Chapter 40 Third Update

The workers of Factory 2 were working in the factory when they heard the rumors. Xiaolin from their factory had been working in Factory 1 for the past few days. They heard that he was seconded to the shrimp paste workshop. When they heard someone outside saying that the old partners in the shrimp paste workshop were bullying Xiaolin, treating him like a decoration and not cooperating with him, they immediately got angry.

Muttering to themselves, "What a piece of shit!", a small number of workers rushed over. The others were still working hours, and the equipment was running, so they couldn't leave. But everyone supported them, saying that if a fight really happened, they would just let them know and rush over.

When we arrived at the shrimp sauce workshop, we saw that the slim and slender Kobayashi from our factory was facing off against a group of big and strong workers. How could she stand a chance of winning?

Qiu Hongxia took the lead and started scolding, which made the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop confused.

What does this have to do with them!

He Zhigang, the leader of the fermentation group, was the first to step forward and said in a stern voice, "Qiu Hongxia, what do you want to do? You guys from Factory 2 want to come to Factory 1 to cause trouble? This is the shrimp sauce workshop, not your soda workshop! Stay away from me!"

"Bah!" Qiu Hongxia was also a veteran in the factory. She spoke with great vigor. She also had a good tongue from eating sunflower seeds. She yelled back, "He Zhigang, you are the one who took the lead in bullying our Xiao Lin, right? A bunch of you said you were the senior employees in the factory. Do you think your seniority is used to bully the new girls? Xiao Lin came to help you out of kindness. You are really shameless! Do you really think we are easy to bully? Listen up, everyone in the shrimp sauce workshop. Xiao Lin is from our factory. If anyone dares to bully her, stand up now and we will have a fight!"

Everyone in the shrimp paste workshop: "..."

Who wants to fight?

The workers in these two factories are really worthy of their reputation! Take a look at what they look like!

Lin Xiang was watching in amazement. She had originally planned to implement the remedial plan today, waiting for the right time. Then, with the help of the factory director's authority, she would be able to persuade the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop to do their job properly. In fact, the ordinary workers were already shaken, so she just needed to add some fuel to the fire.

But who would have thought that the workers from Factory 2 would suddenly rush out. Compared to their civilized reasoning, the workers from Factory 2 were so steady, accurate and ruthless, and started scolding with great momentum.

The workers in the shrimp sauce workshop looked at each other in bewilderment, their faces red and their necks angry.

The leader of the mixing team hurried out to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, what's all this fuss about! Let's all go! If factories one and two start fighting, it will be a joke."

But the fermentation team leader He Zhigang refused to give in: "Fall apart! Do they think they have the right to cause trouble from the second factory? Wait, we must ask the factory director to judge this matter!"

......

When Factory Director Huang, Secretary You, and Factory 2 Director Zhao Jianjun rushed to the fermentation workshop and heard both sides angrily complaining, Factory Director Huang's brows were twisted so hard that they could almost pinch a fly.

It was also not that he was unaware of the arrogance of the people in the fermentation workshop and their unwillingness to cooperate with Lin Xiang's remedial measures. For this matter, he had personally come over to do ideological work several times, but these people said one thing in front of him and another behind his back. Well, there was a big fuss today.

Of course, the people in the second factory were also bad, and each of them was worse than a bully, cursing and wanting to fight.

Mr. Huang has a headache.

He glanced at the slender figure in the center of the crowd, and found that it was the young comrade Lin Xiang who remained calm.

Thinking about these days, he decided to treat them equally and give them both thirty lashes.

"There have been a lot of things going on in your shrimp sauce workshop recently, and which one hasn't caused a lot of trouble? Ever since Shiwei Shrimp Sauce canned goods came to grab the territory and orders a few months ago, the whole factory has been trying to find ways to make plans for your workshop. Even the comrades from the second factory are concerned about this. Comrade Xiaolin was seconded here by my name, but you all just bully the young and inexperienced people, and you don't cooperate or unite!" When Factory Director Huang became stern, he showed some of the aura of a soldier when he was young. The shrimp sauce workshop was suddenly silent, and the workers didn't dare to breathe.

