Inside the house, the Team Leader sat on a stool with his tobacco pipe in hand, yet he made no move to smoke it.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible he felt the matter was.
Wasn’t there a saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder? If they separated them, perhaps everyone’s relationships would really improve.
Thinking of that, the Team Leader let out a deep sigh.
At that moment, even the tobacco pipe in his hand no longer seemed appealing.
He truly could not understand how these young people managed to stir up so many messy problems.
Still, although there were precedents for such arrangements, he could not immediately agree to Zheng Peizhen’s request.
As for the reason…
Firstly, he did not want people to think that he, as Team Leader, was negligent in his duties or made decisions too rashly.
Secondly, while not every Educated Youth was as “wealthy” as Zheng Peizhen and capable of spending money to build a house and live alone, once news of this spread, the others at the Educated Youths’ Residence would certainly begin entertaining similar thoughts. He needed to carefully consider how to handle that situation.
Poor him. At his age, he still had to worry about so many things.
Forget it. He should hurry and think about how to deal with everyone’s reactions if he ultimately approved Zheng Peizhen’s request.
While the Team Leader was pondering the feasibility of the matter, Sister Ma had already led Zheng Peizhen back toward the Educated Youths’ Residence beneath the moonlight.
“Leader, why didn’t you let me keep talking just now?” After holding it in for half the journey, Zheng Peizhen finally voiced the question that had been bothering her.
“I thought you’d be able to hold that question all the way back,” Sister Ma replied.
“Don’t worry. Judging from the Team Leader’s attitude, your request is likely to succeed.” Seeing Zheng Peizhen’s anxious expression, Sister Ma stopped teasing her. “I didn’t let you continue because I was afraid you’d overdo it and ruin things. Some things only need to be said to a certain extent.”
Ordinarily, Sister Ma would not have explained so much to someone else. However, she had begun to see Zheng Peizhen somewhat like a younger sister, so she could not help offering a few extra pointers.
Unfortunately, Zheng Peizhen’s attention remained fixed entirely on the first sentence. Her face lit up with excitement.
Sister Ma immediately realized that Zheng Peizhen had not really absorbed any of her advice. She inwardly sighed at how childish the girl still was and decided she would have to keep a closer eye on her in the future.
Just as they were about to end the conversation and continue walking, they spotted Xie Qingyuan nearby.
“Leader, Zheng Educated Youth, what a coincidence.”
The sudden voice caused both women to immediately stop talking.
“What a coincidence.”
“Indeed, what a coincidence, Xie Educated Youth.”
Since he had taken the initiative to greet them, they naturally responded.
“The moonlight looked beautiful tonight, so I came out for a walk. I didn’t expect to run into the two of you.”
Xie Qingyuan exchanged a few pleasantries.
His eyesight was excellent, and with a single glance he noticed that Zheng Peizhen’s small shoulder bag had flattened considerably. He immediately formed a guess.
Then he casually asked, “By the way, judging from the direction you’re coming from… did you just leave the Team Leader’s house?”
Neither woman had expected such a sudden question and both froze for a moment.
Sister Ma recovered first.
“That’s right. It’s because of the trouble they caused before. She felt she’d inconvenienced the Team Leader, so she asked me to accompany her and apologize in person.”
Xie Qingyuan nodded.
“That makes sense. After all, courtesy never hurts. Zheng Educated Youth, there’s no need to worry. I’m sure the Team Leader won’t take it to heart.”
Hearing that, both women secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The matter was not yet settled, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
With his objective achieved, all three tacitly avoided mentioning the matter again and walked back together.
Unlike the taciturn Xie Qingyuan, Sister Ma and Zheng Peizhen chatted and laughed the entire way, buoyed by how smoothly things had gone.
Watching them, Xie Qingyuan felt reassured.
The matter would probably succeed.
However, it clearly had not been finalized yet, otherwise Sister Ma would not have concealed it. Still, it likely would not take much longer.
After returning to the Educated Youths’ Residence, Xie Qingyuan parted ways with the two women.
They headed back to the women’s dormitory, while he remained outside.
Standing in the courtyard, he looked toward Xu Guangyao, who was inside the men’s dormitory acting like a sworn brother to the others.
He wondered what role Xu Guangyao would play in this matter.
The next day, to be safe, Xie Qingyuan decided not to wait any longer.
Delays invited complications. Since he was already fairly certain of success, he might as well give things another push and encourage the Team Leader to make a decision sooner.
That evening, he brought several packs of premium cigarettes and paid a visit to Team Leader Lin.
Among this group of Educated Youths, Xie Qingyuan was considered by the Team Leader to be the most reliable and outstanding.
After all, out of so many Educated Youths who had taken the examination, he had secured one of the teaching positions, bringing honor to the village.
And that girl from the Lin family was impressive as well.
Because of this, the moment Xie Qingyuan arrived, he received an unusually warm reception from Team Leader Lin, leaving him somewhat puzzled.
Still, it did make one thing clear: he had left a good impression on the man.
Without wasting time on pleasantries, he immediately stated his purpose.
The same time, the same place, and the same issue.
The only difference was that the person sitting before the Team Leader this time was Xie Qingyuan.
Had Xie Qingyuan not looked so sincere and earnest, Team Leader Lin would have thought he had misheard him.
Looking at the tobacco pipe in his hand, the Team Leader once again felt that it had lost its appeal.
So he posed the same question he had asked Zheng Peizhen the previous day.
In response, Xie Qingyuan revealed a little about his family background.
His parents were both retired veteran Red Army soldiers. His eldest brother held a minor leadership position in Haishi, while his second brother served in the military.
However, both of his brothers were much older than him, and the family had already divided their household years ago. He had some savings of his own, and under the current circumstances, having a house in the village might actually be beneficial.
The Team Leader truly had not expected that the quiet and low-profile Xie Qingyuan would have such a background.
Still, weren’t Educated Youths supposed to be desperate to return to the city as soon as possible? Why did one after another want to build houses here and live independently?
Strange things happened every year, but this year seemed especially full of them.
After finishing his explanation, Xie Qingyuan noticed that the Team Leader had been staring at his tobacco pipe for quite some time without moving.
With perfect timing, he handed over the cigarettes he had prepared.
The Team Leader stared at the packs of Phoenix and Double Happiness cigarettes in his hands, momentarily unable to react.
“Educated Youth Xie, what are you trying to do here?”
For the sake of preserving his reputation, the Team Leader reluctantly refused.
“We don’t do things that way here. Take them back. I’ll pretend this never happened.”
For a lifelong smoker like him, turning down such fine cigarettes was agonizing.
His heart practically bled.
Those were premium cigarettes!
He had only ever smoked them once or twice at Secretary Li’s place in the commune. Rumor had it that they required ration coupons and were extremely difficult to obtain. Even Secretary Li treasured the few packs he possessed.
“Team Leader, don’t get worked up.” Xie Qingyuan had not expected him to react so strongly.
“You don’t think I’m trying to bribe you with these cigarettes, do you?”
“When I left home, my family worried that I might not know proper etiquette, so they specifically instructed me never to visit someone’s home empty-handed.”
“Perhaps there was a mistake when my things were packed. They sent several packs of cigarettes with me. I don’t smoke anyway, so I thought I’d give them to you.”
Xie Qingyuan looked at the Team Leader with complete sincerity.