Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Recognition is imminent
January 1, 1979.
The long-planned Qingmei Port has started operation.
As the only dual-port passenger port in Xinghai City, many reporters came to the port that day.
Qingmei hid at the ticket office, flipping over the roasted sweet potatoes on the stove, and smiled at Tong Hua, the manager of Qingmei Port, who was being interviewed.
He was a retired worker in the propaganda department of the army and is very good at speaking.
The cotton-padded jacket Qingmei was wearing was of a novel style. The female reporter passed by the ticket window and took several glances inside.
Not only is her cotton-padded jacket beautiful and fashionable, but what Zhao Wuhe and her grandmother are wearing is also very trendy.
These were all mailed by Zhao Xiaoxing from Shanghai. No matter how busy she was with her studies, she never forgot to make clothes for her family. She had made their winter clothes every year, stitch by stitch.
"Xing'er's patterns are getting better and better. Her schooling has paid off! She has made great progress in her patterns."
Zhao Wuhe held Gu Zhaozhao and sat by the fire behind the ticket window. Qingmei took the banknotes, letter of introduction and work permit handed to her, checked them one by one, tore off the ticket, and pushed it towards the window with the change.
Grandma said in disbelief, "You can make money just by opening the window like this?"
Qingmei smiled and said, "For passenger ships, we only charge a handling fee, and we have to split the ticket money with the shipping company."
Zhao Wuhe said admiringly, "But it's not a small amount in a day. If a few more big ships came, I'd have money for my grandson's education and marriage."
Qingmei said, "We have to discuss all this with the airline. We'll do whatever they arrange."
In fact, as the Spring Festival travel rush unfolds, the port passenger transport business will only get better and better.
As he was speaking, a train horn was heard from the cargo port.
Faintly, one could hear the crowd exclaiming.
A large cargo ship slowly entered the port, and workers on the dock lined up to obey orders and wait to move the goods.
Qingmei thought that at most there would be small and medium-sized transport ships coming here. Later, the shipping company sent someone to inspect and measure the ocean depth and the number of reefs, and believed that Qingmei Port could fully accept large cargo ships.
This is undoubtedly good news. The cost of docking a large cargo ship is equivalent to that of twenty medium-sized cargo ships and fifty small cargo ships.
As long as the warehousing and backup transportation can keep up, Qingmei prefers to accept large cargo ships.
In a word, more money and less work!
"Comrade Qingmei, Professor Ou and Professor Shen from Beiyan University are here." The female comrade from logistics first led them to the north office to sit down, and then ran over to call Qingmei after she was done.
Qingmei stood up after hearing this, peeled a peanut, ate it, patted her pants, and said, "Sister Ale, you'll be selling tickets here. Remember to check the letter of introduction. If you have any questions, you must call the office to verify the information."
Ah Le is a retired female soldier with a happy family. Last month, she was working as a salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative. When she heard they were short of ticket sellers, she immediately quit her enviable job at the cooperative and came to help.
Qingmei was grateful to her and liked her. Who wouldn't want a righteous and straightforward older sister? Hehe. Within a few days, their relationship had become incredibly close.
"Don't worry, I know I can't save on phone bills." Sister Ale had short hair similar to that of the male soldiers, making her stand out from the crowd.
Qingmei walked to the back and looked at Gu Zhaozhao, who was holding a sweet potato and biting it hard, and went to the office with a smile.
After she left, Grandma whispered, "Professor Shen, she keeps coming to see Xiaomei. Does she think Xiaomei is smart and wants to make her her student so she can use her to her advantage?"
Zhao Wuhe was also puzzled. She pondered and said, "Who wouldn't like our daughter? She has good taste."
Grandma nodded deeply and said, "That makes sense."
She wiped Gu Zhaozhao's mouth and said, "This child eats just like his mother. When he was little, his mother would hold him and eat by herself. When he was a little over one year old, he could pick up food with chopsticks. When he was three years old, he could even pick up peanuts with chopsticks."
Zhao Wuhe laughed: "Don't you always say that she looks like her mother? She will be a successful person like her mother in the future."
Grandma said without hesitation: "The child's father is also a promising man, and the child will follow him."
Zhao Wuhe laughed again.
This old lady really knows how to chat.
Qingmei came to the reception room, put two pieces of honeycomb coal into the stove, rubbed her hands, took off her scarf, and said, "Hello, Teacher Ou, have you prepared the list of students going home for the Spring Festival?"
Teacher Ou looked at the bright harbor. To this day, she couldn't believe it belonged to Qingmei. If it weren't called Qingmei Harbor, a constant reminder of its reality, she would have thought she was dreaming.
"Thank you for giving out student tickets for our school." Teacher Ou pulled his thoughts back and said politely, "We've counted over 700 people, and the specific information is in the notebook."
Qingmei said, "You're welcome. I'm just giving back to the school. I've calculated the boat ticket prices. If we take the sea route across Bohai Bay directly to Taiyan City, we can save the students 1.2 yuan in bus fares. Next year, I plan to launch exclusive student tickets. They won't be limited to Beiyan students, nor will they be restricted to holidays. I hope this will reduce the students' study and living costs."
Teacher Ou turned to Professor Shen with gratitude and said, "Comrade Qingmei is indeed a man of great righteousness."
This wasn't just about taking care of her classmates; it was pure profit-making. Even if she didn't offer discounts, students who wanted to go by sea would still have to go this way, and she could make more money.
