Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 799 798 Escape

Xiao Wang brought back not only the list, but also the news that Luo Qingquan would be attending the Heroes' Gathering: "Your editorial committee is among the advanced units at this Heroes' Gathering, and Uncle Luo will attend as a representative."

"That's great, I didn't expect to run into someone I know." Tang Zhitong was not surprised by the result.

The full name of this gathering of outstanding individuals is "National Congress of Representatives of Advanced Units and Advanced Workers in Socialist Construction in Education, Culture, Health, Sports and Journalism." The "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" clearly falls under the category of health and has been praised in an inscription. It would be big news if it were not selected.

On the contrary, his participation in the conference as an outstanding individual in the postal and telecommunications system seemed somewhat out of place.

"The health department also selected two barefoot doctors to attend the meeting, one of whom is named Wang Bo." Little Wang smiled and relayed the information he had heard from Director Ye.

"That's good, this kid has finally made something of himself." Tang Zhitong said with emotion. He had heard about Wang Bo's further studies from Yan Xiongfei. This time, his selection had little to do with him; it was purely due to his personal ambition and determination.

"You deserve some credit too. Take care and rest when you get there. I'll pack your clothes for you in a bit." Xiao Wang's opinion differed from Tang Zhitong's. Without a discerning eye, how can a talented horse be discovered?
Tang Zhitong smiled and nodded, agreeing, and then told him the gossip she had overheard while fetching water that afternoon.

“You should never gamble, no matter what. This child is foolish. Poor Chunxue, she went back to her parents’ home with a big belly, I don’t know if she’ll even have anything to eat there.” Zhang Guifang shook her head regretfully after hearing this.

"She has a rural household registration, and her land is still under the collective ownership. As long as others have food to eat, she will be included." The situation in rural areas is worse than in cities, but the area around Beijing is considered to be above average among all rural areas.

Although Beijing has not officially announced the implementation of "vegetable substitutes," its actions have conveyed that intention.

Even before the start of spring, several municipal departments jointly established the "Municipal Welfare Office," and each district and county also set up corresponding agencies to oversee the operation of rural public canteens, arrange farmers' lives, and mobilize the masses to produce melons, vegetables, and other food products.

A total of 180.6 million mu of vegetable fields were planned in the rural areas of Beijing. The villagers could keep about one-third of the vegetables produced, and the rest were supplied to the city as commercial vegetables.

If you calculate it carefully, the output, when averaged out to each member, is about one and a half pounds of vegetables per day. In addition, if you pick some leaves and wild vegetables, or plant some melons and beans around the house, you can get about two pounds of vegetables per day.

In addition, the welfare office also rectified the public canteen and strengthened the management of collective grain storage.

The days of "free meals, unlimited food" are gone. Instead, a system of "rationing per person, rationing, food delivered to the canteen, invoices delivered to households, and savings kept by the individual" has been implemented.

All grain depots have adopted the "three keys and two locks" and "timed opening of warehouses" management system implemented in Huairou.

The so-called "three keys and two locks" means that the brigade leader, the storekeeper, and the grain and fodder officer each have a key, making it impossible for any one person to open the grain depot door, which largely prevents grain theft.

After the meal, Ms. Wang returned to the room to help her husband pack his clothes, chattering on and on as she did so, worried that he might be cold or hot outside.

Tang Zhitong watched from the side like a carefree old man, humming and hawing in response as he watched.

"I'm being serious with you, can't you take this to heart?" Xiao Wang put the clothes aside and glared at her husband with dissatisfaction, because she could see the perfunctory attitude on his face.

"I've got it, I've got it. I'm not a three-year-old child, how could I not know what's hot and cold? You're nagging as much as my mom. I won't wear the casual clothes Yang-ge gave me, they're too flashy. I'll just wear the work clothes issued by the company." Tang Zhitong joked with a smile.

"Can't you just cooperate for once and satisfy my desire to be a virtuous wife and loving mother?" Xiao Wang said, then laughed along.

When she returned from Ye Zhijuan's place, there was one more thing she hadn't mentioned: the couple had already come up with an idea for "The Athletes' March" and had prepared several lyrics. They were going to invite the composer over to discuss which one was more suitable.

Since her husband is away on a business trip, Ms. Wang doesn't want to tell him about this and distract him. She plans to make a trip tomorrow and try to finalize things as soon as possible so she can surprise her husband when he returns.

"You've done very well, I can feel it here." Tang Zhitong took Xiao Wang's hand and placed it on her chest, where a strong and powerful heart was beating, a little restless.

"Wait a minute, I'm not done yet." Feeling her husband's little finger tickling the back of her hand, Ms. Wang removed her hand, quickly folded the clothes, and took out the money she had saved up recently from the closet. She counted out fifty yuan and stuffed it into her husband's hand: "Take this in case of emergency, but don't use it for gambling."

