Chapter 51: Every Word is a Trap

Xia Juan was stopped by her colleague Gao Lan, forcing her to swallow the sharp questions she had prepared.

By the time she regained her composure, her expression had soured.

It seemed their visit had turned into a joke.

If Gao Lan could see through the situation, how could she not?

For a moment, she stood awkwardly in the Lu family courtyard, unsure whether to stay or leave.

Old Lady Lu gave a cold snort and asked the two, "What else do you want to ask me?"

Xia Juan shook her head, only able to say dryly, "No... nothing."

What was the point of asking the old lady? Hadn't they seen that Representative Qin was already calling her Grandma Lu?

Old Lady Lu rubbed her forehead and said impatiently, "Qiao Ge, you host the guests. I have a headache and am going to lie down in the room for a bit."

Xia Juan and Gao Lan exchanged a glance; the old lady was advanced in years, and it wouldn't be good if they caused her any distress.

Lu Qiao Ge's eyes flickered, and she stepped forward with a beaming smile. "I don't know which units you two comrades are from yet. Let me introduce myself first. I work at the Sub-district Office, my name is Lu Qiao Ge."

Xia Juan had no choice but to state her and Gao Lan's names and their respective units.

Lu Qiao Ge said warmly, "So you are comrades from the Women's Federation. You've come a long way, thank you for your hard work. Please, sit down and have some water."

As she spoke, she moved to pour water for them.

Gao Lan hurriedly stopped her. Lu Qiao Ge had indeed passed the exam for the Sub-district Office; the rumors were true.

"No need to trouble yourself, we should be going."

How could Lu Qiao Ge let them leave just like that? She retracted the smile from her face and said, "I was at the door just now and overheard a bit. Could you tell me why you came to my house looking for my grandmother?"

Xia Juan remained silent, but Gao Lan was quite straightforward and stated the purpose of their visit.

Lu Qiao Ge frowned. "This person is clearly stirring up trouble to sabotage the relationship between comrades. If Representative Qin hadn't happened to pass by, my grandmother might have been smeared with filth."

"It was a misunderstanding. We are sorry, Comrade Lu," Gao Lan apologized proactively.

"I wouldn't dare say someone is using you or the Women's Federation as a weapon, but it's close. My grandmother had no such intentions and never said a single improper word, nor did my family. But for you to come here with such serious accusations is quite excessive. When my father returns tonight, I will certainly mention this to him. Although he is just an old worker without power or influence, he should be able to report to the factory director that someone is framing and slandering people, right?"

Xia Juan was stunned and hurriedly said, "But we already said it was a misunderstanding."

Lu Qiao Ge shook her head. "We can't just let the person spreading these rumors go. What if this person is a local spy with ulterior motives, aiming to sabotage the relationship between the military and the people? Would you still call it a misunderstanding?"

A local spy?

Both women's faces paled simultaneously.

"As you know, my father is a Grade 7 worker in Workshop One, and Workshop One is a key workshop. I won't say his welding skills are legendary, but they have been specifically praised by Representative Qin and the high-level leaders."

Gao Lan immediately said, "When your father returns tonight, tell him. We will certainly handle this seriously and root out the person spreading these rumors."

Lu Qiao Ge smiled faintly.

Would they handle it seriously?

Unlikely.

Since Deputy Director Lin heard about this, it certainly wasn't just some random lady on the street, was it?

Let them make a scene; once a scene is made, it becomes easier to handle.

***

Once the two had left, Old Lady Lu scurried out to check on Lu Qiao Ge.

Lu Qiao Ge was washing the muddy paws of a tabby cat. After washing them, she wiped them clean with an old towel before letting it down to eat fish.

Nowadays, almost no cats or dogs were pampered. This tabby had previously belonged to Engineer Chen, but after he was transferred, it was abandoned—a similar fate to the old black cat.

Xiao Si brought over Huahua's special chipped large bowl and placed a few small, motionless fish inside.

The rest were picked up by Lu Qiao Ge and poured into a large basin of water in the shade.

Old Lady Lu hesitated, seemingly wondering how best to ask her questions.

Lu Qiao Ge still had to write her proposal to hand to Director Hu in the afternoon.

She said bluntly, "Grandma, Qin Hengzhi must have known in advance that the Women's Federation was coming to talk to you. He didn't want the situation to escalate, so he decided to come to our house personally. There is no better way to prove the truth than by showing up, right?"

Old Lady Lu glanced at her second granddaughter, thought for a long while, and ultimately shook her head, deciding not to press further.

Meng Xia was not at home. Although she had filled out the forms, she still felt uncertain, so she had taken Lu Qiao Ling to the First Residential Committee to glue cardboard boxes.

Su Hui was cooking. Although the Lu Da couple had instructed her not to take on extra odd jobs, how could Su Hui sit idle? She had started preparing lunch early.

There were mixed-grain steamed buns, cabbage and tofu soup, and a plate of sliced salted vegetables.

Seeing Lu Qiao Ge enter, Su Hui said hurriedly, "Qiao Ge, don't bother. Just do what you need to do."

Lu Qiao Ge asked with concern, "Sister-in-law, how are you feeling? Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

Su Hui shook her head quickly. "This is already very good."

By the standards of an ordinary family nowadays, this was actually quite good.

Lu Qiao Ge said with a smile, "Once I'm not busy, I'll go to Guzi Village and get you something delicious."

Lu Qiao Ge wasn't just talking. When she handed the proposal to Old Hu, she had already thought about what the service station's first task should be.

This is what she told Old Hu

"Director Hu, I've looked into it. Approving this kind of grassroots spontaneous organization without official establishment is very simple; it just needs your consent. I want to report to you first regarding what our first task will be once the service station is established."

Old Hu held the three-page proposal in his hand, forced to admit that Lu Qiao Ge's penmanship was truly excellent.

But strictly speaking, this was the first time he had ever seen a formal proposal.

The service station wasn't even a reality yet, and Lu Qiao Ge already had things to do?

Old Hu grew interested. "Then tell me."

This girl—he didn't know where she got these ideas from, but she made him feel like he was struggling to keep up with the times.

"My plan for the first task is to organize a 'People's Service Fair' for the Xiangyang Sub-district Office, lasting for three days. We can cooperate with the commune members of Guzi Village. It will still be in the form of bartering, but this time it will be face-to-face. The exchanged goods must pass your audit and approval before trading. We will set the trading standards in advance to prevent conflicts over the quantity of goods. Of course, all of this is predicated on your approval of the service station's establishment."

Old Hu felt his scalp tingle.

In all his years of working, everything had always been done step-by-step according to regulation.

This was the first time he felt like he was doing something that didn't follow the rules.

Lu Qiao Ge continued, "Director Hu, the return of educated youth to cities and the increase in unemployed youth are undeniable facts. Therefore, our Sub-district Office must think ahead. However, even if approved, without a salary, official status, or benefits, it will basically be voluntary service. How many people do you think will sign up? Therefore, when the time comes, Director Hu, you will have to lead by example and call your second son back to help build his hometown. Of course, I will definitely sign my sister up."

Director Hu gripped the proposal tightly.

He felt that every word from Lu Qiao Ge was a trap, as if she were just waiting for him to jump in.

If he called his second son back, wouldn't his old wife cry with joy?

In the end, Director Hu told Lu Qiao Ge to hurry back to her investigations while he went to discuss it with Deputy Director Huang.

Director Hu's heart was pounding. Factory Director Hao had asked him to observe Lu Qiao Ge's character; how was he supposed to report back in a week?

(End of Chapter)