Chapter 88 On a midsummer evening at the Red Star Textile Machinery Factory,...

In the evening of midsummer, the heat subsides a little.

In a bustling restaurant in Shanghai, the rich aroma of sweet and sour spare ribs and braised pork wafts under the warm yellow light.

Cheng Xin pushed the door open and walked in. She immediately saw Huang Cai, who was sitting by the window, smiling and waving at her.

There was a little boy sitting next to Huang Cai, concentrating on doing his homework. It was Wu Jingming, who had grown a lot taller.

Jing Ming used to be as thin as a log, with prominent cheekbones, and he looked like he would fall down if the wind blew. After Huang Cai took him in, in just a few years, he not only grew half a head taller, but his shoulders also became broader, his arms and legs became longer, and the baby fat on his face had not yet faded, and he looked a lot stronger.

Huang Cai sat beside him and looked at him. The sorrow and confusion that were once locked between his brows had long been smoothed away. His eyes were bright and there was a faint smile on the corners of his mouth. He looked like a sunflower that had been basking in the sun, exuding a vigorous and vibrant energy.

"Sister Cai, Jingming!" Cheng Xin walked over quickly and ruffled Wu Jingming's hair affectionately. "Wow, you've grown so tall! You're already filling out the sixth grade workbook!"

"Hello, Aunt Cheng." Wu Jingming raised his head and smiled shyly.

"Hurry up and sit down!" Huang Cai asked Cheng Xin to sit down and poured her some cold barley tea. "I heard that you have graduated and are going back to your hometown to make a name for yourself. We have to get together to give you a farewell party."

Huang Cai couldn't help but smile: "The teacher said that my Jingming can consider skipping a grade. We'll give him a test at the beginning of the school year. If his grades meet the requirements, he can skip to the sixth grade."

Cheng Xin looked at Huang Cai carefully.

After not seeing it for a few years, huge changes have occurred.

"It seems that Jingming has inherited your and brother-in-law's natural talent for studying. I see that you look better. Is your study at the Normal School going well?"

Huang Cai had a satisfied smile on her face: "Before Jing Ming had no peers to play with, he stayed alone to read books. Now the benefits of loving reading are reflected. Thank you so much, if you hadn't pointed me to the path of going to college, I might still be in the village now, and I wouldn't have realized how smart my child is."

She pointed to the alley not far from the window and said, "I rented a small room over there. It's too small to move around, but it's close to Jingming's elementary school and my university, so it's convenient for him to go there. Jingming has a Shanghai hukou, so it's worth it for me to be able to study here."

"Brother-in-law is still in Jiangbin Village?" Cheng Xin asked with concern.

"Yeah," Huang Cai lowered his head and took a sip of barley tea, stroking the rim of the cup with his fingertips, his tone full of heartache: "He is still teaching at Jiangbin Village Primary School, and he is also the technical pillar of the brigade's sericulture farm. Factories have been opened one after another in the village, and the sericulture farm is booming. He has two jobs and does odd jobs when he is free. He is very busy."

At this point, she suddenly raised her eyes, her lips tightened and then slowly lifted, a bright light appeared in her eyes, with a bit of uncontrollable pride: "But the income has also increased, now I can steadily make 150 yuan a month! Sometimes when I'm busy, I can make more than 200, which is higher than the income of employees in Shanghai."

"The burden of the family is on him. He thinks that as long as Jingming and I can gain a foothold in Shanghai, it doesn't matter if he is a little tired. At least he has something to look forward to."

At this time, the waiter brought the dishes and the three of them ate and chatted.

Cheng Xin shared interesting experiences she had abroad, while Huang Cai talked about the difficulty of raising a child to study and their aspirations for the future, hoping to stay in Shanghai and give Jingming a truly stable home.

Wu Jingming ate his meal obediently, occasionally talking about interesting things at school.

Two days after saying goodbye to Huang Cai and her son, Cheng Xin was packing her luggage in the dormitory to return home when she heard a familiar and excited voice coming from downstairs: "Sister! Sister!"

Cheng Xin looked out the window and called out in surprise: "Xiao Lei, Brother Yunye!"

Geng Yunye was standing downstairs, exhausted, with his younger brother, who had grown a lot taller, had a tan and looked excited, next to him.

Cheng Xin ran downstairs and grabbed her brother: "Why are you here?"

Cheng Lei's voice was so excited that it seemed to pierce the eardrums: "Sister, I was admitted to the No. 1 Middle School in the county! It's a key high school! The score is more than 20 points higher than the admission line!"

Cheng Lei performed poorly in the high school entrance examination last year and failed to get into the county's No. 1 High School. He was unwilling to accept this and repeated a year. This year he managed to succeed.

