Chapter 70
Monday meetings were routine, and everyone was used to them.
Upon arriving at the conference room, they would find their seats and sit down. With a thick notebook spread open, a fountain pen uncapped, and the lid lifted off a cup filled with strong tea, they were ready to kill time.
Station Chief Lu spent the entire morning in meetings.
When he returned to the office, he scanned the room and asked, “Where is Manman?”
Lu Tianming replied, “She went home, of course.”
Station Chief Lu grunted, “Hmph.”
Lu Tianming asked, “What’s the matter?”
Station Chief Lu said, “Let’s talk about it this afternoon.”
After saying this, he glanced at Qiao Wei.
Qiao Wei was sitting there, flipping through past manuscripts and studying diligently.
Her shirt was snow-white, her head slightly bowed, and hair falling on both sides of her cheeks, making her face appear even smaller.
There was nothing flashy about her; she was simple, unadorned, concise, and pure.
If it weren’t for the well-behaved little child sitting at the next table who looked about thirty percent like her, who would have guessed that she was already a mother?
Station Chief Lu nodded.
In the afternoon, Lu Manman arrived for work right on the dot.
Since it was Qiao Wei’s turn on duty this week, she was the backup personnel and was especially free.
Seeing that Qiao Wei had no issues operating the equipment, she didn’t follow her into the Broadcasting Station and instead stayed in the office playing cat’s cradle with Yan Xiang.
At first, Yan Xiang thought this auntie was a bit noisy, not as quiet as the others in the office.
But soon, he grew to like her. The youth and vitality of a person are always attractive, regardless of whether one is an adult or a child.
Now, the two of them played very well together.
Station Chief Lu told Qiao Wei and Lu Manman, “After the broadcast, everyone will have a meeting. I want to convey the leadership’s spirit.”
Qiao Wei said, “Alright.”
Lu Manman responded lazily.
After the broadcast, everyone met back at the office, pulled up their chairs, and sat around Station Chief Lu.
Station Chief Lu opened his notebook and conveyed a few important points from today’s meeting.
“…The mosquito eradication campaign to be held at the end of the month is the top priority for this season’s work. The Propaganda Section, especially our Broadcasting Station, must definitely take the lead and do a good job with the publicity. At tomorrow’s study session, Section Chief Xie will certainly provide instructions on this task. Everyone should keep this in mind. Manman and Qiao, especially you two, need to start thinking now about how to do this broadcast publicity work well.”
The others didn’t really care.
Lu Tianming shook his leg.
Hu Sui crocheted.
It had nothing to do with them; Qiao Wei and Lu Manman were the ones who actually did the work at the Broadcasting Station.
“It would be best if you could come up with a first draft by tomorrow,” Station Chief Lu assigned the task unhurriedly.
“Ah~?” Lu Manman slumped back in her chair, “Don’t do this…”
She acted as if she were in her own home.
Qiao Wei suppressed a smile and kicked her foot.
Lu Manman rolled her eyes at the ceiling, looking half-dead. Produce work in one night? It would literally kill her.
Qiao Wei pursed her lips to smile and raised her hand, “Station Chief.”
She said, “You all already have a lot of experience, but I don’t have much and need more practice. Give a newcomer a chance; I’ll write this publicity draft.”
Lu Manman instantly perked up and sat up, “Yes, yes, yes, give the newcomer a chance. Weiwei will definitely be able to do it!”
In an instant, Qiao Wei had evolved from “Qiao Wei” to “Weiwei.”
Station Chief Lu was very satisfied, “Good, then I’ll leave it to you. Can you give me the first draft tomorrow morning?”
Qiao Wei readily agreed and added, “Then I’ll hurry to the Library to look up some materials.”
“Fine, go ahead, go ahead. Time is tight.”
Qiao Wei got up and left, and Yan Xiang, like a little tail, followed her, running toward the Library.
That place was great; it was full of books and, to Yan Xiang, it was practically a treasure trove.
He followed her, skipping and jumping.
