Chapter 52
Lu Che was indeed promoted from a small group leader to a large group leader, responsible for leading several groups to do research.
He originally wanted to give Jiang Yao a surprise, and of course, his main purpose was to ask her for a "reward", but she had already seen through his plot and revealed his true colors during dinner that night.
Lu Che suddenly felt that inviting Zhang Dong and Zhu Xia to dinner tonight was a serious mistake, but now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to admit it.
It is always a happy thing for a young couple to get promoted together. Zhang Dong and Zhu Xia will also be promoted because they followed the right boss.
The meal lasted until almost nine o'clock in the evening. The four young people talked about work, life and ideals, while the old lady played with the brother and sister and Zhu Xia's daughter Tongtong.
Changchang and Xiaolu grew up together. They have always had companionship and never feel lonely, but when they see babies younger than themselves, they are still filled with curiosity and love.
They usually feel sleepy at eight o'clock, but tonight they are full of energy and treat Tongtong as a toy.
When Tongtong left, they still held her tightly, reluctant to let her go.
There was a lot of food tonight and a lot of dishes to wash, so of course Lu Che took on this heavy task and asked Jiang Yao to bathe the two little ones.
Now that the weather is cold, the place where children take a bath has been changed from the patio to the room.
Jiang Yao closed the doors and windows tightly, and the brother and sister sat in a large wooden tub filled with warm water and took a very refreshing bath. Lu Che was worried that the water would cool down quickly, so he prepared half a bucket of hot water and placed it next to him. As soon as the water temperature dropped, Jiang Yao would add some hot water to the wooden tub.
When Lu Che finished washing the dishes, Jiang Yao also washed the two children and changed them into warm cotton sleeping bags.
The two took turns looking after the child until they each took a bath and climbed into bed, but Changchang and Xiaolu still couldn't sleep.
Children are like this. If they don’t fall asleep before their biological clock has passed, they won’t be able to fall asleep.
Lu Che was thinking about asking his wife for a "reward" and pretended to be a puppy and worked like a cow, but they just wouldn't fall asleep until he said, "Don't you like sister Tongtong very much? How about mom and dad giving you a sister?"
As soon as the words fell, the brother and sister's eyes sparkled, and they nodded like chicks pecking at rice. Changchang couldn't speak, so he kept shouting "Ya-ya-ya", and the little deer kept repeating "Good, sister, good, sister" in a loop.
"If you want a little sister, then you have to go to bed now, otherwise mom and dad won't be able to give birth to a little sister." Lu Che guided them step by step.
Changchang and Xiaolu crawled and rolled back to the crib, fell asleep directly on their pillows, and closed their eyes.
Soon, they fell asleep.
Lu Che felt relieved and turned to look at Jiang Yao, "Wife..."
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Yao interrupted him. She frowned and said, "Why did you tell the kids that you wanted to give them a sister? Didn't we agree not to have any more children?"
"I'm just saying that. Having children depends on fate. They can't blame us if we can't." Boss Lu said cunningly.
"..." Jiang Yao rolled her eyes speechlessly, "Aren't you just lying to the kids?"
"Of course not." After dawdling for long enough tonight, Lu Che could no longer bear it and hugged Jiang Yao. "As for having a baby, let fate take its course, but you can enjoy the process of making a baby first."
“…”
By the time a thrilling workout was over, it was already late at night.
I don't know if it was because she was too happy about the promotion, or because she suddenly had some free time and didn't feel tired, but Jiang Yao didn't feel sleepy afterwards. Since she couldn't sleep, the couple decided to have a chat in bed.
"You will be the team leader next year. Will your work be very busy?" Jiang Yao asked.
"It should be." Lu Che said apologetically, "I won't have much time to devote to the family. I will be responsible for the routine heavy work, and you and grandma will have to trouble the rest. This is a rare opportunity. In order to make our future life better and better, this is the only way for now."
"It's okay. Changchang and Xiaolu are almost two years old. They are much easier to take care of than when they were babies. You can rest assured that I and my grandmother are at home." Jiang Yao was not worried about this, but about his special channel. She tentatively discussed with him, "If you are too busy, you don't have to go to the provincial capital to get the goods."
"Why? It's no problem for me to go there during my holidays." Lu Che said.
"I know, but I don't want you to work so hard. We are a dual-income family. After this promotion, your salary and allowances should be doubled, which means you can make more than 100 yuan a month. I don't think it's necessary to make yourself too tired. Your health is the capital of revolution, and there is a long way to go in the future."
Jiang Yao advised Lu Che in this way, but she was actually worried in her heart.
As the saying goes, "If you walk by the river, you will get your feet wet." Lu Che has been doing this business for three years. Although he has always been very careful, it is inevitable that more and more people will recognize him. It's okay if others don't say anything. If someone with ulterior motives exposes him one day, it will not only be a simple matter of getting away with it, but he will be imprisoned in a matter of minutes.
