Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 490 This Rebellious Son!

Chen Dazhi, beaming, stood in the middle of the yard, holding the firewood, looking at his wife and daughter, and said:
"I don't have a shift tonight, and I've been thinking about how I haven't cooked in ages, so I'll show off my culinary skills tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Lihong immediately smiled and said:

"Dad, I want to eat your egg pancakes!"

"I'll brand it for my eldest daughter right now!"

Chen Dazhi grinned, carried the firewood into the kitchen, and then bent over to retrieve a few eggs from the chicken coop!

Feng Jiuxiang carried the groceries she had bought into the kitchen, and was about to lend a hand when Old Chen chased her out.

"I'll come tonight, you go inside and rest."

Chen Dazhi pinched the egg with his thick, chubby fingers, cracked it against the rim of the bowl, and the golden-brown egg fell into the bowl with a splat.

The chopsticks stirred the egg with a "slap slap slap" sound, turning the tender yellow egg into a foamy egg mixture, which was then poured into the hot oil.

"Come inside! I'll stay here."

While making egg pancakes, Chen Dazhi nudged Feng Jiuxiang with his elbow as she went back into the house.

Unfortunately, Feng Jiuxiang remained as steady as a mountain.

“The kids are almost home. It’s too slow for you to cook by yourself. The two of us can speed things up.”

Saying,

The elderly couple had one person cooking and the other assisting.

The aroma of delicious food quickly wafted out of the steaming kitchen.

inside the house,
Chen Lihong tidied up the house briefly and then started washing the dishes and helping to put the food inside.

When Sun Zhigang led Sun Junjun home, the meal was already laid out on the table.

Wow! Egg pancakes!

Upon seeing the egg pancake, Sun Junjun couldn't resist running over, picking up his chopsticks, and taking a small piece to eat.

"It's so fragrant!"

With that, Sun Junjun put down his schoolbag and went into the kitchen.

Grandpa! Your egg pancakes smell delicious!

Haha, your grandpa's cooking skills are absolutely top-notch! If you like it, grandpa will make it for you again!

Chen Dazhi was stewing cabbage and potatoes when he saw his grandson run in and couldn't help but reach out and pinch Junjun's cheek.

"It's cold, come inside!"

"Yeah~"

Sun Junjun, like a little pilot, ran back to the main room with his arms behind his back.

Sun Junjun had just entered the house when

Chen Xiaoling pushed her bicycle into the courtyard shortly after.

"Mom and Dad, I'm home."

"Ling'er is home!"

When Chen's mother heard that her youngest daughter had returned, she quickly came out of the kitchen and helped Xiaoling carry the bicycle in.

"Mom, did you know my brother is in the newspaper?"

"In the newspaper??"

Feng Jiuxiang asked in bewilderment, "Are newspapers printed this fast now? They broadcast the news in the morning, and the newspapers are out in the afternoon?"

Chen Xiaoling waved her hand: "No way! It's not the same thing~"

Seeing Feng Jiuxiang's puzzled look, Chen Xiaoling explained:
"My brother was featured in the *Youth Daily* this time, not because he was a judge in a competition."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Dazhi, spatula in hand, leaped out of the kitchen.

"If it's not about him being a judge, then what is it?"

In response to Chen Dazhi and Feng Jiuxiang's questions, Chen Xiaoling added:
"I brought the newspapers back; they're in my schoolbag."

……

dinner
The family sat around a large table of food, their attention completely focused on the Youth Daily in Chen Dazhi's hands.

"This is my red scarf!!!"

Sun Junjun excitedly pointed to Chen Luyang's photo in the newspaper and shouted out loud.

"What's wrong with the second son?!"

Chen Dazhi rubbed his small face.

"In the past, getting published in a Peking University academic journal would require mailing back five, six, seven, or even eight copies. But for something as important as getting published in the Youth Daily, they didn't even utter a peep!"

“Dad, maybe the Youth Daily is distributed nationwide, so Lu Yang didn’t tell us,” Sun Zhigang, the brother-in-law, chimed in, trying to smooth things over.