The rest of the people thought he was finished, and Lu Tianming was already preparing to lift his bottom from the chair, when the Station Chief turned the page of his notebook, “There is one more thing…”
What a long pause. Lu Tianming had no choice but to sit back down.
“It’s about the ideological and work style of civil servants,” the Station Chief read from his meeting notes, “Public servants serve the people; one must not forget hard work and plain living. An official who is dressed in flashy clothes and holds themselves high above others is an official, not a servant.”
“Ask yourself, if an official holds themselves high above, how would the common people dare to approach them? They would be terrified just looking from afar. If they have difficulties, how would they dare to ask for your help? If they have grievances, how would they dare to seek redress from you?”
“The Secretary!” Lu Tianming pointed his finger heavily in the air and said with certainty, “This is Secretary Gao!”
Station Chief Lu chuckled.
Indeed, this was a speech by the Town Committee Secretary; Lu Tianming had guessed correctly.
The Party leads the nation. At any administrative level, the Secretary is the top leader, and the X-Chief is the second in command.
The Town Chief’s surname is Xie, one of the three major local surnames. But the Secretary is not a local; in later terms, one would call it a “parachuted” appointment.
From the founding of the nation up to later generations, the country has always been struggling against clan forces and local powers.
It is also the norm in officialdom for the Secretary and the X-Chief to be at odds.
Station Chief Lu continued, “The Secretary said that some comrades nowadays, regardless of gender, are influenced by the atmosphere of extravagance and pursue flashy, unsubstantial things. The most common thing is that both men and women want to wear ‘Doudou’ cloth.”
Station Chief Lu mimicked Secretary Gao’s tone, repeating his original words: “‘What is so good about that Doudou cloth? Does it make you look like a cadre? Does it make you look like an official?'”
He imitated him quite well.
“Did you hear that, Manman? He’s talking about you.” Station Chief Lu looked up.
Lu Manman rolled her eyes, “I only have three ‘Doudou’ cloth dresses.”
“Is three not enough? Your aunt doesn’t have even one.”
“That’s because you’re stingy.”
“So shirts aren’t allowed either?” Lu Tianming asked, “I just bought one this year. Surely they won’t forbid us from wearing those, right?”
“‘Forbid’ is not quite the word,” Station Chief Lu chuckled, “Anyway, the Secretary’s attitude is clear. You all figure it out yourselves.”
Lu Manman clamored, “So are we allowed to wear them or not?”
“Silly,” Lu Tianming laughed at her, “Do you have to wear them to work?”
“…That’s true.”
Even if the Secretary has huge power, he can’t control what I wear on Sundays.
“Right,” Station Chief Lu said, “Which female comrade in the Town Committee wears homespun cloth clothes?”
“Huh?” Lu Manman said, “Homespun? Who? I don’t think so. Even my mom doesn’t wear it. Only my grandma does.”
“Secretary Gao said it, praising a female comrade highly, saying he saw this female comrade wearing self-woven cloth to work, with elegant manners, confident speech, and a simple image, like a true public servant… I was wondering who this was? I couldn’t figure it out for a long time,” Station Chief Lu was puzzled.
“…” Lu Manman said, “If I were to wear homespun, it might look a bit like me. But I’ve never worn it.”
“It’s made up,” Lu Tianming said with certainty, “It sounds made up the moment you hear it.”
People working in the Town Committee Residential Compound are at least staff members, with a starting salary of 23 yuan. If they are a dual-income couple, raising four or five children is very easy. They most likely wouldn’t wear homespun; even if they have it at home, it’s usually for the elderly.
It’s definitely made up. It’s just an argument fabricated to support his point.
Hu Sui crocheted and pursed her lips.
What’s wrong with homespun? She even knows how to weave it; the homespun she weaves is very sturdy and durable.
It’s a pity there’s no loom here for her to weave. Everyone wears industrial cloth.
Fortunately, she learned to crochet sweaters here. If she can’t weave cloth, she can crochet. Neighbors from all around come to ask her to crochet sweaters for them; she crochets every day.
Earning a salary while crocheting sweaters is also very happy.
In the evening, Yan Lei saw Qiao Wei writing diligently at her desk.
