Chapter Thirty-Three: Going to the Machine Factory
Qin Haifeng lowered his gaze to the little girl's slender, fair fingers, his Adam's apple bobbing, and almost unconsciously leaned down. The moment the candy entered his mouth, his tongue brushed against her fingertips, and his body trembled violently. A wave of sweetness...
The numbness surged through his veins to his limbs and bones, and the tips of his ears instantly turned bright red.
Lin Baozhu glanced at the moisture on her fingertips without making a sound, her eyes darkening.
Her fingertips brushed against his chest, and the taut muscles beneath his military uniform made her heart skip a beat. Wow~ those pectoral muscles, so bouncy…
Qin Haifeng's pupils contracted sharply. The warmth of the girl's fingertips penetrated his thin shirt, making his breathing erratic!
"you……"
Before Qin Haifeng could finish speaking, Lin Baozhu withdrew her hand and chuckled, "Don't overthink it. I was just borrowing your clothes to wipe my hands. You said you wanted to eat candy, so why did you start licking it?!"
Doesn't she mind the saltiness? She worked all day and didn't wash her hands at all...
Upon hearing this, Qin Haifeng's face turned bright red, and he was momentarily at a loss for words. He could only change the subject, saying, "I heard you encountered a wanted criminal yesterday."
Lin Baozhu reached into her handbag, saying nonchalantly, "Hmm! Luckily he didn't lay a hand on me, otherwise he wouldn't be seeing the sun today."
"You are indeed stronger than many people, but he has a gun! It's always better to be careful."
Lin Baozhu peeled a piece of fruit candy and popped it into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "I know, I know, why are you even more nagging than my mother?"
After saying that, he glanced at the bandage wrapped around his arm and was about to ask about his recovery when he suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "You just went to the cowshed?"
Lin Baozhu paused in her sucking of the candy, then turned to look at him: "Hmm, I'm exchanging food and drinks for knowledge with them. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"
Qin Haifeng nodded seriously: "Their knowledge and expertise are admirable. Study hard. If you encounter Wei Bing causing trouble, just tell me and I'll help you resolve it."
Lin Baozhu smiled and glanced at the wound on his arm. Then she took out a large bottle of diluted spiritual spring water from her small handbag and handed it to him: "Then I'm sticking to your coattails. As a thank you, here's some medicine for you. It's a health-strengthening potion that I concocted based on ancient records. Drink a sip on an empty stomach every morning. It will help your wound heal!"
Qin Haifeng took the bottle. Although he knew that drinking this stuff wouldn't do any good, a warm feeling still washed over him: "Thank you! It's getting late, I'll take you home first."
"good!"
*
After returning home, Lin Baozhu greeted her mother and went inside...
After closing the doors and windows, a thought flashed through my mind and I entered the space...
In her room, she made herself a delicious hot pot of spicy seafood, spitting out spicy gas as she drank an ice-cold cola.
Waaah, this is what life should be like.
In order to live a life of luxury openly and honestly in the future, she must strive to rise above her circumstances and work hard to improve her family's life as soon as possible.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they collected the fruit from their storage space, then sharpened their knives and prepared to slaughter a sheep...
She plans to sell the sheep on the black market tomorrow...
*
The next day, after breakfast, Lin's mother called her into her room and carefully pulled out five ten-yuan bills from under the kang mat.
"My dear, you must have been scared yesterday. Today, I'll have your third brother take you to the department store. You love those dresses, right? Let's buy a couple so you can wear them interchangeably."
Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu took the money and stuffed it into her bag, chuckling, "While you're at it, go find my classmate and get some cheap grain."
"Sweetie, is your classmate reliable?"
"Don't worry, we were best friends when we were in school. Her father has connections with the city's supply and marketing cooperative and department stores."
Upon hearing this, Lin's mother's wrinkles instantly smoothed out: "Be careful, come back as soon as you're done shopping, and I'll stew some meat for you."
"good!"
Just then, Lin Sanlang's voice came from outside: "Little sister, if we don't leave soon, the sun will be high in the sky!"
"Here I am!"
After saying that, he picked up the large basket and said to Lin's mother, "Mother, I'll be going now."
"Go ahead!"
Lin Baozhu grabbed Lin Sanlang's clothes with one hand, pointed to the road ahead with the other, and shouted, "Third Brother, go ahead boldly, go ahead, don't look back..."
Lin Sanlang, who had been riding his bicycle in a straight line, suddenly started wobbling: "Hey, hey, little ancestor, who did you learn this from? You're even singing a tune that goes around in Beijing."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
The two arrived in town amidst laughter and banter. At that time, the town only had one main road that was paved with lime; the other roads were all dirt roads, which became muddy and impassable when it rained!
"Third Brother, since we're here, let's go see Second Sister-in-law first. I haven't seen her in so long."
"Okay, let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy them some things first."
Lin Baozhu patted the basket hanging on her shoulder: "No need, no need. I've already prepared things for my second sister-in-law. But my second brother and sister-in-law are probably at work right now. Why don't we go to the machine factory first!"
"Go away..."
After saying that, Lin Sanlang rode his bicycle straight to the machine factory...
The factory gate consisted of two heavy iron bars painted a dark green, topped with an iron five-pointed star. A white wooden sign with red lettering, reading "Red Star Machinery Factory," hung beside it, though the paint was faded and peeling. Faded slogans adorned the gateposts: "Grasp Revolution, Promote Production!"
The guardhouse was a small, single-story building made of red bricks. An old-fashioned hand-cranked telephone sat on the dilapidated windowsill, and yellowed newspapers covered half of the glass. The old man guarding the gate, wearing a blue cloth hat and holding a large tea mug, was slurping water. Seeing the two of them standing at the gate and peering inside, he poked his head out and shouted, "What are you doing here?!"
He placed the large tea mug on the table, pushed open the door, and walked out!
Seeing this, Lin Sanlang quickly stepped forward, took out a pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket, pulled one out, and handed it to the man with a smile: "Sir, we're looking for Lin Erlang from the second workshop. Could you please show us the way?"
The old gatekeeper held it under his nose and sniffed it. His serious expression immediately turned into a smile. "Looking for that kid Lin Erlang? I just happen to be going to the second workshop. Come with me!"
"Thank you for your trouble, sir."
Led by the security guard, the two walked towards the factory area...
Lin Baozhu looked at everything before her with curiosity...
The factory area has a gray cement road with potholes along the edges, covered with black engine oil and sewage. Several crooked poplar trees are planted on both sides of the road, with wire tied to their trunks and wooden signs that read "Safety Production" hanging on them.
The factory buildings were all single-story red brick buildings with several chimneys on the roofs, from which black smoke occasionally billowed out.
Compared to Lin Sanlang's envious expression, Lin Baozhu appeared much calmer.
Compared to the automated factories of later generations, this machine factory was far inferior, yet it was precisely because of these simple factories that the country created one world miracle after another!
She happened to have several advanced machine tools stored in her space, which had been of great help to her during the ten years of the apocalypse!
At this moment, in Workshop No. 2, Lin Erlang had a sullen face, and in front of him stood a middle-aged man with an angry expression.
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