Chapter 49

"Xu Secretary, would you like some water?"

Seeing that Xu Junran had been silent for a long time and seemed somewhat distracted, Lin Yuqing couldn't help but ask.

Although she had only been working at the commune for a few days, she knew that Xu Junran's status was different now, and she should address him by his official title.

Xu Junran smiled bitterly. Lin Yuqing had only been working for less than a week, so how did she pick up these bureaucratic habits? He wasn't some high-ranking official, and she kept calling him "Xu Secretary," which made him feel uncomfortable.

"Yuqing, although I only worked with Xiaoyuan for two days, we can still consider ourselves friends, right?"

Xu Junran said to Lin Yuqing with a helpless but serious tone, "You're older than me, so it's fine for me to call you 'sister.' We're not at the commune now, so you don't have to be so formal and call me 'Xu Secretary.' When you do, I feel really uncomfortable. If you don't treat me as an outsider, you can call me 'Xiao Xu' or 'Junran.'"

"But..."

Lin Yuqing hesitated, wanting to say something, but Xu Junran interrupted her, "Don't forget, everyone in the county is saying you're my girlfriend!"

As soon as he said this, he knew it was a mistake. Sure enough, Lin Yuqing's face turned red, and she lowered her head, not saying a word.

During the conflict at Lin Yuqing's small restaurant with Qin Shou, they had kissed in front of Qin Shou to resolve the situation, but it had led to rumors.

Qin Shou's people didn't keep their mouths shut, and since Qin Shou was unhappy that Xu Junran had interfered, he decided to make the rumors even more widespread, spreading the story of Xu Junran and Lin Yuqing's relationship throughout the county.

In the early 1980s, relationships between men and women were not as open as they would later become. Even holding hands required a private place, let alone kissing in public. Moreover, Xu Junran was a graduate of a prestigious university, and Lin Yuqing was known as a "sweeping star" (a person who brings bad luck). This combination caused a stir in the otherwise peaceful Wude County.

Even when Xu Junran went to the county committee to get an introduction letter, Yang Weitian and Yan Wangsong asked him about it.

After Lin Yuqing started working at the Li Family Town Commune, many people believed that Xu Junran and Lin Yuqing were really involved.

Even the elders of the Li Family Town asked about it. Fortunately, after learning about Lin Yuqing's background, they only felt pity for her, rather than explicitly opposing the relationship. However, Li Youde occasionally arranged blind dates for Xu Junran.

Fortunately, Mr. Yin Yue intervened, believing that Xu Junran was a smart child who knew what he was doing, and that as an elder, it was better not to interfere too much. His words carried significant weight among the older generation in Li Family Town, even more so than Li Youde, the clan leader. As a result, the matter was only discussed as a scandal in the county.

Despite this, there was still a slight awkwardness between Xu Junran and Lin Yuqing.

At this moment, saying such a thing, how could any woman not feel embarrassed?

So, Xu Junran, who had a million troops in his heart, could only watch as the only person in the compartment who could communicate with him turned around and lay down on the bed, ignoring him.

Shaking his head and smiling bitterly, Xu Junran stood up, picked up the water kettle, and walked out. At this time, the train provided hot water, but passengers had to place their kettles in a specific spot at the door.

After getting hot water, Xu Junran returned to his bed, placed his hands behind his head, and carefully thought about what he needed to do in Beijing.

His arm touched the neatly packed bag, and feeling the contents inside, a smile appeared on his lips. This was the manuscript that he and Mr. Yin Yue had revised. Once it was taken to Beijing, it would definitely cause a stir.

And that was exactly what Xu Junran wanted.

After a short nap, he slowly opened his eyes. Turning his head, he met a pair of beautiful, dark eyes.

It turned out that Lin Yuqing had been awake for some time and was staring at Xu Junran's profile.

For a moment, Xu Junran thought she was going to say something, but when he opened his mouth, she turned her head away, leaving him with a beautiful long hair, leaving him puzzled. He could only sigh that women's thoughts were truly hard to guess, just as they were in his previous life.

Glancing at the slender figure lying on the opposite bed, Xu Junran couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. This woman was truly strange. She had just been talking to him, but now she was silent and unwilling to communicate. It was truly hard to understand.

Looking at the sky outside, Xu Junran got up and took out some food from his bag. The living standards at the time were still low, and even officials on business trips didn't have much in the way of good treatment. Xu Junran was fortunate; before leaving, he had taken some food coupons from Yan Wangsong's house and exchanged them for some pastries, as Yan Duoduo's parents were workers and had some extra money.

After eating a little, Xu Junran placed the remaining pastries on the table and coughed, "Yuqing, have some food. We still have a day of travel ahead."

No response...

Xu Junran shook his head helplessly and was about to sit down when, with a light sound, Lin Yuqing sat up on the opposite bed.

"Thank you, Junran..."

It seemed to have taken a lot of courage for Lin Yuqing to say this.

A smile appeared on Xu Junran's face. He knew this was a good start.

Next, Lin Yuqing, slightly blushing, ate dinner under Xu Junran's watchful gaze, while Xu Junran read the newspaper by the light.

Recently, discussions about the direction of economic construction and how to achieve modernization had become increasingly heated. At the beginning of the year, several leaders had expressed their views in different settings, but there were still many opposing voices, and the differences at the top were significant, especially regarding the economic special zones led by Pengfei City. Some even said that the special zones were adopting capitalist methods.

Seeing the different viewpoints published in the newspaper, Xu Junran frowned. The struggle in the realm of thought was indeed intense.

Time passed, and Xu Junran finished reading the newspaper. Just as he was about to speak to Lin Yuqing, he was stunned.

In the next moment, he felt a fire rise in his abdomen.

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(Friendly recommendation for two books: one is "Super Game" by Super Dumb Pig, an old author with a good book, though a bit lacking in integrity, you can check it out, book number 2454150.

The second is "Official Tactics" by Dog Paddle, which I won't introduce much, but it's one of the best books in the official literature genre, also by an old author with millions of words. If you're interested, give it a try.)

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