"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!"
"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 one more anxious than the last. Then a searing pain shot through his elbows and knees.
"Aimin's awake. Make 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 should be Zhong Jianyu, his former colleague and older brother. He had been a military cadre transferred to 985 Factory. 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 political 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, she had been assigned to the Children's Middle School as an English teacher. But she was neither a cadre nor a formal employee. She was a "Collective Worker," whose salary and benefits were one level lower than 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