Era: A college student came to the courtyard house

"Are the formalities completed?" Fang Yuan asked as he led Qin Xiangye into the office.

"It's all done, except for the work permit. When Brother Gu took us there, the HR staff had already gone to lunch." Qin Xiangye stood somewhat awkwardly in front of Fang Yuan's desk.

"What are you holding in your hands?" Fang Yuan poured Qin Xiangye a glass of water and asked in confusion when he saw that she was holding something tightly in her hands.

After he asked that, Qin Xiangye realized what he meant and quickly said, "Oh right, toad oil, this is toad oil. Our village chief asked me to bring it to you."

Fang Yuan looked curiously at the three jars of toad oil on the table.

This is really good stuff.

Not only is it nutritious, but it's also incredibly nourishing.

"Our village chief said that we must make sure that cadre Fang accepts it. If he doesn't, he'll say that if you ever go to Qin Family Village again, he'll find some people to get you drunk."

Fang Yuan laughed upon hearing this. The items were already laid out on the table, making it difficult for him not to accept them. It seemed he would have to wait until his next trip to Qin Family Village to bring Qin Youtian a few more bottles of good wine.

"Cadre Fang..."

Fang Yuan interrupted Qin Xiangye, grinning and saying, "Alright, stop calling me 'cadre' and 'cadre' all the time. It's making me sick. I'm not that much older than you. Either call me by my name or call me 'Big Brother.' That sounds more natural."

Qin Xiangye's cheeks flushed slightly, but her eyes were filled with surprise and joy. Her lips trembled as she said, "I... then I'll still call you Brother Fang, okay?"

"That's right. Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch first, and then I'll take you to the steel rolling mill to complete the formalities." Fang Yuan glanced at the clock on the wall; it was still five minutes until lunchtime.

"Brother Fang, I brought some food." Qin Xiangye said in a barely audible voice as she took a hard cornbread out of the cloth bag on her shoulder.

Upon seeing this, Fang Yuan knew what it tasted like, having eaten plenty of it back in Qin Family Village. He immediately reached out and took the cornbread from Qin Xiangye's hand.

"I haven't had this for several days, and I've been craving it." Fang Yuan packed the cornbread into his lunchbox, then led Qin Xiangye out without saying a word: "I've eaten so many meals from you guys in Qin Family Village, so today I, as the eldest brother, am treating you to a welcome-back feast."

Just as Fang Yuan was about to take Qin Xiangye out.

Only then did they realize that Jiang Quan had been sitting silently in the chair with his head down the whole time, while the others had already left when Qin Xiangye arrived.

"Jiang Quan, want to have dinner together?" Fang Yuan asked him.

Hearing Fang Yuan call him, Jiang Quan looked up and glanced at Qin Xiangye shyly before nodding to Fang Yuan.

This kid has a rather strange personality.

Fang Yuan had long noticed Jiang Quan's problem. When he was with his male comrades, he was not at all shy when chatting, but as soon as there were female comrades present or they interrupted, he immediately wilted.

Even when speaking to Wang Qian, who works in the same office, he stammers.

This is a disease that needs to be cured.

Otherwise, with his personality, he would most likely be doomed if he tried to survive in the workplace.

He brought Qin Xiangye and Jiang Quan to the cafeteria.

Fang Yuan proactively got Qin Xiangye a meal, since the girl had just arrived and probably hadn't exchanged her meal tickets yet.

Surprisingly, Jiang Quan, who is introverted, is extremely unrestrained when it comes to eating.

Fang Yuan watched as Jiang Quan, sitting next to him, ate four steamed buns and a lunchbox full of white rice in one go.

Fang Yuan couldn't help but ask in bewilderment, "You eat so much, how come you're not growing taller or gaining weight? Where does all your food go?"

Jiang Quan waved his hand at Fang Yuan, showing no intention of speaking.

"Speak to me." Fang Yuan was determined to teach him a lesson.

