Chapter 85 1/2

Secretary Huang hung up the phone.

He could handle these matters of wrangling without needing to consult higher-ups. But as Qiao Wei’s secondment was Secretary Meng’s idea, he went to report to Secretary Meng.

“She’s a bit arrogant,” Secretary Huang commented.

Obviously, the leaders in Xiahekou Town were also protective of her. The county often borrowed manpower from various towns, but rarely did they fight for conditions like this.

The people borrowed from elsewhere mostly worked obediently, with their tails tucked between their legs.

But unless she was the darling daughter of the leaders in Xiahekou Town, the leaders wouldn’t actively help her like this. It must have been something Qiao Wei herself fought for.

Secretary Meng said, “Her spouse is a war hero, a cadre at the regimental level. It’s only right to take care of her.”

So, she was a military spouse. Moreover, the regimental level corresponded to the administrative level, putting Secretary Meng on the same level.

Not to mention that Secretary Meng himself came from the military, so naturally, he would lean towards military spouses emotionally. Plus, she was someone he admired.

Secretary Huang immediately changed his tune and said with a smile, “So she’s a military spouse. It’s only right to take care of her. I’ll arrange it now.”

On that day, Qiao Wei applied for the 26-inch bicycle.

The warehouse keeper asked, “When will you return it?”

Qiao Wei replied, “I’ll return it when I come back.”

“Alright,” the warehouse keeper joked, “it’s yours then.”

“That would be embezzlement of state assets, which I won’t do,” Qiao Wei said. “By the way, does the bicycle have a child seat?”

Of course, it didn’t.

The bicycles she saw on the road had cloth wrapped around the front crossbar to increase friction when a child sat on it, making it less likely to slip off. The variety of ready-made child seats in the future would have to wait until bicycles became more common.

When Yan Lei came home and saw the bicycle, he was surprised, “Are you going on another business trip tomorrow?”

Qiao Wei told him about the secondment, and Yan Lei frowned.

Qiao Wei comforted him instead, “The leaders fought for me, and the conditions are quite good now. After all, we can’t openly defy the requirements of our superiors.”

Yan Lei said, “Then…”

Qiao Wei knew what he was going to say, “Don’t say ‘then.'”

She had only spent a short time as a housewife when she first arrived here. At that time, she had to adapt to the environment of this world, adapt to the new life of suddenly having a husband and child as a single young woman, and tidy up a house with a yard to her liking.

But once everything settled down, she couldn’t continue to stay at home.

No internet.

No internet at all.

There wasn’t even a bookstore in the small town, and buying a book required going to the county town. Most of the “interesting” books had some issues, and with history approaching, she didn’t dare to bring them home.

This era didn’t have the conditions for being a “homebody.”

Of course, what she wanted most was to stay at the radio station. That was the most comfortable state. But if the higher-ups wanted to transfer her, she couldn’t refuse unless she resigned and went home.

Yan Lei also felt that Qiao Wei, such a vibrant person, couldn’t stay at home.

It would be too boring, not to mention a waste of talent.

But then he suddenly froze.

Qiao Wei had only started working in early August, less than two months ago. Before that, she… she had clearly stayed at home for several years.

How did he just naturally think that “she couldn’t stay at home”?

Now when he thought of Qiao Wei, the images in his mind were all bright or beautiful.

What was it like before?

It was becoming blurry.

It was all her smiling face and laughter.

Instinctively, he didn’t want to think back to an even earlier past.

“Xiang Xiang will come with me. Although I still have to send him to kindergarten, at least he’ll be under my nose,” Qiao Wei said. “The kindergarten in the compound is not good.”

The quality of the kindergarten run by military spouses was not good. If she sent Xiang Xiang there, it would be better to leave him with Sister Yang.

But Qiao Wei still felt more reassured with Xiang Xiang by her side.

Yan Lei’s thoughts were brought back to the present by her words.

He hugged Xiang Xiang and asked, “Do you want to stay with Mommy or go to the compound?”

“With Mommy. I want to ride the bicycle too.”

“Without a child seat, it’s troublesome,” Qiao Wei said. “I’m mainly worried about your legs getting caught.”

Although Qiao Wei was a single parent, the family conditions were still good. She had been driven to and from school by her mother since she was a child, so she didn’t have memories of riding on the back of a bicycle.

But she had seen many people online complain about their legs getting caught in the bicycle rear seat when they were children.

Qiao Wei even brought Xiang Xiang over to sit on the back of the bicycle and told him, “Don’t stretch your feet randomly into it. It’ll get stuck and hurt badly.”

Xiang Xiang promised, “I won’t stretch them randomly.”

But Qiao Wei was still worried.

Yan Lei asked, “What’s this child seat you’re talking about?”

“It’s a special seat installed on a bicycle for children to sit on,” Qiao Wei deliberately said. “Only big cities have them.”

Yan Lei didn’t doubt it. He said, “You can draw, right? Draw one for me to see.”

If you have to custom order that thing, it’s quite troublesome, and Qiao Wei’s secondment might only be for a period of time, plus the bicycle isn’t their own.

Qiao Wei felt it wasn’t necessary.

But Yan Lei said, “You draw it, and I’ll see what it looks like, broaden my horizons.”

Since he requested it like that, Qiao Wei drew one.

“There, take a look. It’s like a chair on top, and if it has a backrest, it would definitely be more comfortable. You can lean back and save energy, and your back will feel comfortable too. If it’s a bit fancier, you can add armrests on both sides, but it’s fine without them. At the bottom, it’s best to have a triangular guardrail to block the area where the legs move. The child’s feet have a place to step on, more comfortable that way. With the guardrail blocking, the feet won’t slip in. It’s also safe.”

Yan Lei had Yan Xiang sit on the back seat of the bicycle, and he measured his legs with a ruler.

Qiao Wei was surprised, “Are you really going to do it?”

Yan Lei didn’t give a precise answer, just vaguely said, “Let me measure.”

If he wanted to do it, he could. If he could make it happen, that would be great.

The trouble was that the bicycle wasn’t their own private property. If installing or removing it caused damage to the bicycle, the warehouse keeper might complain.

It didn’t matter; they could just pay some money. Of course, Yan Xiang was more important.

The next day, Qiao Wei tidied up the house, then cheerfully called out to Yan Xiang, “Xiang Xiang, let’s go!”

Yan Xiang was a bit excited. Because he had hardly ever left the town. Or maybe he had left when he was little, but he was too young to remember. He only had the experience of going to the countryside with his dad last time. He was curious about what the county town was like.

In any case, for Yan Xiang, this was something to look forward to.

To protect Yan Xiang’s little bottom, Qiao Wei and Yan Lei had cut up some old clothes last night and wrapped the back seat. It was much more comfortable this way.

Qiao Wei repeatedly reminded Yan Xiang of precautions, “You can hold onto the seat underneath here, or hold onto Mom’s clothes, just hold on tight anyway. Don’t stretch your feet randomly.”

Yan Xiang was exasperated, “Mom, I remember it all. Let’s go already.”

Alright then. The nagging old mother first put the child on the bicycle, then pushed off the support and mounted it, and they set off.

Later on, in Yan Xiang’s memoirs, he mentioned this childhood period:

“In the days at the broadcasting station, I was very happy. Everyone treated me well. The station chief even assigned me tasks, making me feel like an extra employee. I once thought I had grown up, feeling proud.”

“Then my mom went to the county. I especially liked the journey from the town to the county. Sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, she rode so fast, the wind brushed against my cheeks, giving me a feeling of flying.”