Qin Huairu, who had an idea, immediately came over.
"Hua Zi, congratulations from Sister Qin! I didn't expect you to become the deputy director of the workshop at such a young age. I believe you will achieve even greater success in the future."
"If only I had half of your achievements, I wouldn't have to work so hard now."
"Qin Huairu, this is working time. Please focus on your work. How many times have I told you? I'm not your brother, and you're not my sister. We're just ordinary neighbors."
“You’ve taken advantage of me quite a bit, I can’t possibly acknowledge a woman like that. If I did, you’d empty our house. If you don’t have anything to do at work, please go to work now.”
Having been rebuffed, Qin Huairu could only slink back to her post.
Wei Hua quickly followed Director Qiu, learning diligently from him. The joyful time was all too short; soon the bell rang to signal the end of the workday.
The change in his status brought many more people into Wei Hua's life. Xu Damao, at least, never left Wei Hua's side, following him all the way into the courtyard house.
Only after Wei Hua entered his home did Xu Damao reluctantly return to the backyard. The courtyard house was only so big, and everyone had seen what happened today.
Before long, the news that Wei Hua had made a meritorious contribution and become the deputy director of the workshop spread throughout the courtyard.
The one who felt this most deeply was Yi Zhonghai, that cunning old man. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have taken the deaf old lady to the doctor today. This left Yi Zhonghai with some resentment towards the deaf old lady.
If I were the one who went to rescue people today, I would also be the one who becomes the deputy director of the workshop. If I were the deputy director of the workshop, dealing with Qin Huairu would be much simpler.
Unfortunately, the opportunity had already passed and would never come again. Yi Zhonghai could only sigh that Wei Hua was lucky; he had stumbled upon a stroke of luck and unexpectedly saved his leader's life.
Jia Zhangshi shared the same thought; if she had known about this good thing earlier, she should have tried her luck too.
She decided to go out more often in the future, hoping to encounter such a good thing. At the same time, she couldn't help but look at Qin Huairu.
The Jia family still relies on Qin Huairu to keep going. If Qin Huairu falls, their own lives will probably not be so easy.
"Huai Ru, Wei Hua has become the deputy director of your workshop. Shouldn't you think of a way to get him to give you an easier job?"
"How are you feeling now? Can you still handle it? If you really can't, you can give me your job. Mom will go to work and support you, okay?"
Qin Huairu was well aware of Jia Zhangshi's intentions. If she really gave the job to Jia Zhangshi, Jia Zhangshi would only give her two or three yuan a month at most. She was still young, so naturally she wouldn't have any money for retirement.
Two or three yuan wouldn't even be enough to buy my own medicine. If I really gave the job to Jia Zhangshi, I could be kicked out at any time, and then I'd just have to wait there to die.
“Mother-in-law, stop thinking about those things. Do you think I haven’t tried to talk to Weihua? We’ve been taking advantage of him every day, and he’s fed up with us. Now he’s a high-ranking workshop director. If I really offend him, it will be even harder for me to get along in the workshop.”
Hearing Qin Huairu's words, Madam Jia said nothing more. The Jia family still depended on Qin Huairu; if they really offended Wei Hua to death, the Jia family's life would become even more difficult.
After learning about this, the three women felt deeply that fate was unfair. Such misfortune had befallen their family, while Weihua had reached the pinnacle of life.
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have made an enemy of Wei Hua. If my second son hadn't done that kind of thing, I might have been able to get something out of Wei Hua.
After preparing the meal for the third and fourth sons, the third aunt brought the food to the hospital. It was still wild vegetable dumplings with pickled vegetables, but even so, Yan Bugui and Yan Jiefang licked their fingers after finishing their meal.
They both knew that the Yan family's good days were over, and things would likely get even worse from there, as the Yan family would have almost no income for nearly a year.
"Old woman, I'm afraid you'll have to work harder this year. I'm afraid I'll need to rest for a long time. If you really can't take it anymore, go find Jie Cheng. They should be doing quite well now."
"Sigh! Now we can only go find Jie Cheng. If we had known this would happen, we shouldn't have schemed so much. I heard that Wei Hua did a great job today and became the deputy director of the third workshop."
