Chapter Twenty: The Fragrance is Not Known by People

  Just over a month, the canning factory's reform has achieved results. The sales volume of the first month can basically offset the expenditure, with only a slight loss. For the first time, the workers in the canning factory received their wages at the end of the month. And the orders for the second month can ensure a slight profit, of course, this is under the condition that the profit of the big pineapple canned food is not calculated. Not only did the town's leadership team boost its morale, but also at the county committee meeting, Xiao Ri specifically praised Chenjiatun Town's reform work.

  Tang Yi also started to investigate another small paper box factory in the town, and at a meeting attended by village cadres, he asked village officials to emancipate their minds, encourage surplus labor to go out to work, encourage entrepreneurship, and promised that the Chenjiatun Industrial and Commercial Office would fully support individual businesses. If individual businesses encounter any difficulties, they can react to themselves.

  Tang Yi, in his spare time, also started taking correspondence courses at the county's radio and television university on Saturdays and Sundays. Tang Yi, of course, didn't want to read for a degree from the radio and television university. He had thought about it long ago. In the 1990s, the academic credentials faction gradually dominated various departments of the country. After some years, his party school diploma might not be enough. If he could get a master's degree in economics, it would definitely add points to his future evaluation. However, the party school undergraduate degree couldn't directly apply for an on-the-job master's degree. Tang Yi had no choice but to first take a correspondence course undergraduate degree and then pursue a master's degree from a prestigious university.

  Tang Yi was taking the spring semester of the Economics and Management major, which started in March. The classes were all scheduled on Sundays, with dozens of students watching pre-recorded teaching videos from the Open University. When Chen Ke heard that Tang Yi was going to take the Open University course, her mouth almost reached the sky as she said, "Even Open University students think they can be my teacher? I'm so ashamed of this person!" Tang Yi was so angry that his eyes rolled back in his head. Of course, Chen Ke had been saying such things, but over the past few days, she had come to admire Tang Yi's "learning" abilities from the bottom of her heart. It seemed that Tang Yi's claim of being a high school champion wasn't just bragging after all.

  On Sunday afternoon, Tang Yi slipped out of class after attending one lecture. In fact, many people didn't attend classes often, as long as they passed the exams, it was fine. This kind of outdated teaching method by recording made Tang Yi feel bored and uninterested. He even thought that the thin professor's theoretical level might not be higher than his own.

  Look at the watch, it's just past three o'clock. I strolled to Sanjie Street, which was the most prosperous area in Yanshan at that time. Department stores and shopping malls were all located at the intersection of Sanjie Street. The flow of bicycles was like the traffic flow of cars in later generations, endless. Tang Yi also chose the address of the KTV bar here, a three-story building with over 300 square meters of storefront, which cost only over 200,000 yuan, which is unimaginable in the new century. The storefront was filled with dust and smoke, with only a few workers rushing to work. As soon as Tang Yi entered, he was driven out by the workers as an idle person.

  At Longjing Restaurant, he didn't see Qijie either. Tang Yi was really bored and hurried to Yongsheng Building. The newly built building group were all five-story buildings with deep yellow walls. There were some flower pools between the buildings, but at that time, the environment was already very good. It's just that the mountain spring was cold, and the flower pool didn't see any greenery yet.

  Walking on the winding brick road in the building complex, counting the numbers of each building, this was Tang Yi's first time here. The selection of houses was all done by Qi Jie, who chose two suites: No. 11 and No. 38. One was located at the northernmost corner of the community, and the other was adjacent to the cement road on the south side of the community. This was also Qi Jie's consideration for Tang Yi, so that Tang Yi wouldn't run into Qi Jie's parents. Qi Jie only told her family that she had bought one suite, but her father still asked questions for several days. Qi Jie said she had made some money from doing business and borrowed 200,000 yuan from friends. The restaurant business was good, and the installment payments could be turned over. Qi Jun also helped to deceive, and finally fooled their parents.

  Building 38, No. 2 Gate, Room 301, still no sign of Qijie. Tang Yi walked down the stairs with a sullen face, wondering if she was at her parents' place? He then headed north, determined to find her today.

  Arriving at the foot of Building Eleven, Tang Yi was in a dilemma again. Can't just go up like this, right? Seeing Qi Jie's parents, what should he say? Should he say that you two are good, and your precious daughter is my girlfriend?

  Just then, a voice came from behind, "Make way! Make way!" This is a common phrase used by northern workers, meaning to hurry up and get out of the way, or you'll get dirty.