Geng Yunye smiled and explained, "Dad asked me to come to Shanghai to help you mail back your heavy luggage. My younger brother just finished his high school entrance exam, and it's a great joy to have him on the list. Mom and Dad asked me to bring him along, take you home, and spend two days in Shanghai as a reward for our college student."

He put his arm around Cheng Lei's shoulders affectionately: "This kid lives in our house and does his own laundry and cooking. He doesn't need anyone to worry about his studies. He also often helps me sort out the factory's accounts and documents. He deserves his achievements!"

Cheng Xin looked at her brother's energetic appearance and recalled that when she was repeating a grade last year, it was Brother Yunye who comforted her and helped her get out of the trough and get back on her feet. In the past four years, her brother has lived at home and has been well taken care of. He has also developed a deep friendship with Yunye, and she is very pleased.

Over the next two days, Cheng Xin and Geng Yunye took their younger brother, who was visiting a big city for the first time, to experience the city of Shanghai.

The three of them stood by the Huangpu River, feeling the breeze blowing on their faces.

The ship passed slowly with a long whistle. Lujiazui on the opposite bank had not been developed yet and was completely empty at this time.

The Lujiazui in Cheng Xin's dream has become an unattainable international financial center. Even the bricks and tiles there have become a luxury that ordinary people cannot achieve even if they work hard for several lifetimes.

Cheng Lei looked up at the rows of magnificent international buildings of various styles on the river bank and screamed incessantly.

Geng Yunye pointed to the big clock on top of the Customs Building and said, "Let's wait a few minutes. It will ring on the hour."

After a while, the hour hand pointed to nine o'clock, and the big clock really started to ring "ding ding ding".

After strolling around the Bund, Cheng Xin hailed a taxi and took them to the City God Temple.

When we arrived at the Yuyuan Shopping Mall in Chenghuang Temple, we were so crowded that we had to squeeze in with great difficulty, just to eat the famous Nanxiang Xiaolongbao.

Cheng Xin made her brother wait in a very long line. By the time it was his turn, his legs were a little sore, but luckily he finally bought it.

Cheng Lei imitated his sister and carefully bit a small hole in the thin skin to suck the soup inside. The soup was so hot that he grimaced, but he kept sucking it, grinning and saying, "It's delicious, so delicious!"

Geng Yunye left for a while and came back with two bottles of iced Coca-Cola in his hands, with water droplets still on the bottles.

Cheng Lei had drunk orange-flavored soda before, but this was his first time drinking Coca-Cola. As soon as he took a sip, the bubbles in it made him wrinkle his nose and burp continuously, but after a few more sips, he fell in love with the taste and found it quite novel.

After eating and drinking, Cheng Xin took them to the zoo to digest the food.

Cheng Lei saw many animals. The majestic South China tiger was lying on the rockery in the cage, occasionally wagging its tail.

He scratched the cage and said, "Sister, the tiger looks like the tabby cat in our village."

Cheng Xin grabbed his collar and pulled him back: "Dear ancestor, don't get so close, do you want to give the tiger a snack?"

The national treasure giant panda curled up on the grass, holding a bamboo thicker than its arm in its arms, chewing it with a delicious crunching sound. It did not even wipe off the bamboo residue that stuck to the fur around its mouth. When its round body moved, it looked like a breathing fur ball.

Cheng Lei watched without blinking: "Giant pandas have really good teeth."

The giraffe stood under the tree, stretched its neck, hooked up a handful of leaves with its tongue, and swallowed them with a move of its Adam's apple.

Cheng Lei stood on tiptoe and tried to reach the leaves, but he couldn't reach the leaves even if he raised his arms high. He couldn't help but exclaim: "This neck is too long. I wonder how a giraffe sleeps."

He ran back and forth excitedly, and the sweat on his forehead flowed down his cheeks. He picked up his coat and wiped it off.

Geng Yunye and Cheng Xin followed him slowly, holding bottles of iced Coke in their hands. When they saw him running back, they handed them over: "Pandas eat 20 kilograms of bamboo a day, which is more than the rice you eat."

Cheng Lei had just taken two sips when he heard the parrot greeting someone, so he ran over again. Geng Yunye looked at his back and couldn't help laughing at this kid who didn't have enough eyes.

After two days of walking around, Cheng Lei became darker, but the light in his eyes was much brighter than when he first came.

Lying on the small bed in the hotel at night, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, and kept muttering: "Sister, the buildings in Shanghai are so tall, and it's bright everywhere at night."

Then he suddenly sat up and said, "I will definitely take the exam to get in here! Then I can look at the clock on the Bund every day and drink Coca-Cola!"

Cheng Xin sat by the bed and wiped his neck with a towel. The skin on the back of his neck was red from the sun and felt rough. Her own arms were also sunburned and painful, and blisters formed on the soles of her feet.

