Chapter 105

Qiao Wei became famous again.

When she rested for two days and returned to work, there were always people taking the opportunity to ask her when they went to the office, “You can really drive, huh?”

Qiao Wei repeated her lines, “I only know how to brake to stop and accelerate to go. I didn’t know how to use the clutch. I was crying and asking Secretary Huang, and he said he didn’t know either. Finally, when the car started moving, I heard him say ‘change gears’ in my ear. It felt like I was dreaming when I managed to drive to the hospital.”

She had repeated this dialogue countless times, feeling like she was becoming like the character from a story.

Finally, Secretary Huang also returned to work, and others couldn’t help but ask him.

Secretary Huang said, “She doesn’t know how to drive at all. She was holding the steering wheel and shouting at me ‘how do I use the clutch?’ I didn’t know either. The car would stall as soon as she started driving. I lost count of how many times it stalled. Finally, it miraculously started moving. I looked, and she hadn’t even changed gears. I had to tell her to change gears.”

He said the same thing to every curious person.

Their dialogues matched up. Finally, everyone believed that Qiao Wei couldn’t drive, and she had really just taken a desperate gamble in a moment of crisis, which had succeeded.

Indeed, there had been incidents in the county when the newly introduced public buses had been driven by students who sneaked onto the empty buses and crashed into trees because the drivers had forgotten to remove the keys. So, it was possible for someone who didn’t know how to drive to end up driving a vehicle.

Anyway, regardless of how it happened, whether it was a desperate gamble or just a coincidence, she succeeded.

The secretary’s life was saved.

Who wouldn’t envy that?

Sure enough, when Secretary Meng returned to work, he called Qiao Wei into his office and told her, “This is a transfer letter. Go to the district and transfer your file here. Your position will be officially in the county from now on.”

What could Qiao Wei say?

She certainly couldn’t say, “Actually, I’m not very ambitious. I just want to snack on sunflower seeds at the radio station until retirement.”

Of course, she couldn’t say that. She had to look pleasantly surprised and express her heartfelt thanks.

In the workplace, one had to be tactful; in officialdom, one gradually became hypocritical.

Secretary Huang’s congratulations to her, however, were sincere.

After this incident, Secretary Meng treated her more kindly, and there was an invisible barrier that disappeared between her and Secretary Huang.

He asked her, “Did you get your high school diploma?”

Qiao Wei said she did.

Secretary Huang said, “When you bring your file over, bring your high school diploma too.”

Qiao Wei didn’t think much of it; she thought it was just a requirement for registering her file and becoming official.

When she went to the district archives to retrieve her file, she also took the opportunity to visit her former colleagues and old leaders.

Everyone congratulated her when they found out.

Lu Manman’s face showed that she was living a good life, with a glow on her face.

In just a few days, she had gained weight and her face had become rounder.

She looked truly content.

“Just like he won’t let me do the laundry,” Lu Manman whispered to her. “He said everyone in the army knows that the leader helps with household chores. He said he wants to emulate that.”

Qiao Wei couldn’t help but laugh.

She also went to see Secretary Gao.

Secretary Gao was not surprised at all; he said, “I knew it would happen sooner or later.”

Qiao Wei sighed.

Secretary Gao scolded her, “Wipe that look off your face. It’s a bit tiring in the county, but it’s not as leisurely as the radio station. But there’s a future here! Work hard, work hard! Don’t forget, the district committee is your family, ah—”

The last “ah—” was drawn out like coaxing a child.

It was so nice to have connections in the county.

With someone in the county, Secretary Meng showed up as soon as something happened to him, and he communicated with Secretary Meng to build rapport.

How nice.

Transferring the file to the county was not difficult at all, and everyone she met congratulated her.

Now, there wasn’t even anyone saying sour words; everyone had a smiling face.

Fortunately, Qiao Wei wasn’t a naive young person who didn’t know anything, and she wasn’t going to get carried away by being surrounded like this. She was a person who had truly experienced the ups and downs of life and wouldn’t forget herself because of these things.

After transferring the file, she also brought her brand new high school diploma to the county.

Secretary Huang filled out a form and took it to Secretary Meng for his signature, then got a few more signatures from others, and then she had her whole set of documents processed.

It was only then that Qiao Wei realized why he had asked her to bring her high school diploma.

The administrative salary system was different from the military’s 24-level salary system; it was a 30-level salary system.

During the advertising exhibition, she belonged to the level of “junior high school education” and “joining the workforce.” The former attribute wouldn’t change, but the latter attribute would upgrade to “becoming official,” and then she would wait year by year for her salary to increase based on her experience.

She was the lowest-level Grade 12 clerk, earning the lowest Level 30 salary of 23 yuan.

Now, she has suddenly upgraded to a Grade 7 clerk, earning a Level 25 salary. This level required a “technical school/high school education” and “becoming official.” Now, her monthly salary was 37.5 yuan.

Who would complain about earning more money? Everyone was jubilant!

Soon, it was so cold that even her cashmere coat couldn’t keep her warm.

Before Qiao Wei could speak, Yan Lei asked her, “Do you want a military coat?”

Without hesitation, Qiao Wei said, “Yes!”

Yan Lei nodded.

He had asked her a few years ago, and she had declined. Now, seeing that she liked wearing military green, he asked her again.

But Yan Lei didn’t bring up the past again.

Once she got the military coat, she put it on. It was really warm.

