Chapter 63: Sour Grapes
At this point, Cao Hongmei was fully convinced that Su He had a way to deal with Meng Yanjiao.
While most people had only one-track minds, her niece seemed to be full of clever ideas from head to toe.
Just the thought that Meng Yanjiao was about to get her comeuppance made all of Cao Hongmei’s frustrations vanish. She immediately busied herself with preparing to make dumplings for dinner to celebrate.
Meanwhile, Su He headed to Teacher Yuan’s house.
As soon as they met, Teacher Yuan smiled and said,
“Su, in a few days someone will be mailing me a batch of books. When they arrive, you’ll help unpack them.”
Su He was puzzled.
“Why me?”
“You’ve got good luck. Maybe you’ll open one of the books that had its pages swapped out for better content.”
Su He was speechless.
“Teacher Yuan, we’re materialists—we shouldn’t believe in this kind of thing.”
Teacher Yuan rolled his eyes.
“What do you know?! It’s just probability! Anyway, you’ll be the one unpacking them. If you do find a gem, I won’t treat you unfairly!”
Su He was left speechless. Still, she figured it was a good opportunity to sneak in a few valuable books while she was at it.
So, she subtly probed Teacher Yuan, trying to figure out what types of books he needed so she could swap accordingly.
It wasn’t until evening that she finally left.
Teacher Yuan looked at the well-organized materials Su He had compiled and nodded in satisfaction. This young girl not only had great English skills, but she was meticulous and methodical—truly a promising student.
An idea crossed his mind: his disciple still didn’t have a girlfriend. Perhaps he could introduce Su He to him.
The only issue was… his disciple’s conservative old grandfather might be a problem.
*
The next morning, Su He arrived at the Textile Factory.
As luck would have it, one of the two small trucks sent by the factory was the same one that had delivered the fabric scraps last time.
The driver, Zhang Quansheng, spotted Su He and leaned out of the window:
“Su!”
Su He ran over, beaming.
“Master Zhang, we really do keep running into each other!”
After a brief friendly exchange, Zhang Quansheng introduced Su He to the other driver.
She handed each of them a pack of cigarettes and then headed out of the factory.
On the road, she encountered two more trucks from the Machinery Factory. Even though she’d never met the drivers before, for someone as sociable as Su He, it only took a few words to break the ice.
*
At the dike construction site, Director Shen from Xiangyang Commune was sarcastically remarking, “Old Luo, no offense, but don’t you think it’s a stretch to believe that little Su girl could actually get two trucks? Come on!
Let me be blunt—I’ve already brought the workers here. If the trucks don’t show up, and I end up covering everyone’s meals, you’re reimbursing me!”
Director Luo just smiled.
“I trust Su to handle things. If she said she could do it, she will.”
Bai Lili from Xiangyang Commune pouted, “Director Luo, I already asked my brother. Su He never went to their transportation company. Where on earth is she supposed to get trucks from?
I even had it arranged with my brother, and she swooped in and ruined it last minute. If I try to borrow trucks again, it won’t be easy.”
She was seething with jealousy.
Because of the last incident, Director Shen had been quite displeased with her. If it weren’t for her family’s connections at the transport company, she likely would’ve been punished.
This was finally supposed to be her chance to prove herself—only to have Su He snatch the spotlight again.
That little brat was clearly bluffing. Two trucks? Ha! Dream on.
Director Luo chuckled and tried to smooth things over, but in truth, he was starting to feel nervous.
It was almost 9 a.m., and there wasn’t even a shadow of a truck in sight. He was beginning to worry that Su He might really mess this up.
Face wasn’t the issue—the bigger problem was how to explain it to the Xiangyang Commune workers.
Some of them started jeering:
“Trying to act rich without the cash.”
“Don’t take on porcelain work if you don’t have the tools!”
*
Just then, the sound of honking came from the distance.
To Director Luo, it sounded like angels singing!
Meanwhile, Director Shen and Bai Lili didn’t look too happy.
Could it be that Su He really managed to get the trucks?
Bai Lili sneered, “Sounds like just one truck. Didn’t she say there’d be two? What a liar.”
But no one replied. Everyone’s eyes were on the distance.
She looked up—and was dumbfounded.
One, two, three, four… FOUR?!
How were there four trucks?!
Director Luo was stunned too. He’d only asked for two—why were there four?
Everyone rushed over, surrounding the trucks three layers deep.
Su He jumped off the truck, smiling brightly.
“Director Luo, Director Shen! The textile and machinery factories each sent two small trucks to support our water conservancy project.
Everyone, please thank them for their generous help!”
Though Director Shen was shocked and incredibly bitter inside, he quickly clapped along.
Thunderous applause broke out.
The four truck drivers had initially thought it was just another normal job. But seeing the reception, something shifted inside them.
Their hearts swelled. Their minds blanked.
Their blood was boiling!
So this was what honor felt like.
Originally, as drivers, they could’ve just stayed in their seats. But now, driven by excitement, they grabbed shovels and began helping with the gravel themselves.
*
Director Luo pulled Su He aside, intending to ask what happened—but Director Shen came over too and beat him to it:
“Su, tell us what happened!”
Director Luo rolled his eyes inwardly but didn’t drive him away.
Su He smiled sweetly.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m now a contributing correspondent for the county broadcasting station. I wanted to write an article about our two communes working together on water projects.
When I mentioned it to the textile and machinery factories, they volunteered to send trucks to support us.
I told them just one per factory would be enough, but they insisted.
They were even going to send big trucks if I hadn’t stopped them! The county comrades are just so enthusiastic—it really moved me…”
Director Luo: “……”
Director Shen: “……”
Enthusiastic? Those two factories clearly wanted to appear in the article!
In other words, they were buying a good reputation.
Wait a minute—when did she become a contributing correspondent for the county radio station?
Su He had only gone to the county for a few days. Not only had she secured deals with both factories, now she even had ties with the broadcasting station?
How did she pull all this off?!
Su He even pulled out her press credential from her shoulder bag and showed it off proudly.
Director Luo beamed with pride, singing her praises repeatedly.
Compared to him, Director Shen was so sour it felt like bubbles were about to come out of his ears.
Not long ago, he’d called Su He a troublemaker—now he was thoroughly slapped in the face!
As he was stewing in his jealousy, Su He added,
“Director Shen, even though the textile and machinery factories supported us out of goodwill, it wouldn’t be right to send the four drivers back empty-handed. We should give them some kind of material reward.
Our Huaihua Commune is poor, but your Xiangyang Commune is rich, so this great task is all yours!”
Director Shen: “……”
Are you sure this is a good task?
