Chapter 42
Fourth brother was caught gambling, which really pissed off Old Ye. When he got home that day, he was caught and beaten up.
Old Ye asked everyone else to leave the house, and Ye Manzhi was unable to witness the scene where his fourth brother was beaten.
But just looking at the miserable look on his face with his butt sticking out and groaning afterwards, you could tell how cruel Old Ye was.
Ye Shouxin finally made up his mind this time and said to the fourth child, "First, go dig sand by the river and gather the sand and bricks. Then, gain some experience on the elementary school construction site. The factory is expanding and has a lot of infrastructure work to do. I'll try to get you a job as a construction worker in the infrastructure department."
He used to worry that this kid was a hopeless case and might get into trouble if he didn't follow the rules in the military factory.
Now it seems that if we let him hang around like this, he will be more likely to learn bad things from others.
Let him work hard on the construction site, and he won't have time to think about other things.
He made up his mind and stopped talking nonsense with the fourth child. Instead, he started to care about his daughter's affairs.
"What's going on between you and Xiao Wu? Why did he even call Third Brother and Fourth Brother?"
"That's it. We're dating now."
Ye Manzhi complained inwardly, these two people are quite good at pretending.
Old Ye clearly already knew the situation, but he pretended as if he had just discovered it.
Not to mention Wu Zhengrong.
When she was having dinner in the cafeteria yesterday, she asked the other person if he felt uncomfortable calling her "Fourth Brother". The other person said that he would have to change his way of addressing her sooner or later, so it would be better to be generous from the beginning to avoid having to worry about the name later.
Ye Manzhi was once again speechless at his frankness.
Old Ye asked tentatively, "Xiao Wu certainly helped with your fourth brother's situation. Should we invite him to our house for a meal to express our gratitude?"
"It's so embarrassing for people to come to our house and see Fourth Brother in this miserable state!" Ye Manzhi snorted. "When he greets you at the factory, just be nicer."
Ye Shouxin glared and asked, "Did he complain to you?"
"No, just by looking at your attitude towards my eldest and second brother-in-law, I can guess how you behave in front of Wu Zhengrong!"
Old Ye likes to show off in front of his son-in-law and show off his power as a father-in-law from time to time.
Wu Zhengrong holds a high position, so Old Ye has to act even more arrogantly in order to prevent himself from being unable to control his son-in-law in the future.
"Since you don't think we need to treat you, then we'll listen to you."
Ye Shouxin's desire to treat the guests was not very sincere, mainly because his fourth son had just been arrested, and he was inevitably lacking in confidence when the two parties met.
Thinking of this, he glared at the disappointing fourth brother again and said to his daughter, "This time, I'll let your fourth brother go to the construction site to work. You can order him around as much as you want. Don't let him have the energy to think about anything else!"
Ye Manzhi nodded in agreement.
She also wanted to teach her fourth brother a lesson, so she took him to the construction site early the next morning.
Considering that these gamblers were cunning and unruly, Ye Manzhi followed them to Dongyuan Wharf.
After exchanging the letter of introduction for the sand quota for the project, she discussed it with the people in the management office.
"Director Lu, while the workers are digging sand here, please take the trouble to come and see them often."
"What's so interesting about digging sand? It's okay, just dig as you like in this area."
Ye Manzhi pointed toward the riverbank and said, "Workers like us are all stubborn. If we focus on digging in one place and create a huge hole, wouldn't that be a safety hazard?"
Director Lu asked in surprise, "Is there really such a stubborn person? Who would choose to dig in the same pit when digging sand?"
"Look over there!"
Ye Manzhi pointed to where Fourth Brother was. Five or six young men were standing in a circle, denouncing the Security Department and their fathers while digging sand with shovels.
In a few seconds, a big hole was dug out.
"You see, we can't let them gather together!"
When they gather together and whisper, there must be something bad happening!
Director Lu held the cigarette in his mouth and stared for a long time, worried that these stubborn people would dig a big hole in the river beach.
"Okay, I'll call someone to keep an eye on it later."
Ye Manzhi thanked him, threw the inmates on the beach, and left with peace of mind.
Anyway, it was agreed long ago that each person would deliver one ton of dry sand and two hundred bricks to the primary school. If they failed to complete the task, Director Mu would not be allowed to sign for them.
Director Mu was particularly happy about this sudden appearance of free labor.
Recently, the Municipal Education Bureau sent a working group to inspect the primary school construction site. These 17 inmates and the construction materials they brought solved her urgent needs.
Mulan is very ambitious about the "publicly run and privately assisted" pilot primary school project. If it is really successful, this primary school will become a benchmark for the entire city.
