Chapter 62 Glory
Chapter Sixty-Two Glory
As the summer vacation of 1983 was coming to an end, Li Yue sat in her office and did some calculations. She was surprised to find that she had already earned more money than she had expected.
In particular, the company's business expanded that year. In addition to cooperating with the Li family, it also developed other clients, some of whom were introduced by the Li family and others were developed by her own efforts.
I told Ling Jianwei tonight that I applied to set up a laboratory last semester. I applied for a piece of land or an abandoned factory building in the name of the college. The area doesn't need to be too big, just enough to be converted into a laboratory. I don't know if it will be approved for the new semester.
Her idea was to sponsor the laboratory under the company's name, which basically meant funding it herself.
Ling Jianwei asked, "So, is your company still operating?"
"I manage the operations, but I leave the company's affairs to them; I only go there occasionally."
At this point, Li Yue sighed again, "If I had known, I should have had children earlier."
"What's wrong?"
“If I had had a child right after we got married, the child would be in high school by now, and he could have taken over the company in a couple of years.”
Ling Jianwei gave a cold laugh: "There's no medicine for regret in this world."
Li Yue added, "However, I need to consider whether he likes doing business. If he's not interested, I can't force him."
Ling Jianwei sighed, a rare occurrence for him.
Why are you sighing?
He held her in his arms and patted her shoulder gently: "He probably takes after you; when he gets busy, he forgets everything else and doesn't care about the people around him."
Li Yue was surprised and turned to look at him. The man looked back at her, his eyes conveying everything without words, but also hiding a great deal of helplessness.
She has indeed been busy with her own things these past few years. She thought that once this period was over, things would be fine, but in reality, they won't be. There will only be more and busier times in the future.
Clearly, Ling Jianwei was aware of the problem, but he was used to accommodating her. On the surface, there seemed to be no problem, but as time went on, problems would probably inevitably arise.
She immediately said, "How about I close the company next year? We agreed before that we would stop once we made money."
He laughed and said, "How can we just stop a company that we've worked so hard to build?"
Li Yue said softly, "There are always trade-offs."
He nuzzled his chin against her neck: "I was thinking, how about after I retire, I help you manage the company, and you can focus on your research?"
Li Yue: "Do you really want to retire?"
This is the second time he has brought up retirement, which shows that he is genuinely considering the issue.
"Isn't this normal? The path to advancement is getting narrower and narrower. We've entered a new era, and the military is also developing towards science and technology. We old-fashioned people with outdated ideas will be eliminated on the beach of the new era sooner or later," he said calmly.
Even so, Li Yue knew he was making things difficult for her, so she shook her head: "Anyway, don't think about retiring for now. If I'm too busy, I'll consider handing the company over to someone else, and I'll just collect some money behind the scenes."
He kissed her hair: "Go to sleep first. At least for now, we're not so busy that we can't see each other. Maybe after a while, the problem will naturally be solved."
She was asleep, but Li Yue's sleep was not peaceful.
After waking up, Li Yue said to Ling Jianwei, "I'm off today. Let's go shopping, have dinner, and watch a movie. It's been a long time since we've watched a movie together."
The last time they went to the movies together was last spring. In the summer, the movie "The Herdsman" was released, and Ling Jianwei asked her if she wanted to go see it. Li Yue was busy showing foreigners around the factory they were working with and said she didn't have time.
Now, the two of them walked into the movie theater, and Li Yue was surprised to find that "The Herdsman" was still showing.
It's not surprising. In this era, if a movie receives good feedback from the public, it can stay on screen for several years without any problem, like "Romance on Lushan Mountain".
Ling Jianwei said, "Let's watch 'The Herdsman'. I've heard it's good."
"The Horseman"... Li Yue pursed her lips: "Okay."
Shortly after the film started playing, Ling Jianwei heard that familiar line: "Old Xu, do you want a wife?"
Li Yue tried her best to stay calm, pretending to coincidentally widen her eyes and exchange a glance with Ling Jianwei. When he looked over, he just smiled.
It wasn't until after the movie ended that Ling Jianwei said, "What a coincidence, the villagers also asked the male protagonist if he wanted a wife, just like you said before."
Li Yue replied seriously, "If you look closely, there is a difference. I asked, 'Ling Jianwei, do you still want your wife?' The word 'still' is added."
Ling Jianwei nodded without giving it much thought: "Speaking of which, the male protagonist's background is actually somewhat similar to yours. His family also went to the United States, leaving him in China. Later, when his family returned to China to look for him, they even asked him if he wanted to go to the United States."
Li Yue: "There's another major similarity that you haven't noticed?"
"What?"
"The protagonist also met a partner who loved him very much."
Ling Jianwei looked at her, tidied her hair, and smiled with relief: "Your partner is lucky too."
-
He never mentioned retiring again, and Li Yue rarely talked about business anymore. After the start of the semester, her application to build a ceramics laboratory received a positive response. With the efforts of all parties, a piece of land was finally approved, not far from the college, making it convenient for students to go there for internships and practical training.
