Chapter 51: New Job

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: New Job

Su Wan suppressed her excitement and tried to remain rational. "Political Commissioner Lin, was anyone hurt?"

Political Commissioner Lin smiled kindly. "You’re asking about Xiao Lu, aren’t you? Don’t worry. They were still several miles away when they came across it."

At this, Political Commissioner Lin felt a wave of relief. He had previously thought Lu Zhengchuan’s group wouldn’t pass through this route. Who would have thought they would change their path after encountering a landslide on their original route.

They ended up taking the national highway instead.

If Su Wan hadn’t happened to report this information...

The troops passing through that section would have very likely suffered immense casualties.

Fortunately, they had remained vigilant about landmines over the years, never overlooking any possibility.

Hearing the definitive news, Su Wan relaxed completely and murmured under her breath, "As long as they’re okay."

"Comrade Su Wan, the credit for this goes to you. Here are your medal and bonus." Political Commissioner Lin handed her the two items.

It was fifty yuan!

As for the medal, its value in the military was self-evident.

This was a completely unexpected delight. "Political Commissioner Lin, this..."

"Comrade Su Wan, don’t refuse. This was arranged by all the leaders according to regulations. It’s not a personal decision of mine. You can accept it with peace of mind."

"Oh, right. Here’s the subsidy from the military for getting into university—two hundred yuan in total. There’s also an open-ended train ticket. Take it to the train station, and you can exchange it for a ticket on the next available train to the Capital."

Su Wan was overwhelmed, saying honestly, "I’m so grateful to the military."

Although she had heard Sister-in-law Zhang mention the subsidy before, Su Wan had thought it would take a long time to process. She figured she might have already left the military base and registered at Jing University by the time it came through.

"Comrade Su Wan, the military welcomes any well-founded reports," Political Commissioner Lin said with a smile, his admiration for Su Wan clear.

Su Wan was smart and understood his meaning after a moment’s thought. Her impression of the military leadership improved. "Thank you, sir."

"Actually, regarding the design of mine detectors, I have some ideas."

"Oh?" Political Commissioner Lin’s eyes lit up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"As you know, I did well in every subject in high school, and I was accepted into Jing University’s physics program."

"That’s right." Political Commissioner Lin nodded in affirmation.

Su Wan said, "When I was in the village, I often read newspapers from various places, so I have some understanding of the national situation."

"By chance, I found a tattered book on physical mechanics at a scrap station. It covered all sorts of machinery."

"I studied some of it on my own."

"Regarding our country’s current mine detector models, they are based on the Northern Country’s IMPI series and have quite a few flaws... In fact, the most critical issue is how to solve the integration of the ground-penetrating radar module..." Su Wan spoke eloquently and naturally about the relevant technology.

Although Political Commissioner Lin’s main role was in ideological work, he was also exceptionally knowledgeable about the military’s equipment. The more he listened, the more he felt that what Su Wan was saying was crucial.

"Comrade Su Wan, would you be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement? I can arrange for you to go to the relevant research department."

"Don’t worry, it’ll be considered a special assignment. You can leave once you’ve made your contribution. It won’t delay your university studies."

Su Wan thought for a moment and asked, "In that case, could I request another open-ended train ticket as a reward?"

"However, this is just a proposal. There are still some issues to be discussed regarding the use of DSP for dual-sensor signal fusion processing. It’s only an initial idea of mine."

Although Political Commissioner Lin didn’t understand these research problems, he felt that the research institute would definitely be eager to have someone with such talent.

"Of course, no problem." Political Commissioner Lin readily agreed and even immediately arranged for Xiao Liu to prepare a ticket for her.

Su Wan returned home with her rewards.

Zhang Yun and Zhao Qing were still busy.

Su Wan took a look. The remaining squat toilets would probably only take another two or three days to finish.

So she simply asked Zhao Qing to work overtime with her.

"Sister-in-law, you’re working too hard. There’s no rush, we can just take our time." Zhang Yun’s round face scrunched up into a ball, her features almost disappearing, as she saw Su Wan still firing the kiln at night.

Su Wan didn’t listen to her. Instead, she turned her head and asked, "When are you going back to the village?"

Zhang Yun’s face fell. "Sister-in-law, are you still mad at me? I really haven’t forgiven Zheng Zhizhi. Please don’t kick me out."

Su Wan gave her a speechless look. "Didn’t you say before that you were only staying in the compound for a few days? The Zheng Family’s case is over, aren’t you going back?"

"But my mom told me to stay here and take care of you." Zhang Yun subconsciously threw Aunt Zhang under the bus.

Su Wan frowned. She had thought Aunt Zhang was just making a casual remark when she’d said she might come to take care of her personally in the later stages of her pregnancy. After all, it was unlikely she could leave her work in the village.

Who knew that the plan from the beginning had been for Zhang Yun to stay long-term, and they hadn’t even told her.

"...If you want to stay, then stay."

Su Wan had to admit that Zhang Yun did indeed take good care of her.

And she was reasonably obedient.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law." Zhang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. ’My cousin even told me to take good care of Sister-in-law,’ she thought. ’If I just left like this, he’d definitely scold me.’

Su Wan was unaware of her little schemes.

After two more days of hard work, she finished firing all the squat toilets and ceramic bowls. She paid Zhao Qing twelve yuan for her labor and earned seventy-two for herself.

"Sister-in-law, are we eating fish again today?" Zhang Yun asked, feeling a pinch as she waited for Xiao Li to arrive so she could give him money for groceries.

Although Su Wan had given her fifty yuan and some ration tickets all at once, they had already spent half of it in just half a month. Her hands trembled a little at the thought. ℯℯ𝘭.

Back in the village, her family’s annual income was just over a hundred yuan. They were lucky if they could eat meat three times a year.

Now, cooking for Su Wan, not only was there always an egg at every meal, but meat and fish were also staples.

Su Wan hadn’t come out of the house yet.

Just then, Zheng Qing, who was passing by the Lu Family’s doorway, overheard this. Her voice instantly rose. "My, oh my, whose family is this? Eating fish at every meal, how extravagant!"

Some passing family members from the compound looked over curiously.

Su Wan happened to walk out just then. Hearing the comment, she looked at the woman. "Oh, it’s Sister-in-law Zheng. Do you want to buy some fish too?"

"Buy fish?" Zheng Qing clicked her tongue and said sarcastically, "I can’t afford it. It’s so expensive—over a yuan for a single fish. Who can afford to eat it at every meal? Which family is that well-off?"

"Oh, so Sister-in-law Zheng is dissatisfied with Captain Xu’s stipend being too low?"

"Telling me about it is useless. Why don’t you go to the military leadership and file an application?"

Zheng Qing’s face turned ashen from the retort. She felt Su Wan was mocking her husband for not being as capable as Lu Zhengchuan. After fuming for a moment, she squeezed out, "What a sharp tongue."

"No wonder you can win over so many people. I bet that money comes from the family members who bought your ceramics, doesn’t it?"

"Who would have thought firing those little things would be so profitable." Zheng Qing couldn’t stand seeing Su Wan living well and deliberately tried to turn the other families against her. "How can you make so much money off of everyone? People are usually so nice to you, yet you take advantage of them by charging such high prices."