Therefore, she gave affirmation to Comrade Xiaoye for his hard work.
According to Mulan's previous style, she mostly gave verbal praise, but this time she broke the norm and directly gave Ye Manzhi a place for further studies.
The grassroots cadre training class is an improvement class organized by the Municipal Party School for grassroots cadres to improve their theoretical level and political literacy.
Classes are held in spring and autumn every year, but each grassroots unit has only one place for further studies.
Mulan didn't conduct an internal vote for the further study spot for this year's fall semester, and directly gave it to Ye Manzhi.
Ye Manzhi and Zhao Erhe were far ahead in the work of selling government bonds. When others had just made half of their progress, they still had more than 800 yuan to complete the target of 10,000 yuan.
Therefore, Mulan used the completion of recent work as the measurement standard, and Ye Manzhi and Zhao Erhe were the most qualified to get this training opportunity.
But Zhao Erhe was a sports person and lacked some academic qualifications, so the spot naturally fell to Ye Manyi, who had a high school diploma.
Even if other people have their own ideas, they can't find any fault with it.
When Ye Manzhi heard her name, it was as if a huge pie fell from the sky and she was stunned for a long time with her mouth half open.
Including the probation period, she has only been working for four months. There is no way this only training opportunity will fall on her, right?
But Director Mu gave her the spot!
hey-hey.
Ye Manzhi came back to her senses and repeatedly assured Director Mu: "Director, after I go to the Party School, I will study theoretical knowledge diligently and serve the people more wholeheartedly in the future!"
She was so excited that her nose felt sore.
The fact that her leader can give her such a valuable opportunity shows that her efforts at work have been noticed by the leader!
She suddenly understood why there were so many stories in ancient times about "gentlemen dying for their friends".
At this moment, her desire to devote herself to the cause suddenly reached its peak.
She is so happy!
Mulan noticed her excitement and said with a smile, "The Party School is where Party organizations train Party members and cadres. This twice-yearly advanced training course for grassroots cadres is the only opportunity for non-Party cadres to attend the Party School. This shows how valuable this opportunity is. So, after attending the advanced training course, you must listen, watch, and learn more, and equip yourself with theoretical knowledge!"
"We've already organized two training sessions, and both Wei Zhen and Xiao Liu attended. However, Xiao Liu has been transferred to the labor union at Factory 656. If you have any questions about the training, talk to Wei Zhen. She also completed the course with very good grades."
Ye Manzhi agreed repeatedly and was delighted for the whole day about this precious big pie.
When I met Wu Zhengrong in the cafeteria after get off work, he saw something as soon as they met.
"What good thing happened today? Why are you so happy?"
Ye Manzhi's eyes sparkled as she revealed, "Director Mu recommended me to attend the grassroots cadre training class at the Municipal Party School!"
Wu Zhengrong's tone was filled with surprise. "You've only been working for a few months? You've made such rapid progress?"
"It can't be considered progress. I just went to school for further studies." Ye Manyi was being hypocritical.
"Our city's Party School has only been established for two or three years, and those selected to attend are outstanding Party members and cadres from various units. 656 also has similar recommendation quotas, and those people from the factory office, the labor union, and the Youth League Committee are vying for a few spots. Young cadres like you have virtually no chance. The fact that you've been able to get this spot proves that you're already quite capable."
Ye Manzhi was so praised that she smiled from ear to ear, and couldn't suppress the curve of her lips.
She was able to get this quota largely because the street office was small and had few people.
If she had joined the factory union after graduation, she would never have been given the opportunity to continue her studies.
"This opportunity is so precious! I'll have to go to the bookstore this weekend and buy some books to study in advance, so I can get a good score on the final exam. Sister Wei from our office said that students' test scores must be sent to their respective units and recorded in their personal files, so this final exam result will be with your file for the rest of your life, so I must not let it down!"
Wu Zhengrong took the list of books and glanced at it. Most of them were theoretical works such as Marx and Lenin.
"I already have all these books, so don't spend money on them."
"Would you like to lend me the book?"
"Well, these books are not cheap. If you are not specialized in theoretical research, there is no need to buy the whole set." Wu Zhengrong pushed the list of books to her, "You can go to my place later and look for them yourself."
Ye Manzhi stopped eating and smiled at him.
"What are you laughing at again?"
"I haven't been to your house yet."
"You can go check it out this time," Wu Zhengrong said in an ordinary tone, but with unusual words. "If nothing unexpected happens, you'll be living there for a long time to come."
Ye Manzhi was once again speechless at his straightforwardness.
There were people coming and going in the cafeteria, and there were always employees looking at them intentionally or unintentionally.
