Chapter 53 A False Alarm

Chapter 53 A False Alarm

The day after returning to the family compound was Sunday. The factory was closed, so Li Yue took some local specialties and went to her master's house.

I asked my mentor, "How's things at the factory?"

Wang Yuanshan said, "The same as always, what else can we do?"

Li Yue said, "I left in such a hurry, and I had to go back to the capital, that I didn't even have time to say goodbye to you, Master."

He asked, "How is your father-in-law's health?"

"He had surgery and is recovering. My mother-in-law is taking care of him."

"That's good."

Looking at her master, Li Yue spoke frankly again: "Master, I want to learn how to make Ru porcelain from my uncle."

Wang Yuanshan smiled and sighed, "I knew it. I already mentioned it to him when we met last time."

"Really? What did my martial uncle say?"

Wang Yuanshan shook his head: "Look how excited you are."

Li Yue asked shyly, "Then can I go directly to my martial uncle and tell him about my situation?"

Wang Yuanshan said, "It's possible, but..." His tone lowered, "The situation over there isn't as good as people outside say. You need to be mentally prepared."

Li Yue was taken aback: "What's going on?"

Wang Yuanshan said, "Your uncle was also under pressure from all sides when he was working over there. Their factory director was young. When the old factory director retired, everyone thought that another deputy factory director would take the position of factory director. No one expected it to be him."

"But he has achieved results, isn't that enough?"

“On the surface, it seems sufficient, but people’s hearts are the most unpredictable thing, and some of his subordinates are not entirely convinced,” Wang Yuanshan said. “In addition, your uncle is pure-hearted and stubborn, and doesn’t understand social etiquette, so he easily offends people. If you go there, it would be good to give him some pointers.”

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own; it seems one cannot escape it no matter where one is. Li Yue nodded in agreement.

Ling Jianwei came to pick her up and take her home. Li Yue mentioned the words her master had given her, and the man driving the car smiled and said, "Looks like there are dangers ahead too. Are you scared?"

"What's so scary about it? I just want to learn some skills anyway."

He nodded: "Then let's go."

While Ling Jianwei led the team on a field training trip, Li Yue successfully entered Red Star.

Hongxing is closer to the family compound, so Li Yue's commute is shorter. The factory director, Ding Jiawei, is capable and decisive, and can accept new things. That's why he was able to appoint Yuan Qiren regardless of other people's opinions.

Because of the factory's recent strong growth momentum, most employees admire the factory director and Chief Engineer Yuan.

After Ling Jianwei returned and heard her talk about these things, she asked her, "So who is dissatisfied?"

“Deputy Factory Director Shen, his wife Director Liang, and two of their relatives.”

Ling Jianwei pondered, "Perhaps the old factory director didn't want them to control the factory, which is why he appointed Ding Jiawei."

Li Yue said, "It's possible, but most of the employees are good, and I don't have much interaction with the deputy factory director and the others."

Ling Jianwei said, "Then let's learn properly for now."

"Um."

She regained her former enthusiasm and one day, her uncle showed her two pieces of porcelain.

Li Yue immediately recognized it as a fragment of Song Dynasty Ru ware and asked in surprise, "Where did you get this?"

My uncle smiled and said, "It was passed down from my grandfather."

Then he asked, "Xiao Li, do you know how to use an optical microscope?"

Li Yue said, "I can use a regular microscope. The principle should be the same, and it's not difficult to use, but our factory doesn't have an optical microscope."

"The association has them. Come with me tomorrow. We'll bring all the different types of porcelain we produce and compare them one by one."

It has to be said that Master Shi's dedication to research is something that the people from the original factory can't match, and Li Yue readily agreed.

...

The following evening, Ling Jianwei returned and prepared the meal. In winter, darkness fell earlier and earlier. The man glanced at the time; it was already 6:20 PM. It was long past dusk outside. Normally, she would be home by 6 PM, but today she was nowhere to be seen.

He tidied up the house and went to look outside, but the slender figure still hadn't appeared.

