Road to Revival

Lu Qi dressed herself up carefully for the class reunion on Saturday night. She repeatedly consulted Fan Yongcheng for his opinion and finally chose a lake-blue suit, paired with flesh-colored stockings and brown-red high heels. She was satisfied with herself in the mirror.

She had arranged to meet Sun Dunquan at 5:50 PM at the factory's east gate. Lü Qi left home at 5:30 PM, not driving her own Ford Focus, but walking towards the factory gate. Along the way, acquaintances kept greeting her. Hongxing was a microcosm of society; having worked there for over twenty years, Lü Qi knew at least a quarter of the employees.

Whenever she carefully put on makeup and dressed up before going out, she inexplicably felt more confident. But these opportunities became fewer and fewer. She had to wear a uniform to work, and her Sundays were always taken up by overtime work or unfinished housework.

Lü Qi's greatest hobbies are beauty and dressing up. As a result, her house is filled with wardrobes, overflowing with her clothes. She also has a peculiar habit: she can't bear to throw away clothes she hasn't worn in years, as if those old clothes have taken a part of her life with them.

Comrade Lao Fan has many flaws, but there are a few things that satisfy Lü Qi. First, he is good to her parents; in their eyes, he is definitely a good son-in-law. Second, he is good to her; they have been married for almost twenty years, and he has never quarreled with her. She spends several thousand yuan every year at beauty salons, and even more on clothes and cosmetics, but Lao Fan, who is very frugal and demanding of himself, has never uttered a word of complaint.

Just before leaving, her son, Fan Yue, joked with her, "Haven't you heard? Class reunions, class reunions, breaking up one couple after another. You'd better be careful not to dump my dad."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Lü Qi scolded.

"Don't rush, I've heard that you were the class beauty back then, and there were tons of guys chasing after you. Maybe you'll meet your Prince Charming today." 16-year-old Fan Yue said with a grin.

"What are you thinking about all day long, you're a middle school student? Are you dating someone? No way, Lao Fan, you have to go to the school and ask his homeroom teacher." Fan Yue inherited most of Lü Qi's genes; he's a very handsome boy, so who knows, he might really be dating someone.

"No, don't worry about it. I have high standards. The girls in our class are either potatoes or sweet potatoes," Fan Yue continued with a grin.

Walking along the road, Lü Qi thought about her son. Back then, when she was Fan Yue's age, she had fallen for her handsome and intelligent classmate, just beginning to experience puppy love. Unfortunately, the social atmosphere wasn't as open as it is now; they hadn't even eaten a single meal together, let alone taken any other action. Thinking back, although they were classmates, they rarely spoke to each other…

From a distance, Lü Qi saw Han Ruilin waving at her.

"Director Lü is very punctual. Why didn't you drive? Well, that's right, let's benefit from General Manager Tao's presence today."

"Why is it just the two of us?" Lü Qi asked, somewhat puzzled. "Where are Liu Lin and the others? Haven't you contacted them?"

"Liu Lin can't get time off for overtime, and Bao Xianbing isn't going, saying he has something to do. That leaves Lao Sun. I haven't seen him in a long time, and I don't know what he's been busy with all day."

"Liu Lin and Bao Xianbing aren't going..." Lü Qi took out her phone from her purple leather handbag and called Sun Dunquan.

"Oh, oh," Lü Qi put away the phone and said to Han Ruilin, "Old Sun will be here soon."

As they were talking, a black Tucson stopped in front of Lü Qi and Han Ruilin. The window rolled down, and Sun Dunquan leaned out. "Get in, gentlemen. Oh, Han, you look more energetic than ever. Any good news lately?"

"It's Lao Sun. Where's Tao Tang?" Lü Qi leaned over and looked into the car, but didn't see Tao Tang.

"Hasn't he arrived yet? I called him half an hour ago and he said he was walking out of the workshop."

"Heh, our new boss is quite diligent," Lü Qi joked.

Han Ruilin regretted that he should have gone to the workshop; he wished he had met Tao Tang there.

"Oh, it looks like he's here..." Sun Dunquan saw Tao Tang, wearing a white shirt, walking briskly towards him in the rearview mirror.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting... Ah, Han Ruilin, right?" Tao Tang extended his hand to Han Ruilin.

"Hello, Mr. Tao. I've wanted to visit you for a long time, but I was afraid of bothering you... We are really happy that you are back to lead Red Star..." Han Ruilin grasped Tao Tang's hands.

"Don't be so formal," Tao Tang said with a smile to Han Ruilin. "You've gained so much weight. If we met on the street, I definitely wouldn't recognize you. Hmm? Where are the other classmates? Why are there only the two of you?" He turned to Lü Qi.

"I contacted Liu Lin, Bao Xianbing, and Li Suyi..." Han Ruilin said somewhat excitedly, "They all have other commitments and can't make it. President Tao, you're still the same as always..."

"That's really unfortunate... Han Ruilin, don't be so sarcastic, do you? I also had a full head of white hair back then, right? At a class reunion, let's not use titles, it makes us seem too distant, doesn't it?"

"Yes, yes." Han Ruilin nodded like a chick pecking at rice, then suddenly remembered something, took out a cigarette from his pocket, "You smoke..."

"I don't smoke, do as you please." Tao Tang turned to Lü Qi, "Ah, going out with our class beauty back then, it felt like a crime to abduct a beautiful girl..."

"I'll return the favor with what you just said. Don't be so sarcastic," Lü Qi said with a smile.

"Let Lao Sun say, standing next to her, doesn't it feel like there's a generation gap?" Tao Tang said to Sun Dunquan, who had just gotten out of the car.