The shrimp sauce workshop is the ace workshop in the factory. It has always been praised by the factory leaders and envied and respected by other workers. Now it is suddenly criticized by the factory director in front of so many outsiders, and it feels very embarrassed.

Many people hung their heads, feeling panic-stricken for a moment.

"I've read Comrade Xiaolin's plan, it's worth a try. Now the reputation of 119 Shrimp Sauce Cans is going to be ruined. If you don't take action, your workshop will be closed!" Director Huang shouted, finally tearing off the superficial pretense of peace. "Everyone, cooperate with Comrade Xiaolin. Don't really think you can be free and undisciplined without Director Qin here and disobey the instructions of the organization!"

The workers in the shrimp sauce workshop were being scolded in silence, while the workers in the second factory were happily watching them being scolded. They all wanted to have some melon seeds and peanuts to join in the fun. However, Factory Director Huang turned around and pointed his gun at them.

"And you! What do you have to do here? You rush over one by one, cursing and wanting to fight. Do you have any organization or discipline?" Factory Director Huang was about to teach the workers of Factory 2 a lesson angrily, but was interrupted by Zhao Jianjun at the side.

"Director, the workers in our second factory are really outrageous! You take a break, I'll scold them!" Zhao Jianjun jumped out, looking like he was ready to sacrifice his own family for the sake of justice.

Factory Director Huang pursed his lips and looked at him, his eyelids twitching again. He always felt that this guy must be up to no good, and sure enough...

Zhao Jianjun said to the workers of Factory 2 sternly, "Why are you here? Factory 1 and Factory 2 are brothers and sisters, we are one family, why are you rushing over here! Even if the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop of Factory 1 did something wrong, even if Xiao Lin was bullied by them, you can't be so impulsive! Even if the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop look down on the younger comrades because of their seniority, you can't just go up and scold them, roll up your sleeves and fight! Even if the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop rely on their numbers and hundreds of people bully Xiao Lin, you should report it to the factory director if you can't stand it! Our factory director is the most selfless, fair and just, and he will definitely be able to uphold justice!"

Shrimp sauce workshop workers: “…?”

Who are you cursing in a veiled way?

Factory Manager: “…?”

Is this training plant one or training plant two?

Lin Xiang lowered her head silently as she listened to Director Zhao's words, trying to suppress the arc of her lips. Director Zhao was really good at making indirect accusations! When she looked again, she saw that the faces of the people in the shrimp sauce workshop were all very dark.

The incident was over, and both parties were educated. Director Zhao led the people from the second factory back in high spirits. Before leaving, each of them put on a stern face and used their eyes to warn the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop to be honest.

Lin Xiang first saw off her fellow workers from the second factory. She really didn't expect that Sister Guazi and her group would come today, and even quarrel and fight with the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop for her. Although they looked very aggressive, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

"Sister Guazi, thank you for today." Lin Xiang would occasionally give people some candies, but today she had nothing in her hands, so she could only say, "You guys should go back and rest, don't delay getting off work."

Qiu Hongxia waved her hands, looking fearless: "Xiao Lin, stop hanging out with these ungrateful people and come back soon! I'm counting on you to eat melon seeds and gossip with you!"

Of all the employees in the second factory, melon seed sister Qiu Hongxia loves to eat melons with Lin Xiang while cracking melon seeds. The reason is simple: Comrade Xiao Lin's eyes light up when she hears all kinds of gossip. She is the most involved, curious and active. This gives Qiu Hongxia, who loves to gossip, the highest respect. One listens enthusiastically, and the other talks enthusiastically.

Perfect match!

After seeing off the workers and the factory manager from Factory 2, Lin Xiang returned to the shrimp sauce workshop and clearly felt that the atmosphere in the room had changed.

Perhaps it was because no one had ever dared to point at their noses and curse at them like this, the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop were terribly embarrassed. However, every word Qiu Hongxia said was true. At this moment, the group of people did not dare to look at Lin Xiang for too long, pretending to be busy with their own work. When they heard Lin Xiang talk about the subsequent adjustments, they did not say anything but cooperated with their hands.

......

