Chapter 069: Dealing with Wanhu
The four people who left were soon busy again, with no time to think about anything else. After all, it was autumn, the time when everyone in Northeast China was busy stocking up on food.
The Jiang and Zhou families each had 500 kilograms of cabbage to pickle into sauerkraut and kimchi, a considerable undertaking. The Jiang family planned to prepare 100 kilograms each of sauerkraut and kimchi. The sauerkraut was simple: wash, blanch, layer with salt, and stack in a large vat. The kimchi, on the other hand, was a more technical task, requiring blanching and then preparing the ingredients. Chen Jinhua carried the basin downstairs to join Old Lady Cao in making the marinade, which would yield about 10 kilograms.
Jiang Mancheng and Jiang Nan stayed at home and sprinkled salt on the cabbage in advance to kill the water. After about half an hour, Chen Jinhua came up with the marinade basin, and the three of them began to spread the marinade layer by layer.
It took the three members of the Jiang family more than half an hour to prepare a hundred kilograms of cabbage.
Every year when making kimchi, Jiang Nan can't help but eat half of it in advance. Although it hasn't been pickled yet, the marinade is already delicious enough, like a cold dish, and it is especially fragrant when eaten with porridge.
The Jiang family's west-facing room originally had a balcony, but it was sealed off and used as a warehouse right after they moved in. Every year, they pickled sauerkraut and other small vegetables, so there was plenty of space.
As for the original function of drying clothes on the balcony, it has been moved to the open space downstairs. Nowadays, housing is tight and few people hang clothes at home. So the Jiang family's practice is not unusual, it can only be regarded as a basic operation.
After National Day, life returned to normal. Those who worked went to work, and those who patrolled continued their patrols. Thinking of Jiang Mancheng's advice this morning, "We'll just make the paper figures tonight," Jiang Nan winked at Zhou Zhixing.
Today's patrol route must pass through the Revolutionary Committee. Otherwise, the anonymous letter won't be delivered to Wan Hu's office.
Sending it early wouldn't work. If this guy went to the secret room during the day, they all had to go to work, and asking for leave would be too deliberate and would easily be noticed. They could only send it near the end of the day. That way, the four of them could find an excuse to leave, and after dark, pretending to be a ghost would have the best effect of scaring people.
Zhou Zhixing, of course, knew what Jiang Nan meant. As soon as he got to work, he announced a change in patrol routes: "Let's change the route this time, to prevent anyone from figuring out our patterns and causing trouble while we're gone. There are only two or three days left, so everyone, hold on, cheer up, and make sure we're on our last shift."
Jiang Nan raised the corner of her mouth, and finally, before getting off work, she used the opportunity of going to the bathroom to quietly put the letter on Wan Hu's desk.
So, after returning from the smashing and looting, Wan Hu, who was full of excitement, just sat down in his office chair when he saw the anonymous letter on the table.
He opened it with suspicion. The letter was made up of words cut out from newspapers, pieced together one by one. He chuckled, thinking he was showing off his skills. But when he saw the address of the secret room, he was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.
If he felt angry and ashamed when he was surrounded by the families of oil field workers and was not allowed to intervene in the recruitment matters that day, then he felt like the sky was falling when he was faced with the possibility that his entire fortune might be stolen.
"Brother Hu~" The lover, wearing a red jacket, pushed the door open and came in, sitting directly on Wan Hu's lap, hugging his neck and saying coquettishly, "Next time, take me with you. I also want to see your style when you raid the house..."
Wan Hu shuddered, slammed the letter shut, and violently shook off the woman's arm, shoving her to the ground. He roared, "Get out! Who let you in? Tell me, what did you just see?"
Hong Jiaoao never expected Wan Hu to be so fierce. Her lips trembled as she whispered, "No, I didn't see anything. Brother Hu, I'm Cui Fen, you... don't be angry."
Wan Hu stared fiercely into the woman's eyes. Seeing her lower her head and begin to tremble, he said grimly, "Remember your words. You didn't see anything! Remember?"
Seeing the woman nod unconsciously, he said sinisterly, "You know, if you say something you shouldn't, the consequences won't be something you can afford. Get out!"
