Back to my 1980s

"To the county seat?"

On the small boat, after listening to Xu Qian's words, Jiang Yue looked at Zhao Hua in surprise. Apart from going to her grandfather's house with her parents during the Spring Festival, she only passed through the county town when she went out to study. She usually stayed in the township.

Zhao Hua nodded without saying a word. There was no point in hiding this kind of thing. He couldn't very well report it and have someone ambush and arrest him on the way. He rested his arms on his legs, cupped his neck with his hands, and quietly watched the small boat sail across the river.

This attitude infuriated Xu Qian again, and she stopped talking to her. From elementary school to vocational school to graduation, from the town to the city, she had never been ignored before, and this was not the first time!

She glared at Zhao Hua as the small boat moved slowly forward. The evening breeze and the reflection of his profile on the water made him look like a figure in a painting. She was so captivated by his appearance that her anger gradually dissipated.

Just then, a large carp in the distance suddenly leaped out of the water, jumped half a meter high, and then crashed back into the water with a 'plop'.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it, but Zhao Ru only glanced at it before looking away. The fish had already dived into the water, leaving only ripples spreading across the surface. Xu Qian turned to Zhao Hua and asked, "There are fish over there. Can we go and catch them now?"

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "It won't stay there forever. By the time we get there, it will have already run far away."

"Oh, it's quite loud." Xu Qian said with some regret. She wasn't regretting that Zhao Hua couldn't catch any fish, but she was regretting that there was no reason for him to go and play.

"There are too many big fish in the river. My hand-thrown net can't catch any big ones, and it's easy to break the net." Zhao Hua was getting a little tired of sitting, so he changed his position, bracing his hands on the back of the boat and looking up at the fishing net.

Xu Qian followed Zhao Hua's gaze and said, "Don't you have any other fishing gear? Fishing with this must be tiring, right? I've seen people use cormorants to catch fish in my extracurricular books, why don't you use those?"

Zhao Hua curled his lip and said, "Cormorants? Fish eagles? I've heard of them too. Where do you get fish eagles? Back in the days of the collective farms, we weren't even allowed to catch fish to eat ourselves, so there was no use in raising those things. Nowadays, there aren't many people who dare to fish openly."

After a pause, Zhao Hua clicked his tongue, withdrew one hand, rubbed his chin, and said, "I'm the first person in our village to dare to go fishing in the river. If I don't have that, where would others get it?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qian looked at Zhao Hua with surprise and asked, "Are you the first person to go fishing in the river?"

Zhao Hua nodded casually and said, "Yes, didn't you notice there was only one boat on the river when you came?"

Jiang Yue, who had been listening to the two talking the whole time, had a slight change in expression and asked, "Why did you think of developing a side business when there was no one to lead it?"

Xu Qian nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, I originally thought that other people's ships were concentrated in other places. Why did you dare to start this?"

Zhao Hua was silent for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Because I see that the land has been divided up now, and the fishing team has also been disbanded. I figured that since the collective is gone, they can't still keep ordering me around to catch fish."

After Zhao Hua finished speaking, he looked up at the river. Of course, he couldn't tell them the real reason.

That sounds quite convincing. He just bought a car and dared to go straight to the county town, which proves that he is a person who dares to think and act.

However, his tone and eyes were so sharp that not only Jiang Yue could tell something was wrong, but even Xu Qian could tell that Zhao Hua was just making up an excuse to appease them!

Jiang Yue smiled and didn't press the matter. Xu Qian's eyes flashed, and she got up and took small steps forward, tugging at Zhao Hua's sleeve until Zhao Hua turned around.

She pretended to stumble, taking a half-step back, and reached out to steady his arm. She secretly pinched it, then couldn't resist pinching it again. Satisfied, she retreated behind the barrier and said, "I'm talking to you. Don't keep looking around like that. It's so rude, you hear me?"

Zhao Hua was completely bewildered. He looked at Xu Qian blankly and said, "Me? Looking around?" He licked his lips, wisely deciding not to dwell on it. Recalling their previous conversation, he paused again, saying, "Wait a minute? What did she tell me? Didn't I tell her about catching fish?"

Xu Qian coughed twice and mumbled, "Going to the county town, but I didn't mention going to the county town."

"What's there to say? I want to make money. You guys haven't started working yet, and I don't want to be held back by all this messy stuff, so I went to the county town." Zhao Hua pouted.

As they approached Shuanghuai Village, the village officials were right in front of them on the shore. Without saying anything more, Xu Qian lightly touched the wooden planks inside the cabin with her toes, waiting for the boat to dock.