Early in the morning on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Xiang hurriedly got up and picked out the most popular piece of clothing among the four new pieces in the closet. It was a dark red double-breasted jacket with a slim waist, which outlined her increasingly slender curves after she had taken good care of herself in recent days. She wore a pair of black skinny pants that showed off her two straight long legs.

After Lin Xiang finished washing up, she went into the kitchen to help. The egg portions of the Zhou family members plus Lin Xiang's were mixed together. Now it was the middle of the month and there were only thirteen eggs left in the house. They had to eat better on the holidays, so Lin Xiang beat three eggs to make steamed egg custard.

Aunt Feng got up early in the morning to knead the dough. By the time she was busy cooking the corn porridge, the dough had risen and was put into the pot to steam it into steamed buns.

Each person at the table had a bowl of corn porridge, a plate of two-grain dough balls, their soft bodies popping out and emitting hot steam, and the golden and shiny egg custard, which was spread out with a spoon and then a little soy sauce and sesame oil were poured in, sprinkled with chopped green onions, and finally a spoonful of shrimp sauce from the can of 119 was taken out and scooped into a small dish, which together with the diced pickled vegetables became a great dish to go with rice.

"Today is Mid-Autumn Festival. Don't waste time after work and come back early." Feng Li had planned the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner a few days ago. The more sumptuous it would be, the better. She kept all the meat coupons she had saved for a long time and also used them together with the ones exchanged by He Hongyuan.

Zhou Yuezhu and Lin Xiang responded in quick succession.

"Mom, I will definitely run away as soon as I get off work and come back to cook for you!" Zhou Yuezhu loves festivals the most, and the table is full of delicious food.

Lin Xiang also agreed: "Aunt Feng, don't worry, today is a holiday, everyone will definitely not delay."

Even the brigade commander Zhou Shenghuai, who was usually so busy that he could not be seen, said: "Leave the job of killing fish to me, I will do it when I come back."

Feng Li smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits: "That's great."

While eating porridge, people occasionally took a chopstick of shrimp sauce. As they ate, Feng Li tasted something different: "Xiangxiang, does this shrimp sauce taste a little different?"

This jar of shrimp sauce from the Zhou family was brought back by Lin Xiang, a new model with a modified recipe.

Feng Li has a good tongue and can taste the difference right away, but Zhou Shenghuai is different. He is used to it and thinks all shrimp sauces taste the same.

"Auntie Feng, did you tell after just two bites? This is the taste after the new recipe was changed. They just started selling it a while ago."

Aunt Feng took another bite of corn paste and sipped it for a while. She smacked her lips and said, "I still like the original taste better. Will all 119 canned food taste like this from now on?"

Lin Xiang smiled, thinking about today's changes, and said decisively: "No, this is a special shrimp sauce specially made by our factory for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I suggest that everyone eat it with mooncakes."

——

Phnom Penh Food Factory.

The Food Factory, which has been on the rise in recent months, is in a jubilant atmosphere.

The taste of the food that was once unknown has become famous. Relying on the improved shrimp paste fermentation method proposed by Qiu Xiuping and the sales channels created through Zhou Hongfei's back-end connections, it is rapidly occupying the market and defeating the leading canned seafood company, the 119 Food Factory.

In particular, recently the 119 Food Factory even took the initiative to change the formula of canned shrimp sauce. This stupid move made those who love food laugh out loud.

Factory manager Qiu Zhiyong praised his niece Qiu Xiuping for her sudden enlightenment recently, and criticized 119's stupid operation: "This 119 Food Factory was really pushed to the limit by us, and it came up with all kinds of stupid tricks, including changing the taste by itself."

Qiu Xiuping looked very proud, with confidence and pride in her eyes. "Even if it is changed, it can't catch up with our shrimp sauce. I have heard complaints in department stores these days, saying that the shrimp sauce in 119 has changed its taste. Customers who bought it back home don't agree and want a refund."

Qiu Xiuping had full confidence in the shrimp sauce secret recipe that she had insisted on adjusting. After all, she had secretly seen 119's exclusive shrimp sauce secret recipe in her previous life. This time, after being reborn, she only needed to follow the recipe, which was naturally a better idea.

