“Uncle Xu?”
Su Qiao didn’t expect that this time, coming to the county committee, she would run into Officer Xu, who had helped them before.
She knew that in her previous life, when she and Xiao Peng went to the county office to request compensation, Officer Xu had reportedly been promoted and transferred to the provincial level.
It seemed that, with the [1]“Fluttering of the butterfly’s wings” refers to the butterfly effect—the idea that a very small change can eventually lead to big differences later on. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1729854_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1729854_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });fluttering of the butterfly’s wings, many things were different from before.
Seeing that Su Qiao recognized him, Xu Liming was very pleased.
He looked her over from head to toe and said, “You’ve grown taller, still so thin. Has school life been too hard on you?”
As he spoke, he paused for a moment, and his expression suddenly turned serious. “Xiao Qiao, I remember you’re supposed to take the college entrance exam this year, right? The mock exam is in just two days. Why aren’t you at school right now?”
Su Qiao forced a smile. “Uncle Xu, I’m not planning to take the college entrance exam this year.”
“Why?” Xu Liming was startled.
But he knew this wasn’t the place to talk, so he paused, then pointed toward the door and said to Su Qiao, “Come in with me first.”
After exchanging a brief greeting with the senior official, he led her out of the gatehouse.
Although it was called the county committee compound, the buildings were still very simple, just a few rows of brick houses.
The Office of Preferential Treatment wasn’t an important department, so it was located in the last row, far in the back.
Xu Liming led her to the office.
It was a large room, with three desks placed along the wall. At this moment, no one else was there, and all the seats were empty. Xu Liming had her sit at the middle desk, which was his own.
He poured a cup of hot water for Su Qiao and asked with concern, “You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I’ll go check the cafeteria to see if there’s anything left to eat.”
“No need, Uncle Xu. I ate before coming,” Su Qiao quickly interrupted.
Hearing this, Xu Liming didn’t insist further and went straight to the point: “[2]“Xiao” (小) means “little” or “young” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1729854_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1729854_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Xiao Qiao, what brings you here this time? If your family is having difficulties, speak up. Your father was a martyr. Any organization capable of helping you wouldn’t just ignore you.”
With a sigh, Xu Liming continued earnestly, “Speaking of school… Xiao Qiao, listen to me, going to university is still important. Your grades are so good; it would be such a waste not to take the exam. No matter how hard things get, difficulties can be overcome. Going to university affects your entire future.”
In the past, Su Qiao hadn’t had much contact with Xu Liming, just the one time he came to their home to handle pension matters.
He had shown kindness to her and her younger brother and had indeed provided them help, which Su Qiao was grateful for.
But aside from that, they hadn’t interacted in any other way.
Now, hearing his words, Su Qiao could clearly feel his genuine concern for her family.
There is no love in this world without reason, they had originally been strangers.
For Officer Xu to care about them so much, it was likely that he had been instructed by someone.
If she guessed correctly, that someone would be the high-ranking leader she had never met.
Thinking of this, Su Qiao felt even more confident about getting her father’s pension back.
“Uncle Xu, I really did come this time to seek help from the organization. To be honest, my siblings and I have already moved back to our own home. We’ve started over…”
Su Qiao recounted everything that had happened to Xu Liming, truthfully and without exaggeration.
Even so, it was enough to make Xu Liming stand up in anger!
“This is outrageous! When we entrusted you to them, it was because the organization trusted them! They even wrote a promise to us, guaranteeing they would take good care of you! This is utterly unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable!”
Xu Liming paced angrily around the room.
“Uncle Xu, don’t be mad. We’ve already moved out, so we’ll just reduce contact with them from now on. I came mainly for my father’s pension. You know, apart from me, the money for my family was paid directly by the village monthly, so we never saw it. That was fine before, but now that we’ve moved out, we need to live.”
Hearing Su Qiao’s words, Xu Liming immediately nodded. “I’ll call your village committee right now. From now on, only you can collect your living expenses. No one else is allowed to do it on your behalf.”
“Thank you, Uncle Xu,” Su Qiao said gratefully.
Then she took out the application she had written last night from her backpack and handed it over respectfully. “Besides the living expenses, I also want to apply to have my father’s pension paid out early.”
Hearing this, Xu Liming was momentarily taken aback, obviously, he didn’t expect Su Qiao to make such a request.
But he didn’t immediately refuse; instead, he picked up the application and began reading it.
In the application, Su Qiao not only explained the current difficulties faced by the four siblings but also outlined her future plans. She wrote that she planned to move to the county town with her siblings, so she could take care of them while repeating a year to prepare for next year’s college entrance exam.
In addition, she planned to send her two younger brothers to school and her little sister to kindergarten.
Tuition, living expenses, and rent, all together, even a rough calculation showed it was far more than what ten yuan per person per month could cover.