The woman's face turned pale as she used her hands and feet to get up, as if she was unwilling to be abandoned like this. She turned around, but saw Wanhu's ferocious eyes like a wolf or a tiger. The woman did not dare to stay any longer and staggered away quickly.
Wan Hu wasn't as calm as he appeared. After the others left, he gasped for breath, his mind racing to recall who might have betrayed him. His thoughts were a mess, filled with the four blood-red words: "Secret Room Exposed."
No, he stood up and went to the secret room. His things, the gold, silver and treasures he had collected for nearly two years, could not be lost, absolutely not lost.
Wan Hu's eyes were red as he got on his bicycle and rode as hard as he could, quickly arriving at a mountain in the suburbs.
This was the very mountain where the Black Market leaned against. The veterans of the oil fields all knew that the several houses in the Black Market were built by a group of veteran hunters. But few knew that there was actually a house like this one up there, used by hunters as a resting place. It wasn't big, just one room, with only a large kang (a bed) large enough for seven or eight people, and nothing else.
Wan Hu's secret room is this room.
He had come up with the idea by accident, listening to the old folks' stories. Wan Hu was a clever man, and he knew there was a house at the foot of the mountain. So, how could there not be a place to rest up there while hunting? He was lucky, finding it after just two days of searching. The house had fallen into disrepair and was in a state of disrepair, revealing a hole in the kang. And, with a sudden inspiration, he hid his treasure in that hole.
Without even locking the bike, Wan Hu jumped off, threw it aside, and stumbled up the hill. His mind and eyes were filled with the treasures piled high in his kang, so he didn't even care about a bike.
Jiang Nan and the other three following behind: "I'm itching to buy a bicycle, what should I do? This way, I can sell Mr. Chen's bicycle ticket." "Oh, oh, oh, oh." It could be sold for forty or fifty on the black market.
Although it had been several days since he got his bicycle ticket, bicycles were often out of stock these days. The Forever bicycle that Jiang Mancheng wanted to buy was even more popular, so he had to wait a few days for it to arrive. At this moment, Jiang Mancheng looked at the Forever bicycle that was carelessly abandoned at the foot of the mountain, and his heart was filled with envy and jealousy, wishing he could take it for himself immediately.
But nowadays, bicycles all have steel stamps, so taking them would be useless. Jiang Nan and the other three carefully locked their bicycles and camouflaged them in the bushes. Then, each of them carried a sack filled with paper objects and headed up the mountain.
This place is not close to the Oilfield Revolutionary Committee. It takes nearly two hours to ride a bike there. When we reach the house on the mountain, it is almost eight o'clock and it is already dark.
The thick darkness cast a shadow over the lonely, dilapidated house. To deter others from approaching, Wan Hu had erected four grave mounds in the yard, making the scene even more eerie and spooky under the waning moon.
As soon as she entered the yard, Jiang Nan suddenly felt the air around her drop several degrees. She couldn't help but touch her arm and muttered softly, "Wan Hu has really shot himself in the foot. He's so vicious. I must scare him to death tonight."
Jiang Mancheng found a few prepared tablets from the sack and said coldly, "Just scaring him is giving him an easy time. Alright, hurry up and do it."
Upon hearing this, the four of them put down their paper-made items and began to quietly decorate the courtyard.
When Wan Hu saw the empty kang hole, he completely lost his mind.
His treasure is gone, all gone!
Damn it, not a single bead was left for him!
He stood up, kicked the kang again and again, and roared hysterically: "Who! Who did this?! I'm going to kill him, kill him."
He paced back and forth madly, cursing.
Suddenly, an old man's voice came from outside the house, sometimes far away, sometimes close: "Wanhu, give me your life! Wanhu, you are not a human being. You said you would let my daughter go if I gave you money. You are not a human being, give me your life!"
Wan Hu suddenly turned his head and saw a figure passing by the window, followed by a shrill female voice: "Dad, why are you here too, Dad! Wan Hu, you bastard, you deserve to die! You said that if I obeyed you, you would let my dad go. You are not a human being, I will kill you."
I saw a woman in red clothes and long hair appear outside the window and then quickly float away.
Wan Hu's furious heart instantly pounded, and he shouted, "Gao Ruonan, good! You actually pretended to be this father and daughter!"
He suddenly realized: "Zhang Tao! Song Baoguo! Great, it's you two. I was saying that you two were also present when the Gao family was raided. You've exposed your true intentions, haven't you?"
