Even after walking out onto the street, Bai Rongjun was still stunned by the madness of the day; they had faked illness and fooled so many people.
"Hurry up, Brother Leopard has someone here to meet you. You go stay at her place for a few nights, I'll be back soon, and we'll go back together then."
Zhou Han carried a bundle, and Bai Rongjun was practically dragged along, her hands wrapped around his arms.
"What if the captain sends someone to check on us? We're not in the hospital."
"No, I'll send someone back to the village to tell them we'll be back in a couple of days and there's nothing to worry about."
"There's work to be done in the fields; the team leader won't send someone out of his way just for that."
Bai Rongjun tried to interrupt several times, but Zhou Han didn't give her a chance to speak. He led her through the alleys to a small courtyard.
The dilapidated wooden door was tightly closed. Zhou Han knocked on the door a few times, and a nimble old woman came out.
"We were introduced by Brother Leopard."
The old woman looked them over several times with her cloudy eyes, then opened the door and let them in.
“There’s a small house here. I can’t go out normally, so I bring him food every day.”
Looking at the cramped room, the completely unfamiliar surroundings, and the stern old woman, Bai Rongjun felt a little scared; she didn't dare to be here alone.
She grabbed Zhou Han's arm, trying to suggest that they forget about it, but Zhou Han simply put the bundle in the room.
Knowing that his partner was scared, Zhou Han quickly comforted her softly, "I'm sorry, please bear with it for my sake, okay?"
Bai Rongjun had no choice but to stay there, while Zhou Han left immediately.
----
"Captain, how is Zhou Han?"
As soon as they saw the captain return, several people surrounded Zhou Han to ask about his condition. His vomiting earlier that day had frightened everyone.
"It's alright, the doctor said it's fine to stay in the hospital for observation. You can come back once the fever subsides. It's getting hotter and hotter now, so you should also be careful when you're working."
I hope no one else comes along like Zhou Han; he can't handle being scared.
"Zhou Han is hospitalized. Who will take care of him?" Yang Fangmei frowned when she heard that Zhou Han's condition was so serious that he needed to be hospitalized.
These past few days have been hot, and Zhou Zhiqing must have been forcing himself to work in the fields to earn more work points, which is why his condition has gotten worse. And since there's no one around to take care of him, how can he possibly get better?
If all else fails, she will go and help; Zhou Zhiqing will be grateful to her once he recovers.
“Bai Zhiqing is over there,” Lin Haiping added casually.
The others laughed at Yang Fangmei, and she stomped her feet a few times before picking up her hoe and walking away from them. These people just knew how to laugh at her.
They weren't actually married, just verbally engaged. What's wrong with bravely pursuing their own happiness? Bai Zhiqing doesn't care about Zhou Zhiqing at all.
Lu Ronghui had just heard Liu Ruo and the others say that Zhou Han was sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. She had been wondering why Zhou Han hadn't responded even though Xin'an's letter had arrived.
Unexpectedly, his actions finally came. Sure enough, only the captain and Lin Haiping returned; the two of them stayed at the hospital.
I just don't know why they went to all that trouble to ask for leave? I hope it's related to bicycles.
Soon everyone stopped worrying about it. They had so many things to worry about every day. The captain had already said that Zhou Han was fine and would come back when he recovered.
As soon as Lu Ronghui finished work, she rode her bicycle back home. In the yard, Chen Yuehong was carrying a vegetable basket, talking to Song Qing while picking vegetables.
"Rong Hui is back?"
"Sister-in-law Yuehong, sister-in-law"
"Xiao Hui, could you ride your bike and pick up An An while you're at it?"
They were chatting enthusiastically when Song Qing, not wanting to move, asked Lu Ronghui to help her bring her daughter back.
Chen Yuehong saw Lu Ronghui pushing the cart away again, and then she noticed Song Qing. "Is Ronghui also planning to take the textile factory exam?"
"It would be great if I could pass the exam; who wouldn't want to be a worker?"
“That’s true.” Chen Yuehong originally wanted to be a worker, but after attending a few days of literacy classes, she calmed down. If she could pass the exam by sheer luck, that would be great, but if she couldn’t, she wouldn’t force it.
“You don’t know about our literacy class.” Chen Yuehong stopped, raised an eyebrow at Song Qing, and clicked her tongue twice. Song Qing immediately understood.
"What happened?"
The textile factory is still the biggest issue in the family compound. People go to the gate every day to check on the progress of the factory construction. The literacy classes inside are also in full swing, and many military wives are eager to attend.
"What else can we do? Some people learn quickly but complain that the progress is too slow, while others can't learn it even after studying it several times."
Those who were good at learning complained that others were dragging them down and wanted the teacher to speed up the pace. Those who were not good at learning naturally refused and started arguing every day in the literacy class.
"Zhou Lian, who tried to steal your wood before, went to class not long after she finished her postpartum confinement, leaving her child at home for her daughter to take care of."
Her daughter couldn't soothe the child, who cried incessantly, so she had to take him outside the literacy class and wait for his mother to come out and breastfeed him.
The people at the literacy class complained about the child's loud crying and argued with Zhou Lian, telling her to go home and nurse the child.
There were all sorts of arguments in there. Chen Yuehong knew Zhou Lian because of what had happened before, which is why she paid attention to her.
"Mommy, Mommy, I want to listen to the radio."
An'an, sitting on the back of the bicycle, shouted loudly as soon as she saw Song Qing. Lu Ronghui had just picked her up when she rushed over.
"Why listen to the radio now? There are programs only at night." Why does this child always think of things on a whim?
"No, I want to listen now. Xiaomei in my class has a radio at home too."
An'an still wanted to act coquettishly towards Song Qing, but Song Qing directly asked Lu Ronghui to take her inside to listen. Those model operas were not yet available; there were only some programs that read newspapers.
"I know you have a radio at home but I didn't call you," Chen Yuehong said, moving her stool closer to Song Qing as they entered.
“Someone sold radios before, and they were cheap and didn’t require tickets. Quite a few people in our residential compound bought them.”
"What?! This is amazing?! Where did all these radios come from?"
They discovered many bicycles of unknown origin on the street, and now they also have radios.
"Where do you think it comes from? There are plenty of people selling it on the black market. It's less than 10 yuan more expensive than in department stores, and you don't need a ration coupon. Who wouldn't buy it?"
In their residential compound, the men earned high wages, and in dual-income families in the city, both members of the family earned wages. When ordinary people saved up to buy a bicycle, the next thing they would do was buy a radio.
Normally, I can listen to the people inside tell stories, listen to the leaders speak, and even listen to some poems and novels. I look forward to listening to something after work to relieve my boredom.
"black market?"
"Keep your voice down, we'll sneak in and no one will know."
Song Qing was no stranger to the black market. He used to go there often to buy overpriced grain when he was in Xin'an. Sometimes they even had pork there. It's just that there were too many large items like electrical appliances here.
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