Chapter 46 In the dark night, Lin Xiang seemed to be able to hear the man's heavy breathing, which made her feel agitated...

In the pitch-black night, Lin Xiang seemed to be able to hear the man's heavy breathing, which stirred up waves of heat and made the air thinner.

Lin Xiang had only seen good figures from afar, but they were all paper figures. Now that a real handsome man was standing in front of her, her cheeks suddenly turned red and she found it difficult to start.

The man's good figure was only hidden by the thin cloth. The thin training shirt stuck to his body, vaguely outlining his thin waist and the outline of his abdominal muscles. But He Hongyuan was serious, with a solemn and steady look on his face, as if he wanted to discuss with Lin Xiang about the texture and feel of the abdominal muscles. He didn't feel that he was doing anything embarrassing at all.

"It's okay if you don't look at it, but you are not allowed to think about others." He Hongyuan's voice was light, with a hint of dominance.

Lin Xiang raised her head suddenly, and seeing the man's calm face, she thought she couldn't lose, so she said quickly: "I want to see! Your figure must be the best in the whole military region!"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and moved closer, with the impulse and recklessness of a warrior making his debut.

But she took advantage of her courage and put her right hand forward without hesitation, intending to lift up the clothes to take a look. However, because she used too much force, her palm was directly pressed against He Hongyuan's abdomen. Even through the cloth, she could clearly feel the hard and slightly elastic touch under her fingertips.

Tight, hard, hot...

Lin Xiang's heart was beating like a drum, as if she was doing something bad.

Then, as if possessed by a magic spell, she used her fingertips to press down.

It was past nine o'clock in the evening and it was completely dark. Most of the military families in the family compound dispersed and went back to their rooms to rest. Only a few naughty children were still running and playing, accompanied by their parents shouting their names and asking them to go home quickly.

The breeze blew away the heat on Lin Xiang's cheeks. The man and woman who came out of the new house were silent to each other. Lin Xiang raised her hand to fan the heat and kept recalling what she had just touched...

My hands got even hotter.

Lin Xiang hurriedly said goodbye to He Hongyuan after returning to Zhou's house, but her eyes turned vaguely towards him: "It's quite late, you should go back soon."

He Hongyuan remained calm from beginning to end, and didn't seem to be very upset: "Well, go to bed early."

Lin Xiang nodded in agreement, but when she went upstairs she couldn't fall asleep.

She collapsed on the bed and reviewed her performance. She was so scared! Her abdominal muscles were right in front of her. Why should she be embarrassed to touch them? She was a young person in the 21st century! Moreover, He Hongyuan was the person she was going to marry.

It must be because she is too inexperienced. She will try again next time. She will definitely not be afraid next time!

After a sleepy night, Lin Xiang woke up yawning and lamenting that "beauty" could mislead people. After having breakfast and going to the factory, the first big thing she heard was that Director Qin from the shrimp sauce workshop of the neighboring factory had returned.

Someone said something sarcastic: "Director Qin was so arrogant before that he insisted that the factory director invite him."

Some people also supported him: "Who told him he was so capable? Let's see if the canning factory can do without him?"

Lin Xiang thought of how Director Qin was so angry yesterday that he had to find work clothes to put on on the spot, and she secretly curled her lips.

Qin Yangbo, wearing work clothes, returned to the shrimp sauce workshop as domineering and dignified as ever. The first thing he did when he returned to the workshop was to check everywhere to confirm that all production links were correct. He then checked the production volume and task completion status for the past half month, and resumed his previous working status almost without any rest.

After all, it's a job I've been doing for half my life, so I'm very good at it.

He Zhigang, the leader of the fermentation group, finally welcomed Director Qin back, his face almost wrinkled with smile: "Director, you are finally back! We are all looking forward to seeing you!"

Liu Qingshan, deputy director of the workshop, was also happy: "It's good that Director Qin is back. Our workshop finally has a backbone. Unlike before, there were some... Never mind, let's not talk about that."

He Zhigang frowned and retorted excitedly: "Brother Liu, why don't you say it? The original matter, the factory director is really something, let a female comrade who has only been in the factory for more than two months to lead our workshop?"

Although we managed to get through the difficult times, it's not nice to say it out loud.

