Chapter 155
"When did you come back?"
Zhou Wanli: "She came back yesterday and cried and apologized to our house. That girl is really cunning. Even when the two families were in such a mess, she still spoke well of her father, saying that she was confused for a moment and asked me not to affect my friendship with her father. She also asked me to go to her house to drink with her father, but your mother was so embarrassed that she refused!"
Zhou Jiani repeatedly told them, "Just listen to what she has to say, but don't sympathize with her or feel soft-hearted. I won't be socializing with her again, not in this lifetime, and our family shouldn't have anything to do with hers anymore."
Zhou Wanli: "I know. Your mother also said that you can't get involved with that family. She's afraid that if you do, you'll be fooled by them and lose your mind."
Zhou Jiani: “…”
The two houses are not far from each other, and you can't avoid them even if you want to.
When the father and son went upstairs, Liu Ailing was cooking in the corridor. She suddenly saw Zhou Wanli carrying several large baskets up. Just as she was about to say hello, she saw Zhou Jiani behind her, who was also carrying goods on her back and holding a basket of vegetables in her hands. She was a little surprised, but quickly smiled and greeted her: "Jiani is back? No wonder your aunt made so many delicious dishes in the afternoon." As if the previous unpleasantness had never happened.
Zhou Jiani glanced at her neighbor who was eating with the door open, smiled and called out to him, then responded to Liu Ailing indifferently: "Yes, Comrade Ailing!" Her tone was light, polite and distant, but she did not completely ignore her. The neighbors in the corridor who had long forgotten the conflict between the two could not say anything.
Liu Ailing bit her lip, watched Zhou Jiani go back to the house, listened to the noise coming from the house, lowered her head and continued to stir the food in the pot.
But now Liu Ailing no longer plans to try to win over Zhou Jiani. The gap between the two is so huge. In addition, she only learned from her family when she came back how embarrassing the last letter incident was and how big an impact it had on the factory and the dormitory area. She was really shocked when she heard it.
Besides, it is impossible for Zhou Jiani to reconcile with her now.
Her family was still angry with Zhou Jiani for not giving her any face and asked her to find a way to turn the tables. She had just come out of the farm and had just moved to a new place. How could she turn the tables?
Zhou Jiani is so dazzling in Xihe Commune. Not only is she dazzling there, but she also has a very good reputation here. The Zhou family is too humble. Any achievement of Zhou Jiani in the countryside is known to the factory and dormitory area by the Zhou family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Everyone who mentions Zhou Jiani is full of praise for her, and there is absolutely nothing to criticize about her.
Moreover, most of the neighbors now look at her strangely. Who can believe what she says?
But I am a little curious why Zhou Jiani came to the provincial capital again and brought so many baskets and wicker baskets with her. What is she going to do?
He quickly fried the vegetables in the pot and brought them back into the house.
On the other side, Zhou Wanli went downstairs again to pick up some goods.
Yu Huifang was overjoyed to see her daughter again and asked, "How many days can you stay at home this time?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I can stay for three to five days."
Jiang Xinfeng said with a smile, "Three to five days is fine." Then she asked, "Aren't you a commune cadre now? Do you have to help sell the goods too?"
Zhou Jiani scooped water to wash her hands, rubbing them while secretly boasting about herself, "Of course I am. I used to be in charge of only one brigade, but now I'm in charge of the entire commune's weaving workshop. To keep up with the orders, I have to make the occasional trip, but not as often as before."
Jiang Xinfeng stood by, holding a towel for her granddaughter. She hadn't seen her for a long time, and she couldn't get enough of her. Her face was full of pride, and she couldn't stop smiling: "My granddaughter is really capable."
Zhou Jiani then smiled a little embarrassedly: "Grandma, I'm just a very small cadre in the commune."
Jiang Xinfeng disagreed: "How many people, like you, have been promoted to commune cadres in less than a year?"
Zhou Jiani giggled, only her family members thought everything about her was good.
The family sat down to eat. Yu Huifang specially stewed the spare ribs. She ignored the two little kids beside her and kept putting them into her daughter's bowl, saying, "Eat more! You've lost weight!"
Not only did he become thinner, but he also became darker.
After dinner, Zhou Jiani took the bath ticket and went to take a bath. After coming back, she drank the soda her father bought and told her family the details of her experience as a cadre. She did not talk about the current problems she encountered. Anyway, she only reported good news and not bad news.
Her family loved to hear it. They knew she was doing well in the countryside and were happy too, so she just let them listen for fun.
As he was talking, he also mentioned the meeting of the two parents and the engagement: "The exact date is still uncertain. I'm busy and he's busy too. We have to wait until we're both almost done with our work before setting a date."
The family was the most concerned about this matter and expressed understanding. Yu Huifang said, "Okay, then after you two have discussed it, go to the factory and call..."
Meanwhile, Lü Cuilan was also advising Liu Ailing on finding a partner: "Don't look for educated youth. They're helpless in the countryside, and you won't get much in the way of gifts, let alone connections. If you're looking for a local farmer, be sure to choose carefully. Look for one with money, or one whose family has a cadre..."
Liu Ailing didn't explain too much. She didn't plan to get married in the countryside. It would be difficult to return to the city after getting married.
Lu Cuilan continued to grumble, "Look at that Zhou family member. They found an educated youth and burned Yu Huifang so badly that she didn't even know her last name. Just wait and see. When that man comes back, the Zhou family will cry."
