Chapter 72 2/2

Even when she rode ten kilometers in a famous scenic area, she had never been so happy.

After all, in a scenic area, all you could see were cyclists and tourists.

But here, it was as if there were no one else in the world.

She rode swiftly.

Chief Lu shouted from behind, “Take it easy~”

Qiao Wei’s laughter could be heard from the front, clear as a bell in the morning breeze as she replied, “Don’t worry~”

Chief Xie and Li laughed heartily, “Comrade Qiao is full of energy.”

The three of them rode side by side.

Chief Lu said with a smile, “Our Qiao Wei here is especially fond of laughing. She laughs every day, and her spirit is always so full. Now, everyone at the radio station is being infected by her laughter every day.”

Chief Xie and Chief Li both admired: “This is so nice.”

In their own offices, there was a group of people who were half-dead, half-asleep, and they felt sleepy every day.

Chief Xie said, “We can’t lose to our female comrades.”

Several middle-aged men ignited their fighting spirit and exerted themselves vigorously.

The villagers driving cattle to the fields from afar saw four bicycles speeding along the road.

Three men were wearing shirts, with black square briefcases hanging from the handlebars, obviously cadres from the town committee.

“What’s happening?” the villagers exclaimed in surprise.

The cadres rushed to the county seat at lightning speed. What urgent situation could this be?

Wasn’t it normal to move slowly?

Thanks to Qiao Weis influence, the leaders changed their usual leisurely pace and vigorously exercised, greatly reducing the time spent on the road.

When they arrived at the county health center, Qiao Wei got off the car. There were beads of sweat on her fair forehead, but her cheeks were rosy with health.

There was no morning run today, but the amount of exercise was even greater than a morning run.

“Station Chief, riding a bicycle on this kind of road is really comfortable.” She smiled contentedly.

Her cheeks were radiant, her spirits high, and her complexion rosy.

At first glance, people would think of the word “youth”.

The strong vitality seemed to overflow, and those who saw it felt as if they had become younger by several years.

Chief Xie and Chief Li were even more envious of Chief Lu.

Chief Lu got off the car and massaged his waist. “Comfortable? My back feels sore.”

The old-fashioned bicycle wasn’t very ergonomic, especially the high handlebars, which made riding tiring.

Qiao Wei laughed, “When we get back, let Manman massage your waist.”

“By the time I get back, she’ll be long gone.”

“Hahaha.”

There was nothing new in the meeting, just mobilization, explanation, and assignment of tasks.

But the people from Xiaohekou Town received praise for arriving earliest, which was a pleasant surprise.

Qiao Wei also obtained the specific schedule she wanted.

She thought it would be printed paper, but what she got was a paper tube. Inside was a roll of shiny blue paper.

In her other life, Qiao Wei lived in the era of internet payments with QR codes, so of course, at her age, she had never seen such a thing.

She asked, “What is this?”

It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t recognize it. In an era of slow information transmission, most ordinary people had limited access to information.

Chief Lu told her, “This is wax paper. It’s handwritten by the county health center. We’ll take it back and print it ourselves with ink.”

So that’s what it was.

They worked the whole morning, and at noon, Chief Xie went to sign and collect meal tickets. The four of them had lunch at the county committee’s canteen.

Indeed, as Lu Manman had mentioned, the county committee’s canteen was tastier than the town committee’s.

Chief Lu quietly told Qiao Wei, “The chef at the county committee’s canteen is a skilled master chef.”

“Our chef is the town mayor’s brother-in-law,” Qiao Wei replied.

“…”

Fair enough.

After finishing their meal, they could head back. The four of them went to the department store together and each bought some things.

The peach pastries they bought last time were excellent, so Qiao Wei bought some more.

Chief Lu remarked, “You’re buying so much?”

Qiao Wei replied, “Xiang Xiang left them in the office, so I’m taking them back to share with everyone.”

In the past, Chief Lu valued Lu Manman the most.

Lu Manman was the most capable one. Although there was another military spouse, Ge Xiufen, she was relatively inactive. Hu Suichun had no broadcasting skills and as long as she didn’t cause trouble, Chief Lu was grateful.

Now, Chief Lu truly felt like he had a talented assistant.

He didn’t have to worry about her skills or social abilities at all.

After everyone finished shopping, they headed back.

Chief Xie said, “Let’s not ride so fast this time, consider our old backs.”

