Chapter 77 (First Update)
As soon as Yan Ruyi arrived at her office, the phone rang. She picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, this is Yan Ruyi."
Director Liu said, "Xiao Yan, the bureau received a notice from the city that you have been named a National Outstanding Young Factory Director (Manager). Only two people in our city have been named. The other one is Xie Yunfei. He will go to Beijing to receive the award on the 25th of this month. We will wait for the city's notice regarding the specific arrangements for going to Beijing."
Her commander, Song, was right.
Yan Ruyi was very happy. Yesterday afternoon's phone call was most likely made by Director Liu.
"Director Liu, did you call me yesterday afternoon?"
Jialide is still under the jurisdiction of the Cultural Relics Bureau. With Yan Ruyi elected, Director Liu, as the head of the Cultural Relics Bureau, also feels proud.
Putting everything else aside, he'll have more confidence when asking for funding from higher authorities next year.
When others are overjoyed, they are in high spirits and speak loudly, "It's me. I didn't mean to tell you the good news in advance, but then I remembered you had an exam."
Actually, she had already finished her exams, and later she went shopping with Song Yiping.
However, there's no need to tell Director Liu about this.
Yan Ruyi had a smile on her face all day long, until Song Yiping got off work and went home.
Song Yiping, "Why are you so happy?"
"you guess?"
"You've been named a National Outstanding Factory Director (Manager)?"
How did you guess it so quickly?
"Your mouth is practically splitting open to the back of your head; this is probably the only thing that could make you this happy."
Yan Ruyi was indeed happy, not only happy, but also excited. She was so excited that she couldn't sleep at night, so she took the initiative to challenge Song Yiping and fought two rounds. In the end, she was so exhausted that she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Just before I fell asleep, I remembered that I forgot to ask Director Liu if the bureau would give a monetary reward for being named a National Outstanding Factory Director (Manager).
She also wants to buy a car.
I'll be receiving the award on the 25th, and I'm leaving for Beijing on the 24th.
Song Yiping went to the capital one day later than her.
The graduate program he was pursuing required him to attend classes once a month during his first year.
Next year I won't need to go so frequently.
The city government covered all the expenses for our trip to Beijing to receive the award. We booked sleeper berths for both the trip and the return journey, and they even provided a team leader. There were four of us in total.
Besides her and Xie Yunfei, the other two were Yang Yuqing, secretary of the Municipal Youth League Committee, and Jia Hesheng, chairman of the Municipal Trade Union.
The train leaves at 9:30 in the morning. I sleep on the train overnight and arrive in Beijing the next day at noon.
The meeting was arranged at the municipal government, and Yan Ruyi arrived at the municipal government at just 9 o'clock.
The municipal government starts work at 9 o'clock, and when she arrived, it was right during working hours.
There were guards standing at the entrance of the municipal government building. She went over and took out her work ID. "Comrade, I'm looking for Secretary Yang of the Municipal Youth League Committee. He made an appointment with me to come today."
The guards had been notified yesterday and allowed Yan Ruyi to pass after checking her documents.
Yan Ruyi entered the municipal government compound and heard a bicycle bell ringing behind her, so she moved aside.
The bicycle stopped beside her. "Ruyi, what are you doing here?"
Yan Ruyi turned her head and saw that it was Li Chenghai.
The last time Yan Ruyi saw Li Chenghai was when she went to visit her grandmother during the Chinese New Year.
Grandma was staying at her eldest uncle's house. She went to pay her respects to Grandma for the New Year. It just so happened that Yan Ruping was going back to her parents' home, and Li Chenghai went along with her.
When Yan Ruyi last saw Li Chenghai, she thought he was already quite fat.
Looking at him today, he seems to have gained even more weight.
My eyesight is almost gone.
It looks more like a ball now.
Yan Ruyi didn't seem to like him much, and vaguely said, "I'm here to take care of something."
To show off his abilities, Li Chenghai said solicitously, "What do you need me to do? Let me see who's in charge. I'll introduce you to someone in a bit. Having an acquaintance as a referral will make things go faster."
Just then, someone from the Youth League Committee came by and overheard Li Chenghai's words.
"Comrade Yan is here today to go to Beijing with Secretary Yang and the others to receive an award."
The person didn't even dare to say the next sentence.
When Yan Ruyi got married, Mayor Liu attended the wedding. If she really came to do business, would she need your introduction?
Li Chenghai works in the archives. The work in the archives is leisurely, and few people go there usually. He himself doesn't care much about current affairs.
He really didn't know that Yan Ruyi had gone to Beijing to receive the award.
Li Chenghai's face showed visibly embarrassment. "I thought you were here on business. Well, you go ahead with your work, I'm going to work now."
I quickly got on my bicycle and left.
