Chapter 95

The county government’s welfare was quite good. For the National Day holiday, they distributed rice, cooking oil, towels, and soap.

And there was a portion for Qiao Wei too, even though her status was still related to the town.

It should be noted that Hu Sui had already helped her bring over everything that was distributed in the town yesterday.

Qiao Wei felt invigorated at the thought of her originally affluent economic situation now being supplemented with her own salary plus two sets of benefits.

The day the secretary walked through the office with a teacup in hand, he specifically spoke to her for a couple of sentences, informing her that the short-distance bus had been coordinated and would be arranged after the National Day holiday.

That was great news.

Qiao Wei had been worried about how she would manage to ride a bike with her child in the cold winter, but with the bus service, that concern would be solved.

“The efficiency of our county government is really beyond reproach,” Qiao Wei said. “Forget about the masses, just being here in the county government and hearing this news makes me feel uplifted. When the government handles things, there’s a sense of hope.”

Her praise was particularly sincere.

After all, her actual personal needs had been efficiently addressed.

The genuine praise made the leaders feel pleased as well.

Qiao Wei volunteered, “I’ll take care of the propaganda work in Xiahekou.”

“Good, they’re all your former colleagues. It’s up to you,” the leader replied.

Qiao Wei now always carried a net bag with her. Her shoulder bag always contained a net bag, ready to be used at any time. She really loved this net bag.

As soon as the welfare was distributed, she used it. The amount of rice and oil was not large, after all, it was the era of planned economy with grain and oil control. But there were advantages to even small amounts. She could put them in the net bag and hang it on the handlebars of her bike, and she could easily take them back home.

Yan Xiang asked on the way, “Mom, if we go to kindergarten for one more day tomorrow, does that mean we’ll have a holiday the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, are you happy about that, Xiang Xiang?” 

But Yan Xiang didn’t seem happy at all. Instead, she said, “Then I won’t be able to see my friends.”

“Oh, you like your friends that much?” Qiao Wei asked.

“Yeah!” Yan Xiang nodded vigorously. “I will teach my friends to behave. Everyone is a good kid.”

Qiao Wei chuckled.

That evening, she said to Yan Lei, “With the bus service now available, it’ll be more convenient for me to commute. But leaving at 3:30 won’t be suitable anymore.”

And it wouldn’t be suitable to skip work on rainy or snowy days either.

She had skipped work twice before when it rained, just stayed home listening to the rain and reading books, feeling so comfortable.

Ah.

Working in the county government had its advantages. The work became more specialized. She was a pen-wielding talent favored and promoted by the secretary. The trivial tasks were generally not assigned to her anymore, and she now felt a refreshing sense of clarity in her work.

But the downside was that even she had changed from her relaxed state in the propaganda department. Under Secretary Meng’s assertive leadership, everyone involuntarily entered a state of heightened tension.

Before, the perks Qiao Wei had negotiated with the leadership, although a bit outlandish, had reassured Yan Lei.

He knew she wouldn’t let herself be taken advantage of.

With a wife like her, he didn’t have to worry when she was out.

Yan Lei calculated the time. “It’s only half an hour earlier. Taking the bus saves energy and keeps you warm in winter.”

Regarding staying warm in winter, Qiao Wei felt it was necessary to prepare.

In the future, there would be air conditioning and heating everywhere. Those who were sensitive to the cold could even use heating patches inside their clothes.

But here, there were only heated brick beds and hot water bottles.

The hot water bottles were large and industrial products that were hard to come by, and they couldn’t be carried around.

Qiao Wei asked Yan Lei if there were any other portable heating options.

Yan Lei thought for a moment. “Let’s go to the coppersmith’s shop another day. I remember there used to be something you could carry with you that could be filled with hot water.”

There used to be many coppersmith shops in Xiahekou, but they were later nationalized and merged. Then everyone started using industrial products, and the handcrafted coppersmiths declined. But there were still some around.

