Chapter 35
Ye Manzhi had just graduated a few months ago and hadn't even attended her own class reunion.
But she was looking forward to Wu Zhengrong's class reunion, always feeling that she could get a glimpse of his other side through it.
"There are only five or six of us at this class reunion. It's not as complicated as you think. Don't be nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
"Since you're not nervous, why are you always staring at me?" Wu Zhengrong tilted his head and glanced at her.
Ye Manzhi cast his gaze out the car window and said nonchalantly, "I'm just looking at the scenery."
She felt that Wu Zhengrong looked strangely handsome today...
Lady Wu never paid much attention to her appearance, and her clothing consisted of a military uniform and a shirt. Her hairstyle was particularly sloppy, as she often wore a military cap.
The reason why he could repeatedly arouse her lust and evil intentions was purely because of his naturally handsome face.
But!
Ye Manzhi glanced at his neatly ironed white shirt. After their blind date, Wu Zhengrong had become exquisite from head to toe again!
This feeling is like, what is placed in front of her is clearly the braised pork that she is used to eating, but it is suddenly renamed Dongpo pork and is placed on a gold and jade inlaid plate.
Although I know it still tastes the same, I still have the urge to take a bite.
Wu Zhengrong let her secretly look at him all the way, and when the car drove to the riverside, he reminded her to get out.
This is the Binjiang ferry terminal, where you can take a ferry south along the river to other provinces and cities.
It was noon, and many citizens took advantage of the weekend to come to the river to row boats. Ships and small boats were floating on the sparkling river.
On the river bank on the east side of the pier, a row of Russian-style log houses have been built, some in original wood color and some painted in various colors.
While introducing her to the basic situation of the party members, Wu Zhengrong took her across the dock and came to a wooden door with blue walls and a red roof.
Before he could push the door open, a clear female voice suddenly rang out from the window of the wooden house: "Wu Zhengrong is here!"
"Hey, did he come here alone, or with his wife?"
"It seems he came with his wife. I saw there was a female comrade beside him."
Wu Zhengrong and Ye Manzhi: "::::::"
The people in the room made a commotion for a while, and then five or six people ran out one after another.
Wu Zhengrong ignored their surprised and amusing looks and calmly gave a brief introduction to both parties.
One of the men, a rather portly man in uniform, glanced at Ye Manzhi's face, suppressed his surprise, and greeted her warmly, "Zhengrong finally brought his wife out. Welcome, welcome, come in!"
This group of people are both middle school classmates and children of faculty and staff of the provincial university. Almost all of them grew up together, and except for Wu Zhengrong, the others are almost thirty years old.
And Wu Zhengrong's daughter-in-law is obviously not of the same age group as them.
I've heard that Dean Wu was looking for a partner for him, but I didn't expect he found someone so young!
Seeing him wearing the uniform of the Aviation Administration, Ye Manzhi knew that he was the organizer of this party. She smiled and said, "Squad leader, I'm going to trouble you and your sister-in-law today!"
"Hahaha, what's the trouble? I'm stuck at the dock all day, it's so boring. I wish you could come every day!"
Several female comrades brought the newcomer Ye Manzhi into the house. Chen Zhuoyue, holding Wu Zhengrong's hand, walked behind them and asked quietly, "What's wrong with you? If you don't make a name for yourself, you'll be a sensation! If you don't marry, you marry someone so young! She's too young!"
Wu Zhengrong said bluntly, "It's indeed a bit young for you guys."
"I'm not much older than you!" Chen Zhuoyue glared at him and asked, "Did Dean Wu find this girl for you, or did you find her yourself? Whose family is she from?"
Judging from Xiao Ye's appearance and temperament, she seems to be the candidate for Dean Wu's ideal wife.
However, given Wu Zhengrong's personality, he probably won't be manipulated by his grandfather.
Wu Zhengrong answered truthfully, "The organization introduced me."
"No wonder! The organization's introduction is good and reliable!"
The female comrade who could be introduced to Wu Zhengrong by the organization must be of a decent family background and educational level.