Director Qin thought of what Lin Xiang said yesterday, and his face darkened immediately: "Let's not talk about that anymore, let's have a meeting!"

The shrimp sauce workshop was reorganized, Qin Yangbo was in control of the situation again, and Factory 1 naturally became calm and stable again.

Factory One held meetings for several days in a row, preparing to organize employees to prepare programs to celebrate National Day and mobilize production and construction. However, these were all activities for Factory One, and Factory Two had never been involved. After all, Factory Two was marginalized, and it was not their turn to participate in the programs. In previous years, they had just been spectators.

The workers in Factory 1 were proud of this, while the workers in Factory 2 were thankful to have escaped the performance.

Lin Xiang and Kong Zhenzhen were checking the completion of production tasks in the workshop. They were about to get paid, so they had to prepare the data and submit them. Then they heard Sister Guihua cracking melon seeds and laughing: "What kind of show is this? I'm so tired. Everyone in the factory has to rehearse for an hour or two after work. Oh my god, if I had that much time, I would have gone home to rest."

The other workers laughed and echoed, "Of course not. I only go to perform after I'm full. What's wrong with us being the audience with the leaders? How easy it is."

"Only those people in Factory 1 felt that we were upset because we couldn't perform. In fact, I was very happy."

Lin Xiang listened and found that while the leaders of Factory One ignored them and the workers looked down upon them, the workers of Factory Two were content and happy.

If you think about it carefully, she might have been annoyed by the fact that she had to perform at the annual meeting in her previous life when she worked in a company, and she had to rehearse after get off work, and in the end, she didn't know who she was pleasing. She didn't even go home to sleep.

Director Zhao, who enjoys his leisure time, does not fight for the opportunity to perform in such a limelight program. Whoever wants can do so. He can just go and watch the program.

However, it was close to National Day and the coconut juice had been delivered for a while, so he asked Lin Xiang to find out the situation.

“If it’s decided, we can still sell the coconut juice during the National Day.” Director Zhao had a beautiful thought.

Lin Xiang saw that Director Zhao was becoming more and more motivated and was even thinking about holiday marketing, which was indeed good.

However, they were soon disappointed.

Director Huang was not seen in the factory director's office. Only Secretary You told the two that at yesterday's meeting, the proposal of the second factory to launch coconut juice as a new flavor of soda was rejected.

Director Zhao's face darkened. "Why don't you agree? Coconut juice is great. I can try it. Where is the factory director? I'll report the situation to him."

"Director Zhao, the factory director has been very busy these days. The National Day is coming soon, and he has been busy with various meetings." Secretary You can often represent the factory director's opinions and can be regarded as the official spokesperson. "This matter was not decided by the factory director alone."

Lin Xiang heard this and immediately understood the meaning behind it: "Secretary You, when this proposal was made at the meeting, were there many leaders who opposed it?"

In the past, Secretary You would not have been willing to say so much to Factory 2, but Factory 2 has made a lot of big moves in the past few months, and it seems different from before: "The secretary, the deputy factory director, and several workshop leaders are all against it. They think that Factory 2's orange soda has finally started to improve, so they should seize the momentum of the past few months to vigorously produce orange soda and not be distracted by other things."

Lin Xiang said: "Our orange soda is just taking advantage of the situation, but it may not last long. Only by launching new products as soon as possible can we consolidate sales."

Secretary You had no right to ask about these matters, so he just said, "Then you can wait until after National Day to report to the leaders and try to get them to do something about it."

"Okay, Xiao You, remember to let us know if anything happens. We have known each other for many years." Director Zhao did not want to make things difficult for others. He said a few more words to Secretary You and his brother before leaving with Lin Xiang.

Lin Xiang was somewhat disappointed that the launch of her new coconut juice product was blocked. She once again deeply experienced the strict rules and regulations and conservative strategies of the large-scale state-owned factory.

Director Zhao was calm: "I had guessed that this might be the case. Don't be discouraged. Leaders are lazy and change their minds. It's common. They are just worried about doing useless work. When this busy period is over, we will talk to the factory director after the National Day."

"Okay, I'll try again when the time comes." It was the first time that Lin Xiang felt a sense of peace of mind and security from the natural and casual Director Zhao.

