Chapter 6#

Qiming Manufacturing Plant#

After finishing the poetry reading, Chen Ziqing hurried back to the staff dormitory, only to be told that Zong Huaitang had already gone to work.

“Technician Zong is dating someone, Master Xiang, please be understanding.”

Chen Ziqing smiled and said, “Of course.”

As soon as the person left, the corners of his mouth dropped immediately. The twins were born only a few minutes apart and were thirty-two this year. The one born a few minutes earlier had a fiancée, a stable relationship, and was getting married next year. The woman sometimes came to the factory, and the workers thought they were a perfect match.

The younger one, despite having a crippled leg, was still very popular. He was good-looking, tall, humorous, and very much admired. The older sisters and uncles in the factory even wanted to introduce him to people outside. But he was good at stirring up trouble and messing with the hearts of young single female workers.

He just wasn’t honest and couldn’t settle down. He had a handful of rumored girlfriends, but not a single official one.

Chen Ziqing pushed the poetry book through the crack of the dormitory door, not daring to glance at the door lock even once. If he did, it would be endless confirmation, doubt, and confirmation again. Not seeing Ma Qiangqiang nearby, he left on his own.

At this time, there were few people on the road. Chen Ziqing strolled as he walked.

Rows of plane trees stood vibrantly on both sides of the road. Their thick and numerous branches reached out to each other, intertwining like a tree canopy or a tree hollow.

Walking on the road felt like being in a secret forest.

“Xiang Ning!”

In the distance, Zhong Gu rode over on a bicycle. She put one foot down to support herself and patted the back seat, shouting to him, “Get on, I’ll give you a ride.”

Chen Ziqing sat on it, holding onto the underside of Zhong Gu’s leather seat as a handle, chatting with her intermittently.

Zhong Gu pedaled easily: “Little Ma guaranteed me yesterday that he would come to carry you this morning. Where is he? Why didn’t he come?”

“Probably went to the factory first,” Chen Ziqing said into the wind.

Zhong Gu said angrily: “This Little Ma!”

“If he went first, let him go. I’m much better today.” Chen Ziqing caught the long braid that swept across his face. Zhong Gu lived at home, but her brother Zhong Ming didn’t. The siblings weren’t unified.

.

To enter the mountain, the workers’ bicycles were parked below the stone steps. Some were not parked steadily, causing the surrounding bikes to lean crookedly.

Zhong Gu waited for Chen Ziqing to get off before pushing her bike in to park it properly.

Chen Ziqing looked up the steps. He had to climb a few sections to see the gate of the production area. With this road, did the cripple have to climb a bit and then sit down to rest every day when going to and off work?

From the original owner’s memory, it seemed no one in the factory had discussed this matter, and Zong Huaitang behaved no differently from ordinary people.

“Xiang Ning.” Zhong Gu pulled up the sleeve covers on her arms and stood in front of him, saying, “I’ll carry you.”

Chen Ziqing refused: “Men and women are different.”

Zhong Gu scolded him with a smile for being particular at the wrong time: “Analyze specific issues specifically. In this situation, who cares about men and women? We are comrades.”

Chen Ziqing wouldn’t let her carry him no matter what, so she had to let him be: “You’re really stubborn.”

Zhong Gu walked behind, afraid he would fall.

Chen Ziqing climbed the last flight of stone steps, stopping and going. The iron gate of the production area came into view, wide open on both sides, with a slogan hanging above: “Work together to create brilliance.” He took off his work cap to fan himself, walked into the gate panting, and looked around casually.

Some workshops were single-story houses, a few with open-air iron stairs leading to platforms. There were many security personnel in the production area, and sentries on the hillside to prevent workers from sneaking out to slack off or date during work hours. There was a building covered with a lot of ivy, which was the office area… Chen Ziqing withdrew his gaze and followed Zhong Gu to the first workshop on the left.

Clock-in time wasn’t over yet.

Attendance was recorded manually. Tables and chairs were set up beside the walkway outside the workshop, where Accountant Zhang sat supervising.

A piece of cloth hung on the wall with dozens of small pockets sewn onto it. Each pocket held a long white hard plastic card with a name written on it, the name part exposed.

Workers had to go up one by one, find the card with their name, and put it into the slot of the wooden box next to it. Once the clock-in time was over, Accountant Zhang would lock the wooden box and take it to the office. Near the end of the shift, she would open the wooden box again, take out the cards, and put them back into the cloth pockets, letting the workers put the cards back one by one like in the morning.

