Chapter 40
For Ye Manzhi and Zhao Erhe, persuading residents who won the lottery to repurchase government bonds is a tough battle.
A total of 112 people in the military industrial compound won the lottery, with the total amount reaching 4,000 yuan.
If they could get this money in one fell swoop, their mission would be half completed!
On the day the bank representative came to visit, the neighborhood committee hung two banners at the event site:
[Actively subscribe to government bonds and contribute every brick and tile to the construction of our motherland!]
[Advance with the motherland and contribute to socialism!]
In addition to this eye-catching banner, a long honor roll was also posted next to it.
"Officer Xiaoye, are all the names on this honor roll people from government bonds?"
"Yes, this is the list of people in our hospital who have subscribed to government bonds for three consecutive years. The Propaganda Department praised them once before in the factory newspaper, and our street office will take this opportunity to praise them again. We must spare no effort to publicize and praise comrades who support national construction!"
A group of people gathered in front of the honor roll, looking for their own names or those of their acquaintances.
"Wow, Deputy Director Zhou subscribed 500 yuan at once?"
"Chief Engineer Chen has even more, seven hundred!"
"Hey? Old Xu from our workshop actually bought 150 yuan worth of government bonds. He's a very secretive person!"
After a while, someone asked, "Comrade Xiaoye, why didn't these people at the back write down their subscription amounts?"
"Since there was no introduction in the newspaper, we didn't write about it."
Some people believe in not showing off their wealth, and Ye Manzhi didn't want to offend others, so he didn't write down the subscription amount.
Many residents had already arrived, waiting to receive their money. Ye Manzhi picked up a simple loudspeaker and introduced: "The bank staff have arrived. The person next to me is Comrade He Shan, a salesperson from our district branch. Comrade He Shan is fully responsible for today's redemption work!"
Amid the residents' applause, He Shan stood up and bowed.
Ye Manzhi continued, "Several comrades have asked over the past few days if they can exchange their winning bonds for this year's new bonds to continue supporting national economic development! I've consulted Comrade Xiao He on everyone's behalf, and he's completely feasible!"
Zhao Erhe: “…”
Who asked? You obviously made it up yourself.
Ye Manzhi remained calm and said, "But according to national regulations, winning numbers must be paid in full, with interest. When exchanging for a new bond, everyone must withdraw the previous year's interest to ensure everyone's economic interests are protected!"
"So, comrades who want to exchange this year's bonds and continue to contribute to national development can come to me first to complete the procedures."
Grandma Chen came out with her large government bonds.
"Xiao Ye, please exchange my old 2 million (old currency, equivalent to 200 new yuan) government bonds for new ones."
He Shan first paid 16 yuan in interest to Grandma Chen. After completing the account in the account book, he nodded to the person beside him.
Then Ye Manzhi counted out four fifty-dollar government bonds and handed them to Grandma Chen.
"Grandma, this is two years' interest, a total of 16 yuan. Please keep it. Also, I'm giving you a 'Memorial Medal for Enthusiasm for National Economic Development' to thank you for purchasing government bonds for three consecutive years to support national economic development."
"Hey, there's a medal!"
Grandma Chen showed surprise on her face.
The two million in public bonds were subscribed by her husband at the factory. Being able to subscribe to so much at one time meant that taking out the money would not affect their lives. Therefore, when Ye Manzhi came to her house to mobilize her to exchange the old public bonds for new ones, she agreed without much hesitation.
She thought collecting the interest was just a formality, but she didn't expect that they would give her a medal!
Ye Manzhi pinned a red flower the size of a baby's palm on Grandma Chen's chest and asked her to show it to everyone.
This flower was made with the help of Chang Yue'e. The two hanging leaves are inscribed with "Enthusiastic about National Economic Development" and "Commemorative Medal for Subscribing to Government Bonds" respectively.
"Cadre Xiaoye, do all those who buy new government bonds get this medal?" Seeing the medal on Grandma Chen's chest, Grandma Wang who lived on the same floor immediately spoke up.
"Everyone who exchanges their winning bonds for new ones today will receive this medal," Ye Manzhi said with a smile. "At the same time, we'll also post a honor roll on the bulletin board in the compound and in front of the factory building, calling on everyone to learn from these comrades."
