Chapter 84: Losers cannot see a future beyond their own perception. ...

Zhong Ying doesn't think she's fooling people. She understands Li Rongshi's hardships as the second child in the family because she has strong empathy and can put herself in others' shoes.

Zhong Ying did not participate in the frank conversation between father and son after lunch that day; she went back to her parents' home for lunch.

In most families, the second child is neglected, but the Zhong family is a rare exception. In their family, "the eldest child is noisy and the second child is spoiled," and the neglected child is the most honest and introverted youngest son.

Zhong Ying came home for dinner specifically to comfort her aggrieved younger brother.

Zhong Xin was completely bewildered by the blunt statement, "Brother, you've been wronged!"

After a while, Zhong Xin finally understood what was going on. He pursed his lips and smiled, "No, I don't feel wronged."

All five fingers are of different lengths, and Zhong Xin could see that clearly, so he didn't feel wronged.

The eldest brother, Zhong Cheng, was a mischievous little monkey who was always causing trouble. He had been beaten countless times. Zhong Xin didn't mind not receiving the same attention from his parents as his brother. He thought he was better off without this kind of "favoritism."

Second sister Zhong Ying is sweet-talking and knows how to coax people; she has a whole repertoire of words that Zhong Xin could never come up with. So, the fact that she is loved by their parents is something that she earned through her own abilities, so how could Zhong Xin feel wronged?

Deng Xia still felt wronged. She rolled her eyes at her daughter and said, "You make it sound like your father and I are biased to the extreme. It's not like I had ten or eight children that I couldn't take care of! There are only the three of you, and your brother went to join the army early on. How could I neglect Xinzi!"

Grandpa Zhong nodded in agreement. The old couple hadn't neglected their children. A few days ago, they had even checked on their youngest son to see if his testicles had fully grown, and they had used up half a candle for it.

"Besides, now only your younger brother is left in the family. If you adopt a son, I can help you take care of the child and neglect your brother a bit," Deng Xia said sarcastically, still harboring resentment over Zhong Ying's refusal to have a son.

Zhong Ying's gaze darted away, avoiding her mother's eyes. "I don't have a son, but I already have a daughter."

Deng Xia thought Zhong Ying was talking about Li Qianqian. "Qianqian is your aunt's daughter. Do you think that just because she lives with you, she's your daughter?"

“Of course not,” Zhong Ying gestured with her lip toward the big black dog next to her, who had finished eating and licked the bowl clean. “My daughter.”

In modern thinking, pets are considered to occupy the "children's palace" (a concept in Chinese astrology), making them no different from one's own children.

Therefore, it was perfectly natural for Zhong Ying to say that brown sugar was her daughter.

Deng Xia assumed her daughter was teasing her and widened her eyes, "Hongtang is an old dog that's been raised for twelve years. If you calculate its age, it's probably older than your third great-aunt, more like your grandmother!"

Zhong Ying ignored her and simply called out, "Brown Sugar—"

Under the midday sun, the glossy black fur appeared to have a touch of red. The large black mongrel, hearing the call, finally released the clean porcelain bowl that looked as if it had been washed, and excitedly and lively approached Zhong Ying.

Zhong Ying patted Hong Tang's head. With this much energy, how could she look like an old lady?

Li Linshi watched from the side, glancing at Zhong Ying and then at the dog's head that she was lovingly rubbing, trying to accept it.

At that time, rural people kept dogs only to guard their homes and property, regarding them as a security tool. Li Linshi is now trying his best to change this mindset. Since Zhong Ying treats Hongtang like her daughter, he should naturally think the same way.

Li Linshi looked at the brown sugar and thought... it didn't seem so hard to accept this dog girl. He loved her because of her, and he had taken care of her from time to time, giving her a bath and such. He would pay more attention to her in the future.

Brown Sugar felt a chill inexplicably on the back of his head, unaware of what kind of "fatherly favor" he was about to receive.

——

As December ended and the new year of 1970 began, the Tonggan Production Team had a fresh start.

The hydroelectric power plant has been built, the generator provided by the commune has arrived, and the water turbine made by Liu Laicai has been completed with the help of the educated youth.