This way, it was convenient for Accountant Zhang to count the number of people. It was clear at a glance who arrived and left on time.

At this moment, there weren’t many plastic cards left on the cloth. Chen Ziqing went to get the original owner’s.

Accountant Zhang waved the pen in her hand: “Master Xiang, you’re here.”

“Good morning.” Chen Ziqing flipped the plastic card over; both sides were the same, with names on them. The two characters “Xiang Ning” were printed in blue and could be scratched off with fingernails.

Just as Zhong Gu leaned over, Zhong Ming appeared at the workshop door: “Little Sister, come in.”

She was annoyed and her face darkened. Her eldest brother was stubborn to death. Once he decided on something, he wouldn’t listen to what others said. He insisted on thinking of her and Xiang Ning in that kind of relationship, even though she had explained it eight hundred times!

Seeing her eldest brother silently forcing her, Zhong Gu speechlessly stuffed her name card into the wooden box: “Xiang Ning, I’ll go in first?”

“Okay.” Chen Ziqing was looking at the list of workers who hadn’t clocked in yet and saw Ma Qiangqiang in the corner.

That silly little round ball was actually late.

Incredible.

The original owner was strict, and Ma Qiangqiang learned how to conduct himself and do things from him. The Ma parents were very grateful to him and even personally brought him old hen soup to the factory a while ago.

Chen Ziqing went into the workshop without thinking much. Workers in each group were busy at their posts.

Everything was fresh. Although he had received everything from the original owner, including the application of mechanical manufacturing equipment, there were zero obstacles to getting started.

An older worker in the group came down from the ladder: “Master Xiang, Little Ma hasn’t come yet. Don’t blame him; he must have a reason.”

Chen Ziqing said: “I don’t blame him.”

“Little Ma is a diligent kid. His production count in February and March after the New Year was the highest in the group. When he comes, listen to his explanation. He wouldn’t be late for no reason.”

Chen Ziqing was helpless: “I really don’t blame him.”

The worker still didn’t believe it.

Chen Ziqing simply stopped talking. The original owner’s intimidating power was really strong.

After nine o’clock, Ma Qiangqiang ran into the workshop in a hurry and rushed to Chen Ziqing: “Brother, my work hours, this afternoon, I will definitely hurry to make it up later.”

Chen Ziqing knew that the factory calculated work hours. Once full, there was a basic wage, and after that, it was calculated by piece. The more you worked, the more you earned. Labor leads to wealth.

If even the work hours weren’t full, one would be criticized for not being active enough and lacking ambition.

“There are still more than twenty days left this month, there’s time.” Chen Ziqing spoke ghost words to ghosts and human words to humans. He didn’t use the set he used with Director Liu. He comforted Comrade Little Ma, “It’s okay if you really can’t make it up. Machines can malfunction and need repair, let alone people.”

Ma Qiangqiang didn’t hear clearly; the machine noise in the workshop was too loud.

Chen Ziqing repeated it in his ear. He was stunned for a moment, his eyes first seeking confirmation cautiously, then widening into round circles, standing there foolishly with his hands down.

Seemed he understood.

Chen Ziqing picked a leaf off Comrade Little Ma’s hair: “Now tell me why you were late today.”

“I overslept.” Ma Qiangqiang lowered his head in shame. “I woke up once before dawn and thought I’d nap for a while, but ended up napping for a long time.”

Chen Ziqing spoke from experience: “Spring sleepiness, it’s normal. This weather is good for sleeping.”

“Alright, adjust your mindset and get busy.” He avoided the workers pulling materials and went to the office.

Ma Qiangqiang picked up the leaf that had fallen to the ground.

Zhong Gu came over from her group to ask: “What happened? Did Xiang Ning scold you?”

Ma Qiangqiang shook his head.

Zhong Gu patted his back: “Then why the long face?”

Ma Qiangqiang pouted: “My brother doesn’t scold me anymore, I’m not used to it.”

Zhong Gu was speechless: “Do you know what you are?”

“I know, a cheap bone.”

Zhong Gu gasped in surprise: “Little Ma, where did you hear such ugly words!”

Ma Qiangqiang shrank his neck: “Heard it on TV.”

