Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 505 More Wronged Than Dou E

Upon hearing this, Minister Yuan finally showed a relieved smile, and his tone softened slightly:
"This is what industrial workers from Northeast China should be like."

"Work hard, don't be afraid of stumbling. The ministry is watching you, but it's also supporting you."

Wang Qingzhou stood up, a stubbornness showing in her eyes:

"We will certainly live up to your expectations!"

……

While Director Wang was attending the national commendation meeting for advanced units
Director Lu, Zhang Guoqiang, and their group returned to the repair shop in high spirits, carrying large and small bags.

Unlike Chen Luyang,

Director Lu and his colleagues usually eat and live at the repair shop. The men don't like to go out shopping, and they keep all their wages in their hands.

There are basically no expenses.

These days, when they finally manage to go out, they're all carrying a "huge sum of money."

I buy anything that looks good, is new, or that I've never seen before.

I plan to bring it back to my family, relatives and friends during the Chinese New Year.

But this joy vanished instantly upon hearing that "Director Wang had been here!"

"You're talking about yourself!"

"Why did they have to make arrangements to go out and buy New Year's goods now of all times?"

Director Lu looked at Sun Hongjun helplessly, his tone extremely annoyed.

He looked like he was kicking himself.

I don't know whether I'm blaming Sun Hongjun or myself for not managing my time well.

"Yes!" Zhang Guoqiang wished he could turn back time, his face full of regret.

"We haven't even stepped out of the factory gate once in the past six months, and we missed the factory manager on this one day."

Normally, they stay at the factory day after day, working from morning till night.

As a result, the factory manager caught him leaving his post during that one time.

I know, they're going out to relax and buy things for their families as the Lunar New Year approaches.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were always this lazy and absent from their posts.

Sun Hongjun also felt wronged.

"Why is it all my fault..."

"I didn't know the factory manager would be able to come today!"

"Besides, I asked for leave this morning to go shopping for New Year's goods, but you all insisted on coming with me."

"Why is everyone blaming me now?"

Zuo Zhuo said resentfully, "It's all because you said the store had new southern oranges and White Rabbit milk candy today, and if you went too late, they would be sold out. That's how you lured everyone away."

Sun Hongjun: ...

Seeing his sins being exaggerated by the crowd, Sun Hongjun looked at Chen Luyang with a wronged expression.

"Brother Chen, it's really not my fault... I really didn't know the factory manager was coming today!"

Chen Luyang stepped forward and said, "Alright, it's nothing serious."

"I reported everyone's situation to the factory manager early this morning."

"The factory manager knows how hard everyone works, and he also knows that everyone went to buy New Year's goods~"

"Don't worry about anything else."

A moment later, Chen Luyang spoke again with a smile:

"Director Niu has agreed to buy us train tickets home. Everyone should pack our things these next few days, and we'll all go home with the factory manager to celebrate the New Year!"

Director Lu was worried. "Director Chen, are you coming with us?"

"Let's go! I'm going too." Chen Luyang grinned, her face beaming with excitement at the prospect of going home.

Who doesn't want to go home early!

At work, he is the director and the person in charge.

Others can leave early, but he can't.

But now the factory manager has said he's going to take him home with him, so it would be a fool not to go.

"With our factory manager here, we should be able to buy the train tickets in the next few days."

Chen Luyang instructed, "Everyone, pack everything you need to pack in the next couple of days. We'll be ready to leave at any time."

Director Lu said urgently, "Then I'd better hurry!"

Amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd,
Director Lu bent down and opened two large, thick cloth bags, taking things out one by one.

Chen Luyang curiously leaned over for a look and couldn't help but ask:

"Uncle Lu, we already have all these snacks at home, why did you buy so many?"

Director Lu chuckled and said, "These aren't for taking home; I'm giving them to the neighbors in this area."

Ok?
Chen Luyang looked closely.

In Director Lu's large bag, besides the Spring Festival couplets and lanterns that are essential for the New Year, it was also filled with pastries, biscuits, candies, and tea canisters.

These are all the most practical gifts for visiting relatives and friends during the Spring Festival—Songhe brand peanut brittle, yellow canned milk candy, white tea leaves, and glass jars of fruit. None of them are expensive, but the quantity is astonishing. There are two big bags, so heavy that the veins on the back of Director Lu's hands are bulging.

These two big bags of stuff must have cost quite a bit of money!
"You bought so much!" Chen Luyang exclaimed in surprise.

Director Lu chuckled and said, "A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative!"

"We opened a shop in this area, where we don't know anyone or anything. We rely entirely on the help of our neighbors."

"Now that the Chinese New Year is approaching, we should visit them and give them some gifts."

"Give it to us! We absolutely have to give it to us!" Chen Luyang was very supportive!

"Uncle Lu, you're so thoughtful."

My attention has been focused entirely on school and projects every day.

They completely forgot that the repair shop also needs to be greased.

