Chapter 134: Who Will Get the Prize?

Time passed in the midst of busyness; with the addition of Zhang Ping'an, the senior apprentice Wang Chang'an was clearly much more relaxed, and the little apprentice nearby also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ping'an, your technique hasn't regressed at all. If I didn't catch anything for over half a year, my hands would have grown rusty."

"I practice when I have nothing to do at home, otherwise I would have grown rusty too."

"That's what I thought," said Wang Chang'an.

At noon, after cadging a meal at his master's place, Zhang Ping'an returned home. Zhang Laohan was carrying a hoe in the wheat field, turning the soil here and hoeing there, never idle for a moment.

"Ping'an, leave all the harvest from this wheat for me next year. I feel like your wheat seeds are much better than the ones back home. I'll come over to take a look again in May."

"Fine."

Zhang Ping'an didn't mind; the wheat yield in the courtyard was indeed higher than back home, about three hundred jin per mu.

In the evening, Zhang Ping'an packed four half-jin bags of tea and four bottles of Tiger Bone Wine, preparing to go to Li Huaide's home. Thinking that Li Huaide's child probably wasn't very old, he also prepared some fruit. He had to consider Li Huaide's wife as well, so he prepared two jars of Wild Honey.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it?"

"Sister-in-law, it's me."

"You must be Zhang Ping'an, right? Li already told me. He's still out socializing, come in and sit."

Li Huaide's wife was a sturdy woman in her thirties named Xu Lijuan, and her temper was actually very good. It was said she was the daughter of a leader in a certain department. Li Huaide was also a ruthless man who sacrificed his dignity to achieve his path to power.

"No need, Sister-in-law. I just came to deliver some things. Here is what Li Ge needed, here is some fruit, and there is also some Wild Honey; it can help women with beauty and skincare."

"Good, good, good. Little Zhang, you are very thoughtful." Every woman couldn't resist this, let alone one who wasn't particularly good-looking; she craved it even more.

"Then that's it, Sister-in-law, I'll head back first."

"Little Zhang, wait a moment." Xu Lijuan rummaged through the room for three or five minutes and handed a pile of gifts to Zhang Ping'an.

"Little Zhang, these were all issued by the unit, take them back to eat."

"This..."

"Take them. If you have more of this Wild Honey in the future, bring some more for Sister-in-law."

"That's a deal, I will definitely keep an eye out for you, Sister-in-law."

"Good, good, good."

On the way back, Zhang Ping'an still felt it was a bit incredible. A single sentence about beauty and skincare had traded for such a large bag of items—various pastries, cigarettes, canned goods, and malted milk. He figured they were all gifts left over from those years of visiting, and now it all went to Zhang Ping'an's benefit.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Li Huaide returned home slightly drunk and found his wife actually waiting for him.

"Juan'er, why aren't you asleep so late?"

"I was worried you'd be drunk and have no one to help you. These were all brought over by Little Zhang this evening."

"Mm, good."

Li Huaide looked at the four bags of tea and four bottles of wine on the table, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face, then he saw the fruit and honey beside them.

"These too?"

"Mm, this honey is really good. I brewed a cup of water to drink and felt my whole body lighten."

"Oh? Let me taste it."

After finishing it, whether it was an illusion or not, Li Huaide felt his wife was much more pleasing to the eye today. Added to the effects of the alcohol, he directly picked up Xu Lijuan and rushed into the bedroom.

"Old Li~"

…………

After coaxing Wang Xiaoling to sleep that night, Zhang Ping'an's consciousness sank into the space. He picked two lynx kittens the size of cats to domesticate, planning to put them in the courtyard to act as cats in the next two days.

In this era, there was always no shortage of things like rats in the kitchen, and the Ear Room where grain was stored also rustled every day. Plus, he had planted crops in his courtyard, so there was even less of a shortage of rats.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an still handed over thirty wild rabbits. Zhu Weiguo was even more satisfied; letting everyone have a meat dish before the new year meant they would likely understand if fewer benefits were issued.