“Hearing it is one thing, don’t learn to use it. It’s insulting and very dirty.” Zhong Gu was taller than Ma Qiangqiang and put her hand on his shoulder as soon as she lifted it. “I mean, you lack autonomy and self-management ability. You need to work on this.”

Ma Qiangqiang was listless: “I really need my brother to… how do you say it, spur, spur on, yes yes, just spur on.” He was at a loss, “But my brother won’t spur me on since he hurt his head.”

“Xiang Ning has changed a bit, not as strict, more relaxed.” Zhong Gu pondered, “His brain hasn’t recovered yet. When he’s better, he should be the same as before.”

Ma Qiangqiang cheered up: “Mm-hmm.”

.

In the office, Zong Huaitang was repairing parts, with machine oil on his fingers.

Another technician opened the door for Chen Ziqing. He didn’t call Zong Huaitang but found a seat to sit down.

That technician was also busy; he told Chen Ziqing to make himself at home and went back to his own business.

The smell of ink floated in the air. Chen Ziqing looked around. He saw a proposal on Zong Huaitang’s desk about equipment maintenance precautions and repair systems. It was discarded, and the cover had Zong Huaitang’s messy practice writing.

The twins’ handwriting was exactly the same.

Behind Zong Huaitang was an old-fashioned mechanical typewriter with a sheet of white paper clamped in it, capable of making copies.

The original owner didn’t know how to use it, and naturally, Chen Ziqing didn’t either.

Chen Ziqing felt it was like the kind that went du-du-du sending telegrams on TV. He examined it with curiosity.

The internal structure of the typewriter was exposed without a casing. There was a long handle on the left for pressing. Below, iron bars extended out, divided into three layers according to length, spreading out like a flower. The ends of the bars were attached to round letter keys.

Afraid of breaking it, Chen Ziqing didn’t press the keys, just touched them gently.

Suddenly sensing a gaze on him, Chen Ziqing turned his head: “Technician Zong, busy?”

Zong Huaitang crossed his legs: “Otherwise? Waiting in the office for you to come talk to me?”

Chen Ziqing chuckled. He had just made up an excuse to walk together at the time; there was nothing to talk about.

Zong Huaitang stared at him for a few seconds: “Say it now.”

Chen Ziqing: “…”

Thinking of that proposal, he had a flash of inspiration: “I wanted to ask you if the monthly machine maintenance in the workshop could be changed from once to twice, especially in the first workshop. The machines are old. I want to apply to the factory director for a new batch in a few days. If the factory director approves, I wonder if Technician Zong has time to help check the procurement.”

Zong Huaitang ignored him again.

Obviously thought up on the spot. Really knows how to bullshit, even better than before.

Chen Ziqing felt he had given himself away. He scratched the tip of his nose and reminded gently: “Technician Zong, there’s machine oil on your face.”

Zong Huaitang still ignored him.

Chen Ziqing sat back in the chair awkwardly. After a while, he went to the workshop for a stroll to complete the inspection work.

The other group was much more leisurely than the original owner’s group. They could chat while screwing in bolts. The two groups were in two states, mocking and badmouthing each other.

Director Liu’s three apprentices stood together discussing something. The eldest, Zhong Ming, was reticent and upright. The second, Sun Chengzhi, was mischievous. The third, Bai Rong, looked like a girl and was very delicate.

The third greeted him, but the second didn’t give a damn about him, bent on following the eldest like a tail.

Chen Ziqing strolled around once and went back to the office, falling asleep.

[Host altered the first annotation, warning once]

Chen Ziqing stood up abruptly, the chair falling backward and hitting a desk.

The technician was holding a glass tank at the desk teasing the grass turtle inside. The sudden shaking of the desk caused him to drop the glass tank. The grass turtle fell into the water mixed with glass shards, its shell flipped over, legs in the air.

Zong Huaitang was putting on a nut. Startled by the successive noises, his hand shook, and the nut fell to the ground, rolling away a distance. He threw the screw onto the table. The crisp sound of the screw bouncing and hitting the teacup was wrapped in his low roar: “What the hell are you doing?”

“I was scared by Master Xiang.” The technician quickly picked up the grass turtle. “Brother, your turtle.”

Zong Huaitang took the turtle and placed it on a paper with some data, hearing his colleague shout: “Master Xiang, are you okay? Master Xiang?”

