559: Representing the Second Division to attend the Agricultural Reclamation Conference
The two came to the teacher's house.
The commander's home was not in the family building, but in a spacious brick and tile house courtyard.
The commander is a genuine farmer. He is not used to living in a narrow and cramped building and prefers a spacious and down-to-earth courtyard.
The commander's wife also likes to grow vegetables, feed chickens and do farm work, so they built a small brick courtyard at the innermost part of the staff quarters. Even the courtyard wall is made of bricks, not the kind of simple and sloppy fence wall.
When Zhou Ziheng and Yu Xiaoye arrived at the commander's house, there were already some guests there.
"Director Zhou is here."
With these words, everyone in the room looked towards the door.
Zhou Ziheng began to greet people politely.
These were the backbone figures of the Second Division Corps. Some were from the divisional headquarters, and some had come from the farms below to pay New Year's greetings to Division Commander Xu.
Seeing so many people in the room, Yu Xiaoye finally understood why Zhou Ziheng came empty-handed.
It would not be nice if someone saw you carrying something. It would be better to come with nothing.
Zhou Ziheng kept greeting people, maintaining the necessary etiquette, while Yu Xiaoye stood quietly at a distance and did not come closer.
However, everyone kept looking at her.
Some people still didn't know about Zhou Ziheng and Yu Xiaoye. When they saw that Director Zhou, who always kept to himself, had brought a girl with him, they were very curious and asked ambiguously:
"Who is this girl? She's so pretty."
Some people who knew the inside story answered on Zhou Ziheng's behalf:
"You're really out of touch with the news. This is Director Zhou's family."
The man looked shocked:
"Really? When did Director Zhou get married? Why didn't he inform everyone? At least let everyone have a drink."
Zhou Ziheng explained with a smile:
"We haven't officially gotten married yet."
"Call him over and introduce him to us."
Another person came up and said:
"No need to introduce myself, I'm Xier from the Mishan Farm Propaganda Team."
"Wow, it turns out she's playing Xier!"
Many people present did not know about the romantic relationship between Zhou Ziheng and Yu Xiaoye, but almost all of them had heard of a girl named Xier from Mishan Farm. It was said that this girl danced the White-Haired Girl even better than in the movie.
Moreover, a photo of Xier's performance was published in the "Corps Soldiers' Newspaper" a few years ago, reporting the successful performance of the ballet, so the leaders of the entire Second Division Corps knew about the existence of Xier.
When I heard that Xier was Director Zhou's girlfriend, I became even more interested.
Yu Xiaoye stood at a distance from Zhou Ziheng and saw that they kept looking at him as if he were a giant monkey.
Fortunately, these people did not make fun of her like those soldiers did yesterday. They all looked at her with relatively polite eyes.
Zhou Ziheng waved towards her and greeted her warmly:
"Ono, come here."
Yu Xiaoye then walked up with a smile and stood beside Zhou Ziheng. Without waiting for Zhou Ziheng to speak, he took the initiative to greet him:
"Happy New Year, leaders."
"Happy New Year - Xier, when will you come to our farm to perform and give us farm workers a feast for the eyes?"
"I will definitely go if I have the chance." Yu Xiaoye responded politely.
"When will there be a chance?"
Another person joked:
"Then you should discuss it with Director Zhou and see if he agrees."
"Hahaha--"
A burst of laughter.
Amidst the laughter, a powerful voice asked:
"What are you talking about? You're so happy?"
"Master Xu, it's Director Zhou who's here to see you with his partner!"
"Really? Come here and let me see!" The voice sounded happy.
Zhou Ziheng led Yu Xiaoye inside with confidence.
When I came inside, I saw Commander Xu playing chess with a middle-aged man sitting on the earthen kang.
Commander Xu was about fifty years old, looking lean and capable. The person sitting opposite Commander Xu was Political Commissar Wang, whom he had met at the lunch yesterday.
Compared to yesterday's joking Wang Zhengwei, he looks much more serious today.
