Chapter 32: You seem to be very popular with the elderly
Liu Weiguo had no idea what hydrostatic or not. He just heard others bragging about how awesome this batch of domestically produced logging tractors was and came back to gossip about it with his buddies.
Qi Fang saw his expression and knew he was asking the wrong person. He lowered his gaze again and said, "It's okay, I'm just asking."
Liu Weiguo had known Qi Fang for several years, and he knew that Qi Fang usually didn't ask about these things. He picked up the shovel and said, "Wait, I'll ask for you."
He was a quick runner, and in a blink of an eye he had run down a long mountain road, heading towards Secretary Lang's group. He didn't ask anyone else, but instead went to find Xu Wenli, the director of the small repair shop.
Firstly, Liu Daniu has a good relationship with Xu Wenli, and secondly, this batch of tractors will also be repaired by the small repair shop in the future, so Xu Wenli must know more.
A short while later, he came running back, shovel in hand. "I asked, and it's a hydrostatic system. They say it was developed just last year. It doesn't require a hydraulic cylinder, so it uses a lot less fuel than the previous system. We're the first to use it."
Then he became curious again, "What's the matter? Are you interested in this thing?"
"A little bit." Qi Fang tried his best to calm down, but still paused before saying, "Thank you."
"It's no big deal. Even if you don't ask, I'm curious about what it is." Liu Weiguo waved his hand.
He couldn't help but tut a sound as he spoke. "You don't know, I've been listening to Uncle Xu talk about all that stuff until my head is spinning. The only thing I remember is that it saves fuel by not using a hydraulic cylinder."
Using hydrostatic transmission can certainly reduce energy consumption, and no one knows this better than Qi Fang.
He also knew that hydrostatic transmission has smooth movement, low noise, high precision, long life in high-speed motion systems or deceleration systems, and is not affected by torque, impact and vibration, because his and his teacher's main research direction is the application of hydrostatic transmission in construction machinery.
It’s just that domestic mechanical engineering started late and had a poor foundation. Both the first crane and the first tractor were imported from Suluguan in the 1950s.
Both the previous Dongfanghong 54 and the current Jicai 50 were developed and improved from the Stalin 54 and RT-12 under the guidance of experts from Suerguan.
Su'erguan was under a technological blockade by the West, and its technology in the 1950s was only comparable to that of the West in the 1940s, with domestic technology even worse. As early as 1957, someone abroad had already developed the first purely hydrostatic tractor, but he and his teacher's research and development progress was always less than ideal.
Now, the Suerguan experts have been out of the country for nearly ten years, and the teacher is gone, but the hydrostatic transmission is still used in this batch of 50 skidders...
Qi Fang didn't want to think about the worst. After all, he hadn't seen the real thing, and his teacher couldn't be the only one doing research in this area in China. However, his heart sank uncontrollably.
So after clearing the mountain, he did not rush home, but said goodbye to Liu Weiguo and turned around and went to the river.
Last time he was in a bad mood and said the wrong thing, which made Yan Xue unhappy. He couldn't go back with such a bad mood this time and let Yan Xue see it.
These are his own affairs, and there is no need to drag anyone else into it and make him suffer together.
It was almost dark when Qi Fang returned home. When he entered the house, the lights were already on and Yan Xue was putting the clothes he had washed during the day on the kang to dry.
It was still a bit cold at the end of April, and sometimes clothes would dry faster on the kang than outside. Yan Xue heard him come in, but didn't look up. "What took you so long? I've put dinner in the pot for you tonight, you can serve it yourself."
It looked tiny under the soft light. Because it had just been washed, its hair was still loose, making its small face look even smaller than a palm.
Perhaps her hair was getting in the way, so she casually tried to lift it up with the back of her hand while holding something, but it didn't go well and it quickly fell down again. Just as she was about to put the thing down and try to lift it up again, a hand reached out from behind and tucked it behind her ear.
Yan Xue had never expected that the socks she was about to put down would tilt and fall to the ground.
Qi Fang didn't expect this either, and quickly reached out to help her fish it out.
Fortunately, his arms were long and he managed to grab the object at the last second before it fell to the ground, but he was also stuck tightly to Yan Xue's back.
In order to stabilize his body, he held Yan Xue's shoulder tightly with his other hand. Their bodies overlapped, as if Yan Xue was completely covered in his arms.
Qi Fang paused, and Yan Xue, who was also about to take something out of his arms, was obviously stunned.
Even though they had slept in each other's arms before, it was mostly to comfort Yan Xue. They both tacitly left a little space between them and had never been so close.
