Chapter 82

Qiao Wei gave him a sideways glance and tidied up the desk. “By the way, where can I buy that thick fabric used for autumn and winter military uniforms?”

“Why? Are you planning to make clothes?” 

“Yeah, nowadays, many people in the county are wearing military green.”

“I’ve noticed the same in the town,” Yan Lei said.

Cadres who commute from the old area to the camp have cars to pick them up. Today, someone on the car said, “There are several people wearing military pants on the street. I thought new recruits had snuck out.”

“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen you wear your corduroy pants for a long time,” Yan Lei remarked.

“Do you think I look better in corduroy or in military uniform?” she asked with a smile.

A hint of challenge gleamed in her eyes.

Yan Lei thought seriously for a moment and replied sincerely, “You look best when you’re not wearing anything.”

Some men, despite their usual appearance as senior cadres, dared to make suggestive remarks and jokes with their wives at home.

Compared to the man who only knew about missionary positions in the past, he had undergone a complete transformation.

Qiao Wei gestured to throw the pen at him.

Yan Lei chuckled and came over to massage her shoulders. “Don’t move, let me give you a massage. Is it sore?”

His fingers were long and powerful, applying pressure comparable to a skilled masseur from a future massage parlor.

He kneaded away all the soreness from Qiao Wei’s shoulders, making her feel extremely comfortable.

Many young women in the unit wore corduroy pants to work, including Lu Man.

But ever since Qiao Wei started working, she hadn’t worn them much. She usually wore shirts and pants, with white shirts being the most common.

“My desk faces the east, and there’s nothing under it to block my legs, so it’s not convenient for me to sit cross-legged in corduroy pants,” Qiao Wei explained. “Do you like it when I wear them?”

“Of course I do,” Yan Lei said. “Your legs are beautiful.”

He said these words of praise so candidly, without any embellishment.

Qiao Wei couldn’t help but glance back at him.

Really, how could someone who had lived two lifetimes still feel their heart race because of a man’s words?

She neatly stacked the manuscript, returned the books to the shelf, and put the ink back into the drawer. As she opened the drawer, she saw an envelope.

It wasn’t there before; it had only appeared today.

“What’s this?” She picked it up and looked at it, surprised to see that the return address was from Beijing.

Geographically, Beijing wasn’t far away. But in this era, it felt like it was miles away.

“Is it yours?” she asked. “Who is it from?”

Qiao Wei wasn’t disrespecting Yan Lei’s privacy. It’s just that “Beijing” wasn’t just a simple place name; it carried strong political significance as the capital. She couldn’t help but ask.

Yan Lei said, “An old comrade from before.”

If it were in the past, he probably wouldn’t have continued talking after that sentence. But now, he paused and told Qiao Wei more, “My old leader’s younger brother. The one who sacrificed himself.”

Qiao Wei remembered what he had said before, “Is he the youngest brother of your leader? The one who specialized in injuries?”

Yan Lei was delighted that Qiao Wei remembered the things he had told her.

When someone remembers what you’ve said and the things you’ve done, you’re more willing to share more with them. Otherwise, it’s just a formal relationship between husband and wife.

“This kid is over ten years younger than me, he’s the youngest son of their parents. Just a spoiled brat.”

“My old leader was his older brother, the eldest son in the family, a very capable person. But he left home early, so I didn’t spend much time with him. Their parents later couldn’t control him and sent him to the military for me to take care of.”

“I saw his brother use a belt to whip him at least seven or eight times. That’s how I managed to straighten him out.”

“He wasn’t a coward on the battlefield. He actually only suffered minor injuries, but my leader sacrificed himself, so his parents insisted on bringing him back for discharge.”

“The day he left, he cried like a bear.”

Qiao Wei asked, “You two were pretty close, huh?”

“The first day he arrived at the military, we covered him with a blanket and gave him a good beating at night. I led the way.”

Qiao Wei laughed heartily.

Yan Lei seemed to recall his youth, feeling a mix of joy, regret, and sadness. “This kid isn’t a good person, he’s good at manipulating others’ feelings. During his time in the military, he received letters every month. We looked at them, and there were a total of four girls writing to him.”

“He’s not a good bird.”

Being a playboy, it was clear that he came from a well-connected family, probably in Beijing. That was the capital, the center of politics and culture.

Qiao Wei’s mind wandered.

“What are you thinking?” Yan Lei asked.

“If we’re on good terms,” Qiao Wei asked, “could you ask him to help me buy some books? Would that be convenient?”

“Sure, no problem. What kind of books do you want?”

“Science and technology, anything will do.”

It would be even better if there were textbooks on science and technology.

“Foreign… ah, forget it, let’s skip the foreign ones.”

Originally, she thought about getting some math books from the other side. It was well known that the math education there was very advanced.

But it seemed too troublesome. After all, it was asking for a favor.

“Just tell me what you want,” Yan Lei said, “I have a deep friendship with him. If I ask for something, he’ll definitely go out of his way to find it.”

Such a close relationship? Then Qiao Wei wouldn’t hold back and told him what she wanted.

But Yan Lei’s expression changed slightly after listening.

Seeing his reaction, Qiao Wei changed her mind and said, “If it’s too much trouble, forget it. It’s not necessary. If you can buy it, great. If not, don’t worry about it. Let’s not make a fuss.”

After hesitating for a few seconds, Yan Lei decided to open up to Qiao Wei and have a good talk.

He said, “Qiao Wei, it’s really not suitable to go to university right now. Although the news of the suspension of enrollment hasn’t been confirmed yet, it indicates that the situation is not suitable for going to university.”