He yelled angrily, "Bah! I wasn't afraid of them when they were alive, so why would I be afraid of them when they're dead? Bah, Song Baoguo, Zhang Tao, come out the fucking way! How dare I, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee, be afraid of this? If you don't come out, don't blame me for being rude to you two. You two can expect to end up in jail."
As if frightened by the last sentence, the silence outside the window grew, even the chirping of cicadas seemed to have ceased. In the darkness, the only sound was the sound of one's own breathing.
In just two breaths, another figure appeared and disappeared. It was a girl in white clothes with short hair. She said in a very gentle voice: "Wanhu, didn't you say you liked me? Didn't you say that you would marry me as long as I found the location of the master's treasure? I found it, I told you, why don't you come to marry me? Wanhu, Wanhu, I came to find you. Wanhu..."
Wan Hu shouted, "Liuli? Tell me, how do you know Liuli? Song Baoguo, Zhang Tao, how did you two know Liuli?"
As expected of the director of the Revolutionary Committee, Wan Hu was incredibly courageous. He flung open the door and walked into the courtyard in two or three steps. Outside, smoke billowed, and in the watery night, the shadows of trees swayed. Green flames rose from the graves, and with a clang of thunder, an old man sneered, "Haha, haha, it turned out to be Liuli. You bribed Liuli to betray me..."
Wan Hu strode forward, waving his arms and shouting furiously, "Stop playing tricks on me! Come out, come out!"
Before the timid voice could even finish its utterance, Wan Hu felt a cold hand grip the back of his neck tightly. He turned his head abruptly, but saw no one. Instead, he heard a high-pitched, mournful female voice from a distance: "Wan Hu, give me your life! You've destroyed my family, all for that coral ornament. Just for an ornament. You're not human. Go to hell."
Sorrow turned to shrill madness, and then, a green flame fell from the top of his head, instantly burning Wan Hu's hair. He screamed, jumped up and down, slapping his head frantically, but cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
It’s not Song Baoguo, he doesn’t know about Liuli and Shanhu, it’s not him.
It’s not Zhang Tao either. He knows even less. It’s not him.
Who is it, who on earth is it, how come he knows everything about him?
He was confident that he was careful in doing things. How could someone know so much?
Could it be that... these people didn't reincarnate in the underworld, but came to seek revenge on him?!
Wan Hu shook his head and said, it’s impossible. There are no ghosts in this world. They are all fake.
He howled in pain, his head almost slapped into a bun like the Buddha's. He finally put out the fire, but his hair was long on one side and short on the other, as if it had been gnawed by a dog. The left side was half bald, and it gave off a strange smell of burning. He shouted angrily, "Who? Don't be so coy. I'm telling you, I'm not afraid of any tiger! I became the director of the Revolutionary Committee because I wasn't scared. If you're brave, come out and let's have a real fight and see who can beat who!"
The long-haired woman in red at the front giggled, her laughter echoing in the silent forest, sounding particularly ghostly. She said, "Real swords and guns? Wan Hu, don't you love playing tricks the most? If you don't keep your word, I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you..."
As he spoke, the figure slowly floated forward, and the woman in white also appeared and disappeared. She stretched out her arms and said gently: "Brother Hu, we will meet soon, are you happy? Ruonan and Shanhu will help me, and Uncle Gao, everyone wants you to come down to accompany me. I am so happy, I feel sorry for the master, but the master is willing to help me, it's really nice. You can rest assured and come down, the master and Ruonan are good people, they are here to help us reunite, we will be able to get married soon and be together forever..."
Wan Hu stumbled and dodged, he roared: "Get out, I don't want to be with you, you are just a maid, get out, get out."
He waved his arms, turned around and tried to run, but stumbled and fell over a stone. Before he could come to his senses, a ball of fire suddenly lit up, and the words on the tombstone in front of him came into view.
'Gao Ruonan, born in 1949 in Suoer Hutong, Baishui City, died in 1966 at the age of seventeen.'
Wan Hu felt his scalp tingle. It was right, it was all right. He screamed and backed away desperately. He didn't know if it was to boost his courage or out of guilt, but he murmured with a trembling laugh, "No, no, there's no ghost, no ghost. It's all fake, fake."