As soon as the boat docked, the village officials came to greet them. As soon as Zhao Hua jumped off the boat, the village secretary immediately led the way to the front of the boat and helped the two of them off. Zhao Hua chuckled to himself, thinking that no one had offered to help him off the boat when he got off earlier.

After the two landed, the village officials lagged half a step behind and surrounded them. The village party secretary took the lead and said with a smile, "Manager Jiang, Accountant Xu, thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Yue and Xu Qian bowed slightly. Jiang Yue smiled and said, "Secretary, you're too kind. It's no trouble at all. On the contrary, we've caused you a lot of trouble."

The village chief immediately chimed in, "No problem, no problem. Was the trip smooth?"

The others nodded and smiled in agreement. Jiang Yue nodded slightly and said with a light smile, "The inspection has been successfully completed. I just reached a preliminary consensus with Comrade Zhao Hua on the ship and verbally expressed our intention to place an order."

The village secretary hurriedly smiled and said, "Oh, oh, oh! I'm glad everything went smoothly! I'm glad it didn't interfere with your work. Shall we go sit in the village for a bit and rest?"

"No need to trouble yourself." Jiang Yue glanced at the village entrance. "We can just wait for Song Wenshu at the village entrance. He should be here soon."

The sound of a group of people talking reached Zhao Ru's ears as she was sorting the fish. The two seemed like different people the moment they reached the shore. She secretly made a face at Zhao Hua and winked. What were they talking about? They had clearly been playing all the way here.

Zhao Hua ignored them. He folded the rope at the bow of the boat in half, threaded it through the iron ring at the bow, tied a knot, and secured it to a tree trunk on the shore.

He then walked to the side of the boat and took the buckets and fish baskets that Zhao Ru handed to him at the bow. With so many village officials present, he didn't need to worry about Jiang Yue and Xu Qian's safety.

The brother and sister took all the odds and ends off the boat. Seeing Jiang Yue and Xu Qian still standing on the shore, Zhao Hua was a little confused. Didn't they just say they were going to the village entrance to wait for someone?

He shook his head and didn't think about it anymore. He picked up the buckets and the fishing net, and led Zhao Ru into the village. After taking only a few steps, the crowd behind them slowly began to move.

Zhao Hua then realized that Jiang Yue and Xu Qian were waiting for him, and the village officials were waiting for Jiang Yue and Xu Qian. However, he had already gone ahead, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to turn back to them now. Although he didn't care about these things, he could at least try to blend in.

He muttered a few complaints to himself, but his impression of Jiang Yue and Xu Qian improved a lot. According to his previous speculation about their backgrounds, the difference between them was that one lived in a high and elegant palace, while the other was stuck in the mud and water of the mortal world.

One had a life of comfort and prosperity since childhood, while the other had toiled in the fields since childhood, his life tied to the farmland.

They were not on the same wavelength at all, at least in the eyes of outsiders. However, after spending several time together, Xu Qian was only a bit willful and capricious, but she was not as aloof and unapproachable as one might have imagined.

Tsk! He shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, glanced at Zhao Ru, and quickened his pace to head home.

Xu Qian watched Zhao Hua's retreating figure without taking it to heart. She was already somewhat used to it. It seemed that this person had never really taken them seriously. However, deep in her heart, she harbored a deep-seated obsession to make him wish he were dead and make him kneel down with tears in his eyes, begging her to pay attention to him.

As soon as Zhao Hua entered the village, he saw several people standing at the crossroads, peering into the distance at a crowd. More and more people gathered around, calling out to Zhao Hua. "Hua Zi," they asked, "who are those two girls?"

"Yes, so young."

People from both the west and east sides of the road gathered around. There wasn't much entertainment in the village, and having heard that two young cadres from higher up were coming down to inspect the area, they had been waiting around to see what was going on.

Zhao Hua slowed down as he was blocked, and said, bumping into people from the countryside, "If you want to know, just ask the village chief. They're coming over soon. Ask them yourselves. I need to go back and raise the fish."

Zhao Ru followed behind him, and the two finally managed to escape the crowd together. Hei Zi and the others caught up again, saying, "Hua Zi, isn't this the girl who helped you show the way when you went to buy the car last time?"

Zhao Hua's heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten about these kids. He thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, we chatted casually on the road last time. They heard that I was earning money to buy a car by selling fish. Since their restaurant needed fish, they came over to check it out."

Zhu Zi, standing to the side, grinned lewdly and said, "Really? We've been brothers since we were kids, why are you pretending? Did you come here specifically to see you? Tell us, tell the brothers, what's so different about you compared to our country girls?"

