Chapter 177: Who dares to speak ill of Lu Lu Qiaoge?

Lu Qiao stood in the corridor and whispered, "Second Aunt Lin, I'll just have a word with Deputy Director Huang this afternoon."

Lu Qiao then took Fan Xiaoyu to the washroom, which was the restroom, to freshen up.

Once they were settled, Lu Qiao took her to the state-run restaurant for a meal.

One bowl of egg noodles each.

Fan Xiaoyu was so embarrassed she didn't know what to say, but Lu Qiao told her not to feel burdened, as the unit would reimburse the expense.

Fan Xiaoyu was half-doubting, but Lu Qiao was very good at dispelling the other party's concerns, telling her to eat without worry and not to fear owing favors; she would always have a day when she was capable, and on that day, she could help others to repay the organization's assistance.

These words made Fan Xiaoyu's eyes light up instantly.

That's right, when she had the ability, she could also help people just like Lu Qiao.

She ate her noodles with peace of mind, no longer panicked; as long as she was willing to work hard, there would always be a day to repay the kindness.

Lu Qiao arranged for her to stay in the ward and then returned to the unit; it was already working hours by then.

She needed to report this matter to Director Hu and Deputy Director Huang, mainly to Aunt Huang, the deputy director, because this was under her responsibility.

Just as Lu Qiao had thought, her actions at the time were correct and earned her praise from both of them.

As for how to arrange the follow-up, it was actually still a bit difficult.

The military factory had staff dormitories, but those were for workers in the factory area.

Not to mention that Fan Xiaoyu was an educated youth who had returned to the city without a job; even a neighborhood committee cadre like Lu Qiao wasn't qualified to live there.

So, the staff dormitories were out of the question.

People often say that many cadres don't want to manage things; when you don't manage anything, at most they say you are mediocre and incompetent, but if you really do manage, a lot of trouble will come looking for you later.

Just like with Fan Xiaoyu; if Lu Qiao hadn't intervened, she would be doing whatever she was doing now, and wouldn't be in a situation where she couldn't even go home for lunch.

But now that she had intervened, she had to consider many factors, such as whether the Fan family would let Fan Xiaoyu go back, and if not, where should she go after Chen Gou was discharged?

After all, she wasn't married and didn't have a partner; could a single young woman go out and rent a place?

Her lack of a job meant no income, which meant she couldn't survive.

This was the consequence of reaching out to help.

Of course, the two directors and Lu Qiao wouldn't think this way.

Sister Hua did say to Sister Qiao: "Lu Lu Qiaoge is still too young. Even if she saw such a thing, there was no need to take the person away. She should have just criticized and educated the people of the old Fan family, letting them know that what they were doing was wrong, and then Lu Lu Qiaoge could have gone about her business; why bother worrying? Sometimes, the more you do, the more you do wrong. Look at that person..."

Sister Hua looked meaningfully at Officer Cao, who was sitting next to the file cabinet.

Sister Qiao took one look and withdrew her gaze. This person was a relative of the old factory director, arranged into the neighborhood committee, but she didn't like to manage things, avoiding work whenever she could and being as lazy as possible.

She couldn't be named an advanced worker, but she didn't make mistakes either.

You couldn't do anything about a person like that.

Sister Qiao also felt that Lu Lu Qiaoge was a bit foolish, always rushing forward on her own initiative.

After a few breaths, Sister Qiao suddenly said with a dejected expression: "If... if the person Xiu Xiu had met was Lu Qiao, perhaps she wouldn't have died."

Sister Hua's complexion changed instantly.

After Lu Qiao left, Old Huang also sighed and said to Old Hu: "What Lu Lu Qiaoge did is right. No matter what others say, the two of us must support her."

Old Hu nodded: "Rest assured, I am cultivating her as my successor."

Huang Juan looked out the window and suddenly said: "Do you still remember Xiu Xiu?"

Old Hu's expression darkened.

Of course he remembered. That year, he and Old Huang had just been transferred to the neighborhood committee to start work.

