Chapter 109 2/2

Captain Zhao immediately understood.

Like a leader, like a follower. Li Aiguo had the same mentality as his superior, only wanting to find urban girls.

He looked down on Captain Zhao’s niece, who came from a rural background, had no job, and did housework at home, known for her virtue, diligence, and cooking skills.

As the atmosphere grew tighter, there were more and more study sessions.

Even Secretary Meng, such a strong-willed person, began to tone down.

He must know more, see more, and think more.

This included his demands on Secretary Huang and Qiao Wei, which turned into “be more restrained”.

“More talk, more mistakes,” he said, “When the wind is too chaotic and you can’t feel it out, don’t be rash.”

Qiao Wei couldn’t agree more.

She had been particularly worried that Secretary Meng would continue to be as rigid as before. She was his pen, and if he continued like this, Qiao Wei would have to consider finding a way out.

But now that the leadership was clear-headed, it was much better.

The office became much quieter.

Qiao Wei even started knitting sweaters and knitting cup holders in the office.

She knitted a green woolen cup holder with a red five-pointed star in the middle, which was very popular.

Because at this time many people used various glass bottles as cups, which was very common. These cups didn’t have handles.

Knitting a small pouch with a handle could be hung on the bicycle handlebars, which was very convenient.

She knitted several for her colleagues.

These were all small items; the larger items were knitted sweaters.

Her skills had improved now, and the sweaters weren’t all plain, they started to have patterns.

She knitted a V-neck for Yan Lei and a turtleneck for Yan Xiang to keep their necks warm in the winter.

Now, not only were burlap clothes out of fashion, but even the once popular Lenin suits were no longer acceptable.

You see, the Lenin suit was once the standard attire for female civil servants.

But now it was no longer acceptable.

One day, even Secretary Meng started wearing military casual clothes to work.

Brand new, obviously just obtained.

All the leading cadres wore green military casual clothes every day, only changing into Mao suits for formal occasions.

In daily life, everyone lived in a sea of green.

When it got cold, when frost appeared, Sister Yang came to Qiao Wei’s place to complain.

“They made me cut my hair!” she said, “I’m so old, isn’t that revolutionary hairstyle for young girls only?”

Sister Yang had always had a traditional hairstyle. Captain Zhao asked her to cut it into a revolutionary style, but she felt embarrassed, feeling like an old cucumber trying to look young.

Qiao Wei explained to her, “Now is the time to break the old norms. The hairstyle you used to have was all remnants of feudalism, so it had to be cut off. Look, even young girls don’t wear skirts anymore.”

Lu Manman’s crimson wool coat, which she got married in last year, dared not be worn this year either. It was left at the bottom of the box.

She also cut her jet-black long braids.

Sister Yang said, “I always feel like I’m dreaming outside. Why does it happen in fits and starts? We can’t understand.”

In fact, many people were in this state at this time.

No one knew exactly what was going on. But since everyone’s family was like this, they couldn’t be different.

Qiao Wei said, “Let me cut it for you.”

At this time, the owners of the hair salons were not female, but male. Only some fashionable women in the city would patronize hair salons. Most women could cut their hair at home.

Qiao Wei used scissors to give Sister Yang a revolutionary haircut.

She was not a hairdresser, but since everyone cut their own hair at home, there was no distinction to be made.

Qiao Wei at least knew how to trim the edges, cutting the hair with scissors upright, handling the ends naturally. Unlike most people’s revolutionary haircuts, which were blunt and straight.

Sister Yang felt very satisfied when she looked in the mirror, but seeing a long strand of hair on the ground still hurt a bit, “It’s been so many years.”

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year again, and after New Year, it was time to prepare for the Spring Festival.

The tense atmosphere was mixed with joy. Many people held recommendation letters from their units and queued up to buy train tickets.

At this time, train tickets couldn’t print all the information on one ticket. Just like when Battalion Commander Li and Lu Manman went home, one person had to hold five or six paper tickets.

So even the most skilled ticket seller would take several minutes to sell a ticket to one person. If one person was buying tickets for a whole family, it could take more than ten minutes.

The queues were long and slow.

Not to mention, the ticket sellers had bad tempers.

It was like this at this time.

On the wall of state-run restaurants, there were posters saying: “No beating customers.”

Behind every absurd rule, there must have been an absurd event. You could tell from the rules posted on the restaurant wall what had happened before.

Many people finally managed to queue up and buy tickets to go home and reunite with their families.

Many people were buying New Year goods.

Many people were decorating their units and homes.

Many people were rehearsing programs and preparing performances.

In short, although the situation was changing rapidly, no one could stop the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

But some people wanted to hinder it. In this era, there were people like Secretary Meng who realized that the wind was not right and began to converge, as well as those who realized that they should take advantage of the changes in the situation to stand out, make a name for themselves, or just do something.

Seeing that the New Year was approaching, a worker at the Shanghai Mechanical Glass Factory wrote a letter to the People’s Daily.

“What’s so special about the Spring Festival!”

“Why does the Spring Festival have to be a holiday!”

“This is feudal rubbish!”

“We should celebrate a revolutionary Spring Festival!”

That year, the Spring Festival was temporarily canceled, and everyone returned to their work posts, persevering in their work.

Many people had to squeeze into the train station to refund their tickets, almost causing a stampede.

The red couplets were rolled up and put away in the cabinet before they were even put up.

No firecrackers were set off.

Rehearsed performances were canceled, and there were no more celebrations.

Qiao Wei didn’t know about this before she traveled through time. Originally, that period of history was very vague, and she only knew that chaos reigned. She didn’t expect things to turn out like this.

But this was the Spring Festival!

On New Year’s Eve, Qiao Wei and everyone else were working in the office.

Not just today, but also tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that.

There would be no more Spring Festival in the future.

Even someone as calm, calm person, and composed as Qiao Wei couldn’t help but curse in her heart—

What a mess!