Although he looks a little younger, the "organization introduction" alone is enough to dispel everyone's doubts.
Moreover, marriages introduced by organizations usually progress quickly, and many people get married after knowing each other for only one month.
Chen Zhuoyue laughed and said, "The last bachelor in our class finally has a chance to get married. I'll have them speak well of you and try to get you married soon!"
Wu Zhengrong was talking with several male comrades in the yard, while on the female comrade's side, Ye Manzhi was brought into a large open room.
There is a large round dining table on one side of the opening and a mahjong table on the other side.
Before coming to the party, she secretly rehearsed several times in her mind the scenes of exchanging polite greetings with classmates like Wu Zhengrong. Unfortunately, after entering the room, she didn't use any of the words she prepared. After a brief greeting with everyone, she was pushed to the mahjong table.
"Xiao Ye, can you play mahjong?"
"meeting."
Ye Manzhi knew the rules of mahjong. Her grandmother often played mahjong with others, but she almost never sat at the table herself.
She thought that being familiar with the rules meant she knew how to do it, but everyone present thought that her "know" meant she was very proficient in it, and immediately arranged a seat for her.
Let’s practice card skills together.
"Xiaoye, don't feel restrained when you're here. You'll be familiar with it after playing two rounds of mahjong!"
Ye Manzhi looked towards the card table.
There were three female comrades in total, two of whom were Wu Zhengrong's classmates, and the other was Chen Zhuoyue's lover Jin Ping, who worked in the Municipal Education Bureau.
Her main purpose of coming here today was to discuss primary school issues with the leaders of the Education Bureau. Now that there was an opportunity to get closer, she certainly had no reason to refuse.
So, I sat at the mahjong table and started playing mahjong with others in a daze.
Jin Ping also poured each person a large glass of her own wine, which she said was not very strong and could be drunk like soda.
"Xiao Ye, how do you know Wu Zhengrong?" He Wanglan played an 80,000 card.
"The organization introduced it."
"Haha, I'm right!" He Wanglan looked at Zhu Jin across from him. "A man like him, if he relies on himself alone, he'll never get married!"
Zhu Jin glared at her. "What nonsense are you talking about in front of Xiaoye? Xiaoye, ignore her. She's just sour grapes!"
Ye Manzhi glanced at the two of them, smiled and said nothing.
Why does she feel that He Wanglan and Wu Zhengrong have a story?
He Wanglan stared at her cards and chuckled, "My son is already five years old, who would still care about him? But I really hated him back then! I've never met such a disgusting male classmate!"
She took the time to look up and explain to Ye Manzhi, "Xiao Ye, don't misunderstand me. Wu Zhengrong and I have nothing to do with each other! I was just deceived by him when I was young and ignorant."
Zhu Jin laughed: "Many female classmates have been confused."
"You were fooled by his face, but I'm different. Wu Zhengrong always looks impassive, but he's a good student. I admire male students who are good at studying. At that time, our grade only gave out three certificates of excellence. I studied really hard, burning my teeth and piercing my legs, and finally won the award with second place."
Ye Manzhi asked enviously, "Were you such a good student when you were in school?"
"I really worked very hard back then. After I received the certificate, I even framed it and hung it on the wall of my room. I always look at it when I have nothing to do."
Their school was the best national middle school in the city at that time. Most of the students came from good backgrounds. Some came from scholarly families, while others were children of high-ranking officials. The students were generally of high quality, and the competition was fierce in every exam.
Needless to say, He Wanglan was very proud and happy to be able to stand out among so many outstanding classmates and receive a certificate.
Her family also prepared a banquet to celebrate for her.
"I originally had a crush on that kid Wu Zhengrong, but then, one day during math class, I caught him doing calculations on his certificate! He was using that outstanding student certificate like scrap paper! That scene had an unforgettable impact on me. I wanted to strangle him to death! How could there be such a disgusting person in this world?"
The thing she treasured was discarded by others. Who could understand her mood at that moment?