Chief Li chuckled, “Not riding so fast, it’s too hot now.”

The morning breeze was refreshing for cycling, but now it was afternoon, and the sun was scorching. Qiao Wei didn’t want to sweat excessively.

As they rode through the county town, there were more people on the streets than in the morning.

Some young people, both male and female, were wearing military pants.

“Haha, they all look like soldiers,” Chief Li commented.

Fashion trends always trickle down from bigger places to smaller ones.

The emergence of such trends in the county town indicated that the city and provincial capitals had already set the trend.

This trend would probably have taken a little longer to reach the town, but now, Qiao Wei had influenced Lu Manman, accelerating its arrival.

The four of them leisurely rode back to Xiahekou Town.

They returned the bicycles first, then went back to their respective offices.

Chief Xie took the wax paper and promised, “I’ll print them out and distribute them tomorrow.”

Qiao Wei and Chief Lu returned to the broadcasting room. Lu Manman was drawing grids with chalk on the courtyard’s stone floor, playing hopscotch with Yan Xiang.

Seeing them return, both of them approached, saying, “Welcome back.”

Chief Lu remarked, “It’s rare to see you at the office at this hour.”

Lu Manman retorted, “I’m playing with Xiang Xiang.”

She was young and energetic, but the office always had a strong atmosphere of retirement. So, once her work was done, she would swiftly leave.

Since Qiao Wei had arrived, the atmosphere had changed. Lu Manman also spent more time in the office.

She got along well with Yan Xiang too.

Despite being a small child, Yan Xiang wasn’t as noisy and annoying as other children. He was like an old scholar, miraculously blending into the retirement atmosphere of the office.

After becoming familiar with Lu Manman, he was willing to play with her.

Today, since Qiao Wei was out on a business trip, Lu Manman had agreed to help look after Yan Xiang and hadn’t left since then.

She appeared lively and carefree, but in reality, she had always been the backbone of the broadcasting station. She was surrounded by unreliable colleagues; Ge Xiufen shirked responsibilities, Hu Sui was grateful as long as she didn’t cause trouble, and Lu Tianming only focused on maintenance, neglecting everything else.

In this environment, young Lu Manman turned out to be the most reliable and responsible person.

Qiao Wei stopped her, saying, “I bought some peach pastries, come and have some.”

Lu Manman happily responded, “Good thing I didn’t leave.”

“Even if you had, I would’ve saved some for you.”

They entered the office together to distribute the pastries. Qiao Wei also asked, “Has Xiang Xiang been naughty?”

Taking a bite of the pastry, Lu Tianming replied, “Don’t take your blessings for granted. With a well-behaved son like Xiang Xiang, you should consider yourself lucky. In my house, all my daughters give me headaches.”

Hu Sui praised as she ate, “Indeed. With our Xiang Xiang, give him a book and a meal, and you don’t have to worry about him all day. How did you raise such a child? I envy you.”

“I don’t know, he just grew up like this,” Qiao Wei said, “Maybe he takes after his father.”

This matter indeed had nothing to do with her.

It was all about the innate talents bestowed by the fictional deity.

After finishing a piece of pastry, Yan Xiang wiped his mouth and told Qiao Wei, “Mom, Uncle Tianming found a very interesting book for me today. It’s so good.”

Lu Tianming chuckled, “With lots of illustrations, I knew you’d like it.”

Yan Xiang glanced at him.

He didn’t read books just for the illustrations, but illustrative pictures did help him understand abstract words.

But there was no need to explain this.

He pulled his mother to see the book.

He liked this kind of book.

This book, like the agricultural and pig farming manuals at home, contained many technical terms. But this one was better, just as Uncle Tianming said, with lots of illustrations.

Almost all the terms could be understood from the illustrations.

Such books were really good, hoping all books were like this.

Qiao Wei was led by her son.

Ge Xiufen had gone home to rest, her desk was empty, and now, the office had been given to Yan Xiang by default.

Yan Xiang had paper, pens, and books. The child kept his desk cleaner and tidier than when Ge Xiufen used it herself.

“Here, it’s this book.” He pulled out the book from the drawer and presented it to his mother.

Qiao Wei knew it!

Any book that Yan Xiang praised as “interesting” was definitely not ordinary.

Qiao Wei had seen this book in several novels.

Wasn’t this the renowned manual, “Militia Training Manual”, among the three divine books of transmigration!