Chapter 90: Etiquette Values Reciprocity

Gu Yan’an had just returned home from work when he saw Xu Duo standing at the gate of his courtyard, holding a large bundle.

“Little Duo, what brings you here?”

“My dad caught a few wild chicks in the mountains a while back. I brought two for you and your grandfather to try. There’s also a bag of dried mushrooms—my wife gathered them earlier this year.”

Gu Yan’an knew Xu Duo had it tough. He’d heard that Xu Duo’s mother suffered from a serious illness and required constant medication, while his wife had to care for their three children and still work in the fields during busy seasons to earn work points.

Part of the money Gu Yan’an received from his demobilization went toward his mother’s medical treatment, and the rest was used to add two adobe rooms to their house.

After all, with so many children in the family, it wasn’t feasible for the three kids to keep squeezing into the same bed with their parents after he returned.

Over the past two years, their savings had nearly run out. When Gu Yan’an reached out to help him, Xu Duo felt genuinely grateful.

Originally, they had planned to save these dried chickens to sell during the New Year, but giving them to Brother Yan was a good idea too. His wife was right—you shouldn’t always think about taking advantage of others. Friends should know how to reciprocate kindness.

“Come on in and sit!”

“The kids are waiting for me at home. I need to hurry back.”

Gu Yan’an quickly pulled a few dollars from his pocket and stuffed them into Xu Duo’s hand. “You’ve got it hard too. Consider this as me buying them.”

“No, no, Brother Yan! These are for you to eat. My dad caught them—they didn’t cost anything. If I take your money, my wife will scold me to death.”

Gu Yan’an understood that Xu Duo had come specifically to deliver a gift and definitely wouldn’t accept money. He tugged Xu Duo along and pushed open the courtyard gate.

“Come in and sit for a moment. I have something for you.”

Gu Yan’an led Xu Duo to the living room, then went straight to his room. He packed half a pound of beef jerky, a packet of biscuits, and a bag of peanut candies, then brought them out to Xu Duo.

“Little Duo, take these back for the kids to enjoy.”

“Brother Yan, I can’t accept these!”

“Little Duo, if you don’t take them, then take those two chickens and the mushrooms back with you. No, no! These aren’t for you—they’re for your children.”

Just then, Gu Guozhong walked over and said, “Just take them! This is something his partner prepared for him. He can’t even bear to eat it himself, and he doesn’t share much with his younger siblings either.”

Seeing Gu Guozhong, Xu Duo immediately straightened up and said respectfully, “Hello, Grandfather!”

“Hello, hello. Hurry up and accept it. Don’t make Yan’an feel awkward.”

Xu Duo was confused. He had come to deliver a gift, so how had it turned into him receiving one instead?

Unable to refuse such kindness, he reluctantly accepted everything in the end.

As soon as Xu Duo left, Gu Yan’an picked up one of the dried chickens and said to Gu Guozhong, “Grandfather, let’s have cured chicken tonight.”

Gu Guozhong looked at the bag of items and said with a smile, “This Xu Duo is a good man. You helped him once, and he remembered it.”

“Yes, he’s a decent person and clever too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked him for help.”

“You’ve earned your money, but you should do less of that kind of work. If you feel you don’t have enough, I’ll help raise your future children.”

“Grandfather, that would make me seem incompetent. You should keep your money. If I took it, my second aunt and the others would probably turn green with envy.”

He was already taking advantage of his grandfather by living in this house. His grandfather had worked hard to save that money over a lifetime. If he took it, wouldn’t he become a bloodsucker?

Gu Guozhong didn’t care what Gu Yan’an thought. When he got married, he would help with the bride price. Once there was a great-grandchild, the money could be left for the little one.

“Yan’an, it’s not easy for you to be in your current position. You mustn’t make mistakes—don’t accept gifts you shouldn’t.”

“Grandfather, I know! As long as people asking for help stay within reasonable bounds, I’ll find a way to assist them. I haven’t accepted any gifts.”

“You need to have a clear sense of what should and shouldn’t be done!”

“Understood, Grandfather!”

The next day, when Gu Yan’an went to work, Director Tan came directly to his office.

“Xiao Gu, there’s something I need you to handle!”

Director Tan came so early to ask him to deal with something—what could be so serious? Could it be a problem with material allocation?

“Director Tan, what is it? Please go ahead!”

“It’s been cold this winter, and our unit has been transporting coal recently, right?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“When the train is about to enter the capital, idle villagers climb over the barbed wire fence with Urea Bags and start looting the train. Not only have we lost a lot of coal, but a fatal incident also occurred a few days ago. Sigh…”

He wasn’t in the public security bureau or the railway bureau, so this wasn’t his responsibility. What did the leader want him to do?

Gu Yan’an said anxiously, “Director Tan, what are your instructions? Tell me, and I’ll carry them out immediately.”

“Our Material Reserve Bureau and the Ministry of Railways plan to jointly organize a safety lecture.”

A safety lecture—shouldn’t that be handled by higher-ups?

“Director Tan, that’s great! Where will the safety lecture be held?”

Tan Xiaoru smiled and said slowly, “In every township and village.”

Every township and village?

There were so many townships and villages below—how long would this safety lecture take? Could it be that the leader wanted to send him?

Seeing that Gu Yan’an understood, Tan Xiaoru said, “Others will take care of the unit’s other tasks. You can go to the countryside with peace of mind. With your stature, you’ll be convincing when giving them the safety lecture. I’ll assign you a car and an assistant. It’ll take at most a week.”

Gu Yan’an’s eyes shifted, and he said cheerfully, “Director Tan, you mentioned giving me leave before. Could I get half a month off after handling this? I won’t take a salary for those two weeks.”

“At most two or three days. What do you need half a month for?”

“My grandfather said he’d take me back to Haishi to propose marriage to my partner. You see, I’m not young anymore! It’s not sustainable to keep traveling back and forth like this.”

“It’s almost the end of the year, and everyone is busy. I was hoping you could help me share more of the workload. Half a month is impossible—ten days at most.”

Ten days wasn’t enough at all. He also wanted to make another trip to Xinjiang to bring back another batch of goods.

“Director Tan, thirteen days really can’t be any less. My grandfather is old, and he needs a few days to recover after getting off the train.” Gu Yan’an looked pitifully at Tan Xiaoru.

Tan Xiaoru thought for a moment. His grandfather seemed to be over seventy. At that age, taking a train was indeed exhausting.

“Alright, let’s settle on that! Prepare today, and this afternoon, start the campaign in the village of the deceased…”

Gu Yan’an never expected that the railway department would send his younger brother, Gu Yannan, and a female comrade named Xiao Zhu along with him.

Fortunately, the driver and assistant assigned by their leader were both male comrades. Seeing that female comrade staring at his brother without blinking, was she interested in him?

If only Momo would look at him like that someday, how wonderful would that be?