Lu Weimin put down the phone and looked at his watch. In the afternoon, while Shen Zile was in a meeting, he still had to make a trip to the two townships in Baita.
The situation and data reported from Baita District did not match what he had. He needed to go and check it out on-site. Originally, there were only about 700 acres, but now it had suddenly increased to nearly 1,000 acres. The township said that because there were more seedlings, they expanded the scale and replanted some. However, the county agricultural bureau did not have this information. How could it have increased by 200 acres? This needed to be verified.
Although Shen Zile had told Lu Weimin that he could use Zhou Yuming's jeep if needed, Lu Weimin was quite sensible and took the bus to Baita. The county only had two Volgas, one old Shanghai, and one jeep, which were not enough even for the county leaders. As a small secretary, he knew his place. Even for urgent and important matters, he had to rely on himself. Thinking that he could use a car just by mentioning Shen Zile's name was too naive.
"Xiao Lu, Old Zhang at the gate said someone is looking for you," Zhou Jie from the adjacent office walked over and said seriously, "It's a girl, Xiao Lu. If you want to find a partner, I can introduce you. With your conditions, you can choose freely, but don't pick someone from the township. Otherwise, you'll be burdened for life."
"Zhou Jie, what's going on?" Lu Weimin was puzzled.
"Hmph, I saw the girl sitting in Old Zhang's guard room when I came in. She's quite pretty, but she must be from the township. How did you meet a girl from the township in just a few days? Finding a partner is a lifelong matter, so think carefully," Zhou Jie, who worked at the archives bureau, had a very leisurely job. Her knitting needles never stopped, and it was unclear where she got so many sweaters to knit.
"Really?" Lu Weimin was a bit confused. A girl from the township? He didn't seem to know any girls from the township. Could it be an old classmate? But he couldn't remember anyone contacting him, "I'll go see."
When he arrived at the guard room, Lu Weimin felt that the pretty girl sitting on the wooden bench looked familiar, but he couldn't immediately recall who she was. As he was thinking, the girl saw him and her face lit up with joy and excitement, "Comrade Lu!"
"Ah, it's you, Shi Mei?" Lu Weimin was pleasantly surprised. Looking at the girl's demeanor, it was hard to believe that this was the lifeless girl he had saved just half a month ago. Her lively eyes, straight nose, neatly tied ponytail, and the fringes on her forehead, along with her simple and clean floral blouse, although a bit old-fashioned, still couldn't hide her youthful and vibrant figure. However, her old sandals looked too worn and were a bit jarring.
"Comrade Lu, you remember me?" Shi Mei's eyes showed a mix of shyness and joy.
"Hehe, of course I remember. What brings you to the county?"
Later, Lu Weimin had also called Old Hu at the Shiqiao judicial office to ask about Shi Mei's situation. Old Hu said that Shi Mei was temporarily staying in the township and didn't want to go home, but her mood had stabilized. She wanted to go out and work, but as a single girl, she was probably a bit scared.
Lu Weimin told Old Hu that if Shi Mei really planned to go out and work, she should come to see him first. Seeing Shi Mei with a somewhat worn-out backpack, he guessed she was probably planning to go out and work.
"No, Comrade Lu, I..." The girl's face turned slightly red, and she lowered her head shyly. The officials were starting to come in for work, and the girl, who was probably visiting the county party committee and government compound for the first time, seemed a bit nervous.
"Okay, let's go to my office," Lu Weimin seemed to sense the girl's shyness and fear and smiled, "What's the matter? We can sit down and talk."
In the office, Lu Weimin poured a cup of water for the girl, and she quickly stood up, holding the cup with both hands.
"What's wrong, Shi Mei? Why are you so nervous? I'm not a tiger, sit down," Lu Weimin smiled and said, "Last time, Old Hu told me you wanted to go out and work?"
"Um, Comrade Lu..." Lu Weimin interrupted Shi Mei, grinning, "Shi Mei, you keep calling me 'Comrade Lu,' it makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not much older than you. You can call me Lu Weimin or just 'Brother Lu,' it sounds more natural."
The girl's cheeks turned red, her eyes full of surprise and joy, her lips trembling, and her voice quivering, "Can I call you Brother Lu?"
"Why not? What's the problem? It's a different era now, Shi Mei. You've finished high school, so why are you so reserved? How will you go out and work if you're like this?" Lu Weimin frowned, "Be more confident. No one is better than anyone else."
"Yes," Shi Mei, with tears in her eyes, quietly turned her head to wipe away the tears, and said timidly.
Lu Weimin pretended not to notice her small action and said naturally, "Do you really want to go out?"
"Yes, Brother Lu, you know my situation. My relatives can't tolerate me, and staying in the township is not a solution. I've been thinking about what you said that day. I've thought it through. I've already died once, so what else can I not let go of? Not for myself, but to be worthy of the life you saved, I've decided to go out and find a job."
Shi Mei took a deep breath. Only in front of this person did she feel like a human being. Only he treated her as a normal person, while others, including the township officials, seemed to fear being tainted by bad luck when they saw her. Thinking about this made her feel a lump in her throat.
"Shi Mei, going out and seeing the world is a good thing. Only by going out will you realize how narrow your world was, and you'll learn to cherish your life and everything that belongs to you," Lu Weimin thought for a moment and said, "Do you have any plans? Are you just going out aimlessly?"
"Brother Lu, I haven't decided yet. I just don't want to stay in the township anymore and cause trouble for Uncle and the others."
The "Uncle" in Shi Mei's words probably referred to Shi Chengtai. Lu Weimin thought for a moment. A girl who had never been out before going out blindly was indeed worrying. Human traffickers were everywhere, and a girl like Shi Mei, who had never seen the world, could easily be tricked and sold to places like Shanxi or Inner Mongolia. "Shi Mei, stay at the county guesthouse today. I'll help you contact someone. Tomorrow, you can go to Changzhou, and I'll have her pick you up. Then we can find a job for you."
"Brother Lu, how can I do that? You're so busy, it's too much trouble. I can manage on my own," the girl stood up, uneasy and shaking her head.
"Alright, consider me your brother. It's no trouble, just a small favor. My girlfriend is in Changzhou. When you get there, we can take it step by step," Lu Weimin waved his hand and glanced at the girl's worn-out sandals, "Let's go to the department store and get you a pair of shoes."
Brothers, where are your votes? We're falling behind, come on, vote!