But Feng Jiuxiang just had to bring up the very thing she didn't want to talk about:
"That shouldn't be the case!"

"Our second son has such a boastful personality; he can't help but brag about it to the whole world whenever he gets praised!"

"How could he not tell about something as important as being featured in the Youth Daily?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Lihong's expression also turned serious: "Exactly!"

"The second brother is the kind of guy who wants to walk around the whole factory as soon as he wears a new outfit, so how could he not tell us about something this big?"

"This is definitely not right!"

In the blink of an eye, the clever family discovered the truth of the matter through Junjun's repeated cries of "That's my red scarf!"
"This rebellious son!!"

Chen Dazhi slapped his thigh in anger.

"A grown man like him shamelessly pretends to be young. He's already a Party member, yet he's still wearing a red scarf and acting like a Young Pioneer!"

Chen Dazhi stood up, gritting his teeth, and refused to eat.

Put on a thick cotton-padded coat and a big hat.

Chen Dazhi clutched the newspaper and stormed out of the door in a huff!

Watching Chen Dazhi's departing figure, the family silently picked up their rice bowls.

Without even thinking about it, Chen Dazhi must have gone to Jin Da Kui's house to show off.

A true honor is one that you don't flaunt in front of Old Jin!

Without the witness of Old Gold Head, there is no joy at all!

After showing off, I'll probably try to extort a meal from their family.

If they get too excited about extorting money, they might end up staying at Old Jin's house that night.

Hearing the courtyard gate close, Feng Jiuxiang took a bite of her egg pancake angrily and said:

"If you ask me, your dad and I are both superfluous."

"He should pack his bags and go live with Old Jin!"

What a terrible meal... It's all the second son's fault!

"Ah!"

At this moment, Chen Luyang, far away in Pian'er City, sneezed several times.

"What happened? I even sneezed!"

In the steaming hot restaurant,

Chen Luyang wiped her nose with a handkerchief, then opened a bottle of beer and served food to Wei Chuxiong, Ye Minghua, and Yu Xin.

The judging competition went very smoothly today.

Ye Minghua won the championship, Wei Chuxiong came in second, and Yu Xin came in third.

Originally, Wei Chuxiong had intended to invite Chen Luyang, Yu Xin, and Ye Minghua to dinner.

However, Ye Minghua and Yu Xin were both from Chen Luyang's hometown, so how could they let Wei Chuxiong take the money?
So Chen Luyang tore into the food and dragged the three of them to a nearby restaurant. Inside, Kuku ordered a table full of dishes so they could all have a good meal!
"Teacher Chen, this trip was definitely worthwhile. Not only did I get a prize, but I also got to eat a meal at your place!"

Yu Xin smiled and held her wine glass, speaking with a cheerful expression.

"Stop calling me 'teacher,'" Chen Luyang waved his hand and said cheerfully.
"We've all shared a revolutionary friendship; calling each other brothers is more appropriate."

Raise your glass,

Chen Luyang said happily:

"Our country is so big, it's fate that we met here. Let me toast you all first."

"cheers!"

The group raised their glasses, which clinked together with a crisp sound, conveying a sense of "lasting revolutionary friendship."

As the hot dishes were served, everyone ate and chatted, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Chen Luyang was thinking about her family.

After a few bites, his stomach felt less empty, and he excitedly asked, "Hey, Yu Xin, how's the provincial capital lately?"

"Anything new happening at school? I haven't been back for over half a year."

Ye Minghua chimed in, "Yeah, how's everything at home?"

Yu Xin swallowed the lion's head meatball in her mouth, took a sip of soup, wiped her mouth, and smiled:
"Sure enough, there really is!"

"A few East German engineers came to our school recently, it was quite a lively affair."

"From East Germany?"

Ye Minghua immediately sat up straighter.
"What do you do? Give lectures?"

"I don't give lectures; I'm a tech person." Yu Xin took a sip of water to moisten her throat.
"They said it was a joint experimental project led by the Ministry of Education and our school. They were experts in measurement and control and precision instruments. They brought a stack of blueprints and small instruments and went straight into the experimental center."

