Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 928 Elementary school is on holiday (927)

Gao Lide was the last to arrive, and he stayed at the entrance of the cafeteria the whole time.

His letter of self-criticism and a petition written by several canteen staff members were posted on the wall at the entrance of the canteen. A light bulb was hanging on these two pieces of paper, and it was always lit, regardless of whether it was dark or not.

Whenever an employee came over, Gao Lide would offer his apologies, and most employees would not take it to heart, making a joke before signing the petition.

When Gao Lide entered the kitchen, the pastry chef who had complained to Tang Zhitong looked very uncomfortable when he saw Gao Lide.

"Section Chief Tang, let me do it." Gao Lide immediately took the ladle from Tang Zhitong's hand after he came over.

“Master Gao, you’re still a patient. Sit down and rest for a while. You don’t have much time left. I’ll stand my last shift.” Tang Zhitong shook his head when he saw Gao Lide’s forehead covered in sweat.

"Alas, I'm old and useless now. In my final moments, I still did something foolish." Gao Lide listened to the advice, pulled over a stool next to him, and plopped down on it.

It wasn't that apologizing was tiring; years of working at the kitchen had honed Gao Lide's ability to stand all day. It was just that his mood had fluctuated too much today, and the mental strain was exhausting. The taut nerve in his mind relaxed a bit after seeing the petition signed by the employees.

The fatigue that followed the drop in adrenaline left Gao Lide feeling completely powerless.

"Master Gao, keep up the good work and serve our escort department for another twenty years. What do you all say?"

The canteen at the escort office was newly built. There was not only a pot of food between the staff and the cooks, but also a glass partition. However, the opening at the bottom was very large, and the glass did not provide good sound insulation, so sounds from inside and outside could easily pass through.

"That's right. Master Gao is kind. He didn't give us any extra portions of rice that were full of water. I heard that at the unit next door, at least 70% of a pound and a half of rice was water. It was so hard to pick it up that it was almost like thin porridge."

"Seven ounces? Isn't that just porridge?"

"Master Gao, we won't eat like that again, will we?"

"No, no, we've already increased our output quite a bit, we can't add any more. As long as I'm here, I won't serve you those kinds of meals to fill your stomachs." Gao Lide smiled and waved his hand as he listened to the employees' approval of him.

Tang Zhitong heard Gao Lide's laughter, turned around and glanced at him. Not bad, he's finally come back to his senses.

Although many employees of the escort department suffered greatly today, they also benefited from the misfortune by getting a free dinner.

During lunch, taking advantage of the large number of people, Fang Yuan announced that the employees who had been poisoned could rest for the next two days and return to work after they recovered.

It sounds nice, but in reality, they'll only get one day off at most, because tomorrow is Sunday, and many employees aren't supposed to be working anyway.

Even so, some employees were still shouting things like "Minor injuries won't keep us off the front lines, minor illnesses won't get us to the hospital," which brought the atmosphere in the canteen to a climax.

Tang Zhitong just watched and listened with a happy smile.

To be fair, Tang Zhitong really liked the working atmosphere of the escort department.

Whether now or in the future, wherever there are people, there will be struggles. Office politics in private companies are just child's play; at worst, you can switch jobs and change companies. But some organizations are different; you might end up sitting on the sidelines for life, never even reaching the deputy section chief level until retirement.

Of course, Tang Zhitong has an advantage and is not afraid of fighting, but he is unwilling to get involved in such things. He wants to live a different life according to his own wishes and avoid the dark side of power struggles.

Tang Zhitong finished serving the employees' meals before eating with the chefs in the kitchen. There wasn't much food left, but there was still some soup.

Each person gets a bowl of vegetable soup. Whether you soak cornbread in it or eat a cornbread and a sip of soup, the taste is no worse than eating stewed potatoes.

After the meal, Gao Lide led several chefs and kitchen helpers to clean up the kitchen and prepare for tomorrow's meals.

"Master Gao, are you feeling alright? Let me cook tomorrow's dishes." Tang Zhitong hated washing pots and pans and rarely did it at home, let alone helping out today. But considering Gao Lide's health condition, he still offered his kindness.

"No need, no need, I can manage, I'm fine now. Thank you, Section Chief Tang, for today." Gao Lide put down his work, wiped his hands on his apron, and was about to see Tang Zhitong out.

"You're too kind. We're all colleagues, so it's just a matter of helping each other out." Tang Zhitong smiled, looking like a nice guy. When he first came to the escort department, the two of them had made some deals, and now Gao Lide contributed a portion of the soy sauce he eats at home.

Before leaving, Tang Zhitong glanced at the pastry chef one last time, but did not say anything to remind him.

Gao Lide has worked in the cafeteria for so many years, so he must know what kind of people his subordinates are like. But work has to be done by someone, and he can't just act according to his personal preferences.