Ling Jianwei lit another cigarette, but after finishing it, she still didn't return.

Unable to contain myself, I got up and went to the main road to look. Under the dim streetlights, there wasn't a soul in sight. All I could hear were the clanging of pots and pans from the neighbors' houses, children crying, and adults scolding.

Ling Jianwei went back inside to get her keys and prepared to drive along the road to take a look.

He drove very slowly, carefully watching the roadside ahead, afraid of missing anything.

The road leading to the center of the county town was nearly two kilometers long, with houses scattered along both sides. The barking of dogs could be heard in the distance, which made the man increasingly agitated.

In my unease, a familiar little figure finally appeared in the distance, carrying a canvas shoulder bag and a net lunchbox.

Ling Jianwei quickly drove over and stopped in front of her.

When Li Yue saw the car approaching from the front, she vaguely recognized it as a military jeep in the darkness. The figure of the person sitting in the car also resembled him, and she was immediately overjoyed.

The car stopped, and Ling Jianwei got out and walked to her side.

Li Yuechao said to him happily, "It really is you!"

"Don't you know to go home when it gets dark?" the man said coldly.

Li Yue said, "I went to the Ru Porcelain Research Association with my uncle and borrowed their optical microscope to do analysis. Before I knew it, it was getting late. I went back to the factory to get a lunchbox, and then the bus stopped running."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have brought my lunchbox or waited for the bus. I would have walked back much earlier and gotten home much sooner," Li Yue said. "But we had a very productive day."

The man sighed deeply: "Get in the car quickly."

"oh."

Sitting in the car, looking at his tense jaw, knowing he was worried and angry, Li Yue suppressed her joy.

When I got home, the food was cold.

Li Yue said, "I'm going to heat it up."

"I'll heat it up, you go wash your hands."

"All right."

Li Yue went to the bathroom and washed her hands. When she came out, she saw him heating food at the stove. She bit her lip, walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him.

The man paused.

Li Yue pressed her face against his back: "It wasn't on purpose. I won't be this late next time."

He sighed, "The suburbs are a bit chaotic, and further out is the middle of nowhere. If someone takes you away, where am I supposed to find you?"

Li Yue rubbed her face: "It won't happen again."

"Go get the rice."

"Um."

Things were a bit more normal during the meal, and Li Yue talked about what happened in the afternoon.

“We discovered that the bubbles in one piece of porcelain are very similar to those in Song Dynasty Ru ware. Unfortunately, the glaze color isn’t good enough, and the crackle effect isn’t good either. My mentor said that this means the formula for that piece of clay is correct, but the glaze is wrong…”

She kept talking, and Ling Jianwei put food in her bowl, saying that she was becoming more and more like her martial uncle.

Li Yue laughed and said, "I'm far inferior to him. He's the one who's truly obsessed and patient."

Although he seems to have returned to normal, you can still feel that he has some gas buildup when he sleeps.

Li Yue leaned against him, touching his face: "Ling Jianwei, are you still angry?"

"How do you know?" the man asked, casting his gaze over.

"You used a bit too much force just now, and it went in a bit too deep. It hurt."

The man sneered and pinched her cheek: "Otherwise, you won't learn your lesson."

Li Yue said, "Today was an accident."

The man, however, disagreed.

He just felt that if she followed this crazy senior uncle, she would eventually follow in his footsteps.

But this is her interest, or rather, her ideal. What can he do?

As the weather grew colder day by day, the factory entered its kiln shutdown period. Li Yue followed her uncle and worked as his assistant, organizing all the records of the various experiments he had conducted over the past year.

Nothing major happened at the factory. After all, the factory manager was keeping things under control, and some people didn't dare to cause trouble.

During the New Year's Day holiday, their factory went to a trade fair. They heard that their mass-produced bean-green glazed Ru porcelain received a lot of praise at the fair and they got some orders. A customer from the south ordered bean-green glazed teaware, which the factory plans to fire next spring.

Li Yue goes home on time every day, but if she has time, Ling Jianwei will pick her up and drop her off.

