After lunch, Zhou Honghan asked Su Ye privately, "I heard Meimei said that you are making up for your high school diploma. Is this true?"
Zhou Honghan saw Su Ye helping her restore the damaged parts drawing last time, and she was impressed by his talent. If Su Ye put his clever mind into studying, he might be able to achieve some results.
Gu Xiangqian was a college student who had been sent abroad to study, so Su Ye had to catch up with him in terms of education. He didn't expect her to go to college, but at least she had to get a high school diploma so that others wouldn't look down on her.
There were many city officers and their wives living in the family compound. Their families were very well-off and they had a good relationship with Gu Xiangqian, but they seldom interacted with Su Ye.
Su Ye nodded, "There was such a thing. Some time ago, the principal felt that it was not suitable for me to be a teacher without a high school diploma. He asked me to get a high school diploma."
Zhou Honghan encouraged, "Your principal's idea is really good. We must get a high school diploma. If you don't know anything, you can come downstairs and ask me. We must get our diploma."
Su Ye looked at Grandma Zhou's eager eyes and touched his nose embarrassedly.
Everyone had the same reaction when they heard that she was going to get her high school diploma. Previously, He Meimei enthusiastically helped her with her homework, and now Grandma Zhou answered her questions. It was impossible for people to be honest.
For her, who had gone through the tough college entrance examination, getting her diploma was a piece of cake.
However, mechanical experts like Zhou Honghan are as rare as national treasures in this era. Su Ye barely stopped himself from declining and gladly accepted the boss's kindness.
"Can I ask other questions? I was very interested in the pictures my grandma drew last time." Su Ye asked.
Zhou Honghan didn't realize that Su Ye was actually a studious person, but the knowledge involving complex machinery was probably not something Su Ye could understand in a short time. So Zhou Honghan pouted and said, "Why not? Come when you are free."
Su Ye said happily: "Okay! This is what Grandma Zhou said herself, please don't think I'm annoying."
Zhou Honghan agreed readily, without realizing that he had been cheated.
The other side.
After finishing her meal, Fang Xiulian heard Zhou Honghan and Su Ye discussing the high school diploma. She did not interrupt them. After they finished talking, she asked Su Ye: "Sister-in-law, last time I said I wanted to buy tea-"
Su Ye became interested when she heard this, and she excitedly took out a bag of tea from the cabinet. Su Ye did not forget her duty of helping her fellow villager sell tea.
It took me more than half a month to write a letter to my fellow villager to ask for tea.
She packaged the tea leaves, weighed a pound and gave it to Fang Xiu, saying, "Here is a pound. It's enough for you and your wife to drink until the end of the year. The tea leaves are quite fresh. They are newly dried this year."
Fang Xiu Lian unfolded the bag and sniffed it. The aroma of tea filled her nose. The fresh smell was subtle and elegant. Although Fang Xiu Lian was not good at other things, she was extremely proficient in eating and drinking.
After inspecting the goods, she closed the bag of tea with satisfaction and asked, "How much is this tea?"
Tea leaves were worth very little, and when they were unsalable, selling them for a few cents was considered compensation for the tea farmers. In normal times, the price of "Jin Xiang Yu" tea leaves was not too expensive at a few yuan per ounce, but in the era of hunger, its value depreciated greatly.
Su Ye declined politely and said, "We are all relatives, why would I ask for money? As long as you—"
She was about to say "help promote it", but considering Fang Xiulian's personality, she might not be willing to help promote it. Only if Fang Xiulian felt that this tea was really rare, Su Ye would not be able to stop her from spreading the word.
Su Ye changed the subject and said, "As long as you like it, it's fine. I wrote several letters to ask my fellow villagers for this. They said it can only be picked after Qingming Festival, two days later."
She happily picked up a strand of tea leaves from the bag and handed it to Fang Xiulian to smell.