So, on the second Monday of January, the hydroelectric power station will conduct its first installed capacity test.

Yu Jing climbed the ladder and screwed the light bulb in her hand into the hanging light in the factory. Han Yanqun helped hold the ladder from below, looking up at her figure.

On the other side, Yang Tongjie was giving a final check on the generator and the wooden water turbine.

Upon learning that they would be generating electricity for the first time today, the members of the production team all came to watch, curiously looking at this and that, chattering amongst themselves.

"Does the fact that the light is on mean that the power generation has been successfully completed?"

"Shouldn't such a joyous occasion be celebrated with a red ribbon-cutting ceremony?"

"Zhong Lao Er, did you bring your suona? If it works, we'll have to play it a couple of times to make it more lively!"

"That's great, now we can have electricity for the New Year..."

Yang Tongjie was surrounded by the simple and joyful voices of the commune members, and he was also looking forward to what would happen next.

After inspecting the water turbine, Yang Tongjie stood up and saw Qiu Yucai among the onlookers. Qiu Yucai, like the others, had come over to look at the machine. When he saw Yang Tongjie, Qiu Yucai immediately took a step back uncomfortably and shrank back into the crowd.

Ever since they learned that Qiu Yucai had maliciously spread rumors about Yu Jing out of jealousy, the educated youth group, though still outwardly a collective, had actually broken off relations. While the other educated youth were doing their best to participate in the construction of the hydroelectric power station, Qiu Yucai seemed to "not accept charity" and disdained to participate, only doing some basic construction work to earn work points like the other members of the production team.

Yang Tongjie was a carefree person, but he wasn't stupid. He couldn't help but check the machine again. Who knew if someone who had done something wrong once would do it again?

As noon approached and everything was ready, Yu Jing said under the expectant gazes of everyone, "We can test drive now. Captain Li, you can open the sluice gate. We also need someone to close the spillway gate—"

As she spoke, she looked at Zhong Ying.

Li Gangshi quickly interjected, "I'll do it! Let me close it!"

Zhong Ying didn't argue with him. She had done the real work, and others had seen it. Opening and closing the sluice gate was just a formality. For such an insignificant matter, her giving way made her seem more magnanimous.

The commune members glanced at Li Gang, then at Zhong Ying. They exchanged a furtive look, and Deng Xia, with her fiery temper, was about to speak.

"Then let my older brother do it." Zhong Ying was happy to relax; she would just watch.

Yu Jing readily agreed, not caring much about such a small matter, "Then Brother Li, you can turn off the sluice gate."

Looking at Li Gang, she seemed to have gotten a good deal and happily ran to the sluice gate to prepare. Tian Mei, holding the children, stood in the crowd and inexplicably felt a little embarrassed.

Unseen by others, Zhong Ying's hand, hanging limply at her side, was being held by Li Linshi, his cool fingertips gently caressing the skin on the back of her hand. So, rather than shutting off any sluice gates, Zhong Ying longed to stand with Li Linshi like this, witnessing together the moment the power plant was electrified.

Yu Jingsu, with a solemn and calm expression, announced in a loud voice, "The floodgates can be opened now—"

As the sluice gate is raised, water rushes in, driving the turbine blades to rotate, which in turn drives the generator shaft gears via a connected belt.

The commune members became excited as they watched the machines turn smoothly. Some couldn't wait to clap their hands, while others looked expectantly at the lights inside the factory, waiting for them to come on the next second.

In an instant, the spinning gears suddenly slowed down. Yu Jing's expression changed as she realized something. "Quick, quickly shut off the inlet valve! Open the drain valve!"

Those who reacted a beat slower realized that something might be wrong. Everyone panicked. Li Rongshi rushed forward and helped his father push the gate of the inlet sluice back in. Li Gangshi, who was looking over to see if the lights were on, was slower and panicked, and for a moment he was unable to pull out the gate of the spillway.

Before anyone else could help open the sluice gate, Li Linshi made a decisive move, manipulating the river water to ram even harder against the wooden planks of the sluice gate, thus breaking it open and allowing the blocked water to flow out.

