Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 534 Lobbyist
Zhang Ye slept soundly last night.

Early in the morning on January 1, Zhang Ye woke up, lit the stove, washed his face, and then started to make breakfast.

Because Zhang Ye wanted Gao Dashan to sleep a little longer, he didn't go out to look for him until breakfast was ready.

In fact, Gao Dashan wakes up quite early. He is used to living in this courtyard. He has to open the door of the dormitory early in the morning to facilitate the travel of individual residents who want to go out in the morning.

Anyone who has been camping in the wild knows that the second half of the night is when the temperature is the lowest.

Gao Dashan managed to sleep for a while in the first half of the night wrapped in his cotton coat, but was woken up by the cold in the second half of the night. Now the temperature had risen a little, and he was wrapping himself tightly in his coat, curled up on the assembled wooden boards and dozing off.

When Zhang Ye came over, he happened to see this scene and was immediately distressed. He reached out and woke Gao Dashan up: "Brother Dashan..."

"Well... why are you here?" Gao Dashan asked in a daze. He opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Ye, yawned, rubbed his numb face with his hands, and asked.

"I've prepared dinner and came to call you to eat." It was cold outside and not a good place to talk, so Zhang Ye stepped forward and stretched out his hand, wanting to pull Gao Dashan up, wishing he could go back to the house to warm up immediately.

"Oh, let's go and eat." Gao Dashan tried to get up himself but failed. Seeing that Zhang Ye had his hand stretched out, he extended his hand over.

When he touched it, his hands were cold. Zhang Ye could no longer control herself and tears fell.

"Oh, why are you crying? It's no big deal. When your brother and I were in the north, we often slept in the snow." Gao Dashan didn't take it seriously. He got up and stretched his legs, then drove Zhang Ye out. When he came out, he did not forget to lock the door of the tool room.

Zhang Ye said nothing and silently followed Gao Dashan back to the message room.

After closing the door of the message room, Zhang Ye got busy. He poured water for Gao Dashan to wash his hands and face, prepared the meal, served him, and finally made the bed. "Brother Dashan, take a nap after dinner. I'll be guarding the gate and call you if there's anything."

"Yeah, okay." Gao Dashan drank the hot porridge and munched on some pickled cabbage strips. It was just a bite for him alone. It had been a while since he had such a satisfying breakfast.

"What are you looking at? You should eat too." Gao Dashan took two bites himself, then saw Zhang Ye sitting nearby with no intention of eating, so he gave way.

"You eat first. I had a full meal last night and lunch, so I'm not hungry yet. I'll eat later." Zhang Ye shook his head, controlling himself not to look at the porridge in the bowl.

After hearing this, Gao Dashan put down the bowl and opened the lid of the pot. The pot was empty except for a thin layer of paste on the surface.

"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you? As long as I have something to eat here, you won't be hungry." Gao Dashan was very angry and had no mood to eat.

"Brother Dashan, I'm used to it at home. If I can have two liquid meals a day, it's a good meal. You don't have to worry about me. I'll eat when I'm hungry." Zhang Ye still shook his head stubbornly. He had eaten three meals yesterday: two peach cakes in the morning, two steamed buns at noon, and two steamed buns in the evening. He hadn't had such a rich meal in the past six months.

After getting up today, Zhang Ye felt like she was dreaming, but she had also heard that people in the city have a ration, so if she eats more, Brother Dashan will eat less.

Zhang Ye is not picky, he thinks that as long as he can survive, that's enough.

Zhang Ye went out to check yesterday. There are locust trees and elm trees outside the yard. If they hold on for another two months, they will sprout in the spring. Then we can pluck some leaves and add some food, and we will have enough to eat.

"Hey, kid, what can I say to you? Let's share it. If you don't want to eat, I won't eat it either." Gao Dashan sighed, also very stubborn.

At Gao Dashan's repeated insistence, Zhang Ye finally drank a few mouthfuls of porridge in the morning. She poured some water on the porridge hanging on the wall of the pot, swept it with a broom, and poured it into her own bowl. Gao Dashan also gave her some.

In the end, I didn’t dare to waste the things stuck on the wall of the bowl. I turned the bowl around and licked it clean but it wasn’t safe enough, so I had to pour some water into it, scrape it a little bit at a time with my fingers twice and drink it.

"You don't have to worry about food. There's a lake not far to the north. I'll take a break and go fishing, and we'll have an additional dish tonight." Gao Dashan looked sad. Although he didn't want to admit it, food was indeed a problem. The population had been compressed everywhere a while ago, and he had no idea how to solve the quantitative problem. He only thought of the fish, birds, and rabbits that Tang Zhitong occasionally brought back. Maybe hunting game was an idea, but his legs and feet were not strong enough to walk far, so he had to give up temporarily.

