Chapter 23 The Moon of Yesteryear
We ordered four dishes and a soup: steamed pork ribs with rice flour, eggplant with minced meat, stir-fried beef, stir-fried bok choy, corn and lotus root soup, and a small bowl of lotus seed and snow pear soup that Xie Ning had specially requested.
Xie Ning didn't have much of an appetite; she only ate a small bowl of rice and then finished all the lotus seed and pear soup.
Xiao Yang devoured all the remaining food.
Xie Ning glanced at Xiao Yang's stomach with slight envy. She had been experiencing some bloating lately, so she hadn't been eating much. Even when she was feeling well, she didn't have Xiao Yang's appetite. She was truly envious.
Xiao Yang let out a burp, then silently calculated in his mind how many extra laps he would have to run that night.
After lunch, Xie Ning took a nap at her desk to recharge for her afternoon classes, while Xiao Yang went to the dormitory to help Xie Ning tidy up her room. It was a dormitory assigned to teachers by the school, where teachers who lived far away could rest or even live.
Some teachers don't come from well-off families and don't have enough space at home, so they move to the dormitory with their wives and children.
Although it's called a dormitory, the environment is still quite nice by today's standards. The walls are painted pinkish-white, and the rooms vary in size. The room assigned to Xie Ning is a large suite. Xiao Yang cleaned it carefully and then thought that she should bring two quilts from home next time she came.
Mr. Xie sleeps in the small bedroom, while he makes do in the living room, which has a small kitchen where he can cook simple meals.
Xie Ning had only intended to use the dormitory as a temporary place to take a nap, but in the end, she fell silent as she looked at the well-behaved students surrounding her and asking her questions.
If she lived in the dormitory, she could also give private tutoring, which would give students more time to absorb knowledge.
No, that won't work.
Xie Ning stopped herself from thinking. She was currently presenting herself as a man. If she moved into the dormitory, Xiao Yang would definitely come with her. Moreover, there were many people and distractions in the dormitory building. It would be bad if she accidentally exposed her identity.
At home, at least Aunt Liu could cover for her, and Aunt Liu usually took care of her during her period and handled her personal items.
Well, teaching requires a gradual approach. No matter how eager she is, she has to take it one step at a time. She can't expect to reach the sky in one leap.
Thus, Xie Ning shuttled between teaching at the school and supervising the construction of the factory. From time to time, she also had to go to the Zhang family's factory to repair the machines. She also received the parts that Zhang Congzhi had promised to bring her one after another.
That day, Xie Ning went straight to the Zhang family after leaving the factory. Recently, the Shanghai business community had vowed not to buy or sell Japanese goods, and the Chinese people's sentiment to boycott Japanese goods had been stirred up. She was not only an advisor to the Zhang family, but was also invited to several national enterprises to repair and improve their machinery.
As a result, I also got to know several "experts" who were quite knowledgeable in the field of mechanics; they were all consultants hired by other companies.
Through their conversations, Xie Ning realized the gap between them. It wasn't that she looked down on those foreign experts, but apart from a few, most of them had only average professional skills. However, Xie Ning understood this very well.
If they were truly experts in this field, why would they be so easily hired as consultants by Chinese companies? It's simply because they can't make it in their own countries, and China lacks technical talent in this area. To these people, "stupid" Chinese companies are much easier to swindle money from than their own.
Even the Zhang family had previously hired a Japanese expert, but that person was too arrogant and was ultimately crushed by Xie Ning, so the Zhang family dismissed him.
Other companies also hired Japanese experts, but they all resigned after the war broke out. Therefore, most of the people Xie Ning knew were German or American.
Aside from her, there were no other advisors at this banquet. The reason for this was simply that she was Chinese and had a good relationship with the Zhang family.
After leaving the banquet hall, Xie Ning walked into the garden to enjoy the breeze, only to overhear the Zhang brothers arguing.
"Brother, what are they thinking? They actually issued an order for key military officials not to participate in anti-Japanese groups. Shenyang and Changchun have fallen! Those little devils are already shitting on our heads, and they're still thinking about fighting amongst themselves? 'To pacify the internal before resisting the external?' Bah!"
Zhang Mingyuan didn't speak. A spark ignited from the long cigarette between his fingers, casting a flickering light on his face, which was shrouded in darkness. His sharp, knife-like features made him appear extremely cold and hard. Only after Zhang Congzhi dragged the people above out and berated them in turn did he speak, "Be careful, walls have ears."
If he were truly afraid, Zhang Mingyuan wouldn't have let his brother finish cursing before intervening. Clearly, the garden had already been cleared. As for how Xie Ning got in...
Xie Ning had a feeling that she had fallen into a trap.
Sure enough, the next moment Zhang Mingyuan extinguished his cigarette and shouted in Xie Ning's direction, "Changning, eavesdropping is not the behavior of a gentleman."
Xie Ning was speechless. At this point, there was nothing she didn't understand.
But she couldn't help but complain, "Brother Mingyuan's trick of luring the enemy into a trap is really powerful. I have no choice but to get on this pirate ship."
This was to completely tie her to their army, at least preventing her from getting involved with Chiang Kai-shek's side.
If that's the case, does that mean the 19th Army has ulterior motives?
Zhang Mingyuan took out another cigarette, and his lackey brother Zhang Congzhi quickly lit it for him. However, Zhang Mingyuan then dismissed his brother, clearly because Zhang Congzhi couldn't bear to hear what was about to be said.
"Changning, the factory will be completed in another half month, and the equipment will be delivered gradually next month. When can we officially start production? Can you give me a definite answer? Can we do it by the end of this year?"
While they were asking Xie Ning about the timeframe, they were actually giving him a deadline.
"Brother Mingyuan, you need to understand, it's almost November already. You're saying you'll start production by the end of the year? Are you kidding me?"
She could start working immediately, but the problem is that she can't make these things by herself. They are produced in batches, not just randomly made metal toys.
Besides the factory buildings and equipment, workers and technicians also need to be arranged. She's not a magician who can conjure up a bunch of weapons in a flash.
The irritation between Zhang Mingyuan's brows deepened, the cigarette butts scattered on the ground at his feet being glaring proof of it.
"Changning, it's not that I'm forcing you, but things really can't wait any longer. I won't hide it from you. The army commander recently swore to oppose the civil war and unite against the Japanese. He is also preparing to send the army to the Northeast front to provide support. If we have a batch of iron weapons, we can not only take them to the brothers who are holding the line in the Northeast, but also provide better protection for our brothers. We can also use them to exchange for a batch of grain."
The army commander said, "If the higher-ups don't care, we can't ignore it. How can we give up the nation's territory?"
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