Three or Two Things about Rebirth

Qiu Luming arrived home on Thursday. That evening, accompanied by his second brother, he went to Wu Guanchang's house with gifts. When he learned that his daughter had finished the college entrance examination and was going to travel to Shanghai, he gave him a big red envelope.

The wife of the Wuguanzhang brought out fruits and drinks and said with a smile, "Jiashu came during the Spring Festival and gave so many gifts. Why are you giving me another one?"

Qiu Jiashu stood up, took the drink, thanked him, and said, "Luming doesn't have much strength, and can't bring back much from Russia, just some local specialties. There is a limit on the amount of vodka you can bring, and the fish roe is also quite heavy. I brought them all to the director, so don't complain about the small amount."

"Look at you, Jiashu. Your words have made my sister-in-law at a loss. Why are you complaining? People living along the Heilongjiang River know about fish roe. This box costs more than 200 yuan, and it's not easy to buy! Oh, no, it's too expensive. Take it back! Our old man has been asking us to go see Dr. Qiu to thank him!"

"No, no, Youyou has caused a lot of trouble to the leaders over the years. Our whole family is very grateful to the Commissioner for giving us the opportunity to study abroad. In the past year, Lu Ming has made no contribution to the unit, but she was still given a house and her salary was paid as usual. She is so scared that as soon as we got off the car, she insisted that I accompany her to report to the Commissioner!" Qiu Jiashu was a man of both civil and military talents. He had a harmonious argument with the Commissioner's wife, and finally everyone sat down and chatted.

Director Wu smiled and slowly said to Qiu Jiashu, "I feel at ease with your sister no matter where she is. Although she is young, she works diligently, is down-to-earth and has a strong sense of responsibility. Whether it is her job or helping a brother unit, she has never failed me and is not the kind of person who can't be caught once she is out! So when this rare opportunity came up, the first person I thought of was our little Qiu!"

Qiu Jiashu smiled, "My sister is 25 years old this year and has been working for six or seven years. Although she is the youngest and the only girl in the family, she is not spoiled. If the director has any tasks, just assign them to her!"

Wu Guanzhang nodded and said to Qiu Luming, "You not only have a pair of good parents, but also three good brothers. Xiao Qiu, you can be regarded as the most blessed girl in Jiayang!"

Qiu Luming smiled shyly, "I have always been very lucky. I have worked in three units in total, and I have always had very good leaders!"

Hahahaha, Chief Wuguan laughed loudly.

After laughing, he said seriously, "Well, this is it. This year, your work has always been done by Jiang Danni from the trading company, and she has done a good job. Although our business is not particularly busy, it is also extremely critical and important, so this year, she has also received a share of our company's welfare! You can go back and thank her, and then you two can do a work handover on Monday, that's all! Keep working hard in the future. Young people should focus on their careers. With such a good position and such good conditions, don't let down the trust and cultivation of the country and the organization. What our company needs most is always young people like you who are young, promising, knowledgeable, and knowledgeable!"

Qiu Luming sat obediently on the sofa in Wuguanchang's house, with his hands on his knees, listening attentively and nodding obediently.

Mrs. Wu smiled and sat beside her. "Don't be shy. People say Xiao Qiu is a thief and a powerful girl. Why don't I believe it? She is a pretty, slim, gentle little beauty. Who spread such rumors?"

Director Wu laughed out loud, and he could no longer maintain his previous airs. He pointed at Qiu Luming and said, "She's gentle? That's her! She poured a full bowl of vegetable soup onto Xiao Wang's head!"

"Really?" Mrs. Wu actually knew about this a long time ago, but she pretended to hear it for the first time and patted Qiu Luming's hand and said, "He must have offended us first!"

Qiu Luming nodded seriously, "Sister-in-law is right!"

Mrs. Wu couldn't help but laugh too.

***

After a year away, Jiayang has changed more than in any previous year.

First of all, the whole country started to implement a two-day weekend in May. Everyone is excited about it now. The salary remains the same, but they can have four more days of rest every month. It’s really a great bargain.

Secondly, she discovered that there were many more dance halls on the street. The nights were filled with singing and dancing, bright lights and wine, which made Qiu Luming feel as if he had returned to the Republic of China era.

The change that followed was that the number of people getting divorced suddenly increased. It was said that there was a long queue of people at the Civil Affairs Bureau in the small town to process divorces.

In Jiayang, there are many beautiful women and even more fierce women.