The man led Yan Ruyi to Secretary Yang's office, knocked on the door, and said, "Secretary Yang, Comrade Yan has arrived."
Yang Yuqing stood up from the sofa and shook hands with Yan Ruyi.
Xie Yunlong had already arrived. Yang Yuqing introduced him to Yan Ruyi, "This is Xie Yunlong."
Yan Ruyi had never met Xie Yunlong before.
Xie Yunlong works at a feed mill. Yan Ruyi always thought he was a burly man, but she never expected him to be so refined and gentle, even wearing glasses.
He doesn't seem like a factory manager; he seems more like a school teacher.
He speaks softly and gently, not at all like a decisive and efficient factory director.
Indeed, appearances can be deceiving.
Before long, Jia Hesheng arrived as well.
The municipal government sent a car to take the four of them to the train station.
I slept on the train overnight and arrived in Beijing the next day at noon.
The awards ceremony was held in the auditorium of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
Accommodation was arranged at the Fei Hong Hotel next to the auditorium.
When they arrived at the train station, someone picked them up and took them directly to their hotel.
After checking in, Yan Ruyi carried her luggage to her assigned room.
Her room number was 608. She took the elevator to the 6th floor and found her room.
She was given a double room, but when she checked in, the front desk told her that another person had already checked in.
Out of politeness, she didn't take out her key to open the door directly, but knocked on the door first.
The door opened quickly, and a woman with short, shoulder-length hair appeared in the doorway.
The woman noticed the travel bag in her hand and said warmly, "Are you Comrade Yan Ruyi? Come in quickly, I'm Yan Fuhua, let's share a room."
There are two beds in the room, one next to the bed and the other next to the door.
Yan Fuhua said, "I haven't touched either bed. You can choose whichever one you want to stay in. I'm fine with either one."
"I'm fine with either."
"Then you can take the one by the window, it's closer to the radiator."
Yan Ruyi then noticed a row of radiators near the window, which explained why the room was so warm inside.
She's sensitive to the cold and even brought a hot water bottle with her when she came, but it seems she won't need it.
Yan Fuhua was very talkative. "Comrade Yan, where are you from?"
"I'm from Beijing."
"That's quite a coincidence. I have a brother who is serving in the military in Beijing."
"Comrade Yan, where are you from?"
"I'm from Hefang County, which is under the jurisdiction of Gui'an City. It's a small place, so you probably haven't even heard of it... Let's not call each other 'comrade,' it's too formal. I'm 36 this year, I'm older than you, right?"
I'm 24.
Yan Fuhua laughed and said, "I'm exactly twelve years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me 'sister'."
"Sister Yan, what do you do for a living?"
Yan Fuhua said, “I do weaving. Our area is a major corn-producing region, and I happen to know how to weave, so I organized the women in the village to weave things out of corn husks and sell them. Most of them are sold abroad. You know what corn husks are, right? They are the outer layer of the corn cob. You can weave a lot of things, such as baskets, mats, hats, flowers... I have some in my bag. Let me show you.”
Yan Fuhua opened his bag and took out an exquisite handbag.
If Yan Fuhua hadn't told her beforehand, she wouldn't have believed it was made from corn husks.
"Sister Yan, you're so skillful."
“People in my area all know how to weave. In the past, they would weave baskets and mats for their own use. Some people even used corn husks to make shoe soles, which were lightweight and waterproof. I just played an organizing role. Don’t laugh at me, but I can’t actually read many words. I really didn’t expect the country to give me such a great honor and even let me come to Beijing to receive the award.”
Yan Ruyi felt that Yan Fuhua was much more capable than her.
She has a knack for success, met a good leader, and caught a good opportunity.
Yan Fuhua, however, worked his way up from the bottom step by step.
"Sister Yan, could you give me this basket? I have a friend who's in business. He often goes to Hong Kong. I'll take it to him when I get back and see if it can help me find a market there."
Yan Fuhua said happily, "That's great! I heard that everyone who came to receive the award this time is a businessperson, so I specially brought some woven products, thinking that if someone takes a liking to them, our weaving factory might have another sales channel. Speaking of me, Xiao Yan, what do you do for a living?"
Yan Ruyi told Yan Fuhua what kind of business she worked in.
"You're in the antique business, huh? My hometown is in a remote mountain village with a strange name: Tomb Keeper Village. When I was little, I heard the older generation say that our ancestors were tomb keepers for emperors or princes. But I've never seen the tombs myself. Anyway, that's what everyone has been saying."
Yan Ruyi's heart skipped a beat. "Sister Yan, what is the specific name of your family home?"
“Shoumu Village, Liujiaji Town, Hefang County”.
Yan Ruyi wrote down her name.
The village didn't get such a name for no reason, and many of the legends surrounding it were eventually proven to be true.