As my emotions fluctuated, I saw a green flame light up in front of another tombstone, and the vigorous and powerful characters appeared again.
'Liuli, born in 1946 in Suoer Hutong, Baishui City, died in 1966 at the age of 20.'
Then, the other two tombs also lit up with ghost lights, and the words "Gao Fan" and "Shan Hu" lit up one after another, and then quickly went out like stars.
Wan Hu felt his heart pounding. They all matched up. The owners of the most valuable treasures all matched up.
He stretched out his hand tremblingly, pointing at the woman in white, and said shakily, "Liuli, you...are you really Liuli? You...didn't you commit suicide? Don't blame me, you committed suicide on your own, don't blame me."
"Hehehe." The woman in white laughed, her body shaking. "Yes, the master and the young lady are dead. I felt sorry for them, so I committed suicide. But I want to take you down with me, Brother Hu. I betrayed the master for you. You have to accompany me, okay? Don't you like me the most? Come down and accompany me, okay?"
Before he could finish his words, the cold touch crept up his neck again. Wan Hu turned his head desperately and reached out to grab it quickly, but once again he grabbed nothing. His hair stood on end and he fell to his knees. He said, "No! It's all your fault. You did it because you wanted to. It's none of my business. Don't come looking for me. It's none of my business. I'm not going down. Get out..."
"What about me?" The red-dressed woman laughed strangely, "Why did you let the villagers abuse my father and me? You even hired a scoundrel to bully me and someone to push my father into the river. You are not a human being. Come down, come down and stay with us. We will treat you well..."
"No. I just wanted to scare you, not kill anyone. I didn't." Wan Hu shook his head desperately. He said, "It's all your fault. Who told you not to hand over the white jade tripod? I want the tripod. If you hand it over, everything will be fine. Don't blame me."
He tried desperately to defend himself, and suddenly shouted, "The tripod! Yes, the tripod, I didn't take it! The tripod was accidentally broken by another Red Guard, and I didn't take it. The tripod is broken into pieces, and I'll burn it for you, okay? Let me go, and I'll burn the tripod for you."
"Ahem..." an old man's voice rang out. "The tripod is my family's heirloom, passed down for hundreds of years. I wanted to give it to a museum, but I didn't expect it to be destroyed in your hands. It was destroyed in your hands."
The man's voice began to become frantic, and he said, "I will kill you, kill you."
Wan Hu hugged his neck with both hands, collapsed on the ground and tried to move back. He shook his head frantically: "No, no, it's not me, it's those Red Guards, it's them..."
Feeling a gust of cold wind coming, Wan Hu's head tilted, foam came out of the mouth, and he fainted from fright.
"Uh." Jiang Mancheng poked his head out from behind the male paper figure and whispered, "You fainted already? You killed so many people, and I thought you were so brave. But you're nothing special."
Chen Jinhua pushed the red-dressed paper-made woman away, reached out and kicked Wan Hu on the head, and confirmed, "No reaction, he must have fainted."
Jiang Nan also came out, squatted down and pulled Wan Hu's eyelids. After confirming that there was no reaction, he clapped his hands and stood up and said, "Should we go now? Burn the paper figurine?"
Zhou Zhixing nodded. "It's on fire. We need to leave early. We'll use the excuse of going to the state-owned restaurant for dinner. If we delay any longer, the building will be closed by the time we get back to the family compound."
The four of them knew what was going on. They quickly gathered the paper figures together and burned them, stamping out the sparks, not caring what would happen to Wan Hu outside overnight. Death would be good, but he was lucky to be alive. However, the scourge would last for thousands of years, and this kind of person would likely not die.
Before leaving, Chen Jinhua was unwilling to give up, so she kicked Wan Hu hard several times before leaving.
They trotted to the foot of the mountain, and the four of them pedaled their bikes frantically, barely arriving home before the gate of Building No. 4 was closed.
Old Lady Cao, who had come down to lock the gate, asked the four people sharply, "Aren't you going to the state-owned restaurant to eat? Look at what time it is! Why are you back at this time?"
Zhou Zhixing nodded and bowed, "Grandma, we went for a walk at the Workers' Cultural Palace. It's National Day these days, and they had colorful lanterns hanging there. I heard they took them down in two days, so we came back a little late. We'll definitely come back earlier next time."
