Chapter 36: If she has a good temper, don't give her unnecessary work.

Besides her son Li Qingfeng, the person who was most unwilling to let Qin Xiangxiang go to the island with the army was Master Li from the textile factory workshop. When Master Li learned that Qin Xiangxiang's husband had accompanied her to the factory to apply for a leave of absence without pay, his face almost split open.

"Look at this kid with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, he's got a really black heart!" Master Li broke down his guard. He had finally trained such an outstanding apprentice, and he was waiting for her to win awards and make a name for herself in several textile factories in Shanghai.

Now the dream has been shattered.

"Why did you end up joining the army?"

Qin Xiangxiang was secretly overjoyed, but on the surface, she comforted her good master, "Master, don't worry, if I don't like staying on the island, I will come back."

Master Li, with a crooked eyebrow and a sly look, said, "Little lamb that's run into the pot, do you think you can escape?"

"Then you'll be left with no one to turn to, and you'll be dreaming of going back to the textile factory as a machine operator!"

Qin Xiangxiang's breath hitched: Master, rest assured, there is absolutely no such possibility.

"Master Li, I'm so sorry, I have to take Xiangxiang with me. I feel really guilty." Li Jianzhi sincerely apologized to Master Li. "If my wife misses the textile factory, I will miss it with her."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." You two are the master and disciple, aren't you?

"You wicked man! You've stolen my apprentice away! My apprentice's promising future is gone! Workshop foreman! Factory manager!"

Everyone laughed when they heard what Master Li said, because they all understood that Master Li was just joking. His purpose was to make Li Jianzhi feel guilty and sorry for his wife, so that he would treat Qin Xiangxiang better in the future.

It's a good thing that the couple is reunited.

Li Jianzhi: "Master Li, don't worry, I guarantee that Xiangxiang will have a better future!"

Mr. Li was a little confused. What did it mean to give his wife a better future? It meant to make sure you treat people better.

Meanwhile, Li Jianzhi was thinking about how to get his wife into a prestigious university and make her a professor in the future! If she really liked textiles, then she could study textiles or fashion design.

Hearing their conversation, Zheng, the female worker, chuckled to herself. She thought, "Qin Xiangxiang is really stupid. She actually went to that remote island to join the army, a godforsaken place. I wonder if she'll suffer there, crying and complaining every day."

"Qin Xiangxiang, are you really sure?" Zheng, the female worker, winked at Qin Xiangxiang.

Qin Xiangxiang chuckled and said, "Comrade Zheng, from now on, I won't have to work the night shift anymore. I'll sleep ten hours every day."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Zheng suffered a heart attack.

After completing the formalities, Director Zhao met with Qin Xiangxiang and his wife. The two men exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then Director Zhao said, "Little Qin, the Mingzhou Textile Factory heard that someone like you has emerged from there. They came to me asking for your services. If you're willing to transfer there, you can come anytime."

"It'll just be a bit tougher from now on. They said the factory will give you a subsidy every month."

"The factory manager and Master Li are old friends. Master Li was the one who trained him back then."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." My master is such a rip-off! What kind of master did her mother find for her? This has made her "infamous".

She was a lazy, spoiled brat who had only worked for a few days, yet she had become a textile genius in her master's eyes and was even asked to go to the textile factory in Mingzhou to provide guidance. Qin Xiangxiang was completely dumbfounded.

Don't give her unnecessary work.

"Director Zhao, I'll go back and think about this matter... but it's too much work."

Factory Director Zhao said, "The textile factory over there also has four shifts of female workers working three shifts, three days on and one day off. Mingzhou has also agreed to provide Xiao Qin with a house. When Xiao Qin is not working in the factory, she can take her child to Mingzhou to stay. She can go to the island every two or three days to reunite with her family. It's very convenient."

It only takes one or two hours to get from Mingzhou to the island by motorized cargo ship, with one trip every morning and evening. Moreover, Mingzhou is a well-known city and has been a symbol of wealth in the past. Many people in Shanghai today are actually wealthy businessmen from Mingzhou during the Republic of China era. Their ancestral home is Mingzhou, which sounds like their ancestors were once rich.

Just like Mr. Li, many people have some kind of kinship or connection with people from Minnesota.

"Director Zhao, thank you. Xiangxiang and I will discuss it again." Not only was Qin Xiangxiang's face stiff, but even Li Jianzhi's face was stiff. His wife was just too popular.

Moreover, they had already gone with the army, but now they had to live apart. His wife would work in Mingzhou for three days and then take a boat for one or two hours to get home to the family compound. This was just too much of a life.

It's estimated that only those modern-day workaholics in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen who get up at five or six in the morning to queue at the subway station, take a two-hour subway ride to get to work at nine, and then take another two-hour subway ride after getting off work at six in the evening, not getting home until after eight at night, will be able to endure it.

Although commuting on the subway would be longer, at least it would be air-conditioned, and you'd be crammed like sardines. Plus, it would run rain or shine, only stopping in extreme weather. But crossing the sea by boat was no fun at all. What if the weather turned bad and there were no boats for days? His wife might as well stay in Shanghai; she'd be living apart from him even though she'd gone with him.

In this era, there are no high housing prices or thirty-year mortgages, so why bother with such a miserable life?