She enthusiastically recommended it to the public: "Let me tell you, the best tea only grows in the cracks of rocks and is fed by mountain spring water all year round. After the tea leaves are picked, they are blended by experienced tea masters. They don't even keep them for themselves. In previous years, when leaders came to the local guesthouse, they drank this kind of tea."
Although Su Ye was talking nonsense, he was not lying to be honest. In fact... Wild golden jade is very rare. The experienced tea master said that it was from an old farmer who had been growing tea for decades, so there was nothing wrong with it.
Fang Xiulian's eyes lit up when she heard this. She took a deep sniff and found that the tea fragrance was indeed light and elegant. It was incomparable to the big bag of tea bought from a department store for two or three yuan.
Li Maogang subconsciously took out his wallet and counted out a few big black tens. Su Ye did not take his money and politely declined.
Gu Xiangqian raised the corner of his mouth slightly, he clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, and coughed lightly, "It's okay, Maogang, you can take it back."
Perhaps it was because Gu Xiangqian and Su Ye had been together for a long time, and he understood something of what she said as soon as she opened her mouth.
He said to Li Maogang, "I remember your uncle likes tea very much. Bring some for him to try."
Li Maogang nodded readily, "Of course. Then I would like to thank my sister-in-law for her kindness."
Su Ye did not respond to Gu Xiangqian's words. After Li Maogang and his wife left, she asked Gu Xiangqian.
Gu Xiangqian said implicitly: "Maogang's uncle works in the guesthouse."
It turns out that Li Maogang's uncle is the head of the C City Guesthouse! If he takes a fancy to Jin Xiangyu, he can add it to the purchase order and the villagers will have a place to buy this batch of tea. Even if Li Maogang's uncle doesn't like this tea, it would be a good thing for them to recommend relatives and friends to buy ten or eight kilograms.
Su Ye's eyes lit up, and she wanted to pinch his shoulders, "My husband is so nice!"
"No, I'll clean up the table." Gu Xiangqian waved his hand to stop Su Ye's flattery.
He cleared the dishes.
He looked at the unfinished meat dishes on the table and fell into deep thought... Even now, when he put the pork into his mouth, he still felt a little unreal. Could it be that his father-in-law and mother-in-law really had sent a message to Su Ye in his dream
…
The next day.
Su Ye knocked on the door of the director of the Women's Federation carrying a two-pound string of meat and gave the meat to the director with a smile. Last year, the first dumpling that Su Ye ate was treated by the director. That year, the couple also sent some eggs and nutritional supplements to Gu Xiangqian to express their condolences.
Now that his finances were not tight for the time being, Su Ye brought a string of pork to offer his gratitude.
The director of the Women's Federation did not expect that Su Ye would specially send pork to them, and she felt a little complicated for a moment.
This year's famine is even more serious than last year's. At this difficult time, it is really rare for Su Ye to give them two kilograms of pork, which is like a timely help in times of trouble.
The director smiled and said, "This pork looks delicious. I can't bear to ask for your pork. How about this, I'll make some dumplings with it and give them to the military wives to try."
The two pounds of pork that Su Ye brought had an inch thick fatty layer on top, and was snow-white, delicate, and fatty.
The director asked several military wives to make dumplings. Because the pork was fresh and rich, the dumplings were so delicious that they could not be more delicious. She ate several dumplings in a row. After eating one, she wanted a second one. The fragrance lingered in her mouth after eating.
The comrades from the Women's Federation Office had the love dumplings distributed by the director because they were working in the Women's Federation. Although each person only got one, the pork filling was so fragrant that it made people linger. It gave people an illusion that any dumplings they had eaten before could not compare to this.
Li Hongli had never eaten such delicious pork dumplings. Just as she was about to praise the director for his delicious dumplings, she heard her colleagues in the office talking about it.
"The director said these are the dumplings Su Ye sent for everyone to eat."
"Comrade Su was very thoughtful. He specially gave the director two kilograms of pork."
