Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

Liu Jia pushed his bicycle with a smile on his face.

With the contract already in hand, whatever Li Zhenhe hears is just icing on the cake.

The most difficult time is over, and everything is good now!

"Talk about it."

No sooner had Liu Jia finished speaking than Li Zhenhe began to speak impatiently.

Just now, that was exactly what Liu Jia was waiting to say.

"Brother, thank goodness you reacted quickly, otherwise we would have been tricked by Director Li!"

"Did you know? Director Li is also engaged in a tug-of-war with Cao Xiangyang!"

"If we give in, he'll sign the contract with Cao Xiangyang. Conversely, if Cao Xiangyang is adamant, he'll abandon us!"

"That old fox was weighing the pros and cons the whole time. Luckily, we seized the opportunity and signed the contract ahead of schedule!"

Li Zhenhe spoke with great excitement.

Liu Jia was stunned after hearing this.

"So mysterious?"

"That's right! I had just reached the door when that guy surnamed Cao called!"

Li Zhenhe scratched his head as usual, then told Liu Jia everything he had seen.

This time, Liu Jia's eyes also seemed to be staring blankly.

Too suspenseful!

If we had been a step later, the contract might not have been signed!

Listening to Li Zhenhe recount the contents of the phone call, Liu Jia had already guessed the gist of it.

Cao Xiangyang's father works in a garment factory, and Director Li has significant purchasing power at the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Because of Cao Xiangyang's favor, Section Chief Cao wanted to expand the business, so he sent Cao Xiangyang there.

However, Cao Xiangyang didn't pay much attention to the clothing business; instead, he became very serious about the baskets.

That's why Director Li wanted to cancel the contract with Xili Village.

Liu Jia gradually calmed down and his expression returned to normal.

Seeing the shade under the big tree, Liu Jia pointed and said, "Brother Li, let's go rest over there for a while and talk while we cool off."

Just as Li Zhenhe was about to nod, he suddenly glanced to the side a couple more times.

"Popsicles for sale!"

Not far away, an old man was pushing a bicycle with a box on the back seat.

The old man pushed his cart forward while shouting, drawing out the last syllable.

Upon hearing the sound of ice pops being sold, Liu Jia immediately swallowed hard.

In this weather, it's really not easy to get an ice pop.

First of all, many people were reluctant to buy it. It cost one cent per stick, which didn't sound like much money, but at that time, one cent could buy a pound of rice!

With this comparison, many people would give up the idea.

Fortunately, this is the city, and people are a bit more financially comfortable here, so the old man stopped every now and then.

If this happened in a rural area, the old man's popsicles would probably be hard to sell.

Of course, this excludes cloudy days.

Because on cloudy days, ice cream vendors tend to sell them at a discount, which helps them sell better.

While Liu Jia was still in a daze, Li Zhenhe had already walked up to the ice cream cart.

"Grandpa, two popsicles, two cents, right?"

"Correct!"

Li Zhenhe handed over two cents.

The old man selling popsicles took the money, hurriedly lifted a gap in the quilt on the box, and then reached his hand into the hole in the box.

Before long, the old man deftly pulled out two popsicles.

After Li Zhenhe took it, he walked towards Liu Jia with a smile.

"Let's quench our thirst first, and then we can talk while we eat."

Liu Jia didn't stand on ceremony, took the popsicle, and bit off half of it.

It was so cool, I can't even describe it!

A cool sensation traveled down my throat to my chest, and I felt refreshed.

"No wonder people love popsicles, they're just so delicious!"

"Old-fashioned popsicle?"

Li Zhenhe thought he had misheard, so he asked a question.

Liu Jia was taken aback, then continued to explain.

"That's right, isn't the popsicle the old man sells called 'Old-fashioned Popsicle'?"

“That’s right, this popsicle is perfect for quenching your thirst!” Li Zhenhe said, turning to Liu Jia as he ate. “Our supply and marketing cooperative gives us subsidies in the summer, and sometimes we even give out popsicle coupons. I’ll save some for you.”

"what?"

"When you come back later, we'll get a whole bucket and eat our fill!"

Hearing Li Zhenhe say this, Liu Jia laughed again.

The contract for the bamboo basket has been signed, and now I'm holding an ice pop in my hand—it's like good things coming in pairs.

In this mood, even the wind that was blowing didn't seem as hot as before.

The two people came to the base of the big tree, and the popsicles in their hands were really just sticks.

After parking his bicycle, Liu Jia found a clean spot to sit down and started swiping his popsicle stick across the ground.