Zhao Erhe knew the main concerns of the residents of the compound and added, "The honor roll will be posted for at least two weeks. As long as it is not damaged by wind or rain, we will keep it posted."
Upon hearing this, some people in the crowd began to chatter and exchange opinions with each other.
Ye Manzhi responded at the right moment: "Comrades who are prepared to continue supporting the country's economic development, please come to me first to exchange new bonds and collect the interest. Comrades who have other financial plans at home, please go to Comrade Zhao Erhe to register, and we will pay the principal and interest next time."
"Officer Xiaoye, you can't collect your principal today?"
"Well, since many comrades have expressed their willingness to exchange for new bonds before, our street office is unsure how many people will also want to exchange directly today. Therefore, for safety reasons, Comrade He Shan did not bring much cash." Ye Manzhi called again, "Comrades who want to exchange for new bonds, please come to me to complete the procedures."
Selling government bonds on the streets is much more difficult than in factories and government offices.
Unit leaders can assign tasks to employees in various ways, but the streets cannot assign tasks to residents.
There is no force in selling government bonds; whether or not to buy is entirely voluntary.
Therefore, street officials and neighborhood committee members always have to come up with new solutions.
Seeing no one in the crowd responding, Director Li of the neighborhood committee called out someone and said, "Auntie Wang, your family doesn't rely on that 50 yuan to make a living. Auntie Chen has already received a commemorative medal. Don't you want to get one too? Look how honored Auntie Chen is!"
Grandma Wang glanced at Old Chen's chest and muttered, "Your neighborhood committee is always playing tricks!"
But he still walked up to Ye Manzhi to exchange for new government bonds.
"Xiao Ye, pick a bigger one for me!"
"Haha, okay."
If someone takes the lead in the exchange, the subsequent work will be easier to carry out.
Director Li from the neighborhood committee is very capable. She knows exactly who has a good relationship with whom and who is competing with whom.
Just a few words can motivate people to wear a big red flower.
110 people showed up at the event, 42 of whom exchanged their winning bonds for new ones.
The sales team earned more than 1,800 yuan in one go.
Although there is still some gap from the psychological expectation, this is only the result of the sixth neighborhood committee, and the fifth neighborhood committee has not been mobilized yet.
Ye Manzhi was very satisfied. After the redemption work was completed, he happily sent Comrade He Shan out of the military industrial compound.
When she returned to the compound and saw Wu Zhengrong under the big tree opposite the building, she was even happier.
Seeing that he was still carrying his luggage, Ye Manzhi hurried over and asked, "Why did you come back just now? Weren't you supposed to be back yesterday? I've been looking for you several times!"
In fact, she was busy selling government bonds and only called the military representative office once yesterday afternoon.
But it doesn't hurt to say it a few more times, just to make him happy.
hey-hey.
She was as cheerful as a lively bird. Wu Zhengrong looked at her and smiled, and the fatigue from running around for days was relieved a little.
"When I left Beijing, I helped transport a batch of supplies to the provincial military district. The detour to the provincial military district delayed me by another day."
"You just came back and haven't had dinner yet?" Ye Manzhi invited sincerely, "Why don't you come upstairs with me? We're already at the door anyway."
"No, I'll just come over to tell you and then go back."
Wu Zhengrong had been running long distances for several days and was covered in dust. His hasty visit without any preparation inevitably made people feel that he was frivolous.
He raised his wrist to glance at his watch and said, "How about you accompany me to the cafeteria to have a bite to eat?"
"OK."
The workers at Factory 656 work in three shifts, and the canteen provides meals almost all day long. When they walk into the canteen, there are people serving them at the food window.
Chef Chen Dashan was leaning against the window drinking tea. When he saw Wu Zhengrong, he greeted him warmly, "Captain Wu, you haven't come to the cafeteria for a few days. Today's menu includes fried mushrooms and four-happiness meatballs. Would you like some?"
Wu Zhengrong didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. He greeted him politely and turned back to ask Ye Manzhi, "What would you like to eat?"
Ye Manzhi had eaten dinner at home, but she wanted to eat fried mushrooms.
Chang Yue'e never cooks this kind of oil-consuming dish.
"Give us one serving of fried mushrooms, one serving of meatballs, and one serving of vegetarian dishes."