“Tomorrow, we only have half a day, so we’ll go in the afternoon.” With alternatives in mind, Qiao Wei became happy.

On the 30th, the last day before the holiday, after lunch, each department symbolically worked for an hour, and then everyone left work.

The holiday had begun.

Qiao Wei came home early and headed straight to the Craftsman Alley.

The old tailor sat in front of his shop on a small bamboo chair, basking in the sun.

Qiao Wei greeted him. 

“What are you up to?” the old tailor asked.

Qiao Wei told him.

The old tailor said, “In the past, there were hand stoves, burning charcoal. If made cleverly, no matter how you turn it, the charcoal inside remains stable.”

“I’ve heard of those,” Qiao Wei said.

These intricately crafted objects were passed down through generations, she had seen diagrams of them online, showing remarkable craftsmanship.

“Don’t bother with that,” the old tailor advised. “It’s hard to find charcoal for it. You need good smokeless charcoal, other types won’t do. You don’t want smoke coming out as you walk.”

The imagery was beautiful, and it made Qiao Wei burst into laughter.

“My husband said there are ones you can fill with water,” she said.

“Yes, get one that you can fill with water,” the old tailor said after hearing her situation. “That’s a hot water bottle. Get a big one for home use, to warm the bed. If you want to carry it, get a small one, hang it around your neck, tuck it inside your clothes against your belly, and you won’t feel cold all the way.”

Qiao Wei’s eyes lit up as she listened. “You really understand, that’s exactly what I want.”

The old man waved her off. “Go on now… oh, forget it, just go.”

Qiao Wei went to the coppersmith’s shop. The coppersmith was sleeping on the counter inside the shop, indicating that business wasn’t great. But now that they were getting paid by the state, he didn’t seem to care.

Although feeling a bit embarrassed, Qiao Wei resolutely woke him up. “Comrade, comrade.”

The coppersmith wiped his mouth and, still bleary-eyed, listened to Qiao Wei’s request. He rummaged through a pile of bottles and jars, eventually pulling out two small ones that were slightly dusty and handed them to her. “Will these do?”

The adult-sized palm-sized round bottles were exactly what the old tailor had described.

“This is it!” Qiao Wei was delighted. It was amazing that such small and useful things existed in this era.

Many of the things she encountered in daily life were too big.

Instead of going home by bike, she bought three cents worth of brown sugar and headed straight for the courtyard to find Hu Sui.

Hu Sui was skilled at knitting sweaters and crocheting.

She asked Hu Sui to help her make two small pouches, sized to fit two small hot water bottles, with long straps to hang around the neck.

Hu Sui used a knitted cup holder for her own water bottle, made with a hook, complete with a handle. Qiao Wei had seen it before.

Hu Sui scolded her, “Just let me crochet it for you, why buy something? Don’t be so formal.”

But Qiao Wei insisted on giving her the brown sugar.

Hu Sui asked her, “Did you know that tomorrow I’m arranging a meeting for Manman?”

“Another meeting?” 

“This time, it’s arranged by your family.”

“Oh, really? He hasn’t told me yet.”

Hu Sui said, “Manman has very high standards. Zhao and I found a few for her, but she didn’t like any of them. They were all handsome, but she just didn’t like them.”

Qiao Wei smiled without saying a word.

Sometimes, the logic of the older sisters playing matchmaker was incomprehensible.

Lumanman insisted on finding someone good-looking. Indeed, the candidates Zhao and Hu found were acceptable in terms of looks.

But in other aspects… it was hard to say.

For example, there was one before, who looked good, but when they asked about his family background, it turned out they were so poor that it left them speechless.

Hu Sui’s logic was, “The Lu family is rich and his family is poor, it’s perfect.”

She was very satisfied with herself, thinking that a rich woman and a poor man complemented each other perfectly.

She genuinely believed in the spirit of equality between the rich and the poor from the depths of her soul.

