"The performing group will receive a separate reward, but we haven't said who will receive it or how it will be given."
"Director, what do you get in that lottery?"
"I do know that, but I'm not telling you."
"director……"
Zuo Yan had already stopped caring about the people in the workshop and had set off to pick up his mother and wife from home.
When Zuo's mother saw Zuo Yan, she was startled.
"Why are you back so early? Did something happen?"
It's only around 10 a.m. now. According to the original plan, Zuo Yan intended to finish work at 12 p.m., grab a quick bite to eat, and then take his mother and wife to the factory. They would arrive at the factory at exactly 2 p.m., just in time to watch the performance.
Xiuli was also nervous; she had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
In fact, most women from the countryside who marry into the city don't have a very good life.
The disparity in their social status gives them an innate sense of inferiority.
Many people imagine a life where the husband works all day, and when he comes home in the evening, the wife tidies up the house, waits for him to eat, and then the two of them live together in this warm family. On Saturdays and Sundays, they take the elderly and children out for fun.
In reality, women in this era were confined to only a few areas of life: the supply and marketing cooperative and their home.
As for places to travel, being able to go out once a year is already considered good.
Xiuli knew that she was much luckier than other women.
Because Zuo Yan takes his family out for fun on weekends. Actually, this is only because Zuo Yan recently got a stable job; before, he wouldn't have had this time on weekends. There are quite a few temporary jobs available on weekends, and he originally wanted to take one, but his mother stopped him, saying that he should stop once he's earned enough money. He wants to go out with his wife on weekends.
Zuo Yan did as instructed.
Everyone in the courtyard said she was lucky to have married a good husband.
"Hey, Da Tou, oh no, the director said we're not working this morning. He told us to come back and bring our families over," Zuo Yan explained succinctly.
"Then, shall we leave now?"
"Ah, I'll take you there."
These days, it's not uncommon to see two people riding on a bicycle. Xiuli sat in front, and Zuo's mother sat behind.
It's so pretty and small, it's not uncomfortable for it to sit in the front.
Three people on one bicycle, yet there's an eerie sense of harmony about it.
The entire road was smooth, which puzzled Zuo's mother: "I remember that the road here was originally difficult to walk on."
"Oh, you mean that? A few months ago, the government allocated funds to repair the roads here. Mainly, it's because the motorcycles need to be transported out, and the bumpy roads are hard to navigate. See that construction site over there? That's our factory's new site. I heard they're going to build some kind of industrial park." Zuo Yan explained cheerfully to his family, slowing down as he did so.
"Park? What's that?" Xiuli asked curiously.
"I don't know either. The factory manager said he plans to build houses there and a school as well, so we can live there directly and won't have to travel so far."
“School? School is great.” Zuo’s mother nodded. “But the housing is not so good. I’ve been to the tenement building. It was novel at first, but it got worse and worse over time.”
Mrs. Zuo was an old hand at this. Although the courtyard house was old and dilapidated, once the door was closed, it was your own little world. There were plenty of neighbors, but they maintained a certain distance; they weren't so close together. But a tenement building was different; they were too close together. This made the older generation uncomfortable. Even if she had to live in a small room in a courtyard house, she wouldn't want to live in a tenement building.
"I heard the dormitories that have been built are different, Mom. How about we wait a bit?"
"Wait? Wait for what?" Mother Zuo shook her head: "It's not appropriate. Old Wang is about to move out. We need to act quickly."
"But Mom."
"No buts, listen to your mother. Let's not even talk about whether you'll get a dormitory room. Buying that courtyard house will be a foundation for us, no matter what happens in the future. What do you say?" Zuo's mother's control over Zuo Yan wasn't the kind of absolute, forceful control, but rather using her own methods to persuade Zuo Yan.
“Honey, Mom is right. Besides, the dorms are free, aren’t they?” Xiuli chimed in.
"Yeah, I was just thinking of saving some money."
"There's nothing to save on. The money hasn't increased or decreased; it's just that we've moved to a new house. If we need to move someday, we can sell the house. With so many more people in the city, houses are always valuable."
"Okay, whatever you say."
With the family discussing and agreeing on things together, the journey progressed quite quickly.
We arrived at the factory around 11 a.m.
The factory gate was not like usual today. The security department had deployed a lot of people, and lines of tape resembling police tape had been put up at the gate.
"Son, what's wrong?" Mother Zuo asked, not knowing what was going on.
"Oh, the factory manager said that he's worried there will be too many people coming into the factory later, so he's set up a line and created several channels. Then everyone can just line up to go in. We don't want any accidents to happen because of the crowds."
"Your factory manager is quite experienced; he must be getting on in years."
"He's very young. I heard he's only in his thirties, but he looks like he's in his twenties."
"So young," Xiuli asked in surprise.
In her mind, factory managers were all dignified middle-aged men in their forties or fifties.
"Yeah, you'll see when the time comes."
Compared to other factories, the motorcycle factory has a much larger open space, covered with various scratches. A large space is necessary for proper testing. Today, there's also a temporary stage set up on this site.
Xiuli looked around like a curious child.
"Yes, we'll watch it here today."
"Stand and watch?" Mother Zuo doubted whether she could stand for four hours, and besides, she couldn't stand the temperature outside.
"No, you can sit down there. They gave us a cushion. We were originally planning to use stools, but there weren't enough stools in the factory, so we'll all sit down. Don't worry, I brought my own."
"Isn't it too cold today?" Mother Zuo still hesitated.
"Don't worry, the factory manager said he got some hot water bottles, and it won't be too cold in the afternoon."
There's really not much that can be done.
Indoors, the conditions weren't right; there were several thousand people. Outdoors, the temperature was another major problem. This was also Wang Shouren's fault; he hadn't considered this aspect.
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