Seeing that Gu An'an was interested, Zhou Yue excitedly told her the story.
“His daughter-in-law just got married, and she seemed pretty good before. But when she heard that our village was going to set up a school and recruit teachers, she immediately set her sights on her.”
"At first, she kept pestering her husband to give gifts to the village chief so that her younger brother could be hired as a teacher at the school. But her brother had only attended primary school. Not only would the village chief not accept gifts, but even if he did, his education level wouldn't be high enough. So her husband refused."
"As a result, she stole money from home, ran to the commune to buy cigarettes and alcohol, and blocked the village chief at his house early in the morning. She asked the village chief to reserve a teaching position for her, which infuriated the village chief, and that's how the whole thing started."
Honestly, Zhou Yue has been here for several months, and it's been a long time since she's seen anything this lively.
"And then what happened?"
"No matter what her husband, her family, and the village chief said, that person just wouldn't listen. They told her that her brother didn't meet the recruitment requirements, but she just kept repeating the same few sentences, like, 'My brother only graduated from elementary school, but it's not that he's only at an elementary school level, it's that our family can't afford to support him.' She also said that her brother studies at home every day and is more knowledgeable than the junior and senior high school students in the village. Anyway, I think she meant that if the village doesn't hire her brother as a teacher, it will be a loss for the village."
Zhou Yue curled her lip; such stubborn people were truly a minority.
Gu An'an shook her head. She really had nothing to say to this kind of person. She would rather spend that time thinking about what to prepare as a New Year's gift for Xiao Yuheng.
Thinking of Xiao Yuheng made her a little sad. At first, she thought it would be good to have a boyfriend who was in the army, so that they wouldn't have to be together all the time and wouldn't get tired of each other easily.
But lately, she doesn't know if it's because she's been eating too much dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection) or what, she's been thinking about Xiao Yuheng more and more often.
Sigh~
Humans are indeed never satisfied.
After finishing her meal, Gu An'an took out a large piece of pork leg and prepared some spicy stir-fried shredded pork for Xiao Yuheng, which could be eaten as a dish or as a snack.
Absolutely stunning.
Cut the pork hind leg meat and millet peppers into strips, and then prepare the corresponding ingredients.
Heat the oil to medium-high heat, then add the millet peppers and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry. Add a little salt and set aside.
Next, stir-fry the marinated shredded meat until it turns golden brown. Then add the prepared side ingredients and other seasonings, and the aroma will fill the entire kitchen.
Zhou Yue was secretly learning from the side, and occasionally she would show a jealous expression. Deputy Commander Xiao was eating well, and An An was good-looking, capable and good at cooking, but he actually stole her away.
Sharp! Really sharp!
Seeing that Gu An'an had started cooking a second batch, she couldn't help but ask, "An'an, should we send all three batches to Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao?"
Gu An'an shook her head, "Send him two pots, and we'll eat the rest ourselves."
Although Zhou Yue had left a pot of it, she was still a little envious. As expected, An An still preferred Vice Regiment Commander Xiao more.
However, she kept these thoughts to herself and didn't say them out loud. Although they got along well, they still had to be mindful of boundaries. She couldn't have a sweet romance while preventing her best friend from doing the same.
After preparing the three pots of dry-fried shredded pork, Gu An'an put them in a basin to cool. She also took some of the holiday gifts sent from the food factory, textile factory, and ceramics factory, as well as two pieces of clothing that she had asked Qiaomei to make. It should be enough to send them over.
Just as Gu An'an was thinking about when to send it, someone called her name outside the courtyard. The voice sounded quite unfamiliar.
When I opened the door, the face was also unfamiliar.
It was Zhou Yue, who came out a step later, who reminded her, "This is Wang Laizi's daughter-in-law."
Gu An'an frowned slightly. Looking at what she was carrying, it wasn't hard to imagine the purpose of her visit today.
"You were looking for me?"
A complex mix of envy and jealousy flashed in Zhao Niandi's eyes. She had only been married for less than half a month, and with the cold weather, she didn't go out much. But even so, Gu An'an's name was already very well-known to her.
Everyone said that Gu Zhiqing was beautiful and capable, but she didn't think so. How capable could a girl be? And as for being beautiful, that was even less of a question. The girls in the village had been working in the fields since they were young, and their skin was tanned dark. They certainly didn't look as good as the educated youths in the city. She thought that Gu An'an was just like the female educated youths in their village, except that she was fairer and dressed better, which made her stand out.
She was incredibly jealous, especially when her husband praised her. But when she actually met her, she realized that no one was exaggerating; Gu Zhiqing was indeed stunningly beautiful. Her thoughts became complicated.
"Yes, I am Wang Ping's newlywed wife, my name is Zhao Niandi. Can I come in and talk? It's so cold outside."
Zhao Niandi stamped her feet, looking like she was freezing.
It was below minus twenty degrees Celsius outside, and Gu An'an didn't want to stand outside and talk, so she opened the courtyard gate to let people in.
“Gu Zhiqing, you live so well. Such a big house for two people, unlike our family, where the whole family is crammed into one room.”
That's not the kind of thing anyone wants to hear.
Gu An'an didn't reply, but asked directly, "Comrade Zhao, what brings you here?"
When Zhao Niandi saw that Gu An'an hadn't brought her any food or even poured her a glass of water, she secretly pursed her lips. Everyone said that Gu and Zhou, the educated youths, were so enthusiastic, but it seems that they were just putting on a show.
Despite her thoughts, she knew why she had come today. She picked up the cigarettes and alcohol and was about to put them on the table when Gu An'an stopped her. "Get to the point. Take your things back. We don't have people smoking or drinking here."
Zhao Niandi was really embarrassed now. He had originally planned to use the connections of the village chief and the village party secretary, and he was buying things that men liked.
The awkwardness was only momentary; it would have been better if she hadn't asked for anything in return.
“Gu Zhiqing, here’s the thing. I heard that you were the one who proposed the idea of running a school in our village. My younger brother is nineteen years old this year. I heard that our village is recruiting teachers, so I thought I would let him come to our village to be a teacher. That way, it will be easier for him to find a partner, and it will be easier for me to take care of him.”
Gu An'an interrupted Zhao Niandi's rambling, "The village is planning to find teachers. Substitute teachers for lower grades must have graduated from junior high school, and substitute teachers for higher grades must have graduated from high school. In addition, they need to take a unified exam and be selected based on merit. The village chief should have told you about this, right?"
Zhao Niandi was anxious. She hadn't expected that this educated youth, Gu, was just like the old village chief. "But, but my brother is really smart. It's just that my family is too poor and can't afford to send him to school, which is why his studies have been delayed. You can't deny him a chance just because of this."
Gu An'an shrugged. "These are the minimum requirements for hiring."
"But my brother is really outstanding..."
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