Working overnight
After signing the contract in black and white, Yu Chunsheng felt relieved and headed back to the printing factory against the biting cold wind. On his way back, he stopped at Xinhua Bookstore and bought a few cassette tapes and magazines for reference.
The cassette tapes were all currently popular songs; he didn't care which songs were specifically included, he was just using the cover design as a reference. As for the magazines, of course, he was referring to those with Mao Amin on the cover.
Xu Tangmian told him that this person would become famous all over the country after the Spring Festival Gala, and the cassette tape was just a side thing, since the printing factory's main business was still various study and office paper products and self-adhesive stickers.
Taking advantage of the Spring Festival Gala craze, they want to sell the stickers featuring Mao Amin as quickly as possible, and then print stickers of other Hong Kong and Taiwan films and TV dramas. Any profits will be used to support education. This is their current focus.
Before leaving, due to the tight schedule and heavy workload, he told Xu Tangmian that he might not be back tonight. Since he had taken the call with others, Xu Tangmian understood.
Back at the printing plant, he first designed several drafts based on the image of Mao Amin in the magazine, following the style of the cassette tape cover. Then, remembering what Xu Tangmian had told him, that she wore a gold dress on the day of the Spring Festival Gala, he revised a few of the drafts.
As dusk settled, Yu Chunsheng was busy sketching the outline, completely unaware of the changes in the outside world. It wasn't until an enticing aroma of food wafted in through the crack in the door and his stomach growled twice that he realized it was already six o'clock.
The car horn outside the factory gate beeped twice, as if someone had arrived. He looked up at the dark gate, quickly put down his pencil, and pushed the gate open to see what was happening. There, he saw the car that Li Qingmang had borrowed was parked steadily outside.
The driver's and passenger's doors opened simultaneously, and Song Weidong and Li Yutao stepped out of their respective doors. The back door opened a little slower, and before he could greet them, Xu Tangmian and Li Youlan had already gotten out of the car from either side. The former was carrying a canvas bag, which was bulging with contents.
"Why are you here?" Yu Chunsheng was overjoyed. He belatedly rubbed his hands, which were almost frozen, and quickly led them inside. "Come in and talk, it's warmer inside."
The huge factory building wasn't much warmer than outside, just a little less windy.
Xu Tangmian took the lunchbox out of her bag, glanced around the factory area, and asked him, "Do you have a place to heat up food here? It's getting a bit cold."
"Yes, it's over there. I'll go heat it up right away." Yu Chunsheng quickly helped her to a chair and sat her down. He gently smoothed the strands of hair that had been messed up by the scarf on her forehead. Seeing that her face was flushed and her hands were warm, he felt relieved.
Li Youlan picked up the lunchbox that Yu Chunsheng had casually put down and said with a smile, "I'll heat it up myself. I'm more familiar with this place. You young people should quickly discuss how to get things done tonight."
She wasn't just being polite; she really left after saying that. Before Yu Chunsheng could even thank her, Li Yutao started chattering away, "What did you say? What do you want me to do? Let me make it clear first, I don't know anything. I can only do some purely manual work that doesn't require any skills."
With Li Qingmang gone, Song Weidong became bolder. Hearing this, he smiled, put his arm around her shoulder, and tilted his head, saying, "You're doing well enough by not making things worse. You should stay on the sidelines, take care of Xiao Xu, and cheer us on."
Li Youlan and her husband started their business in a printing factory, and Song Weidong, as a junior member of the family, helped them a lot. As a result, he and his aunt were very familiar with the equipment in the factory.
Yu Chunsheng was touched by their loyalty. He quickly walked to the workbench and brought the line drawing he had just made to Xu Tangmian for confirmation. He then said with a smile, "Okay, we all have our own tasks, and no one is idle."
Seeing Song Weidong and Li Yutao so inseparable, Yu Chunsheng narrowed his eyes and joked, "Little Tao, why didn't your brother come? I think that old man has gotten a lot bolder."
As the oldest and lowest-ranking member of the team, Song Weidong couldn't help but roll his eyes in exasperation.
"Don't be so jealous of other people's love just because you have a wife and kids and a warm bed. I've barely held hands with Xiaotao these past few days."
"If you like her, hurry up and marry her," Yu Chunsheng said with a smile. "Don't wait until my kids are old enough to run errands while you're still dawdling."
"I'd like to too, but the probationary period hasn't ended yet," Song Weidong said, glancing at the person next to him with a hint of resentment.
Li Yutao pouted and nudged him with her elbow before answering Yu Chunsheng's question with a smile: "Zhi is scared to be home alone, so my brother, who is quite close to her, stays home with her."
"Actually, he's just too lazy to come and help you with the work," Song Weidong deliberately whispered, trying to win over an ally.
Yu Chunsheng knew what Song Weidong was thinking, of course. The other party was just joking, and he didn't take it to heart. Besides, Li Qingmang had helped him a lot, and it was normal for someone from such a family to be a little arrogant. Helping wasn't his obligation.
But... his eyes darkened as he thought of something else, and then he said casually, "Zhi and your brother seem to have a good relationship. Has she made any friends over there?"
Li Yutao, always outspoken, said directly, "I guess so, I don't know that much. Anyway, now that Zhi has become more cheerful, I think a lot of people would like to be friends with her."
Yu Chunsheng was afraid that he had dirty thoughts, so he didn't think too much about it and let them wander around the factory for a while. He then went to Xu Tangmian's side.
"How is it? Is this the image you're looking for?"
"Almost there." Xu Tangmian frowned and pointed to her eyebrows, then said, "But in my memory, they should be a bit more heroic. You could add some arches to these eyebrows, making them look more dignified and elegant overall."