There might really be a royal tomb over there.
Yan Ruyi glanced at her watch; it was already noon.
Fei Hong Hotel provides three meals a day.
She said to Yan Fuhua, "Sister Yan, let's go downstairs for lunch."
The awards ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. tomorrow, and they have nothing else to do today.
Since they had come all the way to the capital, Yang Yuqing and his group wanted to take a look around.
Yan Ruyi asked Yan Fuhua, "Sister Yan, are you going out to play?"
Yan Fuhua said, “Don’t laugh at me, but before this, the farthest place I’ve ever been is our county town. If you don’t mind that I’m a burden, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
Yan Ruyi laughed and said, "It's not a burden at all. We can keep each other company."
Yan Ruyi told Yang Yuqing, then picked up her camera and went out to play with Yan Fuhua.
She spent the afternoon playing outside, visiting all the famous tourist attractions, and even made a special trip to Peking University to take a photo at the university gate.
They also took many photos of Yan Fuhua.
"Sister Yan, when you get back, give me your address. I'll mail the photos to you once they're developed."
By the time the two returned to the Fei Hong Hotel, it was already getting dark.
As soon as Yan Ruyi entered the hotel, she saw Song Yiping.
She had been so composed just moments before, but now she flew towards Song Yiping like a little bird.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long after, you went out to play?"
"I went with Sister Yan. It's so cold in Beijing, my hands are almost frozen."
"Why aren't you wearing gloves? Didn't we pack two pairs for you when we came?"
"It's inconvenient to wear gloves when taking photos."
Yan Fuhua came over, and Yan Ruyi introduced her, "Sister Yan, this is my husband, Song Yiping."
Yan Fuhua said, "Hello, Comrade Song. Ruyi, you two talk. I'll head back now."
After Yan Fuhua left, Yan Ruyi asked Song Yiping, "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"No."
"Let's go eat then. I've heard that the hot pot in Beijing is especially delicious. Let's go eat hot pot."
They went to the most famous hot pot restaurant in Beijing and ate hot pot. When they came out of the restaurant, it was already 7:30.
Song Yiping lived in the school dormitory. Military academies implement military-style management, stipulating that students must go to bed before 9 o'clock, and the same applies to postgraduate students.
Song Yiping escorted her to the entrance of Feihong Hotel. Seeing that no one was around, he quickly kissed her on the lips. "I'll come pick you up at 5 a.m. the day after tomorrow. Can you get up?"
"Don't underestimate them, they'll definitely rise to the top."
Song Yiping laughed and said, "No one dares to underestimate Comrade Yan. Go on up."
Yan Ruyi scratched his palm before reluctantly going upstairs.
Yan Fuhua has already taken a shower.
Their room had hot water available 24 hours a day.
Moreover, the room was heated, so it wasn't cold when taking a shower.
Yan Fuhua, "Why don't you live with your spouse?"
"He came to the military academy for further studies, and the military academy has requirements for sleeping arrangements."
Actually, you can apply to the school to live off-campus.
However, she and Song Yiping had only been separated for two days.
Moreover, even married couples don't need to be together all the time. Spending time apart occasionally can actually be better for their relationship.
Yan Fuhua said enviously, "You and your partner have such a good relationship."
Yan Ruyi never liked to pry into other people's private affairs, but Yan Fuhua took the initiative to tell her.
“My husband and I divorced a long time ago. When I started my knitting factory, he disagreed and wanted me to go home and take care of the family. I didn’t want to, and neither of us could convince the other, so we got divorced.”
"Sister Yan, you're so capable, your ex-husband is just unlucky."
"I don't know if he's lucky or not, but one thing is for sure, he's not as rich as me, haha... Hey, I've been rambling on about family matters. You've been running around all day, go take a shower and rest, the water's warm."
Yan Ruyi was indeed quite tired, so she went to take a shower.
After taking a shower, I lay in bed talking to Yan Fuhua, but I fell asleep after only a few words.
She likes to stay in bed, and when she's at home, Song Yiping always provides wake-up calls.
Plus, the room was heated, so it was warm and cozy, making it very comfortable to sleep in. I slept very soundly.
Yan Fuhua woke her up the next day.
When Yan Ruyi opened her eyes, she was still a little dazed. It wasn't until Yan Fuhua spoke to her that she realized where she was.
Last night, she seemed to fall asleep while talking to Yan Fuhua.
Feeling embarrassed, he apologized to Yan Fuhua, "Sister Yan, did I fall asleep while we were talking yesterday?"
Yan Fuhua laughed and said, "If you're asleep, then so be it. There's no need to apologize. Hurry up and wash up. Once you're done, we'll go downstairs for dinner. After dinner, it'll be about time to set off."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
