Chapter 72 1/2

After finishing her sentence, Qiao Wei suddenly remembered and glanced back at Yan Xiang.

If they were going to the county tomorrow, she would have to leave Yan Xiang with Sister Yang again. It would be troublesome for Sister Yang, and she felt bad about it.

Chief Lu immediately understood and said, “It’s okay, bring Yan Xiang with you tomorrow. Hu Sui, you’ll have to take care of him. Watch over Xiang Xiang.”

Hu Sui was usually a transparent person at the radio station, with hardly any role to play. Suddenly, she found herself useful and was happy to help, promising, “Leave it to me, you guys go without worries.”

Lu Tianming also said, “Xiang Xiang is very well-behaved, we’ll have him in the office, and we’ll take him out for lunch at noon.”

Yan Xiang could use the toilet by himself, and he didn’t need adults for anything else. It would be fine to leave him in the office, and they could take him out for lunch at noon.

Lu Man added, “No problem, we’ll play with him.”

Qiao Wei smiled and said, “That’s very kind of you.”

In the evening, she told Yan Lei, “I’ll be going to the county health department with the directors tomorrow.”

Although it was just going to the county, business trips like this were relatively rare at this time. Usually, they would fall on capable people, and it would definitely be a key task.

Yan Lei could see that Qiao Wei was fitting in seamlessly at the town committee.

Qiao Wei continued, “Yan Yan will stay in the office. Sister Hu, Tianming, and Manman will help take care of him.”

Yan Lei didn’t mind. In this era, children ran around freely everywhere, and adults hardly paid attention. It was common for adults to leave their children in the office while they went out to run errands.

He only asked, “How will you get there?”

He had dealt with the town committee before and knew that they didn’t have cars.

“We have bicycles, there are four of them, and there’s one specifically for women,” Qiao Wei explained.

“Do you know how to ride a bike?” Yan Lei asked.

Qiao Wei searched her memory. There were no memories of riding a bike in the original owner’s mind. She probably hadn’t done it much.

She said, “I tried it at the office, and there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

“Be sure to bring a net bag,” Yan Lei reminded her.

“Of course.”

In fact, Yongming County was only ten miles away from Xiahekou Town.

Taking the public bus wouldn’t take much time either. Some people even walked there to save money.

But the bus came from a very far place, passing through several villages and towns along the way, making it difficult to predict the timing. Just as Chief Lu said, sometimes it could take three or four hours to wait for a bus.

Last time, Qiao Wei had only waited for half an hour, which was purely lucky.

So, it wasn’t that convenient for people in the town to go to the county. And if they did go, they would have to buy something to bring back; they couldn’t return empty-handed.

On Friday morning, she woke up Yan Xiang early.

She had already discussed it with him beforehand, telling him that mommy was going on a business trip, and he would be in the office with Uncle Lu, Auntie Hu, and Auntie Lu.

Qiao Wei asked him if it was okay. Yan Xiang said, “We’re both big boys now, of course it’s okay.”

Yan Xiang was already familiar with the office environment. He knew where the bathroom, library, and cafeteria were.

Qiao Wei was confident in Yan Xiang.

An ordinary child, you tell him “this is dangerous, don’t touch it.” You can tell him a hundred times, and he’ll promise a hundred times, but as soon as you turn around, he’ll forget and immediately go touch it.

Yan Xiang was different. If you told him the reasons, principles, and consequences, once he understood, he was like an adult, knowing what to do and what not to do.

It was especially reassuring.

Mother and son arrived at the town committee compound early.

It was still early, and there weren’t many people around. Although breakfast was available in the cafeteria, most people had breakfast at home, so only a few came to the office for breakfast.

Hu Sui arrived early. It was rare for her to be entrusted with an important task at the radio station, so she was very proactive.

And quite reliable.

Qiao Wei and Yan Xiang had breakfast in the cafeteria, and then she entrusted Yan Xiang to Hu Sui.

She followed Chief Lu to the warehouse.

