance were too dense, one next to the other, and she didn't find the target when she searched for it the first time.
When she calmed down and counted the numbers printed on the mailbox, she finally found number 16 in the middle of the second row.
The mailbox has a delivery slot, so if Wu Zhengrong just wanted her to write a letter or leave a message, there was no need for him to leave her a key.
So, holding the key in her hand, she looked around guiltily for a while. After making sure that no one was paying attention to her, she quickly inserted the key into the keyhole and opened the mailbox.
The mailbox was clean and had not accumulated any dust from long periods of disuse.
A piece of paper was spread out at the bottom of the box, with a silver pen on top of it.
She first took out the note. It was written in a familiar handwriting, with Wu Zhengrong's usual simplicity. "Practice your handwriting well and write to me."
Only then did she take out the pen and look at it.
On the golden pen clip, there is a row of small letters "PARKER" engraved.
Ye Manzhi doesn't know English, but she recognizes this brand.
Zhang Qinjian has a black Parker fountain pen, which he usually keeps in the chest pocket of his cadre uniform. Whenever he meets someone who knows the business, he always discusses the Parker pen with them. He treasures it very much.
She studied the pen for a while and felt that silver looked better than black and was more suitable for lesbians.
But what does the note mean?
Did Wu Zhengrong discover the reason why she didn't write back?
Ahhhhh, Ye Manzhi screamed in shame in her heart.
Then she locked the mailbox again, took the new pen he gave her, went home and angrily wrote five pieces of calligraphy.
She must practice her calligraphy well so that some people will look at her with admiration!
*
Of course, practicing calligraphy is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Although Ye Manzhi was anxious, he did not force the issue.
As the National Day approached, not only Wu Zhengrong became busy, but even Lao Ye and the third brother moved to the workshop.
He acted as if he was eating and sleeping with his fellow workers and working hard at production.
Only the fourth brother and Mai Duo are left at home in the Ye family.
However, the literacy class officially started recently, and the fourth brother was forced by Lao Ye and Ye Manzhi to teach the students in the literacy class. He was miserable preparing lessons and teaching every day.
That day, Ye Manzhi accompanied Director Mu to the literacy class to check the situation.
Fourth brother wanted to talk to his leader about changing teachers, but Ye Manzhi didn't give him the opportunity at all. She just glanced at his class casually and asked Director Mu to go to the two classes next door.
"The circumstances of these two classes are quite special," Ye Manzhi explained. "The Military Representative Office of Factory 656 has funded literacy programs for families of military personnel and martyrs, so I've created a separate class for them. Someone will read newspapers before class to keep everyone informed of current events. The students' test scores will also be promptly fed back to the Military Representative Office."
"Well, that's great. Since the Military Representative Office has allocated funds, we should let them see the results of their learning," Director Mu suggested. "After the military dependents learn to read, they should put their knowledge into practice. For example, they can try filling out food purchase certificates, oil purchase books, and resident certificates on their own. Every time they write a report to the Military Representative Office, let them try to complete it themselves."
Ye Manzhi agreed, wrote down the leader's instructions in her notebook, and then took her to the last class.
"This class is full of school-age children. The oldest is 11, and the youngest is 7. Adult literacy classes only teach them to read, but children are completely blank slates. Without a solid foundation, it's detrimental to their long-term development. So, I've put them in a separate class and hired a retired elementary school teacher to temporarily manage it. However, this isn't a long-term solution. Director, can we send these children to regular schools?"
Mulan stood outside the classroom for more than ten minutes with a frown, carefully observing the classroom situation of the elementary school students.
After a long pause, she sighed and said, "The only primary school in our neighborhood is the 656 Factory Children's School. After you mentioned the enrollment issue to me last time, I went to talk to Principal Guo. They have limited teaching staff. They've already expanded the enrollment by a hundred this year. If they increase the enrollment further, the teachers will be overwhelmed, and the teaching quality will be seriously affected."
Ye Manzhi asked, "Director, can our neighborhood open another elementary school? The elementary school for the children of Factory 656 only admits children of the factory itself, so the other children on our street can only go to schools in other neighborhoods. Besides the children in the literacy class, I heard that many children were unable to enroll this year."
"This is a historical issue," Mulan explained to her carefully. "Schools can only be opened with funding from the Education Bureau. Our street cannot take the initiative to run schools. First, we don't have the funds, and second, we don't have the qualifications to run a school. If you want to open another school on Guangming Street, there are only two ways!"
Ye Manzhi asked hurriedly: "What's the solution?"
"First, we persuade Factory 656 to expand or build a new primary school. We will fund the school ourselves, and the Education Bureau will usually approve it. Second, we will apply to the Education Bureau for a school quota. The city will allocate funds to open a public primary school on Guangming Street, enrolling nearby school-age children."
Ye Manzhi scratched his head in embarrassment. Neither of these two options was easy to handle.