Normally, the repair shop doesn't have much contact with the surrounding people who sell popcorn, repair bicycles, roast melon seeds, sell mountain products, run guesthouses, work at the West Railway Station police station, sweep streets, collect scrap, make clothes, or run small restaurants.

However, at the two ceremonies when the repair shop was officially opened and when it was established as a pilot unit in cooperation with Peking University, the people who cheered and applauded were all these neighbors.

Just for this favor, we should make up for it with proper etiquette.

"Director Lu, there's a lot of stuff, let's deliver it together!"

Chen Luyang smiled and said, "I'd also like to take this opportunity to get to know our neighbors."

Li He, Sun Hongjun, and Jiao Long, who were standing nearby, also volunteered to go along.

"You three stay behind for the big clean-up! Especially the Red Army!"

Chen Luyang pointed at Sun Hongjun, who looked completely bewildered, and said, "You need to clean up the kitchen properly. Director Wang specifically criticized the dishwater, saying that if you sprinkled salt in it, you could drink it like soup!"

what? !

Sun Hongjun was caught off guard by being singled out for criticism by the factory director, and he immediately became anxious.

"No, I always keep the kitchen spotless, and I never leave any dishwater behind!"

"I was planning to wash the pots before leaving today, but Uncle Lu and Uncle Zhang were in a hurry to leave, so I didn't wash them..."

was saying,

Sun Hongjun saw Director Lu and Zhang Guoqiang turn their heads in a flash, looking completely apologetic.

wipe……

"I am more wronged than Dou E!"

Sun Hongjun slapped his thigh in anger, abruptly lifted the kitchen door curtain, and stormed in.

Director Lu and Zhang Guoqiang pretended that nothing had happened. After delivering the items to the second floor, they all started sweeping and mopping.

By evening, Chen Luyang and Director Lu had finished delivering the pastries and small gifts. Their shoes were so worn that the soles were hot from all the friction, so they carried the empty bags back to the repair shop.

Zhang Guoqiang and his team had finished cleaning up, and the entire repair shop was filled with the aroma of food. Since the ping-pong table on the second floor was already occupied by craft cards,
So now everyone's new dining table is on the floor above the machine tool.

As soon as Chen Luyang and Director Lu entered the room, they saw Zhang Guoqiang and the others sitting in a circle around the machine tool with lunch boxes in their hands, but no one had touched their food.

"Why aren't you eating?" Chen Luyang asked, puzzled.

"Waiting for the Red Army." Zuo Zhuo glanced at the kitchen, a helpless expression on his face.

What happened to the Red Army?
Chen Luyang glanced at the kitchen subconsciously.

The next moment, a series of clanging and cracking sounds came from the kitchen.

At first, it sounded like something was being smashed, clanging and banging.

The rest felt like scratching the bottom of a pot with your fingernail, making a sizzling sound.

It makes your back tingle and your ears itch.

Chen Luyang looked at everyone in surprise: "Aren't you going to do anything about it? Are you just going to put up with this?"

The group nodded obediently.

What's so intolerable about this!
Sun Hongjun was even more wronged than Dou E in the afternoon, and then he even cooked for them.

Such a good comrade, shouldn't we let him vent his emotions?!

Anyway, once Sun Hongjun calms down and loses his temper, he'll come over for dinner.

Let's all wait for him together!

But while they could tolerate it, Chen Luyang couldn't!
Hearing the sounds of pots and pans being smashed and metal being broken, Chen Luyang abruptly lifted the curtain and entered the kitchen.
As soon as Chen Luyang entered the house, he stopped in his tracks.

The kitchen, which was a mess in the morning, is now spotless, with the stove and tiles shining brightly.
Even the large iron pot used for roasting melon seeds was overturned by Sun Hongjun, completely turning it upside down, crackling and sputtering the blackened bits at the bottom.

The problem is, if he were using a shovel, that would be one thing.

Damn, he used a giant cleaver!!
Chen Luyang stood at the kitchen doorway, stunned.

Watching Sun Hongjun standing in front of the stove, his left hand gripping the pot tightly, his right hand holding a large cleaver, the veins on his arm bulging...

Just like cutting potatoes.
Cutting the black edge of the pot bottom again and again.

He looked exactly like a butcher chopping on a chopping board, the sound of metal clanging from the blade, even the fire in the furnace was shaken.

Be obedient...

He now understood why Zhang Guoqiang and the others had been sitting obediently outside waiting.

In this situation, who would dare to come in and try to persuade them?

Chen Luyang glanced tremblingly at the large cleaver in Sun Hongjun's hand and advised:
"Jun, that's enough! It's clean enough, let's leave it like this."

"no!"

Sun Hongjun, his eyes red, gripped the cleaver in his right hand and forcefully scraped the bottom of the pot.
"The factory manager criticized me, I have to fix it!"

Chen Luyang's eye twitched, and she wished she could slap herself across the face.

