Capítulo 10: Chapter 10 Should we give her a chance to correct herself?
"Stinky girl, you haven't even asked where your dad and mom went after all this time?" he remembered and grumbled unhappily.
"Where did my dad and mom go?" Qiao Qingyu asked straightforwardly.
"I don't know!"
"That settles it then, asking would've been useless." Qiao Qingyu sighed, then quickly changed the subject, "Uncle, let's talk about my parents when we meet up. I suggest you bring two people along, It'd be great if you could bring a truck, and of course, it'd be even better if you could bring some of our hometown's black soil. These seeds I've got have sprouted, so be careful when you transport them..."
The maize seeds in the lab were stored in large bottles, each weighing twenty pounds. If she weren't unable to return to Qiao Family Team, she wouldn't have had to go through such trouble.
"Alright, it's settled then. We'll call you when we get to North City."
"Take note of the phone number for our family compound's office..."
"Okay."
Being an efficient man, Qiao Zhiyuan hastily noted down the phone number and then rushed off to find the team leader.
Meanwhile, Qiao Qingyu went to the counter to pay.
It hurt a bit, spending three whole yuan!
Every penny she spent now belonged to He Xiuyu. Life is tough indeed!
Qiao Qingyu, holding her package, left the post office and checked the time, then headed to the supply and marketing cooperative. Like all rural supply and marketing cooperatives, this one didn't have many goods, but it had a variety of things: fabric, hairbands, books, paper, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and even liquor and sugar, although there were no tea leaves or cigarettes. In those days, few people in the countryside drank tea, and what was commonly known as filter cigarettes wasn't as popular as smoking from tobacco pipes and rolling dry tobacco.
Some of the tobacco leaves were home-grown; others were dried from tree leaves.
Serving guests a bowl of sugary water and rolling a dry tobacco cigarette for them was considered high-standard hospitality.
Qiao Qingyu looked around. There were quite a few things she needed to buy, but she couldn't carry them all back. In the end, she only purchased a pound of white sugar and a pound of the local specialty, millet cakes, and then walked all the way back to the family compound with her packages.
It took her an hour and she was exhausted.
Qiao Qingyu made up her mind to buy a bicycle. She still had the bicycle voucher He Xiuyu had given her. In any case, she already owed He Xiuyu quite a lot of money. She would just pay him back once she started making money.
At this time, Sister-in-law Li from the front yard saw Qiao Qingyu return and quickly brought her a bowl of second-class rice with a layer of stir-fried pickles on top.
In the Northwest during April, it was the time when winter food stores were depleting and new crops weren't ready yet. Since the base had just been established, the logistics had to first accommodate the base's researchers.
So, the most common food in the family compound was pickles.
Qiao Qingyu received the bowl with a smile and placed it on the table, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Li, I am indeed a bit hungry." She then handed over half of the wrapped millet cakes to Sister-in-law Li, "Millet cakes are quite nutritious. This is for Xiao Hu."
Sister-in-law Li naturally couldn't accept it; it seemed like they were bartering, and millet cakes were expensive at five jiao per pound, whereas pork was only eight jiao. Ordinary people rarely indulged in such an extravagant treat as millet cakes.
With her husband making a little over forty yuan, and half of it being sent back to the family in their hometown, she only bought half a pound of millet cakes for Xiao Hu as a treat during the New Year's.
"You keep it for yourself," she said. "Besides, Xiao Hu doesn't like pastries and such."
As Sister-in-law Li was about to leave, Qiao Qingyu grabbed her arm with a beaming smile, "Sister-in-law Li, I consider you family. You give me food, and I accept it happily without any formality, right?"
Sister-in-law Li nodded; she had a forthright nature and naturally liked this way of interacting.
"So, I'm giving Xiao Hu some millet cakes, and you shouldn't be formal with me either, right?"
Sister-in-law Li hesitated for a moment, thought it over, and seemed to conclude that made sense.
"Alright, then I won't be polite," Sister-in-law Li gladly accepted and, after giving Qiao Qingyu a few instructions, hurried back home.
Sister-in-law Li's cooking skills were impressive, even the pickled vegetables she stir-fried were very flavorful, and Qiao Qingyu cleaned her plate, eating both the rice and pickled vegetables.
Upon waking from her nap, she knelt, stunned, beside the wooden box; the cabbages she had planted yesterday had already sprouted two green leaves.
Ordinary cabbages usually take three to four days to sprout, but in the lab, this time was halved.
It seemed that in another week, she would be able to eat fresh, tender young cabbage.
Although she had a mysterious confidence in the lab, Qiao Qingyu still breathed a sigh of relief.
In the afternoon, Director Shen brought Zhu Mingli with her.
Before entering the house, Zhu Mingli apologized to Qiao Qingyu in the yard, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said hurtful things, it was my fault, I hope you can forgive me!"
God knows, saying these words, Zhu Mingli's heart was bleeding.
She bowed her head, desperately trying to hide the resentment in her eyes, but Qiao Qingyu saw it clearly.
She sighed, didn't address Zhu Mingli, but turned to Director Shen, speaking softly and gently, "Director Shen, I feel terrible for making you come all this way."
Director Shen spoke, "It's not just about this one matter. Your uncle called from home yesterday, saying he will leave at five in the morning by truck to Xichuan, and wants you to wait for them at Xichuan City's bus station the afternoon the day after tomorrow."
Her uncle really moved quickly with his obsession for office, Qiao Qingyu's lips curled slightly upward, "Thank you, Director Shen. Please come in for some water."
"No, thanks, we are still busy."
Director Shen glanced at Zhu Mingli, knowing she was reluctant and didn't truly realize her mistake.
In this era, everyone is equal, without a hierarchy of high or low, noble or humble.
The comrades who feed pigs at the base work very hard; Zhu Mingli's words not only insulted Qiao Qingyu but also those who fed the pigs at the base. She wasn't really suitable for working at the office; Director Shen had to give that some thought.
"Qiao Qingyu, Zhu Mingli has recognized her mistake. Please forgive her this time and let's give her a chance to correct herself, shall we?"
Qiao Qingyu's eyes were bright as she admired Director Shen, "Director Shen, you truly deserve to be called a teacher of the people, you are so cultured. Just now I was thinking, how can I express my thoughts at this moment?"
Director Shen smiled softly, then she surprisingly found that the girl, Qiao Qingyu, was truly beautiful, with willowy eyebrows, watery eyes, cheeks as tender as a peeled egg, pale pink lips, and a prominent nose; especially when she smiled, her entire demeanor became radiant.
She sighed inwardly, thinking that Qiao Qingyu and He Xiuyu, just by their appearances, seemed a match made by nature.
Qiao Qingyu turned her head to look at Zhu Mingli, speaking earnestly, "Staff Zhu, since you have come to apologize, I also forgive you. I hope you can truly recognize your mistake, not just outwardly."
Zhu Mingli, "..."
She felt really suffocated.
"Because what you said isn't just insulting me. Regardless of what prejudices you have against me, you can't dismiss everyone with a single stroke."
Zhu Mingli clenched her teeth, "Comrade Qiao Qingyu, I will be more careful in the future."
Director Shen looked at Qiao Qingyu with satisfaction, thinking the girl was indeed clever.
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