The factory has put its main energy and funds into production and research and development. If the children's school could be expanded, Principal Guo would not have to go bald.
As for the Education Bureau's indicators, there is no need to mention them.
Zhang Qinjian has been in charge of education for several years, but has not been able to get a quota for building a new primary school.
Mulan paced back and forth in the corridor outside the classroom, hands behind her back, whispering, "Right now, the literacy class can only be held in classrooms at the children's school, but we need water and electricity every night, and we might even have to use coal in the winter. The school definitely won't want that. I originally planned to raise funds to build a literacy school. Adult literacy doesn't require approval from the Education Bureau; we can set it up as long as we have the money."
"However," Mulan thought for a moment and said, "the literacy school issue can actually be linked to the public primary school. We can have the Education Bureau or Factory 656 allocate funds to build the school, and our neighborhood committee can contribute part of the funds. Then, it will be used by primary school students during the day and used for adult literacy at night. Having two schools should save a lot of money."
After all, literacy is a phased task, and building a special school would be too much of a hassle.
Ye Manzhi stood by and watched his leader spinning in circles in front of him.
She thought to herself that being a leader is not easy. Although the street is small, Director Mu is as concerned as the district chief.
Mulan suddenly stopped and said, "I think we can't delay the establishment of the primary school any longer. At least fifty school-age children won't be able to attend school this year. If we delay until next year, that number will double. If children can't go to school, there might be a big mess."
Ye Manzhi nodded quickly and said, "Director, whatever you say, I'll do as you say!"
"The literacy classes are well divided. Let's let these children study there for the time being," Mulan said, thinking that Factory 656 was more likely to run a school. "I'll go to Factory 656 and lobby them first. If they can build a school, that would be great."
Ye Manzhi asked: "What about me? Why don't I go to the Education Bureau and ask? Let's act separately!"
The District Education Bureau is notoriously stingy, and Mulan feels that the possibility of getting the quota is slim, but the young man has a passion for work, and she will not pour cold water on him.
"Okay, then, go to the District Education Bureau. Don't go alone. Pick one of Liu Jinbao and Zhao Erhe and have him accompany you."
Mulan is more worried. Xiaoye is too young. Young female comrades should pay more attention to safety when they go out to build relationships.
She wanted to suggest that Liu Jinbao go with her, as the young man was smart and good at talking, and was suitable for doing business.
However, Ye Manzhi abandoned Jin Baoer and called Zhao Erhe before leaving.
Zhao Erhe is tall and strong, and can run errands. Although his brain doesn't seem to be very good, he is more useful than Liu Jinbao when going out.
When Ye Manzhi said that his brain was not working well, he was not really mocking Zhao Erhe.
He is a man with great enthusiasm for work, but unfortunately he never uses it in the right place. Newly married couples come to the street office to register their marriage.
Before leaving, Zhao Erhe said politely, "Welcome back."
My goodness, I was scolded for more than a quarter of an hour by the mother-in-law who accompanied me to get the marriage certificate.
Liu Jinbao secretly gave him the nickname "Zhao Erhuo".
*
Although Ye Manzhi was also a newcomer, she had worked in the street office for two months in advance, so she was considered an old veteran in front of Zhao Erhe.
So, when she proposed to take Zhao Erhe to the district to do some work, Comrade Erhe, who had never been to the District Education Bureau, immediately nodded in agreement.
The Cultural and Educational Department is responsible for school approval.
When the two arrived at the Education Bureau, there were already more than ten people queuing at the door of the Cultural and Educational Department.
Ye Manzhi saw a vaguely familiar face inside and took the initiative to greet her, "Sister Liu, are you guys going to build a school in your village too?"
Liu Guirong is from Gongnong Township. Half of the cemetery occupied by the expansion of the No. 656 Factory belongs to Gongnong Township.
Ye Manzhi met her in Gongnong Township when he was dealing with a mass fight.
Liu Guirong obviously didn't remember her, but most people who work at the grassroots level are very outgoing. They didn't know her just now, but they know her now.
"Hey, come sit here!" Liu Guirong patted the chair beside her enthusiastically. "You guys are also applying to build a school, right?"
Ye Manzhi nodded and asked, "Sister Liu, how long have you been here? What does the leader mean?"
"I've been here for four days, and I still haven't been able to see Chief Lu!"
"..." Ye Manzhi asked in surprise, "Is it so difficult to get into the Cultural and Educational Department?"
Sister Liu gestured to her left and right. "Look at the people queuing here. They're all applying for school quotas. Can the section chief come over?"
In fact, all the clerks present knew in their hearts that the task could not be accomplished.
But, even if I can't do it, I have to come, because this is the task assigned by the leader.
Although there was no result, they ran to the Education Bureau day and night, which at least showed that they tried their best.
Even if there is no credit, there is still hard work!
Ye Manzhi thought that the situation in Guangming Street was different from that in other units.