It's ridiculous that 119 was beaten so hard that it even changed the classic flavor that has been around for many years. Now, old customers are not buying from it and think there is something wrong with the 119 shrimp sauce can.

Factory Director Qiu smiled and said, "Xiuping, tell me about you. You fell into the river and had a fever a few months ago. After waking up, you suddenly became so capable. You are worthy of being a member of our Qiu family."

Qiu Xiuping didn't want others to mention the fever she had a few months ago. After all, it was that fever that brought her back to the age of 22.

In her previous life, she was a female worker in the workshop of the half-dead Shiwei Food Factory. The fermented canned seafood produced by the Shiwei Food Factory tasted bad and had a faint fishy smell. They did not sell well at all, and the wages and benefits of the workers in the factory were far worse than those of the 119 Food Factory.

The factory managed to survive until the 1990s, when it went bankrupt and all the workers were laid off. Qiu Xiuping's life was difficult after she was laid off. She almost died of hunger and cold on the street in a cold winter. It was a soldier in a white military uniform who saved her, gave her a meal and 30 yuan in financial support.

Qiu Xiuping later found out that the soldier's name was He Hongyuan.

A large number of people were leaving their jobs and many of them could not find a job. Qiu Xiuping found a job as a nanny at the home of a retired worker who used to work in the shrimp sauce production workshop of the 119 Food Factory. She secretly saw the secret recipe of the 119 shrimp sauce can.

Later, because she was not clean, she was fired and fell ill with a fever. When she woke up, she was back in the year when she was 22 years old.

After hearing from many sources that He Hongyuan, a soldier of the 119th Unit, was the one who saved her life many years later, Qiu Xiuping tried to talk to He Hongyuan. Seeing the tall and handsome Captain He with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, she was moved. However, Captain He was cold by nature. He helped others out of the natural instinct of a soldier to save the dying and the wounded, but he ignored herself who was physically and mentally healthy.

Qiu Xiuping returned to the Shiwei Food Factory and used the fermentation secret recipe of 119 shrimp sauce that she had secretly seen to improve the canned shrimp sauce of the Shiwei Food Factory. She believed that when she led the Shiwei Food Factory to defeat the 119 Food Factory, Captain He would definitely hear her name.

She will recognize Captain He and stand by his side.

Zhou Hongfei came to the factory to work in the afternoon. As soon as he arrived, he broke into the factory director's office and boasted: "Uncle Qiu, I heard that 119 changed the taste of the shrimp sauce. Now many people are clamoring for a refund! Hahahaha, I have been here for a few months, and our factory is really thriving!"

Zhou Hongfei had an unharmonious relationship with his father. His doting father had always been complaining about his inability to live up to expectations in recent years, which made Zhou Hongfei very irritated, especially when his father mentioned his previous son, saying that his previous son inherited his legacy, became a brave soldier, and became a regiment commander at a young age, while he himself was just living a life of idleness and waiting to die, which was a disgrace to him.

Zhou Hongfei, who couldn't stand staying at home, had a big fight with his father, and then went to the state-owned factory where his uncle's friend was the factory director. He was the son of Chief Zhou, with a good family background. When he came to Shiwei Food Factory, he witnessed the rise of Shiwei Shrimp Sauce Canned Food, and by the way, he used his father's status and connections to open up a lot of sales for Shiwei.

Zhou Hongfei was excited and proud about this. He was obviously a capable man, but his father was blinded by greed and was obsessed with the son born to his rural daughter-in-law. He was really crazy.

Zhou Hongfei vowed to make achievements in food and let his father see that he, the real son, was the capable one!

Before coming to the factory this afternoon, he had already called his father's office and proudly reported the good news that he had led the sales of Shiwei Shrimp Sauce Canned Food to soar within just a few months of joining the company, defeating the 119 Food Factory.

It was also during this time that his father finally praised him, telling him to work hard, not to be afraid of hardship, to work hard and strive to be the best. He also mentioned that he would come to Phnom Penh after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Factory Director Qiu looked down on Zhou Hongfei from the bottom of his heart. If he hadn't taken into account the face of Chief Zhou and coveted the status and connections of the Zhou family, how could he have accepted such a kid from a large factory who just spent his days fooling around in the factory?