After a while, seeing that the man hadn't moved and seemed to have not yet recovered, Yan Xue snatched the socks from his hand and said, "Have you washed your hands? Don't wash them again."
Feeling that the person was really in the way, he even used his elbow to turn around.
Qi Fang took a half step back and lowered his hand. "I'll wash it when I get back."
"You can't do it quietly. You suddenly reached out your hand and scared people. Do you know that?"
Yan Xue continued to talk to him, spreading out her socks one by one on the kang.
The busy movements, the complaining words, and the atmosphere of life that filled the room suddenly pulled Qi Fang out of his emotional quagmire.
He hummed, then thought the answer was too simple, and said, "I see."
After saying that, he actually reached out and helped Yan Xue tidy up the other side of her hair.
Yan Xue felt a little uncomfortable now. She subconsciously waved her hand away again and asked him, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Change your clothes and eat." Qi Fang took out the clean clothes he usually wore at home.
The people walked away and Yan Xue finished her work. She paused and combed her hair on both sides.
Liu Weiguo sent over a large bucket of fish. In the end, the small ones were used by Yan Xue to marinate, and the big ones were kept for two more days. Together with the dumplings made with celery, they helped the two of them spend a fairly sumptuous May Day.
Not long after May Day, the vigorous tree planting campaign began. Yan Xue finally saw how many people were working in the forest farm. Even students in the third grade and above went up the mountain under the guidance of their teachers.
The saplings had been cultivated in the nursery before. Everyone was divided into groups, some dug holes, some filled the soil, and some watered the plants.
In addition to the operating steps, safety issues were also repeatedly emphasized, especially paying attention to tying the trouser legs and cuffs tightly and removing less grass.
In addition to people being poisoned by eating celery pods every spring, the main danger from picking vegetables comes from ticks, a type of insect whose scientific name is tick.
This kind of insect will burrow under the human skin. The ordinary ones are not that bad, but the white ones are highly poisonous. Once bitten, you will get forest encephalitis. The husband of a female comrade in Yan Xue's family team died because of this.
Generally, when a forestry worker dies from a work-related injury, their family members take over and become regular employees, unless, like Aunt Guo, they've reached retirement age. Unfortunately for this woman, her husband didn't die from a work-related injury, but rather while she was plucking vegetables in the mountains. In this case, the forestry farm couldn't assign her a job directly, so she had to continue working in the family team.
Fortunately, the Forestry Bureau had more than 100 vacancies for regularization this year, and Jinchuan Forest Farm was allocated two. The forest farm took care of this female comrade and gave one of the vacancies directly to her.
Another person took into comprehensive consideration the years of work experience and work performance, and finally chose Jin Baozhi, the wife of Guo Changping, who lived next door to Yan Xue.
When the news reached the Guo family, it was undoubtedly a huge surprise for them, who had been in a gloomy mood since the beginning of the year.
"It's been three months, and there's finally some good news. I feel like there's a stone blocking my chest all day long." Aunt Guo said to Yan Xue privately.
The youngest son was lying on the kang, the eldest son and his wife were supporting the whole family, and the grandson was still young. No matter how much pain the old lady felt, she could only talk to Yan Xue occasionally.
This girl doesn't gossip, and unlike some people who appear to comfort you but actually use your pain to gain a sense of superiority, wishing you the best. She's sweet and cheerful all the time, and sometimes just seeing her smile can make you feel better.
As expected, Yan Xue was very supportive. "That's really great news. I was wondering why I heard the magpie calling this morning. It turns out it must be at your house."
"You are the only one who can speak. Why didn't I hear it this morning?" Aunt Guo was obviously very happy with what she said.
Yan Xue was also happy to coax the old man, "That's because you are old and your hearing is not good. I am so young, only eighteen years old."
Aunt Guo looked even more annoyed and said, "Come on, you are young, so I'll give you some of the bean sprouts I grew. They are all picked and can be put into the pot after washing. This will save you the trouble of cooking after a busy day." She went into the house happily.
Qi Fang looked at Yan Xue who came in with a smile on her face and said, "You seem to be very popular with the old man."
Aunt Guo is like that, and so is Weiguo's mother. Whenever they mention Yan Xue, they can't stop smiling.
Although Yan Xue didn't get a permanent position this time, it at least gave her some hope, especially since the person chosen was a neighbor with whom she had a good relationship. She was in a good mood, so she smiled and asked back, "Is it only the elderly who like me? Doesn't everyone else like me?"
"That's not the case."
