Jing Xiao couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
Then, he saw Bei Qinghuan furrow her brow, seemingly deep in thought.
Soon, the young woman started sprinting after the car.
The security department comrade on duty stopped her.
Jing Xiao poked his head out and heard her shout, “My token of love! Hey, you, what’s-your-name, stop! Give me back my token of love!”
Jing Xiao: “…!”
Do you even hear what you’re shouting!
It was only after shouting it several times that Bei Qinghuan realized her words could easily be misunderstood.
Then she jumped up and yelled loudly, “The bracelet! My bracelet, you have to give it back to me! Hey, hey!”
But the truck showed no signs of stopping, maintaining its distance from the one ahead as it sped away.
However, Bei Qinghuan clearly saw that “Comrade Correspondent” stick his head out of the window. He first smiled, then deliberately mimicked her, slowly rolling his eyes.
His imitation, well, one couldn’t say it was identical, but it was certainly vivid and lifelike.
Ah, this…
Was she really that… impolite?
Surely not?
Bei Qinghuan stood with her hands on her hips, watching, an indescribable feeling of shame and annoyance rising in her heart.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the man seemed to be saying, “If you hadn’t rolled your eyes, I would have given it back!”
This damn man!
The truck had already rumbled out of the factory.
Certain she couldn’t catch up, Bei Qinghuan asked the security department comrade who had stopped her, “Hey, uncle, when do these delivery trucks come back?”
But the security department comrade walked away impatiently. “Who knows? That kind of thing is confidential, you know!”
Well, there was nothing to be done then.
Fortunately, she still had the black bracelet. She could return that to the Qin family for now.
Hopefully, the next time she saw that annoying orderly, he wouldn’t go back on his word.
Bei Qinghuan walked helplessly toward the gatehouse at the main entrance.
The mail at the gatehouse had already been sorted. As Bei Qinghuan was searching for her letters, the uncle in the gatehouse poked his head out to speak to someone outside. “Did you get them? Besides the letters from today’s postbox, there are a few returned ones here.”
Bei Qinghuan found her letters and turned to look at the person outside.
To her surprise, it was an educated youth who had been sent to the countryside with her.
They were acquaintances but hadn’t been assigned to the same brigade.
Bei Qinghuan went over to greet him. “Liu Fang!”
Liu Fang was very happy to see her. “Oh, Bei Qinghuan! I haven’t seen you since you returned to the city!”
The conditions where they had been sent to the countryside were harsh. One year, a few of them had secretly eaten some mushrooms, gotten food poisoning, and nearly died. It was Bei Qinghuan who had saved them with herbal medicine!
Seeing his lifesaver, he had to say a few words at the very least.
Liu Fang deliberately parked his postman’s Bicycle properly and came over to talk to Bei Qinghuan. “Have you found a job?”
This was the most common question among those who had returned to the city, just like how everyone in the family compound would ask, “Have you eaten?”
Bei Qinghuan looked at the postman’s uniform on him. “I haven’t. Is your postman job a regular worker position?”
“Yes! My mom pulled some strings, and after searching high and low, this was the only job she could find. It’s been so hot these past few days, I’m dying from the sun, but there’s a cold drink subsidy, so it’ll do!”
Liu Fang seemed to be complaining, but his face was filled with pride.
Bei Qinghuan put on a timely look of envy. “You even get a cold drink subsidy, that’s great. Not like me, I have nothing. By the way, I remember you said you were classmates with Qin Zhenghua?”
“Yeah, yeah, wasn’t it because you told us you were Qin Zhenghua’s fiancée that we got to know each other? Haha, are you two married yet?”
Speaking of this, Bei Qinghuan felt a bit helpless.
She was only sixteen when she was sent to the countryside and had lived very cautiously.
By the time she was eighteen, everyone at the educated youth station had become familiar with each other, and many young men and women began to date.
Sometimes it wasn’t about genuine affection, but for survival.
After all, with a man to protect you, life could be much easier.
Bei Qinghuan didn’t want to date, but to protect herself, she could only loudly proclaim that she was already engaged.
Now, she could only give a vague reply. “Not yet… By the way, Liu Fang, I want to ask you about someone. Among your classmates, is there anyone named Tao Su?”
“Tao Su? Which characters?”
“It might be a nickname, like the ‘tao su’ pastry you eat. Or it could be a real name, in which case the ‘Tao’ would probably be the same as in Tao Yuanming. It’s fine, I’m just asking casually, just give it a random thought.”
If she could successfully break off the engagement with the Qin family, Bei Qinghuan had no intention of asking about this Tao Su or Ma Bing.
But things weren’t going smoothly, were they?
So, Bei Qinghuan figured she should find this person Mei Suqin had used for comparison.
Everyone had lived in the same family compound for over a decade, so most of their acquaintances overlapped significantly.
But Bei Qinghuan had never heard the name Tao Su.
So it could only be one of Qin Zhenghua’s classmates or colleagues.
Liu Fang thought very seriously and answered very seriously, “Never heard of them. That name is quite unique. If we had someone like that among our classmates, I would definitely remember.”
“Oh, then never mind. Thank you.”
Liu Fang’s eyes were full of questions, but he didn’t press further. He waved, got on his Bicycle, and left.
Bei Qinghuan stood at the factory gate, continuing to ponder the matter.
Just then, a public bus heading to the district center arrived at the stop. She decided not to go home, stuffed the letters she had just collected into her bag, and headed for the district Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
The news that Qin Zhenghua worked at the production materials sales department under the district Supply and Marketing Cooperative had long since spread throughout the compound.
It seemed that working in such a department made one a god in charge of sugar, cigarettes, and alcohol. The nearby neighbors were all incredibly envious.
Even Yan Guifang had initially wanted to ask Qin Zhenghua to get her some Lekofu malted milk powder, but ultimately felt too embarrassed, remembering that this cheap son-in-law never visited.
After arriving at the production materials sales department, Bei Qinghuan followed a tall man inside and walked a lap. She indeed saw Qin Zhenghua standing behind the cigarette counter, tossing the cigarettes a customer wanted onto the counter with a look of pride.
Luckily for her, his nose was in the air, so he completely missed her as she strolled around.
Bei Qinghuan went to wait outside the production materials sales department.
She waited until a middle-aged female comrade wearing a white hat came out in a hurry, and then she followed.
The female comrade was going to the public toilet.
Bei Qinghuan waited outside the toilet.
When the woman came out, Bei Qinghuan greeted her with great enthusiasm. “Hey, Qiao Meiyang, I was just looking for you! So you’re here?”
The woman named Qiao Meiyang was completely bewildered. “Who are you?”
How could Bei Qinghuan admit that she had just heard someone call her Qiao Meiyang while walking around the sales department, and that she had been the one talking the loudest?
It didn’t matter if they knew each other or not, as long as she could get information.
Bei Qinghuan grabbed her hand and shook it. “Aiya, we’re from the same compound! Who doesn’t know you work at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s production materials sales department? You’re so capable! Right, right, you might not know me, but that’s okay. I’m just here to ask about someone for my older brother. Someone’s playing matchmaker for him and introduced him to a female comrade from your unit!”
Qiao Meiyang’s face, which had been full of confusion, immediately lit up with gossip. “Oh, oh, who from our unit?”