As expected, he is the most honest in front of his leader.
Commander Xu sat on the kang, looking at Zhou Ziheng and then at Yu Xiaoye, constantly looking back and forth between the two, as if he thought they were not a good match.
After looking at it for a while, he seemed to have come to a conclusion. He smiled and got off the kang, then took out a bag of glutinous rice cakes from the cupboard.
"Come on, girl, have some snacks."
Yu Xiaoye looked at Zhou Ziheng in surprise, like a child who was unsure whether to accept something given by someone, and looked up to ask the adult's opinion.
Zhou Ziheng nodded at her, and Yu Xiaoye dared to step forward and take the bag of fruit with both hands:
"Thank you, Commander Xu."
The others saw that when Yu Xiaoye came, Commander Xu brought her some delicious food, and then they jokingly said:
"Commander, we've been here for a long time, and we've been sitting here doing nothing. When the little girl comes, you give her delicious food. Isn't this obviously discrimination?"
Commander Xu deliberately frowned:
"What's wrong with treating me differently? What else do you want from a grown man? I'm embarrassed to give it to you, and you're embarrassed to eat it?"
Everyone laughed.
After laughing, some continued chatting, some continued joking, and the atmosphere seemed very harmonious.
Commander Xu returned to the kang and continued playing chess.
Zhou Ziheng stood aside and watched the fight.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Yu Xiaoye slipped aside, quietly opened the bag of glutinous rice fruit and started eating.
Everyone gathered at the commander's house for a while and then left. Commander Xu did not keep anyone for dinner, except Zhou Ziheng and Yu Xiaoye.
"Captain Zhou, come up and play a game with me."
Zhou Ziheng got on the kang and played chess with Commander Xu.
Although Commander Xu is obsessed with chess, he is actually a terrible chess player.
As a subordinate and a junior, Zhou Ziheng could not win too easily, so he could only deliberately deal with Commander Xu and fall behind a little bit to create a fierce situation of chasing and killing each other.
Commander Xu saw that he was always in the lead but could never win, and he kept scratching his head in frustration.
Finally, Zhou Ziheng finally tore off his disguise and launched an attack. In just a few moves, he killed all the enemies and the game was decided.
Commander Xu lost and finally felt relieved.
The two then began to drink tea and chat.
Commander Xu spit the tea leaves back into the cup and suddenly said:
"That girl is pretty good. She looks quite smart and should have a good personality too. Who of you is pursuing whom?"
"We like each other and are in love with each other. No one is chasing the other."
"Really? You have good taste. The girl is quite pretty."
"I like her not because she is beautiful."
Commander Xu chuckled and said in a businesslike tone:
"Director Zhou did a great job last year. Whether it was agricultural and animal husbandry production or military work, Mishan Farm was the best among the 19 farms in the Second Division.
Mishan Farm is the largest farm in the entire Second Division and one of the earliest farms to be cultivated. It has a large population and a wide range of tasks, as well as many historical problems.
Managing such a large farm is not easy. It was a major problem for the Second Division before. You've only been in charge for a little over three years, and you've already managed it so well. Honestly, your abilities are no worse than your father's."
Zhou Ziheng said calmly:
"Thank you for your affirmation, Master."
"Just before the New Year, I received a message from the Beijing Agricultural Reclamation Department that a national agricultural reclamation conference would be held in Beijing in May.
The three major reclamation areas developed under the leadership of Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation, namely the Beidahuang grain fields, the Northwest cotton fields, and the southern rubber plantations, will be the key participants in the conference.
Each division of the Corps will send a working group to participate in the agricultural reclamation conference.
I plan to send you to our Second Division.
It just so happens that Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation fought alongside your father in the war and has always had a good relationship with your family. If you go there, it will be easier for you to get along with him."
Zhou Ziheng was slightly surprised. He had thought it was just an ordinary visit, but he hadn't expected Commander Xu to assign him a task.
Represented the Second Division to attend the National Agricultural Reclamation Conference.
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