A week later, Jiang Yun came to Tangshan again.
There are obviously more people walking around in the grain management office than during the Chinese New Year.
Jiang Jun found the director's office with familiarity: "Hello, Director Geng! I'm here again!"
Geng Pinggui came forward enthusiastically and said, "Deputy Team Leader Jiang, honored guest, please take a seat!"
Because she had made a phone call before, Geng Pinggui was well prepared. As soon as she raised her hand, several people came over. They were all the same people she had seen when Luo Haixiang brought her here last time.
This group of people, greeting people and serving tea and water, suddenly occupied half of the room.
Jiang Jun was mentally prepared. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Geng Pinggui, he brought up the serious matter: "Director Geng, I'd like to meet the person who manages your personnel files."
Geng Pinggui said cheerfully, "Deputy Team Leader Jiang, what a coincidence! Our file manager, Xiao He, had an emergency back home and rushed back last night. I wanted him to leave his keys here, but he was in such a hurry that he took them with him. Do you think we should wait for him here, or should we call you when he gets back?"
Jiang Jun's smile froze. Last time he came, he'd said he wasn't here. It was understandable during Chinese New Year, but this time he was suddenly gone. Was that true? He then brought up Bu Senyuan's question: "Not here? Does he live far away?"
In this era, if you are from another place and can work in a public institution, regardless of whether you are married or not, there will usually be a single dormitory in the unit. If you can take a temporary leave to go back to your hometown, it means you are a local and will not live too far away.
Geng Pinggui smiled and said, "Not far, maybe more than 200 miles but less than 300 miles."
Jiang Jun breathed a sigh of relief. It was less than 150 kilometers, and could be reached in a day by bicycle. "So when will he be back?"
Geng Pinggui: "Oh, someone from his hometown came to call him back. Maybe someone in his family is seriously ill. If it was just a headache or fever, no one would come to call him."
Jiang Yun was silent. Everything was within Bu Senyuan's expectations. "Director Geng, is there a guesthouse nearby?"
Geng Pinggui spread his hands and said, "We're in a remote area. Not only do we not have any guesthouses here, but even if there were, no one would stay there. So, Deputy Team Leader Jiang, you want to stay here and wait? How about I have someone pack up and you stay at our house?"
Jiang Jun was stunned. Many units would have one or two dormitories for entertaining guests. The grain management office had such a large yard and also had dormitories for family members. How could there not be a reception desk?
She glanced at the others, who were either looking at the floor or pretending to drink water.
Jiang Yun's heart sank. "Director Geng, thank you for your help!"
Living in someone else's house is against the rules, but you have to stay there even if you don't want to. This trip must not be in vain. If you don't go back for more than three days, Bu Senyuan will bring people over.
Geng Pinggui smiled politely, "I'm glad Deputy Team Leader Jiang doesn't mind! Chief Tang, go and say hello to them. When you see Deputy Team Leader Jiang in the yard, be polite and tell those kids not to run around and bump into him.
Secretary Lai, go to my house and tell my mom to bring out the new, unused quilt. Xiao Gou, go to the cafeteria and tell them that the leader is here. Please cook two more dishes and make sure the meals for the next few days are prepared."
Jiang Jun's lips curled into a polite smile. "I'm so sorry to bother you, Director Geng. We'll pay for our meals these days! I need to borrow Director Geng's phone to report to our boss."
Geng Pinggui exclaimed, "What a coincidence! The phone didn't work this morning, so we couldn't answer the call. If you don't believe me, Deputy Team Leader Jiang can hang up and give it a try."
Jiang Jun was almost certain that Geng Pinggui didn't want to cooperate: "This is such a coincidence!"
The person I’m looking for is not there, the dormitory I’m supposed to live in is not there, and the phone call I’m supposed to make can’t be made.
This was done to make things difficult for her and to get her to leave.
Jiang Jun turned and exchanged glances with Lin Ruifang: "Sister Lin, then we'll just have to wait here for a few days!"
"No problem!" Lin Ruifang secretly rejoiced that they came together. In this remote place, if they had come with any other colleague, they would have ended up going home.
Seeing that Jiang Jun agreed to stay and actually stayed there, Geng Pinggui was caught off guard. He winked at the other people accompanying him and told them to make excuses and leave one by one. Then he smiled apologetically at Jiang Jun, "Deputy Team Leader Jiang, I have a mother and children at home, so it's a mess. I have to clean up a lot. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
Jiang Jun said calmly, "If I had known I'd be staying at Director Geng's house, I would have brought gifts for the elderly and children. I came empty-handed this time, but I'll definitely make it up next time I come!"
She felt strange. Why did Geng Pinggui's attitude change so much?
Is it really because Luo Haixiang brought her here?
Geng Pinggui waved his hand and smiled, "Don't be polite, don't be polite, we are all family. After you left that day, was Haixiang okay? I was worried about him the whole time."
Luo Haixiang, who never drinks, drank a few sips of rice wine with them for the first time, which really surprised them.
Jiang Jun didn't want to say more: "Not bad!"
Geng Pinggui sighed, as if he was truly regretful. "What a pity! Haixiang will have to take you to those places. We also have a hot spring behind our unit, but the conditions are too simple. We can't entertain guests like you. I'm afraid you'll laugh at us."
Jiang Jun remained calm: "You're welcome."
It was obvious that the hot spring pool in the unit must be in simple conditions. However, a hot spring pool meant hot water, which was better than anything else, at least better than she had imagined.
After chatting for a while, they went to the cafeteria for a working lunch. Unexpectedly, Geng Pinggui's house was still not cleaned up. "Deputy Team Leader Jiang, the room is now available. They just brought in a bed, but it's not set up yet. Please come to my office and sit for a while and have some tea."
Jiang Jun thought for a moment and said, "Director Geng, I'm going to take a walk outside with my colleagues."
Geng Pinggui immediately said, "Okay, let Section Chief Tang accompany you. It's out in the wilderness, and it's safer with someone leading the way."
Jiang Jun knew that Geng Pinggui was worried that they would investigate and question everyone. In fact, she really couldn't just ask anyone questions, as they couldn't understand any of the dialects. "We'll just walk around the door. There's no need to trouble Section Chief Tang."
Having said that, Tang Qingsong still followed Jiang Yun and Lin Ruifang out.
Lin Ruifang is a native of northern China. She found it very rare to see green in the middle of winter. "Xiao Jiang, the scenery here is really beautiful. Look there, and there, and over there..."
Jiang Jun turned her head and looked in the direction of Lin Ruifang's finger, and inadvertently saw two familiar figures. Although she had only met them once, they were already deeply engraved in her mind.
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