She was worried that someone would hear their conversation, so she kicked him in the calf with her toe under the table and then buried her head in her food and stopped talking.
However, after coming out of the cafeteria, she still obediently followed others home to get her books.
Wu Zhengrong lived in the earliest dormitory area built in the military industrial compound. It seemed that the factory leaders and Soviet experts all lived in this area.
The housing standard for the factory director, deputy factory director, chief engineer and deputy chief engineer is three bedrooms and one living room.
However, the largest of the newly built Khrushchev buildings in the factory only had two rooms, so the factory leaders had been living in the bungalow with yellow walls, white windows and gray-green roofs at the east gate since the factory was built.
Of course, unlike the ordinary bungalows in the alleys, the bungalows in the military industrial compound all have their own doors and courtyards and are not connected.
The two bungalows will be separated by several meters so that the residents are not too distant from each other while ensuring a certain degree of privacy.
When Ye Manzhi followed him to the door of No. 16 at the end of the courtyard, she couldn't help but ask, "Is No. 16 smaller than the other houses?"
You can tell the difference just by looking at the exterior of the house.
"Well, I was temporarily transferred here by my superiors to serve as the military representative. I didn't plan to stay in Binjiang for long, so I asked the logistics department to arrange for me to live in the quietest environment. This house is indeed quiet. There is only one neighbor next door, but the area is slightly smaller than the other houses."
Due to family reasons, Wu Zhengrong was reluctant to return to Binjiang to work. He thought that coming to Factory 656 was just a short transition and someone would replace him in a year or two.
If he had known that he would settle his life here, he would have asked for a bigger house.
When Ye Manzhi was invited into the yard by him, she found that the yard was very clean. Not only were there no flowers or plants, there were no vegetables or fruits either. It was even more impossible to raise chickens and ducks in the yard like Fifth Brother did.
This yard is a yard in the literal sense, as spacious as a playground.
"You have such a big yard, why don't you plant anything?"
Wu Zhengrong said frankly: "I don't know how to do that. You can grow it yourself after you move in."
Ye Manzhi looked around the empty yard casually and was about to tease him for not knowing something when he suddenly heard the gate of the next yard being opened and someone walking out.
She didn't know what she was thinking. When she heard the noise, she quickly hid behind the man.
Wu Zhengrong stretched out his hands to protect her and said helplessly, "Isn't our relationship already clear? Why are you hiding in my house?"
We were clearly in a legitimate relationship, but why did it become like an affair...
Ye Manzhi was also dumbfounded by her own subconscious behavior, "I don't know, I always feel embarrassed when people see us together."
It was fine in public, but once she entered his house, her heart started pounding.
The sound of a door closing and locking came from the yard next door, and two figures were gradually walking away.
Wu Zhengrong stared at her nervous expression for a moment, suddenly chuckled, lowered his head and kissed her.
Their lips were pressed together for a short time, only three or four seconds, but it was enough time for a full kiss.
Ye Manzhi pushed him on the chest and said, "He's still outside."
"It doesn't matter. There's a big door blocking the way," Wu Zhengrong said with a smile, "If I don't kiss you, it seems like it would be a waste of your guilty conscience. You can hide now."
Ye Manzhi pursed her lips, blushing and bluffing, "Who's feeling guilty? I'm not hiding! Oh, hurry up and find my book. Don't delay my studies!"
She pushed Wu Zhengrong into the house and turned on the light switch.
He only used two of the three rooms, the east one was the bedroom and the larger one on the west was the study.
When Ye Manzhi stepped into the study, she couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.
OMG.
She had never seen so many books except in libraries and bookstores!
Two rows of solid wooden bookshelves stand against the wall, covering the entire two walls, and all the space above is filled with books.
Some books were still scattered on the desk by the window.
"How come you have so many books? You're from a scholarly family, no doubt," Ye Manzhi asked with admiration. "Have you read all of these?"
"No, some books are not interesting, I put them down halfway through."
When he came to Binjiang to work, he brought five boxes of luggage, four of which were books. Because he was going to be a military representative in a military factory, the books were basically related to his major.
After deciding to settle down in Binjiang, he went back to his old house at the provincial university and packed up some old books and moved them over.
Add to that the new books I buy here and there, and the books on my bookshelf are piling up more and more.
Ye Manzhi passed by the bookshelf, scanning the names on the spines one by one. The majority of the books were engineering books, but there were also novels, miscellaneous talks, reference books, foreign language books, and even the kind of thread-bound books that could only be seen in book libraries in the old society.
The Marxist-Leninist works on her reading list were piled in a corner, arranged fairly neatly.
Ye Manzhi deeply suspected that what the other party said about "some books are not interesting" might be referring to these books.