Let alone a small canteen, even the Municipal Bureau is not a monolithic entity.

What makes humans superior is their self-awareness, not to mention the added element of self-interest.

After leaving the cafeteria, Tang Zhitong did not go back to the finance department to pack his things and leave directly, but went to Fang Yuan's office again.

The office had clearly been cleaned again; the floor was much cleaner, and the smell had mostly dissipated. Su Qingxiang and Fang Yuan were inside, smoking.

"Xiao Tang, on behalf of the Municipal Bureau, I would like to express my gratitude to you. If it weren't for you today, this mess would be hard to clean up." Su Qingxiang stood up and said as Tang Zhitong came in.

"Director Su, you're too kind. I'm a member of the escort department and also a member of the municipal bureau. Since we've run into each other, I can't just stand by and do nothing." Tang Zhitong didn't know if Su Qingxiang was referring to induced vomiting for emergency treatment or to Mu Youmao's cover-up. Either way, he had to be polite.

Su Qingxiang patted Tang Zhitong on the shoulder without saying anything more, implying that everything was understood without words.

"It's getting late, and you must be exhausted. Go back and rest." Fang Yuan also stood up, but didn't say anything to thank him.

"Okay, I'll come back tomorrow." Tang Zhitong guessed that the two of them might still need to discuss how to deal with the questions brought about by the food poisoning, so he nodded sensibly and planned to slip away first.

"No need, just rest at home tomorrow and come to work the day after tomorrow." Fang Yuan stood up, saw Tang Zhitong to the door, patted him on the shoulder, and looked at him with sincere and burning eyes.

"Hey, that works too. I need to tidy up the house anyway." Tang Zhitong felt Fang Yuan's gaze was practically igniting a fire, so she smiled shyly and went back to the finance department to pack her things. Besides her handbag and lunchbox, Tang Zhitong also carried the canned food and liquor that Ding Jianhui had brought her.

Riding his bicycle, Tang Zhitong slowly walked towards the gate, remembering to collect most of the pile of soil into his spatial storage before leaving.

Today, the transport station was both vomiting and expelling soil, using a considerable amount of it. I doubt anyone would care about the reduced volume of the soil pile.

The road was dark, but tonight was the sixteenth day of the lunar calendar, and a round moon hung in the sky, its cool light illuminating the ground and guiding Tang Zhitong home.

"The moon goes and I go too, I see my brother off to the village entrance..." In the southern city at night, there were few pedestrians on the road. This scene made Tang Zhitong hum a little tune softly, feeling quite happy.

This song is a military-themed song, but it's not very famous. Tang Zhitong feels that nowadays he can only hum it himself and wouldn't be able to publish it because the lyrics are somewhat suggestive and even suggestive, and have a borderline nature.

Although there are more explicit tunes in places like the Loess Plateau and the banks of the Xiangjiang River, those are all spontaneous tunes from ancient times. How could such a great and righteous person like himself go astray?

When they arrived home, none of the family members were asleep. Except for Fengzhen, who was cramming for her final exams, the rest of the family members were enjoying the cool air in the yard.

"You're back? You sounded anxious and upset on the phone. What's wrong at work that you're working overtime on?" Xiao Wang was the first to greet him when he heard the door open.

"Oh, don't even mention it. The company planted some potatoes a while ago, and they got hit by hail..." Tang Zhitong told Xiao Wang the story as he parked his bicycle.

After all, mass food poisoning is not a glorious thing, and who knows if there are any bystanders on the phone line? So when Tang Zhitong called in the afternoon, she only told her that she had something to do at work and did not go into details.

"So you ate it too? You knew it was poisonous and still ate it, are you crazy?" After listening patiently, Xiao Wang pinched her husband's waist half a circle with two fingers to express her concern.

"I ate a little, and I'm perfectly fine, full of energy." Tang Zhitong smiled. Although potato leaves are poisonous, it depends on how much is ingested at once.

"Not next time."

"Yeah, I guess we won't be able to eat them anymore. Potato leaves and potato sprouts will have to be removed from our company's menu." Tang Zhitong held Xiao Wang's hand. This guy's twisting movements were getting more and more skillful. He didn't twist too much, but only pinched too little, which hurt but didn't show any external injury.

"Brother, I'm on vacation!" Fengzhi left Beibei, whose eyes were practically glowing with envy, and ran over to Tang Zhitong to show off, as if having a vacation made her feel superior to those who were still working.

"How did the exam go? Did you bring back any certificates?" Tang Zhitong couldn't help but tease her younger sister when she saw her little expression.

"Award certificates are only given out at the end of the semester during winter break; they have to wait until the start of the new semester during summer break." Fengzhi glanced at her brother with disdain. After all these years of schooling, he didn't even know this much.