Although Wu Zhengrong did not do anything to her subjectively, she really felt that she was severely humiliated at that time!
How can a man like this live at home? He's going to piss me off!
Haha, just as she expected, Wu Zhengrong’s partner was indeed introduced by the organization!
Ye Manzhi nodded vigorously, appearing to share the same hatred with her, but in her heart she really couldn't empathize with these favored sons and daughters of heaven.
Her academic performance has always been in the upper middle level, and she has never been as outstanding as He Wanglan.
Of course, she has never been as hardworking as others.
If she were Wu Zhengrong's classmate, she would definitely be one of the group that clapped and said, "Brother Zhengrong is so awesome."
She herself is not particularly outstanding, but she can accept particularly outstanding people.
Ye Manzhi was not very good at playing cards, and her mind was not on the game, so she lost one dollar and three food coupons in a few rounds.
They played with one, two, and three cents chips, and the stakes weren't big, but she always lost.
Seeing that she was about to lose two dollars, she couldn't sit still any longer and found an excuse to go to the bathroom to leave the table.
Wu Zhengrong was still chatting with someone in the yard. When she suddenly ran out, he came over and asked, "Why don't you play anymore?"
Playing cards is a must-do at class reunions, and it can take up most of the day each time, so he rarely attends class reunions and just calls if he has something to do.
Ye Manzhi said embarrassedly: "I'm not playing well. I've already lost two dollars!"
Wu Zhengrong casually handed her his wallet and said, "It's okay, go have fun."
"Oh, that's not what I meant!" Ye Manzhi pushed the wallet back and whispered, "I only know a few rules of mahjong and haven't been to the table much. They're all too good. I just keep losing money whenever I sit there."
Seeing her nervousness, Wu Zhengrong lowered his voice and said, "Playing cards here, winning isn't necessarily a good thing, and losing isn't necessarily a bad thing either."
"What do you mean?"
Wu Zhengrong pointed toward a pointed-roof wooden house by the river and asked, "Do you see that?"
"Um."
"That's the Riverside Restaurant, run by Old Chen and his crew from the Navigation Administration."
"?"
"We often get together at Old Chen's house, but they don't have to prepare lunch or dinner. Whoever wins at the card table goes to the riverside restaurant and orders food. The few dollars they win from playing cards may not be enough to cover the cost of food for so many people, so they usually have to pay for it themselves."
Ye Manzhi didn't expect that there would be so much to talk about at this class reunion. She opened her eyes wide and asked, "With so many people eating, wouldn't it cost half a month's salary?"
"So, if you give them some money, it will be considered as our contribution." Wu Zhengrong placed the wallet in her palm. "Go and have fun. Don't feel burdened."
Treating the lost money as fractional money made Ye Manzhi feel much better.
But she was not very good at playing cards, and she didn't find it fun, so she didn't want to play anymore.
Seeing that she was indeed not interested, Wu Zhengrong thought for a moment and waved to Chen Zhuoyue's son, "Jiefang, go buy me some popsicles!"
"How many do you want to buy?" Chen Jiefang ran over.
"Just buy enough for the kids and the lesbians."
Little Chen Jiefang cleverly asked, "Can I buy some popsicles?"
"Okay." Wu Zhengrong gave him one dollar, "You can keep the rest."
Upon hearing this, Jiefang immediately ran away with the money.
Ye Manzhi asked with a smile: "This child is seven years old this year, right?"
"Yeah, good eyesight."
"I don't have much insight. The street office did a survey in advance, and this year's primary school students are either from the Liberation Army or the Founding of the People's Republic of China. If you shout 'Liberation' at the entrance of a primary school, half the children will turn around."
Ye Manzhi thought, Wu Zhengrong's classmates are all educated people, why would they give their child such a name?
However, on second thought, this name is quite meaningful. Only children born in that year are suitable for this name.
It would be a pity to miss it.
Little Chen Jiefang came back soon with a lunch box of cream popsicles.
Wu Zhengrong handed the popsicles to the female comrades and said to Jin Ping, "Sister-in-law, you guys take a break first. It's our turn to run two laps."