She checked the list and pulled out the books she would need for class, then exclaimed again, "You have so many books!"
How much will this cost?
"If you want to read, you can come over anytime. Don't buy the books on the shelf, so you don't end up with duplicate books at home." Wu Zhengrong took two keys from his keychain and gave them to her. "These are the keys to the two outer doors. When I'm not home, you can come over anytime to read."
Ye Manzhi waved her hand and said, "Forget it. You have a special identity. If any confidential information is leaked, it will be very troublesome!"
"I never go home to handle work," Wu Zhengrong put the key into the pocket of her cardigan, "You can come without worry."
The previous resident of this house was a Soviet citizen. After he completed his support mission and returned to the Soviet Union, the logistics department allocated the house to Wu Zhengrong.
However, Wu Zhengrong has always been cautious in his work. He only completes his work in the military representative's office, never takes important information home, and never discusses work at home.
There's nothing to keep secret in this study.
Ye Manzhi reached out and pressed the key in her pocket, muttering, "I won't come when you're not home. It would be so embarrassing if someone saw me!"
But she didn't push the key back in.
Ever since her relationship with Wu Zhengrong was made public at home, Old Ye set a curfew for her, requiring her to be home at 8 o'clock every day.
After she took the book, she didn't stay in the study for too long. She took a general look at the layout of the house and then came out of the courtyard.
The two of them strolled around the compound, and one minute before eight o'clock, Wu Zhengrong sent her downstairs to the Ye family's building on time.
"Come on up," he smiled as he stood under the orange streetlight. "Comrade Xiaoye is welcome to come every day from now on."
Ye Manzhi's face flushed from his laughter, and she said against her will, "Then you should clean up your house. It doesn't look good with a bare house."
"Okay, come over and give me some pointers next time."
*
Ye Manzhi was excited for several days after suddenly breaking into Wu Zhengrong's private space and borrowing several expensive-looking tomes.
Although political theory knowledge is obscure and difficult to understand, in order to make a splash and get good grades in the final exam, she still found time to prepare for it in advance.
Registration and school start time is in mid-November, which is one week before classes officially start.
After the fall, the work of the street office gradually became less busy.
In addition to working and studying, Ye Manzhi also followed the local customs and started knitting sweaters with everyone.
She used to use a sewing machine to make clothes, and her knitting skills were not very good.
So, she decided to start with the simplest way of knitting a scarf.
First, she knitted a scarf for Wu Zhengrong. After all, she had received many gifts from him, but had never given him a decent gift in return.
In the entire street office, Aunt Feng has the best knitting skills. She is like a ruthless knitting machine. She can knit all kinds of complicated patterns quickly and accurately without having to look down at the needle and thread.
When Ye Manzhi was humbly asking Aunt Feng how to weave a twist knot, Director Mu returned from a meeting in the district, wrapped in the chill of late autumn.
As soon as she took off her scarf, she announced a piece of news that surprised everyone.
The city will send a working team to Guangming Street to guide the Guangming Subdistrict Office and Guangming Police Station to form a "surplus labor processing working group" to specifically deal with the problem of surplus labor.
"Currently, Binjiang City has a population of over 1.6 million, but only over 600,000 can support themselves through labor. The remaining 1 million rely on others for support. We simply have too much surplus labor in our city! Therefore, the provincial and municipal governments have issued a new notice to all districts and counties, mobilizing those who have moved to Binjiang from the countryside since April this year to return to their hometowns and engage in production!"
Liu Jinbao grinned and asked, "Director, since they've moved to the city, they must want to settle down there. Who would be willing to go back to their hometown to work? How can we mobilize people for this kind of thing?"
They have finally found an opportunity to come out, but now you want them to return to their hometown. This kind of mobilization is purely offensive!
Dealing with surplus labor is more troublesome than selling government bonds!
"This is a task assigned by higher authorities, and all subdistricts must strictly comply. Too many people have blindly flowed into the cities, leaving the countryside without people to produce. This has already had a significant impact on agricultural collectivization. This year, many agricultural cooperatives in the province have experienced poor harvests, largely due to the blind outflow of agricultural workers."
"When farmers arrive in the city, they often struggle to find suitable jobs. This not only impacts agricultural production but also puts a huge strain on urban security and employment," Director Mu announced. "Guangming Street needs to mobilize 600 people to return home, and this must be completed before the Spring Festival."
Ye Manzhi quickly calculated that if 600 people were mobilized in the entire street, then on average, at least 100 people would have to be mobilized in each neighborhood committee to return to their hometown to give birth!
She recalled the situations of the fifth and sixth neighborhood committees in her mind, and unconsciously thought of the old face of Guo Erni's father-in-law.
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