After Xu Dong arrived home, Yang Lina saw that it was past nine o'clock and couldn't help complaining:
"Isn't it just a meal? Why did it take so long?"
"We talked about some work matters." Xu Dong simply replied.
Xu's mother ran over in slippers and asked, "Where's the rice? Have you pulled it back?"
Seeing the increasingly serious drought, Xu Ma had been concerned about food for a long time. Especially after suffering the loss of selling meat, her anxiety became stronger day by day.
"I brought it back. There are 15 bags weighing 750 kilograms in total in the car."
Xu Ma quickly opened the car door and took a look, and kept nagging:
"It's because the section chief is so capable that he got so much rice for you all at once. Everything you do these days depends on connections.
Fortunately, I found your Aunt Wang, otherwise you wouldn't have had such a job opportunity. Without this job, you wouldn't have been able to get so much rice..."
It was an old tune again. Xu Dong felt a little confused, so he quickly interrupted: "Mom, where do you put this batch of rice?"
"Let's put it in the basement. There are so many rats in the kitchen recently that we can't put anything in it," Xu's mother replied.
Due to drought and water shortage, many birds, insects and wild animals have begun to migrate to cities frequently.
On his way to work every day, Xu Dong would see many small animals crushed by wheels, including weasels and various snakes, but the ones that died the most were rats.
"Huahuatwei, didn't you catch a mouse?" Xu Dong frowned.
Yang Lina sighed and said, "It's not the fault of your two precious daughters. They thought it was too dirty for Huahua to catch mice, so they simply locked Huahua in a cage and didn't let him come out to catch mice."
"Forget it, the mice carry viruses, so it's better not to catch them." Xu Dong quickly made an excuse for himself.
Next, without spending much time, Xu Dong drove the forklift to transport the rice into the basement, and then inspected the warehouse again to see if any mice had sneaked in.
The result was okay, no traces were found.
After three days of this, Xu Dong's peaceful life was broken again. Xiang Xin, who had always been carefree, suddenly announced that she was getting married and invited everyone in the security department to attend her wedding.
The wedding was in a hurry, it was the next day.
Although Xu Dong was not very interested in the inside story, he couldn't bear Gao Yuemei's enthusiasm for gossip.
"Xiaoxiang and her partner have been dating for two or three years. They were planning to get married by the end of the year. But I didn't expect that her boyfriend would be transferred to Dianzhou urgently and might not be able to come back during the Chinese New Year. That's why the wedding was held in such a hurry."
Xu Dong asked curiously: "What does her boyfriend do?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that her partner is considered a member of our profession and is a police officer."
"Police? Did he go to Dianzhou for business? Why did he travel so far?" Xu Dong asked doubtfully.
Dianzhou is far away on the border of southern Xinjiang, more than 2,000 kilometers away from Yanjing. For no reason, there are generally few intersections between the two places.
"Xiao Xu, haven't you watched the news recently?" Gao Yuemei said in surprise.
"There are a lot of things going on at home recently, so I don't have much time to watch TV." Xu Dong made an excuse at random.
The real reason is that he has recently become obsessed with a very exciting novel. He reads it at work and at home, so that he is not interested in any major news events.
"No wonder." Gao Yuemei later explained: "A lot of refugees have appeared in Dianzhou recently. If you haven't watched the news, they are all over the mountains and plains. The local police force is not enough, so we can only deploy personnel from all over the country to support them."
"Well, Xiang Xin's boyfriend is really unlucky." Xu Dong said with emotion.
He had heard about the refugee crisis in southern Xinjiang in his previous life. It seemed to have lasted for several years, and it was not until the establishment of the "Asian Alliance" that it was finally resolved.
"Isn't that right? Only more than 200 people were selected from the entire Yanjing area, and they were still selected. It is said that the groom is leaving that night, but it has made Xiang Xin miserable." Gao Yuemei looked sympathetic.
It is difficult for outsiders to comment on this matter, so Xu Dong quickly changed the subject: "Sister Gao, how many red envelopes are you going to give?"
"Just pay 5,000 yuan." Gao Yuemei thought for a while and said.
This amount fully takes into account the current price level. Last year, 1,800 yuan would have been more than enough.
"Okay, then I'll pay you 5,000 yuan, too."
…
After get off work the next day, Xu Dong went to the nearby Ruian Hotel with his colleagues. This was his first wedding since his rebirth.
Although Xiang Xin's wedding was held in a hurry, the standard was not low at all, which can be seen from the location of the wedding.
Xu Dong looked around and saw that there were at least two to three hundred people at the wedding, at least one-third of whom were wearing police uniforms.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the wedding officially started.
The wedding officiant is said to be a TV host, and he is very good at activating the atmosphere at the scene. He made the whole wedding warm and romantic, making the bride shed tears several times.
In the middle of the process, Section Chief Li, as a witness to the wedding, came on stage and delivered a speech. He spoke for half an hour at a stretch, which made Xu Dong feel embarrassed.
Next it’s banquet time.
Perhaps to avoid being criticized for being extravagant and wasteful, the food on site was not very sumptuous. Each table had ten dishes and one soup, and the only meat dish was a braised fish.
Soon the bride and groom came over to toast, and Xu Dong also took the opportunity to send his best wishes.
"Xiao Xiang, Xiao He, I wish you a long life together and a son soon."
"Thank you, Brother Xu."
At the end of the banquet, Section Chief Li and several older colleagues were all drunk, and Xu Dong had to act as a driver to take these people home one by one.
After helping Section Chief Li upstairs, the other party suddenly said: "Xiao Xu, did you know that Xiang Xin's husband took the initiative to apply to go to Dianzhou?"
"Uh, really?" Xu Dong was surprised.
"It's true. I heard what their chief said. There is a shortage of police forces in Dianzhou right now. As long as you are willing to stay there for three years, you can get a job when you come back. Do you know what this means?"
"What does it mean?" Xu Dong cooperated.
"It means that it took him three years to reach the level I am now. Sometimes I think about it, it's really unfair, why didn't I get such a good opportunity when I was young."
Section Chief Li seemed to have drunk too much, and even cursed.
Xu Dong consoled him: "Uncle Li, our company is not bad at all. How many people want to join but can't, why do we have to compare ourselves with others!"
"Xiao Xu, you don't understand. There is no future in our company as a security guard. If you have the opportunity, you must jump out. The outside world is very big." Chief Li advised earnestly.
"Yes, yes, let's go inside first!" Xu Dong said perfunctorily.
He had already planned to retire in the electric power company without any trouble in his life.
If we can arrange for several children to join the electric power company, it will really be a complete meritorious deed.
"Bang bang bang..."
"Who?"
"Aunt Li, this is Xiao Xu. I sent Uncle Li back. Uncle Li is drunk." Xu Dong shouted.
Aunt Li's nagging voice came from inside the house: "Okay, why are you drinking? You don't pay attention to your health at all."
The door opened, Xu Dong helped the person into the house, then said hello to Aunt Li and said goodbye, mainly to avoid suspicion.
Aunt Li is actually not that old, she is in her thirties, has an oval face, and is very beautiful. She is the second wife of Section Chief Li.
Every time Xu Dong comes over, he can't help but sigh: "The pigs can't get enough of the good cabbage!"