Chapter 54
Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi settled down on July 15, and they began to write letters to their families. The letters traveled for two weeks and finally arrived in Qinghe Village.
Qinghe Village remains nestled at the foot of a silent mountain. Smoke curls upward from cooking fires, and acres of rice are already sprouting. A gentle breeze sweeps across the landscape, like a vast green ocean, its waves undulating and rolling, the air tinged with the refreshing aroma of rice.
The sun peeked over the mountaintops, its rays bathing the entire landscape. Meng Yanchun, carrying a hoe, walked along the ridge of the rice paddies. Today's task was to weed the rice paddies. The weather had been favorable in recent years, and the soil was fertile. The rice was growing well, and so were the weeds.
Therefore, weeding is necessary every ten days or so until the rice is ripe. It is a very arduous task. However, for rural people who depend on the weather for their livelihood, such hardship is already commonplace.
Taking off shoes and walking barefoot into the fields, ripples spread in the water, and the water striders floating on the water surface slid their legs and claws, quickly fleeing in all directions.
The dragonfly resting on the rice flapped its wings and flew away, passing by Meng Yanchun, looking for a new place to rest.
Meng Yanchun glanced at him indifferently, and the upturned corners of his mouth showed his good mood.
The letter sent by Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi, a couple who had been away for a long time, finally arrived. Meng Yanchun finally put his mind at ease when he learned that his sister and brother-in-law were doing well.
Thinking of what Meng Wanqiu said in the letter, Meng Yanchun couldn't help but recall those scenes in his mind.
[Grandma, Mom and Dad, Big Brother and Sister-in-law, as well as Fengdong and Zhuangzhuang - seeing Xinjia.
Xingzhi and I had already settled in at the 715th. Xingzhi went to the technical department, and I went to the accounting department. Yes, the accounting department, where we spent all day banging away on abacuses. Alas, it seems I'll be inseparable from the abacus for the rest of my life (helpless face—draw a small round face with raised eyebrows and a straight mouth).
When I came to Province Y, a lot of things happened, which made me sigh that we really have a connection with this place.
First of all, the first thing was that I met my second brother Meng Mingxia at the train station. I didn’t expect that my second brother would be suddenly transferred to this military region. You should have known it now (laughs).
My second brother is doing very well. He's taller than my eldest brother and very strong. He's now the head of a group (he also wrote a letter). Don't worry, Mom and Dad. Xingzhi and I will be here to take care of him.
Because Uncle Song Zhen was busy with official duties, Xingzhi and I didn't visit him right away. Later, after we settled down, we did visit Uncle Song Zhen. Unfortunately, we didn't see my second brother because he was away on another mission. Uncle Song Zhen was very caring towards Xingzhi and me, and he talked to us about his and Dad's military days. His expression was filled with nostalgia, and his words clearly showed how much he missed Dad and his comrades.
Aunt Song was a very gentle elder. When she heard I was pregnant, she told us a lot of precautions and even killed a chicken for me to nourish my body. Xingzhi and I were both very apprehensive. We had come here to visit and express our gratitude, but why did we bother an elder?
Uncle Song and Aunt Song have only one daughter, who is also serving in the army. She has short, neat hair and is a heroic girl with a very cheerful and loyal personality. We are the same age and have become good friends. The other party has been clamoring to be the child's godmother, and Xingzhi and I agreed.
Because of Uncle Song's status, it was inconvenient for us to visit him often, so after that visit, we didn't bother Uncle Song and Aunt Song again.
Seeing this, Meng Aiguo nodded. Given Song Zhen's current status, Meng Wanqiu and the others couldn't visit him often, lest someone say they were trying to curry favor with him or influence him.
Even though Song Zhen and his wife were very enthusiastic and welcomed them, Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi knew that they should not cause trouble for the other party because they were kind.
The relationship between the two families must be carefully maintained.
Another coincidence is that we ran into a master at 715 who had lost contact with Xingzhi for several years and was very kind to him. His name was Bai Fengyao, and he is now the deputy director of 715. He and Uncle Song were the ones who vouched for Xingzhi.
Master Bai treats Xingzhi like his own son and takes good care of me. Xingzhi and I both respect and care for each other as if we were our father.
Master Bai's knowledge is amazing. He not only taught me how to do things, but also taught me a lot. Now my abilities are gradually growing...]
In another reply letter to Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi, Meng Aiguo thanked Bai Fengyao for his care on behalf of his family, and reminded them: Master Bai treats you and Xingzhi with all his heart as his own children, and you should also treat Master Bai as your father.
In fact, Meng Aiguo didn't need to say anything, Pei Xingzhi and Meng Wanqiu naturally took care of Bai Fengyao like their father.
Meng Wanqiu talked about many things in the letter, such as buying a house, work, and people like Sister Gao, neighbors Uncle Feng and Aunt Feng, and Aunt Wang, whose ancestors of Lingnan were imperial chefs... These were the people who helped and were kind to Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi.
The family expressed their deepest gratitude to these people. They sent a letter with a large package filled with mountain products. In their reply, they told Meng Wanqiu and Pei Xingzhi to distribute the products to these people and to build good relationships with them, ensuring a reciprocal relationship and not taking advantage of others.
In addition to Meng Aiguo's letter, his elder brother Meng Yanchun and sister-in-law Dong Hanyun also wrote to Meng Wanqiu separately. Meng Zhuangzhuang also wrote to his aunt and uncle separately.
