Chapter 45

He looked toward the old man.

The old man tossed him the apple in his hand. "Right, this is an apple."

"Exactly. Stop interrupting us. You're getting in the way of our studies."

He Chunlian all but ordered him out.

Gu Jinshui's mouth twitched. Fine. If he couldn't afford to offend them, he could at least leave.

He went inside to put his things away. When he came back out, they had moved on from English to the multiplication table.

His sister had bowed out, but his mother, his eldest aunt, and Lan Lin were learning with gusto.

His precious daughter sat off to the side, munching a steamed bun without paying the teacher any attention.

Now that was his girl.

No sooner had Gu Jinshui thought that than his daughter spotted the milk and pointed. "Drink!"

Lan Lin stopped reciting at once, happily opened the milk, and even brought the straw to his daughter's mouth.

Gu Jinshui: "..."

Sweetheart, you're being a little too comfortable with him, aren't you?

That was how Lan Lin came to visit the Gu family every few days. Before long, he was showing up first thing in the morning with his teacher and nanny in tow.

When Lan Yeping heard about it, even someone as thick-skinned as him felt a little embarrassed. "My grandson's been imposing on you these past few days, hasn't he? The boy really likes your child."

"Oh, it's nothing. It's good to have him over. Our Second Girl is the one benefiting—she's learned so much. And my sister-in-law has helped us look after the child too. We should be the ones feeling embarrassed," He Chunlian said.

Since neither family minded, Lan Lin had all the more reason to come over.

At first, Gu Yousi found the teacher's lessons boring. But when he began talking about the architectural details of the Courtyard House and its history, she gradually started listening. When Lan Lin tried to play with her, she even shot him a glare.

Lan Lin had no choice but to sit down and listen to the lesson. Wanting to impress the little girl, he paid especially close attention.

Lan Yeping secretly checked in on them a few times. Seeing his grandson concentrate in class made him happier than he could say.

The Fifty-First Day of Being Overheard

"First Workshop came out on top in production again this month."

Deng Mei looked around the room, her gaze passing from Liang Ying to Lin Lianhua. "Lianhua, stand up and say a few words. Everyone, give her a hand."

Lin Lianhua was smug inside, though she kept a modest expression on her face.

She stood and gave a slight bow. "There's not much for me to say. Everyone in our workshop works hard. This result belongs to all of them; it has little to do with me as team leader."

"Now, you can't say that."

Zhang Tao'er, the leader of Second Workshop, praised her. "Your workers are diligent, and you're no slouch yourself. I hear you often work overtime in the workshop. Is that true?"

"You heard about that, Sister Zhang?" Lin Lianhua tugged at her clothes, looking embarrassed. "I was too shy to tell anyone."

"What's there to be shy about? It's a good thing."

Zhang Tao'er was full of praise. "Lianhua is young and hardworking. She's doing far better than some people."

As she spoke, she glanced at Liang Ying. "Comrade Liang Ying, your workshop has fallen behind again this month. It falls behind every month. Doesn't that worry you as its new leader?"

Liang Ying wasn't surprised by Zhang Tao'er's snide tone.

Zhang Tao'er was Zhang Xing'er's older sister, and Zhang Xing'er worked in Liang Ying's workshop. Ever since Liang Ying had become leader of Third Workshop, the sisters had taken issue with everything she did.

Liang Ying was used to it by now.

"I am worried," she said, "but this isn't something I can rush."

"What do you mean, you can't rush it? You've been team leader all this time without a single result to show for it," Zhang Tao'er sneered. "What good are you, then? You might as well step down and let someone capable take over."

"Zhang Tao'er, that's going too far."

Deng Mei immediately objected.

The words struck a nerve. If a leader had to step down for failing to produce results, shouldn't she, as the former leader of Third Workshop, have stepped down too? "We're all comrades. We should encourage one another. That was a nasty thing to say. If you think you can do better, shall I arrange for you and Liang Ying to switch places? You can take charge of Third Workshop."