“What are you writing?” He walked over to look, “Mosquito eradication? We also had a meeting about this today.”
Qiao Wei put down her pen, blew on the ink, picked it up, and showed it to Yan Lei, “Read it and see if it works.”
Yan Lei finished reading quickly and was surprised, “Can they transmit so many diseases?”
“Yes. Mosquitoes, flies, and rats are the experts at transmitting diseases in the natural world. Like dengue fever; it can be fatal if it gets serious,” Qiao Wei asked, “How does it feel when you read it? This is the first draft.”
“It definitely works,” Yan Lei said, “You wrote it very well. I find it very clear to read.”
“As long as it’s clear, that’s fine. I’ve thought about it; for this kind of popular science material, the simpler and clearer, the better. It would be best if both those who have attended school and those who haven’t can understand it, and people of all ages—the elderly and children—can understand it. Especially children; if they receive popular science education from a young age and let this knowledge become common sense, they will know to pay attention to hygiene. In this way, as generation after generation iterates, after a few generations, the overall quality of the citizenry will be greatly improved.”
Qiao Wei spoke eloquently; although she was talking about work, her expression was relaxed.
There were no discarded drafts on the table. Clearly, this piece was written in one go, without the process of scratching one’s head, sighing, and crumpling up drafts into balls like others.
Yan Lei raised an eyebrow, “The work is quite comfortable for you, isn’t it?”
“I told you, I’m good at writing work.” Qiao Wei kicked off her shoes, placed her pair of snow-white feet on the edge of the chair, and hugged her knees.
Her small chin was slightly raised, and she was smiling.
Just as the town’s top leader described, she was elegant and confident.
Yan Lei pinched her small chin and laughed, “You didn’t say that back then. If you had, we wouldn’t have arranged for you to work in the factory…”
Before he finished his sentence, he saw Qiao Wei’s expression change slightly and realized he had spoken out of turn.
Qiao Wei grabbed his hand and coughed, “Let’s not mention the past; didn’t we agree?”
Yan Lei secretly regretted it. Now, their relationship as husband and wife was advancing by leaps and bounds, sweet as honey, almost like newlyweds.
Why bring up those things from the past?
It’s all in the past.
He put down Qiao Wei’s manuscript, bent over, and “lifted” Qiao Wei, who was hugging her legs, up, “Time for bed, time for bed.”
“Oh!” Qiao Wei quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.
She stretched her legs, and it turned into a bridal carry.
Qiao Wei really loved it when Yan Lei carried her bridal style; it was steady.
As soon as the man’s grip tightened, she understood his intentions.
There was no TV, no anything else, so the couple’s evening entertainment mainly relied on this.
That’s why every family has so many children.
It’s just that when Yan Lei kissed her neck, she still remembered to remind him, “Don’t leave any marks on me; I still have to go to work.”
Yan Lei was speechless, “So you know that too.”
Qiao Wei bit her lip, trying to hold back her laughter, but how could she? She laughed until her body curled up.
Yan Lei finally understood, “You did it on purpose!”
She was always leaving marks on his neck, all hidden by the high collar of his uniform. Occasionally, if the collar button wasn’t fastened properly, it would be exposed for others to see. Old Zhao was always wondering why he kept tugging at his own neck for no reason.
He had always thought it was because she couldn’t control herself during moments of passion; now he knew she had actually done it on purpose.
“Stamping, stamping, understand?” Qiao Wei argued with conviction, “Official documents only take effect after being stamped. I’m stamping you with my seal to tell others you’re mine; it’s effective.”
She was really good at quibbling.
Yan Lei raised an eyebrow, “Then I have to stamp you too.”
Qiao Wei rolled over, trying to escape, but was caught back by Yan Lei.
She wanted to resist, but how could she? Her two wrists were pressed above her head.
On a hot day, she didn’t want to fasten her collar tightly like he did, so she could only beg for mercy, “Stamp somewhere else, stamp somewhere else.”
“Fine.” Yan Lei’s rough palm rubbed over and chose a spot, “I’ll stamp here.”
He lowered his head.
And stamped firmly!
