Chapter 49

Director Hu waved his hand, putting an end to the heated discussion among the crowd.

"Report the investigation results, then get off work."

When it was Shao Le and Lu Qiao's turn, Director Hu was shocked. He and Old Huang had both been busy outside and not in the office, so naturally, they hadn't received the call from Officer Liu.

Therefore, they didn't know yet that the case had been solved and the missing ducks and chickens had all been found.

Consequently, he gave the two of them a round of praise, then waved his hand to let them go home, but told them to come in early in the afternoon to continue the investigation.

At the same time, Qin Hengzhi had already returned to the Military Representative Office after leading his comrades to assist the residents with their relocation.

After taking a shower, Secretary Xiao Su reported something to him: "Today, a factory leader asked me if Master Lu's mother had come to the Military Representative Office to cause trouble. The other party said it had already spread throughout the factory area, claiming that Master Lu's mother had declared that you must take responsibility for Lu Qiao's innocence. Deputy Factory Director Lin said he plans to send a Women's Federation cadre at noon to have a heart-to-heart talk with Master Lu's mother..."

Qin Hengzhi frowned slightly; he had heard this from Lu Qiao, so naturally, he wasn't surprised.

After a moment of contemplation, he said indifferently: "Go and pack up some of the wheat-ear fish you caught; I'm going to feed the cat."

This morning, the soldiers of the Military Representative Office had chosen the lakeside for their morning exercises.

Qin Hengzhi had them all bring buckets and fishing nets, and after training, they had caught quite a few fish and shrimp, intending to add them to their lunch.

The Military Representative Office had its own cafeteria, separate from the factory's main cafeteria.

Xiao Su was stunned: "Feed the cat? Whose cat?"

"Lu Qiao's cat."

The usually sharp Xiao Su had a momentary mental block and didn't understand why Representative Qin wanted to go feed a cat.

But executing orders was already ingrained in his actions, so he turned to make the arrangements.

Yet, Xiao Su felt once again that something about this was not quite right.

But he didn't dare to speculate casually.

Meanwhile, Lu Qiao hadn't left yet. She said to Old Hu: "Director Hu, I just asked around, and the number of unemployed youth this year has increased by about thirty percent compared to last year, and the number of educated youth who returned to the city and didn't go back is three times that of last year. If we can't provide them with job opportunities, I'm afraid public security will have its hands full in the future."

Old Hu said: "The Municipal Educated Youth Office is about to issue a document. Educated youth who remain without cause must all return to the places where they were sent to join the production teams; otherwise, they will be treated as blindly mobile personnel."

Lu Qiao blinked. Blindly mobile meant "blind drifters." If her younger sister's medical certificate was judged invalid, she would fall into this category and must be repatriated to the place where she was sent.

That girl would not go back.

She didn't want her to go back either.

"Director Hu, forced repatriation is not a long-term solution. They have already done a great job responding to the call to build the countryside. Moreover, most educated youth were only fifteen or sixteen when they left home. The conditions in the countryside are not as good as in the city, so they will return sooner or later. It would be better if we made preparations early."

Director Hu widened his eyes: "What kind of thinking is this? My second son is also in the countryside joining a production team, and I didn't let him come back. Rural construction is very important; it is right for them to go back."

Lu Qiao didn't refute Director Hu's words; after all, this was the correct way of thinking.

Director Hu was actually quite an interesting person.

She just smiled and said: "Director Hu, I suggest that the neighborhood office establish a voluntary convenience service station. We can recruit ten people in the early stage, treat them as temporary workers, and affiliate them with the neighborhood office, but without official establishment, without fixed wages, and without the same benefits as the military factory. Furthermore, sometimes they will have to contribute voluntarily. The purpose is to serve the people wholeheartedly. Generally, people with low awareness won't look down on this service station. How about this: I will give you a plan this afternoon, and you can make a decision after you have read it."

