dognovel Chapter 31 Meeting the Middle-Aged Bespectacled Man
Chapter 31 Meeting the Middle-Aged Bespectacled Man
Seeing that the middle-aged man with glasses and Zheng Ziqi had both left, Zhao Yuan stood up to go to the restroom.
"Comrade, where are you getting off?"
A middle-aged man with glasses asked.
"I'm going to Jinyang Station."
Zhao Yuan couldn't hold it in any longer, so he quickly went to the toilet.
Although the toilet was so dirty it was unbearable to look at, compared to the fear of dying from holding in one's pee, it was better to just bear with it.
After taking care of his urination, Zhao Yuan returned to his seat.
The middle-aged man with glasses simply didn't sleep, resting his hand on the small table and staring at the pitch-black outside.
"Only two stops left, I'm also going to Jinyang Station. Which part of Jinyang are you from?"
Upon seeing Zhao Yuan return, the middle-aged man with glasses started chatting with him.
"I'm from Daguang Commune."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Brother, are you also from Jinyang County? Which part of Jinyang County are you from?"
Zhao Yuan continued.
"What a coincidence! I'm also going to Daguang Commune in Jinyang County. I'm not from Jinyang County; I'm from Beijing. I'm here in Huacheng on business, and I was planning to go home after I finished, but a friend of mine is returning to the city recently, so I'm here to pick him up with his transfer order."
"That's what the man with glasses said."
"What a coincidence! May I ask what your friend's name is?"
Zhao Yuan asked, he had heard that Zhou Jiefang was also from Beijing, and among the educated youth from Beijing in Daguang Commune, Zhou Jiefang was the only person he knew.
"My friend's name is Gong Xianjin. He was an educated youth in Chijiaopen Village, Daguang Commune."
"That's what the man with glasses said."
“Oh, I don’t know Gong Xianjin, but I do know a sent-down youth named Zhou Jiefang, who also came from Beijing and was a sent-down youth in Chijiaopen Village. My home is very close to Chijiaopen Village, and you have to pass through our village to get to Chijiaopen Village.”
Zhao Yuan said.
"That's a great coincidence, comrade. May I ask where you work as a translator?"
A middle-aged man with glasses asked.
"I translated a few books for the county Xinhua Bookstore. It's only been a few days, so I don't know how well it will go."
Zhao Yuan said.
"You've arrived. Is someone there to pick you up?"
Zhao Yuan asked.
"I called one of my old comrades-in-arms before I came. He is in Jinyang County and will come to pick me up."
The middle-aged man with glasses said.
The two chatted for a while longer, and soon the announcement came over the loudspeaker: Attention passengers, Jinyang Station has closed. Passengers who are getting off the train, please take your luggage and prepare to disembark.
Hearing the announcement, Zhao Yuan, Zheng Ziqi, and the middle-aged man with glasses walked together to the exit. Not many people got off at this small station; there were only a few scattered people.
The three of them got off the car and walked together toward the exit. As soon as they reached the exit, they saw a familiar figure.
"Old Tian, Old Tian."
It turned out that County Chief Yang was waving in their direction.
"Old Yang, Old Yang."
The middle-aged man with glasses next to Zhao Yuan quickened his pace and ran towards County Magistrate Yang, then the two clasped hands tightly.
After the two greeted each other, County Chief Yang saw Zhao Yuan and Zheng Ziqi.
"Ziqi, Zhaoyuan, how did you two get together? Did you know each other before?"
County Magistrate Yang asked.
"No, we were seated next to each other on the train, and we just met."
The middle-aged man with glasses said.
"This is fate. Let me introduce you. This is my comrade-in-arms, Tian Zhenshan, the Party Branch Secretary of the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences."
County Chief Yang introduced them to Zheng Ziqi and Zhao Yuan.
"Old Tian, this is Zheng Ziqi, the factory director of Xiongxiong Fireworks Factory; this is Zhao Yuan, who is now our translator."
County Chief Yang introduced Zheng Ziqi and Zhao Yuan to Tian Zhenshan.
The three shook hands with each other.
Since the train arrived at Jinyang Station at 1:00 AM, the four of them walked together to the county guesthouse.
"Zhaoyuan, I'll take Lao Tian to Chijiaopen Village tomorrow. You can come with me."
County Chief Yang said to Zhao Yuan.
"County Chief Yang, I need to go see Director Tu first. Will that be too much of a hassle for you?"
Zhao Yuan said.
"It's okay, we'll leave at 9:00."
County Chief Yang said.
"Ok."
After Zheng Ziqi and Zhao Yuan shared a room, County Magistrate Yang also didn't go home; instead, he shared a room with Tian Zhenshan.
The next day, at 8 a.m., Zhao Yuan packed his things, discussed with Zheng Ziqi about going to Xiongxiong Fireworks Factory the next day to be in charge of packaging fireworks gift packages, and then headed towards Xinhua Bookstore.
Zhao Yuan bought two steamed buns from the steamed bun shop downstairs, ate them standing on the roadside in front of the shop, and then walked towards the Xinhua Bookstore compound.
Zhao Yuan arrived at the Xinhua Bookstore compound office building and went to Director Tu's office.
"dong dong dong"
Zhao Yuan knocked on the door of Director Tu's office.
"Come in."
Tu Chenglong's voice came from the office.
Zhao Yuan pushed open the door and went in.
"Director Tu."
