Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 850, 849: The Best Wingman

This year's disaster is unprecedented in a century. Fang Yuan is helping to coordinate things at the farm. Will other production teams and communes also have someone to help?

Tang Zhitong didn't know, nor could he think about it further. He only knew that given the current supply situation, even if the wheat had been rained on, the production team would definitely not stand idly by and watch it sprout and go to waste. They would definitely find a way to save themselves.

After signing the papers, Tang Zhitong rambled on in Fang Yuan's office, intending to linger a while and give the two single young people some time alone.

"Is there something else?" Fang Yuan asked, puzzled by Tang Zhitong's unusual behavior.

"No, I just thought I wouldn't see Brother Yuan for about ten days, so I took advantage of the free time today to chat a bit more." Tang Zhitong's lies came out without hesitation. There was still no progress on Ma Wei's side, so it wasn't good to tell the truth at this time. If the two of them didn't get along, it would have a bad influence on the girl.

"I've never seen you like this before. Why are you acting so pretentious, a grown man?" Fang Yuan found Tang Zhitong's words awkward and frowned.

"Hehe, I'm going to a meeting in the hall tomorrow. Just thinking about facing the podium with five stars above my head makes me nervous. Let's chat for a while to relax." Both of them are straight men. When Tang Zhitong saw Fang Yuan frowning, he also felt a little uncomfortable and quickly changed his tune.

"What are you nervous about? We're not letting you go up and speak. We're all one family, what are you afraid of? Go ahead and be bold, don't embarrass our escort department!" Fang Yuan stood up and patted Tang Zhitong on the shoulder to encourage him.

"Alright, Yuan-ge, I'll go back first, tidy up and have a meal, then it'll be time to meet up." Tang Zhitong glanced at his watch; it was almost time, and he couldn't let making room for the two of them delay their business.

After leaving Fang Yuan's office, Tang Zhitong lingered on his way back to the finance department. Outside the door, he chatted casually with employees from other departments, his voices carrying loud enough to reach the finance department, giving the two of them a heads-up that he was about to leave.

When Tang Zhitong actually arrived at the entrance of the finance department, he didn't notice anything unusual. The two of them were still in the same positions as when he left. However, when Ma Wei saw Tang Zhitong return, she hurriedly stood up and said, "Section Chief, I'm going out for a bit."

"Okay, thank you, you've worked hard." Tang Zhitong smiled and nodded. She had entrusted her to keep Wu Aijun company for a while, and the woman had done a good job. It was only right to thank her.

"It's nothing." Ma Wei blushed and left with her head down.

After Ma Wei walked away, Tang Zhitong waved his hand a few times in front of Wu Aijun's eyes, who was still clinging to her: "Snap out of it, or your eyes will follow it."

"Hehe." Wu Aijun lowered his head and chuckled a few times, embarrassed, after hearing Tang Zhitong's teasing.

"How did the chat go?" Tang Zhitong winked at Wu Aijun and asked in a low voice.

"Hehe." Wu Aijun continued to laugh with his head down, without answering.

How did the chat go? Of course it went well. I was staring at her so intently that I was completely mesmerized, and all she replied was: "Idiot, what are you looking at?"

Does this count as...do you think I have feelings for someone?

"Alright, that's not bad. The Long March has finally taken its first step. We must be determined to climb Mount Everest, stay humble and prudent, and strive to reach the summit as soon as possible!" Tang Zhitong looked at Wu Aijun's silly expression and seemed to smell the sweet and sour scent of love. He patted him on the shoulder and gave him some advice.

"This is only the first step?" Wu Aijun was slightly taken aback when he heard this.

"Otherwise what? Shouldn't we slowly cultivate our feelings? Do you expect her to accompany you to the park and the movies tomorrow?" Tang Zhitong glanced at Wu Aijun. Ma Wei was somewhat of a literary youth. You can't compare this kind of young woman to the kind of girl you go on blind dates with in the countryside. The two are not comparable.

"Then... how do I train her? Teach me." This was the first time Wu Aijun had encountered such a situation in all these years. He had no experience at all, so he immediately rubbed his hands together and asked for help. Back then, this guy in front of him had managed to "train" Wang Jingwen, who was favored by both families, so he must have his own unique methods.

"Hmm... try writing letters. Start with a short letter every three days, then a long one every five days. As long as you reply, keep writing, gradually increasing to one letter every one or two days." Tang Zhitong stroked his chin, thinking back on the method he used when he first met Xiao Wang.

In any era, men and women need to communicate to get to know each other better, either by meeting up face-to-face or through writing.

In the internet age, young men and women who are attracted to each other can get to know each other better through phone calls, emails, text messages, and instant messaging software, but right now it seems that writing letters is the only way.

Even if both families have telephones, they probably wouldn't be able to have long phone conversations, not to mention there's an operator in between, and there's always the chance of gossips eavesdropping.