On the eve of National Day, Lin Xiang received a generous September salary. As the sales volume of the second factory's soda increased this month, all employees' bonuses increased. Compared with the salary received in August, the income basically increased by more than 30%.

Lin Xiang had the 45 yuan salary in her pocket, and she was calm and at ease, so she attended the food factory's National Day celebration the day before National Day.

The workers in Factory 1 sacrificed their personal time to rehearse the program intensively, and performed chorus and model operas in front of the auditorium... Although they were not very professional, everyone was in high spirits and full of fighting spirit. Lin Xiang still watched with great interest.

After a few programs, the factory leadership team gave speeches. From the factory director, secretary to deputy factory director, they took turns to summarize this year's production and construction situation, look forward to the future, and finally do not forget to mobilize the workers to continue to work hard.

The three leaders spoke for more than an hour, and the workers in Factory 2 felt a little sleepy. During the speech, they were also reminded several times by the patrolling security staff with frowns on their faces.

Lin Xiang resisted the urge to sleep, raised her hand to look at her watch, and looked forward to finishing her leadership speech as soon as possible. She couldn't wait to embrace the wonderful National Day holiday!

At 5:30 pm, as the factory director finished his last speech, the auditorium erupted in warm applause, and the workers stood up one after another. It was time to get off work! It was time for the holiday!

Lin Xiang and Kong Zhenzhen squeezed out of the crowd in high spirits. Looking up, they saw blue sky and white clouds, and in the distance, they saw rippling blue waves. They were surrounded by coconut trees, and under the trees, there was a tall figure, strong and upright.

She took a deep breath of fresh air and said goodbye to her colleagues: "Sister Zhenzhen, my date has arrived. I'm leaving first."

"Okay, see you the day after tomorrow!"

"See you the day after tomorrow!"

Unlike the seven-day National Day holiday that was created after adjusting holidays in later generations, the National Day in the 1970s was simply a two-day holiday, whichever day it was.

Lin Xiang had her first two-day holiday since she started working, which was very precious.

"It's finally vacation time!" Lin Xiang ran to He Hongyuan's side in small steps, smiling and her beautiful almond eyes turned into crescents.

Seeing her so happy, He Hongyuan also raised his lips and asked, "Do you want to watch the military's cultural performance tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes!" Lin Xiang sat on the back of the bicycle and hugged He Hongyuan's waist with both arms. "Can I go and see?"

"Family members have a quota." He Hongyuan had never asked for a quota for military family members to watch cultural performances in the army before. This was the first time.

——

On the 11th day, there was a joyful atmosphere everywhere.

During the National Day holiday, comrades who had been busy for a long time went to the city to shop or rested at home. Everyone had a relaxed and happy smile on their face.

Lin Xiang slept comfortably until she woke up naturally, and had breakfast with Zhou Yuezhu who also woke up late.

The 119th Troops will hold a military parade this morning. Lin Xiang and her family won't be able to watch it, but it will be nice to be able to listen to it.

"Yuezhu, is it my illusion? Or does it really sound like there are slogans coming over here?" Lin Xiang couldn't help but wonder as she drank porridge with salted vegetables.

Zhou Yuezhu has lived here for many years and is familiar with the National Day drills. She raised her eyebrows and said, "It's true. I can still hear the bang bang bang sound of the launch!"

"Really?" Lin Xiang became excited for a moment.

Zhou Shenghuai went out early to participate in the military parade and drill. Feng Li did not wake up the two girls. She went to the city by boat with several neighboring military wives to buy things.

After breakfast, Lin Xiang was taken to the beach by Zhou Yuezhu: "Wait, there will be the sound of cannons being fired, and there will be clouds of smoke in the sky."

Lin Xiang became very interested in what Zhou Yuezhu said. She had seen the military parade in front of Tiananmen Square on TV before. The soldiers were tall and dazzling, with their heads held high and their steps full of righteousness. She didn't know what the navy's training was like now, but it was a pity that she couldn't see it.

Many adults and children were out playing on the beach, and the joy of the holiday infected everyone. Lin Xiang and Zhou Yuezhu squeezed into the group of children and picked up some shells and conchs. Lin Xiang gently blew away the sand from the colorful shells, revealing their beautiful true bodies. At this time...