"I completely agree with Chairman Tao's opinion. Having Lü Qi accompany me strengthens my confidence in going to the legendary Donghu Club. Everyone, since the others aren't going, shall we set off?"

"Let's go then." Tao Tang noticed a few people pointing in their direction, opened the back door, and said, "Ladies first, please."

Lü Qi didn't stand on ceremony, "Oh, I thought I could benefit from the big boss's influence."

Tao Tang went around to the left side of the car and got in, while Han Ruilin sat in the front.

"I thought you'd go back to Yanjing. Working in the factory on Sundays too? The boss is really diligent," Lü Qi said with a smile.

"Why would I go back to Yanjing after only a few days? I'm different from you guys; I'm just sitting in the guesthouse anyway."

"Your ex basically went back every week. His family also lives in Yanjing, and although he has a house at the factory, and it's the biggest one there," Han Ruilin added, "he would never go to the branch factory on Sundays."

"Ah, this road is completely unrecognizable. Back then, I always rode a bike to the city. This area was full of rows of bungalows, and there were even wheat fields. The changes are really huge..." Tao Tang changed the subject.

"Yes, that's the Golden Olive Community. Quite a few of our factory's employees have bought houses there. The other time I was drinking and chatting with Bao Xianbing, he said that three outstanding people came from Class 58: Zhou Hongyou, who went into politics; Tang Yikun, who went into business; and the last one is you," Sun Dunquan said.

"I can't compare to them. By the way, Lao Sun, I vaguely remember Li Suyi you mentioned last night. Isn't she the tall, thin one who fainted during the long-distance race at the sports meet?"

"Absolutely correct," Lü Qi replied.

"Which unit is she in? How is her family situation being handled?" Tao Tang turned to look at Lü Qi, who was staring at him.

Lü Qi seemed a little flustered. "She works as a grinder at the Third Factory. She graduated from Hongxing Technical School and was assigned to the factory. She's always worked as a grinder and is considered a key technical worker. It seems there hasn't been much progress in her family's matter, but the district has already intervened."

She was just thinking that although Tao Tang had only been there for a few days, he seemed to be showing a completely different governing style from his predecessor, a style that had been absent for a long time... It was already a legendary story that the top leader would go down to the grassroots level on Sundays.

"If you run into her, please give her a heads-up. By the way, speaking of housing, is housing less of a problem at our factory now? I went for a walk this morning and saw rows of apartment buildings. The old apple orchard has been completely transformed into a residential area. I didn't count them, but there must be dozens of buildings," Tao Tang said to Lü Qi.

Sun Dunquan continued, "A lot of houses have been built. Absolutely speaking, it's definitely much better than when you were here. That's the case in Pingquan, and I think it's the same all over the country. Relatively speaking, it's still quite tight. Because the demands of life are different now, especially the issue of children getting married. The first person in our class to get married and have a child was Bao Xianbing, but unfortunately he can't come today. His son is getting married soon, and the bride's family insists on a new house; they won't even accept the old one. Old Bao was forced to borrow money everywhere, and in the end, he bought a small apartment in Jin Ganlan, which was only enough for the down payment..."

"How much are the houses there?" Tao Tang asked.

"A little over four thousand, I think that's the price range. It's not that expensive, the key is that the wages in our factory are low," Han Ruilin replied.

"Do you know what the average salary is in state-owned enterprises in Pingquan?" Tao Tang asked Lü Qi.

"I'm not too sure. Anyway, state-owned enterprises aren't very good. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people fighting tooth and nail to get into Red Star."

"There have been rumors for a long time about the overall development of Hongxing's land; I've even heard them in Beijing. What's the factory's opinion on this?" Tao Tang continued to ask.

"Is Mr. Tao conducting research?" Lü Qi asked with a smile. "It's quite complicated. Most people are unwilling to move to the northern suburban development zone, and they are also worried about splitting up Hongxing. The demolition compensation policy is also unclear, so naturally there are many different opinions, making it difficult to reach a consensus."

"Has the factory conducted any specific research on this? I've looked at the departmental responsibilities; the overall planning is under your department. Has any company-level consensus been reached? It certainly hasn't been submitted to headquarters; I mean, a relatively consistent internal consensus?"

"I heard it's been researched, by the Policy Research Office. But I'm not qualified to attend related meetings. Perhaps our Assistant Liu knows? Shall I make a call now?"

"No, no need, I was just asking casually. Perhaps Mayor Zhou and Boss Tang will bring this up today... Do any of you usually have dealings with Zhou Hongyou and Tang Yikun?"

"What? The difference in social class is too great. If you hadn't become the boss of Red Star, why would Tang Yikun have invited us to the East Lake Club?" Sun Dunquan said sarcastically. "Society has classes, whether you deny it or not, it exists in reality. If you don't like talking about classes, then talk about social strata. And social strata are mainly divided by economic status. When your annual income is only enough for someone else's one meal, how can you expect to sit down and be friends?"

"Alright, Mr. Writer, stop complaining to us." Lü Qi said, somewhat displeased.

"That's true. Actually, Tao Tang isn't in the same social class as you or Lao Han. However, Tao Tang is definitely not the same as that bastard Song Yue, I can say for sure."

"We've gone off-topic. Today, our mission for the four of us is to feast on our beloved Boss Tang. Everything else is secondary. Haha," Tao Tang said with a laugh.

Tao Tang's phone rang; it was Tang Yikun calling. "It's me. Where are you? Old Sun, how much further?"

"There's about a quarter of an hour left."

"Did you hear that? There's still a quarter of an hour left."