Seeing Jiang Si staring intently at those pieces of material, Huo Tingzhou explained to her.
“Those are asbestos tiles—”
“The logistics department said they’re better than tarpaulin roofs for waterproofing and insulation.”
“They didn’t have many left, just a few pieces, so they gave them to us.”
At the time, asbestos tiles were in limited supply. Across their entire military district, only the self-sufficient farms under their jurisdiction had obtained approval for them.
If not for the fact that a new batch of approvals was due in two months, the logistics department wouldn’t have been willing to part with them.
Jiang Si had worked in architectural design in her past life.
Of course, she knew what asbestos tiles were.
And she also knew that while they seemed harmless, they were actually a Class 1 carcinogen!
Every kilogram of asbestos contained millions of needle-like fibers.
Once inhaled, they were nearly impossible to expel from the body, eventually leading to chronic pneumonia and fibrosis.
Living long-term in an environment with asbestos increased the risk of cancer by 50 to 100 times compared to normal conditions.
Yet, due to their high cost-effectiveness, their use wasn’t officially phased out in the country until the turn of the millennium.
Jiang Si’s good days had just begun—she had no intention of putting herself in danger every day.
Noticing her prolonged silence, Huo Tingzhou asked, “What’s wrong?”
For now, Jiang Si kept her concerns to herself, simply exchanging the asbestos tiles back for ordinary tarpaulin under the pretext of personal preference.
As for why she didn’t speak up immediately, Jiang Si had her reasons.
In this era, testing capabilities were limited. Without evidence, who would believe her if she claimed these tiles were carcinogenic?
If she encountered an unreasonable superior, she might even be accused of “sabotaging collective economic development.”
Even if the higher-ups believed her, would production of asbestos tiles really stop?
Jiang Si doubted it.
It was like how everyone knew smoking was harmful, yet cigarette factories still flourished everywhere.
Still, keeping silent didn’t sit right with her.
From what Huo Tingzhou said, these factory buildings had only been fitted with asbestos tiles early last year.
If action was taken now, there might still be time to prevent harm.
After much deliberation, Jiang Si finally took out paper and pen.
She wrote the letter with her left hand, and the result was so messy she could hardly bear to look at it.
But she made sure to lay out all the facts clearly in the letter.
Whether it would sink without a trace or catch the attention of those in charge, Jiang Si couldn’t say.
She could only do her part and leave the rest to fate.
Early the next morning, Jiang Si seized an opportunity to slip out and secretly drop the letter into the military district’s suggestion box.
On her way back, she passed by the service center and thought about picking up a few things.
To her surprise, she spotted Hu Meili waving at her from a distance.
“Sister Jiang, where have you been?”
“I went to your place earlier and you weren’t there. I’ve been searching all over the residential compound for you.”
Jiang Si’s eyes flickered slightly, a hint of embarrassment in her expression.
“We must have missed each other. What did you need, Sister Hu?”
“Oh, nothing much. I’m heading to town later.”
“Today’s the 7th, so there’s a big market over in District 7. I thought if you had time, I could show you the way.”
“A big market?”
“That’s right. The closest one is in Ning’an Town. They hold markets on days ending in 1, 4, and 7.”
There were two other towns with markets, but they were over fifty li away from the military district.
Since no one usually went there, Hu Meili didn’t mention them.
Not wanting Jiang Si to worry, she added, “Don’t fret—the military families here go to the market all the time. As long as you’re not reselling grain at high prices, it’s fine.”
Jiang Si wasn’t concerned about that. Hesitantly, she asked,
“Sister Hu, won’t going with me interfere with your work?”
“Not at all. I’m going there for work anyway.”
Thinking Jiang Si was worried over nothing, Hu Meili explained,
“Some of the goods at our service center are allocated through the planned economy.”
“Others are produced and supplied by the military itself, and the rest are sourced locally.”
“My job is procurement. Even if you didn’t come, I’d still go to town regularly to check on supplies and restock.”
Of course, their service center didn’t do business with individuals—only official transactions between state entities.
Jiang Si nodded in understanding. “Sister Hu, wait for me—I’ll go back and get my bike.”
Huo Tingzhou was still working overtime with the construction team, finishing the last stretch of the courtyard wall.
Once the gate was installed, the project would be complete.
Seeing Jiang Si return, Huo Tingzhou quickly set down his tools.
“Sister Hu came looking for you earlier.”
Jiang Si nodded. “Yes, I ran into her on the way. I can’t talk now—I promised to go to town with her.”
With that, she went inside and wheeled out the bicycle she’d bought a few days earlier.
She hadn’t ridden it since getting it registered.
“It’s been a while since you last rode. Are you sure you remember how?” Huo Tingzhou sounded concerned.
Jiang Si swung her leg over the seat and shot him a look that said, Don’t underestimate me.
“You spent three months teaching me how to ride. Shouldn’t you know whether I can do it or not?”
Huo Tingzhou: “…”
If he’d known then what he knew now… he wouldn’t have taught her at all.
Many of the wives in the residential compound couldn’t ride bicycles, so they always went out in pairs.
On bumpy, deserted roads, they’d even hold onto each other’s waists…
Of course, these thoughts remained locked in Huo Tingzhou’s mind.
What came out instead was, “Then ride carefully. Do you want me to pick you up—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Si had already sped off like the wind.
Ning’an Town lay east of the military district, about half an hour away by bike.
On the way, Jiang Si had already planned what she wanted to buy.
She intended to get more vegetable seeds to plant in the yard.
She’d eat the produce from her space and use the garden-grown ones to feed the chickens and ducks inside.
Unlike in Shanghai, the market here sold seedlings instead of seeds.
It saved the trouble of waiting for seeds to sprout, which was convenient.
Jiang Si browsed the stalls, but since all the seedlings looked alike to her, she bought a few of each variety.
She decided against fruit trees—after all, Qiongzhou Island had cheap, abundant fruit, so she could buy whatever she wanted anytime.
Next, she picked up some daily necessities—mostly small, miscellaneous items.
By the time Hu Meili wrapped up her business, the two of them headed back with their purchases.
But as they neared home, Jiang Si noticed an elderly man with graying hair pacing near their courtyard.
He seemed hesitant, lingering for a long time without knocking.
Hu Meili had stopped by the service center, and since Jiang Si was new to the military district, she didn’t recognize the man.
Approaching politely, she asked, “Excuse me, sir—who are you looking for?”
As the words fell, Huo Tingzhou, who had just returned from returning tools to the equipment depot, arrived at that moment.
The instant he caught sight of Elder Liang, his heart skipped a beat—