Old Lady Cao snorted, "Do you want another time?"
After she finished speaking, she turned to Jiang Mancheng and admonished him with a tone of strong disapproval: "Mancheng, I know you love your child, but you can't always go out to eat. You should save the money and stop spending it all the time. If you save the money, you will have more time to deal with any problems in the future."
Jiang Mancheng disagreed, "Aunt Cao, you're wrong. I think the money should be spent when it's needed. Otherwise, if someone dies one day and the money isn't spent, how tragic it would be. Don't you agree?"
Old Mrs. Cao curled her lips and said, "How can you think that? If you can't spend all the money, you can leave it to your children. You can't be without money. Otherwise, who will take care of you and provide for your old age?"
She looked Jiang Mancheng up and down, and said with a sigh, "You seem to be a smart man, but why can't you figure it out? How can a rich old man be the same as a poor old man? Take the old man Fan Taohua wants to marry, for example. If he had no money, would Fan Taohua marry him?"
As if she felt that this example was inappropriate, she waved her hand and concluded, "Anyway, this money has many uses. When you are young, endure a little hardship, save the money, and use it to tie your children and grandchildren down when you are old. That's perfect."
Zhou Zhixing expressed his filial piety: "Grandma, even if you have no money, I will still be filial to you. Please don't think of me like that, it will make me sad. You should enjoy your life and don't always think about saving money."
Old Lady Cao couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, but she still said disapprovingly: "What do you know, young man? Grandma is talking about this principle, not you. Mancheng, do you think what Auntie said makes sense?"
Jiang Mancheng nodded repeatedly: "That makes sense, of course it makes sense."
He surrendered and said, "Aunt Cao, it's so late now. We have to go to work tomorrow, so it's time to rest. I won't chat with you anymore. Please lock the door and go back early. Early to bed and early to rise is good for your health."
As he said that, he pulled Chen Jinhua and Jiang Nan and ran home.
Mrs. Cao: "..."
Is she so scary? She scared you away just by saying a few words?
Jiang Mancheng wasn't scared off; he just didn't want to hear Old Lady Cao's nagging. Old Lady Cao, being both a building manager and a matchmaker, couldn't stop talking. Perhaps it was because he'd been taking the three of them to state-owned restaurants so often these past few days that her frugal nature had been triggered. She'd nag him at every opportunity, and Jiang Mancheng was starting to feel the pressure.
Chen Jinhua and Jiang Nan felt the same way and simply abandoned Zhou Zhixing, leaving him alone to face Mrs. Cao's crazy verbal attacks.
The result was that the next day, the three members of the Jiang family went to work in high spirits, while Zhou Zhixing was waiting downstairs with a pale face, staring at Jiang Nan with an accusing look.
Jiang Nan scratched her head and chuckled twice. She tentatively said, "How about I let you use the melon coins to buy something in the mall?"
Zhou Zhixing snorted and said proudly, "That's more like it. Didn't you say last time that you had some foreign fruit, cherries or something? Buy a box and we'll eat it tonight."
Jiang Nan nodded: "Okay, this is not expensive, only fifty melon coins, buy it tonight."
"How many melon coins do you have now?"
"Almost 8,000. I did some good things on the day of the exam. We also saved a few girls and boys who were threatening to commit suicide during patrols these days. We also scared Wan Hu yesterday. The system suddenly gained a lot of melon coins."
Zhou Zhixing: "Don't save it, spend it when you can. We police officers earn melon coins almost every day, so there's no need to save it."
Jiang Nan: "I know, but we have almost everything at home, so we can only buy food."
She whispered, "Other fabrics, clothes, daily necessities, etc. are too conspicuous and cannot be used."
The two chatted for a few moments before entering the police station and beginning their final day of patrol. Yesterday, at short notice, the oilfield had decided to announce the recruitment results ahead of schedule to avoid any further delays. Secretary Tu, perhaps fearing a treacherous move by Wan Hu, had made the impromptu decision. Fortunately, everyone had guessed the reason and raised no objections. Otherwise, with such a major event and a sudden change in schedule, the employees would have undoubtedly protested.
Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing went to work, ready to look at the test results, but what they didn't know was that as soon as they got to work, Yuan Jianshe and Dong Jiaojiao distributed wedding candy in the building.
Dong Jiaojiao had a sullen face, and Yuan Jianshe's smile was a bit forced. Although he no longer had to squat under the fence, he was still deeply regretful of being tied to Dong Jiaojiao.
A man like him is worthy of even a fairy.
Although he was extremely reluctant, Yuan Jianshe didn't dare to show it at all. He was already feeling lucky that Dong Jiaojiao had forgiven him and had a fake marriage with him, but he didn't dare to anger this woman again at this time.
However, Yuan Jianshe glanced at Dong Jiaojiao and snorted in his heart. Although it was a fake marriage, he was confident that he could win Dong Jiaojiao. Then he would dump her and see her heartbroken and crying bitterly. That would be satisfying.
With this in mind, Yuan Jianshe didn't want to cause any trouble. After all, these days, hooliganism can be punishable by a bullet.
He didn't know that Dong Jiaojiao was the one who was truly regretful, the kind that made her intestines turn green.
Her brother-in-law was suddenly being persecuted, and if she showed up at this time, she would definitely be caught by her brother-in-law's enemies and made a fuss. The incident with Yuan Jianshe was known to everyone, and it happened in full view of the public. She couldn't shift the blame and had to swallow her anger.
But she is not a woman who will be bound by marriage. She, Dong Jiaojiao, will not be trapped in a family!
Humph, she had warned Yuan Jianshe that their marriage was fake and she would not sleep with him. Wanting to sleep with her, Dong Jiaojiao? No way. She, Dong Jiaojiao, always slept with good-looking men!
Old Mrs. Cao was at Wu Dachui's house, not even bothering to ask for wedding candy. When Wu Dachui and Old Wu returned with two handfuls of candy, she curled her lips and said disdainfully, "Well, what good is wedding candy from someone like that? Let's get down to business. What do you think of the woman I introduced to you yesterday, Dachui? She's quite well-off. She's 32 years old, a full-time employee in the refinery's workshop. If she hadn't been infertile, she wouldn't have remarried yet."
Wu Dachui disagreed a bit and said, "Aunt Cao, I want to have another son. What if I can't? Besides, she's old, 32 years old. Even if she can, it probably won't be easy. Can you help me find a better one? It's best if she's no older than 30 and has a job..."
Old Mrs. Cao's face drooped. She pointed at Wu Dachui and shouted, "Dachui, it's not that I don't want to introduce you to someone. Tell me, how many have I introduced to you? Do you want to meet any of them? If you keep doing this, I won't care about you anymore. Don't you even look at your own conditions? You don't have a job right now. Don't even mention your son and daughter-in-law's jobs. They have their own business. Can they give you their jobs? I've only heard of parents giving their jobs to their children, never heard of children giving their jobs to their parents."
Wu Dachui was also angry. He said, "Aunt Cao, what's wrong with my conditions? I'm in my prime. They say a man is in his prime at 41, but I'm not even 40 yet. Why can't I find someone in her twenties?"
"You're still a flower, what are you trying to compensate for with just one flower?" Old Mrs. Cao stood up angrily. "Alright, find someone else. I don't want your matchmaking fee anymore. You really don't know what you're doing."
Wu Dachui: "Don't worry, Aunt Cao, don't be angry."
Seeing that Old Lady Cao was really anxious, Wu Dachui hurriedly stood up and pulled her back, explaining, "As a man, it's no big deal to supplement. Aunt Cao, you're being unreasonable by bringing this up."
He hesitated, "Then...the 31-year-old girl you introduced earlier who gave birth to three daughters, if she remarries, the children won't follow her, right?"
Old Lady Cao's expression softened a bit, and she said with certainty, "No, her ex-husband's family was well-off, and he wanted a girl too. He just wanted a son, and thought it was unlucky for this woman to always give birth to daughters, so he divorced her. She came here alone and doesn't know how to raise a child."
Wu Dachui nodded reluctantly: "Then this is it, please arrange a meeting."
He confirmed again with concern: "Can she still give birth?"
Old Lady Cao's face straightened up, and she glared at him, "What are you talking about? Am I the one telling lies? If I say she can give birth, then she can. She didn't have a difficult labor or any surgery, so why can't she give birth? Wait, I'll find someone and arrange a meeting for you guys."