In this compound, Su Ye had no close contact with anyone except He Meimei. Especially since the Women's Federation had blocked Su Ye's work before, the comrades who ate the dumplings she sent felt a little unhappy.
It turned out that this was the pork Su Ye sent! Li Hongli swallowed the praise that just came out of her mouth and said, "I heard that he got dozens of kilograms of meat coupons. These two kilograms of pork are nothing, just a drop in the bucket."
"I already said that the wild boar was hunted by Gu Xiangqian, and Su Ye was just giving it as a token of appreciation."
After Li Hongli finished speaking, the discussion in the office successfully turned to envy of Su Ye's good fortune.
"Speaking of this, it reminds me of one thing. Gu Lian's salary is very high. I accidentally saw his salary when I was filling out a form a while ago, and it almost exceeded this number." said a female comrade.
She gestured a number and then made a gesture as if she was sewing her mouth tightly.
100 yuan, this amount successfully brought about a lot of shocked looks. This is the salary of a regimental-level leader, and Gu Xiangqian is still so young!
You have to know that now city workers earn thirty or forty yuan a month, and they are the ones that every city girl wants to marry.
Li Hongli was surprised to hear the salary that Gu Xiangqian received. His position should only be 62 yuan, but she thought about the fact that he had been on the battlefield and had a position in the special forces, so it was reasonable to add up the miscellaneous subsidies to this amount.
"This is not surprising. He is a talented person who studied in the Soviet Union. He will be promoted in the future."
"Gu Lian is too rich—" a young female comrade couldn't help but sigh.
Others thought silently: This is not only rich, but also powerful. The Gu family used to have good conditions and did not need to rely on this fixed salary. Gu Xiangqian casually donated tens of millions of assets to the country. The salary he receives every month is nothing at all.
He frequently went to the battlefield, was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and was even willing to sacrifice his life to contribute to the motherland. Which young person could match his ideological awareness
It’s a pity that Yao Chunyu was stupid before. When she saw that others donated their property, she immediately turned around and went abroad. She picked up sesame seeds and lost watermelons. Now that Gu Xiangqian married Su Ye, it’s too late for her to regret.
In the Women's Federation office, the military wives from the city gossiped for a long time, and their thousands of words were summed up in one sentence: Su Ye is so lucky, not only did he get lucky, but now he has a good life and doesn't have to worry about anything.
…
The other side.
Su Ye had no idea that the two pounds of pork she casually gave back to the director would cause such a big response in the Women's Federation office.
The situation this year is indeed very difficult. We have encountered a famine that occurs only once in a century. Otherwise, everyone would not be in such a miserable situation.
The treatment in the military region was quite good. At least everyone had enough coarse grains to eat to their heart's content. Workers in other units had already started to budget carefully and save on food. In this situation where the whole country was in difficulty, Su Ye was able to eat pork and fine grains, which was indeed enviable.
The pork rewarded in the live broadcast room is delicious, with particularly delicate and plump meat. The taste is obviously not the same level as the malnourished pigs on the market today.
Last time, Su Ye didn't know the situation and only asked for a few pounds of pork to try. This time, she took away 30 pounds of wild boar meat, 25 pounds to make bacon, sausages and jerky, and left 1 pound for Grandma Zhou, 2 pounds for He Meimei, and 2 pounds for the director of the Women's Federation.
Su Ye has always been generous to her own people and those who have helped her.
He Meimei was worried for a long time because her son's nutrition was not enough, her milk was too little, and her food rations were not enough to feed him. Su Ye saw this. Lu Siyuan and Xu Le, who contributed a lot of pork this time, were also known to He Meimei.
When Su Ye came to He Meimei's house carrying the pork, He Meimei was so shocked that she was speechless.
She quickly wiped her eye sockets with her thumb, lowered her head, and said after a long while: "This... How can this be possible?"
"You'd better take it back!"
He Meimei was very touched. During this period, she had been running around the black market until her legs became thin, but she still couldn't buy any meat and her mouth was covered with blisters from anxiety.