"My biggest fear now is that Wei Hua will hold a grudge against Jie Fang and make things difficult for Jie Cheng at the steel rolling mill. If that happens, I'm afraid Jie Cheng won't be willing to help us either."
Upon hearing that Wei Hua had become a leader, Yan Bugui was immediately shocked. Had he known Wei Hua would become a leader, why would he have done such a thing?
"Tell me what exactly happened? How did Wei Hua, a worker, suddenly become a leader?"
Hearing her husband's words, the third aunt could only recount what she had overheard.
Yan Bugui and his son knew that Wei Hua had earned his merit by saving someone from drowning, and could only sigh that Wei Hua was lucky.
Only Wei Hua and Yang Tao didn't take it seriously at all. To these two arrogant individuals, a mere workshop deputy director was nothing.
Yang Tao's daily rewards for taking care of the child at home exceeded Wei Hua's salary. A simple breastfeeding session might be worth half a day's wages for Wei Hua.
The rewards are somewhat inconsistent; sometimes they're just useless things. But generally, the rewards are decent. At least these things are useful in daily life, and the rewards are mostly things for the children or some money.
If this happened in someone else's home, they might have been celebrating wildly. But in the Wei family, there wasn't even a ripple. They usually ate discreetly, and they were still secretly enjoying the good food now.
Yang Tao only asked a few casual questions. Then she played with the children at home. The next morning, it was as if nothing had happened. Wei Hua got up early as usual. After eating the breakfast Yang Tao had made, she went to work with the others.
Since he was not familiar with the third workshop, Wei Hua did nothing else but follow Director Qiu and learn.
While Wei Hua was studying, the Minister of Metallurgy also came to the steel rolling mill. The steel rolling mill took this matter very seriously, but the Minister of Metallurgy did not stay at the steel rolling mill for very long.
I spent the whole noon conducting research, and then held a meeting in the afternoon before leaving the steel rolling mill. During the research, I also made a point of visiting Wei Hua and chatting with him for a while.
Wei Hua didn't know if this was arranged by the system. The Minister of Metallurgy only talked to him about work and didn't say anything else.
However, Wei Hua didn't pay much attention to these things. He usually followed Director Qiu around, learning as he went, and then started working on his own. Once he learned, he realized that management was actually quite simple; you just had to complete the tasks assigned to you.
Even everyone gradually got used to Wei Hua's new identity. People still chatted with him as usual, and still boasted as they pleased. The initial restraint had disappeared.
Yan Bugui and his son, who had been in the hospital for more than half a month, returned to their courtyard house. Everyone just laughed off the Yan family's affairs.
Everyone was busy with their own family matters and had no time to care about others. However, due to his changed status, these beasts in the courtyard unusually refrained from causing Wei Hua any trouble. This allowed Wei Hua to spend another three or four months peacefully, and before he knew it, it was winter of 1961.
When winter came, the wild vegetables outside gradually became scarce. This made life difficult for the Yan and Jia families. They were the only two families in the entire courtyard facing such hardship.
Since the wild vegetables disappeared, the two families have been eating only thin porridge. They might be able to endure it for a day or two, but after a while, their stomachs would start to feel uncomfortable.
Seeing that her son had been resting at home for more than four months, the third aunt had no choice but to send Yan Jiefang out to earn money. If he continued to stay at home, everyone would have to eat meager rations.
Over the past few months, Yan Jiefang's condition has improved considerably. Although his gait is somewhat uncoordinated, it hasn't had a significant impact on him.
Aside from his somewhat strange posture and inability to run quickly, Yan Jiefang is not much different from a normal person; he can do the same jobs as others.
Seeing his mother urging him to go out and earn money, Yan Jiefang felt embarrassed to continue recuperating in bed. The reason he had previously lingered in bed was mainly because he was afraid of developing long-term health problems.
The people in the courtyard quickly discovered Yan Jiefang's condition, and so the nickname "Two-Lame Man" was given to him.
The reason Yan Jiefang was called "Second Cripple" was mainly because he was the second son in the Yan family. At first, Yan Jiefang protested, but the more he protested, the more people called him that, so in the end, he had no choice but to give up.
Anyway, it wouldn't hurt Yan Jiefang to ask for help, but what really bothered him was that he seemed unable to find much work. People wouldn't hire him unless they really couldn't find anyone else.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com