"The new year is almost here. Everyone has worked very hard this year, and each task indicator has been successfully completed. In particular, comrades Zhu Jianshe and Zhang Ping'an should be highly commended."

"The two of them can be said to be the pillars of our Procurement Section, setting a positive example for the factory's procurement tasks. At the same time, I hope everyone will continue to contribute to the factory."

"Ahem, the Advanced Individual of our Procurement Section this year will also be decided between the two of you. I have already reported your names to Director Li, and I believe there will be a result by tomorrow at the latest."

"Jianshe, Ping'an, no matter which of you gets this Advanced Individual, the other should not be disappointed. Young people have plenty of opportunities in the future."

"Understood, Director."

To be honest, Zhang Ping'an cared quite a bit about this Advanced Individual. In this day and age, this honor would remain in one's file, and if things went wrong, it could be a protective talisman in the future.

However, Zhang Ping'an also knew his chances weren't high. Zhu Weiguo's words just now were clearly meant for him to hear, but what if our Comrade Li was effective?

Don't say that, really don't say that. Our Comrade Li woke up in the morning feeling refreshed, and his sturdy wife had prepared breakfast for him early, which made Li Huaide quite pleased.

Upon entering the office in the morning, he saw the Advanced Individual list that Zhu Weiguo had sent over a few days ago on his documents. Li Huaide thought for a moment and still reported Zhang Ping'an's name.

After all, this little brother had helped him quite a bit, and when he went to his father-in-law's house later, he would likely be looked at differently thanks to the tea.

"Liu, send this recommendation list to the Factory Office."

"Understood, Director."

At this time, at Li Huaide's home, after Xu Lijuan drank another cup of honey water in the morning, the urge to defecate arrived. After resolving it in the restroom, Xu Lijuan felt unprecedentedly comfortable and felt like she had a spring in her step. She didn't yet know that her face, which was originally puffy and fat, had clearly subsided quite a bit.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Li Huaide took his wife to the courtyard guarded by soldiers; it was the home of his father-in-law, Xu Qianshan.

"Little sister, why do I feel like you've lost so much weight?" said the eldest brother, Xu Baisheng.

"Have I?"

"Really, if you don't believe me, ask Mom and Dad."

"Mm, you have indeed lost weight."

Li Huaide also began to size up his wife at this time; it seemed she really had lost a little bit.

It was hard for people who saw each other every day to notice these subtle changes; only someone like Xu Baisheng, who returned once or twice a year, could spot the difference at a glance.

"Little sister, have you been dieting again?" his sister-in-law Zhong Yan asked with concern.

"No, no, I've been eating normally."

It turned out that the reason Xu Lijuan was so burly and thick-set started with her getting goiter; although medical treatment managed to control it, it also caused her metabolism to slow down, so whatever she ate was difficult to digest and metabolize, and she grew fatter by the day.

"By the way, I drank Wild Honey water yesterday and this morning, and it seems like I passed a lot this morning, and I feel much more relaxed," Xu Lijuan said in a low voice to her sister-in-law, feeling embarrassed.

"Honey water? That is indeed possible; do you have any other discomfort?"

"No, no, I feel better than ever."

Zhong Yan was a doctor herself and knew more than the average person; Honey could indeed promote gastrointestinal motility, though it also depended on an individual's absorption.

"Alright, it's a good thing Lijuan has thinned out; let's go cook."

"Alright, Mother."

Li Huaide and the two other men were drinking tea in the main room, and the moment the tea leaves hit the water, the brother-in-law and the father-in-law twitched their noses.

"Brother-in-law, this tea?"

"It was sent by a little brother from my hometown; he also works at the Rolling Mill."

*Slurp. *

"Fragrant, this tea is likely extraordinary; I felt my mind clear up quite a bit after just one sip," and then Xu Qianshan silently put away the two bags of tea leaves.

"Dad, these tea leaves..."

"Ahem, what tea leaves?"

"..."