But this person has no self-awareness and thinks that the rise of food taste is all his own responsibility.

"Hongfei, you have really made great efforts for our factory. At the end of this month, the factory will hold a commendation meeting. You and Xiuping will both be awarded the title of factory leader or something!" Factory Director Qiu knew about the conflict between Zhou Hongfei and Chief Zhou, and took the initiative to help resolve it. "You can also ask Chief Zhou to come and witness it. How can a father not be proud of his son?"

These words really touched Zhou Hongfei's heart, and he agreed immediately.

The three of them were thinking about a bright future, and they felt that 119 was not far from being completely defeated by the food taste. At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the office door.

The factory director's secretary said in a hurry: "Director, it's bad, 119... that place has suddenly become popular again!"

The three people in the room could no longer sit still. Director Qiu frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

The factory director's secretary panted and recounted in detail the strange things that happened today.

It turns out that the 119 Food Factory, which caused quite a stir in recent days because of the change in the flavor of shrimp sauce, has launched a new batch of goods. It is still canned shrimp sauce with a changed formula, but this time there is an extra moon printed on the packaging, and an additional line of small words - Mid-Autumn Limited Edition.

The people from the 119 Food Factory notified all major sales outlets that the canned shrimp paste with a changed flavor is a special Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition and will only be available for sale ten days before the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will be sold again with the original flavor.

The reason why we specially launched a Mid-Autumn limited edition is that we added some salty flavor, hoping that everyone will have a good Mid-Autumn Festival. The mooncake skin is thick, and it tastes special when spread with shrimp sauce. Moreover, the new flavor is salty, and we can't sell this flavor all year round, otherwise everyone will have to spend more money to buy water every time.

As soon as this was said, the customers who had previously complained that the taste of the 119 shrimp sauce can had changed instantly stopped complaining. It turned out that the previous classic taste was still there, and this new flavor was only sold around the Mid-Autumn Festival. It was really fresh!

Not only did the old customers who only recognized the 119 shrimp sauce cans feel relieved, but even the customers who had recently been attracted by the new flavor of the shrimp sauce cans also turned their attention back to 119 shrimp sauce.

It was the first time for everyone to hear that different flavors of shrimp sauce were specially provided during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, the fable was good, and life was full of flavor. For a while, many people wanted to try the flavor and threw away the canned shrimp sauce they had eaten and bought the 119 canned shrimp sauce.

After all, the 119 Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition canned shrimp sauce is only sold for ten days, and the opportunity is rare. After today, if you want to eat this canned shrimp sauce, you will have to wait until next year!

This was undoubtedly the best gimmick. For a while, countless customers came to the department store during the Mid-Autumn Festival to buy the 119 Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition shrimp sauce cans, which eventually surpassed the Shiwei shrimp sauce cans.

Especially the salty flavor of the canned shrimp sauce, which goes really well with the thick mooncake skin. It is extremely delicious and satisfies customers both in terms of taste and psychology. It is also very prestigious to be able to eat the special limited shrimp sauce that will only be sold next year during such a festival.

The Shiwei Food Factory was dumbfounded. It was the first time that Director Qiu heard that such a thing was possible!

It's obvious that 119 was messing up by changing the flavor of the classic shrimp sauce that has been passed down for many years, but now they can come up with such a shady trick!

"What do you mean by Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition... and limited edition!" Factory Director Qiu's recent good mood was wiped out. "Today, customers who want to buy canned shrimp sauce in major department stores can't all buy theirs, right?"

The factory manager's secretary said tremblingly, "Almost. Everyone has gone to buy the 119 flavor. They said that they will no longer sell this flavor tomorrow. We must hurry up. Many department stores have sold out the 119 Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition shrimp sauce cans. They are rushing to restock. Our factory's shrimp sauce cans are next to it, and there are still a lot left."

Bang!

Director Qiu slapped the desk in anger!

Qiu Xiuping was also shocked. How could she not remember that in her previous life, 119 Food Factory had produced some kind of Mid-Autumn Festival limited shrimp sauce? She calmed down and comforted him, "Uncle, don't worry, we still have a way to deal with 119!"