From somewhere far away, a muffled sound came.

One sound after another attracted the attention of people on the beach.

Perhaps due to the far distance, the sound of the artillery fire had reduced its power by the time it reached the seashore, but even so, the sound of the artillery fire was still heart-shaking.

Everyone looked up at the sky and saw smoke that had mostly dissipated slowly floating in the white sky.

"Mom, when will Dad come back?" a child asked excitedly after watching for a while.

"Your dad is in training and will be back at noon." The military wife took the child to the beach to play in the water and coaxed him, "That voice just now was your dad greeting you."

"Bang, bang, bang!" The child yelled, hoping that his father, a soldier, could hear his own echo.

Like everyone else, Lin Xiang was looking somewhere unknown, listening to the loud noise, and seemed to be resonating with He Hongyuan who was rehearsing at the same frequency.

After lunch, Lin Xiang and Zhou Yuezhu met He Hongyuan.

Today was a large-scale drill, and all the soldiers were ready to go. It seemed that the uniforms they wore were a little more spacious than usual. He Hongyuan appeared in high spirits and called the two people: "The cultural performance will start in half an hour, so now is a good time to go."

Zhou Yuezhu shouted happily: "Okay, let's go!"

Lin Xiang and Zhou Yuezhu mixed water in a military water bottle and took it with them, locked the door and went to the troops. Zhou Yuezhu had lived here for many years and knew many people there, so in a short while she disappeared into the chatterbox.

Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan kept a normal distance of about a fist in broad daylight. She whispered, "Comrade He Hongyuan, why do you look different today than usual?"

He Hongyuan had been busy all morning, his mind was highly focused and tense, and he didn't relax until he saw Lin Xiang. He raised his eyebrows and asked curiously, "What's the difference?"

"Even more handsome!" Lin Xiang was satisfied with her own judgment. The soldier with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, tall and handsome figure and successful career was so handsome!

Being suddenly praised by his target, He Hong was much more relaxed than before. However, he could not help but look away: "Be careful of the impact."

Lin Xiang: "..."

Lin Xiang, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, took out an orange shell from her pocket and handed it over: "Here, I would like to commend Comrade He Hongyuan for his outstanding performance in this military exercise."

He Hongyuan was stunned, as if he was playing a game from his childhood again. He raised the corners of his lips slightly, chuckled, took the shell, and cooperated with the other party in the "childish" game.

"Thank you, Chief Lin, for the compliment."

The young couple laughed and joked as they arrived at the open-air performance area. The open space outside the military auditorium was spacious and bright, with the azure blue sky shining brightly.

The temporary steel stage was located in the center, with neatly arranged benches underneath. When Lin Xiang looked at it from the side, they were all on the same level, which was really friendly to people with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

More than half of the people who came to watch the cultural performance were military personnel, and the families of officers and military personnel were also given quotas to watch the ceremony. The entire square was packed with people, and soon it was dark.

Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan sat together, while Yuezhu quietly slipped away and sat with her boyfriend Shen Jianming. Their underground romance was still developing quietly, and they each brought a single friend as a cover.

"Hongyuan, Comrade Lin Xiang, you're here early!" Jiang Weijun and his girlfriend Song Qingya were late for their affair. As they were about to get married, Song Qingya was busy transferring her household registration and food and oil relations at the Youth Educated Office, which delayed them for some time.

Lin Xiang poked her head out from behind the wall of He Hongyuan, who was broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, and greeted the two of them: "Chief of Staff Jiang, Comrade Qingya, please sit down and have a rest. I heard that the show is about to start."

The two couples sat next to each other, and the last one to come over was Zhang Huafeng.

He had just gone backstage to talk to his target Yan Min, then strode over and sat on the empty bench.

Not long after Zhang Huafeng took his seat, the National Day cultural performance of the 119th Unit officially began!

The performances of professional art troupes are indeed different. The artists from the dance, singing and opera teams take the lead, and the overwhelming shows create waves of enthusiasm.

The soldiers watched with grins and clapped their rough hands loudly. This rare entertainment activity became a great way for everyone to relax and they were definitely the most supportive audience.

