It was probably because Gu Chengze’s happiness was too obvious. During his lunch break, Yang Dajun specifically came over to ask, “You look so happy; did you receive a letter?” 

Other than this, he couldn’t think of other reason why Gu Chengze was suddenly happy. 

Gu Chengze nodded somewhat reservedly, “Yes, she also told me to be more careful.” 

Thinking of Tang Momo’s concern for him, the smile on Gu Chengze’s lips couldn’t help but deepen. 

“Just a word of concern made you this excited? I say, Old Gu, you really lack ambition.” 

The look on Yang Dajun’s face made Gu Chengze clench his fists and want to punch someone. 

“That reminds me, do you know anyone around that girl?” 

Yang Dajun suddenly thought of an important question. 

Gu Chengze glanced at him in confusion at first, then shook his head. 

“That’s inconvenient. Why didn’t you get to know her friends before? That way, you could find out more about her situation. Maybe they could say a few good words for you.” 

Yang Dajun looked regretful. 

Gu Chengze suddenly remembered the man he saw with Tang Momo when he accompanied her to the factory. Tang Momo seemed to have a good relationship with him. 

“Since that’s the case, let’s continue with the current strategy: keep writing letters and wait for her attitude to soften before bringing up the topic of the relationship. Otherwise, she will get tired of you every time you mention it.” 

Gu Chengze nodded in approval. Anyone would find it annoying to bring up the topic of relationships every time, but now he was just happy to receive her replies. 

*** 

Although the event organized by the food factory is at the end of the month, many people were already preparing for that day. 

“Momo, we’re going to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow morning; will you go?” 

“What are we buying?” 

Tang Momo asked casually. 

“Isn’t Yanzi’s sister at the supply and marketing cooperative? She informed us that there’s a price adjustment early tomorrow morning, and if we go late, there won’t be any left.” 

This was insider information from the supply and marketing cooperative. 

“Then I’ll go with you to take a look.” 

Hearing that they could buy things at a low price, Tang Momo felt tempted. 

“Okay, let’s go early tomorrow.” 

Wang Qian’s tone was filled with excitement. Getting paid was always the happiest thing of the month. 

Tang Momo’s salary was in her hands every month. She had given her previous salary to Zhang Xiaoli since their family was going through tough times, but after getting her first month’s salary, Zhang Xiaoli hadn’t taken any more. She let Tang Momo save for her dowry. 

Zhang Xiaoli’s salary alone is barely enough to cover their family’s expenses. But she doesn’t want to take her salary, so Tang Momo takes care of everything the family needs to purchase, so she often goes to the supply and marketing cooperative. 

*** 

Due to the promotional brochure, she had been meeting Yang Jianlin more often lately. 

Thinking that some of his opinions were quite similar to Hu Jie’s, one day during lunch in the canteen, Tang Momo introduced them to each other. 

Of course, Tang Momo only introduced them to each other. Whether they will develop in the future has nothing to do with her. 

Neither Hu Jie nor Yang Jianlin thought much about it. They assumed it was a casual introduction, and after talking for a bit, they realized they had quite a few things in common, making the conversation enjoyable. 

“It seems that Secretary Yang is a very good person.” 

Wang Qian, who had been watching just now, said casually. 

“He’s quite nice.” 

Tang Momo suddenly remembered she owed him a favor because he had helped her when she first joined the factory. 

Later, the issues with the shoe factory were also thanks to his aunt, and even Tang Xiaoxue had disturbed his family. Thinking of these things made Tang Momo feel somewhat guilty. 

But she doesn’t know how to make up for this guilt, so she can only hope that Yang Jianlin can meet someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with. 

“After this event, you two will probably become famous.” Wang Qian teased her while smiling. 

Tang Momo didn’t want to be famous like that, so they chatted and laughed and went back to the dormitory to prepare for going to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow. 

Early the next morning, Tang Momo went with them to the supply and marketing cooperative. This time, Tang Momo “picked up a bargain” for the first time. 

After buying the things she needed at home, Tang Momo also bought two bottles of snow cream. Winter was coming soon, so these things had to be prepared in advance. 

Seeing the malted milk over there, Tang Momo hesitated for two seconds and finally walked over. In addition to the malted milk, she also bought two canned fruits. 

After everyone bought their own things, they noticed the big and small bags next to Tang Momo. 

“Momo, you bought too much. You must have spent all your salary, right?” 

Wang Qian asked the last sentence very carefully. 

Tang Momo didn’t expect that she would buy so many things. She rubbed her eyebrows and said, “That’s not true.” 

“As long as there’s a need, it has to be bought sooner or later. Momo has stocked up on things for autumn and winter,” Hu Jie glanced at Tang Momo’s things and said warmly. 

“Wow, Momo, you even bought the snow cream.” 

Wang Qian hadn’t even received her salary yet, and she had nearly planned out her spending, so seeing Tang Momo buy snow cream filled her with envy. 

“Well, since I’m here, I might as well buy it all at once to avoid having to run around later.”  

After Tang Momo finished speaking, she glanced at the malted milk and canned fruit. She planned to visit Zhao Xiuli again. 

“Why did you buy so many things?” 

After Zhang Xiaoli finished speaking, she saw malted milk and canned fruit. She was a little confused and guessed. “Are you going to visit Aunt Zhao again?” 

Tang Momo nodded. “Yes, the last visit was a bit rushed because Xu Xiaoyun was there, and I didn’t get to talk to Grandma Zhao properly.” 