Zhang Tao'er looked as if someone had grabbed her by the throat. Her face flushed bright red. "Sister Deng, I—I didn't mean that."

"Then stop saying things like that."

Deng Mei rapped on the table and looked around. "Everyone knows Third Workshop has had the same old problems for years. How many team leaders have come and gone without turning it around? If any of you think you can do it, raise your hand. I'll speak to the leadership and have you take over. If you get results, forget team leader—I'll hand over my position as shift leader too."

No one said a word. They looked at one another, suddenly mute.

Only after stamping out that nasty round of finger-pointing did Deng Mei turn to Liang Ying. "Liang Ying, this isn't all your fault. But you've been in Third Workshop for a month now. This month it produced less cloth than the other workshops again, and more defective cloth besides. You need to think about what to do."

"I understand, Shift Leader," Liang Ying replied, her ears reddening.

Liang Ying already had an idea in mind. As soon as she left the office, Deng Mei hurried after her. "Liang Ying."

Liang Ying stopped. "Sister Deng."

Deng Mei came up to her. "Liang Ying, don't take what happened in the meeting to heart. I support you. You've only just taken over the workshop, so don't rush things. What matters most is winning the workers' trust. Do you understand?"

Liang Ying felt grateful. Sister Deng wouldn't have said this if she hadn't considered Liang Ying one of her own.

Otherwise, she could have let Liang Ying run headlong into trouble and offered help afterward to earn her gratitude.

"I understand, Sister Deng. I've been getting along well with the others in the workshop lately. Don't worry."

"Good, good."

Deng Mei patted Liang Ying on the shoulder. "We'll take it step by step. This can't be rushed."

That was what Deng Mei said, but Liang Ying already had a plan.

At heart, Liang Ying was competitive. Otherwise, she would never have volunteered to lead Third Workshop.

She had been patient for a month, waiting for the right moment.

And wasn't what happened today the perfect opportunity?

Turning it over in her mind, Liang Ying hurried through lunch in the canteen and returned to the workshop.

The machines were still running. The spinning wasn't too loud, and the women on the day shift were chatting as they worked.

Liang Ying cleared her throat and closed the door.

"Since everyone's here, I have something to say."

The dozen or so women in the workshop came over. Zhang Xing'er gave Liang Ying a challenging look. "What is it, Team Leader? We're all busy."

Liang Ying clasped her hands behind her back and held Zhang Xing'er's gaze until the woman looked away. Only then did she turn to the others.

"Comrade Zhang Xing'er is right. I shouldn't interrupt you when you're busy. But there's something I think we need to talk about."

The women said nothing, exchanging glances. Most of them had a fair idea what their team leader was about to say.

"Before I came to this workshop," Liang Ying said, "someone told me the women here were notorious for avoiding hard work and slacking off."

A few of the more thin-skinned women blushed, but most looked utterly unfazed.

Zhang Xing'er said, "Team Leader, we're getting on in years. We all have health problems. How can we compete with young people?"

"Exactly. We'd like to work harder, but our bodies just won't let us."

Others murmured their agreement.

Most, however, kept quiet, unwilling either to offend or flatter her.

"Don't jump to conclusions. I haven't finished," Liang Ying said with a smile. "After coming here, I completely changed my mind. The women in our workshop may be older than those in the others, but they aren't lazy. You all have years of experience, and you work quickly and well. You're every bit as capable as the younger workers. Take Sister Chen Xiuhong: last month, she wove more cloth than anyone in our workshops, without a single defective batch."

Chen Xiuhong had been watching with cool detachment. The sudden praise caught her off guard. "Me?"

"Yes, Sister Chen. Didn't you weave more than eight hundred bolts last month?"

"I kept records," Liang Ying said. "The cloth you wove was the finest and most closely woven. As recognition, I'm giving you a one-yuan reward out of my own pocket."

True to her word, she took a one-yuan note from her pocket and handed it to Chen Xiuhong.

