Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 825 The Woman Who Appeared on the Top of the Carriage (824)
Ms. Wang taught her husband Russian for a period of time, doing her best, but Tang Zhitong's tongue seemed tied in knots, and he never mastered the essence of trilling the tongue in language. However, his English level improved by leaps and bounds.

On the surface, Tang Zhitong had studied at school and also studied on his own. In reality, he benefited from the assembly-line education he received before coming here. Although his pronunciation wasn't very accurate, he didn't have much trouble reading English materials.

As life partners, they can't neglect their studies either, adding another item to their in-depth communication projects.

Xiao Wang is a studious and ambitious young man who also wants to learn English. It's always good to learn more!
So, Tang Zhitong became Xiao Wang's English teacher.

"Here's a question for you: translate 'god is a girl.'" Teacher Tang gave Xiao Wang a homework assignment before finishing today's English lesson.

"Is God a girl?" Xiao Wang is a very studious student with a talent for memorizing words. Her vocabulary is growing richer every day. She collected the meanings of various words from the dictionary and pieced them together. Although she gave an answer, she felt a little awkward about it.

"No, I think it should be 'the injustice of Heaven'." Tang Zhitong chuckled. How could his own question be so simple?
"Oh dear, you're misusing idioms." After a moment's thought, Xiao Wang understood what her husband meant, and a smile appeared on her face.

“Hehe, it can also be translated as ‘Heaven has eyes.’” Tang Zhitong’s smile became even more sinister.

"Pah! Stop talking! You just keep translating nonsense. I can't even look at this idiom the same way anymore!" Xiao Wang's thinking speed kept up with her husband's racing speed. After realizing what he meant, she gave him a light punch.

"Hahaha. Come on, let's do another Chinese-to-English translation. This time, we'll choose 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.' Please translate 'Cao Cao's life was truly magnificent.'" Tang Zhitong laughed as he easily took the punch. It didn't hurt at all; it had a sweet, cloying feeling of a little fist hitting your chest.

“Cao Cao's life… No, I only know a few words.” Although she knew her husband’s question was not very serious, Ms. Wang still tried her best to cooperate, but the question was beyond her vocabulary.

“Not bad, not bad, you got the beginning right. I’ll tell you the answer, listen carefully.” Tang Zhitong cleared his throat and gave the correct answer: “Cao Cao’s life form 36A to 36F.”

After saying that, Tang Zhitong chuckled.

Because of the export of underwear to earn foreign exchange, Ms. Wang was familiar with the meaning of this number. She burst out laughing and punched her husband at the same time.

Xiao Wang's skill level is too low; he can only make jokes like this at the moment. He's not suitable for making some really bad jokes.

Even so, Tang Zhitong still felt it was a pity. Little Wang could only understand the meaning from A to F, but could not grasp the other layer of meaning in the translation. After all, the joke about Cao's fondness for married women had not yet been developed.

If this translation were to be developed, it would be a stroke of genius, conveying both the grandeur of the event and the extent of the woman's sexual experience.

May 18th, Wednesday, should have been an ordinary day, but something happened at noon.

In the morning, Fang Yuan received a call from the Municipal Bureau, which convened a meeting with the heads of various departments of the Escort Department to discuss the wheat harvest work at the postal and telecommunications system farms.

"The farm has already started arranging the wheat harvest, which will officially begin next Monday. As part of the farm, we definitely have to contribute. The higher-ups value us highly and have assigned us a special task: to participate in the entire wheat harvest to ensure food security." Fang Yuan finished speaking and glanced at Zhang Jinbo.

"I guarantee to complete the mission!" Zhang Jinbo understood and immediately stood up to express his commitment.

"Alright! Other departments, arrange your duty personnel. All other comrades, gather on Sunday afternoon and head to the farm to participate in the wheat harvest!" Fang Yuan waved his hand, as if he were a commander directing a battle on the battlefield.

Other departments have more staff and can have people on duty, but the finance department only has Tang Zhitong and Ma Wei. Ma Wei is currently recuperating at home, leaving Tang Zhitong as the only one on the job.

"Brother Yuan, I'll go with you. I come back to the finance department every two or three days, so it shouldn't cause any problems." After the meeting ended, Tang Zhitong followed Fang Yuan and told him his plan.

"Alright, don't forget to ask Jinbo to bring the gear when the time comes." Fang Yuan nodded after a moment's thought.

