Chapter 25

Lin Xiangrong has been in a very good mood lately, always smiling. When the workers asked him why he was so happy, he wouldn’t say.

Qin Qidong still managed to bring in a batch of processor chips for the factory, but the quantity was less than half of what he had promised, only about one-tenth.

Even so, Lin Qiangsheng was already very satisfied. Everyone was having a hard time, and a few more here meant a few less somewhere else.

These days, the teachers and students were all in the mold workshop. The original silicon sand materials and molds had all been moved out. A few tables were rearranged in the middle, and the room was once again set up like a conference room.

The teachers and students usually drew circuit diagrams and did calculations here. Professor Li Guoxian even brought a abacus and was clattering away, making Lin Qiangsheng’s eyes spin. He decided not to participate and started fiddling with a mechanical arm universal joint.

This thing was similar to the universal joint used in steering systems. After Lin Qiangsheng made a mold, he went to the casting workshop and poured molten iron, and a rough universal joint was produced.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, the northeast wind howled, and heavy snowflakes fell from the sky.

It was Sunday, and Lin Qiangsheng didn’t go to the factory.

Now, the workers were mostly on leave, with only a few remaining to watch the factory. If any equipment arrived, they would move it into the factory. Since the equipment wasn’t complete, they couldn’t install it, so everyone was resting.

Lin Qiangsheng borrowed high school textbooks from Chen Yao and was reading them at home.

His father, Lin Xiangrong, and his mother, Xu Hongmei, had both gone to the party school for training. Both were key cultivation targets in their units. Despite having three children, they were both in their early forties, considered young among the cadres.

"Lin Qiangsheng, Lin Qiangsheng?" At this moment, a delicate female voice called from outside the courtyard.

Lin Qiangsheng glanced at the small alarm clock; it was nearly noon. He recognized the voice as Chen Yao’s and quickly got up, put on his shoes, and ran out.

When he opened the courtyard gate, it was indeed Chen Yao.

She was wearing a large red scarf, a clean cotton jacket, and pants, with rosy cheeks. In her hands, she held a small basin emitting steam.

"What are you looking at? Let me in quickly!" Chen Yao stomped her foot, sounding anxious.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly stepped aside and asked, "What’s in the basin? It smells so good!"

The two entered the house, and Chen Yao placed the small basin on the stove, smiling. "We made buns this morning. My mom asked me to bring some to your place."

Lin Qiangsheng lifted the lid and saw over ten round, white, tender buns. He smiled and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Chen Yao shook her head and said, "Not yet. I have to go home to eat. You should eat while it’s hot. Where are your parents?"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "My parents are in the city for training. Stay and eat here. Come on."

"Ah!" Chen Yao’s small hand was suddenly grabbed by Lin Qiangsheng.

She quickly shook it off, saying anxiously, "What are you doing? I have to go home!"

Lin Qiangsheng chuckled and pulled Chen Yao into the house, saying, "Sit down, take off your shoes. The kang is warm. I’ll get some bowls and vinegar."

Lin Qiangsheng set up a small table and pushed Chen Yao.

Chen Yao shook her head, "No, I’ll eat at home."

Lin Qiangsheng pushed Chen Yao and made her sit on the edge of the kang, then bent down to take off her shoes. The girl’s cotton shoes weren’t very tight and came off easily.

"Ah! What are you doing?" Chen Yao quickly dodged, her eyes wide with fear, looking at Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng chuckled, went to the kitchen, and brought bowls, chopsticks, and vinegar to the table. He smiled at Chen Yao and said, "Eat, let’s eat together."

Chen Yao pouted and looked at Lin Qiangsheng, saying, "Bad boy!"

Lin Qiangsheng put the chopsticks in Chen Yao’s hand and poured some vinegar into her bowl, asking, "Do you like garlic?"

Chen Yao wrinkled her nose and huffed. She picked up the chopsticks, dipped a bun in the vinegar, and took a big bite.

Lin Qiangsheng ate while watching Chen Yao take small bites of the bun.

