Chapter 33: The first day of work

Before going to bed, Lu Qiao stood on a ladder once more. Following the swallow's request, she placed her hand on the three eggs for several minutes.

The naughty swallow said the old turtle had told it that Lu Qiao's hand was different from others; as for why it was different, it didn't know either.

Lu Qiao guessed it might be related to her power ability.

A few minutes later, she was chased off the ladder by her grandmother.

But the swallow's nest seemed to have quieted down as well.

Before falling asleep, Lu Qiao sensed that the swallow's emotions had finally stabilized, and she soon drifted off to sleep.

The next day...

Lu Qiao spent the entire morning completing her onboarding.

This recruitment quota had come down directly, and while there was a probationary period, it was just a formality.

First, she went to the Labor Bureau; nominally, she was a neighborhood office cadre, but in reality, she held a worker's establishment.

Yet, this was already quite remarkable.

The other person who joined with Lu Qiao was a young man named Shao Le. His name suited him well; he always carried a smile when meeting people and was very good at talking.

Lu Qiao was assigned to the main office and even had a desk. She sat opposite Ren Xiaocui.

On the other side was Shao Le.

Lu Qiao looked at the desk with great curiosity. It was very, very old, covered in cracks, with a stack of paper and a bottle of fountain pen ink on top.

Opening the drawer, it was empty and pitch black inside. Should she clean it first?

Perhaps she would be using this desk for two years.

Director Hu walked in. Knowing that the procedures were all finished, he welcomed the two new comrades on behalf of the neighborhood office.

He spoke eloquently: "... Do not underestimate our neighborhood office. Our neighborhood office is a dispatched organ of the higher-level People's Government; we must propagate the state's various guidelines and policies upward, and guide all the work of the five residential committees downward... I won't say much else, I hope the two of you will struggle for the rest of your lives for our great motherland to realize the Four Modernizations early!"

Lu Qiao's eyes were sparkling; she felt the burden on her shoulders was very heavy.

People of this era were truly full of passion and fighting spirit.

Just looking at them made one feel energized.

Just as she was about to express her determination to the director, a shout came from the courtyard: "Director Hu, it's bad! Master Zhou's daughter is holding a bottle of Dichlorvos and wants to drink poison to commit suicide."

Director Hu seemed accustomed to all kinds of emergencies. He said, "Officer Liu from the Security Station, you go take a look."

The current neighborhood office had already restored its early functions, but because it was also affiliated with the military factory, it only set up a Security Station and a Sanitation Station.

Shao Le, standing to the side, immediately said, "Do you need me to call the staff hospital?"

Old Hu glanced at Shao Le and simply named him and Lu Qiao directly: "Both of you go follow and take a look."

Shao Le lifted his legs to chase after Officer Liu and shouted to Lu Qiao, "Little Lu, let's go!"

Lu Qiao said, "You go first, I'll find out about the situation at Master Zhou's house."

A hint of a smile appeared on Old Hu's face.

Knowing oneself and the enemy is the only way to win every battle, after all.

Huang Juan said, "Master Zhou was from the sixth workshop. After his original wife passed away five years ago, he remarried. Then, the daughter he had with his original wife went to the countryside to join the production teams four years ago. Last year, Master Zhou passed away. Now, living in the Zhou house are Master Zhou's second wife and the two children she brought with her. Besides, Master Zhou's daughter, Zhou Li, is already married."

Yesterday, Zhou Li had already come once. She wanted the organization to give her an explanation: why was it that she, the biological daughter, had no qualifications to move in, even though the house was divided between her mother and her father?

Before leaving, Huang Juan lowered her voice and exhorted, "You are already a public official now. This is work; don't be influenced by personal emotions."

Lu Qiao immediately promised that she would definitely correct her attitude, not bring in personal emotions, and definitely hold onto this iron rice bowl firmly.

Lu Qiao caught up with Shao Le very quickly. Shao Le hurriedly asked her what she had found out.

Consequently, Lu Qiao told Shao Le what Huang Juan had said.

Shao Le said while walking, "Logically speaking, a married daughter has no reason to return to her maiden home to demand a house. Look at my family; I have two older sisters. My older brother and I can live with my parents after we get married, but my two sisters can't. After they marry out, the rooms in the house are divided for my nephews..."

Lu Qiao stared coldly at Shao Le.

Shao Le stole a glance at Lu Qiao, whose pretty face was covered in frost.

He had known Shen Yun since they were small, and he had heard Shen Yun say more than once that Bai Jinyan's fiancée, Lu Qiao, was a good-for-nothing straw bag, both stupid and bad. But looking at her now, he didn't know if she was bad, but she definitely had nothing to do with being a straw bag or stupid.

Just from that one glance earlier, he felt a chill down his back.

Shao Le hurriedly asked, "I... did I say something wrong?"

Lu Qiao saw Officer Liu running happily on two legs not far away and deeply felt that it would be good to have a bicycle.

She didn't answer Shao Le's words, only saying, "I'm going to run, can you keep up?"

After speaking, Lu Qiao stretched out her long legs and began to run.

She actually didn't have many clothes, but most people were like this now.

Lu Qiao was wearing a washed-out plaid shirt today, trousers made of labor cloth, black cloth shoes made by her grandmother, and two black braids—very much in the style of hard work and plain living.

Dressed lightly, she ran fast, almost widening the distance from Shao Le in the blink of an eye.

Shao Le hurriedly followed and ran.

He absolutely could not let Lu Qiao surpass him.

In fact, until they reached the tube-shaped apartment building where Master Zhou lived, Shao Le hadn't caught up to Lu Qiao.

Master Zhou's family lived on the first floor. Today was a workday, but there were still quite a few people surrounding it.

Shao Le wiped the sweat from his forehead, placed his hands on his knees, and gasped for air. Looking at Lu Qiao, who was neither red-faced nor out of breath, he sincerely felt inferior.

At this moment, Zhou Li was standing alone in front of the wall, holding a medicine bottle with a skull drawn on it in her hand. Not far away was a man holding a child; he was very tall and had a decent appearance, but his face was full of anxiety and embarrassment.

Officer Liu quickly introduced the two to them: "The one holding the child is Zhou Li's husband, that one is Zhou Li's stepmother, Old Luo, and the other two are the children Old Luo brought..."

At this moment, Zhou Li was crying and complaining while holding the medicine bottle: "You surnamed Luo, you have bad intentions. Back then, it was you who tricked me into going to the countryside to replace your daughter. You told me the countryside was full of food, that there was so much rice and white flour that it could be fed to pigs. You also lied to me, saying that as long as I went to the countryside, you would mail me twenty yuan and ten catties of grain coupons every month. But what was the result? It wasn't like that at all."

Old Luo was a woman who looked very gentle. She said helplessly, "Little Li, what nonsense are you spouting here? When did I ever say that to you? Also, put down the medicine bottle. If you don't consider your father's reputation, you have to consider your child and husband. If you drink the poison and die, what will the two of them do?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Li's husband. He was holding the child, his eyes full of tears, and his other hand was gesturing... was he actually a mute?

Officer Liu hurriedly said, "Zhou Li, put down the bottle. Let's talk things over properly. No matter what the matter is, it can be discussed, right?"

Zhou Li shrieked sharply: "How can we talk properly? I went to your neighborhood office, and you all said that this woman surnamed Luo has the right of inheritance, that she can live in my father's house, and that I am a married-out daughter and have no qualifications to inherit my parents' property. Isn't that what you told me?" *** **CHAPTER 34: Upsetting the Moral Order? **