Upon hearing Zhao Yuan's voice, Tu Chenglong quickly stood up and walked towards the tea table with a beaming smile.
"Brother Zhao, you've arrived! Please have a seat, please have a seat. Good news, good news!"
Zhao Yuan sat down on the stool opposite Tu Chenglong, opened his pocket and took out the translated documents.
"The higher-ups are very satisfied with your translation, praising it for being both accurate and neat, like writing on a blackboard."
As he spoke, Tu Chenglong handed Zhao Yuan a cup of fennel tea.
Zhao Yuan took the teacup, took a small sip (the tea was still hot), put the tea on the table, and handed the documents to Tu Chenglong.
"Director Tu, I've finished translating this one. There's another copy; I'll send it to you in a few days."
Tu Chenglong took the documents, looked through them, and then put them away in the cabinet.
"This is the translation fee, totaling 160 yuan. The translation fee varies depending on the content. For magazines and periodicals, it's calculated per article: five yuan per article under 3,000 words, and three yuan per thousand words for articles over 3,000 words. For foreign literature, it's four yuan per thousand words. For textbooks, it's five yuan per thousand words. Specialized translations are more expensive."
Tu Chenglong opened the drawer, took out an envelope, and handed it to Zhao Yuan.
"The translation workload is heavy now, and translators like you are rare. Experts from the province hope that you will do more translation work, so they brought back several translation materials for you this time."
As he spoke, he took out a thick brown paper bag from the cabinet.
Zhao Yuan took the envelope and put it in his backpack. Then he took the paper bag, opened it, and saw that there were two thick literature books inside.
Zhao Yuan put the paper bag away and put it in his bag.
Zhao Yuan drank all the tea leaves in the teacup and then put the cup down.
"Director Tu, I need to hitch a ride home with County Chief Yang, so I won't stay here any longer today. I'll treat you to a meal next time. If you come to my house, I'll cook for you myself."
Zhao Yuan stood up as he spoke.
"I don't have anything to do today, so I'll go with you. I also have something to report to County Chief Yang."
"Director Tu, could you do me a favor? Could you help me get some receipts? I need to buy some things to take back home; we don't even have enough bowls at home. It's better in the township; I know the people there, so I can buy things there even if I spend a little more money."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Sure, I'll introduce you to someone. You can just look for her when you go to the supply and marketing cooperative."
Tu Chenglong said.
The two left the Xinhua Bookstore compound and headed straight for the county supply and marketing cooperative.
Upon arriving at the county supply and marketing cooperative, Tu Chenglong was greeted with a smile by the sales clerk as soon as he entered.
"Director Tu, you're here to see Director Hou."
"Ah."
Tu Chenglong answered with a smile, then walked straight towards a room inside the supply and marketing cooperative.
After a while, Tu Chenglong came out, followed by a middle-aged woman.
“Brother Zhao, this is my wife, Hou Fengjiao, who is the director here. This is Zhao Yuan, whom I told you about.”
Tu Chenglong introduced the middle-aged woman following behind him to Zhao Yuan.
"Hello, Director Hou."
Zhao Yuan greeted Hou Fengjiao.
"Brother Zhao, take a look around and see what you need, then tell me."
Hou Fengjiao said with a smile.
"Okay, Director Hou."
Zhao Yuan was looking at the supply and marketing cooperative as he spoke.
Zhao Yuan bought some seasonings and a large cloth bag. He also found dried seaweed, kelp, and wood ear fungus, so he bought a pound of each. He also bought a piece of floral fabric.
After Zhao Yuan made his selection, Director Hou came over, spoke to the salesperson, calculated the price, and then paid for Zhao Yuan's purchase before Director Hou issued the receipt.
"Director Hou, thank you so much. I'm also sorry to have used your tickets. I hope it will affect your own shopping."
Zhao Yuan said embarrassedly.
“Brother Zhao, it’s alright. We have plenty of tickets, and many families can’t use them all, so I just accepted some.”
Hou Fengjiao said.
"Director Hou, could you help me buy some nationally valid tickets, or local ones are fine too? I'll pay you back later. I can't keep using your tickets for free."
Zhao Yuan said as he put everything into the bag.
Zhao Yuan picked up the bag and followed Tu Chenglong toward the county committee compound.
The two soon arrived at the county government compound.
The security guard recognized Tu Chenglong and quickly let him through.
Tu Chenglong and Zhao Yuan arrived at County Chief Yang's office together. The door to County Chief Yang's office was not closed, and Tian Zhenshan was also inside. County Chief Yang was processing documents.
"County Chief Yang."
Tu Chenglong still stood at the door and knocked.
County Magistrate Yang looked up and saw Tu Chenglong and Zhao Yuan.
"Jackie Chan, Zhao Yuan, you're here. Jackie Chan, what can I do for you? We're just about to head to Da Guang Commune."
County Chief Yang asked questions while looking at the documents.
"It's alright, I'll go to Daguang Commune with you, and I'll report some things to you then."
"County Chief Yang, Secretary Tian."
Zhao Yuan entered and greeted County Chief Yang and Tian Zhenshan.
"Zhaoyuan, you're here. Old Tian has been praising your translation skills all night. Young man, it's not easy to earn Old Tian's praise."
County Magistrate Yang bowed his head again, signed the document, and placed it beside the table. Then he packed his things and prepared to leave.
"Thank you, Secretary Tian. You flatter me."
"Okay, let's go."