Lin Xiang was also watching with great interest. When she saw Zhang Huafeng's girlfriend Yan Min appear, she was even more excited. She poked her head out from behind He Hongyuan and gossiped, "Commissar Zhang, your girlfriend is out! She's so beautiful!"

Yan Min had two programs today, namely the group dance "Female Militia of the Grassland" and "The Red Army of Women". She was the leading dancer in both dances. According to the popular saying in later generations, this was the C position lead dancer.

She is beautiful and she put on makeup for the performance to show her charming and attractive temperament. Her dance, which combines power and beauty, brings a great visual shock.

He Hongyuan was troubled by the fact that his partner cared so much about other people's love affairs: "Don't pay attention to Zhang Huafeng."

But Zhang Huafeng, who was watching the show alone at the moment, was sitting between the two couples and was really jealous. He immediately became interested in chatting with Lin Xiang: "Yeah, my girlfriend is good-looking, and she dances even better!"

When it comes to the object, Lin Xiang seems to be able to see stars in Zhang Huafeng's eyes.

The two chatted for a few words across He Hongyuan, all of which were Zhang Huafeng praising his girlfriend for how amazing she was. He Hongyuan's left ear was poisoned by Zhang Huafeng, and his right ear was invaded by Lin Xiang. He sat back and leaned back to separate the two: "Zhang Huafeng, watch your girlfriend dance carefully."

"Yes, yes, yes. I won't tell you yet, Comrade Lin Xiang." Zhang Huafeng was so excited that he wanted to show off to others how good his girlfriend was at dancing that he almost forgot to stare at the stage and watch the show.

Lin Xiang calmed down, looked back and continued to watch, but saw He Hongyuan leaning slightly and whispering to her: "Don't pay attention to other people. If you really have to, talk to me."

Lin Xiang: "..."

Humph, she should just watch the show!

When the group dance "The Red Detachment of Women" ended, the audience burst into thunderous applause, and the opera troupe's large-scale model opera "The White-Haired Girl" began again.

Not long after, a slender figure suddenly bent down and passed through the dark crowd.

Yan Min, who was dancing on the stage just now, finished the whole performance and quickly sat down next to the object: "How was my dance just now?"

Zhang Huafeng said excitedly with starry eyes: "She is so beautiful! She is worthy of being my wife~"

Yan Min was embarrassed, so she pushed the man away and asked softly, "Who is your wife?"

Lin Xiang was listening to the couple who were showing off their affections nearby. When she raised her eyes, she inadvertently caught He Hongyuan's sight, who was looking at her with his head lowered. She suddenly pondered.

Is it possible that He Hongyuan will say in his life: "She is so beautiful, she is worthy of being my wife"?

It has to be an exciting and lively tone.

Eh, that's definitely impossible, this boss doesn't have that kind of personality and style!

He Hongyuan looked at Lin Xiang's clear eyes, which seemed to be thinking about something with great interest, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I miss you..." Lin Xiang blurted out. As soon as she said this, she realized that it was ambiguous, and hurriedly added, "I wish you could talk like Political Commissar Zhang?"

He Hongyuan frowned in thought, obviously upset by the words of the target, and pursed his thin lips into a line, thinking of Zhang Huafeng's exaggerated and excited voice just now, and the words he said were still...

Lin Xiang stared at the man with a frown on her face, as if she was trying to break through herself but was unable to speak, and she was holding back her laughter in agony.

Finally, she let him go with a smile: "Okay, I was just teasing you. I still like you to be calm and reserved like this!"

He Hongyuan, who was praised in person again today, relaxed his brows, but his eyes were slightly evasive.

After all, it's not adaptable.

Halfway through the performance, Zhang Huafeng was called out by a comrade. When he came back ten minutes later, he looked a little irritated, completely different from the excitement and joy he had shown before.

Lin Xiang took advantage of the break to look around curiously and nudged He Hongyuan with her elbow. The man seemed to know what was going on and leaned closer to Lin Xiang, whispering in the midst of the noisy conversation: "It's something going on at home. It's disturbing."

"Oh." Every family has its own problems. Lin Xiang did not ask any more questions. After the short halftime break, she continued watching the show.