“You really should go and have a look again. After all, Gu Chengze saved you back then, and later he even sent over ten eggs.” 

Zhang Xiaoli was very grateful for Gu Chengze’s actions at that time. 

“I’m just worried that the Gu family and the Xu family might be settling their arrangement. You’ve seen the attitude of the girl from the Xu family. She’s afraid that if we go, it will affect them.” 

This was the reason Zhang Xiaoli had been hesitating. 

“That’s not true; the two families have no intention of getting married.” 

Tang Momo said softly.  

“Where did you know that?” 

Zhang Xiaoli glanced at her with some confusion. 

“I heard it from others. Don’t worry, mother, I still have a sense of propriety.” 

In addition to visiting Zhao Xiuli, the most important thing was to see if Xu Xiaoyun was up to anything strange. 

As for the Xu family, because Xu Xiaoyun made a commotion, they had also stopped looking for a match for her. 

With no pressure to meet a potential match, Xu Xiaoyun had calmed down for the time being and focused entirely on her studies. 

She never went to high school, so it was very difficult for her to read high school textbooks. Because of this, she spent more time studying textbooks every day. 

Because of this, many things at home have been delayed. Bai Lu stopped working. Xu Zhengfu’s promise of a watch to her from the time they got married has not been fulfilled, and now Xu Xiaoyun hides in her own room at every turn, leaving all the chores to Bai Lu.  

She was a pregnant woman now. Thinking of Xu Xiaoyun’s dark eyes, Bai Lu didn’t dare to confront her at home, so she could only go out and complain. 

So soon, everyone in the Qingshui Brigade knew that Xu Xiaoyun had been hiding in her room studying every day for some unknown reason. 

“I think it’s not studying; she’s just being lazy.”  

Someone speculated. 

“She’s so lazy. Bai Lu is still pregnant. Why can’t she be more considerate?” 

“I heard that many people came to her house to propose marriage, but she isn’t willing. She has high standards and only wants to marry into the city.” 

These are the rumors Bai Lu has spread. She hopes that once the Xu family hears the discussions outside, they will quickly marry Xu Xiaoyun. 

As long as Xu Xiaoyun wasn’t married, Bai Lu wouldn’t feel at ease. Now that she was pregnant, she couldn’t confront her directly and could only resort to these small tricks.  

Tang Momo heard this kind of news when she went back. She quickly guessed Xu Xiaoyun’s plan. It seemed that she was preparing to take the college entrance examination. 

That sounds good. She needed to prepare for the college entrance exam. She never attended high school in this life or her previous life. So she figured she would have to start learning high school material from scratch. It seemed she wouldn’t have much time to cause trouble. 

Thinking of this, Tang Momo couldn’t help but relax a bit. 

Because Zhao Xiuli injured her leg, she could only lie in bed every day to recuperate, while the rest of the Gu family went to work. 

Zhao Xiuli had been lying in bed for several days and was getting very restless. At this time, she was the only one at home, and it is difficult to find someone to talk to. 

It was during this time that Tang Momo arrived. She pushed open the yard gate, called out a couple of times, and then followed Zhao Xiuli’s voice to her room. 

“Girl from the Tang family, why did you come over today?” 

Zhao Xiuli was very happy to see Tang Momo. 

“I was in such a hurry the other day that I didn’t ask about your situation properly. How are you feeling now?” 

Tang Momo put the malted milk and canned fruit she was holding on the table in the room. 

“It’s nothing serious. I just have to lie down and recuperate.” 

Zhao Xiuli was someone who couldn’t sit still, and she had been quite uncomfortable these days. 

Tang Momo was amused by her expression and comforted her, “After some time, you’ll be able to use crutches to go out for some fresh air.” 

“How are things in the city? Are you tired from work?” 

Zhao Xiuli actually wanted to ask if there were any potential match introduced to her in the city. 

She always felt that Chengze was still thinking about this girl, but she also thought that it was not appropriate for her to ask this question, so she changed her words as she spoke. 

“It’s good. At first, I was busy when I started work, but now I’ve gotten used to it.” 

Tang Momo glanced at Zhao Xiuli’s expression when she spoke. 

At her age, a fall like this made her look much older. Tang Momo thought for a moment and still said gently, “Grandma Zhao, you really shouldn’t go up the mountain anymore. You’re getting older; it’s too dangerous.” 

In Gu Chengze’s heart, she was the only remaining relative in the world, and she hoped she would be well. 

“Mm, I won’t go anymore. That reminds me, I heard that the new mooncakes from the food factory were all suggested by you, right? I’ve tried that fruit flavor; it’s sweet and sour, not bad at all.” 

“Thanks to you, the small fruits of the brigade can be sold.” 

When the food factory came to the brigade to get the small fruits, Jia Daguo specifically told everyone that those fruits were recognized by the food factory thanks to Tang Momo’s efforts.  

“The captain said you are the great contributor of our Qingshui Brigade.” 

Zhao Xiuli smiled when she spoke, this girl was becoming more and more capable. 

“I just stumbled into it; it’s not as great as the captain said.” 

What Tang Momo had done at that time was primarily for herself, so she was also very grateful to Jia Daguo for giving her the opportunity. 

After chatting for a while, Tang Momo said her goodbyes since she had to go to work in the afternoon. 

Tang Momo didn’t expect to run into Xu Xiaoyun shortly after leaving the Gu family. Xu Xiaoyun was out helping Bai Lu gather some pigweed. 

***

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