Chapter 21: The Willow is Dark and the Flower is Bright

  Today is Saturday, Zhang Tong got up unusually early and said hello to his mother before going out. As for Zhang's father, he drove out at 6 o'clock in the morning.

  Zhang Tong's goal for today was the large-scale talent exchange conference (commonly known as a job fair) held in Daxiang City this year. It just so happened that on Friday afternoon, Zhang Tong saw the notice posted by the city, with densely packed recruitment positions, educational requirements, and salary treatments filling two large sheets of paper. Realizing this was an opportunity, Zhang Tong secretly took note of it in his heart.

  Today's venue is arranged in the square outside Shanxi Provincial Library, and when Zhang Tong arrived, it was already crowded with people, with heads swaying like Labour Day on Wuyi Road.

  After walking around, the form was not filled out, and there were no families who signed on the spot. The current employment situation is like this, Zhang Tong cares most about a position in JD Mall: bulk cargo delivery. This job is to deliver goods to JD's delivery points for various online stores in Daxian City, and then have each delivery point send the goods to customers' hands.

  No need for Zhang Tong to do anything, just drive around the city. The other party requires more than three years of driving experience, a college degree or above, and a statistics-related major. Zhang Tong happens to meet all the requirements. Unfortunately, the other party did not immediately confirm, but seeing that Zhang Tong looks pretty good, like a little beauty, the HR in charge promised to arrange an interview within 2 days.

  People crowded, hot and sweaty, Zhang Tong didn't plan to move on anymore. All possible positions had been applied for, and moving on would be a waste of time. His jacket was too hot to wear, so Zhang Tong took it off and tied it around his waist. The sleeves of the thin sweater inside were also rolled up, making his chest look even more prominent and full.

  Zhang Tong was about to hide in the shade of the library stairs to sit for a while, when he instinctively felt a gaze focusing on his chest, and turned back angrily, only to see Gao Xiang licking his lips with a sly expression.

  Gao Xiang was one of the auxiliary police officers who escaped during the 4.12 case and came to find work. This kid is only 17 years old, and usually has a good relationship with Gao Xiang. Today, he called Gao Xiang to come along and boost his confidence. The lecherous Gao Xiang saw Zhang Tong and immediately forgot about his companion, following Zhang Tong out of the venue with a flushed face.

  On the way, Gao Xiang opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but Zhang Tong glanced at him and said lightly, "You want to ask me why I came here, right?"

  Bu Rui was nodding his head like a woodpecker on the side, while Zhang Tong said to himself: "I know I won't pass the exam, rather than wasting time like this, it's better to find something practical to do."

  "Haven't they announced it yet?" Gao Xiang asked in confusion.

  "Hmm, I know what's going on in my own life; let's not talk about that anymore. Now that we've met, do you want to go out with me? Giving you a chance, you know..." Zhang Tong emphasized the word "date" intentionally.

  The two of them walked down Zhongshan Road, looking like a couple. After passing the Construction Gate, Zhang Tong saw that Gao Xiang was sweating profusely on his forehead and didn't know whether it was due to heat or nervousness. He gently took out a tissue and helped Gao Xiang wipe away the sweat. Gao Xiang's tense face had turned bright red, and his two hands were stiff like claws, not knowing where to put them.

  Zhang Tong handed over the entire package of tissues to him, and Gao Xiang came back to his senses after a while. He pointed at Zhang Tong with a strange finger: "He Fang Yao Zu! Quickly show your true form!"

  Gao Xiang covered his face with one hand and his crotch with the other, adopting a "absolute defense" posture. After waiting for tens of seconds, he didn't see Zhang Tong pounce on him to punch and kick. He secretly peeked through the gap between his fingers and found that although Zhang Tong was somewhat angry, he seemed to have no intention of losing his temper, but just kept rolling his eyes.

  The two of them made a fuss for a while, and Zhang Tong pointed to the shaded area in front of the music academy: "It's so hot, let's hurry up and go sit over there, I have drinks in my bag."

  Gao Xiang had just turned around when he felt a strong force coming from behind, and with a loud "ah", the previously proud Gao Xiang, who was saying "Tong Tong you're really gentle today...", suddenly let out a pained cry and fell forward, landing on the road with a thud.

  Zhang Tong directly kicked him in the back of the head.

  "Tongtong, I started to feel that something was off about you, really off, and thought maybe something had happened to you; but after you kicked me, I was sure nothing was wrong with you. You're still as fierce as ever..." Someone laughed foolishly without a care in the world.

  Zhang Tong took a sip of his drink, glanced at Gao Xiang, and sighed. He couldn't help but think: Hasn't this guy ever had any friends?

  The two of them didn't stay out for long on this informal "date", and Zhang Tong headed home to take a bath, citing the heat as an excuse. As she approached her front door, she stopped in front of a police car parked by the side of the road, where Officer Li Xiang waved at her from the rolled-down window. How did she end up here? Zhang Tong walked over, puzzled.

  In a teahouse not far from Zhang Tong's residential area, Li Xiang had been very awkward in seeing Zhang Tong twice, so he took the initiative to order a pot of good tea, a plate of melon seeds and a packet of biscuits. Before long, the things were ready, Li Xiang rushed up to the waiter who was pouring tea and waved his hand: "Is this teahouse owned by Ma Feng?"

  The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Officer, I didn't dare to cheat you. The tea leaves I served you are the best ones we have here, twenty yuan per catty. When it's time to settle the bill later, I'll give you an 8% discount..."