Tiedan'er also likes Yan Xue, as well as the younger members of the Liu family, and even Wei Guo from the past...
Qi Fang didn't think any further and successfully lit the big earthen pot. "I'll go out after dinner."
Yan Xue said "hmm". Before she could ask, he had already taken the initiative to explain, "The small repair shop is dismantling the tractor today. I'll go over and take a look."
If they wanted to repair it, they had to learn how to dismantle it first. For this reason, the county sent an engineer to teach them how to do it. Since Qi Fang had become suspicious, he naturally wanted to go and see. Whether it was true or not, at least he could verify it with his own eyes, which was better than just guessing it alone.
Although Yan Xue was a little surprised that he was interested in tractors, he seemed not to be so proactive in telling her about his itinerary and explaining the reasons before.
She nodded, "Then I'll leave the door open for you."
"It won't be too late," Qi Fang said, "I'll be back before eight o'clock."
Unexpectedly, after finishing the meal and before putting away the dishes, the broadcast from the headquarters sounded, asking all family team members, including the educated youth, to go to the headquarters for a meeting.
"We've worked all day, why are we having a meeting at this time?" Yan Xue was confused.
The two put the dishes and chopsticks into the big earthen pot and went out without washing them. When they went out, they ran into Jin Baozhi, the wife of Guo Changping next door, who obviously knew nothing about it.
When they arrived at the field office, the other family members were also confused. They said that the notice was sudden and they had not finished their housework yet.
Secretary Lang arrived soon after. Although the notice stated that educated youth from the city were included, few of them showed up. Only Zhou Wenhui, two other girls, and two usually well-behaved male educated youth showed up. However, everyone from the family team showed up, with the exception of Captain Lin. Yu Cuiyun, who didn't work there, even showed up wearing a splint.
This made Yan Xue look at the other person a little more. She felt that this person's appearance here at this time was probably not a good thing.
Then Yu Cuiyun looked back at me, "Although I'm not a member of the family team, I'm also a family member of an employee. Is it okay for me to come and take a look?"
Yan Xue just smiled and said, "I just took a look out of curiosity and didn't say anything."
It's already eye-catching enough, and now it jumps out without waiting for anyone to ask, as if afraid that others won't notice it. What else does she need to say?
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Secretary Lang ignored the educated youth and spoke directly, "I called everyone here today to discuss the quota for regularization. Previously, based on your years of service and work performance in the family team, the farm selected Comrade You Jinfeng and Comrade Jin Baozhi, but..."
The key point lies after this "but", and everyone pricked up their ears.
Sure enough, Secretary Lang immediately said, "Some comrades have expressed different opinions, believing that Comrade Jin Baozhi does not meet the requirements for regularization and hope that a new nomination can be held."
Everyone looked at Jin Baozhi, and Jin Baozhi's face showed obvious surprise, and then she pursed her lips.
She is a person of few words, otherwise she would not have attacked Li Shuwu's wife directly when she was talking nonsense. At this moment, she was suddenly hit by such an unexpected incident and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Li Shuwu's wife, on the other hand, felt a bit gloating, but because Secretary Lang was present, she did not make any sarcastic remarks.
Yan Xue asked directly, "What does that comrade think Comrade Jin Baozhi does not meet the requirements?"
Secretary Lang's answer was straightforward. "She felt that Comrade Jin Baozhi's work attitude wasn't positive. She even took nearly a month off during the busiest time for the entire family team."
Not to mention Yan Xue, the other members of the family team thought this reason was pure nonsense.
Eugene Feng was quick-witted and even said directly, "Isn't this nonsense? Everyone knows that Xiao Jin asked for leave because someone in her family was injured and she had to take care of him in the hospital."
Anyway, her place is confirmed, and the other one can be given to anyone, and it would be more convincing to give it to Jin Baozhi.
There were those who knew that they had only a short working life and that it would definitely not be their turn this year, and there were also those who were simply outspoken and liked to speak the truth, so they said a few words in support.
"That's right. Everyone knows Jin Baozhi is very capable. Every year after finishing her seasonal work, she still goes to the agricultural team."
"Is this person jealous? He wouldn't say that even if he lied with his eyes open."
"Everyone thinks that Jin Baozhi deserves this position and there is no problem with it?" Secretary Lang confirmed with everyone.
Everyone nodded and said yes. Even Li Shuwu's wife did not dare to jump out at this time and chose to remain silent.
Seeing that the matter was about to be settled, Yu Cuiyun, who was watching from the side with her arm in a sling, interjected, "You can't say there's no problem, right? Doesn't she have a bad background?"