While helping to serve the food, Chen Dashan glanced at the two of them.
When Wu Zhengrong saw her, he took the initiative to introduce her with a smile, "Master Chen, Xiaoye is my girlfriend."
"Captain Wu's partner is Officer Xiao Ye? Oh, you two are a perfect match! What's that called? A talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven!"
This was the first time they had publicly announced their relationship. Ye Manzhi blushed and teased in a lighthearted manner, "Master Chen, it seems you've learned a lot in the literacy class. You even know how to use the terms 'a talented man and a beautiful woman' and 'a match made in heaven.'"
"Hahaha, I got 95 points on my last exam! I'll sign up for an advanced primary school class after the literacy class is over!" Chen Dashan added another four-happiness meatball to his lunch box. "This meatball is from me, Old Chen, for cadre Xiao Ye. Congratulations!"
Ye Manzhi thanked the other party and ran away with the lunch box.
"Master Chen is congratulating you, why are you running away?" Wu Zhengrong sat down opposite her and raised the corner of his lips.
"I didn't run away. I did it so you could have dinner as soon as possible." Ye Manzhi rested her chin on her hands as she watched him eat. "How was your trip to Beijing? Did you meet the Chairman?"
Wu Zhengrong nodded and pointed at the luggage bag. "There's a gift for you in there. Find it yourself."
Ye Manzhi's eyes lit up. As he unzipped his jacket, he asked dreamily, "Is this a gift from the Chairman?"
"..." Wu Zhengrong was surprised by her clear thinking. After a long pause, he said, "Comrade Chairman, you should drink less and keep a clear mind."
"Hey, I was just kidding." Ye Manzhi rummaged through the bag and found a small box that was most likely a gift. "Is this it?"
"Well, open it and take a look."
There was a cursive Russian word "Victory" on the cowhide box lid. Ye Manyzhi opened the lid and saw what was inside, and couldn't help but exclaimed "Wow".
"Is this watch really given to me?"
"Well, do you like it?"
Ye Manzhi was struck by surprise and could not hide the joy in her eyes.
"Why did you think of giving me a watch?"
There are almost no famous watch factories in China, and the watch production is extremely low. The watches in the stores are expensive and often out of stock.
In the entire street office, only Aunt Feng and Director Mu have watches.
Others estimate the time when they go out to work by looking at the sun.
Seeing her generously take out the watch and put it on her wrist to compare, Wu Zhengrong's eyes were filled with smiles, and he teased: "We have just been dating for a few days, and I will be away on business for half a month. In case you get angry, I will buy you something nice to comfort you."
Ye Manzhi wanted to say that she was not angry and had a very good temper.
But she changed her mind and decided that she could still have a little temper in the future to give him some opportunities to coax her.
Hehehe.
"This watch is really nice! If it were a different time and place, I could kiss you. But forget it in the cafeteria!" Ye Manzhi praised her verbally, stroking the smooth leather strap and raising an eyebrow. "It's quite expensive, isn't it? If I wear it home, will I have to confess our relationship to my parents?"
Wu Zhengrong said firmly, "Your parents should have known about this a long time ago."
"Impossible. I haven't found a chance to tell my family about us yet."
"But I mentioned it to Uncle Ye."
Ye Manzhi opened her eyes wide in surprise and asked, "When did you bring this up? Why didn't my dad ask me?"
"It seems like he mentions it every day," Wu Zhengrong laughed. "Before I went to Beijing on a business trip, I always called him Uncle Ye every time I saw him. He should have guessed it."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Shouting once is not enough, I actually shout every day!
No matter how slow-witted her father was, he should have known that something was wrong!
Also, if Old Ye had already guessed it, why didn’t he come and ask her?
Oh, these two scheming men around her...
*
Ye Manzhi had dinner with him and ate a few bites of fried mushrooms. Seeing the weariness on his face, she urged him to go home and rest after dinner.
She went home with a new watch and a snack wrapped in oil paper. She had intended to wear the watch and wave it in front of Chang Yue'e, but as soon as she opened the door, she heard the quarrel between her third and fourth sisters-in-law.
To be precise, it was the fourth sister-in-law who unilaterally attacked the third sister-in-law.
