Chapter 65
In the new house on Xincheng Street, the stove was never lit for almost the entire winter, and Ye Manzhi would be frozen to the bone after staying in the house for just a quarter of an hour.
Wu Zhengrong wrapped her in his military coat and said with a smile, "You won't be cold if you move around a bit."
Ye Manzhi's palms were still pressed against his firm and warm back. She thought to herself, I can't move anymore. If I move my mouth again, I won't be able to face anyone.
But she forgot that Wu Zhengrong was a serious person.
They had just successfully proposed to each other, and they were alone in the same room. If they continued to be so close, it would be hard for something not to happen.
When Wu Zhengrong said to move around, he really meant to move around.
He moved Ye Manzhi's hand out of his shirt and wrapped her from head to toe in his military coat.
Then he put on a sweater, carried a shovel, climbed up the ladder and went to the roof to shovel snow.
“…”
Ye Manzhi, donning two military overcoats, chased after him, dissuading him: "Don't sweep the snow off the roof; it will melt naturally in the spring."
Wu Zhengrong glanced at the roof, shook his head, and said, "Too much snow could easily cause the roof to collapse. Your house is quite old and needs careful maintenance. Also, some of the tiles are showing signs of damage, which could easily leak when the snow melts. I'll give the roof a rough clean first and come back to repair it in the spring."
Ye Manzhi was stunned and asked, "Is it that serious?"
"It's okay, you can go inside and stay."
Ye Manzhi stood below and watched for a while. He saw that he moved skillfully and cleaned a clean roof in just a few strokes. It was obvious that he had done this kind of work before.
She felt a little relieved, said hello to him, and went to Grandma Xu's house next door.
When Grandma Xu saw her, she greeted her warmly, "Xiaoye, are you here? Are you here to clean again?"
"Yes, let my partner help clean the roof."
"Is that guy in the military coat your boyfriend?"
"Yes, he is a soldier and he specially used his rest time to help me with some work."
Grandma Xu asked in surprise, "Xiaoye, so you will be a military dependent from now on?"
"Hahaha, that's right. We're getting married soon. If our residents' group has any military support and preferential treatment work in the future, please don't leave me behind!"
"One person joining the army brings honor to the whole family. It's so glorious for military families! I'll remember what you did!"
Ye Manzhi exchanged pleasantries with Grandma Xu for a while, borrowed a shovel from her home, and then returned to her own yard.
She herself was engaged in mass work, and she did not dare to take the neighborhood committee's bound-foot detective team lightly.
Even though the neighbors on this street have all their doors and windows closed, they actually know exactly what is going on outside.
The fact that Grandma Xu could identify the young man in the military coat meant that she had seen him long before Wu Zhengrong went up to the house wearing a sweater.
Ye Manzhi's request to borrow the shovel was fake, mainly to find an excuse to introduce Wu Zhengrong's identity to the resident group leader.
Otherwise, if she brought a strange man home and stayed there alone for most of the day, who knows what people would say about her.
Ye Manzhi's yard is not big, and the roof is naturally not very large either. When she returned, Wu Zhengrong had already cleared the snow.
The military representative office had just finished a training exercise a few days ago, and it was finally a day off, so Ye Manzhi didn't want him to work.
So, after he had sweated enough, he took him out again on the pretext of choosing a gift.
Ye Manzhi returned to the consignment store again. On top of the fifty cents for the music box, he gave an extra one dollar and twenty cents and picked out a globe for Qingmei as a birthday present.
Wu Zhengrong gently reminded: "Lesbians may not like this kind of gift..."
He would never buy her a globe anyway.
"You don't understand. I'm just catering to her preferences!" Ye Manzhi rubbed the globe twice, making it spin rapidly. "Qingmei will definitely like this!"
The district cultural bureau has a female deputy director.
Qingmei went to the director's office several times to deliver materials.
Every time I mentioned this female director to her, I would also mention the globe on the director's desk.
It is big and imposing, with foreign characters on it, which gives it a cultured look.
The globe that Ye Manzhi bought for her also had foreign words on it, which the salesperson said were in English.
It’s big and grand, Qingmei will definitely like it!
*
Ye Manzhi bought a globe and completed the main task of going out shopping, but her biggest gain today was still to tell her parents about it.
When Old Ye heard that Wu Zhengrong had proposed to her and wanted to file a marriage report, he immediately blew up the temple.
"How long have you two been dating? Why are you getting married so soon?"
Ye Manzhi nodded in agreement. "I also feel that I agreed too hastily today. Hey, I'm embarrassed to go back on my word in front of him. Dad, when you go to work tomorrow, go tell Wu Zhengrong that you don't agree with me getting married too early."
Ye Shouxin: “…”
This naughty girl used all the skills she learned to deal with her father!
Chang Yue'e held the music box in her hands and admired it for a while, then carefully returned it to her daughter. "Don't bother with your father. Go back to your room and rest. You have to go to work tomorrow!"