At that time, they weren't familiar with anything, just like ducks being driven onto a perch.

Back then, the buildings hadn't been built yet; it was all a large area of single-story houses, and the neighborhood committee office was just a few tents set up together.

Every day, all sorts of things happened, just like now.

Xiu Xiu's family situation was very similar to Fan Xiaoyu's.

Her parents were both workers in the factory, and her two older brothers had married one after another. After Xiu Xiu's eldest sister-in-law gave birth to the Zhou family's eldest grandson, she felt she could be the master of the house.

She took charge and married Xiu Xiu off to a fool, accepting a gold bracelet from the other party.

Xiu Xiu didn't agree, but everyone in the family forced her, including her own father and mother.

Huang Juan and Sister Hua went together to handle the matter. After criticizing the behavior of the Zhou family, they kindly persuaded Xiu Xiu, who was crying and didn't want to go back, and sent her into the hands of her mother.

At that time, the thought was that, no matter what, they were a family.

But who could have imagined that her mother felt that since her daughter was grown, she would have to marry sooner or later, that a daughter was just a useless money-losing item, and that since the Zhou family had raised her for over ten years, she should repay them.

Besides, what was wrong with a fool? A fool was good; he didn't hit people, and once she entered the house, she could be the master. After the new year, if she gave birth to a big, fat boy, wouldn't the good life arrive?

Thus, that very night, they knocked Xiu Xiu unconscious and sent her to the fool's house.

The fool's house was in the neighboring county. Huang Juan and Sister Hua heard about it three days later because the fool's family came to report a death: Xiu Xiu had died, beaten to death by the fool.

That family not only wasn't afraid, but instead asked the Zhou family for the gold bracelet back; it was only because of this that they learned Xiu Xiu had passed away on the night of the wedding.

She was only seventeen! A flower so beautiful, before it could even bloom, was sent into hell by her own relatives.

This matter had always made Huang Juan and Sister Hua feel guilty.

But many times, facing such phenomena, facing deeply rooted concepts, they also felt powerless.

Huang Juan wiped away a tear and said to Old Hu: "We can't control what people say behind our backs, but who dares to speak ill of Lu Lu Qiaoge to her face?"

Old Hu said: "Just now Lu Lu Qiaoge said she would handle Fan Xiaoyu's matter, but we can't just watch from the sidelines. You go to the Fan family; lecture them if you need to, scold them if you need to. If they don't listen to reason, go to the unit where the Fan brothers work and report it. I'll go to the Grain Bureau and then to the factory headquarters to ask what procedures are needed to reopen the night school..."

The two directors went off to their respective tasks. Lu Qiao didn't know the content of their conversation; she was currently thinking about Fan Xiaoyu's placement.

Sister Hua called out to Lu Qiao and said gently: "Lu Lu Qiaoge, how do you plan to settle Fan Xiaoyu?"

Lu Qiao was sitting at her desk, flipping through the notes she had recorded.

The weather was hot, and the little animals weren't running out, basically all hiding at Lu Qiao's house enjoying the cool cross-breeze.

It was rare for Lu Qiao to have some peace and quiet.

She had already thought of a solution.

"Sister Hua, Chen Gou still needs half a month to be discharged from the hospital. As long as Fan Xiaoyu agrees, she has a place to live for these half a month. Besides, the place where Fan Xiaoyu was sent down to was in the south, and an old lady with good craftsmanship taught her bamboo weaving."

"She said the pen holders she wove were once spotted by a comrade in charge of foreign trade at a trade fair organized by the county last year. It's just a pity that for some reason there was no news afterward, but as long as she has this skill, joining the weaving group won't be a problem. As for where she'll live, we'll talk about that after half a month."

Lu Qiao analyzed that this pen holder must have been intercepted by someone else.

But it was also possible there was no market for it and it couldn't be exchanged for foreign currency.

Sister Hua smiled: "Fan Xiaoyu actually knows bamboo weaving? That's wonderful! She's like a homeless person right now; if she could have a job, I don't know how happy she would be." ===== CHAPTER 178 =====