Chapter 202: Her Workplace Is The Worst
Lu Qiaoge stood at the main door waiting for Qin Hengzhi to pick her up.
Old Turtle didn’t predict wrong; today’s weather was indeed very good.
A few wisps of thin clouds were sun-bleached almost transparent, lazily floating in the deep blue sky.
The distant mountains were lush and green, and occasionally a breeze would blow, causing the poplar leaves to scatter tiny flecks of light on the ground.
It could truly be called a clear sky with sparse clouds and pleasant scenery.
Yesterday she stayed at Qin Hengzhi’s place for a morning, then went to the canteen for a meal.
Every big canteen seemed to have its own specialty; the military representative office’s best dishes were braised pork, big steamed buns, and tofu soup.
Qin Hengzhi said that on weekdays they mainly ate big steamed buns, since they were the most filling.
After eating, Qin Hengzhi walked Lu Qiaoge out of the military representative office; he was also going to the workshop, so they walked together for a stretch.
Along the way, he told Lu Qiaoge what to wear and bring tomorrow for comfort and convenience.
He also introduced her to the three comrades and their spouses or partners that they would meet tomorrow.
They were all Qin Hengzhi’s comrades from Beidu; when Qin Hengzhi was battalion commander, one was the political instructor, another was the deputy battalion commander, and Chen Big Brother was Qin Hengzhi’s old squad leader who had reached company level before retiring from military service; they were all from Jiangcheng and had fairly good relationships.
After coming here, they naturally got in touch, but they hadn’t had a chance to gather together.
Unexpectedly, because of the steel ingot matter, he was urgently assigned to 516, met Lu Qiaoge, and in the end stayed on for a job.
Lu Qiaoge had met one of them, Chen Big Brother from the Foreign Trade Bureau Warehouse.
At this moment, Lu Qiaoge stood under the tree, with Hua Hua rolling and throwing a tantrum at her feet, insisting on coming along.
Xiao Si was an obedient child; he actually wanted to come too, but he held back.
Lu Qiaoge bought movie tickets for today’s daytime showing for her obedient little brother, three tickets; he had two little friends he had just met and played with very well, so Lu Qiaoge let the three of them go to the cinema.
Xiao Si excitedly took the movie tickets early in the morning to find his little friends and went to the cinema with his equally excited little friends.
But Hua Hua couldn’t be dissuaded, so she had to bring it along.
She just didn’t know if the other three would dislike cats.
Besides the obedient Rat Big and Xiao Cangcang, Lu Qiaoge had no plans to deal with the others; if they wanted to come, fine, anyway Qin Hengzhi had already suspected it.
She glanced at her watch; seven-thirty, Qin Hengzhi should be coming soon.
She had to admit, she was still looking forward to it.
Not long after, she saw Qin Hengzhi’s tall and straight figure.
Qin Hengzhi wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, revealing his strong and powerful arms.
Seeing Lu Qiaoge waiting for him, his eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight, and a faint smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
Evidently, his mood was also very good.
He first picked up the cat, then grabbed the canvas bag at Lu Qiaoge’s feet, his eyes twinkling with amusement: “We’ll meet up with them outside the city.”
Lu Qiaoge glanced at the open trunk and asked: “Where are the things?” Qin Hengzhi paused, then said in a low voice: “I brought the camera; it’s in the canvas bag.”
Normally, men and women who were dating wouldn’t take photos together.
Their first group photo was basically always a wedding photo.
If they could take a photo together, and with Qiao Ge’s agreement, it would absolutely make him thrilled beyond measure.
Lu Qiaoge gave him a glance and said: “I was asking about the hunting rifle, not the camera.”
Qin Hengzhi: “…”
He pointed to the army-green canvas bag in the corner: “This is one I assembled myself.”
Lu Qiaoge’s eyes lit up, and she asked Qin Hengzhi: “Can I use it?”
Qin Hengzhi rejected it outright: “Definitely not today.”
“Then when can I?”
Qin Hengzhi closed the trunk, opened the car door for Lu Qiaoge to get in, and said: “Some other day I’ll take you to the shooting range.”
