Xing Baohua temporarily put aside his work and took Su Ya home.

It had probably been a long time since the two had taken a walk like this. Su Ya linked arms with Xing Baohua and they walked slowly, chatting and laughing.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Su Ya never asked Xing Baohua about spending the night with another girl.

Xing Baohua was unaware of his other troubles. If he had known, he would have felt wronged. He should have just made things a reality.

After taking Su Ya home, Xing Baohua left alone. Shortly after he left, a middle-aged woman watched his retreating figure and then followed in Su Ya's direction.

Su Ya had just entered the house when she saw her mother return as well. She asked, "Mom, you got off work late today. What are we having for dinner?"

"Don't talk about food yet, I have something to ask you."

"oh!"

With a serious expression, Su's mother put her bag on the sofa, crossed her legs, and asked, "Is the boy who brought you back your boyfriend?"

Suya was probably seen by her mother; the two entered the room one after the other, so the probability of them being seen was very high.

He lowered his head, playing with his braids without saying a word.

"You're young, you shouldn't..."

“He’s great! He works very hard!” Su Ya was afraid her mother would say that she was too young to find a partner, so she quickly pointed out Xing Baohua’s advantages.

"Whether it's good or bad is not something you can judge right now. Don't blindly pursue so-called love," Su's mother advised.

Su Ya lowered her head and played with her braids after being scolded. She knew that when her mother talked, it wouldn't be over for at least half an hour to an hour, and she wouldn't repeat herself.

That boy isn't right for you.

"Why is it inappropriate? You can't judge him by your own standards. You have no idea how hard he's worked. Do you know how long it took him to go from a temporary worker to a workshop foreman?" Su Ya stopped arguing and started paying close attention whenever Xing Baohua was mentioned. She listened intently and was quick to offer rebuttals.

Su's mother slammed her hand on the sofa next to her and said angrily, "I said it's not suitable, he has a bad reputation?"

"He's changed." Su Ya said this without much confidence. Xing Baohua's reputation was indeed bad before, and these recent rumors only made it worse.

If it were an ordinary woman, she would have already started tearing it apart, why would she wait for an explanation?

"I hope you'll behave yourself, otherwise I'll do everything I can to transfer you out of this city."

"You're...you're forcibly interfering with my love!" Su Ya protested, like a little lioness.

"I just didn't want you to follow my path. Your father was also very outstanding back then. Your grandfather didn't stop him, but what happened? It was just the two of us in the family." She started to cry as she spoke.

Suya lowered her head and continued playing with her braids.

Xing Baohua never expected that his mother-in-law would suddenly appear and stop him from being with Su Ya.

Back at the repair shop, he continued working on his circuit board. With each of the three having a different task, their speed increased considerably.

Xing Baohua found a piece of Guozil's board, and many of the components inside were broken and needed to be replaced.

Of the board in the pile, only three were usable, each a different model: one was a Wizard board, one was a Fruit L board that was under repair, and the other had a Z80 chip. Xing Baohua didn't know which company manufactured the board because the model number was an abbreviation.

Every computer company produces different motherboard components. This posed a challenge for Xing Baohua, as the connectors varied, lacking a standardized model. For subsequent components, Xing Baohua had to rely on his imagination and create them himself.

As for the computer's casing?

Who can afford plastic for just one or two units? Go straight for wood. Wasn't the Apple I originally made with a wooden casing? If it could be preserved to this day, it could probably fetch a lot of money.

The next day, Xing Baohua went to the workshop to make his presence known. Then he went to Shangguzhuang again.

Upon seeing Xu Shuai, I said to him, "Go home and pack your things today. Starting tomorrow, you're going on a business trip."

"Where to?" Xu Shuai asked calmly.

“I don’t know where to go either. Just go to big and medium-sized cities and find electronics factories. Find me as many factories as you can that process circuit boards,” Xing Baohua said.

He has no other choice now. Since he can't get the notebook that Shen Jie has, he can only use the most basic method: running around all over the country.

"I'll go to the finance department to collect two thousand yuan in a bit. Well, I'll be frugal and go to more places."

How long will it take?

"Two months, I suppose. Give me a call whenever you find out. Find a guesthouse with a phone and use the machinery factory's letter of introduction to check in," Xing Baohua slowly explained the details.

Xu Shuai's eldest apprentice is named Huang Jiehai, who is two years older than Xu Shuai. He is from Shangguzhuang and is also a member of Secretary Huang's family.

He knows a little carpentry, but Xu Shuai didn't teach him anything about mechanical and electrical engineering. That's a complex subject that requires a teacher to guide you. Xu Shuai didn't even learn properly from his master, so he's only half-baked and was simply not taught.

He usually followed Xu Shuai around, assisting him, and he knew how to cut materials. Xu Shuai gave him a few instructions before leaving.

After arranging things at the factory, Xing Baohua went to the publishing house.

Grandpa Li and Lin Daorong, among others, are busy installing soundproofing panels.

The small room we're renovating isn't very big, about 20 square meters. Five people are working on it without hiring anyone else.

As for changing the tapes on the record player, Lin Daorong arranged for someone to go over every hour to change the tapes, which didn't delay the work.

Since the renovation work is being paid for labor, everyone is helping out to earn some extra money to spend in the meantime.

“Teacher Li, let them do it first. I have a song here, could you help me transcribe the sheet music?” Xing Baohua said.

Grandpa Li thought for a moment and said, "Okay. I'll go get a pen and notebook."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!