Chapter 19, Female Supporting Character in a Historical Fiction
"Yes, yes, let's eat!"
Mrs. Yang went to the kitchen and brought out two more sets of bowls and chopsticks.
It was just for the two of them, so there wasn't much food prepared; it wasn't enough for the two young men.
She then cooked two bowls of noodles for them.
After dinner, Yang Qiang went home, and Xu Qingzhou and Yang's mother took stock of the things they had brought back.
The captain sat to one side, curiously touching the phone.
"Xiao Xu, when are you going to install this phone?"
"I'll have to go to town tomorrow and ask someone from the post office to come and install it."
Mrs. Yang was puzzled.
"Isn't the post office for delivering mail? Why do we need them to come and load it?"
This time, it was the captain who answered Yang's mother.
"What do you know! The post office doesn't just deliver mail! They're responsible for much more!"
The captain, with a hint of smugness in his eyes, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.
"Right, Xiao Xu?"
Mrs. Yang rolled her eyes at the brigade leader's smug attitude.
"Then tell me, besides delivering mail and installing telephones, what else is the post office responsible for?"
Don't think she doesn't know. How could he know that the post office is responsible for installing telephones? Didn't they just install them at the brigade headquarters a while ago?
The captain choked up, unable to say anything.
Mrs. Yang put the food she had prepared into a small basket and gave him a half-smile.
"Can't say anything now, huh? I've been married to you for so many years, don't I know what kind of person you are? It's one thing to pretend with others, but you're pretending with me too!"
The captain was speechless and choked with emotion, unable to refute.
Mrs. Yang was too lazy to look at him.
"Qingzhou, you speak!"
Xu Qingzhou chuckled softly.
"You know about sending letters and mail. Besides that, newspaper and magazine distribution, telegrams, and telephones are all managed by the post and telecommunications bureau."
In addition, there are domestic remittances, savings accounts, stamp sales, and so on.
In that era, the post and telecommunications bureau was a vital national communications hub, bearing immense responsibility.
It wasn't until later that these services were gradually refined and upgraded, and the postal and telecommunications services were separated, with each responsible for postal and telecommunications services respectively.
There was still a long way to go before we could reach that stage.
But thinking about that woman still in the research institute, this step will probably come very soon.
Xu Qingzhou thought to himself silently.
Wow! The post office is so busy!
Not only Yang's mother, but even the brigade leader looked on with curiosity.
They were all old farmers who toiled in the fields for a living. Even if they had some education, they would never have known or cared about these things before.
Listening to Xu Qingzhou talk about it now is like having a door to a new world opened up for me.
Xu Qingzhou didn't mind the trouble and explained these things to them little by little, things they had never encountered before.
Installing a telephone line isn't difficult; the troublesome part is running the telephone line.
Fortunately, a telephone had already been installed in Maolin Brigade, and a telephone line had been set up.
Now all we need to do is deliver a portion to the brigade leader's house, which isn't difficult at all.
The telephone line was installed quickly.
When the post office staff arrived, such a large commotion was noticed by the villagers, who gathered around to ask questions.
The brigade leader and Yang's mother kept Xu Qingzhou's instructions in mind, only saying that Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan had good grades and won scholarships, so they bought a telephone for their home.
Even so, these people were incredibly envious.
Fortunately, the brigade leader was quite respected in the brigade, and Yang's mother was kind to everyone, so not many people spoke ill of them.
Mrs. Yang was also very considerate. She offered to let them come to her house to make any calls they needed, and it would only cost one cent per call.
Originally, Mrs. Yang did not want to accept the money, but Xu Qingzhou stopped her from doing so.
Making phone calls incurs charges, and although they are not short of money, it is still a considerable expense for most poor families.
It's fine if you encounter people who come to take advantage of you for free, but the real problem is that you might end up making enemies instead of doing them a favor.
After thinking about it, Mrs. Yang agreed and promptly adopted his suggestion.
Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan left in the spring, and now they are back during the busy farming season.
He and Yang Qiang helped with a lot of work. With more than half a month left before the start of the semester, amidst the reluctant gazes of the brigade leader and Yang's mother, he picked up his luggage, left Maolin Brigade, and embarked on his journey back to Beijing.
Before returning, Xu Qingzhou had a talk with the brigade leader.
I briefly mentioned the household contract responsibility system to him.
The arrival of the household contract responsibility system meant that the rural collective economic model based on people's communes, production brigades, and production teams would disintegrate.
At that time, farmers will no longer earn work points through collective labor, and they will no longer have to hand over the grain they earn and wait for distribution.
This is a good thing for the farmers, but not entirely a good thing for the brigade leader.
The disintegration of the production brigade meant he might lose his job.
Xu Qingzhou hoped that he could prepare in advance and make arrangements for his future.
The captain was smoking his pipe, and through the swirling smoke, you could see his furrowed brows.
"I've heard about it too."
He held a position in the brigade and always had his own connections, so he could hear some rumors.
These are all just rumors; the official policy hasn't been released yet, so nobody knows if it's true or false.
But now that Xu Qingzhou, who has just returned from Kyoto, has said so, it's probably pretty much true.
The captain was worried.
I heard that the brigade leader can stay on as a village head or village party secretary and continue working in the brigade.
But he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to stay.
Xu Qingzhou remained silent for a few seconds.
