Chapter 47
Zhou Jiani was also invited to the neighborhood committee. Sitting in a chair in the office, she made the final decision: "Report the case!"
Director Ge and other comrades in the neighborhood committee were startled and looked at Zhou Jiani in shock.
In their view, reporting a crime is a very serious offense, such as murder, arson, robbery, hooliganism, theft, etc.
Although the current situation is disturbing, it has not reached that level yet. They are more accustomed to mediation.
"We don't even know who the other party is, how can we mediate?" Zhou Jiani said with a gentle smile. "Director Ge, leaders, don't be nervous. When I say reporting a case, I don't necessarily mean arresting them and forcing them into a desperate situation. My idea is that after reporting the case, the public security department will intervene, and we won't be so passive."
My idea is: If I don’t give that bastard a good whack on the head, he won’t learn his lesson!
Zhou Jiani analyzed calmly, "Look, he's already threatened you. If we just sit there and wait, and he actually reports you, we'll just be led by the nose."
"There's another, more important factor. We're about to start a partnership with the department store, and the goods are due to arrive the day after tomorrow morning. Yet, they're insisting on blocking us at this critical juncture. What's their motive? I suspect they're deliberately trying to undermine urban-rural unity. Do they really want to watch all the hard work our fellow villagers have put into this past few days go to waste? What a blow this is to such a remote village!"
"I have a letter of introduction, so it's perfectly legal for me to stay in the city. Are you harassing me just because I live at your house? What's wrong with me living at your house? Our brigade is so poor, what's wrong with me saving them money on accommodation?"
"So, I'm even more certain that they wouldn't keep harping on such a small matter. Their anxiety is clearly targeting the upcoming collaboration between our Forward Brigade and the First Department Store. This is a serious matter, so it's best to let the police intervene."
It was understandable that Zhou Jiani had such suspicions. The leaders of the neighborhood committee were also worried that this was the purpose of the whistleblower. If a small village really lost a great opportunity because of this, they would feel guilty.
Director Ge thought for a moment and looked at other comrades. Almost no one objected.
The lower-level government even called to inquire about the situation, which shows how seriously they take it. If something really goes wrong, they won't be able to explain themselves, and no one wants to take the responsibility.
Everyone agreed: "Okay, then call the police!"
The neighborhood committee was willing to cooperate, and Zhou Jiani sensibly said, "Please rest assured, leaders. If the investigation turns out not to be as serious as we thought, and it's just a prank, then I won't embarrass you and will fully cooperate with you."
The neighborhood committee likes to mediate and turn big things into small things.
But if the person who reported it is from the Qianjin Brigade, then the neighborhood committee here probably won’t bother to take care of it when the time comes to clean up.
There's no harm in speaking nicely.
Zhou Jiani's words really touched the hearts of several neighborhood committee cadres.
After a few words of mutual understanding, he relayed the call from Xihe Commune to her and expressed their stance on the matter to appease her: "Comrade Zhou, rest assured, it's perfectly reasonable for you to stay in the city. The local government, where you've been assigned to the countryside, has also called to clarify. We will absolutely not make rash decisions based on malicious intent. If everyone continues to sabotage us like this, the significance of the reporting rules we established will be distorted."
"No matter which unit asks, we will explain the situation truthfully and try our best to avoid any negative impact."
What this means is that if it really involves cooperation with No. 1 Department Store, they will help speak well of you.
Zhou Jiani enthusiastically shook hands with everyone and said, "Thank you, leaders, and thank you to all the comrades in the neighborhood committee. When I finish my work here and return to the team, I will ask our team leader to write a letter of thanks to our neighborhood committee on behalf of all our members."
She looked at Director Ge.
Director Ge's heart skipped a beat and he said quickly, "I've taken the information issue to heart. I'll mobilize other comrades in the neighborhood committee and work together."
A director named Mei nearby asked enthusiastically, "What information?"
Director Ge glanced at her and thought to himself, you don’t want to know, so let’s wait until the outsiders leave and then talk slowly.
The report was more important at the moment, so the neighborhood committee took Zhou Jiani to the nearby public security bureau to report the case and took a statement.
The Public Security Bureau also attaches great importance to this matter and said it will immediately launch an investigation and pay close attention to it.
Zhou Jiani shook hands with everyone eagerly and expressed her most sincere gratitude.
After the statement was taken, nothing happened. Zhou Jiani returned home and was met with concerned inquiries from her family. She said, "It's a big deal."
Yu Huifang was startled and lost her voice: "Has it gotten out of hand?"
Zhou Jiani laughed: "For the whistleblower, it's a big deal."
As for the collaboration with First Department Store, how could it possibly have any impact? They were looking at the baskets, not her as a person.
The next morning, Zhou Jiani took the remaining samples and went out, found a corner to put them away, and went to catch the bus.
She didn't rush to the Second Department Store, but took a bus to Fengchang District first.
Sun Ping is the child of a steel plant employee. She agreed to help carry the things. She will go to the steel plant today, wait for the goods to arrive tomorrow, and complete the handover. She will return to Xihe Commune at the latest the day after tomorrow.
After getting off the bus, she asked for directions along the way and spoke to the guard at the steel plant gate. The guard went in to look for someone. After a while, a woman in her forties came out and looked at Zhou Jiani in confusion.
"Hello, Auntie. Are you Sun Ping's mother?"
"I am, you are..."