"Brother, tell me quickly, how did you manage to figure out Director Li's thoughts so perfectly? We knew absolutely nothing beforehand!"

Li Zhenhe was eager to know the reason.

Liu Jia knew that Li Zhenhe would definitely ask this question, so he blurted everything out.

"Actually, I'm not sure either. I'm just playing mind games and taking a gamble!"

"The agreement suddenly changed, there must be something going on, so I continued talking about it. Who knew that before I could find anything out, Director Li confessed first!"

“He said his nephew was innocent, so I went along with him and said he was just a young man. Think about it, how old is he? How old can his nephew be?”

“I said I didn’t know, I wouldn’t say anything. Director Li was guilty, afraid that I would do the opposite and end up falling into his trap.”

Liu Jia spoke casually.

Li Zhenhe listened, completely stunned.

Li Zhenhe's mouth remained open until Liu Jia finished speaking.

"That's it?"

"Yes, I told you everything."

"Brother, if you hadn't said that, I would have really thought you could tell fortunes! You're amazing!"

After regaining his composure, Li Zhenhe gave Liu Jia a thumbs-up.

Liu Jia, however, said nonchalantly, "What fortune-telling? It's just a blind cat catching a dead mouse, a coincidence!"

Thinking about what Liu Jia had just said, Li Zhenhe didn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Everyone in the supply and marketing cooperative knew that Director Li was meticulous, but no one expected that he would be defeated by Liu Jia today!

This truly shows that everything has its counter.

However, thinking about the phone call that Director Li received, Li Zhenhe frowned again.

"Brother, I have to remind you, Director Li hasn't given up yet; he's still thinking about cooperating with that guy surnamed Cao!"

"The fact that the Cao family couldn't secure the contract for the bamboo basket doesn't mean they can't sign other contracts."

"Even if they're laymen, he doesn't care. But don't forget, Cao also has a clothing business, so this contract is definitely not going anywhere."

"In this long run, we're bound to run into each other, so you'd better be careful."

Li Zhenhe had never met Cao Xiangyang.

However, based on the fact that Cao Xiangyang had taken Liu Jia's business for no reason, Li Zhenhe concluded that this Cao was no good!

It was a great thing, but he almost ruined it, which shows how cunning he is.

"Don't worry, Brother Li, I'll be careful."

Liu Jia didn't tell Li Zhen about his relationship with Cao Xiangyang; those old, trivial matters were best left unmentioned.

However, there was one thing Liu Jia was very clear about.

Cao Xiangyang is a cunning fellow!

Moreover, Liu Jia vaguely sensed that it was precisely because he was the one making the bamboo baskets that Cao Xiangyang was willing to give up the clothing business in order to snatch his contract.

We haven't even officially met yet, but we're already taking this very seriously.

Liu Jia remained silent.

Li Zhenhe assumed Liu Jia was thinking about the contract, so he didn't disturb him.

……

Xili Village Production Team.

The sun hung in the sky like a fireball, and the villagers in the fields were already drenched in sweat.

"Why isn't it raining yet? It's like being roasted alive."

"The person is fine, but the crops in the field can't take it. Look, the corn leaves are all curled up."

"I just drank a lot of water, but now I'm incredibly thirsty. What should I do?"

Several women chatted quietly as they worked.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out.

"We're destined to work, we have to endure the heat, unlike some people who take leave as soon as it gets hot. It's really infuriating to compare ourselves to others!"

Zhang Dalaba's voice grew louder and louder with each sentence, becoming increasingly sarcastic.

The people who had just spoken exchanged glances.

Suddenly I understood who Zhang Dalaba was referring to.

"Aunt Zhang, stop talking, why hasn't it been changed?"

Someone kindly offered a reminder.

Zhang Dalaba snorted through his nose and threw it down!

"Snapped!"

He threw the grass in his hand onto the edge of the field.

"What? A clear conscience fears no accusation. If he hadn't asked for leave and hadn't been hiding at work, would I have said that?"

"You're afraid of offending people, but I'm not. Why don't you call the captain over and ask him if what I'm saying is true!"

"Everyone's watching, nobody's blind, and nobody doesn't know what's going on. It's just a matter of whether to say it or not!"

Seeing that Zhang Daba was getting into it, an older woman quickly nudged his arm.

"Alright, stop talking. Why are you picking on Liu Jia? What did he do to you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dalaba's eyes widened in surprise!

Then, he suddenly spat on the ground!