......

At the same time, good news came in one after another from the 119 Food Factory.

"Our canned shrimp sauce is selling really well today! Several department stores in the city have sold out and they keep asking us to restock."

"The sales of that can of Shiwei's shrimp sauce today are not even one-tenth of ours."

"No one complained that the taste was changed. Instead, they all wanted to try the new flavors, fearing that if they missed this village, they would no longer have this store."

Factory Director Huang listened to the good news and paced back and forth in the office with a smile on his face: "Great! Xiaolin's idea is really good!"

It’s no wonder that young people have sharp brains to come up with such an idea!

But not every young person has this ability, Xiaolin is the most different!

They were able to sell Qin Yangbo's new flavor, which was a modification of the classic flavor, with the gimmick of a Mid-Autumn limited edition that would only be sold for ten days. Combined with the salty flavor and the tradition of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they immediately captured the public's desire to eat something delicious during the festive season.

The thick mooncakes are spread with a layer of salty shrimp sauce, which gives them a unique flavor.

Wonderful!

Factory Director Huang rushed to the shrimp sauce workshop with a radiant look on his face. As a factory leader, he naturally had to encourage the workers and make the most of the current good momentum to keep up the good work and strive to win the battle with the Shiwei Food Factory!

Just before Director Huang arrived, the shrimp sauce workshop had already heard about the victory of the reversal on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The workers were already worried because Director Qin had not yet satisfied the customers. Especially after the change of the shrimp sauce flavor, it caused opposition from many old customers. Seeing that the cans of shrimp sauce with the new flavor would be piled up and unable to be sold, everyone was worried and did not know what the right direction was.

If they continue to sell new flavors, they may lose all their customers and eventually become obsolete.

Changing back to the classic flavor would be a slap in the face. The new flavor, which had only been sold for nearly ten days, was changed back so quickly. If this got out, peers would laugh at them, not to mention that with so many changes, customers would have run away.

It seemed like there was no way out, and the workers were worried.

As a result, the good news just came one after another, and the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop were shocked!

They followed the task assigned by Lin Xiang from the Second Factory, but they were still unsure, thinking that it was useless for her to do so and that she must be making a fuss. However, the facts gave them a hard slap in the face.

It really works!

This is the most successful battle fought by 119 Shrimp Sauce Can in the past two months!

Director Huang went to the workshop to give an impassioned speech to boost the morale of the workers. Halfway through his speech, he looked around for the person who had done the most good: "He Zhigang, where's Lin Xiang?"

He Zhigang, the fermentation team leader, was in a mixed mood and didn't know how to face Lin Xiang. He looked around but didn't see Lin Xiang. A fermentation worker beside him reminded him, "I heard she went to the warehouse to check on the crabs."

"Call the people here quickly!" Factory Director Huang gave an order, and the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop quickly brought Lin Xiang back to the workshop.

When the other workers saw Lin Xiang, they didn't know where to look for a moment and their faces turned red. After all, a few days ago, everyone had worked together to not cooperate with Lin Xiang, but now they really turned the tables under Lin Xiang's leadership.

"Comrade Lin Xiang has made a great contribution to the Mid-Autumn Festival shrimp sauce defense battle!" The more Director Huang looked at this young comrade, the more satisfied he was. He didn't know how this young comrade could come up with such a wonderful idea. "Everyone should learn from Comrade Lin Xiang, work hard, and fight bravely..."

Factory Director Huang praised endlessly and encouraged everyone with eloquent words. On this auspicious day of Mid-Autumn Festival, when the shrimp sauce workshop finally made a great comeback after two months of gloom, he began a long leadership speech with impassioned and eloquent speech.

Lin Xiang listened to the factory director saying "I'll say a little more" and after he had already said five, six, seven or eight points, she quietly lowered her head to look at the watch on her wrist. It was almost time to get off work, but there was no sign of him stopping.

"Xiao Lin, what kind of reward do you want?" Factory Director Huang talked for a long time and finally felt a little thirsty. While he was drinking a sip of tea, he was ready to give Lin Xiang the highest honor and let her make additional reward requests.

