Chapter 4#
Qiming Manufacturing Plant#
There was a knock on Chen Ziqing’s dormitory door. He didn’t go to open it immediately, but instead took the pills prescribed by the hospital.
They were as big as quail eggs, looking like they could choke someone to death.
The person outside didn’t leave, nor did they have much patience; the wooden door was being knocked on incessantly.
People from the dormitories on both sides came out to greet the person knocking, then returned to their own rooms.
The door was still being knocked on.
Chen Ziqing put the folded work clothes into the corner cabinet. When he went to open the door, what he saw was Zong Huaitang with an expression like he was there to fight to the death with the murderer of his father.
“I was talking to someone at the door just now, at a normal volume. You heard the voice and knew it was me, so you deliberately delayed opening the door.” Zong Huaitang narrowed his eyes. “Team Leader Xiang, are you targeting me?”
Chen Ziqing explained sincerely: “Technician Zong misunderstood me. I didn’t open the door quickly because I was hesitating. I was afraid you would make me bark like a puppy.”
Zong Huaitang: “…” He got angry as soon as this was mentioned.
Chen Ziqing adopted a negotiating tone: “If you have something to say, come in. It’s getting windy, and the wind gives me a headache.”
Zong Huaitang glanced at the man’s bloodless face, looking as if he could die in front of him at any moment. He lifted his slightly crippled leg and slowly stepped into the dormitory: “Regarding your distorted evaluation of my ping pong skills, do you have anything else to say?”
“No.” Chen Ziqing went to close the door.
Zong Huaitang walked to the chair by the small table next to the bed and sat down: “If I hadn’t supported you in the office at noon, you might be in the morgue right now. What did I get in return for my bodhisattva heart? I got your humiliation.”
Chen Ziqing rolled his eyes: “Isn’t that word a bit exaggerated?”
Zong Huaitang leaned back in the chair, looking at him, his brow furrowed, enunciating each word clearly and forcefully: “Seeking truth from facts.”
Chen Ziqing: “…” What a pretender.
He went over, moved another chair, and sat opposite him: “Fine, I’ve already apologized, and I won’t take the bet. Do you have anything else?”
Zong Huaitang suddenly pressed on the table, leaned forward, and got close to him: “Why does your breath smell like medicine?”
Chen Ziqing didn’t dodge: “Just took medicine.”
“What medicine did you take? Painkillers and anti-inflammatories?” Zong Huaitang looked at the gauze on his head. “Tang Xiaoguang ran back from the hospital saying you are a monster.”
Chen Ziqing was powerless to refute. It wasn’t entirely wrong to call his experience monstrous.
Tang Xiaoguang and Zong Huaitang had attended the same middle school; they were alumni.
They were in the same dormitory building, right below him, in room 107.
Chen Ziqing rubbed his feet against the cement floor: “Is Comrade Tang back already? Doesn’t he need to be observed in the hospital for two days?”
Zong Huaitang sat back and picked up a pen from the table, twirling it: “You didn’t even stay in the hospital after getting your head cracked open; where would he get the face to stay?”
Chen Ziqing propped his head up and looked to the side. The original owner defined the factory director’s brother as a playboy who could repair equipment. His strengths were obvious, but his weaknesses were even more so. He looked down on his cynicism; with such an improper attitude and loose nature, what future could he have? Impossible to have any.
And Zhong Ming’s second junior apprentice brother, Sun Chengzhi, was a low-end version of Zong Huaitang, both looked down upon by the original owner.
The original owner felt that the factory director was a real man, a true gentleman, harboring a bit of a fanboy mentality.
Based on Chen Ziqing’s current analysis, if the factory director Zong Linyu was a dark color, then Zong Huaitang was a patterned color.
Compared to the former’s old-cadre style, the latter was much harder to deal with and predict.
Chen Ziqing’s mental abacus clicked away. He didn’t know when the mission would be completed. He had to continue Xiang Ning’s life. This person lived close to him, his office was in the first workshop, and they would bump into each other when going to and off work, so he couldn’t make an enemy of him.
So Chen Ziqing gave him a friendly smile: “Want an apple?”
Zong Huaitang looked as if he had been struck by lightning, goosebumps rising all over. Did this Xiang Ning not know what he looked like? His smile was even more of an eyesore.
Now with a broken head, his face was as white as a ghost’s.
He moved his chair further away from the small table and further away from the other person: “The damage you’ve done to me is already done. Never mind apples, even the flat peaches grown by the Queen Mother of the West won’t help.”
Chen Ziqing spoke good-naturedly: “Then shall I write you an apology letter?”
Zong Huaitang looked askance: “At least two pages.”