The performance of the art troupe ended at 4pm, and the atmosphere of laughter and joy continued until the end of the show. In particular, the last song "My Motherland" led by the choir triggered a chorus from the entire audience.

The soldiers' voices were sonorous, powerful, and stirring, and the momentum was no less than a chorus at a large-scale concert, especially on National Day. Lin Xiang's heart was filled with emotion when she heard it.

Tomorrow is Jiang Weijun and Song Qingya's wedding banquet. The two left in a hurry because they were busy. Zhou Yuezhu came back from a secret date and met up with her cousin and his wife, preparing to go home together.

When they parted, He Hongyuan glanced at Zhang Huafeng, who had a high brow, patted him on the shoulder, nodded to him and Yan Min, and prepared to leave.

Lin Xiang was still excited about the performance and said enthusiastically, "Commissar Zhang, Comrade Yan Min, we'll go back first! By the way, Comrade Yan Min, you danced so well just now. I've never seen such a powerful and beautiful dance. You're worthy of being from the art troupe!"

Lin Xiang and Yue Zhu, who were inspired, walked hand in hand, with He Hongyuan standing beside them, and the three of them left together.

Only the slightly annoyed Zhang Huafeng and the obviously stunned Yan Min were left.

"Captain He's partner..." Yan Min stared at Lin Xiang's departing back in a daze.

"Ah?" Zhang Huafeng seemed to still hear the voice from the phone receiver. He immediately calmed down and asked, "What happened to Comrade Lin Xiang?"

Yan Min pursed her red lips, shook her head, lowered her eyes and said, "Nothing."

Just now, Lin Xiang praised herself openly. She wasn't even just saying something for show. Her simple words hit the nail on the head and touched Yan Min's heart.

She recalled that she felt uncomfortable the last time three couples had dinner together and was reluctant to cooperate...

——

Back at Zhou's house, Zhou Shenghuai and Feng Li, a middle-aged couple who didn't go to the show, had already cooked a hot and sour pork skin soup and fried the tilapia they bought from the seafood market until it was crispy and fragrant. Lin Xiang ate most of the canned shrimp sauce she brought back, and the rest was just right for frying with two eggs. The golden eggs were dotted with bright red shrimp sauce, which was very attractive and delicious.

Watching the show was physically demanding and the three of them felt hungry, so they quickly talked to their two parents about how exciting today’s show was while eating.

After dinner, He Hongyuan took over the dishwashing business. Lin Xiang and Zhou Yuezhu each held a coconut and drank the sweet coconut water, then slipped into the kitchen to supervise the men's work.

She deliberately walked on tiptoe, hoping to scare He Hongyuan who was washing dishes with his back to her. Unexpectedly, before she could get close to him, the man's deep voice rang out: "Have you finished drinking the coconut water?"

Without even turning his head, he realized that the person coming was himself.

Lin Xiang took two steps forward and leaned against the sink in surprise: "How did you know it was me?"

He Hongyuan quickly raised his head to look at her, still washing dishes: "I heard it."

"I didn't hear any footsteps at all." Lin Xiang suspected that this man was not a soldier but a criminal policeman, so sensitive!

On the second day of National Day, Lin Xiang was still busy. In the morning, she and He Hongyuan attended the wedding banquet of Jiang Weijun and Song Qingya.

The two of them got married in the army cafeteria. Before the meal, they invited Yang Lu to be the witness. He read aloud the quotations of great men. The newlyweds also read a few sentences from the quotations, and the ceremony was considered complete.

The outside of the army canteen is full of ordinary long tables and benches, and there is an independent room inside that can accommodate two round tables. In the past, it was mostly used by army leaders to entertain important people or hold individual wedding banquets.

Jiang Weijun asked the chef of the kitchen squad to order four meat and four vegetarian dishes, all of which were rich in oil, including eight-treasure duck, steamed fish, braised pork and radish and pork rib soup. In addition, there were stir-fried cabbage with pork fat, shredded potatoes with green peppers, cold shredded radish with kelp and black fungus, and blanched choy sum.

The guests at both tables were all comrades-in-arms, and most of them brought their families with them. However, everyone knew that if they had many children, they would not bring them. After all, they couldn't eat too much at a banquet.

Giving gifts of money is not fashionable these days, after all, most people are not well off, so it is customary to give gifts as a gift.