But seeing her brother's current enthusiasm, his eyes full of love for the big city, and even his goal of going to college, she just felt that playing with him in the high temperature for the past two days was particularly worthwhile.

Cheng Xin couldn't help laughing: "Okay, your brother-in-law and I will come to see you off and take you to eat Nanxiang Xiaolongbao."

Geng Yunye came back from outside with some watermelons. Cheng Lei came over and grabbed the biggest piece and handed it to his sister. He took a smaller piece for himself and ate it while saying, "Brother-in-law, are all the universities in Shanghai as grand as the buildings on the Bund?"

Geng Yunye patted the back of his head and said, "I haven't been there. You'll know when you pass the exam."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and went out, fetched a basin of hot water and placed it in front of Cheng Xin: "Soak in the hot water for a while, I'll pick the water out for you later so you can go home tomorrow."

Cheng Xin smiled and agreed, feeding him a piece of watermelon. While soaking her feet, she listened to her brother counting the universities in Shanghai with his fingers.

The train carried the family back to the familiar county town, and then transferred to another train back to Baiya Village.

As soon as she got off the car, Cheng Xin felt that the village was more lively than before she left.

A couple set up a simple wonton stall at the entrance of the village. Firewood was burning under a big pot. The pot was steaming and the aroma of bone soup, chopped green onions and lard was wafting around.

Cheng Xin had never seen the other person, and Geng Yunye said he was from the next village.

Next to him was an old man pushing a 28-inch bicycle and a maltose vendor with a wooden box tied to the back seat. He was from Baiya Village.

As the number of people on the village roads increases, there are not only snack stalls, but some people living on the roadside have also converted their homes into snack shops.

Geng Yunye explained: "The snack stalls are all from the surrounding villages. The factory is short of manpower, the salary is high, and the accommodation is provided, so everyone is willing to come. Those who were not hired found that there is no public canteen in our village, so they set up stalls to do business."

A new small shop has opened at the entrance of the village, with a sign that says "public telephone".

Cheng Xin left her luggage at home, and Geng Yunye took her back to her parents' home on a motorcycle. Cheng Lei separated from them in the county town and took the bus back to the village alone.

My parents were already waiting at the door.

Xu Fengxia held her daughter's hand, eyes full of heartache: "I can even feel the bones in her wrist. She must not have eaten well outside."

Cheng Xin deliberately moved closer to her, with a helpless look on her lips: "Mom, you haven't seen me for too long. I wore a cotton-padded jacket during the Chinese New Year, but now I wear light clothes. My weight hasn't changed much."

Xu Fengxia pinched her daughter's arm, frowning: "I can see that she has lost weight, even her wrist has become thinner. Is your scale accurate? Don't fool yourself. There are ribs I just bought yesterday in the refrigerator. I will kill a chicken and stew it. I have to eat two more bowls of rice today."

Cheng Xin was pulled by her mother's arm, and half-reluctantly followed her to the kitchen, with a cheerful smile on her face: "Okay, okay, if you say I'll lose weight, then I'll lose weight. Today I'll eat as much as I want and empty the fridge!"

Knowing that her mother felt sorry for her, Cheng Xin pushed her mother's shoulders into the kitchen, saying excitedly, "I'll help you and see what good things you have hidden."

The dining table was filled with Cheng Xin's favorite hometown dishes, and Xu Fengxia kept picking up food for her daughter and son-in-law.

Cheng Cunzhi took a sip of wine and asked the most important question: "You are returning home after graduation. Where did the province assign you? Have you received any news?"

He put down his glass and looked at his daughter with concern. He knew the importance of his daughter's status as a college student and hoped that she would have a good place to go.

Cheng Xin swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head: "Dad, we won't know where we're going until we report to the Provincial Industrial Bureau tomorrow. The allocation results will be announced when we report."

She saw her father's frown and worry in his eyes, so she put a piece of meat in his bowl and added, "But don't worry, whether I'm assigned to the county or town, or even to a factory, I will work hard and won't embarrass you."

Cheng Cunzhi's brows relaxed a little, he nodded, picked up the wine glass and took another sip: "Yeah, that's the reason. We have to listen to the organization's arrangements. You are a capable person with a quick mind, you can achieve results wherever you go. Dad just asked, I have an idea in mind."

He turned to talk about happy things, stood up and took out a rattan basket from the inner room, "Come, take a look at the new samples made by our bamboo weaving factory." He lifted the cover, revealing several palm-sized bamboo lampshades and a rolled-up bamboo silk painting.

He picked up a lampshade and handed it over: "All of them are designed according to the pattern you sent back. Last week, a foreign businessman came to see the pattern and gave a thumbs-up when he touched the pattern!"