  Li Xiangye laughed: "I still need to take advantage of you, Ma Feng is doing a good job. His small two-story teahouse actually supports more than a dozen 'waiters'. Turn back and tell him that we have received reports from the masses, saying that you are engaging in tea scams and forced sales; 12 yuan per kilogram of tea dares to pretend to be Wuyi Dahongpao. Next time it's either I come here to drink tea or we invite Ma Feng to 'drink tea', depending on his performance during the rectification period."

  The little fellow ran out, probably to make a phone call to Ma Feng. Li Xing poured tea for Zhang Tong and said in a low voice: "Is it that you think we police are always so arrogant, and then you become more and more disgusted with our profession?"

  Zhang Tong shook his head: "As soon as you mention Ma Feng, the waiter is scared and trembling, which means that what you said, Sister Li, is all true. This teahouse is quite close to my home, and I also know that their reputation has always been bad."

  "Did you go to the library's recruitment fair today?" Li Xing suddenly changed the subject.

  "How did you know?" Zhang Tong was startled for a moment, and it wasn't a good thing to be stared at by the police.

  Li Xiang grabbed a handful of melon seeds and said, "Don't get me wrong, I just found out that you live around here from Gao Xiang." This dead guy, why does he blab everything, Zhang Tong got even more annoyed.

  "What's wrong, Zhang Tong? You don't have confidence in yourself? The results haven't been announced yet and you're already thinking of a backup plan? Are you and Gao Xiang just talking about being friends? If that's the case, if Gao Xiang gets in and you two are far apart, what if his family doesn't agree with you two being together? Can you accept that?"

  "Sister Li, what are you talking about? What's with us being together? It's a completely unrelated matter. Besides, whether I'm willing or not isn't up to me to decide, right?"

  One question and one answer, Li Xing was always very gentle with a hint of a smile as he spoke to Zhang Tong, finally Li Xing said:

  "Alright Zhang Tong, as you said, whether or not it's willing is not something you can decide. So maybe it won't necessarily be a bad outcome. How about this, dare to make a bet with me?"

  Zhang Tong curiously asked: "Okay, I wonder what kind of bet does Sister Li want to make?"

  "The bet is simple: if you don't get in, you win; as you can see, we police officers still have some face in society, I'll help you with your work. But if you do get in, then I win; how about coming under me to be a small soldier?" Zhang Tong thought the bet was fair and agreed: "Alright, Lee, it's settled!" But he couldn't help but wonder what kind of police officer Li was.

  On Monday, just after work began, Zhang Tong was summoned to the director's office. Tian Miao and Gao Xiang were already there. When they saw her arrive, they smiled at her, looking like they were in a good mood. Director Liu Jianmin, who rarely didn't have a dark face, hastily said: "Alright, now that everyone is here, I announce that the three comrades, Tian Miao, Zhang Tong and Gao Xiang, auxiliary police officers of Happiness Road Police Station, have successfully passed the provincial hall's public recruitment examination. You must report to Linfen City for training within two days, and you are not allowed to be late!"

  After finishing, he stood up with a big laugh, first rubbing Tian Miao's head and saying, "Miao Miao, you finally showed your face to your old uncle this time. After going there, listen carefully and train diligently."

  Then he punched Gao Xiang's chest twice and said, "You're a good kid. As a male comrade, take care of the female comrades after you go. I have two good cigarettes here, you can take them away later, it will be convenient to pull relationships in the training team."

  Finally walked up to Zhang Tong's side, patted her shoulder and said:

  "You're the most unexpected one, you know? Your psychological comprehensive quality test scored full marks. Among the 40 or so people who were finally admitted in the province this time, you are the only one who got a perfect score on the psychological test. That's impressive!"

  Xiao Tong, you're more sensible than Miao Miao from my household, and the two of you are good friends too. Once we arrive at the training camp, I'll be counting on you to take care of Miao Miao. Later, go to the instructor's place to collect some expenses, our police station may be small, but after arriving there, we can't let others look down on us either. Be more generous and quickly build good relationships with your classmates. Zhang Tong, add oil!

  What great news! The pie in the sky really fell, and it just happened to hit three small heads of auxiliary police officers! The three people who received the good news from Director Liu reacted differently. Tian Miao Miao vaguely understood something in her heart; Gao Xiang was ecstatic and laughed foolishly; Zhang Tong didn't dare believe he had passed the exam until the end of the workday.

  Director Liu Jianmin was delighted and specially made a phone call to book a private room at Yangzhaguo, Gulou Street, and invited a large group of people from the office to celebrate for the three. As for the old brand Yangzhaguo on Gulou Street in the provincial capital, no one in Dayuan City does not know it.

  This pot of soup has been burning for over a hundred years. It's said that the Japanese didn't dare to destroy this shop back in their day; later, during the Cultural Revolution, when they were smashing the Four Olds, the public security bureau and the procuratorate all smashed it, but the leaders of the rebels, regardless of whether they were Red Guards or Blue Guards, all recognized this old shop's mutton soup, and none of the lower-ranking Red Guards dared to touch it, which is how it was miraculously preserved until today.

  The mutton and miscellaneous dishes were served, the wine and dishes were ready, Director Liu Jianmin encouraged everyone for a while, and the atmosphere was pushed to a high tide with a loud "start eating"; between the cups and plates, instructor Huang Xue warmly poured full glasses of wine for the three people, with a smile on his face, indicating that everyone should be quiet, and then stood up and raised his glass.

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