1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 50 Comrade Qiao, you can also brew wine?
Monday, August 1980, 12.

After collecting 1000 eggs for the day and packing them into bamboo baskets, the Qiao siblings each carried a load of eggs and headed towards the commune.

Among the baskets of eggs that Qiao Erhe carried, he also placed a jar of sweet glutinous rice wine on top. This was naturally a gift he had prepared for his sweetheart. With the taste and effects of this sweet glutinous rice wine, it was sure to deepen the beauty's affection for him.

"Erhe, why are you dressed like it's Chinese New Year when you go to the city to sell eggs today?"

"Erhe, what's going on? Why are you dressed so nicely today?"

"Brother Erhe, how much is your leather jacket?"

"Brother Erhe, your leather shoes are really nice. How much do they cost?"

"..."

As the Qiao siblings carried eggs past the village's gossip center, the villagers chatting there saw Qiao Erhe dressed so handsomely and curiously asked him questions.

Qiao Erhe gave a few perfunctory replies, then turned and walked away with the eggs without looking back.

The rest of the process is self-explanatory. When the three brothers arrived in Shashi and went back to the place where they had sold eggs last time, it was already past 11 a.m.

Qiao Erhe put down the load, then took out the jar of sweet glutinous rice wine and two trays of eggs from the bamboo basket, and said, "Big brother, Sihai, I'm leaving this place to you. If you're hungry and I don't come back at noon, buy something to eat nearby."

Qiao Dajiang said, "Don't worry, the eggs are sold by the tray, the two of us can handle it."

Qiao Sihai said, "Second brother, you said last time that you would bring us food back, so my eldest brother and I have been waiting for you. Otherwise, we would have gone to buy food ourselves long ago. This time you said it in advance, so my eldest brother and I will definitely not go hungry."

"Okay, then I'll leave first."

After saying that, Qiao Erhe carried the glutinous rice wine in one hand and two trays of eggs in the other, and strode towards the First People's Hospital.

……

Personnel Department of the First People's Hospital

As the workday was drawing to a close, several female colleagues, having nothing else to do, started chatting about everyday matters.

In hospitals, ordinary doctors and nurses are always extremely busy, especially in top-tier hospitals in later generations, where doctors are so busy they don't even have time to go to the toilet. However, it's different for those who work administrative shifts in hospitals; they are generally more relaxed.

For example, the personnel department's work is usually quite easy, and it only gets busy during certain periods.

At this moment, a woman in her thirties said with a smile, "Xiao Su, among all the women in our personnel department, you're the only one who doesn't have a boyfriend. I see quite a few doctors in our hospital are interested in you, but you really don't like any of them?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "Sister Li, why did you bring this up again?"

Sister Li said with a smile, "I've been seeing Dr. Zhang, Dr. Lin, Dr. Wang, and Dr. Chen coming to our personnel department all the time. You're not worried, but I'm worried for you. These doctors are all highly educated and good-looking. Don't you want to consider them?"

Su Jinxiu shook her head helplessly: "Sister Li, I really don't have any feelings for them in that way."

Another older woman chimed in, "Sister Li, please don't make things difficult for our Xiao Su. With Xiao Su's figure and looks, she could find any kind of partner she wanted. Although Dr. Zhang and the others are nice, they are both a bit too old, and their looks are just average. They are really not a good match for our Xiao Su."

The last middle-aged woman laughed and said, "That's right. With our little Su's qualifications, she could easily marry one of those powerful and wealthy men."

Su Jinxiu pleaded, "Ladies, please stop making fun of me."

The group chatted and laughed, and soon it was time to leave work. Since everyone was relatively free, they naturally wanted to leave as soon as it was time.

Su Jinxiu arrived at the parking shed, ready to ride her bicycle home for dinner.

As soon as she rode her bicycle out of the hospital, she heard a familiar voice call out, "Comrade Su."

Su Jinxiu looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Qiao Erhe who had called her. She immediately turned around and stopped her bicycle in front of him: "You've come. How long have you been waiting?"

As she spoke, Su Jinxiu was also somewhat surprised. The first two times they met, Qiao Erhe's clothes were no different from those of other rural people. She did not expect that today, on their third meeting, his clothes and demeanor would be completely different.

If Su Jinxiu hadn't known his background, she would never have guessed that he was actually a genuine countryman.

Qiao Erhe smiled and said, "I just arrived recently. Are you off work?"

Su Jinxiu nodded and said, "Yes, I'm off work."

Qiao Erhe picked up the jar of sweet glutinous rice wine and the two trays of eggs that were on the ground and handed them to Su Jinxiu, saying, "These are the two trays of eggs you bought last time, and this jar of sweet glutinous rice wine is homemade. I brought one out for you to try."

Upon hearing this, Su Jinxiu asked in surprise, "Comrade Qiao, you can brew wine?"

Qiao Erhe smiled confidently and said, "The glutinous rice wine I brew is absolutely amazing. Not only does it taste wonderful, but it's also very good for your health. You'll understand why I say that once you take it home and drink it."

Su Jinxiu asked with some skepticism, "You're not lying to me, are you? Is the glutinous rice wine you brewed really that good?"

Qiao Erhe said earnestly, "I truly consider you a friend, how could I possibly lie to you about something like this!"

Su Jinxiu thought about it and agreed. There was no reason for the other party to lie to her about something like this, so she smiled and said, "Alright, I'll accept this wine. You treated me to dinner last time, and today you gave me a jar of fine wine. So I'll treat you to dinner!"

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "Sure, the usual place?"

Su Jinxiu smiled and said, "Okay, the usual place then."

Qiao Erhe smiled and reminded him, "Then you should call home first, so your family won't worry."

Su Jinxiu nodded and said, "Then wait for me here for a moment. I'll go back to my office and make a phone call home."

……

Twenty minutes later.

Qiao Erhe and Su Jinxiu came to the same restaurant again and sat in the same spot as last time.

Last time Qiao Erhe treated everyone to a meal, he ordered four dishes and a soup. This time, Su Jinxiu is treating everyone, so she naturally can't be stingy and wants to order four dishes and a soup as well.

However, Qiao Erhe stopped him: "Comrade Su, the two of us can't eat that much. Two dishes and a soup are enough. Ordering more would be a waste of food."

Su Jinxiu said, "Comrade Qiao, you don't need to be so polite with me. Just because I'm treating this time doesn't mean you can save me money. Last time, we ate almost all of the four dishes and soup."

Qiao Erhe said, "I'm not being polite. We didn't leave much food at the last meal because we ate for a long time, and I was also stuffed last time. This time, you're going to take this jar of sweet glutinous rice wine and eggs home after you finish eating, so there's no need to order so many dishes. We really can't finish them."

Seeing this, Su Jinxiu stopped insisting and ordered two dishes and a soup as instructed.

(End of this chapter)