"Oh? It has to be a letter every three days?" Wu Aijun's face fell upon hearing this. How he longed to have such a pleasant face-to-face chat like today!
“You’ve only just begun. You should wait for a reply before writing another one, right? Otherwise, are you planning to write one a day? You have to remember, when it comes to relationships, haste makes waste.” Tang Zhitong had talked to him before and understood the feeling of being overwhelmed by hormones. You can’t fast-forward to the main part like watching a movie; that’s not how things are done.

Just as Tang Zhitong was patiently instructing Wu Aijun on the art of communication, Ma Wei wandered around outside again and again. Going back seemed inappropriate, but if she didn't go back, several people had already come to ask her why she was wandering around outside.

After thinking it over, Ma Wei went to the sorting department and pulled Fu Caiyun to the restroom with her: "I haven't thanked you yet for taking me to the hospital last time."

"You dragged me to the bathroom to thank me? You're acting a bit strange today. Is your leg still not healed and it's affecting your brain?" Fu Caiyun was a little puzzled and felt that her friend's mood was abnormal.

"Okay, if you're not feeling well, how can you come to work?" Ma Wei tidied her messy hair behind her ear, ignoring the "a little strange" comment.

"That makes sense, so you're officially starting work now?" Fu Caiyun didn't think too much about it and just went along with whatever Ma Wei said.

"Okay, I'll come to work every day from now on," Ma Wei replied somewhat absentmindedly.

"Let's have lunch together then. You've come at the perfect time. The canteen has been serving steamed buns recently, and there are more dishes than before. It's a pity the canteen isn't as good as the farm; the farm offers unlimited staple foods. Hey, you don't know, do you? Section Chief Tang's cooking is amazing, even better than Chef Gao's. I can eat four big steamed buns in one meal..." Speaking of food, Fu Caiyun was no longer tired. She missed her days on the farm terribly, where she could eat as much as she wanted every day. Heaven couldn't be better, could it?
Ma Wei responded half-heartedly, her mind still preoccupied with Wu Aijun.

Through chatting, she learned about Wu Aijun's daily work: fighting crime, maintaining social order, and punishing criminals, which sounded reassuring.

This is why Tang Zhitong didn't know; otherwise, Gao Du could only describe it as a "sense of security."

"Are you listening? What are you thinking about?" Seeing that Ma Wei was absent-minded, Fu Caiyun was even more certain that her friend had something on her mind.

“I’m listening, it’s all delicious.” Ma Wei smiled, not telling Fu Caiyun that she was thinking about that cute little brother.

“I feel like you’re acting a little strange today. Come on, it’s time. I’ll go back and get my lunchbox. You wait for me in the finance department.” Fu Caiyun glanced at her watch. Some employees were already heading towards the cafeteria in twos and threes. She immediately pulled Ma Wei back.

"Let's eat at the cafeteria today." Ma Wei felt a little flustered when she heard that they were going to the finance department.

"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient in your office?"

“Section Chief Tang’s friend is here; they might have lunch in the office,” Ma Wei said, trying to appear calm.

"Okay, then I'll go get my lunchbox first." Seeing that the line to get to the cafeteria was getting longer and longer, Fu Caiyun left Ma Wei and hurriedly ran back to the sorting department to get her own lunchbox to get her food.

Tang Zhitong did not allow Wu Aijun to have lunch in the office. Wu Aijun knew that the office was being vacated for Ma Wei and her friends, so he refused to stay in the office.

Ma Wei couldn't stop them, so she could only stand at the door and watch them go to the cafeteria, while waiting for Fu Caiyun to come over.

Wu Aijun originally wanted to go back to his unit, but Tang Zhitong kept him there because they hadn't discussed the things he wanted to ask about yet! Although lunch was eaten at the escort department's canteen, Wu Aijun paid for his own food rations. Tang Zhitong didn't stop him because he hadn't brought any food rations with him this time.

After getting their food, the two found a table and sat down. Tang Zhitong then started asking Wu Aijun about gambling.

"I want to ask you something. Do you investigate gambling? How do you usually handle it?" The grain store didn't have any coarse grains, so the escort department's canteen didn't have any cornbread either. Both of them ate steamed buns. Wu Aijun bought them from here, while Tang Zhitong brought them from home. There wasn't much difference, and the two of them didn't offer them to each other.

"In early 58, there was a meeting at the bureau level that outlined the 'spirit' of combining legal punishment with publicity and education."

For gambling among family and friends that is purely for entertainment, no action will be taken; for small-scale gambling with little to no winnings or losses, education will be the primary measure, with some individuals facing fines or detention; for large-scale gambling, the ringleaders and gamblers will be arrested and brought to justice.

"You gambled?"

When the case was brought up, Wu Aijun became animated and proceeded to explain the methods for handling different levels of gambling, counting on his fingers.

"How could that be?! I was just asking." Tang Zhitong denied it without hesitation.

Tang Zhitong asked Wu Aijun about this because he planned to use Liu Chengzhi's matter to implicate Wan Laosi.