  Tang Yi hastily dodged to the side, and a worker wearing a blue labor uniform, carrying a bag of cement, squeezed over from behind. As he passed by Tang Yi's side, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and said in surprise: "Tang... Brother Tang?"

  Tang Yining looked over, the worker's head emerged from beside the cement bag, and only then did she see his eyebrows and eyes, but it was Qi Jun, only the handsome young man of the past was now wearing a dirty blue work uniform, hair and face full of dust, if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't recognize him at all.

  "Tang Ge, you're here to find my sister, right?" Qi Jun let out a "heh" and crouched down to slowly put the cement bag on the ground before standing up and wiping the sweat from his forehead, asking Tang Yi. It was clear that this job wasn't easy.

  Tang Yi patted Qi Jun's shoulder and laughed, "Junzi, it seems that your recent reform has been going well, your sister hasn't spoiled you for nothing." He then asked, "Is your sister upstairs?"

  Qizhun scratched his head and smiled: "Brother, I'm all listening to you. You tell me to go east, I won't go west. Wherever you point, I'll fight!"

  "Junzi! What are you doing?!" A loud shout came from behind, Junzi was startled and hastily said to Tang Yi: "Brother, my sister thought you had classes all afternoon and went shopping with Li Xiaocui. Never mind, I'm going up now, or the old man will nag again!"

  Tang Yi smiled and nodded, also seeing an old man turning around the corner of the building. The gray Lenin suit had worn-out elbows and knees, revealing white threads, his back was slightly hunched, his hair was graying, and there were obvious age spots on his face. He didn't look very spirited either. Tang Yi knew he must be Qi Jie's father and couldn't help but take a few more glances. Although the old man had a face full of wrinkles, looking at the outline of his face, one could vaguely see that he was once a handsome young man.

  "Junzi, who are you talking to? Are you lazy again? Is it easy for your sister to earn money? We can save if we can, look at you being called to do some work, you're not willing!"

  "No, Dad, this is just a friend of mine. We haven't seen each other for a long time and just chatted for a couple of sentences before you saw us! Have I been slacking off on my work these days?" Hearing his father scolding him in front of Tang Yi, Qi Jun felt a bit guilty, afraid that Tang Yi would have a bad impression of him.

  "Friend?" The old man sized up Tang Yi, thinking to himself that he must be another one of his son's friends. Tang Yi smiled and greeted him: "Hello, sir!"

  Qizheng shouldered the cement again and said, "Dad, let's go."

  "Come slowly, come slowly, Military son, aren't we short of manpower? Since he's your friend, help us out and do some work!" The old man's sudden suggestion almost made Qi Jun, who was using all his strength to lift a bag of cement, fall over. Qi Jun was increasingly aware that Tang Yi was no ordinary person, with an energy that wasn't normal, who could casually take out 500,000 yuan? At least in Yanshan, people like that could be counted on one hand, and someone as young as Tang Yi, it was unthinkable. When he heard his father ask Tang Yi to help with work, Qi Jun couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying: "What are you calling him for? I'm not familiar with him! Dad, I say, how can you still have the habit of ordering people around whenever you see them?"

  "Little rabbit!" The old man slapped Qi Jun's head, "If I don't beat you for a day, you won't sleep! Can't I order your friend around?"

  "You say, is it easy for your sister to make some money? If we find someone to do this decoration, it will cost several thousand yuan. What can we do ourselves, why find others! Nephew, what do you think?" The old man muttered, but in the end asked Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi smiled and said: "Uncle, you're right! I don't have anything to do either, so I'll just lend a hand. However, I'm not very good at doing chores, so please criticize and instruct me more often!"

  The old man laughed happily: "People, born to work, learn and will do it. Those who say they can't work are just excuses!" He turned to Junzi: "Quickly, bring the clothes from upstairs for your nephew to change into!"

  Before long, Tang Yi was already wearing a blue labor uniform, digging mud, moving bricks and carrying cement, doing a thorough job as a laborer. Qi Jun looked at Tang Yi running up and down the building with sweat dripping from his face, occasionally being scolded by the old man, but he still had a smile on his face. Qi Jun didn't know what to feel in his heart. If we say that before, Qi Jun still had some reservations about Tang Yi's relationship with his sister, then from now on, he truly accepted Tang Yi as his sister's boyfriend, and even if he were her husband, how many people could do things like Tang Yi?