Su Ye waved generously, smiled slightly and said, "It's okay, you can eat first. I will be very happy if you let me go to your class three to teach a few math classes in the future."
He Meimei opened her eyes wide. What kind of request is this
Su Ye actually took the initiative to take on the work? This obviously did not benefit her. Now the graduating class students are looking forward to Su Ye's class. Wherever Su Ye goes, the students will chase her and ask questions.
This was nothing to He Meimei, but very important to Su Ye. She really relied on these few insignificant classes to make a living.
He Meimei was so moved that her heart was wet and a part of her heart seemed to collapse. Su Ye was really a good teacher who cared about his students wholeheartedly.
She said with some shame: "That's nothing. If you come to our class, I will welcome you. I will tell the students next week and they will definitely be very happy."
"Let me help you if you need anything in the future."
Su Ye specially picked out a piece of fat pork for He Meimei. When her mother-in-law received the pork, her eyes suddenly lit up and she kept praising the pork for being so fat.
Such a large piece of pork can be used to make good lard, so there will be a supply of oil for cooking next month.
…
Shanggou Village.
The village party secretary came back from a meeting in the county and announced to the villagers with a sad face: "The conditions in our village do not meet the standards for relief grain. The county leaders asked us to work hard and solve the problem..."
Originally people thought that the village party secretary would bring back a few carts of grain today, so the villagers enthusiastically took cloth bags to pack the grain. However, they did not see a single grain of rice, but instead listened to a lot of ideological and political talks.
"Gurgle--" Someone's stomach made a rumbling sound. When others heard it, they also felt that their stomachs were sour and they took a few deep breaths and squeezed their buttocks.
After the old branch secretary finished speaking, he sighed and went home with a heavy heart.
Ma Gensheng, the son of the old branch secretary, is the leader of the village production team and was rated as excellent this year. After listening to the situation, Ma Gensheng thought for a while and said, "The county leaders are right. We must be self-reliant and not drag the organization down. If everyone relies on relief food, how can the country distribute so much food?"
"There are countless people starving to death in other villages, but there are only a few in our village. It's right not to give us any."
After hearing his son's words, Secretary Ma wanted to slap him in the face. Only a few people died. Is this what a human being would say? However, he thought carefully and realized that in some places, more than half of the entire village had starved to death. He stammered and put down his clapping.
Indeed, what rural area is not in trouble now? Shanggou Village is located at the source of a large river. When there was a drought last year, they were able to draw water from the river to irrigate their crops, so they did not suffer a total crop failure.
Many people died of starvation in other villages this year. Shanggou Village was relatively lucky compared to other villages, as their ancestors had given them food to eat. However, this year the state did not provide relief food, so the people who died of starvation were the people of Shanggou Village. The old branch secretary felt very depressed when he thought of this.
Ma Gensheng clenched his fists, thought for a long time and said, "Dad, I have a solution. Don't worry. Think about it carefully."
Secretary Ma's eyes sparkled with hope, "What do you have in mind?"
The production team leader, who was rated as a labor activist, said: "We still have a lot of tea in our warehouse. I think it's feasible to exchange it for food."
Secretary Ma turned away in disappointment. What kind of solution is this? There is no food to eat these days. How can tea be exchanged for food
Ma Gensheng smiled and said, "Dad, do you still remember the middle school teacher who sent tea eggs to the elderly in our village? She said there is a way."
The secretary nodded. The kind-hearted teacher who sent more than ten kilograms of tea in exchange for a few kilograms of tea eggs. Such a generous and kind person is really impressive. It was useless for Ma Gensheng to be evaluated as a labor activist in the city. What was useful was to exchange a few bags of tea for a few kilograms of eggs.
These tea leaves should have been harvested by factories, government agencies and the government, but now they are stored in warehouses, slowly going moldy. However, they are the result of the hard work of the members, and no one wants to waste their hard work.
"I'll write a few letters to ask Teacher Su to help exchange some food for our village."