"Yes!" Zhang Ye responded with a smile, took Gao Dashan's bowl, poured some water into it, and did the same thing, drinking up all the food residue in it.

It is said that Tang Zhitong went back home with his salary from the Municipal Bureau early in the morning. Ma Wei was already in the office chopping wood with an axe, preparing to light the stove.

"Do you come so early every day?" Tang Zhitong was somewhat surprised when he walked in.

"Good morning, Chief. I don't have anything to do at home, so I came over early." Ma Wei responded with a smile.

"It's winter, it's not easy to get up early. You are a determined person. If it were me, I would just stay in bed." Tang Zhitong put the salary he received into the drawer and locked it, then walked to the stove, intending to take over the job of lighting the fire: "You sit down and take a rest. I finally came here this morning, and it's time for me to do this job."

"Okay, thank you for your help, Chief." Ma Wei was a straightforward person. She stood up and gave up her seat.

Making a fire requires skill, but it is not difficult.

First, clean the furnace, then put the firewood in, put a few slightly thicker pieces underneath, then put in a handful of burning thin firewood, and when the flame is a little bigger, you can put in thicker dry firewood or corn cobs.

Corn pulp is also called corn pulp, and in Xiaoxiba it is called corn cob. It is a kind of food that can be soaked in water or made into condiments.

I don't mean to laugh at this, because in the next few years, this will also be an important "substitute food" in the country.

After the fire starts, use fire chopsticks or fire hook to press it down slightly, then put some firewood on it, and then you can put coal directly on it.

As far as lighting the stove is concerned, an experienced person can save a lot of firewood than a novice, but it doesn’t matter in the escort department. After all, these things are provided by the logistics department and you don’t have to pay for them yourself.

After Ma Wei washed her hands, she helped Tang Zhitong change the basin of water. After sitting back in the chair, there was a confusion on her face.

Early this morning, the guard stopped me and brought me another letter. Judging from the handwriting, it was still from Qin Luming.

Ma Wei had no idea about Qin Luming at all. When she received his letter, she was not only unhappy, but also a little irritated. In her mind, she had already labeled Qin Luming as "a person with no taste".

Ma Wei was not averse to working in the escort department. Although it was a little far from home, Tang Zhitong basically let her do whatever she wanted, and there was no intrigue. What's more, she could learn something.

So, although Ma Wei was disgusted by Qin Luming's lack of tact, she did not want to make a big fuss about it, as that would be bad for Qin Luming and even worse for herself.

"Chief, I have something to trouble you with." After much thought, Ma Wei decided to let Tang Zhitong be a lobbyist to make Qin Luming give up the idea.

"What kind of trouble is it? Just tell me." Tang Zhitong washed his hands, filled a kettle with water and squatted on the stove.

"Qin Luming from our department has written me three letters these days. Can you help me return them to him?" No matter how straightforward Ma Wei was, she was still an inexperienced young girl. When she took the letter out of the drawer, her face turned red. "Okay, I understand." When Tang Zhitong took the letter, someone knocked on the door.

"Chief Tang, can I get my salary now?" After knocking on the door, it was pushed open a crack.

"Okay, take it." Tang Zhitong put the letter into the drawer unnoticeably, and at the same time took out the payroll and handed it to Ma Wei. As usual, Ma Wei identified the person, reported the amount of money, and counted the money herself.

Getting salary should be the most active thing for most people. The Finance Department was busy all morning.

This was a tough time for Tang Zhitong and Ma Wei. In the middle of winter, it was not convenient to let people wait outside with the door open. The heat from the stove was not enough to dissipate.

When paying salaries, Tang Zhitong saw Qin Luming. Although the young man was hiding his eyes, his eyes kept drifting towards Ma Wei. Ma Wei noticed it, but her expression was not very obvious. She just frowned slightly.

Seeing Ma Wei frown, the expression on Qin Luming's face became even more interesting, as if he had imagined a big drama in his mind.

Tang Zhitong sighed. He didn't know what kind of magic potion this young man had drunk. How did he end up attracting Ma Wei? The soup must have expired or gone bad. "Xiao Qin, order some."

"Oh, oh." Qin Luming came back to his senses, counted some money perfunctorily, and went to Ma Wei to sign.

Tang Zhitong saw Ma Wei making an obvious move to lean back, wanting to stay away from Qin Luming.

It is obvious that Qin Luming is too eager to do things.

Fortunately, everyone was active and the wages were paid when it was almost time to get off work at noon.

Tang Zhitong then sorted out the accounts. The coal that the Municipal Bureau distributed to everyone a while ago was also collected on behalf of the company, so it needed to be summarized and handed over to the Logistics Department.