There was very little description of him during this period in the original book, so she didn't know whether his business was part of the original plot or was added after she traveled through time.
Life was really difficult in the past, so she had no choice but to take risks to seek wealth and fame. Now that they have stable jobs and incomes, she really doesn't want to take the risk.
Moreover, it was the beginning of 1975, and a major event would happen next year, which would bring about a great turning point for the whole society. It was darker before the dawn, and more dangerous before the victory. Since the beginning of this year, she had been feeling uneasy.
She wanted him to put the business aside while they were making great progress at work.
"Okay." Lu Che thought for a moment and said, "Don't mention whether I am willing to do it or not. I will be very busy and will probably have to work overtime during holidays. I may not have time even if I want to go. But if I just say I won't do it, it will be difficult to explain to the people I work with. I have to give them some time to find a new supplier, otherwise it will seem unfair."
"Okay." As long as he agreed, Jiang Yao would be relieved, but she did not forget to remind him, "You have to be quick. Take some gifts to visit them in the next two days when you have a holiday. Thank them for their care all along. Tell them about this matter by the way."
"No problem." Lu Che said, "Then you can make some snacks. Your cooking skills are amazing. It will be very impressive to give them as gifts."
"Humph... You just want to order me to do something and flatter me."
"Of course not. If you feel that you are at a disadvantage, how about I serve you again? You can't sleep anyway."
"Go away. I need to go to bed. I have to buy New Year's goods tomorrow. When you have a holiday, you will go back to Qingyuan to celebrate the New Year. It will be inconvenient to buy goods then."
The next day, when Jiang Yao got up, Lu Che had already gone to work.
The brother and sister had not gotten up yet because they went to bed late last night. It was the coldest time to be in bed, but Jiang Yao still woke them up because if they continued to sleep, they were afraid that the diaper would not hold up and the sleeping bag would get wet.
The two little guys were bleary-eyed and a little grouchy because they were woken up.
Jiang Yao didn't care about that. While changing their diapers, she said, "Mom will go to the supply and marketing cooperative and the department store to buy things for the New Year. I wanted to take you with me, but now it seems that you want to sleep more."
When Changchang and Xiaolu heard that they could go to the department store, they immediately became alert, their eyes widened, and Xiaolu, who had already changed his diaper, sat up and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes."
"As long as you don't sleep in, I'll take you there." Jiang Yao said, "Then change your clothes now."
"Change."
The place where they live now is very close to the department store, and Jiang Yao no longer rides a bicycle. After all, it is inconvenient for her to take care of two children alone. She simply puts them on the stroller and pushes them out.
The old lady was making window paper-cuts in the main room. Seeing this, Jiang Yao immediately said, "Grandma, come with us. It's not good to stay at home all the time. It's good to take a walk."
"Okay." The old lady didn't refuse. It was almost the Spring Festival, and the festive atmosphere was the strongest in the department store. She felt particularly happy walking on the street. She said, "I'll bring the cart that Lu Che made for me, so you can bring back the things you bought."
"good."
Two adults and two children went out on foot. They first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy food, meat, etc., and then went to the department store.
Now the house is fully stocked with things. Even if there is something they want, Lu Che will directly bring it back from the provincial capital. Jiang Yao didn't have much to buy at the department store, and the most important thing was to let the two children feel the festive atmosphere.
"Mom, this piece of cloth is good. It can be made into a top." When Jiang Yao walked to the fabric area, she heard a young woman say to an older woman.
"Yes, it's good." The woman's mother said, "Then buy this one and make a nice outfit for it. It will be perfect for a blind date during the Chinese New Year." Then she said to the salesperson, "Please help me wrap this piece of cloth."
"Okay." The salesperson responded and took the opportunity to ask, "We have another piece of good cloth here, which is perfect for making a pair of pants for your daughter."
When the woman's mother heard this, she said, "Bring it here and show it to me. I thought all the fabrics were gone at the end of the year, but I didn't expect there was still something good here."
"Yes." The salesperson said unhappily, "You don't know that many things in our department store are unsalable this year."
"That's impossible. When did we have so much stuff?" the woman's mother asked in surprise.
"It's not that there's no shortage." The salesman became more and more angry as he spoke, "It's that people are going to the alleys to buy it. The price is not much higher than here, but no tickets are required, so everyone is going there to buy it. It's all the fault of those traders. They make money with dirty tricks. Let's wait and see, they are ready to be locked up."
Jiang Yao's heart shuddered as she listened. She immediately lost the desire to continue shopping and turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma, there are too many people here and the air is not good. Let's go back."
"Okay, let's go."
