"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!"
"Teacher Han! Teacher Han!"
"Stop shouting. Hurry and get Teacher Han to the hospital!"
"Who knows whether he broke any bones? We can't move him carelessly. We should call the hospital!"
Han Aimin was jolted awake by the overlapping shouts. Opening his eyes, he saw familiar yet unfamiliar faces gathered around him, each looking more anxious than the last. Then a burning pain shot through his elbows and knees.
"Aimin's awake. Make some room." A man around forty sighed in relief and urgently asked, "Aimin, are you all right?"
If this wasn't a dream, the man before him should be Zhong Jianyu, his former colleague and big brother. Zhong had transferred to 985 Factory after leaving the military. Since he knew nothing about technology and the factory had no shortage of political cadres, they had assigned him to the Children's Middle School as a political studies teacher.
Behind Zhong Jianyu stood a young woman in a floral plaid spring and autumn shirt. Her surname was Liu, and her name was Liu Pingping. She was both a 985 Factory descendant and third sister's classmate from nursery school through middle school. After graduating high school without getting into college, the factory had assigned her to the Children's Middle School as an English teacher. However, she was neither a cadre nor a formal employee, but a "collective worker" whose salary and benefits were a 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 Han Aimin's eyes.
The sharp pain in his elbows