Zhou Jiani took out the letter and said with a smile, "I'm the educated youth who went to the countryside with Sun Ping. My name is Zhou Jiani. This time I'm on a business trip to the provincial capital, and Comrade Sun Ping asked me to bring some things back for her. It's all written in the letter."
Fan Weihong said excitedly, "Oh, Comrade Jiani, thank you. Sun Ping mentioned you in her last letter, saying that you helped her a lot. It was also thanks to you that she stopped her, otherwise she would have almost made a mistake."
Zhou Jiani waved her hand and smiled, "Auntie, you don't have to be so polite. Go back and help her clean up after get off work at noon. I'll go around the neighborhood and come to pick it up from you around one o'clock."
Fan Weihong earnestly invited Zhou Jiani to her home for lunch, but Zhou Jiani declined. She was planning to visit the local supply and marketing cooperative, otherwise she would not have come so early.
How can I leave without spending some money?
Now Zhou Jiani has some experience in finding black markets. She can always find small private markets near large residential areas and hospitals.
When she goes in, she looks for ticket scalpers first. She asks for a lot and has a special advantage when bargaining. As long as the ticket scalpers are not too blackmailing, she will accept all the money she can.
After completing transactions with ticket scalpers, the rest is mainly eggs and grain.
This time, she was lucky enough to come across a man selling osmanthus honey. It was 1.2 yuan per pound, and the jar held about five pounds. Seeing that she wanted to buy something but didn't have any tools, the young man thought she was from the area and said, "Go back and get your tools. I'll stay here for a while. If anything happens, I'll run towards Dormitory 3. You can find me around there."
Zhou Jiani already had a lot of things in her hands. She smiled and said, "Then wait a moment."
She went out for a while and came back ten minutes later. Someone had sold a pound of honey, and there were still more than four pounds left. She said, "I want the jar too."
While doing the transaction, I also asked about the supply and marketing cooperatives nearby. There are two in this area, both quite far away from each other, but fortunately they can be reached by taking a tram.
After strolling around for the whole morning, my legs are almost tired from running.
At noon, she took the thermos she bought last time and found a state-owned restaurant. She ordered some dumplings and then, despite the clerk's disdainful look, smiled and asked him to help her fill the thermos with water.
While sitting there waiting for the dumplings, I opened my phone and went into the warehouse to take inventory of today's harvest.
In addition to the previous black market, he found a small alley near the district hospital. In total, he bought 35 kilograms of rice, 19 kilograms of flour, 7 kilograms of millet, 34 eggs, 4 kilograms of honey, and a number of various bills from the two places.
I couldn't help but buy another piece of meat and have another braised pork meal in the evening.
From the two supply and marketing cooperatives, they took away eight enamel basins, nine enamel pots, six kang-sweeping brooms, seven patterned bamboo hats painted with tung oil, ten small handkerchiefs, two tin thermoses, and several pieces of cloth of different colors.
I’ll grab some more when I go to the Second Department Store in the afternoon and find time to start a group purchase.
After dinner, I bought a few pancakes and slowly went to the steel plant.
She checked in at about the same time, and when she arrived, Sun Ping's mother and a man were already waiting for her, who was introduced as Sun Ping's father.
Fan Weihong felt a little embarrassed, thinking that the bag in her hand might be a little too heavy.
In addition to autumn and winter clothes, he also asked her to help bring a few tickets, ten steamed buns, two mooncakes, a large pickled cabbage lump and a short letter.
I boiled five eggs for Zhou Jiani and also took two mooncakes.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Auntie, Sun Ping and I are good friends. You don't have to be so polite. The weather is cool now, and boiled eggs won't go bad in a day or two. Mooncakes have a longer shelf life, so I'll bring some back for Sun Ping to eat."
"No, no, no, kid, this is for you, you must accept it." Fan Weihong said, "Let your uncle take you to the car. Thank you so much for making you make this trip."
Zhou Jiani didn't insist any more, and Sun Ping's father sent her to the bus. She got off halfway, found a place to pack up her things, took out the woven basket samples, and went to the Second Department Store.
First, go buy the red sweater that Wang Liping from the state-owned restaurant in town asked for.
She looked at the sweaters behind the counter, picked out a light green one, and bought a scarf.
Zhou Jiani is well off and really wants to buy some clothes for her parents, but in the eyes of her mother and others, the money she has is limited and she spends it too much. Moreover, she doesn't accept their sponsorship. Her parents will probably not be able to sleep at night.
"I still have to find a way to get a job that pays me a salary, so that the money I have can have some reputation."
Private teachers can get salaries after the New Year, but the food supply still belongs to the production team. The salary they earn has to be used to buy work points in exchange for food. It is a finite amount of money, and anyone can tell with a simple calculation that there can't be much surplus.
Thinking about this, Zhou Jiani also sighed, no wonder everyone wants to be a worker these days, not only can they get a salary, but they can also get food.
Zhou Jiani temporarily suppressed the idea of buying clothes for her family. This time, she did not make a fuss in the lobby. Instead, she directly found their purchasing office and borrowed the name of Section Chief Wang of the First Department Store to successfully strike up a conversation with the people in the purchasing office.
As long as she met the person and started a conversation, Zhou Jiani couldn't let the words fall on the ground. Combining the beautiful shape of the woven baskets and the cooperation case with the First Department Store, as well as the market feedback from individual customers of the Second Textile Factory, she proposed to send a dozen baskets for trial sales tomorrow morning, and then decide whether to cooperate with them after the trial.
After a series of combined punches, Director Xiao, who was responsible for receiving her, successfully nodded.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