Lin Xiang touched the cold dial and said calmly: "Director, it's time to get off work. Can you reward me by letting me go off work now? My family is waiting for me to have dinner on Mid-Autumn Festival."

Director Huang: “…”

Hey, this Xiaolin has really been corrupted by the Second Factory! Thinking about leaving get off work on time on such an important occasion?

"Okay, go ahead." The factory director watched Lin Xiang leave happily with small steps, and continued to mobilize the workers in the shrimp sauce workshop. He secretly felt in his heart that he must transfer Lin Xiang back to the first factory as soon as possible, otherwise such a good talent would be buried!

++++

Because of Director Huang's nagging, the half-time mobilization meeting took more than 40 minutes. Lin Xiang perfectly followed Director Zhao's bravery and took the opportunity to leave work.

After a slight delay, when Lin Xiang rushed to the factory gate, she saw a beautiful bicycle with a silver glow in the sun parked quietly on the side of the road.

The bicycle handlebars were held by a bony hand, with veins faintly extending on the back of the hand until they disappeared at the cuffs of the white military uniform.

"Where did you get the bicycle?" Lin Xiang couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth when she saw the person she was talking to.

"I just bought it for you. It will be more convenient for you to commute to get off work." He Hongyuan sat on the bicycle, leaving the back seat for Lin Xiang, "Come up and try it."

Lin Xiang knew that it was hard to buy a bicycle these days. She had the money to buy one, but she couldn't buy one because she didn't have a bicycle ticket. Now, with one arm around He Hongyuan, she felt the salty sea breeze blowing on her face as the bicycle passed by quickly, and she felt a fresh feeling.

The breeze blew up the corners of my clothes, bringing a refreshing feeling to me. He Hongyuan's voice, with the rising tone at the end, floated to the back seat of the bicycle: "Do you have good news from your factory?"

Lin Xiang was wearing He Hongyuan's thick military uniform and relatively hard fabric, but even through such thick fabric one could feel the man's strong and hard muscles.

"What did you hear?" She was distracted for a moment before answering He Hongyuan.

"I just heard the workers chatting at the door after get off work. They said that the 119 Food Factory vented its anger today and beat Shiwei Shrimp Sauce." He Hongyuan said in a relaxed tone. If you listen carefully, it seems to be a bit of a joke. "They also said that Comrade Xiaolin was capable and was able to save Shrimp Sauce. I don't know what's wrong with your brain."

Lin Xiang chuckled, and when she came up a steep slope, she put her hands around the man's thin waist: "Everyone is exaggerating, I'm just a little smart. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and I'm so angry that I can't eat mooncakes. Let's celebrate the festival well!"

He Hongyuan couldn't help but curl his lips as he listened to Lin Xiang's slightly childish words.

Back at Zhou's house, He Hongyuan brought the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts he had prepared in advance, two cans of maltose, a box of Golden Chicken Biscuits, and a bottle of Special Liquor. They were expensive, all high-end goods from department stores.

Although Lin Xiang lived in the Zhou family, she was taken care of a lot. She was also busy giving out the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts she had bought before. She bought a silk scarf for Aunt Feng and Yuezhu each, which was as thin as a cicada's wing, soft and delicate. She also bought a can of tea for Zhou Lu, which was the Pu'er tea that people liked.

Aunt Feng scolded the two kids for being too polite, but after some argument she finally accepted it.

The Mid-Autumn family dinner, the square table is as full as during the Chinese New Year.

A pot of lotus root and pork ribs soup, the pork ribs are stewed until soft, the fishy smell is floating in the white soup, the lotus root powder is glutinous and the taste is excellent. A plate of blanched shrimps is sweet and refreshing, paired with steamed crabs prepared by Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan, which are full of crab roe, sandy and sweet, and the chopped pepper fish head is spicy and fragrant. Finally, a feast of braised pork with potatoes is served. The braised pork is soft and tender when poked, which can best satisfy the craving for pork after not eating it for a long time. The pork skin is roasted and glutinous, with full of collagen, the fat is full of soup and melts in a sip, the lean meat is chewy, and even the potatoes are filled with the rich aroma of the braised pork soup, which is so fragrant that you can eat two big bowls of rice.

