Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

Yan Chengke grinned from ear to ear at the thought of soon gaining a capable assistant: "Of course, it's the first place in the last exam!"

Liang Qiurong asked in confusion, "Didn't that person say they had a mental illness and that their admission was delayed?"

Yan Chengke retorted, "No, that's all just hearsay. The matter has been investigated and clarified now, and Director Miao asked me to bring the person back to work."

Although not much was said, the word "please" was quite subtle.

Fearing that people in the factory might say that Qiao Manman had used connections or acted improperly, Yan Chengke explained with a smile: "Comrade Qiao is very talented. Even though she was wronged, she still published articles in the Industrial Daily and the Provincial Daily, exploring the path of reform and development for the machinery factory."

Liang Qiurong understood; the factory director valued talent and had specially recruited her.

His eyes lit up: "Why don't we have Comrade Xiao Qiao come to our logistics department? We're short-staffed!"

"No way, Sister Liang! I've already reserved Comrade Qiao for the union with Director Yan, don't try to take her from me. If the logistics department is too busy, I'll send two people over to help!"

Liang Qiurong was furious and started yelling at Guo Youfeng. Yan Chengke, that cunning fellow, seized the opportunity to slip away.

After running more than ten meters, he wiped imaginary cold sweat from his forehead and sighed, "They really are in high demand!"

***

The next day, Qiao Manman got up early, changed into a decent set of clothes, and went out with her canvas bag.

The air was fresh on a summer morning, and the sun shone warmly on the earth. Qiao Manman looked at the distant green mountains and the wildflowers on the ground, and she was in a particularly good mood.

Before long, they reached the village entrance. Qin Shuanzhu was already waiting there with his oxcart.

There were a few other people on the bus—Aunt Qiuhua, Sister Erhua, Zhao Zhaodi, and educated youth Zhang Xiu and Wang Zhengbao.

After greeting Qin Shuanzhu, Qiao Manman got into the oxcart.

Before his hand even touched the canvas bag, someone shouted, "Some people think they're so great just because they can write a few words. They can't even ride on an oxcart."

Qiao Manman ignored her and took out a penny: "Uncle Qin, here you go!"

Qin Shuanzhu chuckled and accepted the gift, then rolled his eyes at Zhang Xiu. He thought to himself, "What kind of girl is this? Daring to go against the girls in their team? She's really overestimating herself!"

Zhang Xiu, however, was unconvinced and said through gritted teeth, "There's no smoke without fire. If you hadn't been having an affair with Chen Dashan, would he have come to propose marriage? Ha, you're even eyeing Lu Zhiqing? You think you're worthy?"

Qiao Manman was too lazy to argue with her, and only threatened, "Chen Dashan has already been arrested for spreading rumors and causing trouble. What, does Zhang Xiu, the educated youth, want to go in and join him? So eager, what's your relationship with him? Isn't it unclear?"

Zhang Xiu left quietly.

Aunt Qiuhua, who loved gossip, squeezed next to Qin Erhua and said, "Man'er, come here and sit here!"

Qiao Manman smiled and moved to another spot, when she heard Ma Qiuhua ask, "Hey, how's that guy surnamed Chen from yesterday? Is he going to jail?"

Qiao Manman shook her head: "Auntie, I don't know, I haven't met the brigade leader yet. If you want to know something, why don't you ask Uncle Shuanzhu?"

Ma Qiuhua did indeed inquire with Qin Shuanzhu, but Qin Shuanzhu was outside the police station tending cattle at the time and was unaware of the details, so he could only shake his head.

"Hey, you old man, still acting all high and mighty, huh?"

Qin Shuanzhu was tongue-tied and could not express his suffering, so he could only remain silent.

Not long after, Wang Defa arrived. Ma Qiuhua continued to use her gossipy skills, but Wang Defa remained silent.

Seeing that he was about to get angry, Qiao Manman quickly smoothed things over: "Auntie, the captain is silent probably because the verdict hasn't been issued yet, so he can't say anything."