Jiang Yao turned the cart around and pushed the brother and sister away. The salesperson's scolding continued behind them until they left the fabric area.
After returning home, Jiang Yao was still uneasy.
She couldn't sit still, so she left Changchang and Xiaolu to the care of the old lady, and went to the kitchen with the flour, sugar, eggs and other ingredients she had just bought to make fried snacks.
This year it is the twenty-sixth day of the lunar year, and Lu Che will get off work early these days. She has to prepare the snacks before he gets off work and then have him deliver them to the partners.
In the afternoon, when Lu Che got home from get off work, Jiang Yao had already divided the snacks into several bags and added a small bag of candies. She said to Lu Che, "Go and give them gifts now, and then tell them that you will no longer work here."
"Why so sudden?" Lu Che asked in confusion.
"I'll explain it to you slowly tonight. Anyway, it's always right if you listen to me." Jiang Yao pushed him out the door. Lu Che was a man who listened to his wife, so he could only do as she asked.
By the time Lu Che returned from delivering gifts to each family, it was already completely dark.
Dinner was ready and he could eat it as soon as it was on the table.
Changchang and Xiaolu were eating happily, but Jiang Yao was in a bad mood, and Lu Che clearly felt it.
He thought it was related to her rushing him to give a gift, so he hurriedly cleaned up the dishes after dinner, and when the child fell asleep, he asked, "What happened?"
Jiang Yao told him what she heard in the department store today, "I think the business in the alleys has seriously affected the business of the state-owned department stores. I think the higher-ups have heard about this a long time ago, and they will definitely not let it go."
"You don't have to worry so much. I've been working with those people longer than I have. They have people watching me. If there's any disturbance, they will definitely know. Otherwise, how could they have gotten through all these years in peace?" Lu Che thought she was making a fuss, but to appease her, he still assured her, "I'll work for them one or two more times and get the goods I owe them, then I'll quit."
"Can you completely quit from today?" Jiang Yao asked with a frown.
“Yaoyao, I have been working with them for so many years. If I just quit, it would be unfair. If my reputation for dealing with people like this gets out, it will be hard for others to trust me in the future.” Lu Che said with some embarrassment.
Jiang Yao certainly understood this, but she still couldn't help but worry, "Anyway, you should stay out of the spotlight for now. After the Spring Festival, everyone's demand will definitely decrease, so don't rush it."
"Okay, I get it." Lu Che consoled him, "Several partners just received the snacks and candies you made, and they were all very happy. Although they were a little disappointed to hear that I was quitting, you also said that it was not the peak period for demand, so no one was dissatisfied."
In business, profits and risks coexist. Every year, many new people join and many people leave. This is human nature. As long as everyone feels comfortable during the cooperation, no one will say anything.
"That's good."
On the morning of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, when Jiang Yao was still half asleep, Lu Che had already gotten up. She vaguely heard him say that he was going out for a while, and she said "hmm" and fell asleep again.
She slept until Changchang and Xiaolu woke her up. After she helped the two little guys change their clothes, she took them out. As soon as she walked into the main room, the old lady asked her, "Yaoyao, where is Lu Che going? It's almost the New Year, and it's a rare holiday. Where did he go when he was not at home?"
"I don't know either." Jiang Yao tried hard to recall, but still couldn't remember what Lu Che said to her in the morning. "Maybe he's out for a while, and he should be back by lunch time."
"That should be it." The old lady said, "He has been working very hard recently. I will make some soup now so that he can drink two more bowls later."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard at all. You should drink more later. You're either working or taking care of the kids all day, so you won't gain any weight."
The old lady went to stew soup, but when the soup was ready and lunch was served, Lu Che still hadn't come back.
Jiang Yao felt a little panicked for no reason. After taking a nap, she used the excuse of taking the brother and sister to visit Zhu Xia's house, but in fact she wanted to find Zhang Dong to see if he knew where Lu Che had gone.
"Why isn't your Zhang Dong at home?" Jiang Yao asked as soon as she entered the door and didn't see Zhang Dong.
"I went back to Lao Zhang's house and he told me that the roof was leaking and asked him to go back and fix it," said Zhu Xia.
Without Zhang Dong, where could Lu Che go? The more Jiang Yao thought about it, the more distressed she became. Fortunately, Zhu Xia kept chatting with her and the children were making noises nearby, so her attention was distracted a little.
Jiang Yao stayed at Zhu Xia's place until almost five o'clock before getting up and going home.
At this time, Zhang Dong came back from outside and said as soon as he entered the door: "Zhu Xia, something big happened. A relative of mine who was doing private business was arrested when he was meeting with a supplier. I heard that many people were arrested."
When Jiang Yao heard this, her legs went weak and she fell into the chair.
The author has something to say:
Summer vacation starts tomorrow, but this book is not finished yet, but it is coming to an end...
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