"It's rare to see you take the initiative to play cards," Jin Ping said with a smile, "Then you guys play. Xiaoye's here for the first time, so I'll take her to the riverside for a walk."
Old Chen had just mentioned to her that Wu Zhengrong came here today with a mission.
She glanced at Ye Manyi and thought that the task was probably on the target.
The two came out of the courtyard and walked about ten meters to the beach.
The gentle breeze from the river makes people feel relaxed.
Jin Ping took a bite of her popsicle and asked, "Xiao Ye, have you applied for permission to build a primary school from the Zhengyang District Education Bureau?"
"Sister-in-law, how do you know?"
"Did he even chase me into the bathhouse?"
"ah……"
Ye Manzhi was dumbfounded. She had never publicized this matter before, so how come even Wu Zhengrong's lover knew about it!
Does Wu Zhengrong also know about this?
"The lack of primary school teachers is a city-wide problem. When your district comrades came to the city for a meeting, they spoke of the difficulties faced by the grassroots and complained bitterly, even using your case as an example."
Ye Manzhi blushed, "I didn't tell her my name or work unit at that time."
"Did you leave your information when you submitted your application to the Education Bureau?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Forget about this.
If someone really wants to find out, they can actually find it out.
Jin Ping smiled and said, "As soon as you said you worked at the Guangming Subdistrict Office, I was pretty sure it made sense."
"Wouldn't I be embarrassed in the city then?" Ye Manzhi's forehead was covered in sweat.
"It's not shameful. Although it's a bit embarrassing, it also indirectly shows your serious and responsible attitude towards work. Blocking the leader in the bathhouse is a bit unconventional, but to the people in your street, you are a good cadre."
Ye Manzhi thought, since I've already embarrassed myself, I might as well just lay the matter out in the open.
"Sister-in-law, since the district leaders have already cited me as an example, I think the city leaders also understand the difficulties of grassroots work. Our neighborhood conservatively estimates that hundreds of school-age children are out of school this year. A few days ago, parents had a major conflict with the neighborhood committee over their children's inability to attend school. With so many children unable to attend school on time, the hidden dangers are enormous. Can the city be flexible on the quota for new primary schools?"
Jin Ping soothed her, "Xiao Ye, the leaders are well aware of the situation at the grassroots level, but if the upper echelons are lax, the lower echelons will be more relaxed. Once the city opens the door to new primary schools, other units will definitely rush in. The city's financial allocation for education is limited. Our main task this year is to expand middle school enrollment and cultivate a large number of talents for the construction of socialism."
What is available talent?
They must undergo simple learning and training before they can immediately start working and participate in production.
Ye Manzhi nodded in understanding, and at the same time proposed a solution that she thought could take both into account.
"Sister-in-law, I know the city doesn't encourage private schools right now, but in this special period of socialist development, can we make special arrangements?"
"Well, you can tell me your ideas and we can discuss them with each other."
At Jin Ping's age, she doesn't have much say in the Municipal Education Bureau, but she works in the Supervision Office and can offer advice and suggestions to the leadership.
The lack of balance between primary and secondary education is a problem that is currently causing headaches for the city bureau leaders.
Comrades at the grassroots level run to the districts and counties, and comrades in the districts and counties run to the cities and provinces. Everyone is actually under a lot of pressure.
Ye Manzhi thought about the wording in her mind, and after a moment's reflection, she said, "Our biggest demand at the grassroots level is that our children have access to education. Whether the school is private or public is not the key."
"Um."
"The problem the higher-level leaders face is that they don't have the funds, and they don't want the grassroots to build new private primary schools, right?"
This statement was rather straightforward, but it hit the nail on the head. Jin Ping nodded helplessly.
So Ye Manzhi boldly expressed his thoughts.
"Then can we assume a possibility? The Education Bureau approves a construction quota for a public primary school in our street, but there is no initial financial allocation, and the funds for the school construction are temporarily advanced by the grassroots."
