With Chen Weimin's help, the young people at the processing plant rehearsed every day during their lunch and evening breaks.

The performance combined several classic old songs perfectly with a poetry recitation that interspersed a grand chorus.

This year's winter operations are scheduled to begin on November 2nd. On November 1st, all employees will hold a mobilization meeting and a cultural performance for winter operations at the forest farm's employee club.

All the units under the forest farm pulled out all the stops, presenting a wide variety of programs.

There were performers of Errenzhuan (a type of folk opera), singers of Northeast drum ballads, and performers of rhythmic storytelling and storytelling.

The primary and secondary schools in Qianchuan have arranged several programs, including a large chorus and dance.

The most outstanding performances were the poetry recitation and chorus by the factory, especially the lead singer, Lin Junhua, who won everyone's applause as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Hey, who is this young lady? Her voice is just as good as a professional singer."

Leaders such as Zheng Xianyong sat below the stage, enjoying the performances on stage. The union chairman, Zhao Xiangyang, stared at Lin Junhua with his eyes shining.

Such a promising talent should be placed in the publicity department of the trade union; it would be a waste to put him to good use elsewhere.

"Uncle Zhao, these are workers from our factory. They were just assigned here from Songjianghe this autumn."

Sheng Xiping was sitting with these people, and when he heard Zhao Xiangyang asking about it, he smiled.

"Uncle, your union is full of hidden talents and experts. Don't try to poach this guy just because he's good at arts and literature."

"It's rare to find someone in our processing plant who can talk and sing so well; don't even think about poaching her."

These days, employees still have a rich cultural life.

During their leisure time, the forest farm organizes various cultural and sports activities, and each unit is required to send someone to participate.

The timber processing plant was a newly established unit with little foundation. Sheng Xiping was not about to let go of such a promising artistic talent easily.

"Yes, yes, Xiping, you're right. Don't listen to Lao Zhao's nonsense."

He's the kind of person who, upon seeing someone with artistic talent, gets all excited and wants to recruit them into the labor union.

Wasn't Chen Weimin the same person? He was teaching perfectly well at our school, but he insisted on borrowing classes from us. After borrowing and borrowing for a while, he ended up staying with the union, right?

Upon hearing this, Principal Wang quickly spoke up, exposing Zhao Xiangyang's past misdeeds and effectively blocking any further attempts by Zhao Xiangyang to borrow someone.

After being criticized by Wang Junsheng, Zhao Xiangyang looked embarrassed and could only cough awkwardly twice.

"Wasn't I doing that so that Weimin could make better use of his talents? Look how outstanding his work has been since he was transferred to the trade union."

He has been praised by his superiors many times, and he has even published a book himself.

If this happened at your school, you'd be surrounded by a bunch of mischievous kids all day long, it'd be so annoying, how could you possibly have time to study literature and writing?

Zhao Xiangyang didn't seem very confident at first, but the more he spoke, the more assertive he became.

Now it was Wang Junsheng's turn to be speechless, not knowing what to say.

Seeing this, Zheng Xianyong and the others couldn't help but burst into laughter, and Sheng Xiping also joined in the laughter.

While we were talking, the factory's chorus performance had ended, winning enthusiastic applause from the audience.

There were judges scoring the performances, and unsurprisingly, the factory's choir received the highest score of the night.

After a morning of cultural performances, the factory's choir unsurprisingly won first prize, the school's choir won second prize, and the other programs received awards of excellence.

The winning organizations were given certificates, and everyone who participated in the program was given a towel.

Sheng Xiping was overjoyed when the processing plant won the award. At noon, he paid out of his own pocket to treat all the workers who performed, as well as Chen Weimin, to a meal at the canteen.

The staff canteen at Qianchuan Forest Farm has developed well in recent years, raising over a hundred pigs and producing more than 30,000 jin of vegetables. Last year, it was even selected as an advanced canteen by the bureau.

"Master Li, do you have meat for lunch today? Give us some hearty dishes." Sheng Xiping called out to the canteen's food serving window.

"You've come at just the right time. We're slaughtering a pig today, and for lunch we'll have braised pork with potatoes, sauerkraut with pork belly and blood sausage," Chef Li replied with a smile from inside.

"Alright, then serve us three tables, six dishes and a soup, be generous. It's my treat for lunch today, so you'd better be on the side."

The processing plant has money, and Sheng Xiping isn't a stingy person. Everyone sacrificed their rest time to rehearse, so they definitely deserve a reward.

"Okay, don't worry," Master Li replied and went off to get busy.

There were about twenty people from the processing plant participating in the cultural performance; they were all young women and men.

We usually work together and get to know each other quite well through chatting and laughing. Recently, we've been rehearsing together, which has made us even more compatible.

So no one paid attention to those rules, and men and women sat together.

When Sheng Xiping returned after ordering, he saw that Lin Junhua was sitting right next to Chen Weimin.

At that moment, Lin Junhua was talking to Chen Weimin about something, and Chen Weimin smiled shyly.

Indeed, fate is predetermined. Even if some things have changed in this life, those who are meant to be together will still meet.

In his previous life, Chen Weimin was recruited by the collective at the end of 1982. There was no suitable position for him, so he was assigned to guard the day shift in the sawmill of the forest farm.

It just so happens that Lin Junhua also works at the sawmill, carrying planks, and has a good relationship with Chen Weimin's sister, Chen Liping.

During the lunch break, many young people chatted and joked around in the duty room. Lin Junhua got to know Chen Weimin better and grew to like him.

One is a healthy, fully-employed worker; the other is a worker in a large collective who is missing a leg and an arm.

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