"Hey, you're so capable! We're almost out of cornmeal, and we're short of millstones... Hmm, we also need a helper. How about this, you can do this glorious task tomorrow." Tang Zhitong hadn't really paid attention to when the summer vacation award certificates were issued; the winter vacation certificates were indeed issued before the Spring Festival.

Tang Zhitong guessed that the school distributed the awards before the Spring Festival so that the high-achieving students could take the "Three Good Students" award home for a good New Year. As for the students with poor grades, they could probably still get a "bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork" award.

"Then... can I have a can of food as a reward?" Fengzhi stared at the can of food in her brother's hand, her mouth practically watering.

"Trying to negotiate before even starting the work? No way, you'd better get to work properly tomorrow." Tang Zhitong brought it back not to give to his family, but to deliver it directly to Gu Yong's house tomorrow.

The power company has already made it clear that everything is done, so if I don't go and acknowledge Aunt Tian's feelings, I'll seem really inconsiderate.

"Mom... Sister-in-law, my brother is bullying me!" Fengzhi wasn't falling for it and turned to complain about her own brother. But when she saw her mother's smiling face, she gave up and took Xiao Wang's hand instead.

Zhang Guifang doesn't object to her daughter participating in housework. When she was her daughter's age, she had to get up before dawn every day. Fengzhen was a little stronger than her when she was young, but she still did a lot of housework. Only Fengzhi, because she was young and her life had improved, had never truly experienced those hard days.

"Can't you speak properly?" Xiao Wang laughed. His sister-in-law was too young to understand what her husband meant. He was asking her to do chores, but he was treating her like a donkey.

"It's decided then. Grind the flour tomorrow, and make up the lessons the day after. Meeting adjourned!" Tang Zhitong waved his hand, finalizing the matter of grinding the flour. He couldn't possibly use his sister like a donkey. Donkeys have to work almost every day, while Fengzhi only needs to grind the flour tomorrow when it's cool, and then she'll have to make up the lessons the day after.

"Hmph, this is not pleasant at all!" Fengzhi pouted, unhappy.

No one cares whether she's happy or not; the meeting has to end, and the grind has to be pushed through.

"How about we do what we did last year and send Fengzhi to Chunshu Hutong tomorrow?" Xiao Wang suggested after returning to the room.

"Let's wait a couple more days. After Fengzhen and Jingying finish their exams, let Fengzhi stay with them for a couple of days. Once we've settled into the new house, we can bring all the younger kids over and have them take extra classes there. It'll also give Mom a break." Tang Zhitong shook her head. Fengzhen and Jingying won't finish their exams until Tuesday. If the two little brats get together, they'll definitely chatter away, affecting Jingying's studying and rest.

"Okay," Xiao Wang nodded and agreed.

"The roof of the new house is thick, so the sun can't penetrate it. It should be cooler inside than here." Tang Zhitong always thought that the architectural style of a courtyard house was like his own. He never imagined that there were so many intricacies in just a roof.

According to Wan Shan, if the roof is layered on top of each other, the thickness will be at least 20 centimeters. Some layers will be for waterproofing, and some for insulation. Even if the sun shines all day, the indoor temperature will probably be a little lower than here.

"What you've said makes me want to go see it too." Little Wang doesn't really like the environment with the metal wheel handles. They can argue for ages over the smallest things, and some kids are rude and use all sorts of facial expressions to insult people.

"Let's not go. It's sunny, there's nowhere to even stand, and it's a mess. Let's go after we've tidied up." Tang Zhitong firmly shook her head, not letting Xiao Wang go.

I was planning to use a third-party tool to tidy up the place inside and out after the construction team left. If Xiao Wang goes there, I won't be able to explain how I changed the yard overnight, especially the soil, which is as hard as stone. If I were to dig it up with a hoe, it would probably take two or three days to clean it up.

“Okay, if you don’t have enough money, just ask, and I’ll borrow some from my colleagues.” Although Xiao Wang hadn’t been to Dashizuo Hutong since the construction started, she knew from her husband’s description that they had spent a lot of money, and the two of them only had four hundred yuan left, which was clearly not enough.

"Don't worry about the money, I'll handle it. Aunt Tian helped Ding Jianhui get a job transfer a while ago, and Jianhui brought over some canned goods and wine, which I plan to take to Aunt Tian." Tang Zhitong put down the things, yawned, and felt a little sleepy after a tense and exciting afternoon.

"Yes, it's only right to express my gratitude. Should I still go?" Ms. Wang agreed with her husband's decision, but tomorrow is Sunday, and she has plenty of time. Liu Yue has just given birth, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go.

“Go ahead, let’s go sit for a while, then I’ll take you to Chunshu Hutong, and then I’ll go to Dashizuo Hutong.” Apart from Gu Yong’s parents, Tang Zhitong and Gu Yong’s families were very close. Although it was to express gratitude, going together would make their relationship seem even closer.

(End of this chapter)