After eating one bun, Chen Yao immediately put down her chopsticks and said, "I’m done. Let me go home!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "Have one more? I want to ask you a few math questions later. There are some things in your book I don’t understand."

Chen Yao looked at Lin Qiangsheng, and they stared at each other for a moment. She finally couldn’t resist her curiosity and asked, "What kind of questions?"

Lin Qiangsheng picked up the high school math textbook, flipped through it, and pointed to a section.

"You’ve read so much! Do you understand the content at the beginning?" Chen Yao saw that Lin Qiangsheng had almost finished the math book and asked.

Lin Qiangsheng picked up a stack of draft paper from the kang, covered with math problems he had done recently, and pointed to it, saying, "What’s difficult about this? Read it once and do a few problems, and you’ll understand."

Chen Yao was surprised, looked at the draft paper, and flipped through a few pages. She found that the pages were filled with Lin Qiangsheng’s math problems, over ten pages, front and back.

Chen Yao was very surprised. She knew that Lin Qiangsheng hadn’t studied much in junior high, so how could he now be so smart and able to do problems just by reading the book!

Chen Yao looked at some of the problems at the beginning of the book. She could barely understand the first half of the high school math, but the second half was very difficult.

Chen Yao looked up, surprised, and said, "Lin Qiangsheng, you’re so amazing! Why don’t you go to school?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and took a bite of a bun, saying, "It’s not too late now!"

Chen Yao shook her head, looking dejected, and said, "I can’t understand these problems. How can I teach you? You know more than I do!"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and naturally took Chen Yao’s small hand, saying, "No problem, we can study together!"

Chen Yao looked at Lin Qiangsheng, silently pulled her hand back, and said, "You always take advantage of me. I’m scared!"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and said, "Eat quickly, or it will get cold. After we finish, we can look at the problems together."

Chen Yao nodded and ate a few more buns.

After finishing the meal, Chen Yao hesitated for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Lin Qiangsheng, can you teach me?"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Chen Yao and asked, "Do you want to learn? I only know how to solve problems, not how to teach."

Since his rebirth, Lin Qiangsheng had found that his memory was excellent, and he had become more sensitive to numerical calculations.

Chen Yao shook her head and said, "Just tell me how to solve the problems you know, okay?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Sure, no problem. Come whenever you have time."

Chen Yao was delighted, clapped her hands, and said, "Great! Then I won’t have to worry about my math!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Chen Yao’s happy face and thought to himself, "She’s so lively! This little girl is so different from the one in my previous life!"

Thinking about this, Lin Qiangsheng lowered his head and fell into a reverie.

Suddenly, he saw Chen Yao’s feet, noticing that she was wearing a pair of socks with patches.

In this era, most people were like this. It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford new socks, but that they needed coupons to buy them.

Chen Yao pulled her feet back, her face turning red.

Lin Qiangsheng reached out and caught one of Chen Yao’s feet, took off the sock, and gently massaged her toes.

"Ah! What are you doing?" Chen Yao whispered, pulling her foot back and staring at Lin Qiangsheng with wide eyes.

Lin Qiangsheng gently massaged Chen Yao’s toe joints and said, "You practice ballet, so you need to massage your feet regularly. Otherwise, they might deform and look ugly later!"

Chen Yao’s face turned bright red as she tried to pull her leg back and said softly, "I always massage them myself."

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and looked into Chen Yao’s eyes, saying, "You don’t have enough strength to do it well. If your feet deform, they’ll become ballet feet. Come to me, and I’ll massage them for you."

Chen Yao shook her head and said softly, "I won’t let you. Let go!"

Lin Qiangsheng applied more force, and Chen Yao let out a soft cry and fell back onto the kang...

After massaging both of her feet, Chen Yao was lying on the kang, unable to speak. She was breathing heavily, looked back at Lin Qiangsheng, and tried to glare and huff, but couldn’t muster the strength.

Soon, Chen Yao slowly fell asleep.

Lin Qiangsheng lay on the table, watching Chen Yao sleep, and sighed after a while.

"The past is over, let it be."

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