Lin Xiang was in charge of preparing the gifts. She bought a pair of enamel cups and two pillowcases embroidered with red silk swallows. After all, Jiang Weijun was one of He Hongyuan's best comrades-in-arms, so the gift was not small and showed great sincerity.

Zhang Huafeng and Yan Min arrived hurriedly just as the meal was served. Lin Xiang saw that Zhang Huafeng's face looked even uglier than last night, but she just tried hard to force a smile for her brother's big day.

"I'm sorry, brother. Something happened at home and I was delayed. I just got off the phone and came here."

Jiang Weijun was not a fussy person, and he quickly welcomed the two of them to sit down: "Eat quickly, don't be so polite."

After a satisfying meal, He Hongyuan drank almost half a pound of liquor, which was unusual for him, but his expression remained calm because it was his brother's happy event.

Jiang Weijun teased, "You are so drunk that you can't tell if you are drunk or not. When you and Comrade Lin Xiang get married at the end of the month, we will test your alcohol tolerance."

The groom was naturally the one who was forced to drink the most. Jiang Weijun's face was still red and he spoke with a lisp.

He Hongyuan chuckled: "Then you guys give it a try."

Lin Xiang listened to this and silently tugged at the man's clothes: "You're still talking tough? Be careful or they'll attack you!"

He Hongyuan curled his lips, showing a rare uninhibited attitude: "Your man has never been afraid."

Lin Xiang's cheeks were flushed, she now suspected that this man was drunk!

After attending the simple wedding in the 1970s, Lin Xiang still found it strange that the wedding process was completely different from that of later generations. There was only the passion and yearning for married life in the eyes of the bride and groom, and no other complicated details.

On the way home, Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan talked about their wedding banquet at the end of the month, and they were very excited: "Will we also hold it in the cafeteria? What if there are several couples getting married? Will the dishes be fixed or can we order our own dishes?"

He Hongyuan had no experience either, and he was getting married soon, so he asked Jiang Weijun for help: "Hold it in the cafeteria. I just asked the quartermaster. There is another couple getting married that day. They will just sit at a table in the lobby. It's quiet in the back room, so it won't affect them. As for the dishes, we can only decide three days in advance. Pork is fine, but the seafood depends on what we catch when we go fishing."

Lin Xiang nodded: "That's great, I never thought that I would hold a banquet in the army cafeteria, it's quite interesting."

The two of them arrived at Zhou's house while talking, and when evening came, Lin Xiang suddenly felt sad, her two-day vacation was over and she had to go back to work!

++++

After returning from the two-day National Day holiday, the workers are generally full of energy. This is because they are full of energy after the lively festival and a good rest.

Fortunately, the production construction of the Second Factory is not too strict, especially there are no various cumbersome processes, Lin Xiang can still touch the fish to ease the sadness of leaving the holiday.

She calculated that the next holiday would be the Spring Festival, which was still several months away.

The factory next door held a meeting on the first day of rework after the holiday. The loudspeaker penetrated the thick wall, and the voice of factory director Huang's morale-boosting voice reached Lin Xiang's ears.

"Director, let's prepare to go to Director Huang and try to get more coconut juice in the next two days." Lin Xiang was always thinking about business.

Director Zhao agreed: "We have to go! We can't leave such a good thing lying around!"

However, Director Huang was very busy with official duties. He went to the city for meetings for two consecutive days after the holiday. When he came back, he did not have time to meet with the people from Factory 2.

Trucks loaded with canned shrimp sauce slowly drove away from the 119 Food Factory. Deputy Director Liu Qingshan and Fermentation Team Leader He Zhigang, who came out of the shrimp sauce workshop to smoke a cigarette and supervise the workers, saw Zhao Jianjun and Lin Xiang from the second factory leaving again in disappointment while they were puffing smoke.

"Why have these two been coming to our factory every day recently?" He Zhigang felt awkward for a few days after the crisis in the shrimp sauce workshop was resolved. Now that time has passed, he no longer takes Lin Xiang seriously.

How can a young comrade who accidentally hits someone have any real skills?