Despite the timely response, an uncontrollable accident had already occurred: the backflowing river water had entered the hydroelectric power station and flooded the machinery.

The electric lights, hanging quietly from their long cords, seemed to exist in a completely different world from the chaotic and noisy people below.

Once everything calmed down and the crowd dispersed, Yu Jing silently disassembled the generator and wiped the water stains with a cloth. The other educated youth were also busy cleaning up the water in the factory. None of them spoke; the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy. Failure had dealt a heavy blow to these young people. With the machine damaged, they had lost their souls and become new machines, mechanically repeating the actions they were performing.

The only one who might still be "alive" is Zhong Ying. "How badly was the water damaged? Is the generator still usable?"

Yu Jing tried to cheer herself up and replied, "It's alright, not too serious. I think it should still be usable."

Zhong Ying breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was even thinking about whether I should apply for another loan from the commune credit union."

Her lighter mood affected the others in the factory, making everyone feel less heavy-hearted.

"Hey, don't look so down," Zhong Ying patted Yu Jing on the back, then looked at Han Yanqun, Yang Tongjie, Cheng Bin, Yang Meijuan and Chen Lina one by one, "This is just a failure. Since the machine isn't completely broken, there's still a chance to start over."

Yang Tongjie rallied and couldn't help but admire Zhong Ying, "It's good that you're so optimistic, you really encourage us!"

Optimistic? Zhong Ying chuckled. She had been toughened up by working. Why do people who have worked for a long time develop a "workplace vibe"? It's all because they've been tortured. Every now and then there's a hurdle, a hidden danger, or a problem falling from the sky. The unexpected always comes before tomorrow.

Zhong Ying never imagined that the hydropower station would be built smoothly and without any setbacks. Even when this failure came, compared to the setbacks of others, her first thought was, "Ah, finally."

"Failure is the mother of success," Zhong Ying said with radiant confidence. "I feel like we're about to achieve success!"

Unlike the highly motivated people at the power plant, the rest of the production team were uneasy about the failure of the experiment, especially Li Gang.

"I told you from the start, building a hydroelectric power station is a waste of money and manpower!" Li Gangshi paced around his room indignantly like a headless fly. "Well, now it's come true!"

As Tian Mei sat on the bed patching the children's clothes, she couldn't help but interject, "Yu Zhiqing and the others are so smart, they'll definitely come up with a solution."

"The machine is flooded, what else can we do! We've wasted so much money, it's like paying the price of meat for tofu. What can we do without electricity? We can just use candles!" Li Gangshi's eyes were red with anger.

Thinking about the money invested in the construction of the hydropower station so far, it not only depleted the production team's accumulated savings, but also incurred loans from the commune's credit union! Now that the hydropower station can't be built, the money invested is gone forever, and the debt will have to be repaid for the next ten, or even twenty years...

People cannot see the future beyond their own perception.

Li Gang felt that the Tonggan production team was like a ship about to sink into the water, carrying everyone into an even deeper abyss of poverty.

No, no, he can't go down with "this ship"!

The hydroelectric power station wasn't something he wanted to build, so why should we all suffer together?

Li Gang paced back and forth anxiously.

He suddenly realized that if the hydroelectric power station couldn't be built, even if he became the production team leader in the future, he would only be taking over a mess of debt; even if the hydroelectric power station was built and Zhong Ying made a great contribution, and the people's hearts were with him, he probably wouldn't be the team leader.

He has no future in the Tonggan production team!

Li Gangshi thought of those who had previously sought refuge with Fu Da Brigade. His eyes lit up. He could also seek refuge with his father-in-law in Yuqianwa Production Team!

No, Li Gangshi felt a sinking feeling in his heart again. His father was now the "captain" of this sinking ship, and as the eldest son in the family, how could he so easily "get off the ship"?

At that moment, Li Gang thought to himself, "I wish I weren't his father's son!"

etc--

When Li Gang recalled what had happened before, a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

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Author's note: I'll have Boss Li jump off the Tonggan ship right away!