They had already made arrangements yesterday and submitted the application form. The warehouse keeper had already brought out the four bicycles.

Chief Lu instructed the warehouse keeper, “Oil them up a bit.”

The warehouse keeper took the oil can and applied oil to the bike chain and axle. Qiao Wei tried riding again. “Much better.”

Chief Xie and Chief Li arrived.

The three men each had a vintage black square briefcase, all identical.

They hung their bags on the handlebars of the bikes.

Qiao Wei was dressed the same as yesterday, in a white shirt and green army pants.

Actually, she was wearing a new, clean set today, but because it was identical to yesterday’s outfit, no one noticed she had changed clothes.

She was also wearing Liberation shoes and carrying a green military shoulder bag and a military water bottle.

With this outfit, she could easily handle a ten-kilometer cross-country run.

Chief Xie praised her, “Xiao Qiao looks very spirited. Comrades look the most beautiful when they are clean and simple. This is much better than those flashy clothes.”

That day, when Chief Lu was conveying the spirit of the meeting, everyone thought he had finished, so Qiao Wei went to check the materials. She didn’t realize there was still more to come from Chief Lu.

But when Chief Xie said those words, she immediately caught on.

When that “something” started, it meant that female clothing would start to become less feminine. Was this already a trend?

Qiao Wei said, “Wearing pants is more convenient for work than wearing skirts.”

The three leaders were very touched.

Because in the eyes of leaders, there is actually no distinction between men and women; everyone is just a workhorse. Leaders just hope you work hard.

A female comrade who is active and diligent is a chosen subordinate in the eyes of the leader.

This is the convenience of foresight.

If this were a male protagonist in a transmigration novel, he would use the convenience of foresight for political maneuvering, soaring to great heights all the way to the top. By the end of the story, he would likely have high status, wealth, and beautiful women at his side.

But Qiao Wei didn’t have such ambitions.

She had been tormented by illness for several years, and she had grown indifferent to money, career, and everything else.

Of course, she wouldn’t refuse wealth, power, or a successful career if they came her way. But the most important thing in her values after being reborn was to live well and enjoy life.

Even the old house had to be scrubbed clean.

There had to be comfortable recliners under the eaves.

Clothes had to be loose and comfortable.

A stable sex life.

Adorable children.

There was no need to rush; everything should proceed at a leisurely pace, just the way she liked it.

But, sigh, the pace of this era was too slow, which made her seem quite efficient. People were used to stable salaries and had no initiative, so she appeared quite capable.

Qiao Wei wedged her bag behind the bicycle seat. She wound the straps around the seat several times to secure it in place.

The military water bottle hung from the handlebars, with the straps also wrapped around a few times to prevent it from swinging too much.

And so, the four bicycles, three men and one woman, hit the road.

It was quite a spectacle.

Because there weren’t many bicycles in town.

Qiao Wei could count on one hand the number of bicycles she had seen.

Riding four abreast, they could block the road. But it didn’t matter, as there were no people or cars on the road.

Once out of town, the view opened up.

Qiao Wei had taken this road before when she took the bus to the county seat. At that time, she thought the scenery outside the window was beautiful.

Now, riding a bike on this road, the experience was completely upgraded.

The vast North China Plain stretched to the sky, boundless and limitless.

There were no people or cars on the road.

The road was lined with straight, towering poplar trees. Beyond the road were fields, and Qiao Wei didn’t even recognize what those lush green things were.

But they looked beautiful.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the poplar trees, slanting down in beams.

The Tyndall effect appeared, giving the light shape.

As the bicycles rode past, they penetrated layer by layer.

This scene seemed to have appeared in a childhood dream.

Qiao Wei took a deep breath.

It was mid-August, and the daytime heat was still lingering, but it was starting to get cooler in the early morning and evening. The morning breeze blew on her face, carrying the scent of soil and vegetation.

“Leader, I’ll ride a bit faster~”

Qiao Wei’s cheeks turned red with happiness.