“…Qiao Wei,” she said, “Huh?”

Their trains of thought didn’t match.

Qiao Wei was puzzled, “How did we start talking about going to university?”

Yan Lei was also surprised, “You wanted math books, weren’t you thinking about going to university?”

She mentioned something about science and technology earlier, which he didn’t quite understand, so he thought it was just her interest. But then she mentioned math from another country.

Wasn’t math a subject taught in school? Yan Lei thought she was still not giving up on going to university.

Qiao Wei finally figured it out and laughed, “You’re overthinking it.”

She recalled that among the several pieces of news he told her when she first arrived, there was one about the possibility of universities stopping enrollment. But at the time, she hadn’t expressed any opinion on the matter after her sudden arrival here.

Later, neither of them brought it up again.

It was time to have a good talk about this matter, as it was a problem left behind by the original owner.

“Yan Lei, I don’t plan to go to university anymore. Not now, not in the future,” Qiao Wei said. “Going to university is for acquiring knowledge, but there’s nothing to learn in the current schools.”

Qiao Wei had already completed her studies in another world and didn’t need to acquire knowledge from the universities here.

Moreover, in terms of the era, being a high school student was the best identity. In this era, it meant being educated and safe.

But being a university student was not safe.

If she were to obtain a university student identity at this time, it would be just as dangerous as joining the Nationalist Army in 1948.

Yan Lei breathed a sigh of relief. “So you know. I heard the same thing.”

Qiao Wei asked, “Is the education situation very tense now?”

Yan Lei said, “I heard that universities are currently in chaos.”

Qiao Wei sighed.

Yan Lei patted her head gently. “What’s the regret for?”

“I don’t want chaos,” Qiao Wei said. “I just hope for peace and quiet every day.”

Yan Lei didn’t say anything more, just gently patted her head.

The next morning, he asked her how much military uniform fabric she needed.

Qiao Wei said, “I want to make two jackets, one single-breasted and one double-breasted. As for the pants, just get me ready-made ones, no need to buy fabric separately.”

Yan Lei said, “A single-breasted jacket? Why don’t I just find you a women’s military uniform?”

Qiao Wei slapped her forehead.

She had only thought about making two slightly different military green jackets, without realizing that a single-breasted one was the women’s uniform.

How silly.

Yan Lei laughed, “Your brain’s not working, huh?”

“Then I’ll get you a single-breasted one, and you can use Lenin’s uniform fabric to make it, along with two pairs of pants.”

The double-breasted suit collar style, called Lenin’s uniform in this era, was a classic style that remained common even in later times, although it was no longer called Lenin’s uniform.

Qiao Wei went to deliver the manuscript after work.

She said to Station Chief Lu, “Chief Lu, please review the manuscript from yesterday’s meeting in the county. I’ll take it to the department head.”

Station Chief Lu glanced at it and nodded, handing it back. “Alright, go ahead.”

Then Qiao Wei went to see Chief Xie. “Please review the manuscript and see if there are any changes needed. I’ll take it to the director.”

Section Chief Xie reviewed the manuscript even more carefully, as the communication report was part of the propaganda department’s work.

“Not bad,” he praised after reading through it, “Go ahead, give it to the director.”

After both direct superiors had reviewed the manuscript, Qiao Wei went to the town committee office.

As soon as she left, someone from the propaganda department made sarcastic remarks, “Director, Qiao Wei is quite capable, isn’t she? She’s only been here for a few days and she’s already got the attention of the director.”

The primary job of a broadcaster was to broadcast and write broadcast scripts.

Communication reports were the responsibility of the propaganda officer. Qiao Wei had taken over someone else’s job.

“If you can win an award, bring honor to the town committee, and even be named by the county, not to mention becoming a director, I wouldn’t say a word even if you were promoted to secretary,” Section Chief Xie pushed up his glasses, looking at the person, and extended his hand, “Come on, where’s the award flag you earned? Let me see.”

The person fell silent after being mocked.

The director of the town committee office was surnamed Wang.

When Qiao Wei came to submit the manuscript, he was quite surprised, “Is it already done?”

It was the first time he encountered such high efficiency at work.

Qiao Wei said, “I wouldn’t dare to slack off on the task assigned by the leadership. I stayed up late to write it. Look at how red my eyes are. I even thought about asking for leave to go back and get some sleep today.”

No wonder Secretary Gao had been praising her all along.

Director Wang smiled, “If anyone refuses to approve it, just tell me.”

He accepted the manuscript and asked Qiao Wei to go back first.

Secretary Gao had only been at work for a short time when Director Wang knocked on his door, “Secretary, Xiao Qiao has already finished writing the manuscript. Please take a look.”

Secretary Gao smiled, “This Comrade Qiao Wei, young people are like the rising sun.”

He took the manuscript and as he read, his expression gradually became serious.

After reading it, he sighed and asked, “What do you think?”

Director Wang said, “Majestic.”

“This girl…” Secretary Gao also sighed, “How can she write with such magnificence at such a young age?”

In this manuscript, Qiao Wei presented a beautiful outlook for the future of the yet-to-be-born Bo City.

In her “imagination,” the small Yongming County would be renamed Bo City and would develop solidly into a heavy industrial city in the future.

This was quite ambitious.

Currently, the tallest building in the provincial capital was only four stories high and was already considered a landmark. Qiao Wei’s description of the future Bo City was too “fantastic.”

But what truly shocked Secretary Gao and Director Wang was the unwavering belief that this female comrade showed in the future she described.

She had unwavering faith in the future of the country.

Every word she wrote was filled with love and confidence in the country.

She was a comrade with faith.