He didn’t care if Chen Ziqing’s smiling face was about to droop. After speaking, he got up and went to the cabinet, rapping his knuckles twice on the top cabinet door: “Take out the wine.”
Chen Ziqing took a breath. When the original owner couldn’t write poetry or felt his talent was unrecognized, he would drink a little wine. Afraid Section Chief Li would find it during room inspections, he hid it and had always been very cautious.
How did this Zong Huaitang know there was wine in the original owner’s room? And even the hiding place…
Zong Huaitang teased: “Does Team Leader Xiang want me to get it myself?”
Chen Ziqing went over, opened the cabinet door, reached in following the original owner’s memory, felt around, and pulled out a saline bottle.
Zong Huaitang took the saline bottle, held it by the neck, and shook it: “I’ve turned a blind eye and kept it secret for you for so long. It’s not too much for me to take this and drink it, right?”
It wasn’t out of kindness that he hid it; he was just too lazy to expose it. Tonight, he was either craving a drink or bored with nothing to do.
Chen Ziqing stared at him: “How did you…”
“If you walk by the river often, your shoes are bound to get wet.” Zong Huaitang hummed a little tune and walked out.
Just before he opened the dormitory door, Chen Ziqing suddenly spoke up: “Have the electrical wires in our corridor been broken recently?”
Zong Huaitang turned back: “You’re asking me? I’m not on the same floor as you, how would I know?”
“As a minor leader, if you can’t even be sure about such a small matter, aren’t you afraid your beloved factory director will question your personal ability when it reaches his ears?”
The last contemptuous sentence was sandwiched in the sound of the door opening. As he turned the corner, the volume gradually decreased until it disappeared.
The dormitory fell silent. Chen Ziqing lay on the table. When he asked that question, Zong Huaitang’s back had paused for a moment, clearly unusual.
Is Zong Huaitang one of A or B?
Doesn’t seem like it.
A and B look like people used by the architect of this mission background to move the plot along. Someone like Zong Huaitang, even if not the protagonist, must have some scenes arranged.
Chen Ziqing had been using his brain more frequently since returning to the factory, and the feeling of discomfort and dizziness was becoming stronger. He was just about to hold onto the table to close the door and then lie down on the bed.
A series of footsteps approached; the person who left had returned.
The man stood at the door with a face full of smiles: “Forgot to say goodbye.”
Chen Ziqing didn’t have the energy to deal with him.
Zong Huaitang seemed unable to see his weakness: “Looking forward to Master Xiang’s poetry tomorrow morning.”
Chen Ziqing felt even dizzier.
Zong Huaitang stretched: “A beautiful day starts with Master Xiang’s poetry.”
Seemingly praise, but actually mockery.
This time Zong Huaitang really left.
Chen Ziqing thumped the table lightly. Poetry, poetry, poetry. He had never been so afraid of poetry in his life.
Leave tomorrow morning’s matters for tomorrow morning. Chen Ziqing composed himself and looked at the cabinet. The middle shelf had no door and held lunch boxes and jars. Below were quilts and sheets, and on top were clothes. He hadn’t closed the cabinet door after taking out the saline bottle earlier, and the few sets of work clothes he had put in not long ago were still in their original positions.
Chen Ziqing rested on the chair for a while, then went to take out all the clothes, shaking them out one by one to check before putting them back.
He didn’t know what he was checking for either; maybe there was a mouse inside.
Thinking wildly, Chen Ziqing closed the cabinet door and went to the washstand.
The water in the washbasin was poured for him by Ma Qiangqiang before he left. It was cold. He pulled the towel from the rack, threw it into the basin, and bent down to wash his face.
A shout rang out from outside: “Team Leader, the Director is here at the dormitory building, looking for you!”
Chen Ziqing hurriedly hung up the towel, rubbed his damp collar, and went out to meet them. Director Liu walked towards him with Zhong Ming, waving his hand at him: “Let’s talk inside, in your dormitory.”
.
The light bulb in the dormitory was on, and the desk lamp on the small table was also turned on. Chen Ziqing was looking for the tea canister on the second shelf of the cabinet.
Director Liu said: “Don’t bother. You’re a wounded person, why aren’t you self-aware at all?”
“It’s okay, I’ll make tea for the Director.” Chen Ziqing couldn’t pry open the tea canister on the first try, so he tucked the canister under his arm and tried hard to pry it open.
Maybe ask Zhong Ming to open it.
No, he had just experienced a classic, cheesy idol drama plot at noon and played the female lead. If he couldn’t even open a canister now…
His fingernails turned white and bent upwards, his fingertips hurting.
Forget it. In life, there’s no need to prove everything.
Besides, his body was weak; why force it?