Everyone who was talking at once suddenly fell silent and looked at her, especially Jin Baozhi.
This thing is written on the household registration paper and not everyone can see it. Many people present don’t know it at all. How did she know it and say it out at this time?
Yan Xue had sharp eyes and noticed that Secretary Lang also glanced at Yu Cuiyun and did not seem very happy.
She connected the dots and immediately understood. She presumably knew that the "comrade with a problem" had already mentioned this point when he made his suggestion. Secretary Lang didn't want to replace the person, so he deliberately didn't mention it. But Yu Cuiyun still singled it out.
Li Shuwu's wife finally found her chance and immediately shouted, "She can't be made a regular employee. Why should we poor and lower-middle peasants be temporary workers, while she, a landlord's son of a bitch, can be a regular employee?"
"My mother's family is just rich peasants." Jin Baozhi immediately retorted, staring at Li Shuwu's wife with eyes that were about to spit fire.
Li Shuwu's wife relied on the presence of Secretary Lang and was not afraid of her at all. "What's the difference? It's still oppressing us poor and lower-middle peasants. What's the matter? Do you still want to hit me?" She even raised her hands on her hips.
This topic is quite sensitive, and many of those who had just been speaking up for Jin Baozhi are now silent.
Li Shuwu's wife was becoming more and more proud. "I was wondering why he was hitting me. It turns out that he is not a good person at all."
Yan Xue did not speak up for Jin Baozhi, nor did she pay any attention to Li Shuwu's wife. She just asked Secretary Lang, "Since that person has made an opinion, did she say who she thinks is more suitable?"
This time, Secretary Lang glanced at her with a hint of smile in his eyes. "She felt that Lin Shangming's wife, Cheng Yuzhen, was more suitable. She had more years of work experience and often took over Lin Shangming's organization of everyone's work when he was away. Lin Shangming wanted to avoid suspicion, so he asked me to hold this meeting for everyone."
Cheng Yuzhen?
The employees' families, who were already quiet, became even quieter; even Li Shuwu's wife kept her mouth shut.
Some people looked at Cheng Yuzhen, while others looked at Yu Cuiyun, who still had her arm in a sling.
Is there any need to ask who the comrade with the objection is?
It must be that Yu Cuiyun saw that Cheng Yuzhen was not selected, so she came to help her.
This is a bit offensive. Everyone still remembers how Yu Cuiyun asked Cheng Yuzhen not to notify Yan Xue when she went to Captain Lin to sign up.
The last time the two of them colluded with each other, Yan Xue almost lost her job in the family team. This time they are targeting Jin Baozhi again. Who knows if it will be her turn next time?
Cheng Yuzhen noticed it, glanced at Yu Cuiyun, and frowned, "How about this, everyone vote by raising their hands."
Seeing everyone looking over, she explained, "It's an open vote. Those who agree that Comrade Jin Baozhi should get the regular position should raise their hands. Those who disagree should stay put. This is fairer. If the majority disagree, we can still vote to choose someone else."
The words sounded really nice. Yan Xue raised her eyebrows and thought that this suggestion was very interesting, and so was this person.
Rather than raising their hands, the majority of people are accustomed to choosing silence. Besides, raising hands so publicly is not much different from taking sides.
Cheng Yuzhen and Yu Cuiyun are the wives of the captain of the family team and the daughter of the director, respectively. Needless to say, who is harder to offend than Jin Baozhi, who has no foundation at all?
What's more, she said that they would choose a new person, not necessarily her. Some people who also want to give it a try will probably have to be more active.
But without the most capable and experienced Jin Baozhi, who else present could compete with her?
She is really a good person who has taken advantage of the situation. Compared with Yu Cuiyun who puts everything out in the open, she is the one who is really difficult to deal with.
As expected, Yu Cuiyun was the first to object when she heard this. "Her family is already rich peasants, why would they vote by raising their hands?"
Cheng Yuzhen gently pulled him and said that it was okay to vote, but he would never raise his hand anyway.
When the others saw this, they also hesitated and did not raise their hands. For a moment, Jin Baozhi stood alone in the crowd, as if isolated by everyone.
Li Shuwu's wife looked at this and became proud again, as if once Jin Baozhi was taken down, it would be her turn.
Just at this moment, someone raised his hand. It was Yan Xue.
Not to mention the others, even Jin Baozhi was a little surprised. After all, raising her hand at this moment would not help, and it was very abrupt to contradict Yu Cuiyun, Cheng Yuzhen, and even the others.