  When the sky turned dark, Old Qi finally called a halt, smiling at Tang Yi who was covered in sweat: "This kid is better than Junzi, today Uncle will treat you to some good food, to comfort you!" And then to Qi Jun: "Go, call Little Xu and tell her we'll all go to your sister's place for dinner tonight."

  Qī Jūn glanced at Táng Yì's face and said: "What's the point of having a family dinner if he's not invited? Didn't my sister already tell you she looks down on him?"

  Old Qi glared: "You were told to hit, so just hit. So many useless words! Your sister is really something. With so many big girls vying for Little Xu's attention when he walks out, she doesn't think it's beneath her as a widow, and instead picks and chooses!"

  Qī Jūn saw Táng Yì slightly nodding, and only then responded with a sound, but in his heart he was blaming his old father for being muddled, wondering how to wrap things up later, this was truly a lively scene.

  ……

  Longjing restaurant has once again hung up the temporarily closed sign, when Qijie saw Tang Yi wearing a muddy work uniform and covered in dust appearing in front of her, she was startled. Hearing that his father had made Tang Yi do half a day's work, she felt both angry and amused, but her heart was sweet and pleasant.

  "Ah, Tang... is that really you?" Qi Lao and Qi Jie were busy preparing food, while Tang Yi casually sat down at a corner table and poured himself a cup of hot tea. After working hard all day, even the most ordinary jasmine tea tasted refreshing and invigorating. Just as he finished drinking a cup of hot tea, a soft voice came from beside him. Tang Yi turned his head to see a woman in a blue windbreaker staring at him in surprise. Her face was pretty, with red lips and white teeth. Tang Yi remembered her - she was Li Xiaocui, Qi Jie's sister-in-law from her previous marriage.

  Tang Yi smiled and nodded slightly, then whispered: "Don't mention that you know me later." Li Xiaocui looked at Tang Yi in surprise, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. She nodded repeatedly, but sighed inwardly. It's really hard for heroes to pass through the beautiful woman barrier. It seems that Secretary Tang is really fond of Qi Jie. To get along with his father-in-law, he actually went to do such dirty work as decoration.

  Li Xiaocui, in order to get close to Tang Yi, would often come to find Qi Jie to go shopping and chat. Today, after going shopping with Qi Jie, she heard that Tang Yi was in the county town. In order to show her face in front of Tang Yi, she followed Qi Jie back to the small restaurant, planning to eat there before leaving. However, when they saw Tang Yi, he didn't even have a chance to speak. It was clear that Tang Yi didn't want Qi's parents to know who he was and his relationship with Qi Jie. Li Xiaocui, being clever and tactful, understood the situation and after exchanging greetings with Tang Yi, she hurried to the kitchen to help Qi Jie, not forgetting to whisper a few playful jokes in her ear, saying things like "Secretary Tang really cares about you", which made her seem affectionate and pleased Qi Jie.

  A round table was filled with dishes, four meat and four vegetarian, several cold dishes, in the small bowl in the center of the table was a steaming hot Northeastern specialty dish, a stir-fry of beans, potatoes, vermicelli and large chunks of pork, the aroma wafting through the air, Tang Yi's mouth began to water at the smell, it had to be said that before, Tang Yi didn't like this kind of rough stew, but today he was too hungry from exhaustion.

  Qijie invited everyone to sit down at the round table, and when she called Tang Yi, she winked at him, making his heart beat wildly. But Qijie's father said, "Wait a minute, we're still missing one person, I'll call Little Xu!"

  Qijie was stunned, turned her head to look at Tang Yi, saw Tang Yi smiling at herself with a nonchalant expression, and couldn't help but glare at him. She scolded Qi Lao: "Why did you call him? He's always meddling in other people's business."

  Outside the glass door, someone was knocking on the door. The light from the restaurant shone through the glass door and reflected on the person's face. Tang Yi saw clearly that it was the young man who sat with Qi Jie and her family that day. He wore a black jacket, his hair was neatly combed, and Tang Yi especially noticed that his leather shoes were spotless, showing that he was a man of refined taste.

  The door opened lazily under the urging of Old Qi, and the young man walked in with a smile, greeting Old Qi and Qijie warmly. He leaned in close to Junzi's ear and whispered something, making Tang Yi chuckle. This kind of person is quite common, always knowing how to get by in social situations, but when it comes to achieving great things, they often fall short. It's as if their soul lacks a certain quality that great people should possess - perhaps it's a sense of integrity.

  When the young man saw Li Xiaocui, he was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed with some surprise: "Isn't this Sister Li? What are you doing here?"