Chen Ziqing took the tea canister to Zhong Ming: “Master Zhong, I can’t open this, please help me open it.”
Zhong Ming turned a blind eye, standing by the door looking at his nose and his nose looking at his heart.
The legs under his eyelids trembled. He said: “Master, Xiang Ning can’t stand steady.”
Director Liu said anxiously: “Then hurry up and help him to the bed!”
Zhong Ming didn’t want to help, and Chen Ziqing didn’t ask him for help, so he said: “Master Xiang can do it himself.”
“Right.” Chen Ziqing smoothed his wet bangs and looked up with a smile. The red mark at the corner of his eye was from being hit by the poetry book thrown by Zhong Ming.
Zhong Ming pursed his thick lips, grabbed his arm, and half-supported, half-dragged him to the bed.
Chen Ziqing didn’t even have the strength to take off his shoes. He collapsed on top of the quilt, pulling the back part of the quilt over to cover his stomach. There was a dripping sound in the room; it was his face towel that hadn’t been wrung out, dripping water continuously, which was annoying to listen to.
“Master Zhong.” Chen Ziqing called out to the big guy who hadn’t gone far yet. “I didn’t wring out that towel. Could you help me wring it dry?”
Zhong Ming turned and glared at him, lowering his voice to warn: “I’m not as easy to fool as my sister, don’t order me around.”
“Look at what you’re saying. I’ve never ordered your sister around. She and I have a friendship of mutual help and progress.” Chen Ziqing sighed. “I’ve guaranteed it with my character, why won’t you believe me?”
Zhong Ming tightened his jaw, went to wring the dripping towel without a word, and poured out the water in the washbasin while he was at it.
After pouring it, his face was dark and gloomy, somewhat annoyed.
Chen Ziqing didn’t tease him. He looked at the water stain on the cement floor. There was a lot of dust in the factory, and workers poured water on the ground to settle the dust.
Director Liu spoke up at this time: “Little Xiang, look at you. Even if you’re discharged, you can’t carry materials, pull materials, or stir more than twice. You might as well have stayed in the hospital.”
“I feel suffocated lying in the hospital,” Chen Ziqing said. “And without me watching over the team, I’m not at ease.”
Director Liu didn’t quite agree with this method: “They can’t always rely on you; they still have to rely on personal consciousness.”
“The Director is right.” Chen Ziqing frowned in worry. “But cultivating good habits is difficult, while slacking off is easy. Once there’s a first time, there will be a second, third, and countless times. If one link in the chain is loose, the whole thing collapses.”
Director Liu had no objection to this; it was indeed true.
Director Liu rubbed his hands. His second and third apprentices had been taken home for education; neither of them would have a good time. His eldest apprentice had deeply realized his mistake, and the self-criticism he wrote had no opportunism, only sincerity.
The factory still had to issue a notice about the three of them.
To be honest, Little Xiang wasn’t trained by him, yet he was more steady than any of his three apprentices. He had never seen an impulsive side in Little Xiang.
He treated the manufacturing plant as his home and regarded workshop production as more important than his life.
This was good but also not good; one shouldn’t go too far in anything.
Director Liu took the tea handed by his eldest apprentice and heard the young man on the bed say: “The factory had a holiday for tomb sweeping in the morning, and work started in the afternoon. Was the efficiency the same as when I was there?”
Neither master nor apprentice spoke; the answer was already clear.
Chen Ziqing wasn’t surprised. The monthly output of this factory was calculated by the Production Section, but the quantity was decided by the workers themselves through discussion. This was Zong Linyu’s decision, intended to give the workers the power of decision-making. If they couldn’t complete the output then, they would lose face.
But there were always thick-skinned people who only coveted the present and ignored the consequences. Every team had them, so there needed to be a leader with a strong desire to win who would use any means to supervise them.
The original owner was that kind of person. He once gave his own wages to an unmotivated worker so that the other party would come to work on time and complete the daily quota, ultimately successfully winning the monthly production volume competition championship.
The Guanghui Team led all the way because of this.
“Director, it’s not that I don’t trust everyone, it’s just that I want to do my job as well as possible and not fail the factory director’s trust in me.” Chen Ziqing coughed. “The output our team set for this month is higher than last month. Although it’s only the beginning of the month, we can’t take it lightly.”
Director Liu said worriedly: “Why are you coughing?” He called his door-god eldest apprentice, “Little Zhong, pour him a glass of water.”
“Cough, I won’t, cough, won’t drink.” Chen Ziqing coughed tremblingly, a flush appearing on his pale face.
