Chapter 18
Seeing Xia Qingtang lowering her head and smiling happily, Xie Jinxuan couldn't help but ask curiously: "What did you think of? Why are you smiling so happily?"
"It just occurred to me that your name is very nice, like a name given by a cultured person."
"Your name is also very cultural. Your name is Qingtang, which means julibrissin, and my name is Xuancao, which means forget-me-not. julibrissin and forget-me-not, even our names match well." Xie Jinxuan said softly, with tenderness flowing in her eyes.
Xia Qingtang was very surprised: "Is that so? This is the first time I know that my name means Albizia Julibrissin. I am named Qingtang only because my brother's name is Qinghai. After I was born, my parents just gave me a random name that was easy to pronounce. But your name must have been carefully chosen by your family, right?"
Xie Jinxuan noticed the loneliness in her eyes and said, "In the future, we can carefully choose a name for our child."
After saying this, Xie Jinxuan's eyes sparkled, as if she was looking forward to having a child with them.
The loneliness in Xia Qingtang's eyes disappeared instantly. She really liked children. She was unable to fulfill her wish in her previous life, but things were different now.
She nodded and said, "You have read a lot of books, so when the time comes, you can choose a formal name and I will choose a nickname."
"Okay! It's settled then!" Xie Jinxuan shook hands with her again, her face full of joy.
"Then... go to work. I'll come find you if there's anything."
The two of them reluctantly parted on the side of the road. Xia Qingtang walked forward a long way, looked back, and found that Xie Jinxuan was still standing there, looking at her seriously. When she looked back, he laughed and waved at her.
Xia Qingtang was in a very good mood and went to the hospital as soon as he crossed the intersection.
The waist injury was not a big deal, but the doctor still reminded her not to do work that would hurt her waist for a long time. Xia Qingtang asked the doctor to write the diagnosis result in the medical record and then went back.
In the evening, she showed Hu Yanni her marriage certificate. Hu Yanni was very happy and took out a bag of candy and handed it to her.
"Wedding candy? Oh, I haven't prepared any. I'm getting married today, so I should be the one giving you the wedding candy." Xia Qingtang said.
Hu Yanni smiled and said, "This was prepared in advance by your husband Comrade Xie. You are so confused that you definitely wouldn't buy these, so he prepared them all. We all got wedding candies, and this bag was specially prepared for you."
Xia Qingtang put away the candy and felt very relieved, sighing that he had really found a good person to be his partner.
The next day, Xia Qingtang happened to be on the middle shift. When he arrived at the factory, the reporter had already interviewed Director Qi, the union chairman, some grassroots workers and Director Feng of the warehouse, leaving only Xia Qingtang, the protagonist.
Xie Jinxuan really did what she said. Yesterday afternoon, the Workers' News called the cotton mill and said that they would go to the factory for an interview the next day. They not only notified the factory office, but also the trade union, saying that they wanted to interview many people at the same time and also wanted to hear the opinions of the grassroots workers on the article.
Accompanied by the union chairman, Xia Qingtang accepted an interview with reporters for the first time. She was very sincere, answering every question asked. She also demonstrated in person how she worked as a porter. She then showed the reporter her previous injury hospitalization and yesterday's examination report.
"My previous injuries have healed, and my waist injury was caused in the past few days. The doctor told me to have a good rest, but how dare I rest? The factory and the leaders have placed their hopes on me. I am the first female porter in the cotton mill. Even if I break my waist and become disabled for the rest of my life, I will achieve results in this position and will never let everyone down!" Xia Qingtang said it with such sincerity that the reporter almost cried.
She learned this acting skill from Kong Liangchao's sister Kong Liangjing. Having watched her act for so many years, she has been influenced by her to some extent.
At the end of the interview, the reporter shook the union chairman's hand and said seriously: "Don't worry, I will definitely finish this report!"
After seeing off the reporter, the union chairman patted Xia Qingtang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Xiao Xia, I heard that Director Qi was going to transfer you back to a workshop today, but because of the reporter's interview, he decided to let you stay in the warehouse."
"I will become a qualified porter and will not let Director Qi down." Xia Qingtang pretended not to understand.
In fact, the person who really didn't understand was Director Qi. No one knew what kind of brain he had. He couldn't even understand the implicit meaning of Xia Qingtang's article, nor did he understand the intention of the reporter's interview today. He naively thought that his pioneering move of using female porters was a good thing, so he didn't care what Kong Liangchao said to him. Anyway, Xia Qingtang had to stay in the warehouse for the time being.
"Director Qi also said that he would transfer a young female worker from each workshop to work as a porter in the warehouse to establish a new atmosphere for our cotton mill." The union chairman smiled meaningfully, "However, as soon as the next issue of the workers' newspaper is published, you can return to your original positions."
The union chairman patted Xia Qingtang on the shoulder, gave him a meaningful smile, and turned away.
The next day, three young female workers came to the warehouse. Each of them was in her early twenties and had pretty faces, but each of them had a gloomy face. The entire warehouse was full of complaints. The original porter was so angry that she deliberately didn't work properly. Director Feng's blood pressure rose on the spot and he was sent to the hospital.