Chen Xiuhong hesitated, her face flushed with excitement.

"Go on, Xiuhong. What are you shy about?"

Several women she was close to nudged her forward.

Only then did Chen Xiuhong step up, blushing awkwardly, and take the money.

"Uh, well... thank you."

Chen Xiuhong felt genuinely embarrassed. She had spoken badly of Liang Ying behind her back, calling her a capitalist's daughter. She had never expected Liang Ying to praise her like this.

"No need to thank me, Sister Chen. Why don't you tell everyone how you make such good cloth? We keep turning out defective batches here. A few pointers from you might solve the problem."

Liang Ying spoke warmly.

She had barely finished before Zhang Xing'er bristled. "Team Leader, what's that supposed to mean? Was that aimed at me?"

"You're reading too much into it, Comrade Zhang Xing'er. I want Sister Chen to share her experience so we can all learn from her."

Liang Ying frowned, looking as though Zhang Xing'er was being unreasonable. "If you don't want to listen, that's fine. But why interrupt Sister Chen?"

"Exactly. Zhang Xing'er, are you doing this on purpose?"

Chen Xiuhong might have been shy with Liang Ying, but she had no patience for Zhang Xing'er.

The two had been rivals for years. Now, at a moment when Chen Xiuhong was being honored, Zhang Xing'er had barged in to spoil it. Chen Xiuhong wanted to smack her.

"On purpose? You're the ones doing this on purpose! You're ganging up on me, aren't you?"

Zhang Xing'er threw the work she was holding onto the floor. "Fine, I turn out less cloth. But those machines of mine have problems, and everyone knows it. If you're so capable, swap with me instead of just talking big."

"Sister Xing'er, you said it!"

Liang Ying's eyes lit up, and she jumped in. "If I swap with you, can you match Sister Chen's results?"

"Why couldn't I? It's only eight hundred bolts a month."

Zhang Xing'er lifted her chin. "Give me machines that work, and I can do it!"

"Then let's swap!"

Liang Ying agreed without hesitation.

"Hey!" Chen Xiuhong couldn't stop her. She stared at Liang Ying as if she were a fool and said under her breath, "Those machines of hers turn out defective cloth every few days. Yours all work fine. Are you out of your mind, swapping with her?"

Before this, Chen Xiuhong would have been delighted to sit back and watch Liang Ying make a fool of herself.

But it was hard to speak against someone after accepting a favor. Besides, Liang Ying had treated people well this past month. When anyone needed ration coupons, she often had some at home and helped them get hold of them. By now, nearly everyone owed her a favor or two.

Chen Xiuhong thought Liang Ying was too willing to take a loss and privately wondered if she was a fool. But compared with Zhang Xing'er, who couldn't stand seeing anyone else do well, Liang Ying's character was beyond reproach.

"Chen Xiuhong, what's this got to do with you? Liang Ying, everyone heard it. We're swapping!"

Zhang Xing'er sounded triumphant. "Let's see whether those machines stop producing defective cloth just because you're using them."

"Fine. But don't let everyone down. If your results are poor next month, we'll all laugh at you."

Liang Ying had some doubts, but she showed no sign of backing down.

She had been fed up with Zhang Xing'er for a long time. Zhang Xing'er used those faulty machines as an excuse day after day, working only when she felt like it and being so careless that even good cloth ended up flawed.

How could Liang Ying establish any authority in the workshop if she didn't sort out this problem?

Besides.

Liang Ying had watched the women in the workshop closely over the past few days. Most of them had no serious faults. The biggest problem was Zhang Xing'er.

She slacked off constantly and liked dragging others into it. Little by little, she had spoiled the workshop's atmosphere.

Chen Xiuhong, on the other hand, wasn't much of a problem. She liked to compete, but she worked hard. If anything, that made it a strength.

The Fifty-Second Day of Being Overheard

Word that Zhang Xing'er and Liang Ying had swapped machines spread through the entire factory before the afternoon was over.