  Li Xiaocui was also surprised and said, "Xu Zhengyang? What are you doing here? You're not thinking of...?" She turned her head to secretly glance at Tang Yi, thinking that this kid might also want to get in on the action.

  Old Qi said with a strange tone: "Huh, Little Xu, you know Little Li? Little Li is my daughter's friend, like close sisters." The old man was not yet senile and knew it wasn't good to reveal the relationship between them.

  Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "Uncle, I'm not doing business, am I? These past few days, I just happened to ask Li Jie's husband Zhao Ge to approve some steel materials for me. I was worried that Zhao Ge wouldn't agree, but since we know Qi Jie, it's like dealing with family, so things will be easier!"

  At that time, the market was not yet fully open, and steel and coal were among the state-controlled materials. Many businessmen or officials' relatives made a fortune by reselling these materials, and they were called "official speculators". The Construction Bureau to which Li Xiaocui belonged was one of the eight major bureaus at that time, and it was also benefited from being in charge of allocating these materials.

  Qijie's face sank after hearing Xuzhengyang's words, and she said coldly: "What are you talking about? You're you, I'm me. What family members? Don't let people misunderstand!" Qijie's father laughed and scolded her to smooth things over. Xuzhengyang smiled and didn't care about Qijie's sarcasm, looking very magnanimous, but in his heart he was secretly gritting his teeth, thinking: "Just wait until I catch you, then see how I'll deal with you!"

  Old Qi invited everyone to take a seat, the round table was very large and could easily accommodate six people. Old Qi arranged for Xu Zhengyang to sit next to Qi Jie. As soon as Xu Zhengyang sat down with a smile, Qi Jie stood up with a straight face and said to Qi Jun: "Junzi, come over and swap seats with me!" She then walked over and pulled Qi Jun up, sitting down in his seat, and naturally became neighbors with Tang Yi.

  Li Xiaocui smiled and said, "Then I'll change seats too. I'll sit next to Junzi." She moved one position over and sat down beside Tang Yi on the right side. Xu Zhengyang frowned, looking at Tang Yi's rustic appearance, dressed like a migrant worker, and felt a wave of annoyance. He thought to himself, "If I were sitting there, with Qi Jieqin on my left and Li Xiaocui on my right, it would be a great opportunity to build some connections. But this kid has taken my seat!"

  "Uncle, who is he?" Xu Zhengyang pointed at Tang Yi and asked Qi Lao Die. Qi Lao Die smiled and said: "Little Xu, he's a friend of the young master, I won't introduce you to him, just eat your food and don't mind him."

  Tang Yi did not expect that when he first met his "love rival", he would be in this state. He wasn't trying to disguise himself, but his clothes were packed in a plastic bag and he wanted to go back to the dormitory to wash up and change into clean ones.

  Xu Zhengyang is quite good at adjusting the atmosphere, constantly telling jokes and showing off his knowledge. At first, Li Xiaocui was deliberately trying to get close to him and listened with relish as he spoke grandly. But Xu Zhengyang suddenly said to Qi Jie: "Qi Jie, shall we go watch a movie tonight?" Li Xiaocui was stunned at that moment, and only then did she vaguely understand the relationship between Xu Zhengyang and the Qi family - it turned out he was pursuing Qi Jie! Looking at Tang Yi, Li Xiaocui felt a bit dazed. This Xu Zhengyang, isn't he just asking for trouble? In an instant, she had already struck Xu Zhengyang off her list of people to interact with, and sat up straight, no longer trying to humor him by asking him questions.

  Qijie smiled and refused, Xuzhengyang's heart was delighted, there's a show! Looking at Qijie's charming smile like a peony in full bloom, his bones felt lighter by several taels, with a somewhat floating feeling. He didn't know that Qijie's smile was because she was indulging in the fun of playing with Tang Yi under the table.

  Not long after they started eating, Qi Jie put her delicate black leather boots on Tang Yi's foot, who was wearing a pair of sneakers. On one side, Xu Zhengyang was talking loudly, while on the other side, Qi Jie's small feet were lightly tapping on Tang Yi's ankle, making him feel ticklish. After dodging several times, Tang Yi finally caught her feet with his own and they started playing foot tag, their laughter and conversation filling the air above the table, while under the table, it was a different story altogether.

  "Sister Li, what about the thing I told you? I heard Brother Zhao has entered the personnel department, with a high position and great power. This little matter of mine is just a matter of moving my lips, right? In the future, won't we be able to get along well and benefit each other? It will definitely be worth it for you, Sister Li!" With an air of self-satisfaction, Xu Zhengyang continued to persuade Li Xiaocui.