"I'll go to the logistics department and talk to Xiao Qin about it." After counting the money, Tang Zhitong took out the letters. Among the three letters, only one was cut open, and the other two were not opened.

"Thank you, Chief." Ma Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Everything should be safe this time.

The coal was issued by the Municipal Bureau, and the Escort Office was coordinated by the Logistics Department. The money was also handed over to the Logistics Department of the Municipal Bureau. The Logistics Department collected the money from various units and then coordinated with the Finance Department.

The financial departments of various units are more familiar with the people in the Financial Department of the Municipal Bureau, but it is not easy to connect directly in terms of workplace processes. After all, whoever is in charge is responsible.

If someone says to you, "Xiao so-and-so, you are more familiar with so-and-so, and asks you to go to so-and-so for me," don't fall for their nice words, because you never know what trap they are waiting for you.

Tang Zhitong came to the logistics department, paid the money, and made some jokes. Finally, he said hello to the head of the logistics department: "I want to borrow your Lu Ming. The finance department is out of coal. Let's go get some coal together."

"Does Section Chief Tang really have to do this himself? Xiao Qin, please go and take it to Section Chief Tang's room." The logistics chief was an open-minded man and arranged for Qin Luming directly.

Tang Zhitong thanked the man and left with Qin Luming.

Asking for coal is just an excuse. The real thing is to have a clear talk with Qin Luming.

The coal is piled on the south side of the escort area, close to the platform. There are ready-made tools next to it. Anyone who needs it can take it, as long as they don't take it home secretly.

When they arrived at the coal pile, Tang Zhitong did not rush to load the coal. Instead, he took out a cigarette and passed it to Qin Luming: "Here, have one first."

"Thank you, Chief Tang. I'll light it for you." Qin Luming has the shrewdness of an old postal worker, and his way of dealing with people is much better than those who came down from the battlefield.

"Lu Ming, has anyone in your family arranged a marriage for you?" Tang Zhitong asked, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Hehe, yes, but I haven't met her. I think we are in a new society now, and we can't stick to the old ways of 'parents's orders and matchmaker's words'." Qin Luming didn't expect Tang Zhitong to ask this, but his intuition told him that this matter was related to Ma Wei, so he expressed his attitude right from the start and tried his best to lean towards free love.

"Haha, new youth, new ideas, your idea is correct. Although 'equal status' is a bit biased, it does make sense." Tang Zhitong only had a rough guess about Ma Wei's family background. Although it was not very accurate, it was definitely better than most of the male comrades in the escort department.

After hearing what Tang Zhitong said, Qin Luming's heart skipped a beat. Things had taken a turn for the better, but it didn't seem to be in the direction he expected.

"You are smart and sensible, but love cannot be forced. Free love must be based on mutual affection. Don't believe in the saying 'a good girl is afraid of a clingy man.'" Tang Zhitong took out the letter and pointed out the purpose of his trip as tactfully as possible.

"Okay, Chief Tang, I understand." How could Qin Luming not understand the letter? He took it with a wry smile and sighed.

"Well, I know you know the importance of things." Tang Zhitong patted Qin Luming on the shoulder and said, "Okay, go back. I can just push half a cart of coal back to pretend."

"How can I let you do this job? Let me do it!" Qin Luming stuffed a stack of letters into his pocket, picked up a shovel and started loading coal.

Until the coal was delivered to the door of the Finance Department, Qin Luming did not let Tang Zhitong interfere.

After entering the door, Qin Luming controlled his emotions and expressions and did not show any inappropriate emotions.

Tang Zhitong sent Qin Luming out the door and sighed. He was a nice guy, but it was a pity that he was not as ruthless as her.

But the scene on the Gaodashan side is quite different.

Gao Dashan didn't sleep for long. He took a nap, and after everyone at the Women's Federation came to work, he took last night's thank-you letter to get it stamped, and also went to register for the use of the tool room.

"Lao Gao, I heard that your wife is here to get married with you? When can we get your wedding candy?" Most of the people here are women. They heard about yesterday's events as soon as they got to work and were talking about it with gusto. Now that the real person is here, they must make some fun of it, right?
"That's not true. She's my sister." Gao Dashan's old face turned red.

"Oh, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. I came all the way here, not just to hear you call me girl."

"That's right, that's right. I say, Lao Gao, strike while the iron is hot. This will save you from having to live in the tool room. Is that a livable place? Be careful that your body can't handle it."

……

Gao Dashan dealt with it with a grunt, and after completing the formalities he fled away as fast as the sun, just like the Japanese devils on the battlefield back then.

(End of this chapter)