"Have you thought about what to do next?"
The captain shook his head and let out a long sigh.
"Let's take it one step at a time! Anyway, I'm still young, so it's okay if I can't stay. I can still work!"
Xu Qingzhou remained silent.
He actually had his own ideas, but the policies hadn't been finalized yet, so it was too early to talk about them.
Back at their small courtyard in Kyoto, Yu Wanwan still hadn't returned.
Looking at the small courtyard, which had already gathered dust after only a little over a month of absence, Xu Qingzhou and Yang Qiang cleaned it thoroughly inside and out before starting their work.
Kyoto, as the capital and the country's political center, recently began a pilot program for private ownership.
Xu Qingzhou had waited too long for this day. As soon as the private sector began its trial run, he immediately took Yang Qiang to register the company.
He was already quite adept at doing business and had a wealth of experience.
He avoided many detours in starting his company, and with Yu Wanwan at the research institute, he received preferential treatment from the government in many places, allowing his company to develop smoothly.
Although it has only been open for a short time, it is already showing a thriving trend.
This is also the main reason why Xu Qingzhou dared to bring up land contracting with the brigade leader at this time.
After a busy period of time, including closing a few business deals, it was time for the start of the semester at Peking University.
Yang Qiang is now capable of handling things independently. When Xu Qingzhou returns to school, Yang Qiang takes charge of the company.
Some important documents were prepared by Yang Qiang and would be given to him to look at after he got home from school.
While Xu Qingzhou was helping Yang Qiang build their business, Yu Wanwan was also quite busy.
She has so much to do.
Even if these are things she has seen before, she only needs to guide these researchers to make them little by little, like squeezing toothpaste.
Six months later, the first mobile communication device was officially launched.
Xu Qingzhou looked at the mobile phone that the guards brought over and fell silent again.
This thing was as heavy as a brick, but no matter how you looked at it, it was definitely the same big-sized mobile phone he had seen online.
Listening to the guard's excited introduction, Xu Qingzhou fiddled with the "brick," his feelings extremely complicated.
Only half a year has passed, and she has already developed the mobile phone that would not be introduced to China for almost ten years.
The efficiency is quite high.
Xu Qingzhou took a breath, suppressing his trembling heart and trying to maintain his composure. He echoed the guards, occasionally expressing surprise and disbelief.
He doesn't really need to perform, because he's genuinely amazing.
After seeing off the guards who were still reluctant to leave, Xu Qingzhou sighed deeply once again.
I'm so worried!
However, Xu Qingzhou felt it was too fast, while Yu Wanwan felt it was still too slow.
If it weren't for the fact that directly presenting finished products and high-tech components would disrupt the world's development, she really wouldn't bother with all this step-by-step work.
However, as mentioned before, in order to prevent technology from emerging too quickly and disrupting the world's technological development, Yu Wanwan had no choice but to regretfully stop after creating the mobile phone and leave the research institute.
Xu Qingzhou hadn't changed much in the year since they last met, but Yu Wanwan had changed a lot.
She was already very beautiful, but after spending a year in the research institute, her skin became fair and smooth, and she became even more elegant.
If we were to talk about Yu Wanwan before, apart from her ethereal temperament and pretty face, she still carried some of Yang Jiahui's rustic charm.
Now, no one could associate Yu Wanwan with the word "country girl".
It's more accurate to say she's a pampered princess from a wealthy family!
The moment Xu Qingzhou saw Yu Wanwan, he almost didn't recognize her.
Yu Wanwan saw him first and walked towards him.
"What are you standing there for? Go home, I'm so sleepy!"
She didn't slack off at the research institute; she did many things herself and secretly kept an eye on the progress to prevent them from taking too many detours.
I couldn't eat or sleep well, and I was exhausted.
Xu Qingzhou remained silent for a few seconds.
That familiar feeling... Okay, it really is his mission objective. A cheap wife isn't bad.
He opened the car door for her and carefully helped her into the car.
As soon as they got in the car, Yu Wanwan fell asleep in the passenger seat. Xu Qingzhou had a lot of questions, but he could only keep them to himself and couldn't ask her anything.
The research institute is not far from their small courtyard; it's only a ten-minute drive away.
After parking the car, Xu Qingzhou turned around and quietly looked at Yu Wanwan.
For the past year, he has been wondering who she is, why she came into this world, and whether she knows his identity.
But now, looking at her peaceful sleeping face, and seeing the barely noticeable fatigue in her eyes...
Xu Qingzhou suddenly felt that there was nothing worth asking.
Even now, the system hasn't given him any hints. Even though she's not the original Yang Jiahui, she's still his mission target, and his mission continues.
So who exactly is she, and why did she come? And what does it matter?
Xu Qingzhou pursed his lips and gently pushed her away.
"Jiahui?"
Yu Wanwan merely lifted her eyelids to glance at him, her eyes filled with drowsiness, a dazed and innocent look, clean and clear.
"Hmm?"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou paused for a moment, a sudden feeling of guilt rising in his heart.
It was as if waking her up was some huge mistake.
Fortunately, Yu Wanwan blinked and quickly regained her senses.
She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
"We've arrived?"
Author's Note: This is a fictional world, and it differs from real history. The information is from online sources. Please feel free to point out any errors, but please do not take it too seriously or apply it to real history. Thank you!
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