It was Manman’s broad-mindedness, coupled with her accustomed wealth, that made her slightly interested in the young man at first glance. In fact, she even felt a little moved at first sight because he seemed energetic.

But when the parents inquired about his background, they immediately vetoed him.

And being poor really made people feel inferior. Although the young man looked decent, this era wasn’t just about appearances. In an environment dominated by men, especially one that valued physical strength, being good-looking didn’t offer much advantage.

It couldn’t instill confidence just because of that.

The young man exhibited a noticeable sense of timidity born out of his own insecurity.

After the initial favorable impression faded, upon further inspection…

Lu Manman measured her suitors against Qiao Wei’s beloved husband, Captain Yan, as the benchmark.

In comparison, she even rejected herself upon the second glance.

Hu Sui felt that Lu Manman’s standards were too high.

She wanted someone good-looking, so they found someone good-looking for her, yet she still wasn’t satisfied.

Qiao Wei asked Yan Le, “Did you introduce someone to Manman?”

“Oh, right,” Yan Lei remembered. “I forgot to tell you. I directly approached Camp Commander Fang, and he said his wife would handle it.”

Camp Commander Fang was Hu Sui’s husband.

Qiao Wei inquired about the situation and felt it was okay.

Although he was from the countryside, he was firstly a platoon leader, with a decent salary. Secondly, although his family was ordinary, they had many sons, and the elderly were still healthy.

Having many sons meant they wouldn’t be bullied and could earn more work points.

Moreover, the health of the elderly was crucial.

Qiao Wei once had a conversation with a big sister from her ward who came to the city specifically for treatment. She talked about how one of the impoverished households she was in charge of managed to lift themselves out of poverty.

“The family’s elderly all passed away, so they automatically lifted themselves out of poverty.”

When the elderly fell ill, it not only meant losing labor power but also posed a financial burden with long-term medication costs. At the same time, they required someone to take care of them, which meant at least one labor force couldn’t go out to earn money.

The reason why that impoverished household was poor was because they had three elderly members who were bedridden and needed medication and care.

Until that year, the three elderly members passed away successively.

They automatically lifted themselves out of poverty.

It was distressing to hear, but it was reality. Falling in love and such things were particularly easy to cloud one’s judgment, but when it came to marriage, if one’s mind wasn’t clear, it could lead to a lifetime of suffering.

Qiao Wei’s mind was very clear, especially when she saw the candidates introduced by Hu Sui and Sister Yang, who always had qualities that she thought were absurd but they found “quite good and suitable for the Lu family.” So when she asked Yan Lei to find a match for Lu Manman, she specified many specific requirements.

Yan Lei criticized her.

He felt she was placing too much emphasis on these external conditions, especially with a hint of favoring the rich and disdaining the poor.

He argued that it was more important to look at a comrade’s inner qualities, whether they were positive, upwardly mobile, and loyal to the Party.

Qiao Wei said, “Then dress me in patched and tattered clothes, don’t buy me new clothes.”

“Don’t give me meat, let me eat half-full every meal, starve me, so I can’t sleep at night because of hunger.”

“Don’t buy me facial cream, let my skin crack and wrinkle.”

Yan Lei put his hands on his hips and said, “That won’t do!”

My wife must live a good life.

Otherwise, it’s my fault.

“You also know that you should let your wife live a good life,” Qiao Wei scolded him. “But when it comes to introducing someone to others, why do you think it’s okay to find someone who will drag the whole family down? Shouldn’t the daughters of other families also have a good life?”

Yan Lei rubbed his nose, pretending to be silly, and just smiled.

But when it came time to search for a suitable person, he still carefully investigated the family situation.

Families with a bunch of sick people who can’t earn work points and rely solely on the son’s soldier’s salary were not considered.

Those who were only good-looking but crafty were not considered, nor were those who were good-looking but dull. After checking their bodies at the public bath, some individuals were also not considered.

After careful screening, they picked a good candidate for Lu Manman.