Lao Zhou, Oh Lao Zhou, You're a Good Leader

Of course, perhaps because they were used to it, they had a little more self-control than he did and managed to eat a little more gracefully.

Mm, just a little.

Soon, the couple had eaten so much that, like Liang Xin, they felt they couldn't move.

The three of them exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

What a happy meal that had been!

They hadn't even eaten so well at New Year!

It was unquestionably the most satisfying meal Sister Xiao Zhu and her husband had ever eaten in their lives!

After all, growing up, they had only ever received two liang of meat coupons a month.

When had they ever eaten meat so extravagantly?

They had stuffed piece after piece of red-braised pork into their mouths. It had been glorious!

Although they got a few more meat coupons during New Year and other holidays, it was never much more.

So they had never eaten meat to their hearts' content like they had today!

It was a first in their lives!

Alas, if only they could eat like this all the time!

Alas, who knew when they would get to enjoy another meal this extravagant?

After all that happiness, they actually felt a sense of loss!

All they could say was that the meal had been so extravagant that it felt almost like a dream.

"Xiao Liang... oh, never mind."

"Sister Xiao Zhu, were you about to ask me over for another meal tomorrow?"

"Haha, you guessed it. That's what I was thinking. But on second thought, I'd better not. I'm afraid you'd bring more things, and then my husband and I would owe you too big a favor to ever repay."

"Hehe, how about the day after tomorrow, then?"

"I have something to do tomorrow, so I probably won't be home. I should be back the day after tomorrow."

"Something to do? What could you have to do? Don't tell me you're taking tomorrow off to go home?"

"Yeah, I've been working for a few days now. Today the team leader told me my assignment was changing. Starting tomorrow, I'll be leading a team of my own."

"That's a good thing! You're properly starting work and contributing to building the motherland!"

"But from the sound of it, have you been assigned somewhere pretty far away?"

"Yeah. The team leader wanted to look after me, so he went out of his way to coordinate with the director and got me assigned to my hometown."

Thinking of it, Liang Xin felt weary at heart.

Lao Zhou just had to meddle. Looking after me? Is this your idea of looking after me?!

Never mind that I'm not even ready to go home yet.

Just getting from the capital to my home will take that slow old ox the better part of half a day.

Once we get there, we'll still have to negotiate and talk things over, weigh everything, load the cart, and haul it all back.

That won't leave much time. We might not make it back before dark.

The roads in this era weren't the flat concrete or paved roads from before Liang Xin's rebirth.

They were all dirt roads, and potholes and ruts were perfectly normal.

It wouldn't even be unusual to find a huge pit in the middle of the road.

And with no lights or anything on the ox cart, it would be even more dangerous.

If they got up at the crack of dawn every day just to make the round trip each day,

then even if the people could take it, the ox couldn't.

What if the old ox threw a temper and went on strike?

So, for these medium-haul transport jobs that were neither long nor short, to avoid all sorts of accidents,

they would travel out on the first day, load the cart, spend another half day in the village, and stay the night.

Only the next morning could they drive the cart back.

Liang Xin knew Lao Zhou meant well.

He knew that, in fact, a lot of people liked these medium-haul transport jobs.

Because they came with an allowance!

Both medium- and long-haul transport jobs came with allowances.

Short-haul jobs like Brother Li's, where you went out and came back the same day, didn't.

The allowance wasn't much,

but in this era of scarce supplies, even that little bit mattered.

It might be enough to feed one more child in the family.

By comparison, medium-haul jobs were more popular than long-haul ones.

They came with the same allowance, and you could go home every two days and sleep in your own familiar home. How comfortable was that?

With long-haul jobs, it took three, five, or seven days, or even longer, to get home again.

Although each round trip could earn you a few days off, you spent most of your time away.

How many days could you actually enjoy at home?

So it was a good assignment.

It was Lao Zhou looking after him.

The problem was, Liang Xin didn't need that kindness or consideration!

That allowance was important to ordinary people.

But was he short of that little bit of money?

Wouldn't it be more comfortable to work most of the day, get off early in the afternoon, go home, and lie down or lean back whenever he felt like it?

If it weren't for the circumstances of this era, when everyone had a job,

and he would stand out too much if he didn't, he would have wanted to quit altogether!

And even though he was miserable about it, he still had to be grateful to the director for the favor!

That was just how things were in this era.

Back before his rebirth, someone like that would have been no relation to him, and he had only just started work, so they barely knew each other.

Why would anyone take the initiative to help him apply for a transfer just because his home was over there?

That would have been a perfect chance to demand a payoff instead!

"Your home's over there, so you must want to work the route to your hometown, right?"

"But that's not easy to arrange. If you don't bring me a little something, how am I supposed to help you?"

"Besides, this is a medium-haul transport job everyone likes. If you don't give me a little more, it'll be hard for me to get it done!"

But here, Lao Zhou hadn't said a word or even given him a hint. He had simply gone ahead and taken care of it for him!

Where else could you find a leader like that?

Before his rebirth, even Liang Xin himself hadn't been that kind of person!