In the blink of an eye, it was the Spring Festival of 1971.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the weather was sunny. As usual, Li Yue watched her neighbors' wives bring out tables and chairs to play cards under the sun.

The utterly awful sister-in-law, who had come to visit her brother and sister-in-law for the New Year, also came over: "Playing cards."

Li Yue glanced at Zhong Xuelian and saw that her belly was already showing.

He was surprised: "You're pregnant?"

Perhaps Zhong Xuelian was about to become a mother, or perhaps she was in the family compound and couldn't make sarcastic remarks. She smiled and said yes, and even asked how she was doing at the Hongxing Factory. Li Yue said it was so-so.

Someone asked, "How many months pregnant is Xue Lian?"

"It's been six months."

Six months later, Li Yue calculated that she had become pregnant before she resigned.

Where is your loved one?

"I'm at my brother's house, I haven't come out."

"Look, you're about to become a mother in the blink of an eye. I still remember the scene when you were a child and you were arguing with your sister-in-law."

Zhong Xuelian said speechlessly, "Those are all old, trivial matters, why do you still remember them?"

"Of course I remember. Back then, I thought this girl was quite feisty."

"Sister-in-law, please don't bring up my embarrassing moments."

Li Yue stood to the side and chuckled a few times in agreement.

I laughed and laughed, but then I couldn't laugh anymore.

If you do the math, she should have gotten her period long ago, but she hasn't.

In a panic, she rushed home. Three of her subordinates came to pay their respects for the New Year, and Ling Jianwei chatted with them over tea.

Seeing her come in, Ling Jianwei asked, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Li Yue said awkwardly as she went into the bathroom.

My pants were clean; I hadn't gotten my period.

I hope I haven't gotten infected! No way!

Ever since that time they experienced it without protection in his dorm, they both craved that feeling, so they would throw away the condom from time to time.

She didn't dare do this every time, only choosing to do it before and after her period. Li Yue felt that her body was healthy, and her ovulation symptoms matched what was medically described. However, she also knew that ovulation could occur due to a moment of passion.

But she's not planning to have children so soon.

She walked out of the bathroom looking disheveled. The people who had come to wish her a Happy New Year had all left. Ling Jianwei saw that she looked worried and asked her what was wrong.

Li Yue frowned: "My period hasn't come yet, it's almost a week late."

Ling Jianwei was stunned at first, then laughed: "Could it be that you're pregnant?"

"No, impossible, no, I don't want it!" Li Yue almost instinctively refused repeatedly.

Ling Jianwei frowned slightly: "Why don't we get it checked?"

"We don't have a pregnancy test at home."

"I'll go buy it."

"Forget it, going to the hospital on the second day of the Lunar New Year is bad luck."

"What's the significance of this?"

Li Yue said hesitantly, "Let's go tomorrow."

She felt she probably hadn't gotten pregnant; she had caught a cold recently, and the medication might have caused the delay.

When it was time to sleep that night, Ling Jianwei was worried and didn't dare to touch her.

Li Yue hummed and swayed her waist, wanting to.

After some tug-of-war, she finally got her way, but he was very careful.

Li Yue asked him, "Are you looking forward to becoming a father?"

His answer was: "I'm not really hoping for it, but if I do get pregnant, I'll have to be careful."

Li Yue was very worried: "If I really am pregnant, I will have to take care of the child and not think about Ru porcelain for two or three years. By the time I have some free time, you will be going back to Beijing."

The man paused for a moment, then gently comforted her, "There's no use worrying now. We'll know once we get tested tomorrow."

She fell asleep feeling restless. Around four or five in the morning, she felt a warm current flowing through her body. Startled awake, she ran to the bathroom and saw that her period was coming at such an odd time this time, choosing the early morning to scare her.

But at least she felt relieved.

Ling Jianwei hugged her in bed.

Li Yue said in a muffled voice, "I'd better wear it. I'm easily startled."

He was certainly willing to cooperate.

However, the cloud of doubt in my heart grew deeper and deeper.