After she coaxed her daughter away, she lowered her voice and said, "Their relationship has already come to this point. Zhengrong has proposed to her. How can Lai Ya refuse?"
Old Ye said angrily, "This Wu Zhengrong is so cunning! How come he has so many tricks up his sleeve? He even proposed marriage? If he proposes, wouldn't the marriage be on the agenda?"
"If he really drags it out for a year or two, you'll be worried again! Didn't Lai Ya say it would take quite some time for his superiors to approve his marriage application? Proposing is great. During this time, they'll be engaged, and their relationship will be even closer than just dating."
Ye Shouxin kept mumbling, and the main idea behind his words was that he was unhappy, dissatisfied, and unhappy!
Chang Yue'e was annoyed by his nagging and threatened: "Wait until they make you a grandfather in advance, and then you will be obedient!"
"Nonsense, my daughter is not that kind of child!"
Chang Yue'e complained in her heart, your daughter has kissed someone, and you still treat her as a child!
Ye Lai Ya came back today with red lips, she must have kissed someone again.
Girls are more likely to suffer losses in this regard, so if they get married quickly they will have less worries.
Her parents felt that their daughter had suffered a loss, but Ye Manzhi herself felt that she had gotten a great advantage.
She returned to her room and put the music box and jewelry box in the drawer to prevent them from being damaged by Ye Lihua.
Then she rummaged through the drawers and found a photo frame, carefully placed the note she had hidden all the way behind the glass.
Placed next to the photo of her in the newspaper.
She liked the music box very much, but in her heart she liked the contents of the note more.
Reading it again, I can still find that feeling of accelerated heartbeat and dizziness.
During the day, she was only focused on Wu Zhengrong's proposal and didn't pay much attention to the birthday wishes he sent her.
It’s late at night and everyone is asleep. I read again the sentence “May you be brave and fearless every year and become your own mountain and sea”, and I feel that it is getting more and more interesting.
Someone who can create mountains and seas on his own must be a very powerful person, right?
Ye Manzhi stared at the photo frame for a long time and felt inspired.
So, while I was still feeling some insights, I took out my manuscript paper and wrote a thought report to the party organization, striving to join the party earlier than that kid Liu Jinbao!
…
A birthday and a proposal gave Ye Manzhi new energy. Early in the morning of the new week, she ran to the district to inquire about the mobilization situation at the hardware club.
Li Tingting thought for a moment and said, "The members' reactions are quite polarized. I think your previous actions were effective. The more skilled workers are happy to transfer to other factories. After all, the working class is more respectable than small private owners. If the wages are similar, of course they want to be workers."
Ye Manzhi asked, "Is there anyone who strongly objects?"
"Yes, those with high stakes don't want to switch factories," Li Tingting said, frowning. "This cooperative is quite strange. Some low-skilled workers hold a very high stake, and their president, Niu Zhuangzhi, is also a major shareholder. If it weren't for the city's document prohibiting annual dividends from exceeding one month's salary, Niu Zhuangzhi alone would have received around 15% of the dividends. Based on the hardware cooperative's profitability, that would probably be over a thousand yuan."
Ye Manzhi asked in confusion, "Why did he invest so much money?"
"In addition to the initial share capital, he's added to the share capital every year since then," Li Tingting muttered. "He's acting like a capitalist, and the other workers are just working for him."
Ye Manzhi quickly shushed him, "Don't say that! Be careful not to cause trouble for President Niu!"
Li Tingting knew she had spoken out of turn, so she quickly waved her hand and changed the subject, saying, "I think before we hold the general meeting, we need to do some ideological work on those major shareholders, especially President Niu Zhuangzhi. Otherwise, if they get involved, the other members will follow suit and waver."
Ye Manzhi is the default person in charge of ideological work.
Ye Manzhi felt that she could handle the ideological work of the members, but she was not sure about the president Niu Zhuangzhi.
Niu Zhuangzhi is about the same age as Lao Ye and is a very shrewd person. He must know better than anyone what is going on with the cooperative being transformed into a factory.
If a young person like her were to tell those great reasons, not only would it have no effect, it would also make her a laughing stock.
She wanted to ask Director Mu for help.
Director Mu has experience in ideological work and is of the right age.
But this was the work of the Reform Office after all. After thinking it over again and again, she decided to discuss it with Feng Dacheng and ask him to talk to Niu Zhuangzhi.
This is what she told Feng Dacheng.
"Section Chief Feng, I never thought being young was a disadvantage, but now that I've met President Niu, I've met my match. His age is there, how can I have the nerve to lecture him? I need your help and advice on this matter."
Feng Dacheng laughed and said, "You did a great job mobilizing the technicians, didn't you? There's nothing to be afraid of about Niu Zhuangzhi. He's just a little older. You young people are just shy. How about this, I'll invite Old Niu out for a drink, and we can chat over the table."
"Chief Feng, can I go and learn from you?" Ye Manyi asked.
In fact, she really wanted to see how Feng Dacheng would do ideological work for President Niu.