"That sounds impressive," Wei Chuxiong interjected. "You can even work alongside them?"

Yu Xin waved her hand: "No, I was just temporarily transferred there to work as an assistant."

"Our department temporarily selected a few people with good English skills to be record keepers, so I'm just filling in," Yu Xin waved her hand modestly.
"I can understand about half of it, the other half... I have to guess."

"Once, someone said 'interference compensation loop,' and I didn't realize it at first. I translated it as 'interference exchange loop,' which stumped our lab director. Later, I looked it up in the dictionary and found out it meant 'interference compensation loop.'"

Chen Luyang laughed as she put food into Yu Xin's bowl, "Didn't your director talk to you?"

"They talked to me, and I almost started yelling at them," Yu Xin said, holding her bowl.

"He told me that with technology, if you mistranslate even one sentence, a component might burn out, and a year's work could be for nothing."

"It gave me the chills."

As he spoke, Yu Xin still looked somewhat shaken, indicating that the incident had been quite a blow to him.

Setting down her glass, Yu Xin asked curiously:
"Minghua, your spoken English is so good! How did you practice?"

"Yes, does your foreign language school have some special secrets? Tell us about them!" Wei Chuxiong asked curiously as he leaned over.

In today's competition, everyone's true abilities were immediately apparent from the moment they opened their mouths.

Although everyone's expressions were quite good, Ye Minghua's English sounded very relaxed.

It seemed that participating in this speech contest was effortless for him.

"There are no secret techniques; it's all learned from foreigners."

Ye Minghua didn't hold back and spoke directly:
“Teacher Chen taught me to speak more and interact more with foreigners. So I tried to be a tour guide for foreigners and tell them about the Great Wall and the hutongs.”

"Later on, our town had a series of exchange groups from foreign universities and some business representatives from China visiting the school, right?"

"The Foreign Affairs Office always has to temporarily assign people to handle receptions."

"Because I had worked as a tour guide, was familiar with local affairs, and had decent spoken English, I was selected to accompany a 'Joint British and American English Teaching Cooperation Study Group'."

"I was quite nervous that time. I had to memorize all the information the day before. I had to remember who the group leader was, who the principal was, which unit they belonged to, and what their nationality was, just in case I called the wrong person the next day."

"So this is a formal foreign affairs mission, not a 'tour guide'?" Yu Xin exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes.” Ye Minghua nodded.

"When taking them to visit the Forbidden City and the Agricultural Exhibition Hall, someone needs to translate and explain the entire process. Actually, the formal translation is not difficult, but the small things in daily life are the hard part."

"What small matter?" Yu Xin asked curiously.

"Take eating for example."

Ye Minghua put down his chopsticks and recalled with a smile, "That day, after they finished visiting the teaching building, it was lunchtime. The school arranged three dishes and a soup as usual: stir-fried pork with wood ear mushrooms, braised eggplant, egg drop soup, and shredded potatoes."

"It sounds pretty standard," Wei Chuxiong said.

"The standards are there, but the first thing they asked as soon as they sat down was, 'Where's the menu?'"

Yu Xin almost choked. "Did they think they could order food?"

"Yes, that's right." Ye Minghua sighed.

“I told them we were dining as a group, and the food was pre-set. Then they asked, ‘Could we change it? For example, without the spicy food?’”

"I did eat the meal, but I clearly didn't understand it. The old British professor picked up a piece of braised eggplant, chewed it for a long time, and asked me, 'Is this meat or vegetables?'"

“I said it was eggplant, and he said they don’t cook it like that… saying it’s too extreme.”

"Intense? What's intense?" Wei Chuxiong found it interesting and couldn't help but ask more questions.

“intense…that’s the word he’s referring to,” Ye Minghua replied.

“Intense… that word!” Chen Luyang immediately realized.

"What he meant was that the braised eggplant was too strong in flavor. Our eggplant is oily and has a thick sauce, which he doesn't like."

"More or less," Ye Minghua said with a wry smile.