She walked out in a hurry, but before she reached the gate of Courtyard No. 1, she was grabbed by Old Lady Sui.
Old Mrs. Sui said with a shameless smile, "Chuncao, what are you busy with?"
Old Mrs. Cao was too lazy to argue with her. She pulled her arm away and asked directly, "Is there something wrong? If you have something, just tell me. I don't have time to chat with you. I'm busy."
"Haha, haha." Old Lady Sui's face was full of smiles. She said, "Your relative is Jiang Mancheng. Does he want to step down?"
Old Lady Cao scratched her ears and asked in disbelief, "What? What did you say? Say it again? Who wants to step down?"
Old Mrs. Sui had a look on her face that said, "Don't try to hide this from me!" "Jiang Mancheng, isn't he looking for a job with the construction team? How could I know him?! With his lazy character, how could he possibly go to the construction team? Is this a smokescreen? Is he actually trying to sell his job and retire?"
Old Mrs. Sui had a look of conviction, as if she saw through everything. She whispered, "Chuncao, I'm not asking for anything from you. Just talk to Mancheng and tell him not to retire. Instead, sell his job to my family. We're neighbors, so the price is negotiable."
Old Mrs. Cao was speechless. "Sui's eldest sister, what's wrong with you? People are asking about the construction team, they must want to exchange positions, how can you think of retiring? Mancheng is so small, and you're not even 35, how can you retire? Go away, I have things to do. Really, you say you are so old, why are you still talking so nonsense?"
She shook her head and was about to leave, but Old Lady Sui refused to let her go. She grabbed Old Lady Cao and continued with a smile, "Chuncao, you have to help me. Look, I voted for you last year when we elected building manager. I also voted for your family's "Three Good Families" award. I really support your work. Don't worry, I'll vote for you again in the election at the end of the year. Our whole family will vote for you!"
After recounting her accomplishments, Old Lady Sui began to make demands: "Look, my son Xiaoqiang didn't do well on the job recruitment exam this time. He's unemployed and will have to go to the countryside next year. But is it that easy to find a job? Even if Jiang Mancheng doesn't want to sell his job, does he suddenly want to change jobs? Does he have some inside information? Is the construction team expanding? Or is there some project he's working on?"
Old Mrs. Sui cried out, "Are they going to build a family compound? Are they going to build a family compound and distribute houses?"
Old Mrs. Cao's face was filled with helplessness. "Why are you so dreamy? Mancheng is tired of staying in the archives and wants a change of scenery. And building a house? If it were that easy to build a family compound, our operations department wouldn't have only two tube-shaped family compounds. Look at how many people are crowded in the fiberglass area, all waiting for a tube-shaped house. Even if it were built, your family wouldn't get one! Just stop interfering, I'm leaving."
Old Lady Sui curled her lips, then thought that what Old Lady Cao said made sense. Her family didn't have any relatives in official positions, so it wasn't their turn to get a good deal like a house.
Just like that, a blind cat caught a dead mouse. Old Lady Sui, who had rarely touched the edge of the truth, immediately threw the truth aside and thought of other ways.
The foursome didn't know they were almost seen through. After get off work, Zhou Zhixing took the opportunity to talk about work but actually came to eat cherries secretly and saw the legendary "foreign fruit".
The four of them lay on the table like bumpkins, staring with wide eyes.
Jiang Mancheng: "It's so big, almost as big as a crabapple."
Chen Jinhua: "It's really red, even redder than the Red Fuji apple I bought last time. I just don't know if it's sweet."
Zhou Zhixing: "I don't know if we can grow it here."
Jiang Nan: "Yes, when you go to the mountains someday, you can throw the fruit core into the soil and try. If it grows, we won't have to spend money on melon coins to buy it."
Jiang Mancheng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about whether to plant them or not, just eat them!" He stood up happily, picked up the basin and went to the bathroom to wash the cherries.
What? You said we should go outside to wash because the bathroom isn't clean? Well, even though everyone has already eaten dinner, there are still people in the corridor. If we go outside to wash, we'll just be exposed.
Although not very sweet, the rich juice instantly conquered the taste buds of the four people. Jiang Mancheng said with emotion: "From now on, we will eat fresh fruit every three days!"