"You two should think it over carefully. They said that Comrade Qin is willing to go, and they can give him a salary plus a travel allowance, which is eighty yuan a month. The conditions are very good."

As Qin Xiangxiang walked out of the factory director's office, her legs felt weak. The job the factory director had introduced was simply devilish; she had just escaped one danger only to fall into another.

Li Jianzhi: "Think about it, do you want to go to the Mingzhou Textile Factory?"

"That's terrifying! I'd rather stay in Shanghai."

Li Jianzhi laughed, and he said with feigned sorrow, "Wife, you have sacrificed so much for me, leaving the textile industry that you love."

Qin Xiangxiang thought blankly, "Shut up! You've never loved me!" However, she was in a textile factory, surrounded by uncles and aunts who had watched her grow up. Her mother was the factory manager and couldn't say anything bad about the factory.

I endured it.

Fortunately, she successfully escaped the workshop and embarked on a wonderful, carefree life.

The shipyard engineers helped Li Jianzhi solve the refrigerator problem, and Li Jianzhi also did the shipyard a great favor. He shook hands with the shipyard's leaders.

"Comrade Li, it's fortunate that you came. You solved many technical problems for us. Thanks to you, the factory has saved a lot of losses."

The shipyard had many damaged machine parts that no one could repair. But when Comrade Li arrived, he helped solve many problems and also saved a lot of losses.

As is well known, many construction projects were put on hold and have only recently resumed. The numerous problems and malfunctions have caused everyone a great deal of trouble. In addition, the quality of students trained by the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University is too poor, so the only ones who can handle things now are the elderly people in their forties and fifties.

"If you weren't a military officer, Comrade Li, we would all want to keep you in our factory as an engineer."

Li Jianzhi shook his head: "No, I don't have that skill."

The factory manager smiled wryly: "You're much better than those 'college graduates' from worker-peasant families." If things continue like this, there will be a shortage of skilled workers, and the technology will regress.

However, Comrade Li in front of him gave the factory director a glimmer of hope. Their country is vast and rich in resources, and there are many extraordinary people. There are definitely not only one "self-taught" people like Li Jianzhi. As long as there are such people, there is still hope for the future.

After the dinner with the shipyard workers, Political Commissar Wang pulled Li Jianzhi aside, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "Listen to what the factory director just said. I'll give you a big commendation."

"You've really gained a lot from this trip. I never expected your wife from Shanghai would actually agree to come with you to the army..." Political Commissar Wang said, his voice filled with envy and jealousy.

"She didn't make a scene?"

Li Jianzhi: "No, she agreed immediately."

"You little rascal, you're just pretending with me. You think she's some kind of hot commodity just because you asked her?

Li Jianzhi was secretly pleased, but he didn't show it on his face: "Political Commissar Wang, I need to ask you for a favor. I didn't have much luggage when I came here, but I need to move when I go back. Could you help me contact a suitable ship and free up some cargo space so that my wife and I can move all our belongings over there?"

“What’s this? Do we really need to trouble the cargo warehouse? I’ll help you get some. In the past, when military wives went there, they only had a few bundles. They would buy the things after they arrived. Are you really going to be reluctant to spend this money? Your city wife has a lot of things, so it shouldn’t be much more than that.”

Li Jianzhi: "In addition to the cargo warehouse, we also need to find a few soldiers in the headquarters who are willing to help carry things, especially large items."

"A sewing machine? And you're bringing your bicycle too?"

"Yes, there are all of them, and there's also a piano."

Political Commissar Wang was shocked: "Carry the piano?"

"No, your wife can play the piano? Isn't your wife a textile worker?"

A piano is a rare item. Ordinary girls who can play the accordion and men who can play the harmonica are considered top contenders in the dating market, but a piano... a piano is something that not every family can afford to learn.

This guy in front of me has a wife who can play the piano!

"Can't workers play the piano?"

Political Commissar Wang asked curiously, "What's your wife's level of piano playing? Is it even listenable?"

"Sure, she plays several instruments, a little bit of the accordion, harmonica, and cello." Li Jianzhi's tone was particularly relaxed and carefree, as if a Hong Konger would say "it's nothing," subtly showing off his wife, which was quite irritating.

No wonder he was so proud. Even fifty years from now, it would be difficult to find a Shanghai wife who can play the piano. Musical instruments are not something that ordinary people can learn. Most people, like Li Jianzhi, take an interest class when they are young and at most remember a few beginner pieces when they grow up.

It's fine to listen to others play musical instruments, but when you're learning piano yourself, being able to resist smashing the sheet music is already a sign of good manners.

Political Commissar Wang: "Then your wife is like an angel, an artist, untouched by worldly concerns. Don't blame me for not warning you, you'll have a lot of headaches to deal with in the future."

"Several men in our naval family compound married city women, which easily leads to major conflicts."

“Impossible.” Li Jianzhi said with great confidence: “My wife, Xiao Qin, is very good at managing money. She even said that I don’t know the cost of living until I’m in charge of the household. I praise her for her ability to manage the household every day.”

Political Commissar Wang: "..."

"The only thing I can't stand is that there's a family surnamed Xu next door. I don't know who they are, but they're really bad at managing their money. I just can't stand it."

"I feel so sorry for my wife having such an awful neighbor next door."

“My wife has a good temper. She used to be bullied by her neighbors because she didn’t have me as her husband.”