"Okay, Xiaoye, can you drink?"
Ye Manzhi, who could drink four ounces of sorghum wine, said modestly, "I'm not very good at it, I'll just sit in on the class."
She felt that this opportunity to observe and learn was rare, so after asking Li Tingting, she called her along as well.
Feng Dacheng invited President Niu to a state-owned restaurant near the hardware store.
As soon as we met, we brought up the issue that President Niu was most concerned about.
"You old ox, you have such a stubborn temper. You are the president of the cooperative, and you will definitely be the director of the new factory in the future. How can you let down your guard at such a critical moment in the factory transfer?"
Niu Zhuangzhi asked angrily, "The cooperative is going to be turned into a local state-owned enterprise. Can I still be the factory director? I heard that the city is going to send someone else to take over."
"How could you be so confused about something like this? This is the first time the city has led a cooperative to transform into a factory, but it's not the first time socialist transformation has taken place, right? You should have seen how the public-private partnership worked last year! After the partnership, the public and private sides each sent representatives to manage the enterprise! The city is carrying out reforms, and after the members withdraw their shares, they need the factory to be able to make a smooth transition and continue production. There won't be any major strife at the management level."
Seeing him frowning in thought, Feng Dacheng lowered his voice and said, "Lao Niu, I have to remind you that your share of the cooperative is already very high. Although there will be additional capital later, why are only you a few people adding to it? Do the other members know about this situation? If you ask me, why don't you take this opportunity to support the factory transfer? Then no one will pursue those previous matters..."
Ye Manzhi stared at Feng Dacheng who looked calm.
This is said politely and seems like a reminder, but it is actually a threat, right?
Niu Zhuangzhi holds such a high stake that he really cannot withstand investigation.
Moreover, the hardware cooperative obviously has strong technical capabilities, but in the past two years he has been asking the cooperative to produce locks, simply pursuing economic benefits.
If he didn't have such a high stake, he could still be said to be dedicated to the public.
But it’s hard to say in this situation now.
Niu Zhuangzhi downed a glass of baijiu and complained, "I didn't want such a high shareholding either. The problem was that the cooperative needed to expand and was short of funds. Buying a five-foot gantry trolley and an eight-foot lathe wouldn't cost money. The bank couldn't lend us the money, so we had to raise additional capital."
Ye Manzhi interjected, "President Niu, you may have had your reasons, but our company primarily produces door locks, and we don't need five-foot gantry lathes or eight-foot lathes. Things are different now, and you have to be careful about people accusing you of buying equipment under the guise of expanding your stock!"
Niu Zhuangzhi: “…”
Feng Dacheng stopped talking about it and turned to talk about the benefits of transferring factories, such as the country being able to allocate resources in a unified manner, he would be the director of a large state-owned factory in the future, and workers would be able to participate in technical training and improve their technical level.
Anyway, he talked a lot of nonsense and drank several glasses with President Niu like brothers.
Ye Manzhi and Li Tingting did not drink any alcohol at all.
As the three of them left the state-owned restaurant, Li Tingting asked, "Section Chief Feng, are we really not going to pursue the matter of the president's share expansion?"
"What are you investigating? We're in the Reform Office, and our ultimate goal is to complete the transformation of the cooperative into a factory. How many shares does he have to do with us? That's something other departments should worry about! Let's just do our job well and stay out of other people's business!"
Ye Manzhi felt that what Feng Dacheng said about not meddling in other people's business was actually similar to the "excellent comrade's" advice to mind his own business.
It seems that this is really not something we can meddle in.
The three of them went to other cooperatives on Guangming Street to learn about the situation. On the way back to the district, Ye Manzhi had some ideas about changing factories and wanted to discuss it with Director Liang.
After conducting research over the past few days, she felt that the scale and service objects of cooperatives were different, and that factory transfers should not be a one-size-fits-all approach.
When she returned to the Human Resources Committee in the evening, it was dinner time. She went to the cafeteria to have dinner with Director Liang and exchange ideas on reform.
However, today Director Liang's surroundings were extremely busy, and she was only given a seat at the edge, with almost no room for her to interrupt.
The young men seemed to be staff members of the District People's Committee Office.
"Director, isn't it unreasonable for a department as large as ours to only have two transfer quotas?"
"Yes, Director, could you please talk to the leaders and ask them to give a few more admissions quotas to larger units and departments?"
"Our department only has two. Smaller units like the subdistrict office and the industrial and commercial bureau also have two. Isn't that unreasonable? They're small in scale, so having one is good enough."
When Ye Manzhi heard the words "street office", he immediately pricked up his ears and asked the girl next to him.
"What are you arguing about? What does the transfer of students have to do with the street office and the Industrial and Commercial Bureau?"
"How is it not a problem? The district is selecting transfer students to go to university without taking the entrance exam, and small units like the street office and the Industrial and Commercial Bureau are taking up two spots! Do you think that's reasonable?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
That’s quite reasonable!
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