Era: A college student came to the courtyard house

Faced with Fang Yuan's complaints.

Li Jianye hurriedly pretended to forget and said, "I'll write you a note right now. Go to the finance department to collect twenty yuan, and then go to the logistics department to get the grain coupons and one hundred catties of coarse grains you need for the next few days. As for how to get there, they have a horse-drawn carriage there. We used to use it, so we know the way. I'll call them right away, and you can go now."

"Remember, we can give you the things after you go down, but don't make any other decisions on your own. As for where you'll stay, our steel plant has an abandoned coal mine near Qinjiacun. There are guards there, so you'll stay with one of them."

Fang Yuan thought to himself that it was fortunate he had come, otherwise he might have had to pay out of his own pocket.

In order to get Fang Yuan to leave Hongxing as soon as possible, Li Jianye called the heads of the finance department and the logistics department in front of him. This efficiency was completely different from his usual speed.

Fang Yuan returned to his office, borrowed the M-selection from Qian Jianing for a few days, and then went to several departments to collect the items.

Looking at the old yellow horse in front of him, Fang Yuan jumped onto the back of the cart, gently cracked the whip, and the big yellow horse ran off as if it were perfectly in tune with human nature.

These days, there are few cars on the road, but horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, and donkey carts are quite common, so there is no traffic jam.

The yellow horse's pace remained neither too fast nor too slow, which reassured Fang Yuan, who patted its rump and praised the old horse for knowing the way.

Along the way, he did consider whether or not to report to Lin Xianghua, but after careful consideration, he gave up the idea.

Firstly, he worried that Lin Xianghua would misunderstand him as being afraid of hardship and unwilling to go down there.

Secondly, approaching him now would only cause Lin Xianghua more trouble. As a subordinate, it would be inappropriate to do so. The only option now is to accept, which might actually make Lin Xianghua think more highly of him, and he might even feel indebted to him.

Thirdly, he could also see Lin Xianghua's attitude afterward. He had personally heard Lin Xianghua's promise to Wu Jinxi. If Lin Xianghua went back on his word, he would immediately go to his brother-in-law and might as well leave Hongxing Steel Plant.

Back in the courtyard.

Since it was Uncle San's turn to handle all the big and small matters in the yard this week, and he was still teaching students at Hongxing Elementary School at this time, Fang Yuan found Aunt San, who was busy with housework, and told her that he had to go out for a few days due to a task at work.

When going on a long trip, you usually have to tell the old man in charge of the courtyard or your neighbors in advance, otherwise, if you're not home for a few days, who knows what rumors or gossip might spread about you.

When Fang Yuan got home, he took out two sets of clothes to change into from the closet. After thinking for a moment, he went to the cupboard and took the kitchen knife with him.

It's better to be safe than sorry. If something unexpected happens on the way, it'll be good to have something on hand.

He even considered going to the militia division of Hongxing Steel Plant for a few days of training and target practice after this incident, and then getting a gun license.

With everything ready, Fang Yuan locked the door before leaving the courtyard and then drove the carriage out of Nanluoguxiang Hutong.

When he passed the supply and marketing cooperative, he stopped his carriage again, went inside and bought some of the cheapest candy and two cartons of cigarettes that cost eight cents a pack, plus two bottles of loose white liquor that cost twelve cents.

As the saying goes, cigarettes build bridges, and wine paves roads.

It's always best to be fully prepared when you go out to handle some business.

"Giddy up!"

With nothing else to hold him back, the big yellow horse started running around happily.

Fang Yuan, wearing a straw hat to shield himself from the sun, didn't need much direction; he and his horse left the city on their own.

Two and a half hours later, Fang Yuan turned from the main road onto a side road.

Since there were no roads connecting every village at that time, and the main road he had just walked on was full of potholes, according to the directions from the villagers nearby, he still had to walk on the dirt road in front of him for more than 20 minutes.

As the carriage drew closer.

Fang Yuan arrived at a stone bridge with a sign that read "Qin Family Village".

Not far from the bridge, six or seven children were playing in the river, and several baskets of pig feed were placed on the bank.

Fang Yuan glanced at the river. It was crystal clear, the water was shallow, and there was no silt or sand on the bottom. It was full of small stones and pebbles, and many fish were swimming by in groups.

Following the river downstream, Fang Yuan could still vaguely see a woman sitting by the river, staring blankly at the water, muttering to herself.

"Hey kid, could you tell me where the village chief is?"

The children had already noticed Fang Yuan's arrival, but their curiosity was mixed with a hint of wariness in their eyes.

Seeing Fang Yuan's handsome appearance and kind smile, a little boy who looked about five or six years old pointed at a figure not far away and shouted, "Over there, over there."

Fang Yuan looked in the direction of the little finger and saw an old man bending down along the dirt road, picking something up.

He immediately waved to the children who answered him, knowing that they were most likely children from Qin Family Village, then took out a handful of candy from his bag and threw it to them before continuing to drive the carriage forward.

When the children saw the candy they usually only got to eat during the Lunar New Year, they forgot all about playing in the water and started grabbing it. But after grabbing it, they didn't eat it and just followed behind Fang Yuan's carriage.

Fang Yuan looked at them and thought that they were somewhat vigilant, but compared to the Three Lives Education in a certain province in later years, they were still a little lacking.

"Sir, could you please tell me where the village chief is?"

Fang Yuan approached and realized that the old man was picking up manure, which was probably a job that earned him points.

"Village chief? What do you want with him?"

Unexpectedly, the old man collecting manure was even more vigilant. When Fang Yuan questioned him, the old man picked up the fire hook in his hand and demanded, "Let me see your letter of introduction."

Fearing the elderly man might not be able to read, Fang Yuan took out his letter of introduction and work ID from his pocket and handed them over, pointing to the words as he read aloud: "General Affairs Section, Hongxing Steel Plant, Fang Yuan."

"I am a staff member of Hongxing Steel Plant. I was sent here by my superiors to find out some information."

Upon hearing Fang Yuan's words, the old man's eyes lit up instantly. He put down the fire hook, wiped his hands on his clothes, and grabbed Fang Yuan tightly, saying, "Finally, you're here! Finally, you're here!"

"Come on, young comrade, I'll take you to the village chief right away!"

With the old man leading the way, many villagers who were working in the fields and watering the plants gathered around after learning that Fang Yuan worked at Hongxing Steel Plant.

We walked and stopped frequently, and although we didn't travel very far, we gathered quite a few people around us.

Fang Yuan opened the specially prepared cigarettes and handed one to everyone he met. After all, workers and peasants are one family, and it wasn't his own money he was spending.

At that moment, a rural man in his thirties squeezed out from the crowd.

He stood on a dirt slope and shouted, "Everyone scatter! Aren't you going to work in the fields? If you want to watch the show, wait until after work! And you guys, Tie Dan, have you finished cutting the pig feed? Do you still want to have a full stomach?"

The cadres of Qin Family Village are highly respected in the village, not for any other reason than that their family has the largest number of elderly people with the surname Qin in the surrounding area.

The crowd that had been watching the spectacle slowly dispersed as they went about their own business when the village scorekeeper came out to call people to work.

The man came down the earthen slope and called out "Dad" to the old man when he saw him.

Then he walked up to Fang Yuan, extended his hand, and said with a smile, "Welcome to our Qin Family Village, leaders. I am Qin Youtian, the village chief of Qin Family Village."

"Hello, Village Chief Qin, my name is Fang Yuan."

Fang Yuan shook hands with him and found that Qin Youtian's hands were very rough but strong.