Hua Hua squatted on Lu Qiaoge’s lap, meowing a few times: 【Little Master, aren’t you going fishing? Why hunt too? Are you hunting big gray wolves or wild boars, or the Northeast tiger that just came to Yuanbao Mountain?】
Huh, Yuanbao Mountain actually has a new Northeast tiger?
Lu Qiaoge didn’t really want to communicate with the Northeast tiger; that guy was too fierce, and if it ran to human places, the consequences would be unimaginable.
She just asked Qin Hengzhi: “Is the place we’re going in the deep mountains?”
Qin Hengzhi shook his head with a smile: “It’s just at the foot of the mountain; there’s no road in the mountains, so the car can’t get in; it’s very inconvenient.”
This put Lu Qiaoge at ease.
Soon they were out of the city, and Lu Qiaoge spotted a jeep parked roadside at a glance.
Originally several people were standing by the car, but now they were all walking toward their vehicle.
Three men and three women; she figured they knew how to squeeze into one car.
Lu Qiaoge guessed that one of them would definitely be in the trunk.
Private citizens didn’t have cars now, and regulations for such vehicles were never strict.
Jeeps were in short supply too; not to mention borrowing one, it wasn’t easy to even ride in one.
So naturally, oversight was lax.
The first to approach was a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes; he bumped fists with Qin Hengzhi, then grinned as he looked at Lu Qiaoge.
Qin Hengzhi cleared his throat lightly and introduced: “This is Big Brother Wang Zhiguo; after retiring from military service, he was assigned to the Public Security Bureau.”
Right after was a man of average height and ordinary looks.
But one glance at his eyes showed he was a man of skill.
Qin Hengzhi introduced: “This is Liu Dahui, Liu Big Brother.”
He worked at the District Government.
He and Su Hongmei were in the same system but different districts.
All of them were older than Qin Hengzhi; Chen Feng smiled and said: “We already know each other, so no need for introductions.”
Lu Qiaoge politely greeted each one.
Wang Zhiguo laughed heartily, then they introduced their respective wives and partners.
Wang Zhiguo’s wife was Li Xiuying, a salesperson at The First Department Store; she seemed straightforward and bold. Chen Big Brother’s wife was Dong Xiangqin, who worked at the Archives Bureau.
Liu Dahui’s partner was Zhou Shanshan, taller than Liu Dahui, with a ponytail, and very pretty.
She worked at the Industrial Bureau and gave a reserved hum, but her eyes scanned up and down at Lu Qiaoge’s clothes and shoes.
Going to play in the mountains, even with a car, Lu Qiaoge had no intention of wearing a dress.
She wore a sky-blue linen suit; it wasn’t crisp or pressed, but it was truly comfortable to wear.
Zhou Shanshan wore a pink floral dress and leather sandals; she specifically glanced at Lu Qiaoge’s shoes, which were a pair of Warrior Shoes, and pursed her lips.
No matter how good Warrior Shoes were, they couldn’t compare to her leather sandals.
“Everyone’s here, so let’s head out.” Qin Hengzhi opened the jeep door and said to Wang Zhiguo: “I’ll lead the way in front; just follow.”
The eight people and one cat got into the two jeeps respectively.
Lu Qiaoge sat next to Qin Hengzhi, with Zhou Shanshan and the other two behind.
As soon as the car started, Li Xiuying asked: “Comrade Little Lu, what do you do at the Neighborhood Committee?”
Compared this way, it seemed like only Lu Qiaoge’s job wasn’t great.
“I work as a mediator at the Neighborhood Committee,” Lu Qiaoge answered.
“Mediator?” Zhou Shanshan suddenly interjected, her voice thin with mockery she thought others couldn’t detect: “You mean the job dealing with those grannies and grandpas all day?”
The atmosphere in the car instantly grew tense.
Lu Qiaoge felt Qin Hengzhi also stiffen for a moment.
He apparently hadn’t expected his comrade’s partner to speak so inappropriately.
Lu Qiaoge gave Qin Hengzhi a faint glance, signaling him not to speak; she stroked the cat head, and the corners of her mouth curved into a mild smile: “Sister Zhou, you’re not wrong, but you only got one part right.”