Professor Shen didn't speak for a long time, just looking at Qingmei silently.
Qingmei tilted her head and suddenly realized.
She stood up and poured tea for Professor Shen and the others, brought it over and said, "Look, I'm so familiar with Professor Shen that I even saved a cup of tea."
Fan Shuling then smiled and said, "It's better to be frugal in life. Hold your hands tight to the outside world, and don't be too hard on yourself."
Qingmei was stunned for a moment, then said, "It's rare for Professor Shen to give me guidance. I'll keep it in mind."
Teacher Ou exchanged a few more pleasantries with Qingmei, and Qingmei took the student list to the ticket office to get tickets for them.
As soon as she stood up, Fan Shuling also stood up.
Qingmei said, "Professor Shen, where are you going?"
Fan Shuling stood up instinctively, unable to think of a word: "I..."
Teacher Ou helped, saying, "She must want to see your big fat boy. She's always praising your son's good looks in the office. Go ask her for some favors. Don't you see how rich she is?"
Qingmei knew that Gu Zhaozhao, who was fat and silly, was a woman killer, but she didn't expect that even Professor Shen would fall for his tricks.
She smiled and said, "Professor Shen came prepared today? Then come with me to the ticket office? He's eating sweet potatoes over there."
Professor Shen then said, "Okay, I didn't bring anything else for him. I just saw someone selling five-layer gauze bibs on the street. They had little ducks printed on them, so I thought they would be suitable, so I bought him two."
Professor Shen frequently sent gifts to Gu Zhaozhao, and Qingmei knew this. Professor Shen was very measured, giving inconspicuous gifts that were inexpensive but immediately useful. If you think about it, you can see how much he put into it.
In addition, she also got Qingmei foreign vitamin tablets, calcium tablets, etc., and her care for her made Zhao Wuhe once think that Professor Shen wanted to steal his daughter-in-law.
Qingmei took Professor Shen to see Gu Zhaozhao and told Teacher Ou that Qingmei would deliver the boat ticket to him before class tomorrow. Teacher Ou was not in a hurry to go back and followed him to take a look.
Grandma felt that the wind was too strong at the ticket window, so she went back to the small courtyard to get a hat for Gu Zhaozhao.
When Fan Shuling came over, she didn't see her grandmother, but Zhao Wuhe was holding Gu Zhaozhao and greeting her.
Every time she saw Gu Zhaozhao, she became more and more certain that this was her grandson. However, when she saw that Qingmei was fine, she felt guilty and didn't know how to tell her.
She sometimes thought that Qingmei didn't need a mother who had traveled far away. As she gradually learned about Qingmei's experience from all sides, Fan Shuling felt that she was not qualified to be Qingmei's mother.
You didn't show up when your child was feeling the most wronged and suffering, but now that life is better, is that right?
Teacher Ou glanced at the likable Gu Zhaozhao, sat for a while, said hello to Qingmei, and went back first.
On the way back, Ms. Ou was carrying her purse when she suddenly remembered that Professor Shen’s monthly ticket was still in her bag.
She turned around and took out her monthly pass card to give to Professor Shen, but unexpectedly a one-inch black and white photo fell out of the card holder.
Teacher Ou knew a little about Professor Shen's daughter. She picked up the photo and was about to put it back into her wallet when she saw that the child in the photo looked exactly like Gu Zhaozhao. They both had beautiful double eyelids and dimples when they smiled.
The only difference should be that the child in the photo has a ponytail tied with a red hairband, while Gu Zhaozhao's hair is cut very short close to the scalp, and his head is round like a small egg.
In contrast to the calm and self-possessed Professor Shen, who was polite and distant to other people, he treated Qingmei like a spring breeze and came to visit her from time to time.
She had thought Professor Shen was hero-worshipping Qingmei, but now she realized it was completely different.
No wonder he has to teach Qingmei how to live.
Oh my god!
Teacher Ou suddenly discovered a big secret.
She stopped walking back and stood there for half a minute facing the north wind.
Suddenly she slapped her thigh and laughed!
Whether Professor Shen’s small class can be opened next semester depends on Qingmei!
Every time Fan Shuling saw Qingmei, she would avoid her grandmother. This time, when she heard that her grandmother had gone to get her hat and would be back soon, she immediately stood up and prepared to say goodbye to Qingmei.
However, when he stood up and searched his pocket, the monthly pass was not there.
Qingmei thought she had lost it and helped her search everywhere. Fan Shuling later remembered that she had found her purse had been slashed by a thief when she came here, so she stopped by a sewing shop to help mend the bag. Teacher Ou volunteered to help her put the monthly pass back in.
She was thinking about the photo clipped in the monthly ticket card, which was the only photo of Qingmei when she was a child.
It’s okay if Teacher Ou didn’t see it, but if she did, she wouldn’t know how to explain it.
If Teacher Ou accidentally lost Qingmei's childhood photos, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
As he was speaking, an old voice came from outside: "Oh, Teacher Ou, it's snowing heavily outside and you're still standing there like an idiot. I guess the buses have stopped running. Come in quickly and ask my granddaughter what to do."
As she spoke, grandma pushed the door open and walked in with Teacher Ou.
A snowstorm suddenly came, and the goose-feather snowflakes fell between Grandma and Fan Shuling.
Grandma's hand was still on the doorknob. She rubbed her eyes blankly and said, "When you get old, you can actually see things you shouldn't see."
Fan Shuling: “…”
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