Chapter 26: Playing Dirty Behind Someone's Back

Qian Li said disdainfully, "People are still the same people; it's just a coincidence. You only see the people praising her, but why don't you look at how many people are cursing her?"

Lao Liang also felt that she was right; indeed, quite a few people had been criticizing her these past few days.

"But there is still a difference. The praise is given directly in front of the leaders, but as for the cursing—look, who dares to curse her to the leaders' faces? Besides, aren't there plenty of people cursing us behind our backs too?"

Qian Li said impatiently, "Alright, let's not talk about that unlucky thing."

She then turned to ask Liang Aishu, "What do you plan to do about Shen Yun?"

Liang Aishu looked up in a daze, seemingly unable to react.

For some reason, he no longer felt the same desperate longing as before.

Now, his mind was filled with nothing but Lu Qiaoge.

How had she changed so much?

She had changed in a way that caused a surge of resentment and indignation in his heart.

He even thought bitterly that if Lu Qiaoge had been like this sooner, how could they have ended up where they were today?

Frowning, he said, "I've discussed it with Shen Yun. We'll wait and see. Right now, we are in the eye of the storm; if we really get married now, there's no guarantee people won't criticize me."

Qian Li said indignantly, "If we're talking about Lu Qiaoge, she's just being immature. So what if she didn't save her first? Look at how she's acting out of jealousy, as if our Aishu has done something unforgivable. She doesn't care about our past relationship at all; she has no filter and went and told everyone. How does that benefit her?"

Liang Aishu said irritably, "I have to go to the office after dinner. Stop talking about her. It doesn't matter if we break off the engagement."

Lao Liang, however, asked hesitantly, "Is Representative Qin really going on a blind date with Lu Qiaoge?"

Liang Aishu immediately tightened his grip on his chopsticks.

Qian Li let out a sneer. "How is that possible? Has she even looked at her own character?"

Liang Aishu lost his appetite, put down his chopsticks, and left.

Qian Li fell silent, but after Liang Aishu left, she whispered to him, "Find a chance to call the higher-ups. Someone like Lu Qiaoge, who causes a massive amount of conflict through her work and constantly stirs up trouble and disunity, shouldn't be used. They should listen to the opinions of the masses comprehensively."

Consequently, Old Hu, who had just started work, received a call from a direct superior.

The person inquiring was about Lu Qiaoge.

"Although the candidate hasn't been finalized, someone as controversial as Lu Qiaoge should not be considered. In the end, it will affect unity."

Old Hu frowned and gripped the phone tightly, immediately realizing that Lu Qiaoge had offended someone.

But who could a young girl like Lu Qiaoge possibly offend?

Then he thought about it—this girl really had offended quite a few people.

But if that counted as "offending," they might as well stop doing their work at the Sub-district Office altogether.

Old Hu said into the phone, "Understood, understood. We will certainly listen to the opinions of the masses."

The man added a reminder, "Don't think that just because people are cursing her, she is bad. One must be able to accept criticism."

Then, he hung up.

Old Hu whispered about this to Huang Juan.

Huang Juan sneered, "There are plenty of people cursing us right now, and actually, even more people are cursing him. If we truly followed his words, we wouldn't bother working at all. Oh, and other departments shouldn't punish bad people either, right? What bad person is happy when they get punished?"

Old Hu quickly stopped Huang Juan's impromptu rant.

"I didn't say we'd listen to him. We will proceed with the selection as we always do."

However, Huang Juan felt it wouldn't be that smooth.

The job itself was already highly contested.

The final decision would only be made regarding the recommendation slots.

She had gone to great lengths to secure one because it was the first time Meng Xia had begged her.

For such a strong and self-respecting person to use flattering words to please her for the sake of her daughter—Huang Juan knew exactly how that must have felt.

To be honest, she hadn't held much hope for Lu Qiaoge.

But who would have thought that Qiaoge would actually give her such a stunning impression?

Huang Juan said, "We accept constructive criticism, but if we were to accept malicious insults and slander, we'd be purely insane and unworthy of serving the people here."

Old Hu choked on his words. "I'm not stupid!"

If he were easily swayed, he wouldn't have been working at the Sub-district Office for nearly thirty years with his level of seniority.

Just then, Director Hu saw Lu Qiaoge walking past the window.

He hurriedly opened the window and called out, "Qiaoge, come straight to my office."

When Lu Qiaoge entered the Director's office, she naturally reported the entire process of the exchange to him and Huang Juan.

After listening, Old Hu found there were no flaws and was quite satisfied, though he didn't offer verbal praise. He simply said to Lu Qiaoge, "I've set aside three pounds of eggs for you, along with some leftover supplies. Go to the storeroom with Xiao Cui first and pick a few things you like and need."

Since the exchange of supplies couldn't be done literally, there were indeed quite a few things left in the storeroom.

Lu Qiaoge didn't stand on ceremony this time. She chose a roll of cotton cloth, which was in short supply and required cloth coupons.

Huang Juan found a canvas bag for her to pack everything in. Lu Qiaoge said to Huang Juan, "Auntie Huang, I'll head home then."

Huang Juan thought for a moment and whispered a reminder, "Wait for news at home. It should be within the next few days."

Once Lu Qiaoge left, Old Hu said to Huang Juan, "Qiaoge has strong execution skills, solved the problem well, and even accomplished a major task. Now we just have to see how the others perform."

There were two days left; it wouldn't be long.

Huang Juan actually knew the progress of those people, but she didn't mention that their performance was inferior to Lu Qiaoge's.

She was actually a bit worried that Duan Xiaoxiang and Zhao Qing might play dirty.

And she couldn't completely ignore the phone call from the higher-ups.

***

Shen Yun had taken sick leave these past few days, but her heart was still filled with resentment.

That day, she thought Lu Qiaoge would be the one unable to hold her head up, but in the end, it was she who couldn't.

Thus, Shen Yun pretended to run into Duan Xiaoxiang.

The two of them chatted for a while before they were about to part ways.

Unexpectedly, Taogi Yan (Naughty Swallow) was taking his wife out for a stroll and happened to pass by, dropping a load of bird droppings along the way.

Not everyone could dodge it.

One person happened to get hit right on the head.

Shen Yun was so angry she stamped her feet.

Duan Xiaoxiang also cried out about her bad luck.

Having overheard quite a bit, Taogi Yan hurriedly flew to the Lu residence. Just as Lu Qiaoge was about to head out, he took the tabby cat to the large tree across the street.

【Shen Yun and Duan Xiaoxiang just said they were going to report your family for using "backdoor" connections to bribe Huang Juan for the recommendation slot. They also said they'd report you for using the Sub-district Office's name to carry out a vendetta, claiming you seriously undermined unity and are a "bad element" that should be arrested by the police. They even want to spread rumors, saying that your grandmother said Lu Qiaoge saved Qin Hengzhi and then touched and hugged him, so she should be responsible for marrying you, otherwise, you won't live...】

Lu Qiaoge was stunned. Good heavens, they even dragged her grandmother into this.

To be fair, it was quite a lethal combination.

So, when these two wrote their report, should she intercept it or notify Auntie Huang in advance?

Lu Qiaoge wasn't in a hurry.

After this exchange of supplies, she had a new idea.

She could completely suggest that Old Hu establish a voluntary community service station.

And she could even serve as the station master.

The kind that doesn't take a salary.

In these days before marketization, having more supplies at home meant a better life.

(End of Chapter)