Chapter 47
Tong Yufei didn't go with Tong Zhaoyang, both to avoid suspicion and because it wouldn't be convenient for him to escort her to her destination. After returning from Niangniang Mountain, she went to the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department. The third floor was the office area for several ministers. The innermost room, with two pots of lush green ivy in front of the door, was Meng Ruqing's office. Whenever Meng Ruqing was not on a business trip, she would always return here after her afternoon work to brew a large cup of chamomile and dandelion tea, slowly drinking it before dinner. This was her fixed habit to calm her mind and it was also a rare private moment that allowed her to relax.
This is the most appropriate time to come to Meng Ruqing to report the news of his successful exam.
Meng Ruqing is her benefactor and also her benefactor. Six years ago, she ran around for help for her adoptive mother's unjust case but had no one to turn to. In a trance, she fell into the icy river. It was Meng Ruqing who rescued her and brought her home. He gave her warm clothes and stuffed money into her pockets, enough for her to have full meals for several months and rent a sunny single room to tide her over the difficulties. He also promised to submit her appeal letter to the leaders of the procuratorate and recommend her a recruitment quota for a newspaper.
At that time, Meng Ruqing thought that she had no place to seek justice and committed suicide by jumping into the river. However, based on the other party's conversation and the layout of the room, she felt that Meng Ruqing was not an ordinary person. In order to gain Meng Ruqing's sympathy, she did not deny it.
This kindness should have filled her with lifelong gratitude, but the son of her benefactor, the distinguished young man leaning against a camphor tree reading, was secretly thinking about how to use him to board Meng Ruqing's boat, the one that could pull her out of the quagmire of life. Although Mo Daoyan's return to China was not necessarily related to her, at that turning point in his fate, she did become the nominal shackle that hindered his flight. If he had a one in ten thousand chance of breaking free from his moral constraints, perhaps he could have stayed overseas and pursued a brighter future, or perhaps met a caring and thoughtful partner, which would have been happier than he was now.
She could still slowly repay what she owed Mo Daoyan, but as for Meng Ruqing, all she could do was not to let him down.
When she pushed the door and walked into the office, Meng Ruqing was leaning over to pour tea, and then poured a second cup. The unique bitter aroma of dandelion tea permeated Tong Yufei's nose. She could never get used to this taste, so she let the cup of tea cool down gradually, put the cantaloupe she bought on the way on the table, sat down solemnly on the stool next to her, and reported the results of the two exams in the most concise language.
"Mom, I got first place in both the initial and re-examinations, and I got my press pass today."
Meng Ruqing remained as calm as ever. "I've only just got the ticket, but I still need to have a sense of crisis. One day, the streets might be filled with people carrying cameras and reporting on the news. What's important is how to go one step further and achieve decent results."
"There are many outstanding predecessors in the newspaper who are worthy of my learning. I will strive to catch up with them."
"Have you decided on your work direction?"
"Our chief reporter said I have some literary and artistic background and wanted me to do cultural reporting first. However, I came from the grassroots level and previously covered community and street news with a few veteran reporters. I'm more interested in doing social research. But no matter what I choose to do, my main goal in the first stage is to lay a solid foundation."
Following the topic, she gave a detailed introduction to the organizational structure and daily work processes of the newspaper's reporter department, and clearly led the topic to the current booming development of Xicheng culture. She particularly emphasized that this was inseparable from the outstanding leadership of the cultural management department, and her words were full of sincere praise for the leadership team including Meng Ruqing.
Meng Ruqing finished his tea amid her praise, his expression still calm: "I have a meeting tonight, so I won't keep you here for dinner."
This was exactly what she wanted. Getting along with her mother-in-law was too stressful, and frequent visits here were not a good influence. She immediately stood up and said goodbye: "You are busy, I will go back."
Meng Ruqing turned and looked at the information rack next to him: "Aren't you with Yufei?"
Only then did Tong Yufei realize that there was a person lying on the old mahogany rosewood recliner behind the shelf. His loose tie was draped across his chest, his long limbs were curled up on the narrow recliner, his chest rose and fell gently with his breathing, and his face was covered with an economic magazine.
When the magazine was taken away, she saw that handsome face again.
It turned out that the Propaganda Department was interested in purchasing products from Xinli Electric, and Chen Huaili valued this deal highly. After all, a client of this caliber was far more important than just a few air conditioners and refrigerators, so he specifically brought Mo Daoyan with him to negotiate in person. After the cooperation meeting, Mo Daoyan was summoned to Meng Ruqing's office to discuss his insights on state-owned enterprise reform, a topic that Mo Changlin and Honglian Machinery Factory would face in the coming years. Meng Ruqing hoped Mo Changlin would listen to her son's perspective, but it was difficult for the two of them to have a calm and open conversation, so she had to act as a bridge.
Unexpectedly, while chatting, Mo Daoyan dozed off under a file rack filled with the scent of ink.
Mo Daoyan got up from the recliner, pinched his brow lazily, and did not answer immediately.
Meng Ruqing asked them to discuss it slowly and then left. The room suddenly fell into silence, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Tong Yufei took out his brand new press card, walked over to Mo Daoyan, and knelt down. "Just got it, take a look."
Mo Daoyan didn't accept the press pass, but simply stared at her intently, his eyes devoid of any sleepiness. He'd clearly been awake for a while, having already taken in their entire conversation. When she got good grades, the first person she wanted to share them with wasn't him, her husband and tutor, but rather his mother. Luckily, her grandfather was gone, her uncle passed away early, and her father had gone to Guangzhou to inspect new equipment. Otherwise, according to the official ranking system, his mother wouldn't have made it into the top three, and he had no idea where she'd end up. The reason she was able to tell him her preliminary exam results first was probably because he happened to have asked her to deliver the report.
Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, she directly stuffed the press card into his hand, her sparkling eyes full of anticipation, as if asking for his praise: "Is your wife awesome?"
He lowered his eyes and chuckled, his laughter tinged with sarcasm. "It depends on how you're judging. On a professional level, you've only just earned a press card, not a Pulitzer Prize. What's there to be complacent about? But when it comes to your ability to curry favor, you'll surely be unrivaled in the world in due time, worthy of being compiled into a textbook case. You're wasting your talent by pursuing a career as a journalist. Ask Minister Meng for a clerical job. I guarantee you'll have a bright future."
"Look at what you said. My mother-in-law has been kind to me. If I don't put her first, wouldn't I be ungrateful? You are of course very important. I was thinking of buying a bottle of good wine on my way back so we could get drunk tonight. I just happened to meet you here. Let's go back and have a drink."
"People are in high spirits when they are happy. I think you can enjoy drinking alone."
"Can't you drink alone anymore?" She still smiled and gently scratched his palm with her fingertips. "We haven't even had the wedding wine on our wedding night yet."
"The company has something going on, so we're going our separate ways."
Mo Daoyan adjusted his cuffs, smoothed out the wrinkles on his pants caused by her pressing, then stood up and walked out.
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New laboratory.
When leaving in the afternoon, Da Ding had an energy-saving device whose coefficient could not be measured accurately. At this moment, the worry in his eyebrows had not been resolved. After Mo Daoyan came back and intervened, he did not start with the circuit itself, but found another way and reminded Da Ding to add a fan. Da Ding slapped his forehead suddenly, and the picture of the fan and compressor linkage turned around in his mind for several times. When the temperature rise of the compressor reaches the preset value, the electric fan will supply air to assist in heat dissipation, which can not only prevent frequent startup, but also significantly improve energy efficiency.
After resolving the technical issues, Da Ding finally had time to ask, "It's already time to get off work, why are you back?"
"To relieve your worries."
"It's my honor, but I'm not the only one waiting for your guidance. Zhaoyang has come to you twice."
The first choice for Xinli refrigerators to go abroad was West Germany. This summer, the country entered a stage of rapid industrialization, and the two Germanys on the other side of the world signed landmark national treaties in Bonn. With the introduction of the Deutsche Mark in East Germany, the two economies that had been divided for more than 40 years were merging at an unprecedented speed. Perhaps when Xinli's products made their mark in the German market, the world would witness another historical feat after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Tong Zhaoyang was well aware of the significant differences between domestic and foreign markets in terms of economic development and cultural background, so he developed two dual-track strategies. In China, he focused on the affordable and warm-hearted approach, winning through affordable prices and emotional marketing; overseas, he focused on quality products and planned to set up a competition on Maximilian Street, hoping to prove his strength with an unconventional "quality challenge". Mo Daoyan was half an "expert on Germany", so it was most appropriate for him to make suggestions for revisions to the overseas plan.
Mo Daoyan had just returned to the office when Tong Zhaoyang came to him for the third time. He took the carefully crafted plan handed to him by Tong Zhaoyang, put it on the desk piled with documents, and promised to take a look at it as soon as possible.
Tong Zhaoyang didn't move out immediately. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Daoyan, can we talk further?"
Mo Daoyan flicked a cigarette from his cigarette box and asked, "Are you in such a hurry to decide?"
"It's not a plan, just a few private words."
Mo Daoyan raised his chin and made a "please do as you please" gesture.
Tong Zhaoyang took off his glasses, pulled a plain white handkerchief from his pocket, and slowly wiped the lenses. His memory flew back to that snowy night many years ago when she had said such decisive words that she had severed all ties with him. He knew she was doing this for his own good, not wanting him to be caught between her and his mother, but he was powerless to repay her kindness, and could only watch her lonely figure swallowed up by the night at the alley entrance. Over the years, he had always thought, how wonderful it would be if she had someone who understood her feelings. On the night he started work, he was relieved to learn that she was marrying Mo Daoyan. This at least meant that she hadn't suffered too much materially.
When he put it back on, Tong Zhaoyang's highly myopic eyes brightened considerably. "Judging from your attitude towards me these past few days, I'm sure you've learned some old news. I didn't mean to hide it, but you and your wife are doing just fine, and I suddenly started talking nonsense, which made me seem like a mouthful. So many years have passed, and I've forgotten all about it. I just treat Yufei as my own sister. I understand the concept of 'proper conduct', so please don't misunderstand her."
Mo Daoyan lit a match with a chuckle, the orange-red flame reflecting his sharp brows. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, flicked the end with his fingers, and a small piece of gray smoke gently fell into the celadon ashtray. "Zhaoyang, when you were studying in Hong Kong, you had three girlfriends, right? Don't be offended, I did some research. We weren't classmates, so calling us friends is a stretch. I have to know where your wife's old acquaintances came from. Since she has had so many women, she shouldn't have any thoughts about her. So what else is there to say? Are you trying to upgrade yourself from being the brother next door to being a sworn brother, and ask me to applaud your boundless love? I think you should forget about your own sister. She already has two families. If she wants to be your sister, wouldn't that be like imitating Lu Bu and becoming the daughter of three families?"
"I didn't mean any harm. I meant it's always good to have more people to look after her. If she gets into trouble..."
"What difficulties does she have that I can't solve, that you absolutely must help? Do you really understand propriety? If you did, she wouldn't have such a shady reputation in your story. You couldn't protect her five years ago, and now you're talking about looking after her? Is your plan as humorous as your words? If so, there's no need to make any changes. Besides, I already have a brother-in-law who'd risk his life to protect my sister, so there's no need for another one." Mo Daoyan suddenly laughed and put out his cigarette in the ash pile. "It's better for us to just be colleagues."
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