Chapter 21 Meeting an Old Friend
The factory director walked in with two young men in white shirts, and the voices in the conference room suddenly became quieter.
"Hello, leaders and colleagues. I'm Yuan Qingzhi, a graduate of Peking University with a degree in Mechanical Design, Manufacturing, and Automation..."
Hearing this familiar voice, Wu Chunyan looked up at the person on the stage with eyes full of surprise.
The boy who was speaking had short hair and a tall stature. He stood there like a bamboo in a lush forest.
He was dressed simply, in a white shirt, ordinary black pants and a pair of cloth shoes that had been washed to a pale color.
Meeting an old friend, I was naturally a little confused and stared at the stage for a while.
Calm down, take out a notebook and start writing down the thoughts that just came into your mind.
After the meeting, Wei Minghua walked with his friend's arm around his and joked:
"Swallow, I was saying that the two new college students were good-looking. They even stared at you several times."
Wu Chunyan thought about the topic they discussed last week and asked:
“As a college student, I’m naturally curious. After all, I’ll be your colleague in the factory in the future.
By the way, didn’t you go on a blind date last week? How was it?
"Oh, you mean that? I never thought that day..."
When Wei Minghua thought about the strange things that happened during the blind date that day, he started to complain bitterly.
Wu Chunyan immediately immersed herself in her busy work and had no time to think too much.
…
In the afternoon, Director Mao from the technical room came over and pushed open the door of the technical room with the same hairstyle as Sha Seng.
"Xiao Yuan, Xiao Zhou, come and take a look at the technical room in our factory.
Let’s all get to know each other, after all, we will be working together in the future.”
Wu Chunyan was drawing a picture. Seeing this, she raised her head to take a look, then lowered her head and continued to work.
Yuan Qingzhi and Zhou Zhiwen are graduates from Peking University who were assigned here this year. They started as technicians when they entered the factory.
Enjoy the treatment of high-quality talents. Technical talents are a scarce resource and have a bright future.
Director Mao introduced the two people one by one, and soon they arrived at Wu Chunyan's workstation.
"This is Xiao Wu from the factory. Don't be fooled by the fact that she's a girl. She's good at mechanical drawing."
Director Mao gave a thumbs up as he spoke.
When Wu Chunyan heard Director Mao speak, she raised her head and smiled.
Yuan Qingzhi looked at the girl in the blue factory uniform in front of him with shining eyes.
"Director, we know each other. Comrade Wu and I were...high school classmates."
"Oh, what a coincidence! You two should communicate more in the future. You young people can really get along well."
Director Mao smiled and patted Yuan Qingzhi on the shoulder.
Wu Chunyan waited until the people walked away, rubbed her sore wrists, and began to look into the distance.
…
I had insomnia for the first time that night and tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
He stood up and took out a book from the bedside table. It was a professional book on mechanics.
Gently opening it, he saw Yuan Qingzhi's name written on the title page. This was a gift he gave her when they were in their second year of high school.
"Chunyan, I found this by chance at a scrap yard. It contains content that you might be interested in. I'm giving it to you."
The boy held a book in both hands and handed it to Wu Chunyan opposite him, looking embarrassed.
"Don't worry, I've wiped it clean carefully with a cloth, you can keep it."
Wu Chunyan gently stroked the faded words on the title page with her fingers, saying nothing.
Cheap ink will gradually blur over time.
Back then, she went to work as a workshop worker in a steel rolling mill before finishing her second year of high school.
At the beginning, the salary was very low, and everyone gave most of it to their family to "pay off debts."
Diao Yulian would ask her for money from time to time, and after careful budgeting, the remaining money was barely enough to support her life.
In fact, after she started working, Yuan Qingzhi also came to the factory gate to look for her.
She had just finished working late and was covered in dust. She had not had enough food during that period and had lost a lot of weight.
"Chunyan, I was recommended by my unit to go to college, I..." Can I be your partner?
Before he could finish his words, Wu Chunyan interrupted him: "Congratulations, I have to go back to work at the factory, so I won't see you off."
She heard someone calling her to go back.
These days, getting into university requires recommendations, and what matters is a clean background.
It is best to come from a poor or lower-middle peasant family, and there will be a detailed and strict political review of family background.
In other words, they are poor and miserable, but also red and professional.
Of course, the recommendation is not effective at once, and it also requires an exam.
The difficulty of the test is generally at the junior high school level, and only two subjects are tested: mathematics and physics.
In some places, after recommending people according to the requirements, if they are rejected in the initial exam, they need to replace them.
Yuan Qingzhi was given a vacant spot because the previous recommended person failed the initial exam due to poor performance and was rejected.
At that time, she thought that she and he were just ordinary classmates, and he just told her before leaving.
The heavy work in the workshop day after day has almost worn away my original dream.
…
The next morning, Wu Chunyan packed up and prepared to go to work.
"Chunyan, why are you wearing this work clothes again today? Go change quickly.
Your dad said there's a staff get-together in the factory auditorium today, so you should at least wear something nice."
Diao Yulian was overwhelmed when she saw Wu Chunyan wearing factory uniform all year round. Why couldn't this girl dress herself up like herself?
"No, I think this one looks good on me. It won't get dirty."
Wu Chunyan was squatting and changing her shoes.
"Chunyan, listen to your mother. I heard... a leader is also going this time."
Wu Shengli knew that his daughter was very ambitious, so he changed his words.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Wu Chunyan thought about it and went back to her room to change her clothes.
When she opened the empty closet, the only thing she could find was a set of clothes her mother had made for her after she started working.
Long-sleeved shirt, made of Dacron material with a strong drape.
There is a pocket sewn on the chest and black pants with slightly narrowed cuffs.
Both of these pieces were made for her by Diao Yulian in early spring last year.
Wu Chunyan tied her shoulder-length hair into a high ponytail with a hair tie, looking neat and tidy.
Well, tying your hair up won’t make it greasy quickly.
"Looks good. I think you've grown taller."
Diao Yulian was very satisfied looking at her daughter's brand new look. She hoped that she could find a son from a leader's family.
"Mom and Dad, I'm leaving now."
The high ponytail behind her head swayed rhythmically with her steady steps.
Lin Xiaotong, who was sitting in the east, was eating boiled eggs. While eating, she asked Gao Xiulan:
"Mom, is that Aunt Diao's daughter?"
Until now, the people in the yard haven’t been able to tell them apart completely, but the people in the backyard need to be a little more familiar with them.
For example, Zhang Dazui, who is close to her mother, Yu Afen, and Diao Yulian, who always argues with Gao Xiulan.
"Yes, that's the eldest girl from the Wu family, Chunyan, who works in the technical department of the factory."
Gao Xiulan was sitting on a chair, sewing a cushion with colorful scraps of cloth.
"That girl is smart and a great student. I heard she always gets first place in her class. People in the compound also say that the Wu family will produce a college student."
It’s so great these days that college graduates are assigned jobs directly after graduation.
"Chunyan is now doing technical work in the factory. Your father said that girl is amazing."
Wait, this year is 1975, and the first college entrance examination was resumed in December 1977.
I'm numb. I'm going to prepare to read.
Suddenly I felt that even rice didn’t taste good anymore.
"Mom, I'm going to the scrap yard after get off work tonight. I'm going to look for picture books."
"Okay, come back early in the evening, and then ask your dad to pick you up at the alley entrance."
"Okay."
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