Cheng Xin put down her chopsticks, picked up the bamboo lampshade and looked through it, her eyes lit up: "Dad, this is so finely made. The pattern I sent only had a single layer of patterns, and you added a layer of dark patterns? It looks like water waves when facing the light, so delicate!"

She put down the lampshade and reached out to unfold the bamboo silk landscape painting.

Dark green, light yellow and beige bamboo threads are woven to depict distant mountains and nearby water, with reeds on the shore.

She pointed at the boat in the painting and said, "This color combination is amazing. It's not just green, but also mixed with the yellow of the bamboo strips. Foreigners love this kind of handicrafts that have our local craftsmanship and design. They are much more attractive than the cookie-cutter styles on the market. Dad, with this craftsmanship, we will definitely get a lot of orders!"

The next morning, Geng Yunye accompanied Cheng Xin, took her graduation certificate and registration materials, and took a bus to the provincial capital's Industrial Bureau.

The atmosphere in Deputy Director Chen Mingsheng's office was somewhat serious.

Director Chen looked at the young couple in front of him and got straight to the point:

"Comrade Cheng Xin, Comrade Geng Yunye, welcome! Comrade Cheng Xin has returned from his studies, and the province attaches great importance to him. Now, we have an extremely difficult task to entrust to you."

He took out a thick file and pushed it in front of Cheng Xin.

"The Red Star Textile Machinery Factory is an old factory built in 1958 and was once the pride of our province."

Director Chen sighed heavily, "The equipment was built with aid from our big brother in the 1950s, and it has been in service for almost 20 years. It is slow, consumes too much electricity, and has many faults. No one wants the machines we have made, and they are piled up like a mountain in the warehouse. We owe the bank 2.6 million yuan in principal and interest. We owe the raw material suppliers 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, and the workers' wages are in arrears for seven months! People's morale has been low, and half of the technical backbones have left. The city has discussed that if we can't save the company, we will have to file for bankruptcy, and hundreds of workers will be laid off and go home!"

Director Chen looked at Cheng Xin with expectation: "You are a college student who returned from studying abroad. You know how fast the outside world develops. The factory run by your wife Geng Yunye in Jiangbin Village is a provincial benchmark! What do they lack most? The good machines that the Red Star Factory should make! The organization has decided to send you to the Red Star Factory as the director and secretary. One goal: to make it alive and make the machines that the market wants! Do you have confidence?"

Cheng Xin picked up the document and quickly scanned the shocking figures. Without any hesitation, she said in a firm and powerful voice: "Director Chen, I have confidence! Red Star Factory will definitely survive!"

Geng Yunye stood beside Cheng Xin without saying a word, but just held her hand tightly and stood by her through thick and thin.

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The gate of the Red Star Factory is rusty.

Cheng Xin and Geng Yunye walked in side by side, and the strong smell of engine oil and rust hit them in the face.

In the workshop, the old machines made dull and stuttering sounds.

Several workers were wearing greasy work clothes, some leaning against the cold machines in a daze, while others squatted in the corner smoking with empty and numb eyes. The ground was mixed with grease and coolant, making it sticky when stepped on.

A young worker looked up, saw a strange face, and then lowered his head to pick at the rust on the machine.

Geng Yunye's brows were tightly furrowed.

Cheng Xin took a deep breath, straightened her back and walked in.

As soon as the warehouse door opened, dust rushed in like fog.

There were piles of old looms, which the Red Star Factory had once been proud of. They were covered with thick dust, and some were even covered with spider webs.

The warehouse manager, Lao Ma, had a bitter face and wiped the dust off a machine with his sleeve, revealing the mottled green paint underneath: "Director, these are all made according to old drawings. Who wants them now? They're just too big to sell as scrap metal."

The old factory manager handed a bunch of keys and an account book to Cheng Xin. The back of his hands were pitch black, as if they had been soaked in engine oil. There was dirt stuck in the cracks between his fingernails, and even the skin between his fingers was covered with a layer of black and yellow calluses.

When they shook hands after the handover, the old factory manager's palms were as rough as sandpaper, a mark that could only be left from years of touching machines and tightening screws.

"Director Cheng, the factory is handed over to you." He had never sat in an office in his life. He spent every day in the workshop. The black marks on his hands were washed and rubbed again and again. In the end, even soap couldn't rub them off, but the factory was still lost and his hands finally couldn't hold on.

He sighed, wanted to say something, but swallowed his words.

"I'm incompetent. I've run the factory like this, and I feel sorry for the workers who stayed here." As he said this, he wiped his face hard.

The head of the finance department squatted beside him, scratching his head. "There is not a penny in the account, and the debts are piling up. The wages are still delayed. When Master Wang's child was sick and came to ask for money, I was too embarrassed to see him. When the workers in the factory greeted me, I didn't dare to raise my head."