"Look at what you're saying, do you think I'm a gambler?" Tang Zhitong said he didn't gamble, but he remembered the time two years ago when he secretly mortgaged the house to borrow money from Lao Wan at exorbitant interest rates without his mother's knowledge.

If it weren't for my cheat code, I guess I would have ended up like Liu Chengzhi under Lao Wan's deliberate harassment.

"Hmph, I bet you wouldn't dare. If you dare to gamble, I'll go back to my parents' house too," Little Wang said in a cute but fierce tone.

"Then we'd better hurry, we can't let you go back on an empty stomach, right?" Tang Zhitong picked up Xiao Wang in one scoop. Despite her height, she wasn't actually that heavy.

Thanks to the habits she developed while learning dance, Xiao Wang is very disciplined in managing her figure, and her weight is less than 55 kilograms. Not to mention that a lot of that weight is used to store food for her child.

"Oh dear~ turn off the lights, turn off the lights!" Her husband was going away for a week or so, and Ms. Wang was quite reluctant to let him go. Although today was her safe period, it didn't stop them from engaging in some beneficial physical and emotional activities...

Wednesday, September 5th.

After breakfast, Tang Zhitong checked the items he needed to bring with him: clothes prepared by his classmate Xiao Wang, dry food and food coupons prepared by his mother, and cornmeal to bring to his uncle's family.

Before leaving the house, Tang Zhitong glanced at the water tank in the house.

The water tank is filled with spring water, and I reckon it'll be used up by tomorrow. Then Little Wang will probably notice the taste has changed, right? That must be because he's missing someone, causing it to become bland and tasteless. When I come back, the water will be sweet again.

Once outside, Tang Zhitong headed to the transfer point with practiced ease, packing cornmeal, clothes, and dry rations into his spatial storage along the way, aiming to travel light.

Although it had been a year since he last came here to deliver mail, he hadn't changed much. Tang Zhitong easily found Tian Genfu after asking around.

"Brother Tian, ​​I am Tang Zhitong." Although they had never met before, Tang Zhitong recognized Tian Genfu at a glance because he could see the features of Tian Wang and Tian Feng in his face.

"Hello, hello. When I went back yesterday and told them you were coming along, my wife asked me to give you my regards." Tian Genfu smiled and extended his hand, tactfully relaying Qian Zhongping's words.

Qian Zhongping meant that Tang Zhitong was promising, and that he was the "uncle" she had recognized for her child before the Spring Festival. She wanted Tian Genfu to cultivate a good relationship with him so that she could have a backup plan for the future.

In Tian Genfu's opinion, this was really nonsense. Even a legitimate maternal uncle could not necessarily be trusted, let alone a "maternal uncle" he had recognized.
"Thank you for your concern, Sister Qian. Are Tian Feng and Tian Wang doing well?" Tang Zhitong waved her hand to Tian Genfu, exchanging polite greetings while observing his expression.

This was because Tang Zhitong could feel the strength in Tian Genfu's hands and his good spirits. Plus, the driver's job allowed him to earn some extra money from time to time; otherwise, Tang Zhitong would have had to rephrase her question. "Not bad. Come on, shall we go inside and sit for a while?" Tian Genfu chuckled. Driving is hard work, and his grain ration wasn't low. Plus, he almost always helped other units transport vegetables and other necessities from below. As a driver's perk, his family never lacked vegetables, and their meals were significantly better than those of ordinary residents.

"Brother Tian, ​​what time does the bus usually depart from here?" Tang Zhitong noticed that Tian Genfu glanced at his watch after letting go of her hand, and then waved his hand to ask.

"We have plenty of time, but we usually set off early so that we can manage our schedule if we encounter any breakdowns on the road." These days, trucks are relatively simple in construction, but the failure rate is quite high, and they need to be repaired every 200 kilometers.

More often than not, the car breaks down before it reaches 200 kilometers, which requires the driver not only to know how to drive, but also to know basic repairs.

"Then let's not wait any longer, let's just go." Tang Zhitong understood what Tian Genfu meant. They were probably waiting for him on purpose, otherwise they would have left long ago.

Since you're hitchhiking, you should be aware of the consequences of doing so.

Tang Zhitong stepped onto the tire and climbed into the truck bed without hesitation. With the help of Tian Genfu and another person accompanying the truck, he pulled the bicycle up.

Once he got up there, Tang Zhitong had no intention of going back down.

Although the truck cab can seat three people, it must be very cramped. Besides, there are no seat belts or anything like that nowadays. If the truck bumps or brakes suddenly, there's nowhere to grab on. You can't exactly grab the gear shift, can you?
As it got later and later, Tian Genfu saw that Tang Zhitong was unwilling to sit in the front, so he didn't try to persuade him. He picked up the crank handle and started cranking it. After twenty or thirty turns, the truck sputtered to life.