Going to the farm is not just about participating in labor; the escort department also bears the heavy responsibility of ensuring food security. The escort department is already short-staffed, and normal escort work cannot be delayed. All the escorts have to work around the clock. Tang Zhitong is still a security guard, so it would be a bit inappropriate for him to drop out.

"Alright! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Tang Zhitong had been to the grassroots level and met the militiamen carrying guns. He knew what Fang Yuan meant by food security. Since he had taken this job, he couldn't shirk his responsibilities. He would just do his best and avoid any conflicts if possible.

After the deal was settled, Tang Zhitong planned to leave a little earlier in the afternoon to buy a few straw hats at Longfusi Temple. Jingying and Fengzhen would need them when they went to the countryside, and he himself would also need to take one with him. In addition to blocking the sun, they could also be used as fans.

Harvesting wheat is not just about cutting it down; it also involves transporting it from the field to the threshing floor to dry in the sun, then threshing, winnowing, and drying the grains. The whole process takes at least ten days, even with good weather.

After the wheat harvest, the National Conference of Outstanding Workers in Education and Culture will be held right away. Tang Zhitong felt that he had plenty of time yesterday, but he didn't expect to suddenly become nervous.

Tang Zhitong scratched his head, planning to go back to his room and write a letter to Bi Bin and Lü Lixian from Class 603, mainly to discuss the incubator, fan, and other projects. He asked them to leave a message if there was any progress, because he wouldn't be able to keep track of these things once he got busy.

After lunch, Tang Zhitong put the stamp on the letter he had written and placed it in the sorting department. He hadn't walked more than a few steps out of the sorting department when he heard a gasp from the platform at the escort department.

Tang Zhitong looked up at the sound and saw a disheveled woman standing on the roof of the armored truck, looking around for a place to get off.

As an escort who had accompanied the vehicle on several trips, Tang Zhitong knew that the woman had most likely hitched a ride on the vehicle, but he didn't know how she got into the escort compartment.

"Get down, get down." The security personnel reacted quickly. Zhang Jinbo heard the noise, saw the woman standing on the armored vehicle, and took a ladder from the side and propped it up on the vehicle.

If this were discovered at the train station, it could be handled by the train station. But since the person followed us to the security office without a word, the security office has to step in and appease them first.

The woman looked at the postal workers surrounding the transport car, but then became timid and shrank down, squatting on the roof of the car.

"What's going on?" Fang Yuan asked, coming out of his office after hearing the commotion.

"They're probably refugees fleeing famine. They climbed onto the roof of the transport truck and came along with it," Tang Zhitong said.

"Let's go take a look." Fang Yuan frowned and strode towards the armored vehicle.

At this moment, it was clearly inappropriate to adopt a hands-off approach. Tang Zhitong did not watch the spectacle as she had yesterday, but instead followed Fang Yuan toward the platform.

The woman on the roof showed no sign of coming down, so the security personnel climbed up the ladder.

Upon seeing someone board, the woman shrank back in fright, until she reached the edge of the carriage.

If you lose your grip, you could fall and at least break a bone.

Seeing the woman's terrified expression, Fang Yuan promptly stopped the escort team's actions: "Keep the ladder, let her come down first. What happened?" "Director Fang, we had just finished unloading the goods when we heard a noise on the roof of the truck. When we came out to check, we found her standing on it. We don't know how she got up there," the escort team leader hurriedly reported.

"Hmm." Fang Yuan responded noncommittally, then turned to Zhang Jinbo and said, "Jinbo, have someone go to the cafeteria to see if there's any food left. If not, have Chef Gao make a bowl of noodles, and just say I said so."

Fang Yuan didn't ask about the situation on the way to the convoy. The issue now wasn't how she got up there; she needed to get her down first.

"Comrade, come down. You must be hungry after the journey. Come down and have something to eat." Fang Yuan's voice was quite loud, not only for Zhang Jinbo but also for the people on the roof of the car.

Hearing Fang Yuan say that, the woman on the bus finally softened, clinging to the edge of the carriage and peering down.

"Come down, there's food in the cafeteria and water here. You haven't had a chance to drink water on the way here, have you? Your lips are so dry, come down and have some water." Fang Yuan put on a smiling face and said in what he thought was a friendly tone.

Hearing Fang Yuan's words, the woman softened somewhat. Looking at the upright ladder, she wanted to climb down but dared not.