Yet Su Qiao’s plans were solid and practical. Every point was thoughtfully made for the future of the four siblings.
With grades as good as hers, shouldn’t she continue preparing for the college entrance exam?
Her two younger brothers, one fourteen, the other six and four, were both of school age.
If they were to attend school, sending Xiao Su Lan to kindergarten was clearly the safest and most reliable option.
Looking at the application, even Xu Liming had to admit that such an arrangement was perfect for the children.
Originally, the previous leader had instructed that the pension be temporarily held by the Office of Preferential Treatment, worried that the children were too young and the money might be taken away, leaving them without a basic safety net in the future.
But after reading Su Qiao’s application, Xu Liming felt that it was time to return the money to the children.
“I can’t make this decision myself. Wait here—I’ll report it to the leader,” Xu Liming said, taking the application and leaving.
More than half an hour passed while he was gone.
Su Qiao, however, wasn’t anxious.
She genuinely believed that the leader Xu Liming mentioned was definitely not at the county committee. And with long-distance calls being so cumbersome, likely requiring multiple transfers, it was normal for it to take some time.
So she remained completely calm.
But she didn’t expect that she would end up waiting for over an hour. By the time her stomach started growling, Xu Liming hurried back.
Entering the room, he looked at Su Qiao apologetically. “Xiao Qiao, this matter is a bit difficult to handle.”
Su Qiao’s heart sank.
“Uncle Xu, is my application not up to standard? Should I follow a format if you give me one and rewrite it?”
She was asking for her father’s pension, the money he had earned with his life.
If in the past they hadn’t been given the money to prevent it from being taken by others, she had now explained the situation and even clearly written how the money would be used.
In that case, why shouldn’t it be allowed?
Su Qiao didn’t want to argue with Xu Liming, so she only mentioned the application format.
But the implication of her words was clear—
Other than the application format being “incorrect,” the county had no other reason to withhold the money.
Xu Liming, of course, understood the meaning behind her words.
He smiled helplessly. “Xiao Qiao, don’t overthink it. Things aren’t as you imagine. Your father sacrificed himself to save someone, and that person was a high-ranking leader in our higher-level unit. I’ve mentioned this to you before.”
Su Qiao nodded.
“That leader was injured at the time and was rushed to the provincial capital for treatment overnight. When he woke up, he was very concerned about the four of you. He specifically instructed us that the Office of Preferential Treatment work must be done properly.
The matter of your father’s pension was also his suggestion, it was at his recommendation that the Office of Preferential Treatment temporarily manage it for you. He proposed it after understanding your family’s situation, purely with your interests in mind.”
“But we really need the money now,” Su Qiao said.
“I know, I know,” Xu Liming hurriedly nodded.
“It’s just that the leader is currently on a field inspection. I’ve made several calls but couldn’t reach anyone. The money was originally entrusted to our office by the leader for safekeeping; now that it’s time to return it to you, we have to inform him, right?
The leader’s schedule is confidential, and we can’t get information. Randomly calling won’t guarantee reaching him. Xiao Qiao, here’s what I suggest: in about a week, I’ll be transferred to work in the provincial capital. I’ll take your application with me and promise to deliver it to the leader personally. You just wait for my contact, does that sound okay?”
At this point, what could Su Qiao say?
She had no reason to refuse.
But with the leader on inspection, who knew how long it would take? What if it took months? What would she do then?
“Uncle Xu, since that’s the case, can I ask you for one more favor?” Su Qiao asked.
“Go ahead,” he replied.
“Could you, on behalf of the Office of Preferential Treatment, notify the village so I can withdraw our living expenses for the second half of the year all at once? That way I can at least rent a place in the county, save some money, and still have enough to pay my brother’s school fees and my little sister’s daycare fees.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll contact them right now,” Xu Liming answered decisively this time.
…
Although she still didn’t get her father’s pension, being able to withdraw their siblings’ living expenses for the second half of the year in one lump sum—280 yuan, was still worth the trip for Su Qiao.
After saying goodbye to Xu Liming and leaving the county committee compound, Su Qiao first ran to a state-run snack shop on the street corner and bought a bowl of plain soup noodles.
She had been out since a little after five in the morning and hadn’t eaten a thing. By now, she was so hungry her vision was starting to blur.
The so-called plain soup noodles were truly just that, no oil at all on the noodles. Fortunately, the chef at the shop was skilled: the noodles were chewy, the broth was well-seasoned, and a bit of pepper was added, making her appetite open wide.
Su Qiao realized that even though she had only been back a few days, her appetite had grown considerably. She finished the big bowl of noodles in one sitting and even felt a bit reluctant when she reached the end.
After finishing her meal, Su Qiao headed in the direction of her school.
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