"Schools built in this way are still public schools, and the teaching staff are appointed and paid by the Education Bureau. Our street is only responsible for the preparatory work for the initial construction of the school, and the subsequent management will still be under the Education Bureau."
Previously, Director Mu wanted to set up a new literacy school, and the street had to raise the funds for the school on its own.
She originally wanted to tell Jin Ping that the funds for school construction should be raised by the grassroots level themselves.
But when the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back.
Wu Zhengrong had reminded her on the way not to be too honest in her words.
Negotiating with the city bureau leaders is similar to buying vegetables in the market, and there must be a bargaining process.
For the street, there is no difference between advancing funds and raising funds on its own.
Once this money is spent, it will be like throwing meat buns at a dog, and there will be no return. I don’t know when I can get this advance payment back from the city.
However, for city leaders, there is still a big difference between private advance payments and private fundraising.
So, when the time came, she was careful and changed street fundraising to advance payment.
Leave some room for bargaining later.
Jin Ping paced back and forth on the beach, weighing the pros and cons of this approach.
This is indeed a brand new idea.
The city is unable to provide subsidies for primary schools for the time being, but the demand for primary education at the grassroots level is too high, so primary schools will have to be built sooner or later.
If loans are provided, streets and towns in need can build schools on their own.
It can alleviate the city’s financial pressure to a certain extent.
However, stress relief does not mean no stress.
Some leaders must have considered this kind of thing of eating up the food for the next year in the current year.
If the current leadership decides to take out loans to build a school, they will likely be cursed by their successors in the next few years...
For such a large-scale new primary school, when will the loan be repaid?
Not all leaders can make up their minds.
Jin Ping frowned and said, "The issue of advance payment should have been raised before. Since the leader didn't approve it, he must have his own considerations."
Upon hearing this, Ye Manzhi showed a look of deep hatred and resentment, and her two beautiful eyebrows were twisted into the shape of chicken wings.
As if she had made a great decision, she gritted her teeth and said decisively, "Sister-in-law, our Guangming Street desperately needs a new primary school. Our leaders have said that even if it means selling everything we have, we must build this school. What do you think? Guangming Street can set an example for other units and not ask for advance payment. We will raise the full amount of funds for the school construction!"
"Guangming Street paid for the school's construction! The school will remain a public institution, and will remain under the management of the Education Bureau. We'll be generous this time, so the Education Bureau won't have to pay us back later. Sister-in-law, do you think the bureau leaders can give us a quota for school construction?"
Jin Ping didn't expect them to be so courageous. She asked in surprise, "Have you thought it through? Raising the full amount will put a lot of financial pressure on you."
Such an operation would definitely be beneficial to the municipal bureau, but not necessarily to the grassroots level.
However, as Ye Manzhi said, the most urgent need at the grassroots level is not to fight for ownership of schools, but to ensure that children have access to education.
"What can we do? Parents have already called the subdistrict office to get admission!" Ye Manzhi said with a desperate look on his face. "If we do it this way, the city won't have to worry about other units coming to us asking for school quotas. If they want quotas, they can just build the school themselves, just like Guangming Street did!"
Jin Ping paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, hesitant for a moment.
Once the door to building a school is opened, a series of problems will definitely arise.
On the other side, Wu Zhengrong walked out of the yard with his wallet.
"How did the talk go?"
"Waiting for my sister-in-law to make a decision!" Ye Manzhi glanced at the banknotes in his hand and asked, "Is the card game over?"
"Just dispersed," Wu Zhengrong raised his chin towards the front, "Accompany me to the riverside restaurant to order food first."
Ye Manzhi asked in surprise: "Did you win the card game?"
The person who wins the card game gets to treat everyone to a meal.
"Well, we're treating you today. We'll order a few dishes you like." Wu Zhengrong turned to Jin Ping and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, please take care of the primary school construction quota. I haven't even started planning to get married yet, and I'm still trying to court Comrade Xiaoye. If things really go well, I'll give you a pair of matchmaker shoes when we have our wedding banquet."
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