Chapter 88

Qiao Wei had a Sunday to write the draft, so she mainly used her time in the office to read materials.

As a newcomer, it’s not wise to innovate rashly or make radical reforms. It’s safer to follow established rules and regulations.

After work, she picked up Yanshang, and several teachers waved to them, “See you next week, Yan Xiang.”

Yanshang waved back, “Goodbye Teacher Xia, goodbye Teacher Wang, goodbye Li…”

After saying goodbye to the teachers, she said goodbye to her friends, “Xinxin, Qiangqiang, Junjun, Junjun, Junjun, Guoguo, Guoguo, Lanlan, Qiangqiang, goodbye.”

Looks like she made some friends.

Qiao Wei felt happy. She didn’t expect to gain such benefits when she came to the county.

For this alone, it’s worth it.

On the way back home, riding the bike swiftly, she asked Yan Xiang, “What did you do?”

“Teacher gave us peach pastries, said mommy bought them.” Yanshang said, “We played games, told stories. Mom, telling stories is very interesting.”

“As long as you’re happy. Mommy is happy when you’re happy. The county seems pretty good, right?”

“Yes, it’s pretty good.”

“Look, a flock of sheep~”

“Wow~”

She thought all the way about how to write this draft when she got back.

Little did she know that she would be surprised when she got home.

In the yard, there was a brand new 26-inch women’s bicycle.

Brand new.

Moreover, there was a child seat on the back of the bike!

“Wow~” Yanshang exclaimed.

Qiao Wei circled around the bike.

Yan Lei popped out from the kitchen with a smile on his face, “You’re back.”

Today is Saturday, and Yan Lei and the others can come back early.

“What’s this about?” Qiao Wei pointed to the new bike and asked.

Yan Lei smiled, “The logistics department went to Shanghai Bicycle Factory and snatched a batch, thirty in total, two of them are women’s bikes. Waited for quite a few days, and they finally arrived today.”

Qiao Wei was surprised, “How come I didn’t hear anything about it?”

“Only thirty bikes. So many people. No one said a word.” Yan Lei didn’t mention that some people didn’t have the qualification to know yet.

When others found out, these thirty bikes were already taken.

The soldiers acted quickly and decisively.

And Yan Lei was among the first to know. He knew about it before the logistics people went there, specifically asking for women’s bikes.

Women’s bikes have a slanted bar in front, which allows one to step over. You just extend your right leg over the bar, step on the right pedal, and off you go.

This is the common riding method nowadays.

As for the 80-20 split bar, it’s not as convenient. With a horizontal bar in front, only tall men like Yan Lei can step over it.

Others, even men, have to step on the pedal with their left foot, glide with their right foot on the ground, then swing their right leg from behind to get on the bike.

Some daring parents forget that their child is sitting on the back seat. After a few glides, a swing, and their child is swept off.

Many middle-aged people in the future will have such awkward childhood memories.

“Do you like it?”

“Of course!”

But more than the new bike, Qiao Wei liked the child seat.

“This is amazing.” She praised him. “I didn’t expect, really didn’t expect, how did you do it?”

Compared to the mass-produced child seats in the future, it’s obvious that this child seat is handmade.

The main structure is welded from steel pipes, and the seat is a wooden board. Overall, it has a primitive industrial roughness, but it has everything it should have: a seat, a backrest, armrests, footrests, and leg protection net.

Especially the leg protection net. Three steel pipes are welded into a triangle, with a coarse wire mesh in the middle. Although the holes are quite large, Yan Xiang’s feet can no longer pass through, ensuring the safety of his legs and feet from being caught in the spokes.

It’s only been two days. Qiao Wei drew the seat plan for Yan Lei on Thursday, and today, Saturday, it’s already done.

Yan Lei said, “It’s not a big deal to really do it, is it? I was in a hurry, so I asked someone, and it was done in two days.”

Many things don’t take long in themselves. A luxury store bag needs to be queued for a year. Does it really take a year to make a bag? Not really.

“Where did you find someone to make it?” Qiao Wei asked curiously.

Yan Lei said, “Guess.”

He bet that Qiao Wei wouldn’t be able to guess.

But his attitude itself already gave Qiao Wei a guess.

Qiao Wei poked her finger into the steel pipe and turned it around to feel it. With an eighty percent certainty, she said, “Military industry.”

Yan Lei was surprised.

“This is… the steel pipe for making gun barrels.” Seeing his surprised look, Qiao Wei tapped on the main body of the child seat, confirming it completely.

Yan Lei was genuinely surprised, “How did you know?”

“I felt the inside of that, um, what’s it called? Xiang Xiang, the pattern inside the gun barrel?” Qiao Wei turned to ask Yan Xiang.

Yan Xiang said, “Rifling! Mom, I want to touch it too, I want to touch it too!”

He was too short, even tiptoeing couldn’t reach him.

Yan Lei was even more surprised, “You know too?”

Qiao Wei picked up Yan Xiang and put him in the child seat, “Tell Daddy, what book did we read, that book, the one you really liked.”

Yan Xiang told his dad, “The ‘Militia Training Manual’.”

“Wow.” Yan Lei chuckled, “You’ve read this too.”

Actually, Yan Xiang knew about rifling from the Militia Training Manual.

But Qiao Wei could guess that these were steel pipes for making gun barrels because she had read jokes about it on the internet in the future.