It was a rare holiday, so Zhou Lu and He Hongyuan made an exception and drank a glass of white wine.

Not greedy, just to satisfy your craving. Each person had half a cup of the special liquor bought by He Hongyuan. The liquor was spicy and stimulating. Lin Xiang declined politely and just observed He Hongyuan's expression as he drank.

Some people get drunk and their faces turn red, but He Hongyuan seemed to have no reaction at all. His face remained calm, with only a hint of loneliness flashing across his eyes.

Lin Xiangmin keenly sensed the loneliness that was still emanating from He Hongyuan despite his best efforts to conceal it. She recalled the past events that Yuezhu had talked about when she went out this morning.

After dinner, when everyone was eating mooncakes and admiring the moon in the yard, Lin Xiang deliberately teased him: "Captain He, are you drunk?"

He Hongyuan lowered his eyelids and glanced at her calmly: "Are you still eating mooncakes?"

The Zhou family of three plus Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan had more than enough mooncakes. There were five mooncakes in total at home. Each mooncake was the size of an adult's palm, unlike many families where only a few people could share one.

Aunt Feng sent two to the homes of her larger neighbors, and her family broke off three mooncakes for each person to taste.

The ingredients of five-nut mooncakes in this era are quite substantial. Melon seeds, peanuts and walnuts are intertwined with winter melon candy and green and red shreds. The green and red shreds are mostly shredded carrots, orange peels and papaya. The various plump nuts wrapped in sugar and oil burst with a full aroma in the mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.

After everyone had eaten a piece of mooncake, Lin Xiang took out a can of shrimp sauce with a new flavor and asked everyone to spread a light layer of shrimp sauce on the mooncake skin. The soft and dense skin paired with the salty and fresh shrimp sauce was surprisingly fused together when you took a bite, and it was full of freshness and fragrance.

Zhou Yuezhu gave Lin Xiang a thumbs up: "Sister Xiangxiang, this tastes really good!"

This evening, Lin Xiang's name spread as the staff of the 119 Food Factory went home after get off work and talked about their victory in the turnaround battle.

Lin Xiang ate almost half a mooncake with a smile on her face. Her stomach was so full that she couldn't eat any more.

Zhou Lu and Aunt Feng went to visit the neighbors next door, Yuezhu held mooncakes and chatted with friends of the same age from the neighbors, and Lin Xiang went around to the back of the small building to look at the moon.

In the dark night, there is only a full moon hanging high in the sky, casting its bright light on the ground.

Steady and powerful footsteps could be heard around her. Lin Xiang knew who was coming without turning around. She raised her hand and pointed at the silver plate in the sky: "Hongyuan, look, it's the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the moon is so round. It's the Mid-Autumn Festival. We're eating mooncakes, and your mother must be eating mooncakes too."

Lin Xiang recalled Yuezhu's whisper this morning. The day He Hongyuan's father went back and parted ways with his mother, not wanting them to be together, was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Yuezhu said that He Hongyuan hasn't celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival for a long time.

But he came today, pretending to be nothing unusual, except that he looked a little more cheerful after drinking a glass of white wine.

The footsteps stopped. Lin Xiang turned to look at the angular man in the dark night. She slowly moved her right hand and held his cold hand hanging beside his military trousers.

He Hongyuan's palms are broad and rough, yet they give people a feeling of great reassurance.

"We are reunited here." Lin Xiang held his hand tightly and looked at him with a smile.

He Hongyuan stared at Lin Xiang silently, and seemed to understand what she said. He said "hmm" softly, and his eyes were particularly bright in the clear night.

He leaned closer and kissed Lin Xiang's lips, startling her so much that she took a half step back. The neighbors' voices could be heard all around them, as well as the laughter and chatter of the children running and playing, which was particularly clear.

She whispered, "There are people everywhere!"

He Hongyuan pressed closer again stubbornly, holding Lin Xiang's shoulders tightly with both hands. When their lips touched, he said vaguely, "I'm drunk."

I can't control anything anymore.