Wang Minggui's home.

After work, he still needs to queue at the canteen, get food for his family, and then go to the after-school program to pick up his second son, who is less than two years old.

Eating in the cafeteria is more expensive than eating at home, and the food from the large pots is really not good. But Zhou Lian has something to do now, so her family has been eating in the cafeteria for more than a month.

"Where's your mom? She hasn't come back yet."

His eldest son is 14 years old. He started school late in the countryside and is now in the fifth grade at the elementary school in the family compound.

The other children have all started school; Er Ya is in third grade this year.

Unlike her older brother and younger siblings who can go to school, Er Ya has been on leave for a long time just to stay home and take care of her youngest brother.

Seeing her father return, Er Ya hugged her younger brother, her eyes red, glanced at him, and went straight back to her room without saying a word.

"Er Ya..."

Wang Minggui didn't call out to her. His second son tugged at his hand, saying he was hungry and wanted to eat. His eldest son was nowhere to be seen.

Sanya just started first grade this year. She had never attended school in her hometown before. She was supposed to attend the preschool class first, but Zhou Lian thought she was too old and it would be embarrassing for her to attend the preschool class, so she directly started first grade.

Sanya didn't know anything at first, and she found it much harder to learn than others.

She would start washing the house clothes as soon as she got home from school, and she washed all the diapers her little brother had used. She didn't have time to review her studies, so she found it even more difficult to learn.

When Wang Minggui saw his second daughter return carrying an iron bucket that reached her thigh, he quickly went forward to take it from her.

No one in the family had a smile on their face, and Wang Minggui felt terrible too.

My youngest son was born a macrosomic baby, and we spent many days in the hospital, which cost a lot of money.

He ate a lot, and those milk powder coupons were simply not enough, so he had to buy milk powder at a high price on the black market.

Not long after Zhou Lian finished her postpartum confinement, she heard that the textile factory was recruiting workers, so she devoted herself to the literacy class.

Er Ya was ordered to take leave from work to take care of her youngest son, while Wang Minggui was responsible for serving meals in the cafeteria. She was completely uninvolved in household matters.

The family's money was spent like water. Wang Minggui even patched up his torn pants this month and kept wearing them. If it weren't for their previous savings, his whole family would have starved.

It was already dark when Zhou Lian returned. She had a literacy class that evening, so she came back to breastfeed her youngest son and eat on the way.

Er Ya hesitated in the room for a long time, so long that Zhou Lian fed her son while staring at her.

"Just say what you have to say, don't keep hovering in front of me, it's making my eyes blurry."

Zhou Lian's tone was very bad. If she hadn't been holding on, she could have slept for three days and three nights.

"...Mom, I want to go back to school."

Er Ya whispered, clutching her sleeves, that she didn't want to stay home with her younger brother anymore; she wanted to go to school.

"What did you say? I think you're crazy. How am I supposed to go to class if you don't show me him?"

"I..." Er Ya wanted to ask why she had to stay home to take care of her younger brother while others could go to school.

"Get out of here right now. If you're not going to bring anyone with you, don't come back into this house and don't eat a single bite of our food."

Zhou Lian impatiently told Er Ya to get out; she was exhausted and didn't want to take care of the little one.

If she doesn't pass the exam, how will the family live a good life on her father's salary?

In the end, Er Ya could only run out with tears in her eyes and a sense of grievance.

Wang Minggui overheard the argument between the mother and daughter, and could only sigh as he went out to find his eldest daughter.

————

"Director Zhang?"

After Song Qing sent An'an to the nursery early in the morning, she originally planned to go to the factory to find Master Liu, but unexpectedly Director Zhang had her kidnapped on the way.

"Xiao Song, you're here."

Director Zhang has been extremely busy lately, and when he saw Song Qing coming over, he immediately handed her the things he was carrying.

"The factory has directly appointed you as the technical team leader to lead this group of comrades to D province. In addition to supervising their studies, you are also responsible for everyone's safety. Of course, you can't fall behind in your own part either."

These 10 technicians had been trained by Master Liu for some time, and most of them were technicians from daily necessities factories, so they already had a basic understanding of mechanical knowledge.

According to the military region leadership, they hope to have their own people who have mastered the technology, and at the same time, they will hire specialized technicians from other factories to train new ones through experienced mentors, thus cultivating a group of technicians internally.

As the factory expands in the future, these technical personnel will play a significant role.

“I’ve already told them that you’re the team leader and they have to follow your instructions.”

Director Zhang was also under immense pressure. It was several thousand miles away, and she was worried sick about the safety of just 10 female colleagues going there.

This is something that Mingming had already told him once before, yet he called Song Qing over again today.

Anticipate all the problems they might encounter and propose solutions.

Director Zhang spoke until his throat was dry, but Song Qingming, who had already listened several times, still listened very attentively.

"I know, Director Zhang. Don't worry, we will definitely complete the mission."

"What can I do if I'm worried? We can't really relax here right now. Otherwise, I would have arranged for someone to go with you."

She was too busy with the daily necessities factory and the textile factory, and her feet were always on the ground.

The group of elderly women had held a meeting. Their families came from all over the country, and the factory there was a large state-owned enterprise, so their safety should be guaranteed.

Otherwise, they would have to find a way to arrange for two men to go. They wanted Master Liu to go with them, but the recruitment exam results would be out soon, and the new workers would need to be trained, so Master Liu couldn't be scheduled.

"You will each receive an extra twelve yuan subsidy this month for your business trip. I will have the accountant take care of your food coupons, meat coupons and other coupons. It's better to be generous when you're on a business trip than to be poor. You are the great hope of our textile factory, so don't try to save money for the factory."

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