“Alright, alright, if you want to go to the workshop, go ahead. Do whatever you want, okay? We’ll talk about other things next time.” Director Liu stood up without drinking a sip of tea. “I told Accountant Zhang to allow you to be late tomorrow. When you go to the workshop, just stay in the office. I’ll have Little Zhong talk to Technician Zong.”
There were suppressed coughing sounds in the dormitory, muffled.
Zhong Ming opened the door for his master. Director Liu said: “You take care of Little Xiang tonight.”
“I’ve already moved out.” Zhong Ming refused.
“Even if you moved out, aren’t we still in the same workshop, one family?” Director Liu was about to scold him, but Chen Ziqing stated weakly, “Director, I can manage by myself.”
Director Liu had to instruct him to take good care of his health.
After leaving the dormitory, Director Liu told his eldest apprentice uneasily: “Little Xiang just doesn’t want to make things difficult for you. Don’t sleep too soundly tonight; keep an ear out in case he feels unwell and calls for someone.”
Zhong Ming lowered his head and smoothed the wrinkles on his white tank top: “He doesn’t want me to stay at all.”
“…” Director Liu shook his head and sighed. “Each one of you has your own mind.”
Zhong Ming followed his master through the corridor.
Director Liu watched his steps down the stairs: “I’m not unaware of your prejudice against Little Xiang. Don’t go too far. Romantic feelings are free. If your sister really wants to be with him, you can’t stop it.”
Zhong Ming said: “Not suitable.”
“It’s not your place to decide.” Director Liu reached the first floor. “I reckon Little Xiang will pay attention to a woman’s talent and learning. If a female university student comes to the factory one day, he’ll pursue her.”
Zhong Ming said in a deep voice: “My sister’s high school diploma isn’t bad.”
“Didn’t say it was bad. A high school diploma is very presentable and beautiful. When did your master say it was bad?” Director Liu worried. “Why do you have a block of wood for a head, child? Don’t audit every man who appears next to your sister as a brother-in-law. If you have time, find a partner for yourself.”
Zhong Ming scratched his head: “I will.”
.
After eight o’clock, the clanging noises in the living area completely disappeared, and everywhere was quiet.
At this time, Chen Ziqing usually just started his second job; he had never slept this early. He wasn’t sleepy at all.
Chen Ziqing checked the original owner’s watch after a while. Approaching midnight, he turned over, facing the washstand, and discovered a mirror hanging on it.
The mirror surface was facing away from him, the front facing the door.
Chen Ziqing climbed up to look in the mirror. He turned the mirror around, wiped it, and looked at the person in the mirror. The person in the mirror was also looking at him.
So the original owner looked like this.
Similar to him, both in the category that would be submerged in a crowd.
Chen Ziqing leaned in and stuck out his tongue. There was a cut on the tip of his tongue. The blood on the original owner’s mouth was because he had bitten his tongue.
The system didn’t show him the situation before the original owner’s death. Could it be that it didn’t involve the mission, but rather the mission target, and someone the original owner knew well?
The original owner was suddenly frightened while greeting someone. Not only did he bite his tongue, but he also couldn’t stand steady, or perhaps he was backing away, tripped over a vine by his heel, and fell onto a rock.
What degree of fright would cause that…
Chen Ziqing had no clue now, so he guessed randomly. He wanted to smoke a cigarette and subconsciously reached into his pants pocket, pulling something out.
A flat piece of white paper.
It seemed to be a paper flower, folded by workers organized by the factory during the Qingming Festival.
Chen Ziqing fiddled with the petals of the paper flower and turned to look at the door. There was no movement outside. He didn’t know if the mission target would make a move tonight. He put down the paper flower and went to the toilet.
The corridor lighting was somewhere between bright and dim yellow. Chen Ziqing closed the door and walked towards the toilet. The only sounds in the entire corridor were his footsteps accompanied by the rustling of leaves. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, and the single shirt was a bit cold, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin.
Chen Ziqing went and returned quickly, encountering nothing unusual during the trip.
The light bulbs in the corridors of the entire staff building were on. He yawned and pushed open the dormitory door; sleepiness had finally arrived.
Chen Ziqing rubbed his eyes and closed the door. Just as he was about to turn off the light, he inadvertently glanced at the corner of the wall.
The electric wire hanging by the cabinet was moving!
Chen Ziqing shuddered instantly. He saw the drooping wire swinging left and right in an orderly manner like a pendulum, then gradually coming to a standstill.
He stared at that spot, his heart pounding.
Before he entered the dormitory, someone had stood there and touched the wire.
So now…
Chen Ziqing slowly stood up straight and tensed his body, glancing at the bottom of the bed hidden by the sheet, and the bottom shelf of the cabinet which looked large enough to hide an adult.
Is the person still here?