Chapter 113: Even if you have an opinion, you have to keep it to yourself

Naturally, neither of them would take the initiative to bring up the matter of Su Hongmei's family.

Lu Qiao replaced Meng Xia in collecting the money. After thinking it over, Meng Xia secretly gave Lu Qiao five yuan.

Her daughter was dating; they couldn't go out together and expect Qin Hengzhi to pay for every popsicle.

While eating lunch, Lu Qiao asked about the progress at the food factory. Lu Lu Lu Qiaoling excitedly reported to Lu Qiao: "Second Sister, we spent the whole morning cleaning up. This afternoon, the male comrades will collectively repair the doors, windows, tables, and chairs. Oh, right, Brother Chang An knows how to repair broken vats, so those few damaged large vats can be fixed this time. The scrap wood can also be used to make a long table... We female comrades still need to go cut grass, pick up branches, and then gather some stones and broken bricks... Shao Le is very capable; he kept at it until we got off work."

Meng Xia, however, asked worriedly: "Qiao, if your factory is built, will you be recruiting workers, or just using these people currently? If you don't recruit publicly, won't those unemployed youths have opinions? Also, if they all go to the food factory, will your service station be disbanded?"

It must be said, Meng Xia hit the nail on the head.

Lu Qiao said: "Adding Brother Chang and my sister-in-law, the workers are currently enough. As for others, even if they have opinions, they have to keep them to themselves. Back then, because it was voluntary service without pay, they all looked down on it and wouldn't come; some even mocked them for being fools. Now that the food factory is established, our neighborhood office must prioritize the volunteers."

"The service station cannot be disbanded either; naturally, it must continue to operate. Currently, Lu Lu Qiaoling and the others can completely continue to serve as volunteers. When they aren't busy, they can do good deeds and go wherever help is needed. Before the food factory gets on the right track, they have the energy for it."

Meng Xia thought to herself, if you had said at the beginning that you might establish a food factory, it's estimated that this service station would have been packed.

Lu Lu Lu Qiaoling immediately stated her position: "We will all do as Second Sister arranges. Everyone knows in their hearts that this job opportunity was specifically fought for by Second Sister for us, and we will certainly cherish it immensely."

Su Hui nodded along: "I will work hard to make the shortbread and corn cakes, ensuring I don't hold Qiao back."

These two did what they said; after finishing their meal and cleaning up, they didn't take a nap and left together.

Lu Qiao didn't nap either; she was reading a letter. The tabby cat had gone to the military representative office to play in the morning, and after eating and drinking its fill, it brought back a letter, which was tucked inside a small cloth bag hanging around its neck.

Only then did Lu Qiao realize with a start—oh, she and Qin Hengzhi were dating.

Qin Hengzhi's fountain pen handwriting was very beautiful, every stroke carrying a strength that pierced through the paper.

He said he would take her to the city's Grand Theater to watch a ballet in the evening.

He also said he was really too busy to have dinner together.

Inside the small cloth bag was also a beautiful multicolored stone, which he said he found by the river during training this morning.

Lu Qiao smiled as she put the letter away.

The stone was also very beautiful, a natural rainbow color; Lu Qiao placed it on the windowsill.

The tabby cat said: 【Little Master, Representative Qin is so bold, actually daring to let me bring you things.】

Lu Qiao: "Didn't you also help pass messages last time?"

Hua Hua: 【Does he know something?】

Lu Qiao stroked the cat's head: "Even if he knows, it's fine. Cats and dogs have always understood human nature."

Hua Hua's eyes rolled: 【The old turtle asked me to tell you that the deputy manager went to Red Star Lake again, accompanied by Deputy Factory Director Lin. They sat on a boat and cruised around for a while; it seems he didn't say anything, just looked around. That Deputy Factory Director Lin seems very eager to hand Red Star Lake over to the fishery company.】

Lu Qiao glared at the tabby cat: "Even if I became the factory director now, I couldn't just go diving to salvage treasures for no reason."

Hua Hua didn't care: 【It's not like you don't know how to lie; just make up a reason.】

Lu Qiao glared: "The key is that I'm not the factory director right now."

Hua Hua: 【Aren't you temporarily managing the food factory? That makes you the director too.】

Lu Qiao waved her hand: "You are a mature cat now; you should learn to catch fish and eat on your own. Only by being self-reliant can you have plenty of food and clothing. Go on, with the old turtle helping you, you will certainly be fine."

The tabby cat meowed a few times, feeling that since it was so smart now, maybe it really could catch fish on its own. Anyway, with the old turtle and the big carp there, it wouldn't fall into the water.

And so, the tabby cat ran off happily.

Lu Qiao wasn't worried; it had companions in Red Star Lake, so it wasn't a big problem.

Lu Qiao rested for a while, then went to work.

Not long after she sat in her chair, the telephone rang.

This was the phone in the main office.

It was right next to Sister Qiao's desk. She picked it up, and after a few seconds, her eyes widened, and she called out to Lu Qiao: "Qiao, it's a call for you from Representative Qin."

Everyone looked at Lu Qiao.

Lu Qiao didn't expect him to call her during work hours.

Qin Hengzhi's voice came through the receiver. The call quality wasn't very good, but Qin Hengzhi's voice coming through carried an indescribable clarity and warmth, very pleasant to the ear.

"Did you receive it?"

Lu Qiao naturally knew what he was referring to, so she gave a soft "Mm." Qin Hengzhi on the other end said: "Good!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Before Sister Qiao and the others could tease her, Sister Hua arrived for work.

Following behind her were Gu Zhendong and Wang Xiaomin, both with faces full of joy.

People in the office looked at one another, none of them speaking.

Gu Zhendong took a handful of candies out of his pocket—they really were White Rabbit Creamy Candies—and gave two to everyone in the room, giving the remaining few to Sister Hua.

No one felt that two candies were stingy.

Just buying this kind of creamy candy nowadays required sugar coupons.

Anyway, the atmosphere improved quite a bit.

But unexpectedly, Sister Hua narrowed her eyes, looked at the two people who were beaming with joy, and suddenly said with surprise: "Gu Zhendong, I remember now, aren't you dating Liu Cuixia?"

Wang Xiaomin's expression sank.

It was only after Gu Zhendong held her hand that she didn't refute Sister Hua's words.

Sister Hua naturally wouldn't harp on this; she was just asking casually to see the other party's reaction.

Then she also saw the strange expressions of the others in the office.

She knew these two had come in the morning.

Marriage certificates nowadays were handwritten. Just as Sister Hua was about to write the marriage certificate for the two, someone swept in like a whirlwind.

Everyone looked closely—my god, isn't this Liu Cuixia?

Why did she run over here again?

This shows just how much she likes Gu Zhendong, or perhaps, how unwilling she is to let go.

No one stopped her, and no one intervened; they were all young people, so they shouldn't get involved in the mess.

Sister Qiao even secretly stuffed a handful of melon seeds into Lu Qiao's hand and whispered: "I guess Liu Cuixia is going all out. To prevent these two from getting married, she will definitely say she's pregnant, and that it's Gu Zhendong's child."

Lu Qiao's eyes widened abruptly.

This is the seventies; are they all this bold?

Sister Qiao said: "There's nothing strange about this. Didn't you see it this morning? Liu Cuixia isn't the type to just take things lying down, and this girl is very stubborn; her family can't stop her from doing what she wants. If Wang Xiaomin wants to marry Gu Zhendong, she's going to have to pay a price." ===== CHAPTER 114 =====