Seeing the other three nodding, he asked, "Xiao Nan, take a look at the mall to see what rare fruits there are. Let's try some new ones next time."
Jiang Nan nodded and read while eating: "There are blueberries, durian, strawberries, prunes, cantaloupe, Qingwang..."
Chen Jinhua asked, "Qing Wang? What is Qing Wang? Is there a fruit called this?"
Jiang Nan clicked on it and quickly explained, "It's a kind of grape, green, developed in Japan. They say it's very sweet."
Jiang Mancheng decided: "Then let's eat this next time."
Naturally, everyone had no objection. Being able to eat fresh fruit was already great, and they were not picky.
The four of them happily shared the fruit and went to work in high spirits the next day.
The test results will be announced today. Along the way, there were families going to the factory office in groups of three or four to see the notice. Everyone was in a hurry, nervous or uneasy, and did not dare to say much, for fear that speaking would delay the admission results.
Seeing this, both of them were a little nervous. After locking the car in the carport, Jiang Nan whispered, "There will definitely be a lot of latecomers today. Everyone is so eager to see the results as soon as possible that work has to be put aside."
Zhou Zhixing agreed: "It's okay, the leaders must have thought of it, I don't think anyone will check on us."
He comforted Jiang Nan: "Didn't Grandma Qiu go back to Xihe'an to inform them two days ago? Your uncle and the others must have arrived early this morning."
Jiang Nan nodded: "Yes, I guess my dad has already gone to see it. Should we go?"
Zhou Zhixing: "I guess there's a mission..."
"Team leader!" Zou Li's clear and cheerful voice sounded from behind him.
The two turned around and saw Zou Li's eyes sparkling, his eyebrows and eyes showing joy. Seeing Jiang Nan, he praised her wholeheartedly, "Xiao Nan, this is the dress made of that corduroy cloth, right? It's really nice."
Jiang Nan was curious: "Brother Zou, why are you so happy today? Tell me what's going on. I'll be happy for you too."
Zou Li laughed out loud and couldn't help whispering, "Zhang Tao was kicked out of the Revolutionary Committee!"
Seeing Jiang Nan's confusion, his eyes lit up as he excitedly explained, "He's the son of that old witch who assaulted my Tiger Head in the hospital! I heard there were several others who were kicked out of the Revolutionary Committee. They were accused of using public power for personal gain, sacrificing public resources for personal gain, and so on. Anyway, it sounds like they were just randomly accused of a few crimes and kicked out."
Zou Li was so happy that he almost went crazy. He said with relief, "Evildoers really get their comeuppance! Let's see how they dare to act so arrogantly in the future!"
Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing exchanged a cryptic glance. So, this was the man Wan Hu had called "Zhang Tao." No wonder his name sounded so familiar. They both smiled and congratulated him. Wen Qiang was also delighted to hear about this. He even inquired about the old witch's recent plight, and he and Zou Li laughed heartily.
The four people from Group 6 heard the good news early in the morning, but they no longer had patrol missions and didn't know what to do for a while.
But perhaps he couldn't bear to see them idle away, so Lan Qingshan called out to the four of them, saying, "The recruitment list has been announced. Physical examinations will be conducted in three days. Those who pass the physical examination can report with their documents on the same day. The four of you will go to the office building today to keep an eye on things and maintain order."
He said seriously, "It's mainly to prevent people who didn't pass the exam from causing trouble, or from harming those who did. Do you understand? If anyone reports it, or if someone causes trouble, we must deal with it seriously. Anyone who harms others will never be admitted to the oil field. This was stated during the recruitment process, and you must remember to emphasize it again."
Zhou Zhixing nodded, and Lan Qingshan continued, "Since your team is overseeing the exam, then follow it throughout. You must be present during the physical examination and registration in three days."
He patted Zhou Zhixing on the shoulder and warned him, "This is a major event for the oilfield this year. You must cooperate with the oilfield's personnel department and resolutely put an end to impersonation. Recruitment must be fair and just as Secretary Tu mentioned. Many people are watching this matter, so you must do your best to complete the task."
Zhou Zhixing stood at attention and saluted, a rare gesture: "Yes."
The four of them put on their hats, got on their bicycles, and quickly drove towards the office building.
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