"Come down, you can't stay on the roof forever, the car will be towed away soon." Seeing the woman hesitate, Tang Zhitong also persuaded her. If it weren't for the fact that there were colleagues around, he believed that if he took out a cornbread or a bowl of rice, the woman on the roof would immediately come down.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then pulled her head back inside.

Just when everyone thought the woman had made up her mind not to come down, she reappeared by the side of the carriage, this time carrying a bundle.

Then, the woman shakily descended the ladder from the roof of the vehicle step by step. Several guards surrounded the ladder, some holding it up, others standing by to catch her if she slipped and fell.

It wasn't that the guard was overthinking things; the woman's movements were trembling, as if she had no strength left.

Just as I came down from here, the person who went to get food from the cafeteria returned, carrying a bowl of rice with two strips of pickled vegetables on top.

"The food's here, the food's here!" The words had barely left her lips when the woman, like a starving wolf that hadn't eaten for days, snatched the bowl of rice away without a care in the world. She held it protectively to her chest while stuffing it into her mouth, all the while searching for a place to eat.

Finally, she stopped in a corner, squatted down, faced the wall, and turned her back to the guard. She didn't use chopsticks and just used her hands to shovel rice into her mouth.

In Tang Zhitong's view, this posture is not safe at all. If someone has bad intentions, they can easily attack from behind. However, it is also the most effective way to protect food. As long as you eat fast enough, you can finish your food before others catch up.

Many of the security guards wanted to move closer, but Fang Yuan stopped them and instructed the young man from earlier, "Is there water in the office? Go and prepare a bowl of warm water for him."

In just two minutes, the woman finished the entire bowl of rice.

However, the woman did not get up immediately. Instead, she took the bowl in one hand and picked off the grains of rice with the other, putting one into her mouth.

The bowl wasn't big, but it was covered with rice grains, and it took the woman two or three minutes to remove them all.

After picking them, he didn't turn around. He kept his head down and carefully picked off the grains of rice that had stuck to his body from the bowl, one by one, and put them into his mouth.

That wasn't all. The woman continued to pick up the rice grains on the ground, one by one, popping them into her mouth without a care for the dirt.

After cleaning up the ground in front of her, she finally turned around, but still didn't stand up. Instead, she bent over and continued picking up the rice grains on the ground along the path she had just come from.

"Comrade, don't pick them up anymore, we'll give you another bowl later," someone said, unable to bear it any longer.

The woman remained unmoved, picking up not only all the grains of rice from the ground, but also the soles of her own shoes.

The shoe was worn out, the front of it curled open like a crocodile's mouth, revealing dark, black toes. At the front of the sole, there was a grain of rice that she had trampled beyond recognition.

The woman carefully peeled it off and cautiously put it into her mouth, as if she were eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow.

Just when everyone at the escort station thought the woman's behavior had ended, she started sucking on her fingers again, because there were some rice residues on them...

The woman got on the vehicle from who-knows-where, how long she stayed on the roof, and what she went through before getting on the roof. Her hands were in no better condition than her feet.

Tang Zhitong even noticed several clumps of dried mud on the woman's hands.

Even so, the woman ate with great relish, afraid of wasting even a single grain of rice.

The proverb "Every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work" is vividly embodied in this moment.

"Comrade, come on, have some water." The young man who went to get the water had already returned. He was staring blankly at the woman. Everyone had heard about the difficulties outside, but they hadn't expected them to be this severe.

This time, the woman reacted, but instead of taking the bowl of water, she moved her own bowl forward, indicating to the young man to pour it into her bowl.

"Sigh." Fang Yuan took the bowl and sighed. He had already guessed what the woman would do next, but he still poured half of the water in his hand into the woman's bowl.

The woman took the bowl back, took a sip to rinse the rice she had just eaten, then tilted the bowl slightly to let the water swirl in it. Finally, she used her muddy hands to scrape the inside of the bowl to remove any remaining rice residue.

After cleaning the rice residue from the inside of the bowl, the water in the bowl had become cloudy.

The woman showed no disgust, put the bowl to her lips, and gulped it down in two mouthfuls.

After finishing her drink, the woman handed the bowl to Fang Yuan, gesturing for him to pour the remaining half-bowl of water into it.

After filling the bowl with half a bowl of water, the woman smacked the bowl with water again before drinking it.

"Comrade, where are you from?" Fang Yuan asked again after the woman finished drinking.

After eating and drinking, the woman put her bowl on the ground and squatted down again, ignoring Fang Yuan's words.

(End of this chapter)