Someone consulted a hardware store owner on Taobao about whether there was a certain type of steel pipe, but after providing the parameters, the boss immediately called the police – people in the industry would immediately know that it was for making gun barrels.

That day, after Yan Lei heard Qiao Wei mention the “child seat,” he insisted she draw it, and after measuring the dimensions, he went directly to find someone in the military industry.

This thing is secured with several thick screws on the back seat and can be removed. Originally intended to be installed on the women’s bicycle in the town committee, but unexpectedly the batch of bicycles seized by the logistics department arrived today.

It just so happened that they were directly installed on the new bike and brought back.

Yan Xiang sat on it: “Wow~”

Just right, the footrest was very comfortable, much more comfortable than hanging down. There was a backrest behind, armrests on both sides, and no need to clutch Mommy’s belt anymore. Not afraid of falling off.

So wonderful.

Before he could sit enough, Qiao Wei picked him up again.

She touched it with her hand. The wooden board used for the seat was polished, without any wooden thorns, but hard. Now it’s just a hard wooden chair. The backrest was also made of two steel pipes with a rectangular wooden board attached to them.

The armrests were just steel pipes.

“It still needs some finishing touches to make Xiang Xiang comfortable sitting.”

The couple studied it carefully for a while.

After hearing that Qiao Wei received a task from Secretary Meng, Yan Lei said after dinner, “You go do your work, I’ll take care of this.”

He removed the old clothes that were tied to the back seat to cushion Yan Xiang’s buttocks and continued to cut them into strips.

Qiao Wei wrote her manuscript in the study, occasionally looking out the window. The father of the child was very carefully wrapping the steel pipe handrails with cloth strips.

Yan Xiang looked on eagerly, full of anticipation.

Qiao Wei smiled and lowered her head to continue writing.

The data had been checked, the train of thought had been organized all the way, and she was ready.

Her pen flew across the paper.

Meanwhile, Yan Lei finished refining the child seat, and Qiao Wei finished writing her manuscript.

Wiping his hands, Yan Lei came over and asked, “Will you take care of the seat cushion and backrest tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll go to the tailor’s for that. I also need to pick up my new clothes.”

“Finished writing?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me take a look.”

Yan Lei picked it up and read through it once.

Qiao Wei felt his gaze was a bit off, “Is there a problem?”

She trusted Yan Lei more. His thoughts were impeccable in this era.

But Yan Lei returned it to her and said, “No, it’s pretty good.”

Qiao Wei: “?”

As Qiao Wei tidied up the table, she looked up and saw that Yan Lei had already taken Yan Xiang to wash up in the yard.

“Children should sleep early,” he told Yan Xiang, “Didn’t Mommy say that children grow taller by sleeping? If you want to grow up faster, then sleep earlier. The earlier you sleep, the longer you sleep, and the faster you’ll grow taller than other children.”

Qiao Wei: “…”

While Qiao Wei was washing up, Yan Lei had already coaxed Yan Xiang into bed.

After wiping her face, preparing to tell Yan Xiang a story, she heard Yan Lei close the door of the east room, blocking her way, “He’s already asleep.”

Qiao Wei didn’t believe it, “It’s so early, just got into bed, how could he fall asleep so quickly? He’s waiting for me to tell him a story.”

Yan Lei said, “Boys listen to stories every day. He’s not listening today.”

Qiao Wei: “?”

Yan Lei held her waist and lifted her up, “Come on, let’s tell stories.”

…

The autumn night was slightly cool.

The house was filled with warmth.

Qiao Wei looked up, her hands running through her hair, exhaling a long breath.

Then she looked down at him, “Are you…?”

Her voice was hoarse as she voiced her guess, “Yan Lei, do you like reading the articles I write?”

Yan Lei, his breathing still ragged, admitted, “Yes.”

He liked watching her sitting at her desk, pen in hand, writing diligently.

Reading those good words and brilliant sentences written by her made him feel hot all over.

Qiao Wei smiled mischievously.

Yan Lei knew he was being played by her.

That’s just the way it is.

Resentfully, she resigned herself to it. There was nothing she could do about him in this lifetime.

Up and down.

She was the boat, he was the wave.

Rough seas, turbulence.

The boat nearly capsized, but she bit her lip, held onto him, and managed to steady herself…

“Easy there,” she struggled to catch her breath.

“Don’t you like it?” he said, but he didn’t listen.

“…”

“Quick, tell me, do you like it or not?”

He was squeezing her waist as if he wanted Qiao Wei to die.

Who had the upper hand?

Her voice cracked.

“Like it…”

On Sunday, Qiao Wei went to the tailor’s shop with a radiant look.

The old tailor lived alone, with no children or wife. His workdays and weekends were all the same to him. He spent Sundays in the shop as well.

He lived in a small house behind the shop, with the front serving as his shop and the back as his living quarters.

The Lenin suits made from autumn and winter military fabric were already finished. Qiao Wei tried them on, and they fit perfectly, making her look especially spirited.

“Being a military spouse is good, isn’t it?” the old tailor, with his glasses hanging on his nose, said, “Whenever young girls come to me for clothes, I always advise them to find a soldier.”

“It’s so nice, high salary, good treatment,” the old man glanced at Qiao Wei’s radiant face, “…and a good figure.”

Ahem! The old man knew quite a lot.