Xiang Xiang also had a new padded jacket to wear. His mother’s father helped to get new cotton, and a young tailor from the craft alley made it.

The padded jacket had a cotton core and an outer layer for protection. When washing it, only the outer layer needed to be washed.

The new cotton shoes were made by Auntie Ba’er.

This old lady had good skills, but she was quite tricky and took advantage of people.

Qiao Wei smiled and said to her, “We’ve weighed all the materials.”

Auntie Ba’er pursed her lips.

Knowing that Qiao Wei was meticulous, she made the padded jacket thick, with elastic cotton when pinched. She didn’t dare to use old cotton instead of new cotton.

Xiang Xiang wore the woolen socks hooked by Auntie Hu, then put on a thick padded jacket. The woolen pants on his legs were knitted by his mother personally. Although not every stitch was even, the yarn used was new, not old yarn that had been unraveled many times.

The warmth of new cotton and new yarn was incomparable to old cotton and old yarn.

When they went out, they filled a small hot water bottle with hot water, tightened it, and put it in the small pouch hooked by Auntie Hu. Each of them wore one around their necks and stuffed it into their clothes to keep their bellies warm under their autumn clothes.

By the time he went to kindergarten, his mother had already refilled the hot water bottle with hot water.

Not only did his mother give him cotton gloves to wear, but she also regularly applied oil to his hands and face.

While other children had cracked skin, Xiang Xiang didn’t have any problems at all.

She didn’t feel the winter was difficult at all.

The road from the county town to the Xiahekou district had been under construction and was almost finished. The Qingshan district was envious because once the ground froze, they wouldn’t be able to continue construction. They would have to wait until after the Chinese New Year to start work.

Qiao Wei saw the progress of the road construction every day while riding the bus. After the merger of the county and town, there was a sense of vigorous development.

If only it was really like this.

Qiao Wei sighed.

Time flew by, and New Year’s Day passed quickly.

However, New Year’s Day wasn’t important to Chinese people; the Spring Festival was what truly mattered.

After New Year’s Day, it would soon be the Spring Festival. Every household began to stock up on New Year goods.

Some people had time off to visit relatives and took an introduction letter from their units to buy train and long-distance bus tickets back to their hometowns.

Lu Manman was one of those who would be returning to her hometown. Yes, she was going back to Battalion Commander Li’s hometown.

This was unavoidable. She was newly married, so she had to meet her in-laws and her husband’s family.

It was bitterly cold to travel by train in such weather, and Lu Manman’s mother felt extremely sorry for her. But there was no other choice; a new daughter-in-law had to meet her in-laws.

Fortunately, soldiers didn’t have as much time off for family visits. Batallion Commander Li was able to get time off this year because of his recent marriage.

Lu Manman’s mother prepared a lot of food for her journey and gave her various reminders and instructions.

Battalion Commander Li nodded all the while.

To reassure her mother, Battalion Commander Li even showed the tickets to his mother-in-law.

How many tickets did one person need to buy for this trip?

First, you needed to buy a regular ticket. Then, if you were taking an express train, you needed to buy an additional express ticket. If you were eligible for a sleeper, you needed to buy a sleeper ticket. And if you didn’t mind spending a little extra money and wanted a bed to lie down on, you had to pay an additional 60 cents for a bedding ticket. With this ticket, the train attendants would provide you with a pillow and blanket.

Oh, and there was also a seat number for the carriage.

In short, for one person taking this train, you needed five paper tickets. Battalion Commander Li and Lu Manman needed a total of ten paper tickets.

Seeing that her son-in-law was willing to buy a bedding ticket, Lu Manman’s mother was finally satisfied.

But Lu Manman was still nervous. She went to Qiao Wei’s house and confided in her, seeking advice.

Qiao Wei said, “Treat others with kindness, and they will treat you the same. If others care for you, reciprocate even more. How your in-laws treat you actually depends on how your husband treats you. If your husband values you, he will stand up for you in everything. If he doesn’t, it means he doesn’t want to. Remember, you are the daughter of the head of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. You have nothing to fear. This is a test for you; don’t change your demeanor from before marriage to after. If he doesn’t know how to cherish you, you can divorce him when you get back. This is New China; marriages are free. Don’t be afraid of anything. The daughter of the head of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, there are even people lining up to marry you for a second marriage. Do you know how many people under your brother-in-law’s command are asking if you have a sister? It’s hilarious. Where else can Old Yan find a daughter of the head of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to introduce to them? Can you repeat what I just said?”

Lu Manman: “Huh?”

Qiao Wei: “When you go back, just casually mention this to him as if you’re joking.”

Lu Manman, who had been pampered, was a bit naive, but not stupid. With a little prompting from Qiao Wei, she understood.

When she got home, she happily repeated this conversation to her husband in a silly manner.

Battalion Commander Li’s forehead was slightly sweaty, and he solemnly swore, “The new daughter-in-law in the village has always been the most pampered. Whatever life you had there, you’ll have the same life in my home. If I let you touch even a speck of dust, my surname isn’t Li. Whatever happens, don’t say anything. Just leave it to me to handle.”

Lu Manman pouted, “I knew you were good. Wei Jie said that she and Yan Tuan had picked through so many people before picking you. I knew they wouldn’t have made a mistake.”

Battalion Commander Li: “Of course not. Our leaders are the role models I look up to!”