Chapter 618: Snatching People

Xiaomei's heart sank, and tears streamed down instantly.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly became a bit hysterical: "What else do you know? Tell me everything!"

"When he went to Dongwangzhuang to show movies, he also looked for another young widow. That one didn't have kids, her husband was dead, she'd been kicked out by her in-laws, had nowhere to go, so she lived in the village primary school... That young widow was only in her early twenties."

Xiaomei didn't make a sound.

In fact, she had had a premonition for a long time.

In the past, her own background was poor, and she always felt she had to cling to Xu Damao to survive.

But now she was a BranchManager, why should she still take this kind of humiliation?

She took ten yuan out of her pocket and handed it over: "Thanks for your hard work, take this. You go now, don't talk about this outside."

Yan Jiefang didn't take it, his face suddenly turned red, and he even started stuttering when he spoke: "S-Sister Xiaomei, if you divorce him... could you consider me?"

Xiaomei's eyes almost popped out: "You little brat! How old are you?"

Yan Jiefang grinned: "I'm eighteen this year."

"Don't talk nonsense with me!" She waved her hand, "Get going!"

Just then, Yan Jiefang suddenly grabbed her hand.

Xiaomei glared: "Let go!"

Yan Jiefang wouldn't let go no matter what, and suddenly hugged her.

Xiaomei's hands didn't stop hitting and pounding on his body.

Yan Jiefang was like a piece of dog-skin plaster; he let her hit him, but just wouldn't let go.

Xiaomei got tired of hitting and stopped, panting heavily.

She calmed down a bit and said: "Yan Jiefang, I've watched you grow up. If you really want to be with me, it's not impossible, but you have to promise me that from now on, you won't be a thief anymore."

Yan Jiefang nodded vigorously: "Sister Xiaomei, I'll listen to you! I promise!"

Xiaomei stared at him for a moment, then added: "Also, you must find a proper job."

As soon as Yan Jiefang heard this, his face fell, and he shook his head: "Where am I supposed to find one? Someone like me, who would want me?"

Xiaomei let out a long breath, and after a moment of silence, said: "Our factory is still short of a few drivers. I have a good relationship with Manager Chen; as long as you guarantee you won't steal things anymore, I'll introduce you in."

As soon as Yan Jiefang heard the words "driving a car," his eyes lit up instantly.

He knew all too well the weight of this job. With his stingy father, it was impossible for him to find such a good job. He was almost eighteen now, hanging out as a hoodlum in society all day, and he felt he couldn't keep going like that either. Over at Luogu Lane, many people rolled their eyes when they saw him and pointed fingers behind his back.

Seeing his excitement, Xiaomei added another sentence: "Don't talk about our business outside yet. Wait until I've finished divorcing Xu Damao."

Yan Jiefang nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice: "I understand! Sister Xiaomei, I understand!"

In the Red Star Rolling Mill Factory Director's office, He Yuzhu had just sent off a group of inspectors, and before he could even settle into his seat, the phone on the desk rang.

He picked it up and heard it was actually Li Xiangxiu.

"Xiangxiu? You're back from your temporary posting?" He Yuzhu asked quickly.

On the other end of the phone, Li Xiangxiu smiled: "Actually, I didn't want to bother you, but Dan insisted I call. I'm just puzzled; she always says you and I are closer than she is with you, how can I believe that? How long have you two been working together?"

He Yuzhu replied somewhat nonchalantly: "Xiangxiu, how old are we now, still talking about this? Are you short on food again?"

Li Xiangxiu laughed: "Our unit is at least considered a priority for supplies. But the problem is, some people can't bear to eat it and take it home... Dan knows you have dried fish and salted fish, but she's always been too embarrassed to ask, saying you don't have it easy either."

He Yuzhu immediately interrupted her: "With our relationship, saying these things makes us strangers. Come over now, I'll take you to see the goods."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangxiu's voice went up an octave: "Okay! I'll be there right away, right away!"

In less than an hour, Li Xiangxiu arrived in a rush.

He Yuzhu looked her over—her face was much rougher than before she left, and she was darker and thinner too.