The land was leased, and the laboratory was affiliated with the college. Li Yue was the person in charge of the laboratory.
Unfortunately, it's still not possible to offer an undergraduate program in ceramics. As a discipline, it hasn't yet developed into a systematic field, and the necessary conditions aren't mature enough. Li Yue isn't currently qualified to supervise graduate students. The university has promised that she will be allowed to supervise graduate students in ceramics once she achieves certain results and is promoted to associate professor.
She didn't pay attention to any of that and focused all her energy on the laboratory.
At this time, the ceramic firing process also changed. Wood-fired kilns and coal kilns became a thing of the past, replaced by electric kilns or gas kilns. The kilns built did not need to occupy a large area, but with electronic integration, the temperature control inside the kiln was more precise.
The laboratory is still under construction, and Li Yue is busy as a bee, planning to buy various kaolin, clay, and high-quality glaze materials to do designs and experiments...
Thinking of this, Li Yue wished she could make it happen immediately.
While she was enthusiastically pursuing her ideals, she noticed that Ling Jianwei seemed quite busy this winter, sometimes returning home very late. There were some things she didn't want to pry into, so she didn't ask what he was busy with, only sharing the progress of her lab's construction. Sometimes Ling Jianwei seemed unable to resist sharing something with her, but ultimately only said calmly, "I've been in meetings a lot lately, chaired by the big boss."
Li Yue vaguely understood that these consecutive meetings usually meant that some major decisions were being made, or that some reforms were being faced. She smiled and replied, "Meetings must be a headache."
"His head is as big as a bucket."
"Let me rub it for you."
Li Yue sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, while Ling Jianwei rested his head on her lap, his eyes half-closed.
Suddenly he added, "Next year might be even busier."
Li Yue nodded, "Being busy is a good thing. Once my lab is built next year, I can focus on playing with mud."
He opened his smiling eyes and tilted his head back to look at her.
"What's wrong?" Li Yue asked.
The man didn't speak, but suddenly stood up, pulled her down, and pinned her beneath him: "Now what do you want to do?"
Li Yue: "..."
Amidst their tireless work day and night, 1984 arrived before they knew it, and soon after, the Spring Festival quietly followed.
One spring evening, Ling Jianwei was finally released from confinement and said to Li Yue, "For the next few months, I have to be busy with the National Day military parade."
The military parade... Li Yue was dumbfounded.
Then I remembered that a grand military parade was indeed held in 1984, and the last military parade was in 1959, a full 25 years later.
This military parade is the first time China has publicly displayed its armed forces against the backdrop of reform and opening up. Preparations began last November, which explains why Ling Jianwei had a headache from holding so many meetings.
Next, as a member of the preparation team and the person in charge of the formation, he will lead the team to intensive training, where he will stay for about half a year.
Ling Jianwei asked softly, "What if you miss me?"
Li Yue smiled and pinched his cheek: "I'll tell you when you come back."
Half a year is neither a long nor a short time. Li Yue was not idle either; her laboratory was completed and officially put into use.
Besides buying various materials and equipment, she also took advantage of the summer vacation to visit and learn from several famous kilns. When she returned, she didn't forget to bring some clay and other items with her.
I often think that if Ling Jianwei knew, he would definitely smile and tell his colleagues, "My wife came back from her business trip and brought back some local specialties."
My colleague asked, "What delicious food did you bring?"
Ling Jianwei replied coldly, "Soil."
They had never been apart for such a long time since they met. Although they lived close by, they trained hard, were strictly managed, and not going home was their rule.
He always said he had no grand ambitions, but she knew very well that deep down he possessed a passionate heart and wanted to achieve great things and serve his country. It was just that they lived in peacetime, and he could only do his best in everything he could.
Early on National Day, the patriarch of the Ling family set off with Ling Shuo. The patriarch was invited to visit, and Ling Shuo, as a family member, was arranged to watch in a special area.
As for Li Yue, she squeezed into the crowd with the teachers and students of the academy, watching the neat and uniform formation pass by from afar, feeling the majestic power and the shock of the crowd, and her heart was filled with boundless pride.
As the tank and armored vehicle formation slowly drove by, she recognized the man in the lead vehicle at a glance, even though they were far apart.
He always had a piercing gaze and an upright posture.
Also, it's gotten much darker.
Li Yue smiled softly, and as she smiled, tears rolled down her cheeks.
It's strange, but it felt like a natural, heartfelt emotion. She might achieve something in her life, or she might live an ordinary one, but she would definitely feel honored and proud because of his existence.
That evening, he finally returned home, and Li Yue lay on top of him, staring at him intently.
"What, you don't recognize me?" He looked at her, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "It doesn't matter if you don't recognize my face, you can always recognize my body."
There was a clear line separating his skin from his neck. Li Yue smiled and said, "Ling Jianwei, your face looks better when it's whiter."
"Oh, you like pretty boys." The man's face darkened. "I've been working hard leading the team in training for half a year, my skin has peeled off several layers, and all you care about is whether their faces are fair or handsome?"
Li Yue: "Yes, I am very superficial."
"It needs to be cleaned up."
...
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