Others ask for money with their palms facing up.
Guangming Street already has some construction funds. Although they don’t know how Director Mu will raise the funds, since the leader said there is money, then there is money.
Therefore, Ye Manzhi felt that Guangming Street still had a certain hope of obtaining this school operating indicator.
"Erhe, you're tall, go outside and see who is the head of the Culture and Education Section."
The office of the Culture and Education Department is on the first floor. If Zhao Erhe looks inside from the window outside the office building, he might be able to see the head of the Culture and Education Department.
Zhao Erhe scratched his head and said in embarrassment: "I have never met the head of the Culture and Education Section, how do I know who their head is?"
"Where Director Mu and Deputy Director Zhang sit, the section chief and deputy section chief's seats are right there," Ye Manzhi pointed out based on his own observations. "Leaders wouldn't sit by the door. The doormen are all small fry like us. Look through the window. The seat farthest from the door, with the best view, is most likely the section chief's seat."
Zhao Erhe wrote it down and went out happily.
Ye Manzhi strolled back and forth in the corridor with his hands behind his back.
The situation in Guangming Street is different from that in other units. There is no future in queuing up with this group of people.
Not only would the section chief not meet them, he had to avoid them.
If you want to get school operating indicators, the first step is to talk to the leaders!
Otherwise, it would be useless even if we stayed here for a year or two.
She had good thoughts in her mind, but Zhao Erhe on the other side came back dejected.
"Xiao Ye, the curtains of the Cultural and Educational Department are drawn. I can't see clearly what's going on inside."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Why are you drawing the curtains in broad daylight?
It seems that someone had thought of the same idea as her before, trying to get close to the section chief outside the Education Bureau.
Unable to uncover the mystery of the head of the cultural and educational section for the time being, they had no choice but to wait in line like everyone else.
They came for three consecutive days, but like Sister Liu from Gongnong Township, they still couldn't see the section chief.
There is a clerk guarding the door outside the Cultural and Educational Department's visitor reception area every day.
Ye Manzhi stayed outside for three days and didn't see anyone entering or leaving through this door.
The three offices next door seemed to be connected, with dozens of people coming in and out of the office at the other end of the corridor, making it impossible to tell who was who.
They came empty-handed on the first day.
The next day I brought my own water and dry food.
On the third day, Ye Manzhi brought another thick cushion. The stool at the door was a bit hard and hurt her butt.
Zhao Erhe squatted on the ground and muttered, "Does the head of the Culture and Education Department come from a guerrilla warfare background? Why is he nowhere to be seen?"
"I've already asked. The section chief is an old man, and the deputy section chief is a female comrade. Judging by their ages, they should be about the same age as Director Mu." Ye Manzhi patted his shoulder and said, "Erhe, try harder and stand guard outside the window for a while. What if you can see the leader's true face?"
Zhao Erhe stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, took a sip of cold water and said, "Okay, it's windy today, I'll see if I can blow up the curtains."
He went out to keep watch, and when it was almost time to get off work, he suddenly ran in to report to Ye Manzhi: "I saw clearly that there was a female comrade sitting at the back of the office. She was wearing a green shirt and had short hair."
He described the situation to Ye Manzhi as detailed as possible. When he turned his head inadvertently, he saw a female comrade walking out of the office at the end of the corridor.
"Hey, that's the one! The one with short hair and glasses!"
Ye Manzhi quickly pulled him to follow.
There were two gay men beside the female comrade, and the three of them were walking and chatting.
It seemed not a good idea to rush up to talk about work rashly, so Ye Manyi stayed far behind the three of them, wanting to wait until they were alone before going up to chat.
As the three of them talked, they walked to the door of the bathhouse.
The two men turned to the men's bathhouse on the left, and the lesbian turned into the women's section on the right.
Ye Manzhi and Zhao Erhe were both dumbfounded.
Zhao Erhe murmured, "Why are you taking a shower right after get off work?"
"I guess this is their office's bathhouse, similar to the one at Factory 656. Workers go there to take a shower after work, saving them the trouble of making another trip."
"So what should we do? Should we wait?"
Ye Manzhi glanced at the ticket window and said, "If you don't want to take a shower, wait outside. I'll go in and meet the deputy section chief."
She went to the ticket office to pay for the ticket, bought a towel, and entered the bathhouse openly.
There were few shower heads in the bathtub and many people were waiting in line. Ye Manyzhi simply took off her clothes, picked up her newly bought towel, and searched for each shower head one by one.
When I walked to the last row, I saw the deputy chief of the Culture and Education Department washing his hair under the innermost shower.
She walked over as if nothing had happened and took the first place in line, wondering how she would greet them later.
After all, it was her first time to talk about things in a bathhouse.
When the deputy section chief finished washing his hair and looked up, she clenched her palms to cheer herself up and asked with concern, "Auntie, did you come here by yourself? Do you want help with a bath?"
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