The Sweetness of the Seventies-Chapter 37 - Secret placement_1
Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Secret placement_1
Chapter 37 -37 Secret placement_1
Niu Dajun and his colleagues were at the other side, passing on letters.
Niu Dajun signed on another colleague’s notebook, verifying that he had taken those letters.
He placed the letters into a canvas bag and put everything away, also making a record in the process.
He Tiantian watched Niu Dajun work from the side, quietly admiring him.
Even though this man was tall and burly with a simple and honest face, he had a delicate interior, was upright and sincere – truly a rare find.
Finally, Niu Dajun finished, and with a beaming smile said, “Let’s go eat.”
Worried that he might not have enough money on him, Niu Dajun had secretly borrowed some from a colleague, and took them to a state-owned restaurant nearby that was known for good food.
He let Qi Xiaoyan, He Tiantian, and Qi Ergou choose the dishes, but since they were too shy, it ended up being Niu Dajun who did the ordering.
Braised pork belly, two crucian carps, a dish of greens, a stir-fried green beans dish, and a big bowl of tomato and egg drop soup.
Initially, Niu Dajun wanted to order the ‘Four Happiness meatballs’ as well, but Qi Xiaoyan quickly stopped him.
With so many dishes, it would cost Niu Dajun quite a bit of money.
Moreover, four people couldn’t finish it all.
There weren’t many diners at that time, so the dishes were served quite quickly.
“Big Brother Niu, this place is really nice; the portions are very generous,” He Tiantian praised.
From what Niu Dajun said, his family was not very wealthy, and he was the only child.
After finding his letters, He Tiantian planned to give him wild rabbits and pheasants from her home as a token of her gratitude.
Niu Dajun laughed heartily, with a squeeze of his eyes, he lowered his voice and said, “My cousin works here – she’s the waitress we talked to just now.”
Having a sister work here meant, although they couldn’t get a discount, they were assured of generous portions.
Qi Xiaoyan smiled and said, “No wonder that sister was so enthusiastic; that’s really nice.”
Qi Ergou swallowed hard, thinking to himself that even if they had the ingredients at home, they couldn’t recreate the flavor of the food here.
They hadn’t made rice for lunch, only steamed buns, and brought out ten of them.
“Alright, let’s eat while it’s hot, don’t be shy.
If it’s not enough, we can order more,” Niu Dajun said, encouraging everyone to eat.
He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan each ate one and a half steamed buns, totaling three buns between them.
Niu Dajun ate three, Qi Ergou also ate three, and he felt too embarrassed to eat more, until Qi Dajun urged him to take the last one.
“Sister Lili, we need to use the bathroom,” He Tiantian whispered.
They had been out since early morning and had not gone to the restroom yet.
Niu Lili, who was Niu Dajun’s cousin, quickly replied with a smile, “It’s in the back, I’ll take you there.”
“Thank you, Sister Lili,” He Tiantian said as she went to the restroom at the back with Qi Xiaoyan.
Niu Lili was very hospitable; in just the time it took for a meal and a chat, she had already grown quite familiar with Qi Xiaoyan and He Tiantian.
After dinner, Niu Dajun, Qi Ergou took He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan to meet up with Village Chief Qi at the commune.
There were many people in the large courtyard of the commune, making a lot of noise, while Village Chief Qi stood to one side in silence, letting them chatter away.
There was another group of people dressed in tattered clothes, looking dispirited, standing in the courtyard not daring to move, as if they were waiting for something.
In his previous life, Village Chief Qi brought back seven people, all old and weak, sick and disabled, who couldn’t do hard work, but they still had a decent life in Qijia Village and didn’t suffer any hardships.
Because of these elderly people, after the news about the college entrance examination was released, they worked overnight to create exam questions, helping many young people from the city and the villagers of Qijia Village to get into college.
He Tiantian and Qi Fangfang also got into college with the help of these people, but at that time, the Qi Family was worried that she wouldn’t come back after getting into college, saying they were too poor to support two.
Back then, He Tiantian was naive and voluntarily gave up her spot to let Qi Fangfang study.
As for Qi Xiaoyan, she could have gone to college too, but she was pregnant at that time and couldn’t take the college entrance exam.
Li Mingkai did take the college entrance exam and, as it happened, he was lucky enough to get in and went off to college in the city, abandoning Qi Xiaoyan.
Back then, in the countryside, people couldn’t get a marriage certificate if they were under the legal age.
Many who got married would rectify their status later on with just a few wedding banquets.
Li Mingkai used the lack of a marriage certificate as a reason to abandon Qi Xiaoyan.
Unable to cope, Qi Xiaoyan committed suicide by jumping into the river.
When the selection had mostly finished, only seven or eight old, weak, sick, and disabled people were left in the yard.
Director Chen was responsible for settling these elderly people.
Those young and able-bodied elders had been taken away by others, and when it was Qijia Village’s turn, all that remained were these kinds of people.
Director Chen felt awkward—could he really expect the Qi Family to care for these people until their dying days?
“Dazhu, this is tough on you,” Director Chen said, realizing the people couldn’t just be left behind; that would be unacceptable.
Village Chief Qi was no fool, but he hadn’t stepped forward to argue with those people before because the letter from his second son had instructed him to treat the people sent to the village well.
Just now, he had been observing and saw that many of them didn’t seem like bad people.
He didn’t understand why they were being treated this way.
If they were guilty, they should just be locked up in prison or executed!
Although he didn’t mind accepting these people inwardly, Village Chief Qi still showed a troubled expression, as it’s common to signal complications in front of superiors, who then might offer some benefits to the village.
He said, “Director Chen, look at these people, they can’t do any work once they get to the countryside.
Aren’t I inviting trouble by bringing these ancestors back home?”
Director Chen understood this concept but had no choice as the people from the other villages had already taken everyone else, and anyhow, these people had to be foisted upon Dazhu.
There was also an important secret instruction that three of the people had to be sent to Qijia Village.
He had wanted to ask about it but was told it wasn’t his business, and he didn’t dare to question further.
“Dazhu, I know this is difficult for you, but, as you can see, we can’t just leave the people here,” Director Chen said.
“Don’t worry, just take these people away, and I’ll double your village’s livestock quota tomorrow.
If we don’t increase the oxen, we’ll add to the number of pigs and sheep, still based on this year’s figures, and the rest you can handle yourselves.”
Hearing this, Village Chief Qi was overjoyed.
Aside from the draft oxen, half the livestock in the village had to be turned over, and the rest could be managed by themselves.
After offering one animal to be slaughtered and shared with the villagers, the rest would be sold at the procurement station.
By the end of the year, each family could get quite a sum.
Clearly, if the quota was doubled without increasing the turn-in, life in the village the following year would be much easier.
Four-legged livestock feed on grass and don’t consume grain; people just needed to be diligent in cutting grass for them.
“Is what you’re saying really true, Director Chen?” asked Village Chief Qi in return, worried that the promise wouldn’t be honored later on, especially since they’d need to supply most of the grain to sustain these people.
Director Chen assured him, “I stand by my word; I can write you a note right now.
These elderly people won’t be able to handle heavy labor, but they can cut grass, raise pigs, and tend sheep, contributing somewhat, so I understand the difficulty you’re facing.”
After settling the people as quickly as possible, Director Chen had other work to do.