Shen Liangmei raised her head and said, "Sister-in-law, just take care of Third Brother. My parents and I will take care of Man Gui's affairs. Don't worry about it!"
"I'm just kindly reminding you that Old Four is coming home later and later these days, so you should keep an eye on him!"
Huang Li was so angry at this unreasonable sister-in-law that her temples were throbbing.
"Mangui came back late because he was teaching students in a literacy class! He's a teacher now!" Shen Liangmei pouted and said, "Third brother is promising, but our Mangui is not bad either. Can you please stop judging me by my mistakes?"
She used to feel insecure in front of her sister-in-law who used to be a teacher.
Although they were born to the same parents, Ye Lao Si was inferior to Ye Lao San in everything.
But things are different now. She became an apprentice in the kitchen of the drama troupe, and the fourth child became a teacher in a literacy class.
Shen Liangmei straightened her back unconsciously.
Huang Li took a deep breath and spoke again, "It's a good thing that he's a teacher, but the literacy class ends at 7:30. It's past 9 now, and he hasn't come back yet. You should pay enough attention!"
She was really troubled by the male and female protagonists' extremely bad relatives. If they could move out of the Ye family for a while, they would all be in the same boat. She really didn't want to waste her breath on such a scoundrel.
Ye Manzhi put the things back in her room, picked up Lihua, and poked her head out to ask, "Sister-in-law, why haven't my third and fourth brothers come back yet? Where have they been?"
Huang Li glanced at her and said, "Your third brother is on the night shift today, and I don't know what's going on with your fourth brother."
Ye Laosi was originally a playful, lazy, and weak-willed person.
According to the development in the book, he became addicted to gambling due to the instigation of his bad friends while Ye Mantang was studying in the Soviet Union.
At that time, Ye Laowu had been burned to death in the fire. Chang Yue'e hated her two stepsons and turned a blind eye to it even though she knew that Ye Laosi was getting deeper and deeper into trouble. Ye Shouxin was busy with work and did not notice anything abnormal about his son.
When Ye Mantang returned from studying in the Soviet Union and discovered something was wrong, Ye Laosi had already become a frequent visitor to the gambling den.
Ye Laosi has been coming home later and later lately. He's probably been lured into gambling by one of his friends. If we don't keep an eye on him, he'll only get deeper and deeper into trouble.
[In the past, he could have relied on the relationship with the deputy factory director to get him out of jail. But now that Ye Manzhi has broken off her engagement with Zhou Mu, if he develops a gambling addiction and is caught during this critical period, he might end up in jail for the rest of his life...]
Ye Manzhi frowned and stared at his third sister-in-law's forehead, feeling a little confused about his fourth brother's recent movements.
In the past, my fourth brother liked to raise fish, birds and katydids. Although it was not a serious matter, it was not an unforgivable sin either.
What's more, he has his own connections, and there are buyers who will pay for the things he tinkers with. A well-raised iron katydid can be sold for three or five yuan.
But recently, Fourth Brother's mind seemed to be not on flowers, birds, fish and insects. She originally thought that it was because he became a teacher in a literacy class and his attention was diverted.
But……
She glanced at her third sister-in-law's smooth and plump forehead again. Now that she thought about it, things might not be as simple as she thought.
Ye Manzhi didn't say anything at the time. After get off work the next day, she went home and asked her fourth sister-in-law to go to the literacy class together.
"Laiya, why are we coming to the literacy class?" Shen Liangmei thought her sister-in-law was going to send her to study.
"Waiting for my fourth brother," Ye Manzhi glanced into the classroom and whispered, "Third sister-in-law is right. Aren't you curious about what fourth brother does after get off work every day?"
"How can I control a man of his age?" Shen Liangmei said nonchalantly, "Anyway, he won't make any big mistakes in the courtyard."
She is still very convinced of the management of the military factory’s family compound.
Ye Manzhi knew that her fourth sister-in-law was already accustomed to her fourth brother's dissolute behavior. If she told her that her fourth brother might get involved in gambling, she would most likely not take it seriously.
After all, it is a very common entertainment activity nowadays for men to get together to play cards or chess.
"My fourth brother is young and smart," Ye Manzhi said against his will. "If he gets noticed by some woman out there, aren't you worried?"
"No way?" Shen Liangmei had never thought about it in this way, but her heart was still hanging high because of it.