"Hey, your training results are pretty good, you're very down-to-earth now!" He Yuzhu laughed.

Li Xiangxiu didn't take the bait and said seriously: "I'm telling you something important. I finally managed to ferret out Deputy Director Ma; he really was a spy from Taiwan... According to his own account, he originally wanted to stay undercover forever... but the people over there kept coming to him in waves to cause trouble, and he couldn't hide from them."

She paused and said: "Do you remember that time you came back to Si Jiu Cheng and told me about running into snipers?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "I remember. I was very puzzled; there were two snipers, and after I killed them, there was no more movement. That doesn't fit that group's style."

Li Xiangxiu said: "You didn't know, but there were actually four of them who came. Two were taken out directly by Lao Ma."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly: "To be honest, Lao Ma, he really didn't cause us any major harm. He even helped out a lot."

Li Xiangxiu echoed: "It's true. Just like we analyzed later, the two who wanted to blow up the oil depot back then were also killed by him."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu felt relieved and asked: "What was his final sentence?"

"Life imprisonment. But given his situation, he might be able to get out after serving twenty years."

He Yuzhu asked again: "You got a promotion this time, right?"

Li Xiangxiu nodded, a smile on the corner of her mouth: "I'm the Section Chief of the First Division now."

He Yuzhu laughed: "Not bad, Xiangxiu, congratulations! I really didn't expect that among the people I knew back then, you were the youngest, and now your rank is higher than my uncle's."

Li Xiangxiu said: "I heard about that. Actually, Tian Dan put in a lot of effort and helped find people; otherwise, your uncle definitely would have had to go to Beidahuang."

He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart; Tian Dan had never mentioned this to him.

He took Li Xiangxiu to the Liushi Trading Company's DongjiaoFarm.

There were neat stacks of flour there, probably several dozen tons.

Li Xiangxiu looked at the flour piled high in front of her, still unable to believe it: "These... are all for me?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Because of the kindness Tian Dan showed by doing good deeds without mentioning them, I couldn't let her down. Besides, if the people in your unit aren't eating well, how can they guard social order? Who would guarantee the safety of the common people?"

Li Xiangxiu's eyes were a bit red; she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.

He Yuzhu patted her shoulder: "You go back and tell her, if it's not enough, come find me anytime. No matter where I have to squeeze it from, I can get some for her."

Li Xiangxiu nodded vigorously, turned around, and drove off.

He Yuzhu returned to his office, and before he could even settle into his seat, the phone rang again.

It was Liu Xiaohua calling; he didn't say much on the phone and directly asked He Yuzhu to go to their factory to discuss matters.

He Yuzhu could sense that this matter was unusual, so he didn't delay and drove straight over.

In Liu Xiaohua's office, the tea had already been brewed.

Liu Xiaohua handed over a teacup and got straight to the point: "Didn't you say you had a student who is a math genius? I have a secret project here that urgently needs someone with strong computational skills. I thought, this girl understands Computer and is skilled at calculation; she is simply tailor-made for this project."

Upon hearing this, a look of hesitation appeared on He Yuzhu's face: "Even if you don't say it, I can roughly guess what kind of project it is. But once one enters this project, it takes many years to come out, right?"

Liu Xiaohua nodded.

"She is too young, let me recommend someone else to you!" He Yuzhu replied decisively.

Liu Xiaohua was stunned for a moment and pointed at He Yuzhu's nose: "You brat, you're just refusing me directly like that?"

He Yuzhu retorted irritably: "Your matter is very important, but replacing it with someone else wouldn't affect it at all, whereas I have no successor on my end."

Liu Xiaohua scratched his head, feeling troubled as well: "I've already bragged about it."

He Yuzhu thought for a moment: "To be honest with you, I have a student named FengZhen. His talent in mathematics is no worse than Man Yatou's, and he has learned Computer quite well too. He is at the StateScienceandTechnologyCommission, and he wouldn't need to undergo too much political vetting."

Liu Xiaohua pondered for a while and nodded helplessly: "What you say is also true; she is indeed still too young."