“Our teacher reminded us that when receiving foreigners, we should be careful with our words and not just agree casually. We must be careful with our wording to avoid misunderstanding our country’s image.”

"You all have to go through a political vetting process, right?" Chen Luyang asked curiously.

"That's for sure," Ye Minghua nodded.

"For these kinds of reception tasks, the Foreign Affairs Office conducts a political review first, and then the school issues an internal notice. There are specific rules about what to wear, what to say, and what to answer. Afterwards, a summary must be written and submitted."

Hearing Ye Minghua's words, Chen Luyang and Wei Chuxiong were alright.
Yu Xin was genuinely envious.

"There are still more opportunities in Pian'er City!"

Yu Xin sighed, "Although we do see foreigners in our provincial capital, it's only during international exhibitions and trade fairs that a small group of people makes a brief stop. For your school to be able to directly receive and participate in translation is something we wouldn't even dare to dream of."

Ye Minghua laughed: "If we're really envious, we actually envy you too."

"Our provincial capital's foreign trade connections and international exhibitions are the real windows to connect with the world. No matter how many people are received here in Pian'er City, it's really just visits, inspections, and seminars. At most, they'll take a stroll around the campus, attend a few classes, take some photos, and then leave."

“What you deal with over there is business, real goods, and genuine orders. We can only hear about how many projects can be signed at an exhibition, or how many factories can be started by a single foreign trade deal.

"Exactly! Ours is still the best!" Chen Luyang added at the right time.

"Yes! Our family is awesome!"

“Awesome!!!”

When they got so cocky, Chen Luyang, Yu Xin, and Ye Minghua couldn't resist raising their glasses to down a toast!
When you're away from home, who doesn't praise their hometown?
They practically want to praise their hometown to the skies!
Seeing that the three men from Northeast China had raised their glasses...
Chen Luyang glanced at Wei Chuxiong, who was small, quiet, and barely daring to breathe, and spoke up openly:

"Old Wei, you keep one company!"

"Yes, Wei, you can come with me."

Let's do it together!

Hearing the three men's invitation, Wei Chuxiong happily raised his glass. The four of them stood up and clinked their glasses together.
"cheers!"
The group chatted and laughed, drank a few more bottles of wine, and the dishes on the table had almost gone cold.

Yu Xin still had to take a car back to the provincial capital; she had new reception duties at Ye Minghua's school.

Everyone stood at the restaurant entrance, reluctantly saying goodbye.

Before leaving, Yu Xin gave them a very warm welcome, saying that after the winter vacation, when Chen Luyang and Ye Minghua returned home from Pian'er City, she would give them a proper welcome-back party!

The only outsider present felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.

By the time we got back to Peking University, it was already quite late.

It was almost dinnertime.
Without saying a word, Chen Luyang immediately called out Xiao Chuanxi.

"Wenwei, why did you suddenly decide to invite me to dinner?"

While engrossed in eating his hotpot, Du Qiming asked, puzzled.

"We haven't eaten alone together before, and I was craving hot pot today, so I asked you for help."

Chen Luyang held the condiment bowl, head down, stirring the sesame paste, looking at Du Qiming with a guilty expression.

Today I served as a judge in the Higher Education English Speech Contest and received a 10 yuan judging allowance.

Based on the principle of paying money to avoid disaster,
Without a second thought, Chen Luyang called Xiao Chuanxi out for dinner.

Saying,

Chen Luyang generously added a large handful of mutton to the pot for Xiao Chuanxi.

"Du, eat more~ There's plenty of meat today!"

"okay!"

……

After finishing a hot pot meal,
Du Qiming walked out of the hot pot restaurant, one hand clutching his stomach and the other supporting himself against the wall.

The reason is simple: Chen Luyang ordered far too much!

It would be a waste not to finish it!

After finishing the meal,

Chen Luyang thoughtfully bought a bottle of berberine for Xiao Chuanxi and put it in his pocket to take away.

Seeing that he had safely returned to the dormitory, Chen Luyang guiltily walked towards room 421, silently praying in her heart:

Please don't run away...

Hum!
(End of this chapter)