Zhao Hua, carrying a shoulder pole, couldn't very well kick it, so he said, "You guys help me kick him!" Seeing that no one paid any attention to him, he clicked his tongue and said, "How the hell would I know what's different? If you don't know, don't know, don't bother me, get lost, I'm such an upright, sunny, and good-looking young man, don't you all corrupt me."

The group burst into laughter. Seeing that Zhao Hua really didn't want to talk about it, they simply stopped following him. What if they followed him to his house and he asked them to help with chores? He was too capable of doing such a thing. Before they even had a chance to watch the excitement, they dispersed in a panic.

Seeing the group heading towards the village entrance again, Zhao Hua felt a mix of emotions. It was already July, and August was just around the corner. For officials, leaders, and wealthy people, spreading rumors was at most a matter of conduct. But for an ordinary citizen like him, wearing bell-bottoms could easily lead to being labeled a hooligan, let alone being involved in any gossip.

He delivered the fish to the courtyard, but neither of Zhao's parents were home; they had probably gone out to join the fun. The two of them spent more than ten minutes sorting the fish and then kept them. As for Jiang Yue and Xu Qian, he thought it would be better to give them to them.

After making up his mind, he gave Zhao Ru some instructions and went to the village entrance alone.

The villagers gathered at a distance by the roadside, while the village officials half-surrounded the two, talking about something. He was somewhat impressed; no wonder they were officials, they could chat with people they had never met before.

Xu Qian caught sight of Zhao Hua approaching out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes lit up, and her smile became more natural. She thought to herself, "This guy still knows to come back. He's not beyond redemption. I won't have to make him beg me on his knees anymore. As long as he cries and begs me to pay attention to him, I'll forgive him!" She thought to herself with satisfaction.

Zhao Hua had no idea that someone would be dreaming so early in the day. He stepped closer and asked with a smile, "Hasn't Song Wenshu, who brought you here, arrived yet?"

Jiang Yue nodded and said softly, "Yes, it should be soon, but something might have delayed it."

Zhao Hua glanced up at the roadside; it was empty. He was puzzled and asked, "How did he bring you here? By car?"

Hearing this, Xu Qian rolled her eyes and said, "Where did you get a car? Are you dreaming?"

Jiang Yue smiled and took over the conversation, saying, "No, it's a tractor."

"Cough cough cough cough, yes, cough cough cough, huh? Tractor? Cough..." Zhao Hua couldn't help but laugh. Who would have thought of this?

Two township officials went to the countryside for an inspection, and they were picked up and dropped off by tractor. He wouldn't have been so surprised if they had been on bicycles. But when he imagined two pretty young girls standing in a row, holding onto the tractor, swaying back and forth like they were on ecstasy, his idealized image of them shattered instantly...

The group was preoccupied with their own problems and wondered what had gotten into Zhao Hua. Wasn't it normal to be picked up and dropped off by tractor these days?

Seeing the strange look on Zhao Hua's face, Xu Qian took two steps forward and punched Zhao Hua in the arm muscle.

He was barely holding on when Xu Qian's indignant little expression amused him so much that he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Her action startled the village officials, whose expressions changed. Seeing Zhao Hua laughing heartily, they quickly withdrew their outstretched feet, fearing that Zhao Hua might suddenly act recklessly and throw a punch back...

As they laughed, Xu Qian and Jiang Yue were also infected by the laughter and couldn't help but laugh along. When the village officials saw that the two of them were laughing, they simply laughed along with them.

Zhao Hua laughed for a while, then slowly fell silent and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to laugh because you were laughing so happily. What are you laughing at?"

Zhao Hua sighed, rubbed his face, and said, "I wasn't laughing at anything. Why hasn't he come to pick you up yet?"

"I don't know." Xu Qian sighed.

When the two village officials saw that they had stopped smiling, they also stopped smiling. None of them even said a word to Zhao Hua. Only when he arrived did the village secretary and the village head give him a meaningful look.

Zhao Hua couldn't read minds, so he had no idea what they meant. He thought for a moment and said, "How about we take you back to your hometown? It's not far anyway. We've already arrived while we're waiting. It would be troublesome if it rained later."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "It just so happens that the village secretary's family both have bicycles. You two can each ride one, I'll give one person a ride, and the village secretary can give one person a ride. On the way back, you can have them ride back. You both know how to ride, right?"

Jiang Yue nodded and said, "Okay, I..."

"No!" Before she could finish speaking, Xu Qian interrupted, and Jiang Yue turned her head sharply, looking at her with a puzzled expression.