Although Li Ye had been roused in the middle of the night, he was still in fairly good spirits when he got up at six-thirty in the morning.
After all, he was young and healthy. In a few more years, once his sleep quality declined, he would never get back to sleep after answering Tao Shangping's call—not even if he lay there with his eyes shut, counting sheep.
At seven in the morning, Ma Zhaoxian came to relieve Li Ye.
"Uncle Ma, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year after the New Year. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Your aunt made a few pastries. Come have some."
"Sure, sounds good. I really am hungry."
Ma Zhaoxian set several pastries on the table and invited Li Ye to breakfast. Li Ye did not stand on ceremony; he sat down and started eating.
At that moment, Ma Zhaoxian noticed the duty log Li Ye had filled out. When he saw all those records of unanswered calls, he was not particularly surprised.
A slack work attitude like that at Southwest Heavy Truck Company was nothing unusual in this era. People could barely muster twelve parts of their spirit on ordinary days—did you expect them to be conscientious and responsible during the New Year?
On the contrary, a unit like the First Branch Factory was a rare beast, and even the entire Light Vehicle Company had been influenced by it, becoming distinctly different from the rest.
Ma Zhaoxian was an old hand in the state-owned enterprises. He had traveled more roads than Li Ye had crossed bridges. He knew exactly what a unit like Southwest Heavy Truck Company ought to be like, so he had no intention of borrowing trouble.
But when Ma Zhaoxian saw the call record from after two o'clock, he