Seeing Fang Yuan's serious tone, Jiang Quan stammered and prepared to speak, but before he could finish, he suddenly felt a rush of air and let out a burp. "Burp~ Section Chief, actually I'm also wondering about this. Maybe my mother was right."

"What did your mother say to you?" Fang Yuan asked.

"She said I'm straightforward," Jiang Quan replied.

"Impressive!" Fang Yuan gave him a thumbs up. "I think you might not be full yet. I'll go get you another steamed bun."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Yuan got up and walked to the food window, then came back with three more steamed buns.

While giving one to Jiang Quan, he also handed one to Qin Xiangye.

"Here, one for each of us, and Xiangye will have another one with us."

He knew the girl definitely hadn't eaten enough. There were six steamed buns in total, but Jiang Quan ate four of them all, while Fang Yuan and Qin Xiangye each ate one. It would be strange if she was full.

"Thank you, Brother Fang," Qin Xiangye said softly, looking at the white steamed buns in her bowl.

After finishing the steamed bun in two bites, Jiang Quan eagerly asked, "Section Chief, I'm really full now. Can I go now?"

"Okay, then you can go back to your office now."

With Fang Yuan's permission, Jiang Quanteng got up and walked out.

"You've abandoned your tools of the trade?" Fang Yuan said helplessly, watching Jiang Quan disappear into the distance.

"I forgot." Jiang Quan rushed back and grabbed his lunchbox.

"Chopsticks." Seeing Jiang Quan about to leave again, Fang Yuan picked up the chopsticks on the table and handed them to him.

"Thank you, Section Chief. I'll be going now."

Seeing Jiang Quan walk out of the cafeteria with a flushed face, Qin Xiangye couldn't help but chuckle.

"This kid..." Fang Yuan smiled helplessly.

It seems we really need to find a way to help Jiang Quan get rid of this bad habit, otherwise how can we go out with him to handle cases in the future?

I have no idea what this kid has been through to make him so afraid of girls.

After finishing the meal.

Fang Yuan led Qin Xiangye toward the steel rolling mill.

"Do you know which workshop you're in?" Fang Yuan asked Qin Xiangye as they walked along the main road of the Hongxing Steel Plant, looking at the pine trees on both sides of the road.

"Workshop One." Qin Xiangye had been following behind Fang Yuan, occasionally stealing glances at his back. When Fang Yuan asked her, she quickly walked to his side to answer.

"Okay, then I'll take you there to get familiar with the place first." Fang Yuan thought to herself, what a coincidence, the old man in their courtyard and Qin Huairu were in the steel rolling mill workshop.

It took more than ten minutes to walk.

The two arrived at the workers' rest room in Workshop 1.

Seeing Fang Yuan enter the room, followed by a young girl, the old man, who had just finished eating and was about to take a nap, quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Little Fang, what brings you to our workshop today?"

"Hello, sir," Fang Yuan greeted him, then introduced Qin Xiangye to him.

Seeing that Fang Yuan had personally brought his people over, and upon hearing that they were also from Qin Family Village, the old man's face instantly warmed up, and he hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Fang Yuan. Huai Ru is also in Workshop One. We'll take care of her, so it's alright."

Ever since he learned that Fang Yuan worked in the administration building, the old man had been looking for opportunities to get to know Fang Yuan better.

As an eighth-grade worker, he had long since given up on his career aspirations. Now, he was just thinking about finding a suitable person to take care of him in his old age. Fang Yuan was an orphan, so he might be a good candidate.

Fang Yuan was unaware of the old man's thoughts and chatted with him for a while. Not long after, Qin Huairu walked in.

Seeing that Fang Yuan and Qin Xiangye were also in the lounge, she immediately started chatting with Qin Xiangye.

Seeing the two women from the same village getting more and more animated in their conversation, Fang Yuan decided not to linger. An elderly man warmly escorted Fang Yuan to the door of the rest room. As they parted, Fang Yuan casually asked, "Uncle, did you know about the reporters who came to your steel mill a few days ago?"