After finishing, Lu Qiao left Director Hu's office. By the time Director Hu remembered to ask her what she meant by a plan, Lu Qiao had already walked away with cheerful steps.

Old Hu grabbed a handful of his graying hair and stood stunned for a long while.

Just as he was about to get off work, he heard the phone ring. When he picked it up, it was actually Factory Director Hao.

Factory Director Hao had also just decided to call Director Hu.

Yesterday, he and Old He had tried to persuade Qin Hengzhi to stay for a long time, but Qin Hengzhi said he had to follow the organization's arrangements.

But his intention was still to leave.

It seemed to be a very important place, too.

But just now, he heard from his secretary that Qin Hengzhi and Lu Qiao should be familiar with each other. Not to mention the life-saving grace, the restaurant incident inevitably made people imagine things. And then there was the chicken-stealing incident this morning; the secretary happened to pass by and saw the whole thing. He felt that the relationship between Qin Hengzhi and Lu Qiao wasn't that simple.

There were also some details he couldn't figure out, but that didn't stop Factory Director Hao from calling Old Hu.

"Old Hu, how is Lu Qiao performing? Hmm, you don't need to report to me now. Observe her for a week, and then come to my office to find me."

Old Hu initially thought Factory Director Hao knew about Lu Qiao's ability and was coming to poach her.

That's right, both Old Hu and Old Huang felt that Lu Qiao was a very capable comrade.

This didn't require long-term observation; one could see a person's level of handling problems from a few incidents.

He hurriedly said: "Lu Qiao is a cadre of the neighborhood office; she is a key person we are cultivating."

Factory Director Hao laughed out loud: "Rest assured, I won't snatch anyone from you. If the assessment is qualified, I'll introduce a partner to her!"

At this moment, Lu Qiao was completely unaware of this.

She pointed at the tabby cat squatting on the wall waiting to eat fish: "I don't have time at noon today. I still have to write things after eating. Let's talk about it tomorrow noon."

The tabby cat suddenly jumped up and ran toward the front of the road.

Lu Qiao was puzzled, but when she turned the street corner, she saw a jeep slowly pulling over, and a tall, straight figure stepped out of the car.

It was actually Qin Hengzhi.

He stood by the car door, seemingly watching the tabby cat jumping up and down by the trunk with great interest.

Before Lu Qiao could get close, she heard the tabby cat call out happily: 【There's fish in the trunk, there's fish, so much fish.】

Lu Qiao didn't find it strange; a cat's sense of smell was naturally much sharper than a human's.

It had over 240 million olfactory cells alone, especially after she raised Huahua; Huahua was much sharper than before.

She watched Qin Hengzhi silently.

Qin Hengzhi also shifted his gaze from the cat to look at the cat's owner.

After a few seconds of stagnation, Qin Hengzhi was the first to break the silence. He opened the trunk and uncovered the iron bucket with the lid on, letting Lu Qiao see the fish inside.

"I heard your younger brother say the other day that Huahua likes to eat wheat-ear fish. These are basically all of them. Let them be Huahua's rations."

This time, it was Lu Qiao's turn to look at Qin Hengzhi with a probing gaze.

He wouldn't do this for no reason.

Lu Qiao: "You really are a good person. Not only did you save my life and help me out of a predicament, but you also gave my brother a fishing rod. This time, you even drove over to deliver fish for Huahua to eat. Our family doesn't know how to express our endless gratitude to you; we are truly ashamed."

Qin Hengzhi ignored her affectation, closed the trunk, picked up the meowing tabby cat, opened the car door, and put it inside. He also got into the car and said to Lu Qiao: "Get in. There might be guests at your home right now talking to your grandmother."

When Lu Qiao heard this, what else was there not to understand?

It must be that the rumors had taken effect, and the factory leaders couldn't sit still anymore.

Lu Qiao got into the car neatly.

Qin Hengzhi curled the corners of his mouth, and the jeep slowly drove toward the Lu family's direction...

(End of chapter)