Liu Ailing didn't know that Zhou Jiani was dating yet, so she asked in surprise, "Is Zhou Jiani dating someone?"
Lu Cuilan was also surprised: "You don't know?"
Liu Ailing bit her lip.
How could she know? A few days after she returned to Qianjin Brigade from the farm, she went to Niujia Village. During the few days she stayed in Qianjin Brigade, everyone avoided her like the plague, wishing to tear her apart. Later, she didn't dare go out while waiting for her arrangements.
After that, I packed up and went to Niujia Village. Although there was news about Zhou Jiani there, apart from praising her, I didn't hear any other news.
Lu Cuilan said with disdain, "Why are you so clueless? What can you do?" She then talked about how good the things Zhou Jiani's boyfriend had brought her. "I guess his family is quite wealthy. But the better a family like that is, the less secure it is. If his family is capable, he certainly wouldn't stay in the countryside forever. So, can he take Zhou Jiani with him when he returns to the city?"
Liu Ailing: "Zhou Jiani's boyfriend is here? What does he look like?"
Liu Aifang said from the side: "He's very good-looking. I've never seen such a good-looking man. He's also very generous. He brought so many things for Zhou Jiani. I heard he's from the capital..."
Liu Ailing immediately knew who it was. She was shocked and felt an indescribable feeling. Qiu Zeming actually found Zhou Jiani.
At that time, she also greeted Qiu Zeming, but the man ignored her. Unexpectedly, he ended up dating Zhou Jiani. It turns out that men only care about looks.
Lu Cuilan warned her again: "Don't be like Zhou Jiani, that girl. She only looks for someone with a pretty face. You still have to consider their family background. If they have the ability..."
Liu Ailing pursed her lips and said nothing.
Zhou Jiani didn't take Liu Ailing seriously at all. She was thinking about how to get the goods out.
It’s easy to buy a scooter. Just hang two on the handlebars and put a few more on the back seat. As long as you can get out of the community, you’ll be fine.
The basket was too big, so she could only hold one at most. The father and son walked back from the transport team. Her father pushed the cart, put the big basket on the seat, and she held it from the side.
Tomorrow we can only take them out one by one.
The next day, she was hanging the awning on the car downstairs when Liu Ailing came over to say hello again. She acted as if nothing had happened and said with a warm smile, "Jia Ni, where are you going?"
She replied to her politely yesterday because she was on the second floor and many of the neighbors had their doors open. Although she could have ignored it directly, if Liu Ailing insisted on being friendly in public, who knew how the situation would change over time?
She didn't want to give Liu Ailing any chance to take advantage of her.
But downstairs now, Zhou Jiani didn't want to give her face. She looked around and saw no one was around. She turned around and said with a smile, "What's it to you?"
Liu Ailing's face froze as she watched Zhou Jiani ride out on her bike.
She lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then went out and took a bus to the First Department Store. She thought Zhou Jiani was going to sell baskets somewhere in the department store again, so she wanted to stop her and see how Zhou Jiani moved.
Who knew that Zhou Jiani rode out for a while, turned a corner and disappeared, put the bamboo basket in her hand into the warehouse, tied a silk scarf around her chin, pulled it up to her nose, and rode her bike to the nearby black market.
After staying in that alley for about half an hour, she came out and went to the next black market spot, which was a bit far away. But she had nothing else to do, so she just ran there to collect some receipts so that she could buy goods.
At noon, she found a nearby state-owned restaurant to eat, and packed two large boxes of braised pork and more than twenty meat buns. In the afternoon, she continued shopping, looking for black market locations, buying things, collecting receipts, and then finding the nearest supply and marketing cooperative to purchase the goods she needed.
Liuliu was busy until the afternoon, and she rode home looking exhausted without pretending. When she parked her bike downstairs at the dormitory, a few neighbors happened to be there and said to her with a smile: "Nini, you're out working right after you get home? What have you been doing? Aren't you a commune cadre now? Why are you still running errands?"
Zhou Jiani glanced at the half-person-high balcony on the second floor. Liu Ailing was just leaning down quickly. She smiled and said loudly, "You're a cadre now, but shouldn't you be working for the people? This time, I'm mainly here to promote the bamboo baskets and large baskets we produce. I've been out and about all day, showing people samples and negotiating purchases. I'm almost talking myself to death."
A grandmother asked, "Is everything settled?"
Zhou Jiani nodded proudly. "It's settled. They've already kept all the baskets I brought out this morning. They've placed orders for 20 or 30 pieces with me. Tomorrow I'll go ask around in even more distant places, even in surrounding districts and counties. I'll have to go all the way."
Zhou Jiani shamelessly accepted the compliments and went upstairs.
This time Liu Ailing understood and didn't take the initiative to talk to her, but Zhou Jiani didn't want to let her go. "Don't you like to pretend?" She had to pretend today. She raised her voice from a distance, "Ailing, when are you going back? You've just been transferred to the Niu Village Brigade. How many days of leave have they approved for you?"
Liu Ailing's expression changed suddenly.
The neighbors here knew that she took over the punishment, but no one in the dormitory knew that she had changed teams.
Liu Ailing said hurriedly: "I've taken a week's leave, there's no rush. The work at Niu Village Brigade is not busy either, so there's no rush to go back..."
After saying that, he turned around and went into the house.
Zhou Jiani smiled. She was good at talking, but she spoke so ambiguously that others probably thought she was temporarily transferred to the Niu Village Brigade to help.
Let's see if she continues to come in front of me and cause trouble.
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