Sure enough, Yu Cuiyun's face immediately fell. Although Cheng Yuzhen was still smiling, she also looked at Yan Xue.
Yan Xue blinked as if she didn't know. "If we want fairness, shouldn't we vote anonymously?"
"Anonymous voting?" Jin Baozhi had never expected this.
"Yes," Yan Xue said, "in the past, when the village elected village cadres and the class elected class cadres, weren't they all voted anonymously?"
Jin Baozhi reacted immediately and looked at Secretary Lang, "Since we want fairness, I request an anonymous vote."
Yu Cuiyun wanted to say something, but Secretary Lang had already nodded in agreement and asked someone to go to the field office to get paper and pen.
In the end, more than 30 family team members voted together. Except for two abstentions and nine votes against, the remaining more than 20 votes all agreed that Jin Baozhi should get the regularization position.
Yu Cuiyun had gone through so much trouble that her face turned black. However, Cheng Yuzhen still managed to smile and congratulate Jin Baozhi, saying, "Now that the result is out, I'll go back and tell Lao Lin." Then she took Yu Cuiyun and said goodbye.
Yu Cuiyun was reluctant and glared at Yan Xue and then at Jin Baozhi before leaving.
Li Shuwu's wife was also clearly unhappy. "After all this trouble, she still got it. It would have been better not to bother in the first place."
Yu Cuiyun happened to hear it and glared at him, "Who are you talking about?"
Li Shuwu's wife shut up instantly.
Regardless of whether they voted in favor or against, the rest of the group congratulated Jin Baozhi, and some even whispered to Yu Cuiyun and Cheng Yuzhen. After everyone left, Jin Baozhi finally grasped Yan Xue's hand and said, "Thank you."
She is indeed a person of few words, but judging from the strength with which she held Yan Xue's hand, this thank you was definitely sincere.
Yan Xue smiled and said, "I'm not just doing this for you, but for everyone else and myself. Who knows if they get you this time, I might get it next time."
This is also the reason why most people still chose Jin Baozhi when the voting turned to anonymous voting.
Jin Baozhi was very stubborn. "No matter what, I have to thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten this spot."
"Then remember to thank Secretary Lang," Yan Xue said, expressing her suspicions. "I don't think he wants to re-apply, but he's embarrassed to object outright for the sake of Director Yu and Captain Lin."
Jin Baozhi nodded and said "thank you" again before letting go of her hand.
Sure enough, Qi Fang returned before eight o'clock in the evening, at 7:55, exactly on time.
After washing his hands carefully in the main room, he came in and sat down at the desk, taking out a pen and a notebook. "What did you say in the meeting today?"
He has always been a man of few words, so of course he wouldn't say anything unless Yan Xue asked. But since he asked, Yan Xue didn't hide it and told him the general story.
Although Qi Fang wasn't as proactive as Liu Weiguo in responding and discussing things, he wasn't like some men who would get impatient when their wives talked about family matters. He listened quite attentively. When he heard the key points, he even looked up at Yan Xue a few times and said, "Secretary Lang probably didn't say it on purpose."
"Yeah, I think so too." Yan Xue smiled with her eyes curved. "I also told Sister Baozhi to remember to thank Secretary Lang."
Regardless of whether Secretary Lang deliberately didn't mention it out of fairness or simply disliked Yu Cuiyun and Cheng Yuzhen's involvement, Jin Baozhi was the beneficiary. Saying thank you once more, accepting the favor once more, would only win Secretary Lang's favor.
Since Qi Fang had asked her, Yan Xue asked Qi Fang in return: "Where did the small repair shop dismantle today?"
"We're still removing the tracks and shell, not the core. The structure hasn't changed much, but the materials have been improved a lot."
At this point, Qi Fang paused, remembering that most girls didn't seem to be interested in this, including her when she was a child.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xue did not seem impatient at all. Instead, she looked at him with her big eyes, as if waiting for him to continue.
Qi Fang lowered his eyes and continued sketching, "The tractors at Sulguan Pass use a lot of nickel-chromium alloy, but our country has limited nickel-chromium reserves, so we use manganese-aluminum, which is a more abundant resource, instead."
Yan Xue noticed that he was drawing the parts of a 50-ton skidding tractor, even marking the specific dimensions of the parts. "Have you memorized all of them?"
"Yeah, I heard some things from others."
This memory is too good. Yan Xue is a little envious. "If you were born a few years earlier, maybe you could go to university and become an engineer."
Before he could finish his words, Qi Fang stopped writing and suddenly raised his eyes to look over.
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