Despite his young age, Sun Hongjun is Song Liaosha's younger brother.

But Sun Hongjun is truly something else.
A little bit,

I haven't learned even a little bit of Song Liaosha's shamelessness.

You can deduct his salary.
But we can't say he didn't do his job well!
Chen Luyang genuinely wanted to advise him: Why are you so shameless?!
A pretty face is useless except for being good-looking!
But when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.

If I hadn't been so talkative, I wouldn't have provoked Sun Hongjun to this extent.

resignedly,

Director Chen could only try to persuade him gently: "Jun, this kitchen is really quite nice now, let's go eat."

"If you keep cracking this pot, it'll crack and leak."

Sun Hongjun gritted his teeth: "Even if I miss one, I'll make sure he's completely wiped out!"

Chen Luyang glanced at the pot.

This was the big pot that the Sheng Haisen brothers used to roast melon seeds.

It's been sitting on this stove ever since it was thrown there, and no one has touched it.

The burnt residue on the bottom of the pot was so thick it almost blended into the pot itself.

It would take forever to clean it all up!
Just as he was thinking about how to continue persuading her, he heard the gate outside the courtyard being pushed open, and the cold wind carrying the sound of footsteps rushed in.

Then, a voice that sounded all too familiar came in:

"Everyone's here!"

Ok?
Upon hearing this voice, Chen Luyang felt as if she had heard a savior.

He let out a loud shout.
"Brother Sheng, come and take a look right away!"

"The Red Army is chopping at your pan for roasting melon seeds with knives!"

As soon as these words came out,
Suddenly a figure rushed into the kitchen, and before Chen Luyang could react, Sheng Haisen was standing in front of him and Sun Hongjun.

Upon seeing the pot and the knife, Sheng Haisen's expression turned ferocious, his tiger-like eyes widened, and he bared all his big white teeth.

"Red Army soldier, what do you mean? Why are you trying to chop my pot?!"

Although we are all quite familiar with each other normally
However, Sheng Haisen was the "ragpicker" of this area, leading a dozen or so brothers to go from street to street every day, making a living by collecting scrap.

Everyone usually gets along well, so you can't tell anything is different.

But when Sheng Haisen got angry, a fierce force immediately pressed down on him.

Sun Hongjun trembled at his glare, almost dropping the kitchen knife in his hand.

it's over...

This pot was not only the treasure that made Sheng Haisen's fortune, but it was also the pot that caused his brother to go to jail.

This is of extraordinary significance to Sheng Haisen!
This pot isn't some kitchen utensil that you can just throw around; it's practically your lifeline.

If anything happens to this pot, Sheng Haisen will definitely hold me accountable.

“Brother Sheng, I think the bottom of this pot is a bit dirty. I was thinking of cleaning it up for the New Year.” Sun Hongjun said awkwardly.

Sheng Haisen glanced at the bottom of the pot, then looked up and glanced at Sun Hongjun:
"That's not how you get pot grime."

"If you keep chopping around with the cleaver like that, you're not only likely to damage the pot, but you're also likely to hurt yourself."

After saying that, he stretched out both hands, supporting the pot with one hand and firmly gripping the handle with the other, then tapped it against the edge of the stove.

"Clap!"

A thick, almost blackened rim that had almost melted into the pot shattered into several pieces like ice crystals, falling to the ground with a "crash," revealing a shiny ring of sheet metal underneath.

"Holy crap!" Chen Luyang and Sun Hongjun exclaimed in unison.

This huge iron pot must weigh at least several dozen kilograms, but in Sheng Haisen's hands, it was as easy as lifting a chick.

Then came a few more "cracks, cracks," and the stubborn bottom of the pot, which even a cleaver couldn't cut, was cleanly knocked off.

"Great skill!" Chen Luyang couldn't help but applaud enthusiastically from the bottom of his heart.

Sheng Haisen shook the crumbs off the bottom of the pot and then steadily placed it back on the stove.

"Red Army, look, is this pot clean?"

Sun Hongjun hurriedly said, "It's clean, it's clean!"

"Okay, let's go out to eat now that it's clean!" Sheng Haisen squatted down and washed his hands in the basin next to him.

Chen Luyang quickly chimed in, "Jun, hurry up and get Sheng Ge's bowl and chopsticks out. Let's go out to eat! Everyone's been waiting for you for ages."

"okay!"

Sun Hongjun quickly wiped the blackened edges of the stove with a rag, opened the cupboard, took out Sheng Haisen's bowl and chopsticks, and left the kitchen.

The three people sat back down next to the machine tool.

Everyone gathered around the food on the machine tool, opened a few bottles of wine, and chatted while eating.

Director Lu chuckled and said, "Haisen, you've come at the perfect time! This afternoon, Director Chen and I were thinking of saying goodbye to you before the New Year, but we didn't expect you to arrive tonight."

"Where have you been all this time? I haven't seen you at all."

(End of this chapter)