“Okay.” Yu Chunsheng made the changes without hesitation, picked up his pen, and began to draw on the table.
Before long, he gave the revised hand-drawn manuscript to Xu Tangmian for review, and at the same time, he received her approval and the food was ready.
Li Youlan took the hand-drawn sketch from him, nodded slightly, and said, "Alright, let's get started making the pattern. Hey, where's Weidong?"
"He and Xiaotao seem to have gone that way," Xu Tangmian pointed in a direction.
Without Song Weidong, it would be difficult for her to operate alone, so Li Youlan followed the direction Xu Tangmian pointed and headed to find her nephew.
Xu Tangmian was having dinner with Yu Chunsheng when Li Youlan hurriedly returned from the other side, unable to suppress a smile.
"Where are they? Aren't they there?" Xu Tangmian looked up, puzzled. "I just saw them walking that way."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Weidong walked over, seemingly nonchalant and unassuming. Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he coughed twice, his eyes darting around as he walked towards a nearby machine, muttering to himself, "Time to get to work, huh? Here I come."
Xu Tangmian roughly understood something, smiled, and didn't ask any further questions about where Li Yutao had gone.
After a while, Li Yutao came out from the same direction again. Although her expression was normal and there was no change, her blushing cheeks and slightly swollen lips betrayed her. Not to mention the red scarf she had taken off earlier because it was windless in the factory and she was worried that it would be inconvenient to take it off while working. Now she was wearing it back around her neck, giving the feeling of "protesting too much".
Xu Tangmian looked at her with a mischievous smile and whispered, "Remember to take safety precautions."
"What?!" Seeing that she had misunderstood, Li Yutao jumped up, but then, afraid that her sudden movement would attract attention, she could only shrink back and whisper, "We just kissed for a moment, don't overthink it!"
Xu Tangmian understood immediately and joked, "Your brother has been here for the past few days, haven't you been cooped up for too long?"
Li Yutao snorted twice, then retorted unwillingly, pointing at her stomach and saying, "Has it been keeping you cooped up for the past few months?"
Perhaps she'd become more thick-skinned after getting married; Xu Tangmian showed no embarrassment whatsoever, nodding earnestly, "Indeed."
"You!" It was Xu Tangmian who said the dirty joke, but it was Li Yutao who was embarrassed. She stomped her feet a few times in a hurry, baring her teeth as if she wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.
Seeing Xu Tangmian engrossed in reading the magazine Yu Chunsheng had bought, she leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Sister Tangtang, is it comfortable doing that?"
Xu Tangmian narrowed her eyes and distanced herself from her, then smiled mysteriously and asked, "You and him... not yet?"
"We haven't registered our marriage yet." Li Yutao looked a little regretful. "I don't care, but I didn't expect him to be so old and so old-fashioned."
"That's for your own good." Xu Tangmian thought to herself, although the "people are simple and honest" at this time, when it comes to matters of love and sex, how can strict control stop them?
The more conservative one is, the more open one is. Even someone as timid as her can do something as simple as a whirlwind marriage with a stranger, let alone someone like Li Yutao, whose family can provide for her and who has seen the world.
She just didn't expect that Li Yutao, like her, seemed bold, but when it came to doing something that would make parents so angry they'd break her legs, she was still somewhat afraid.
Li Yutao hummed and muttered to herself for a while, then leaned closer and whispered to her, "How was the first time?"
“I…” Xu Tangmian was speechless for once.
That's way too uninhibited!
Xu Tangmian didn't want to talk about this kind of thing with her, so she turned around and continued reading the magazine. Unexpectedly, Li Yutao chased after her again, snatched the magazine, and said with a grin, "Don't be shy. I've never talked about this kind of thing with anyone else, and I promise I won't tell a second person."
"Actually, I was thinking that if my brother really didn't agree to us being together, I could say I was pregnant or that we had already slept together, but..."
"Stop!" Xu Tangmian quickly interrupted, "What a terrible move you've made! Believe me, if you had told your brother about this this morning, he could have sent Song Weidong to the police station this afternoon, and he'd be executed in less than three months."
Li Yutao fell silent.
“Well, I can’t do anything about it.” She looked distressed. “My brother just can’t stand him. I wanted to secretly take him back to Beiping to find my parents, but firstly, my brother can hold onto my train ticket, and secondly, he doesn’t agree to it.”
"What exactly does your brother dislike about him?" Xu Tangmian asked, puzzled. "Brother Song is a pretty good person, isn't he? He has a good job, he's good-looking, and he's also serious and responsible."
“My brother thinks he’s too old,” Li Yutao said seriously. “He takes advantage of his youth and can’t stand people being his brother-in-law, and he also complains about his work location.”
“As you know, I won’t be staying at Hongxing Elementary School for long. I estimate that I will be transferred to the city’s Education Bureau in about two years, and eventually I will be going to the Provincial Department of Education. If he stays here like this, we definitely won’t be able to be together.”
"Then why didn't you tell Song Weidong?" Xu Tangmian asked her.
“How am I supposed to tell him? He’s so stubborn. I haven’t told you this before, have I? He only agreed to be with me after he was sure I would continue teaching here. He said he admires people like me with pure souls and noble thoughts, and that he is willing to be with me as a like-minded revolutionary partner.”
"If I told him that I would use my family connections to get into a government job, wouldn't he just say goodbye to me?"
If it were in the past, Xu Tangmian would definitely have told her that no man's career is more important than his official career. But after her trip to Beiping, she was heartbroken by her grandfather and didn't like that kind of treacherous environment. Instead, she preferred to be an ordinary schoolteacher.
Both of them fell silent.
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