Deputy Director Liu took a sip of Daqianmen, smelling the authentic and expensive cigarettes from the capital, with a look of enjoyment on his face: "What else can I do? I have to rush back to the first factory. The factory director's grandson is leaving in the next two days, so someone must be eyeing that position."

"Wow, Lin Xiang is also lucky."

Lin Xiang herself almost forgot that the National Day drill in October was over and the transferred soldiers were about to leave, and their family member, Sister Sun, the clerk in the food factory office, would also leave.

At the beginning, He Fen had tampered with her registration form, and one of the final results was to let Lin Xiang take over Sister Sun's shift and return to Factory 1.

In early October, when the personnel department staff of Factory 1 came to Factory 2 to welcome Lin Xiang back to Factory 1, Lin Xiang was obviously stunned. She vaguely remembered that they had said she would return to Factory 1 in mid-October.

"Comrade Lin Xiang, there were some unexpected things when you were recruited, so I said that Sister Sun's position is reserved for you." Personnel Department Officer Zhou has heard a lot about Lin Xiang's name in the past two months. He is very curious about her and knows that she is a capable person. Even the factory director personally asked her to return to Factory 1 earlier twice, but she refused. He even admired her for her patience. "Now Sister Sun left with her husband a week in advance, so this position is yours. You are welcome to return to Factory 1."

In the office, even Director Zhao, Kong Zhenzhen and Ma Defa were stunned. They were reluctant to part with Lin Xiang and were looking forward to her returning to Factory 1 later. They thought it would take at least a week, but they didn't expect that the clerk and his family moved out early.

This is bad, Lin Xiang was suddenly asked to return to the factory.

The workers in the workshop of the second factory were also surprised when they heard the news. Qiu Hongxia came over and shouted loudly: "Why are you leaving? You still have to stay for a while."

The HR department official smiled and replied, "Sister Sun left early, so it's a good opportunity for Comrade Lin Xiang to take over early."

Qiu Hongxia's face darkened, and her eyes almost wrinkled: "What's good about that? Hey!"

He turned around and ran out.

Lin Xiang looked at the HR clerk who was going to handle the handover procedures for her and take her back to Factory 1, and suddenly she remembered the situation when she first came to Phnom Penh.

She had almost escaped at first. She had some money from selling her job at the Xifeng Machinery Factory, but she had no one to rely on and no job.

Now that he has lived in the Zhou family for a long time and gets along with them like family, he is about to marry his partner He Hongyuan, and even the job in the factory that he had always dreamed of is within reach.

She filled out the application form herself and chose to apply for Factory 1 without hesitation. Factory 1 was a state-owned factory with a large scale, complete facilities, a large number of employees, and everything was formal. In contrast, Factory 2 was shabby, with backward facilities and a bad reputation, and was criticized for being lazy, unmotivated, and not active in production.

However, when Lin Xiang recalled the past two months, her life in the second factory was full of good memories. The most active workers would work happily after work and complete the production tasks. They would always grab a handful of melon seeds, peanuts and oranges for themselves and had no enthusiasm for anything. However, they would quarrel or even fight in the shrimp sauce workshop because they thought they were bullied...

Just as Lin Xiang was lost in her memories, there was a sudden noise at the office door.

Qiu Hongxia came in with a group of workers, with reluctance and dissatisfaction on her face. She glared at the factory clerk with dissatisfaction, looked at Lin Xiang reluctantly, but could not say any words to keep her.

After all, everyone knows that Factory 1 is better than Factory 2, and everyone will choose Factory 1. They are not so shameless as to persuade such a capable Xiaolin to give up his bright future and stay in Factory 2.

"Xiao Lin, this happened too suddenly. We haven't had time to prepare anything yet. Here are some melon seeds, peanuts, orange candies, peanut candies, and sorghum candies that everyone has pooled together... Take them and eat them." Qiu Hongxia finally put down a handful of her favorite melon seeds and tried to show her big white teeth. Her smile was a little ugly. "Don't forget about our second factory! Come back more often when you have time. Sister Guihua will tell you more gossip!"

Lin Xiang looked at the snacks piled up like a mountain on her desk, and her heart suddenly felt sour. She looked up at Sister Guazi and the workers behind her. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard the urgent voice of Yang Tiangong outside.

——"Oh no, that damn food factory suddenly started selling coconut water!"