On the way back from Wu Guanzhang's house that day, Qiu Luming saw the entrance of a dance hall called Qingnong. A woman was standing in the colorful lights with a sharp voice, kicking and scratching a man like a madman. Qiu Luming, who was passing by, could clearly see the bloody marks on the man's face.

The man angrily cursed, "You are crazy!"

"You are crazy! Didn't you tell me that your classmates wanted to drink with you? Why did you come here to drink? Drinking with a fucking lady? Zhang Jianguo, you disgust me to death! I can't live with you anymore, divorce! I'll file for divorce tomorrow!"

"Divorce if you want! Whoever doesn't divorce is a bastard!" The man straightened his clothes and shook his shoulders.

The woman picked up a half brick from the street and threw it at the glass of the dance hall. The glass shattered and fell to the ground. The music inside stopped abruptly. The woman cursed in a high-pitched voice, "Are you crazy because of poverty? Why don't you do some other business? You have no conscience to open a fucking brothel! You can't even spend the money you make on good things, and you can't even have an asshole after giving birth to a child..."

Qiu Jiashu sighed, "How did society become like this?"

Qiu Luming did not react as strongly as he did last year. "The world has always been like this. It has been like this for thousands of years."

"You accepted it quickly. Your second sister-in-law always pulls my ears, afraid that I will go dancing."

"You really can't go dancing. If you want to spend money to dance with those women, not to mention whether you will get sick, it will be a loss for our family. Look at how handsome you are, it would be too easy for them to let them pay for you." Qiu Luming said seriously.

"Go! You little girl is so bold that you dare to tease your brother!"

The brother and sister pushed their bicycles slowly forward, leaving the noise behind.

Qiu Jiashu suddenly said, "I'd better tell you, Yoyo, nothing has happened to Fei Yuanhang in the past year or so. It was your third brother who went to find out about it."

"Yeah, I expected that." Qiu Luming said calmly, "Second brother, let's not mention him anymore."

"Okay, let's not talk about it. Well, by the way, your friends have come to help a lot this year. Once I went to the city for a meeting, and it was Zheng Wei and Ma Mingjun who helped my parents move a truckload of coal into the coal shed. Yang Dawei also got a truckload of bamboo baskets, and a few guys split them up and stacked them neatly that day. Also, my dad retired, and he wanted to find a storefront to open a small clinic. Ma Mingjun helped him get in touch with the house behind the post office, which is now being renovated.

During the Chinese New Year and other festivals, Qin Huifang and her friends would come to pay New Year's greetings and give gifts. Remember to thank them later. Forget it, you don't have to host a reception. I'll just arrange a meal for them! Oh, no, why do I remember that I seemed to have beaten up that Zheng Wei when I was a child? Yes, you and my third brother beat up both him and his eldest brother!"

"Dad is retiring?" Qiu Luming didn't care about anything else until he heard that his father was going to open a clinic.

"Dad, you don't know this, but he can't stay idle. My eldest brother's company wanted to hire me to go to Harbin, but he refused to go, saying he didn't want to be like my eldest brother, who was always by the operating table. He just wanted to open a small clinic, see ten patients a day, read some books, and organize his medical experience over the years."

"Ten numbers, will it be enough to pay for rent and water and electricity?"

"I don't think so, but the location is not on the street, the house is not too big, and the rent is not expensive. Our mother doesn't care, and she wants our father to do what he wants."

"Dad's biggest regret is that Dabao interrupted his study of Chinese medicine. Why don't you and your second sister-in-law let him learn Chinese medicine from our dad when Kuankuan grows up? Even if he doesn't expect to make money, at least he can take care of the family."

"Okay! No problem, as long as he's the right material, I have no objection!"

"Also, I can repay my favor myself, so you don't have to treat me. Besides, do you have money?"

"I..." Qiu Jiashu choked, "I still have money for a meal, even if I'm broke!"

Tsk! Qiu Luming expressed his disbelief.

Qiu Jiashu patted Qiu Luming's head and changed the subject, "This is the first time you are truly studying on your own. In one year, you have become much more capable and mature. Second brother is relieved."

"Stop patting my head! It's making me stupid!" Qiu Luming pulled his hand away.

"I won't rape you if I don't shoot you!"

"Ah! Qiu Jiashu, I'm going to fight you!" Qiu Luming pushed his bicycle and hit Qiu Jiashu's legs.

Qiu Jiashu laughed, ran a few steps, jumped on the bicycle and rode away.