Making money sure makes a difference. As soon as Village Chief Wu opened his mouth, he granted Su Xiaomei a five yuan subsidy. This caused a variety of expressions to change across the faces in the room. After Village Chief Wu finished speaking, he looked around at everyone’s faces and finally rested his gaze on Shen Meng, seeing a smile at the corner of her mouth, he felt relieved.
The Secretary poked her with his elbow, his lips pursed. He had been drinking too and blurted it out, but when he thought about it, the Shen Family had raised such a good girl, and the secret recipes for the workshop’s pastries and spicy strips were all in the hands of Lv Qinlan and Shen Youtian. If you’re not good to the Shen Family, wouldn’t that be like smashing everyone’s rice bowl?
The lesson from the past was right there, how many jokes had been made until Shen Meng was willing to take charge again? They must keep vigilant at all times!
The meal went quite smoothly, and Shen Meng also promised to help the workshop pull in more orders. The village chief and the Secretary smiled so widely that their teeth were all show and no eyes.
When he got home, Shen Yutian was still dazed. He hadn’t drunk much, but he felt as if he was already a bit tipsy.
"Little sis, just tell me what to do; tell me to learn to drive, but me, a mud-legged man, I don’t understand anything, how am I supposed to learn?"
"If Xiao Bin can learn, why can’t you? How are you any worse than him?"
Shen Yutian shrank his neck, muttering doubts to himself. He was much worse off, not knowing just a little. He was already old enough to be a father, how could he compare himself to the young Xiao Bin? Moreover, he used to laugh at his younger brother’s struggle to learn new things, and now, just over a month later, it was his turn to start learning.
"I’m not cut out for studying, how can I dare to learn driving? If I damage someone else’s car, how can we afford to compensate? I think I’m doing just fine cooking."
"Dad, just listen to what your little sister says, stop being stubborn."
Su Xiaomei didn’t go to the workshop in the afternoon, and hearing her man talk like this, she interjected with displeasure.
"You’re doing just fine cooking now, but can you cook for a lifetime? Besides, who in this village can’t cook? Do you think your job is irreplaceable? This is just a rural workshop, not a secure job. Once you get the driver’s license, it’s yours and no one can take it from you. Once you have the license, not only can you drive for the workshop to deliver pastries to the county, but you might also join a transport team in the future. Think about it, isn’t that the case?"
Shen Yutian didn’t speak for a long while, his mind apparently pondering.
Wang Guizhi slapped the table and said, "What’s this? Your sister has gone to all the trouble to pave the way for you, and you still turn up your nose at it? After eating fine noodles for just two days, have you forgotten the taste of black bean nests?"
"Mom, I’m not complaining. If it wasn’t for little sis, our family couldn’t have had such a good house to live in, nor the bicycle at home, and the wages we can earn now. It’s just that I’m afraid I won’t do well... I’ve always felt dizzy just looking at books since I was a kid. Can I do well in learning to drive?"
"If others can do it, why can’t you? Xiao Bin said that learning to drive is easy; you just step on the throttle and the car goes, you just have to control the steering wheel. If you can learn to drive, you’ll be the second person in our village who can. Think about how cool that would be. Damn it, if I wasn’t too old, I would want to learn too."
Seeing his son’s cowardly demeanor, Shen Fugui felt exasperated. His daughter is so considerate of her family, and this good-for-nothing is still making excuses. Isn’t this just breaking his daughter’s heart?
"I’ll learn, I’ll learn, alright? But if I can’t learn, you can’t despise me for being dumb or not learning well."
Shen Meng knew he didn’t want to learn because he was afraid of losing face and being embarrassed. But seeing that he had agreed, she quickly changed the subject.
"Second sister-in-law, I’ve told mom before, that in a while you should go to the county hospital to await childbirth. I was listening to the radio on the bus company, and they said it’s going to rain heavily next month. It’s better for us to stay at the hospital early. We’ve got a comrade from our village working there, and she’ll help take care of you."
"Ah, I’ll listen to you, little sis. This pregnancy has really caused you a lot of worry."
"This is my very own niece or nephew. You must eat well the things I brought for you today, so that it won’t be so hard when it’s time to deliver the baby. Also, about the Head Flower Factory, second sister-in-law, you’ll have to help me pay more attention to it later on."
Su Xiaomei smiled gently, "We’re all family, no need for such formalities."
"Now, our family has finally managed to get through the tough times. Just wait for Xiao Bin’s wedding next month, and I’ll be ready to enjoy the good life."
Looking at their daughter, son, and daughter-in-law all lovingly interacting with each other in the house, Wang Guizhi and Shen Fugui exchanged a glance, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness in their hearts.
The next day, Shen Meng got to the bus company and felt that everyone was acting a bit strange today, sizing her up with their glances, as if they had seen a ghost. She didn’t even give them a sideways glance but went straight to her workstation.
Director Fu, who usually comes in at ten, arrived at the office early today. She was holding a newspaper and walked straight towards Shen Meng, who immediately understood why her colleagues had that ghost-seeing expression after a quick glance.
"Shen Meng, I’m impressed, I really didn’t expect you to have helped our county earn so much foreign exchange without any fanfare. It’s practically a miracle, and now everyone in the streets and alleys is talking about it. Our bus company has also become famous. Everyone who has read this newspaper knows that our bus company has a capable person who has helped our county earn foreign exchange. Hahaha, you’re really something, really something."
Shen Meng calmly accepted Director Fu’s compliments, smiled, and waited for Fu to finish before she spoke up.
"It’s not as good as you’re saying. It’s all a happy coincidence, but as long as the report benefits our bus company, I’m very happy to promote our unit."
Director Fu, holding the newspaper and pointing at Shen Meng, looked around the office excitedly.
"Look, look at Comrade Shen Meng’s consciousness. We should all learn from her. I always tell you guys, be united and loving, help each other, the collective honor above everything else. Comrade Shen Meng has taken my words to heart. I propose that we all stay late after work today, have a meeting, and have Comrade Shen Meng share some of her heroic deeds, so that everyone can learn from her."
"Director Fu is right, we all should learn."
"Okay, everyone, let’s applaud, and we must listen carefully to Comrade Shen Meng’s speech."
"Comrade Shen Meng, on the very first day you came, I knew you were not an ordinary person. I am a bit shy and haven’t dared to get close to you, and that’s my mistake. You look like a kind and good comrade. Tonight, we really must have a good chat."
...
Shen Meng: "...."
Although I am really awesome, you guys don’t have to go over the top with the praise, I’m getting embarrassed!!!