Although we can't get rid of Wan Dechang, it would be good to get Wan Laosi imprisoned. However, we still need to plan carefully. The premise of getting Wan Laosi into trouble is to plug all the loopholes and not let Wan Dechang suspect that we were behind it.

"Really?" Wu Aijun asked doubtfully.

"Eat your food! Have you been in this business for too long that you can't see anyone as a good person?" Tang Zhitong glared at Wu Aijun, not giving him any room to maneuver.

"Hehe." Wu Aijun chuckled twice, which was taken as an admission, but he was not giving up and still pressed on, "Then why did you suddenly ask that?"

Last year, a colleague of mine was in debt because of gambling, so he set his sights on letters and intercepted any letters that contained money.

Given the supply situation this year, many people are short of money. I'm worried that some employees might act rashly, so I'm asking you about the handling principles first, to see if I can scare them away and prevent those short of money from going astray.

Tang Zhitong concocted a reason with great seriousness: Zhang Yuan had already been detained, which was verifiable, and he was not afraid of Wu Aijun's investigation.

As for Liu Chengzhi, I need to find out more about the situation. Who knows, he might be happy doing nothing right now and vehemently deny participating in the gambling.

"Really?" Wu Aijun asked doubtfully.

"I just remembered something. Do you think I should tell Ma Wei about Wenwen rejecting you?" Seeing that Wu Aijun wouldn't let it go, Tang Zhitong simply grabbed his weak spot and stabbed him.

"Brother, I was wrong, I won't ask anymore." Upon hearing this, Wu Aijun immediately shut up.

This tactic is akin to killing 10,000 enemies while losing 8,000 of your own.

He had indeed hinted at his intentions to Wang Jingwen, but it was somewhat embarrassing for Tang Zhitong to reveal it to Ma Wei. What would Ma Wei think? Did he still have a chance?
Wu Aijun dared not gamble.

"Sensible, that's more like it." Tang Zhitong smiled with satisfaction.

Tang Zhitong and Wu Aijun were having a pleasant conversation in the cafeteria, which was all witnessed by Fu Caiyun, who was queuing up for food.

Back in the finance department, Fu Caiyun put down her lunchbox and started talking to Ma Wei about Wu Aijun: "Hey, Section Chief Tang's friend is quite handsome."

"Really? You saw it?" Ma Wei felt a little secretly pleased when she heard Fu Caiyun praise Wu Aijun.

"Hmm, apart from not being as tall as Section Chief Tang, he seems to be quite good in other aspects. What's that saying again? Birds of a feather flock together. If he can be friends with Section Chief Tang, he must be someone important." Fu Caiyun muttered, deliberately slowing down her eating pace.

On the farm, eating quickly allows you to eat as much as possible, but back at the transport depot, you have to eat slower. If you eat too fast, your stomach won't even feel it before the food is gone, which is worse than being hungry.

“Birds of a feather flock together,” Ma Wei corrected.

“No matter how you categorize him, the person should be similar. How old is he? Do you know?” Fu Caiyun asked, glancing furtively at Ma Wei.

"He should be 21 years old." Seeing Fu Caiyun inquiring about Wu Aijun's situation, Ma Wei's face became a little unnatural, but she didn't hide it from her friend.

"What do you do for a living?" Fu Caiyun pressed on.

"Police officer. What's wrong? You're interested in her? Should I ask Section Chief Tang to play matchmaker for you?" Ma Weiqiang said with a forced smile.

"Keep pretending. Tell me honestly, are you interested in her?" Fu Caiyun teased with a mischievous smile.

"Ugh! How can you be so annoying!" Ma Wei finally realized what was happening, put down her steamed bun and chopsticks, and with a flushed face, went to shut Fu Caiyun up.

"I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn't have broken the ice. I should have let you continue to play dumb." Under Ma Wei's attack, Fu Caiyun giggled and curled up into a ball.

"You still dare to say that!" Ma Wei said shyly and embarrassedly, and began to tickle Fu Caiyun's ticklish spot.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Fu Caiyun was itchy, but she had to make sure the steamed bun in her hand didn't fall to the ground, which was very difficult for her to endure.

After their playful banter, Ma Wei felt relieved and quietly talked to Fu Caiyun about how she met Wu Aijun.

After listening, Fu Caiyun said seriously to Ma Wei:
"I hope you can find a like-minded man and live a harmonious and happy life. However, as a friend, I still advise you to get to know him better and observe him for a while."

Although it's said that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, I won't hide it from you.

My mom is older than my dad, and my sister is three years older than my brother-in-law.

In my memory, they often fought. My mother complained that my father neglected his family, and my sister complained that my brother-in-law was childish.

Having witnessed their various behaviors, I've been reluctant to find a husband for myself.

Even though I'm not young anymore, I still want to marry a man older than me, the kind who won't lay a hand on me; I'm really scared.

(End of this chapter)