Chapter 61: The Four Flowers Of The Broadcast Station
Coming out from Warehouse 1, the two headed toward the Archive Room.
The Archive Room was in the Factory Department, but checking archives required not only a Work Permit but also a Letter of Introduction.
Shao Le had been silent all along, because Li Ying ignored him, so it was Lu Qiaoge who was talking.
On the road, Shao Le couldn’t hold back anymore, leaned close to Lu Qiaoge and lowered his voice: “…The difficulty with Master Liu’s family situation is that there are no informed witnesses; just relying on a fourteen-year-old child recalling things from when he was three to convict someone of murder is impossible. But I think Li Ying is lying; she definitely didn’t properly nurture Liu Yu. Not to mention anything else, if it were her son tied up by Master Liu, do you think she could still eat peacefully?”
Lu Qiaoge moved a bit farther from him; this was in the Factory Area, and his gossipy attitude with his close friend would lead to misunderstandings, okay.
Shao Le sensed it and scratched his head embarrassedly.
So he started walking properly.
And just then, a cat suddenly jumped down from the wall.
With a few leaps, it perched on Lu Qiaoge’s shoulder.
“Isn’t this your family’s Hua Hua? How did it get here?”
Lu Qiaoge hadn’t let the Calico Cat follow her; that morning she told it to go to the lakeside to learn to catch fish by itself, but this cat wouldn’t go and followed her every day; its nose was too sharp, basically always able to accurately find her location.
Moreover, it was almost forgetting its main job.
It excitedly reported to Lu Qiaoge: 【After you left, I crouched on the roof of Warehouse 1 and heard Li Ying muttering to herself about finding jack shit, that you’d be exhausted and still not find it.】
Lu Qiaoge raised her hand to rub its chin and said warmly: “Mm, I still need to go to the Archive Room; don’t always play in the Factory Area, or the sentries might catch you.”
【Then I’ll go check near Master Liu’s house.】 The Calico Cat volunteered.
But to Shao Le, it just sounded like this pretty little Calico Cat meowing nonstop.
Shao Le also wanted to pet the cat; as soon as he extended his paw, he realized the Calico Cat was on Lu Qiaoge’s shoulder and quickly withdrew his hand.
And the Calico Cat very alertly jumped down from Lu Qiaoge’s shoulder and vanished in a few swift dashes.
It was just a cat; no one took it to heart. Shao Le asked Lu Qiaoge: “After checking the archives, do you want to go see Master Liu? Li Ying says it has nothing to do with her, and the child was taken from Master Liu’s hands; let’s just ask Master Liu who he gave the child to?”
But Lu Qiaoge wasn’t optimistic.
“Now every household has plenty of children; our Military Factory is better off, but in the countryside, families with many children often give them away, and it’s not uncommon.”
Most of those given away were girls, and usually through middlemen; give some money and it’s considered bought out, and they wouldn’t give you contact info.
This wasn’t treated as a main issue to ask about, probably because everyone thought it was normal.
Lu Qiaoge continued: “But if the recipient is from the Military, as long as we know the day, we should be able to check the records of entries and exits to the Family Courtyard.”
Shao Le’s eyes lit up; right, how hadn’t he thought of that.
But then he deflated a bit: “Sigh, even if we find out which family it went to, it probably won’t be of much use.”
Lu Qiaoge glanced at Shao Le: “If it was a normal adoption, it indeed wouldn’t mean much. But what if the child was sold?”
Before Shao Le could voice his opinion, they ran into several young women from the Factory Department Broadcasting Station coming toward them.
Lu Qiaoge naturally didn’t know they were staff from the Broadcasting Station.
The young women working there were basically children or relatives of Factory Leaders. Even if they grew up in the same Compound, they didn’t play together; they were in different circles.
So these young women didn’t know Lu Qiaoge either.
But the young women knew Shao Le, and were quite familiar with him, especially one round-faced young woman whose expression wasn’t great.
Lu Qiaoge was so sharp that without even looking at Shao Le’s awkwardness, she knew that round-faced young woman with the poor expression must be Shao Le’s partner.
Because she’d heard Shao Le’s partner worked in the Factory Department.
She soon also learned that these young women, who clearly came from privileged backgrounds, were from the Factory Department Broadcasting Station.
They passionately broadcast news, recited articles, or notices every day with high spirits.
It was the work post most envied by girls in the Family Courtyard.
Lu Qiaoge looked with great interest at the few young women winking and nudging; she said generously: “Director Hu is urgently waiting for the information; I’ll head to the Archive Room first.”
Lu Qiaoge lifted her leg to leave, but unexpectedly, a young woman in a floral dress blocked her.
She looked Lu Qiaoge up and down and asked in a casual tone: “You’re Lu Qiaoge?”
Lu Qiaoge glanced at her and smiled slightly: “That’s right, I’m Lu Qiaoge.”
So the young women stood by the roadside secretly sizing her up; a breeze brushed Lu Qiaoge’s stray hairs, morning light spilling over her porcelain-white little face, her crow-feather-like lashes casting small shadows under her eyes.
The calm and composed Lu Qiaoge, with her exquisite features, was not what they expected.
It instead highlighted the malice barely concealed in the eyes of the young woman in the floral dress opposite.
“They say forgive others whenever possible; what good does it do you to make such a big fuss, Lu Qiaoge? With your kind of person, can you really be a Mediator at the Neighborhood Committee with a fair mindset?”
Under the big tree by the roadside, it suddenly went quiet.
Lu Qiaoge indifferently lifted her eyelids; was this Shen Yun or Liang Aishu’s acquaintance?
Shao Le stopped being awkward; his face flushed red, about to speak, when his partner Chen Zhi beside him pulled him back and shook her head at him.
Lu Qiaoge coolly glanced at Shao Le, then looked at the young woman in the floral dress: “When accusing others, shouldn’t you politely introduce your own name and work unit first?”
The young woman in the floral dress opened her mouth, then said righteously: “I’m Cai Xiaohe; I work at the Factory Department Broadcasting Station. What, is Lu Qiaoge some special person that others can’t speak about?”
Lu Qiaoge smiled slightly: “Then when accusing others, can you at least say clearly what you’re accusing them of?”
Cai Xiaohe choked, then taunted: “You know full well; isn’t everything to do with you, Lu Qiaoge, about Liang Aishu and Shen Yun?”
Lu Qiaoge: “Then what does this have to do with you?”
Cai Xiaohe: “Does it have to have something to do with me for me to speak righteously?”
Lu Qiaoge smiled lightly; over there, Shao Le felt things were going south, but he knew too well the conduct of the four flowers of the Broadcasting Station.
Better not to speak; if he chimed in, who knew what mess it would cause.
Shao Le wasn’t happy either; with a sullen face, he shook off Chen Zhi.
Chen Zhi’s eyes reddened, about to cry.
Another girl over there quickly pulled her back and shook her head at her.
Lu Qiaoge smiled lightly: “What righteous speaking; do you want me to detail for you what Shen Yun and Liang Aishu did by the lake on the day I fell into the water that provoked my excitement and anger, and why Shen Yun tugged at me causing us both to fall in together? Then after I canceled the engagement, why Shen Yun and Liang Aishu wouldn’t let it go and instead spread rumors about me and my family? Do you want to hear that first, then decide who you should really speak righteously for?”
Cai Xiaohe: “…”
Her mouth opened and closed, momentarily unable to react.
Mainly because she’d never seen a young woman like Lu Qiaoge talking this way.
In her mind, Lu Qiaoge would at most angrily say: What does it have to do with you, mind your own business?