Tang Zhitong rummaged around in the back of the truck, making himself a "private seat," and then followed the mail truck from the transfer station westward...

Meanwhile, the Qin family was in a difficult situation, racking their brains to find a way to complete the task given to them by their Russian brother.

Two days ago, he changed his tune and humbly went to the lab with a thermos to offer some warmth, but he was stopped by the sentry on duty and was not given any chance to access the core secrets.

Yesterday I picked up the broom again and swept the entire floor, but I was still stopped when I got to the core floors...

The staff of the Metallurgical Institute took note of Director Qin's various actions.

Because they are intellectuals, there was no direct sarcasm, but some indirect criticism was inevitable.

Faced with this, the man surnamed Qin could only swallow his anger and keep comforting himself: "A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan."

It can be said that the more flamboyant he was before, the more destitute he is now.

With the deadline set by the Russians drawing ever closer, Qin was increasingly anxious and filled with apprehension. Since there were no loopholes at the metallurgical institute, he had no choice but to take the risk and try to find a solution through Tang Zhitong.

As for finding a breakthrough by talking to other staff members involved in the project, Qin had considered it, but many of them were seconded from other units and he didn't know them at all. In addition, security had been strengthened, so even if he had bad intentions, he wouldn't find an opportunity.

The man surnamed Qin got up very early and waited for Zeng Xinghuai at the gate of the metallurgical institute.

Zeng Xinghuai now spends most of his time in the lab, and he doesn't know when he'll get off work at night, but his working hours are still fixed.

"Director Zeng, after deep reflection, I have realized my mistake. I feel deeply ashamed for making unfounded accusations against Comrade Tang Zhitong. I am suffering greatly. I want to go and apologize to Comrade Tang Zhitong in person. Could you tell me his workplace?" Upon seeing Zeng Xinghuai come to work, the man surnamed Qin immediately burst into tears, making Zeng Xinghuai feel that even losing his own father was the end of the world.

Zeng Xinghuai was reluctant to tell him, but he couldn't resist his nagging. With work about to start, he didn't have time to argue with him, so he told him anyway.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Qin did not immediately go to the escort office, but instead touched his face and went back to his office.

He had already arranged for his wife and children to go to another city before May Day, and his brother Maozi only gave him three days. He had already made the worst-case scenario plan.

Taking advantage of his position, he left blank pages for stamping and issued certificates for himself as easily as playing around.

After taking the letter of introduction he had prepared, the man surnamed Qin got on his bicycle and rode away.

His first stop was the train station to buy a ticket. He chose a train to Tianjin because Tianjin is very close to Beijing and there are many train services.

After buying the tickets, the man surnamed Qin went to the transport office.

The security guard naturally wouldn't let him in. After asking for his name, he called the finance department and then relayed the message that Section Chief Tang, surnamed Qin, was on a business trip.

Faced with this result, the man surnamed Qin naturally refused to believe it. Why would running away on his own be better than running away according to the Russians' plan? He begged the gatekeeper to let him in.

The more he acted this way, the more the gatekeeper refused to open the door: "What's wrong with you? Why won't you believe me?"

"Comrade, it's not that I don't believe you, but I have urgent business with Section Chief Tang. Could you please make an exception?" The man surnamed Qin suppressed his unease and put on a pitiful appearance.

"Even if it's an emergency, I can't let you in. Here's what I'll do: I'll make a call, and you can talk to them yourself." Even though he was impatient, the security guard dialed the finance department's number again when he heard that Tang Zhitong had an urgent matter to discuss.

After receiving the call, Ma Wei immediately got up and walked towards the employee entrance. For the security guard to call twice in such a short time, it must be something urgent for Section Chief Tang.
But upon arriving at the employee entrance, instead of receiving any news about the "urgent matter," they were met with a barrage of angry words from "Director Qin."

It's nothing more than that Tang Zhitong is a coward, a coward, and dares not show his face.

"Are you out of your mind? If you're sick, don't do it here. Go to a mental hospital and get checked out." Judging from his demeanor, Ma Wei could tell that this person didn't have anything important to do at all, and seemed more like someone who came looking for revenge.

"You're all birds of a feather with that Tang guy! None of you are any good! Go to hell!" Seeing that he couldn't get the information that the Russian guy needed, the Qin guy, who had been suppressing his grievances for several days, exploded at this moment. He was like Wu Zetian who had lost her husband and "Li Zhi". He took out a knife from his bag and threw it straight at Ma Wei.

With a startled cry from Ma Wei, the man surnamed Qin turned and ran.

The security guard came out of the duty room, intending to give chase, but seeing the man surnamed Qin ride away on his bicycle, while Ma Wei was still groaning behind him, he turned back...

(End of this chapter)