Why write separately? Because Pei Xingzhi also wrote a separate letter to Meng Zhuangzhuang, in which he formally addressed Meng Zhuangzhuang as "Comrade Meng Dongran" and assigned him some study tasks, asking him not to slack off and that he would review them when he returned.
When Meng Zhuangzhuang realized that his uncle had written this letter specifically for him, his face flushed like a tomato, his pride immensely gratified. He instantly felt like he had been given a shot of chicken blood, and he immediately went back to write Pei Xingzhi a lengthy letter of guarantee.
On the contrary, the letter to my aunt Meng Wanqiu was only a few lines long and did not need a separate envelope.
Meng Wanqiu was amused and helpless when she saw the letter Meng Zhuangzhuang wrote to Pei Xingzhi. She had anticipated this when Pei Xingzhi wrote to Meng Zhuangzhuang.
Meng Zhuangzhuang was just beginning to understand self-esteem and become sensible, so you can imagine how much damage Pei Xingzhi's words "Comrade Meng Dongran" had on him.
Meng Wanqiu sighed, her cute and sensible little nephew had been controlled by Pei Xingzhi.
However, Meng Wanqiu was still very grateful to Pei Xingzhi. The reason why Pei Xingzhi did that was, in the final analysis, because he cared about Meng Zhuangzhuang and wanted him to be well, so he took great pains to do so.
Factory 715.
"We are walking on the road, full of vigor and fighting spirit——"
The melodious and inspiring red songs playing on the radio hovered over the 715 factory area. Workers in blue work clothes came out of the workshop and walked towards the cafeteria.
The working hours of July 15th are from 8 am to 5 pm, with a break at noon and work at 1:30 pm.
The radio station plays songs at 12 noon every day. When workers hear songs on the radio, it reminds them that it is time to eat.
The Finance and Accounting Department was a large office, and except for the Section Chief, Tian Qianjin, everyone else was in this large room. Meng Wanqiu's desk was near the window, neatly arranged with various documents.
It is called an office desk, but it is actually just an ordinary table with a flat surface on four corners.
The July 15th Movement was newly established and everything was very simple. The conditions were difficult and we were encouraged to carry forward the spirit of hard work.
Of course, at this time, almost everyone, whether older or younger, had experienced hardship. No one cared about this minor issue; the most important thing was to work hard on construction and production for the July 15th Project.
But it's so simple that it's other people's tables.
Meng Wanqiu's desk is a little different. There are two wooden shelves on the desk, one vertical and the other horizontal.
A simple drawer sat beneath the table, and a circle of reed matting surrounded it. The reed matting had neatly trimmed edges and was a tan color, matching the color of the table perfectly, making it look effortless.
Meng Wanqiu had previously said that she wanted to learn how to weave soft and beautiful mats. After some research, she actually figured out a way to soften the reeds while keeping them tough.
Meng Wanqiu knitted with great enthusiasm for two days, even holding the knitting cloth in her hands while eating and sleeping. She was a bit sleepy during her pregnancy, and after she fell asleep several times while knitting, Pei Xingzhi couldn't stand it anymore and stayed up all night to help Meng Wanqiu finish the knitting.
Meng Wanqiu was shocked at the time. She had never thought Pei Xingzhi could actually weave mats. He clearly hadn't been able to do it before, so how could he suddenly be able to do it?
In response to this, Pei Xingzhi calmly said that he would learn it after watching Meng Wanqiu weave it a few times.
Meng Wanqiu: ...
After that incident, Meng Wanqiu lost interest in mat weaving. Unexpectedly, Pei Xingzhi became interested in mat weaving. In addition to mat weaving, he later developed a new weaving technique and made door curtains, window curtains, and more.
When installing the curtains, he made them look like pull curtains, and the degree of light blocking of the curtains can be controlled by pulling the rope.
After they started working, Pei Xingzhi went to the Finance and Accounting Department to see how Meng Wanqiu's work environment was. After seeing her simple desk, he renovated it for her.
Not many changes were made, except that two more bookshelves were added to the table, a drawer was added underneath, and the edges were surrounded by mats to block out the sight of Meng Wanqiu's lower body.
Because Meng Wanqiu needs to use her eyes a lot during working hours, Pei Xingzhi specially transplanted a few orchids from Bai Fengyao's home and placed them in the upper left corner of the table so that she can see them when she looks up without delaying her work.
On the right is the tool that Meng Wanqiu uses to work, an abacus with fifteen levels.
"Hey, Accountant Meng, why aren't you going to eat yet?"
"I'll be there soon. I'll wait for Sister Gao from the Personnel Department. Let's go eat together."
The person Meng Wanqiu was talking to was a woman in her forties named Wu Guifen, a handyman in the accounting department. A widow, her husband had died of illness, leaving her alone with a son and a daughter. Originally from a village near the 715 plant, she was recruited there when the plant was built because of its location.
The accounting department was mostly men, but few women, only three. One was Meng Wanqiu, and the other was Zhang Yue, who had graduated from high school a year earlier than Meng Wanqiu and worked as a cashier. And then there was Wu Guifen.
Wu Guifen walked over to Meng Wanqiu's desk with a broom in her hand and touched the mat nailed to the side. "Hey, Accountant Meng, did you make this mat yourself? It's really well made. Can you teach me? I want to make a few too."
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