Wang Defa immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what Man'er said. Don't ask any more questions."

Ma Qiuhua shut up. All that could be heard along the way was the clattering of the old ox's footsteps and the creaking of the wheels on the dirt road.

Qiao Manman, however, focused her attention on Wang Zhengbao.

This man, Li Chuncao's lover in the novel, was extremely thin, with a gaunt face and thick, round noses.

He would occasionally nudge himself, giving him a slightly scholarly air. But his eyes darted around, making him look shifty and sneaky.

I don't know what Li Chuncao saw in him; she really has no taste.

Qiao Manman refocused her attention and chatted with the system. Before long, they arrived at the commune.

Ma Qiuhua and Qin Erhua got out of the car, and the car continued on its way, stopping forty minutes later in front of the big locust tree in the center of the county town.

Qiao Manman was just about to go to the post office when the captain called out to her, "Manman, you're coming with me to the police station!"

Qiao Manman: "......"

Okay, the person involved should show up.

The two went to the county public security bureau together. As soon as Qiao Manman entered the lobby, she was invited into the interrogation room.

The police officer asked about the situation in a relatively gentle tone. Qiao Manman told the truth, deliberately ignoring the thunder in the clear sky.

The police officer listened and nodded, took a statement, and had Qiao Manman sign it.

As they left the interrogation room, Qiao Manman asked, "Comrade, how many months will Chen Dashan be sentenced to in this situation?"

The police officer glanced at her, somewhat approvingly: "It hasn't caused you any actual losses, so it'll only take ten days to two weeks. Unless the victim voluntarily withdraws the case!"

"What about Qiao Zhenzhen? As the mastermind, shouldn't she bear the consequences?"

"Of course we need to! We've already sent people to arrest Qiao Zhenzhen!"

After thanking the captain, Qiao Manman informed him of the result.

The brigade leader puffed on his pipe: "That's settled then! I'm going to the commune to apologize with a bundle of thorns on my back. What about you? Want to come with me?"

Qiao Manman shook her head: "Uncle Captain, I'm going to the post office to submit my article. I'll go back to the production team after I'm done."

"Then be careful, and come back early tonight!"

Qiao Manman hummed in agreement, watched him walk away, and headed towards the post office.

First, I withdrew the remittance, eighteen yuan, and carefully stored it in the system space.

Then buy envelopes and stamps, stuff the letter with the article written on it into them, and mail it to the provincial newspaper.

The staff member who helped her withdraw money and mail the letter smiled and asked, "Young lady, are you submitting an article to the newspaper?"

Qiao Manman nodded and took out two candies from her pocket: "Thank you, sister!"

Chu Hanyao took the candy and asked with a smile, "Want a newspaper? Back issues are cheap at the post office. Reading the articles in them can improve your writing skills!"

Qiao Manman's eyes lit up: "Great! By the way, sister, if you have any old stamps, could you get some for me too? My family likes collecting stamps!"

Chu Hanyao told her to wait at the counter while she went to the warehouse.

He rummaged through a pile of "junk" and found some relatively intact stamps, and also took out some newspapers.

"Hey, take a look, which ones do you want?"

Qiao Manman casually picked out some items, and after saying nice things to people, she bought two copies of the Industrial Daily and the Provincial Daily, which contained her articles, for a total of sixty-four yuan and eighty cents.

After she left, the system said, "Host, you're really lucky! Among those stamps are some of the very valuable Large Dragon stamps from later generations!"

Qiao Manman: Are you serious?

He took the stack of stamps out of the canvas bag and found that there were indeed a few with dragons on them.

"Oh wow, it's valuable? Then quickly put it in my little box!"

The system nodded and helped Qiao Manman store the biscuit in a metal biscuit box decorated with large peony flowers.

Just as it was placed down, it screamed again: "Ahhh, Blue Army Mail, host, you've struck it rich!"