Chapter 59: Buzzing With Discussion
Meng Xia was also shocked: “How did you know?”
She then said: “Could it be Aunt Huang who told you? But she doesn’t seem to know.”
Lu Qiaoge: “I don’t know where you could go, Mom, but I know what positions you all have this time—important production units like the workshop, steel mill, etc., definitely won’t take you. The big canteen is managed by Shen Yun’s dad, and no matter the reason, he won’t assign you there. The department store needs young people, and you’re not suitable either, Mom. But the children’s school is expanding and needs school workers. There’s no age limit for that, and since our family was rumored about this time, the factory doesn’t dare make things difficult for us. I guess there’s a ninety percent chance it’ll be the school.”
Lu Qiaoge shook the water droplets off her hand. If it weren’t for the rumor, Meng Xia might have gone to the canteen. Given her age and experience, working at the big canteen would be the most suitable. And someone like Meng Xia would quite like going to the big canteen.
But the children’s school is pretty good too, and it’s not far from home.
Lu Qiaoge glanced at Old Mrs. Lu and said: “Of course, there’s also my grandmother’s influence.”
Old Mrs. Lu smiled skeptically, not believing it: “Real or fake? You little girl just know how to coax people.”
Lu Qiaoge: “You’re a martyr’s family member, and Shen Yun and the others actually dared to spread rumors about you. They really don’t know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is.”
Speaking of martyr’s family members, Old Mrs. Lu clearly looked a bit sad, but so many years had passed, and the living had to look forward.
Lu Qiaoge sat beside Old Mrs. Lu, lowered her voice, and asked: “Grandma, this morning that swallow brought back a blade of grass, and then Xiao Si ate it. Do you know?”
Old Mrs. Lu’s attention was immediately diverted, and she lowered her voice too: “I know about this. I’ve been paying attention ever since you told me that day.”
She then said to Lu Qiaoge: “Don’t tell your dad about this. Your dad’s an old stickler, and your mom might not feel at ease either. It’s fine if just us few know.”
This was just coaxing a child, and Lu Qiaoge wouldn’t really believe it, because Old Mrs. Lu would definitely tell them privately.
Saying it directly wouldn’t work well, but having it go through Old Mrs. Lu would make it much smoother.
It might even have unexpected effects.
Lu Qiaoge didn’t go to the neighborhood committee in the afternoon. She led the twelve people from the service station to make all the adobe bricks needed for the courtyard wall, then moved all the usable bricks and tiles to the vicinity of the house.
Meng Qingshan looked carefully and said to Lu Qiaoge: “If we don’t borrow tools from the construction engineering department, we can use that big tree that was snapped by the wind to make a ladder.”
Some of the tools these people were using came from their own homes, others from the neighborhood committee.
But making their own ladder would be good too. There were quite a few skilled people among her twelve.
And once made, it would be a fixed asset for the service station.
When Lu Qiaoge turned past the courtyard wall, she saw three or four older old women sitting under a tree talking not far away.
Lu Qiaoge walked toward the north side of the night school, but she could still clearly hear their conversation.
“You say that tree broke too strangely, snapped right in half. Why do I feel something’s off?”
“Are you overthinking it? There was such a big storm that night. Snapping branches is normal. Look at the volunteers who labor at the night school—they were clearing branches from the drainage ditch just a few days ago, right?”
“You said it yourself—they’re branches. Snapping those is normal. But this is a big elm tree over ten years old. How could it snap in half? If the wind was that strong, wouldn’t all our roof tiles be blown off?”
“You say it, this thing really is eerie. The big tree just snapped here a few days ago, and then Master Liu’s youngest son took a kitchen knife to chop Li Ying.”
Two old women pointed at the mud pond not far away.
It was called a mud pond, but really it was just what everyone casually called it. Strictly speaking, this area should be called Xiangyang Night School.
Behind it was the family quarters. The current mud pond was actually just an open plot of land.
It used to be a pond. Back then, the military factory didn’t have as many people as now, and there weren’t many family houses here either. Later, after the incident, the factory leader thought it was very dangerous and the pond wasn’t very useful, so they filled it in.
When the military factory was expanding, people from the construction section came around here, but in the end, they didn’t build the apartment building here. It was said to be frozen soil layer underneath, and this swampy area wasn’t suitable for building houses anyway—over time, the first floor would sink.
So it was left idle for the time being.
One old woman continued: “I heard from a neighbor of Master Liu’s family that the kid Liu Yu took a kitchen knife to chop Li Ying. Everyone asked him why, and he said Li Ying had caused his mom’s death.”
“Good heavens, then… did he say how she caused it?”
“Who knows? It’s been over ten years, the mud pond’s been filled in, no one knows what really happened back then.”
“Liu Yu is a pitiful child too. He has an older sister above him, who was said to have been given away by his dad, and there’s been no news of her to this day.”
“I’m telling you, don’t always say how vicious Li Ying is. The most inhumane one is Master Liu. That’s his own flesh and blood, look what he’s raised him into. The son Li Ying had with someone else, he pulled every string to get into the workshop as an apprentice worker. But his own son, he sends to a repair shop outside to be a helper. The kid’s so skinny and small—doesn’t the father see it? He has no humanity at all.”
“A person like that still wants to be named an advanced worker? Pfft. I’d be the first to vote against.”
“The big elm tree snapped—maybe it’s Liu Yu’s biological mother worrying about her son.”
“Alright, alright, we’ll just talk behind their backs. Don’t tell the young ones when we get home, or they’ll criticize us for feudal superstition again.”
The old women glanced toward the night school and sure enough stopped the topic, instead continuing to stitch the soles in their hands.
There were still quite a few people who liked wearing shoes they made themselves.
They might be a bit rustic, but Lu Qiaoge felt the shoes she made were comfortable to wear.
The ones on her feet right now were.
Lu Qiaoge hadn’t specifically sent the calico cat to gather any news.
Mainly, Lu Qiaoge planned to bring up the bookshelf matter tomorrow, and she felt the timing was about right.
But unexpectedly, the next day when Lu Qiaoge went to the work unit to report work to Director Hu, she found Director Hu wasn’t in the office.
Then the people in the office all had strange expressions.
Shao Le wasn’t at the public security office today either. Seeing Lu Qiaoge come over, he hurriedly said to her: “Looks like we’re about to have a big case on our hands.”
Lu Qiaoge naturally asked: “What’s going on exactly? I see everyone’s expressions are off.”
“You didn’t come yesterday afternoon, so you don’t know. At noon, I went to Master Liu’s house again with Director Hu and Cadre Liu. When we got there, the whole family was eating, but we didn’t see Liu Yu. Then Director Hu asked where Liu Yu was, and Master Liu lied saying the kid ran out to play. Then we heard a noise from the storage room. When we went to look… you say Master Liu is really ruthless, tying up that child, stuffing a rag in his mouth, and shoving him in the corner. Meanwhile, Master Liu was eating and drinking contentedly.”
Shao Le shook his head. He really couldn’t understand.