He glanced over; the guy named Xiang was in a wrong state.

Chen Ziqing’s pupils were dilated and unfocused. The content of the first annotation was that the original owner often sneaked into Section Chief Li’s office to make petty reports. He calculated that the frequency of “often” was less than “every day” but more than “occasionally,” about once every two or three days. The original owner had been to Section Chief Li’s place two days before he died. He should go today, so he planned to go after work in the afternoon.

How could it be in the morning? Didn’t the original owner have to work?

Chen Ziqing wanted to cry but had no tears: “System Lu, the annotation didn’t specify which time period. Can this one not count?”

System: “No.”

Too heartless. Chen Ziqing closed his eyes, feeling uncomfortable, palpitating, and unable to breathe.

A pain in his philtrum made Chen Ziqing open his eyes. The man was frowning with a dark face close at hand. The dense long eyelashes were even more visually impactful at close range.

Office workers weren’t required to wear work clothes every day. He was still wearing a white shirt and gray-blue trousers. The belt was tied loosely, with a section not tucked in sticking out. The shirt buttons weren’t buttoned to the top like his brother’s; the collar was open a bit, and there was a mole on his Adam’s apple.

Chen Ziqing’s breath was filled with the smell of soap and machine oil: “Technician Zong, why pinch me?”

Zong Huaitang said grumpily: “Afraid you’d die in the office.”

Although the pinch hurt a lot and his mood was explosive, Chen Ziqing still expressed his gratitude.

Zong Huaitang looked at the crescent moon mark embedded in his red and swollen philtrum and twitched his mouth.

Chen Ziqing noticed the grass turtle on the paper. Zong Huaitang raised it, named Mahua. He went to help the technician pick up the broken glass and comforted: “This is my fault. I’ll go buy a new glass tank for Technician Zong at noon.”

The technician said “Eh,” threw the broken glass into the cement bucket for garbage by the door, and went out to find a mop to clean the floor.

Only Chen Ziqing and Zong Huaitang were left in the office. Outside the door was the methodically busy workshop; time seemed to move faster there than inside.

Zong Huaitang fiddled with the grass turtle’s short legs: “Poor Mahua, you suffered.”

To stop himself from immersing in the fear of having one of the four warnings deducted, Chen Ziqing tried to divert his attention: “Technician Zong, does the name Mahua for this little turtle have any significance?”

Zong Huaitang grabbed the grass turtle and put it into a porcelain mug, then got up and placed the mug on the windowsill: “I like to eat them.”

Chen Ziqing said dryly: “Oh.”

Failed to divert attention, mood sank again.

Only three warnings left… only three left, and the mission target didn’t even have a suspect.

“Find the person stealing electricity” looked like a daily quest in a game. How could there be no clue at all? Even the small thread of Zong Huaitang hadn’t been pulled.

Although it was only the second day and he shouldn’t be so impatient, besides doing the mission, he also had to guard against warnings.

Chen Ziqing straightened the chair. Zong Huaitang picked up the screw and walked towards the desk while looking at his wandering spirit appearance. After one glance, he looked again, not noticing the water on the floor. His foot slipped, and his left leg hit the table leg heavily as he knelt down.

Zong Huaitang maintained this kneeling posture, his vision going black. His face twisted with endurance, and he sat on the floor sweating cold sweat all over.

The ease and dashing style were completely gone, replaced by wretchedness and misery.

Chen Ziqing finally diverted his attention this time. He smiled unkindly, then pursed his lips tightly in self-condemnation.

How can I build my happiness on others’ suffering? I really deserve to die.

Zong Huaitang sat in a puddle of water, one arm resting on his healthy right leg with his face buried in it, the other arm reaching for his left leg, the finger bones pressing on the painful part trembling violently.

His arched back rose and fell, tight muscles faintly visible under the shirt, and his breath hitched rapidly in his throat.

Chen Ziqing felt this was an opportunity to get close, so he offered kindness to show goodwill: “Technician Zong, does your leg hurt very much? How about I rub it for you?”

Zong Huaitang tilted his head, revealing red eyes from the crook of his arm. His forehead hair was wet with sweat, his face pale, and blue veins bulged on his neck. He looked at Chen Ziqing with a look that said, “Did I hear wrong? What kind of bizarre nonsense is this?” stunned with huge disbelief.

A man rubbing another man’s leg, is there such a thing?