Xia Qingtang ignored these trivial matters. Before the next round of workers reported out, she worked diligently and waited for the Mid-Autumn Festival to arrive.
The Workers' Daily is published once a week. Soon, a new issue of the Workers' Daily came out. The reporter comrade wrote about the interview at the cotton mill in a large space and with a huge headline.
This time, no matter how stupid Director Qi was, he understood the article, because the reporter did not beat around the bush and directly pointed out the cotton mill's decision-making mistakes. He also criticized the leadership for disregarding the physical health and life safety of grassroots workers, only thinking about their own reputation, but using the health and lives of ordinary female workers to achieve their goals.
At the same time, the report also wrote about the union chairman's argument and her efforts to protect grassroots workers. The union had been fighting with Director Qi and others for many years, and this time it finally got its revenge.
Soon, the city leaders also came up with criticisms, and the meaning was very clear: if Director Qi didn't want to be the factory director anymore, he should have said so earlier so that the higher-ups could replace him.
Director Qi was so frightened that he went to the warehouse in person that day and asked four young female workers, including Xia Qingtang, to return to their original positions as soon as possible. He also paid out of his own pocket to buy them nutritional supplements such as malted milk, and approved a vacation for everyone to rest and recuperate.
Especially Xia Qingtang, the contents of her medical record were highlighted in the reports, so Director Qi even compensated her with a meat ticket, a bag of brown sugar and a can of rare milk powder, and specially approved her five-day vacation, and carefully told her to wait until her back injury healed before coming back to work.
Xia Qingtang won a great victory. Not only did she prevent Director Qi from making mistakes again and being bribed by the Kong family, but she also gained the recognition of the chairman of the trade union. She took her vacation peacefully and waited for the Mid-Autumn Festival at the Hu family.
On the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was clear and the breeze was blowing. Xia Qingtang, wearing a white shirt and gray pants and carrying a cross-body bag, walked shoulder to shoulder with Comrade Xie Jinxuan into the family quarters of the cotton mill in high spirits.
Everyone had a holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, so she met countless familiar neighbors and co-workers along the way. Everyone stared at them curiously, but Xia Qingtang walked too fast, so before they could even ask a question, Xia Qingtang and Xie Jinxuan had already arrived at the door of the Xia family.
The door to the living room was open. Xia Daming could be seen sitting at the door, looking around silently and awkwardly. Loud voices could also be heard coming from inside.
That was Zhao Meizhen's voice, and she sounded very happy: "I'm not bragging. There are so many units around here, big and small, and everyone praises me for being able to raise children. My son is very good, and I have completed my internal retirement. I am just waiting for my son to come back and take over my position. By then, my son can help Xiao Kong, my brother-in-law. And my daughter is also famous for her beauty. In the past few years, matchmakers have almost trampled on my doorstep. I am willing to promise my daughter to your family because I think your Xiao Kong is reliable and down-to-earth."
Kong's mother's hoarse voice, which had not been heard for many years, rang out. She said in a sarcastic tone, "Where is your daughter? An unmarried girl doesn't live at home. Is that reasonable? Also, we agreed to come at nine in the morning. What time is it now and your daughter hasn't come back yet? Doesn't she know how to check the time by looking at the clock?"
Before Zhao Meizhen could say anything, Xia Daming at the door turned his head and spotted Xia Qingtang, then immediately called out, "Qingtang, you're back?"
Zhao Meizhen ran out with a smile: "My daughter is back, isn't she? Qingtang, come in quickly, Xiao Kong and his mother are here..."
Soon, Zhao Meizhen's smile froze on her face. She stared at Xia Qingtang and the tall young man beside her. Her eyes fell on the two people's tightly clasped hands. She asked fiercely, "Xia Qingtang! Who is this? What's going on?"
Xia Daming also looked at them both in shock, but he didn't say anything.
Inside the house, Kong Liangchao, who felt something was wrong, also ran out. He saw Xia Qingtang, who was going to be engaged to him today, standing outside hand in hand with a tall and handsome young man, looking intimate. He was so angry that his face twisted: "What are you doing? You're holding hands with a man? Xia Qingtang, are you crazy? We haven't even gotten married yet, and you're cheating on me?"
Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "Let me introduce you to my wife, Xie Jinxuan. We have officially registered our marriage and we have a certificate. We also have the marriage certificate with us, and we can show it to you if you need it."
Xie Jinxuan also looked at them openly, and then shouted: "Dad, Mom, hello, I am Qingtang's husband, my name is Xie Jinxuan."
Kong Liangchao's face turned pale and purple at times, which looked very exciting. He was shocked at first, and then extremely angry. He shouted, "Xia Qingtang! How dare you play tricks on me?"
The neighbors were all at home preparing for the festival, and when they heard the roar they all gathered around. They took a look and realized that Xia Qingtang, who was said to be getting engaged today, had actually brought a husband back!
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