"The Sixth Set of Radio Exercises now begins. Stretching exercise, ready—go! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight; two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."
"Aimin, Aimin, wake up!"
"Mr. Han! Mr. Han!"
"Stop shouting and get Mr. Han to the hospital!"
"Who knows whether he's broken any bones? We can't move him carelessly. We should call the hospital!"
Han Aimin was jolted awake by the overlapping cries. Opening his eyes, he saw familiar yet unfamiliar faces crowded around him, each one more anxious than the last. Then a searing pain shot through his elbows and knees.
"Aimin's awake. Give him some room." A man in his forties let out a breath of relief and asked urgently, "Aimin, are you all right?"
Unless he was dreaming, the man before him had to be Zhong Jianyu, his former colleague and big brother. He was a military cadre transferred to 985 Factory after leaving the service. Since he knew nothing about technology and the factory had no shortage of political cadres, he had been assigned to the Children's Middle School as a politics teacher.
Behind Zhong Jianyu stood a young woman in a floral plaid spring and autumn shirt. Her surname was Liu—Liu Pingping. She was both a 985 Factory descendant and third sister's classmate from nursery school through middle school. After graduating from high school and failing to get into university, she had been assigned by the factory to teach English at the Children's Middle School. But she did not hold cadre status, nor was she a formal employee. She was a "collective worker," whose salary and benefits were one tier below those of formal employees...
"Aimin, look at my hand!" Zhong Jianyu had no idea what Han Aimin was thinking. He raised a finger and moved it before