"Who knows? Let's wait and see what he does after get off work."
Shen Liangmei no longer raised any objections, her eyes fixed on the direction of the classroom.
However, I don’t know whether Fourth Brother noticed something or wanted to get rid of other people’s attention.
After the literacy get out of class, he walked out of the classroom with the students. Before Ye Manzhi and her sister-in-law could catch up with him, he dodged and disappeared.
"What should we do?" Shen Liangmei asked anxiously.
"We can only talk about it tomorrow."
The two followed the student at the entrance of the literacy class for three days and were lost for three days.
This made them even more certain that there was something wrong with the Fourth Brother, otherwise why would he be hiding it?
On the fourth day, Ye Manzhi and his fourth sister-in-law split up and followed him closely until they came to the inn where his fifth brother was renting.
But the fourth brother did not enter the fifth brother's yard. He walked forward about ten meters and entered a small courtyard at the end of the alley.
"Come on, what place is that?"
"It seems to be a house rented by the employees' families."
Ye Manzhi had no intention of following secretly, so he took his fourth sister-in-law and walked into the yard openly.
As soon as the fourth brother sat down behind the card table, he saw his wife and sister, and quickly stood up and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ye Manzhi glanced at the card table and saw a group of men playing poker. There were a few stacks of one or two yuan gambling chips scattered on the table. It seemed that these people were betting quite big.
However, Fourth Brother didn't have much money in his pocket, so he didn't seem qualified to sit at the card table and could only watch others play cards from behind.
"The police station is cracking down on gambling lately, and our neighborhood committee needs to cooperate with them," Ye Manzhi said, pulling out a red armband from her pocket and slipping it on her arm. "I just received a report from the public saying it's really noisy over there, so I asked my fourth sister-in-law to come with me to check it out. Brother, what are you doing here?"
"Hey, I'm just here to watch the fun. I'll be back soon."
"No, that won't work. You're gambling in a group. I have to report this to the police station."
Someone nearby nonchalantly teased, "Ye Lao Si, what's wrong with your sister? Is she going to sacrifice her own family for the sake of justice?"
Ye Manzhi glared at the man and said, "Stop trying to sow discord between us siblings! If you piss me off, I'll report you to the police!"
"Why report? We are all family!" The fourth brother pulled his sister out.
"That won't do," Ye Manzhi said, putting on a shrewd and unreasonable face, pulling out a stack of government bonds from his pocket. "You can even stop me from reporting to the police station. All of you here should buy 50 yuan worth of government bonds to support the country's economic development. If you buy the bonds, I won't bother the police comrades!"
These people gamble a lot. Once they are caught by the police, all their gambling money will have to be turned over to the national treasury. It would be more cost-effective to buy government bonds.
After getting the government bonds, the money is still yours, which is equivalent to savings.
Many people present knew Ye Laosi's sister, but they just thought she was a student who had not grown up and was taking chicken feathers as a token of authority when she just started working.
The first one said with a chuckle, "Okay, it's just buying government bonds. You have a subscription task, right? Tell us directly, we have to help you no matter what!"
There was a total of more than 300 yuan in gambling money on the three card tables in the room. One of them swiped the money casually and pushed all the money to her.
Ye Manzhi counted the money in a serious manner, and then gave them back six fifty-yuan and two ten-yuan bonds.
"Alright, pack up now. I'll treat this as a private entertainment activity. I won't report you to the police for now. However, this won't happen again!"
"Hahaha, okay, let's support each other in our work!"
Amidst laughter, Ye Manzhi pulled the fourth brother away.
Fourth Brother knew that she had been busy selling government bonds recently and thought that this was her new work idea, so he didn't take it seriously.
Anyway, he hasn't sat down at the table yet, so I can't do anything to him.
Ye Manzhi really couldn't do anything to him, but the next afternoon, she went to the military representative's office.
She arrived unexpectedly. Wu Zhengrong reached out to wipe the sweat off her forehead and asked with a smile, "Aren't we going to have dinner together after get off work? There's still two hours left!"
Ye Manzhi said seriously, "Comrade Military Representative, I want to report this to you in real name! Some of our factory employees are gambling in a group!"
If she doesn't report it to the police, should she report it to the military representative office and the security department?
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