  Li Xiaocui's face sank, and she said coldly, "What are you talking about? Are you eager for my husband to make a mistake? Let me tell you, Xu, the allocation of national materials is related to the country's economy and people's livelihoods, it's related to national construction! Not to mention Zhao Shan wouldn't embezzle public funds for personal use, even the leaders of the Construction Bureau aren't so muddled!"

  Li Xiaocui suddenly turned her face, severely scolding Xu Zhengyang, making Xu Zhengyang confused and wondering what was going on. He thought to himself, "Is it necessary to make a big fuss about this? If you don't want to give it, just say so, why bother with grandiose speeches?"

  "Come on, Li and Xu, let's not talk business today, just drink!" said Old Qi, raising his cup.

  Li Xiao-li immediately put on a smiling face and nodded: "Uncle is right, I like chatting with Uncle."

  Xu Zhengyang, who had just suffered a setback, was somewhat disinterested. He no longer spoke at length, but instead chatted idly with Old Qi, drinking his wine in large gulps.

  Qiji sighed inwardly, thinking to himself: "Xu Ge, Xu Ge, I really want to call you brother now. Today, you'll just have to take a loss, who told you to not understand the situation? Qiji saw clearly that Li Xiaotui would always lightly turn the round table after Tang Yi had taken a few bites of food in front of her, seemingly unintentional, but Qiji guessed that she was actually helping Tang Yi, indirectly trying to please him. Having seen her proud demeanor when facing his own family members before, and now seeing her behavior today, Qiji couldn't help but sigh again, deeply pondering the words Tang Yi had once spoken to him.

  "Brother! Go out and buy a pack of Hongtashan for your brother! I'm troubling you!" Xu Zhengyang threw the crumpled up empty cigarette box into the wastebasket in the corner, took out a 10-yuan bill and put it on the round table. With a flick, the bill landed in front of Tang Yi.

  Qijie and Li Xiaocui were stunned, while Tang Yi just smiled and picked up the money, saying: "I'm not giving you any change!"

  Xu Zhengyang waved his hand indifferently, and Qi Jie snatched the money from Tang Yi's hand with a smile. "I'll go buy it." Xu Zhengyang was overjoyed in his heart, thinking to himself that something must be wrong with this beautiful woman today. Could it be that she had really taken a liking to him, or else why would she be so attentive towards him?

  Qijie walked out with a swaying waist, and Tang Yi also stood up, smiling: "I'm full too, Uncle. I'll leave now! If there's any work to be done, just have Junzi call me and I'll come immediately."

  Old Qi laughed with a blooming face and nodded repeatedly: "Well done! This kid is really likable! Junzi, send them off!"

  Carrying a plastic bag full of clothes, Tang Yi rushed out of the small restaurant and quickly caught up with Qi Jie, who was walking ahead with a gentle and elegant gait. Qi Jun wisely retreated back into the house and closed the glass door.

  Qijie's black high-heeled ankle boots were exquisite and tall, making her almost as tall as Tang Yi. Tang Yi placed his hand on Qijie's shoulder, but she dodged to the side with a jolt, laughing sweetly: "What are you doing? Aren't you afraid of being seen?"

  The restaurant was in a small alley off the main street, where the streetlights filtered through the leaves of the paulownia trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The light was dim, and there were no pedestrians around. Táng Yì looked at Qí Jié, who was smiling like a flower, and felt a surge of resentment in his heart. How could someone be so unyielding as a lover? He couldn't even get a hug from her. After that night, Qí Jié seemed to be afraid of getting close to him, and whenever he tried to hold her hand, she would pull away awkwardly, as if he were a tiger.

  As soon as they left the alley, the streetlights on the main street suddenly lit up, shining brightly like daylight. Qijie smiled and said goodbye to Tang Yi, preparing to turn into a small shop at the corner of the street. Suddenly, Tang Yi hugged her tightly and kissed her tender face fiercely, then laughed loudly and ran away.

  Next to them were several pedestrians, staring blankly at the scene that had just occurred. What was this? A peasant worker molesting a beautiful woman? If it weren't for Qi Jie seeing Tang Yi's back with a gentle expression on his face, someone would have already shouted "Catch the pervert!" However, Qi Jie didn't notice, and behind her in the dim alleyway, there was a pair of eyes filled with resentment.