Boom——
As the car entered the textile factory, heavy rain began to fall without warning.
The sound was rapid and sticky, just like that endless night ten years ago, which made people tremble.
Both sides of the road were filled with people.
There was no noise or conversation.
Jiang Ningning saw familiar faces through the car window, including Aunt Zhu's family.
The washed-out blue work clothes formed a quiet ocean, and the oil stains on the cuffs were medals of labor.
They also deliberately wore the old factory logo from ten years ago.
Things have been happening one after another recently. The capital investigation team suddenly moved into the factory, and then some people were arrested and some were fired.
During this short period of one month, every worker was in a panic, fearing that they would be affected.
It was not until the new factory director Wan announced that Zheng Gang and his team from the former factory and security department had embezzled state assets amounting to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Jiang Ming, a martyr who died in flood fighting ten years ago, was brutally murdered because of the discovery of their criminal evidence.
The old masters in the front row had cloudy but sharp eyes, and their rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the thick calluses on their palms.
Jiang Ming, the first senior technician in Qu County, is the pride of their textile factory!
He always wore his washed-out navy blue work clothes, a crossbody bag on his back, and a wrench on his waist. The soles of his Liberation Shoes were patched and worn over and over again.
He greeted everyone cheerfully, with a gentle and simple smile, without any airs of a master worker.
All the workers also remember the terrifying night of heavy rain and flooding. The oily wrench was inserted into Jiang Ming's lower back. It was as bright as a sword in the lightning, and it cut Jiang Ming's way to the power distribution room without hesitation...
Everyone knows that power stations are the most dangerous places on rainy nights.
Jiang Ming also knew it well.
So, he chose to go alone...
Boom!
Long silver dragons roared angrily in the sky, and the thick clouds were torn into pieces.
The jeep finally stopped in front of the main factory gate.
Huo Donglin got out of the car first, opened his black umbrella, walked around to the passenger seat and opened the door.
A damp and cold wind carrying the fishy smell of rain suddenly blew in, and Jiang Ningning couldn't help but hold her breath.
The black and white portrait of the deceased in her arms hurt her palm, and the pain spread from her palm to her stomach.
Every breath brings with it a sour, swollen, and numbing pain.
It was the remaining emotions of the original owner that were haunting her.
“Ningning…”
Seeing her pale face, Huo Donglin reached out to support her arm.
The pain in his black eyes was about to overflow.
"Mother!"
"Mom, are you okay?"
The two kids quickly gathered around him, raised their little heads, and their big eyes were full of worry.
"It's okay." Jiang Ningning took a deep breath, tried hard to suppress the sad emotion, bent down and got out of the car.
All the silent and heavy gazes around her fell on her.
The crowd remained silent, with only the occasional dull sound of a loom turning in the distance.
But the power contained in that silence is almost suffocating.
“Ouch…”
Aunt Zhu noticed Jiang Ningning's body swaying in the wind and rain, and raised her sleeve to wipe her eyes.
She will always remember that after Jiang Ming and his wife died, the child kept digging in the mud as if he had lost his soul, and his hands were soaked and rotten.
While digging, he counted in his mouth: "1, 2, 3..."
Aunt Zhu gritted her teeth in hatred, Zheng Gang and his gang are really beasts!
A group of people walked into the factory, where more than a dozen people were standing inside.
The gray-haired old man in the lead turned out to be Mr. Xue. He was not wearing a mountain suit today, but a dark green military uniform with medals all over his chest.
Behind him were two soldiers with solemn expressions, each holding an open crimson velvet box with a brand new certificate of honor inside.
The gold-plated national emblem and handwriting reflected a dazzling and solemn light in the setting sun, like a solidified flame, burning the gray factory area.
The dumplings followed their mother obediently, one on each side, and looked into Grandpa Xue's eyes, not saying a word sensibly.
Old Xue looked at the little ones nervously. After not seeing them for a few months, their faces became rounder and their bodies seemed to be stronger. Seeing this, he felt a little relieved.
But when his eyes swept across Jiang Ningning's red rabbit eyes, his brows furrowed deeply again.
Jiang Ningning gave him a grateful smile. Although Jiang Ming died for the textile factory, he was not qualified to have a medal personally awarded by a big shot like Mr. Xue.
The reason why Mr. Xue came all the way to Qu County was, firstly, that he admired Jiang Ming's spirit of sacrifice, and secondly - to support her!
How can this pure love not move people?
In Jiang Ningning's heart, she had long regarded him as Manman and Xia Xia's biological grandfather, a kind of grandfather who was more like a relative than a relative.
The two looked at each other in silence, without any need to say anything extra.
Director Wan glanced at his watch and saw that the time pointed to eleven o'clock. He lowered his voice and reminded, "Chief Xue, it's time to start."
Someone brought the microphone over and placed it in the center.
Mr. Xue straightened his clothes, took two steps forward, and swept his heavy eyes across the silent "blue ocean" on both sides of the road.
The voice that opened with obvious hoarseness and difficulty echoed in the silent factory corridor: "Workers, today we are here... to hold this belated ceremony for Comrade Jiang Ming."
"Ten years ago, the flood at the textile factory was a disaster. Comrade Jiang Ming sacrificed his precious life in that disaster to protect state property and the lives of hundreds of workers."
"But," Mr. Xue suddenly raised his voice, sweat beading on his gray temples, with a determination to burn his boats.
"In the past ten years, Comrade Jiang Ming's sacrifice has been tarnished! Some scum used dirty means to obscure the truth and tamper with the nature of the incident! His true, selfless and fearless feat was covered up!"
"He is not only a hero in fighting the flood, but also a man who holds the handle in the darkness! He uses his life to illuminate the filth hidden behind the flood! He uses his blood to polish the strength of the word 'worker'!"
Mr. Xue's chest heaved violently, and he cast his gaze upon the crowd again, upon those faces that were roughened by life but extremely real, and upon those figures who had silently dedicated their entire lives to ordinary jobs.
His voice became deep and powerful, penetrating the oppressive air:
"It belongs to all those who stand up in times of crisis! It belongs to all those who silently stick to their posts, meticulously guard the word "good"! It belongs to all those who will never bow to injustice even if they can only emit a faint glow in the dark!"
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