Chapter 45

The two walked for more than half an hour and arrived at another village.

"Uncle? Zhen Guo has come to see you!" By the time they got there, it was almost noon. If one didn't know, they might think Lin He and the others had timed their visit to coincide with mealtime.

Zhen Guo's uncle was surnamed Wang, named Wang Guoxi. He was a little old man, nearly 60 years old.

The old man had a bit of a temper and asked Zhen Guo in a strange tone, "Why did you come at this time?"

Coming at mealtime was still somewhat taboo.

"Uncle, I brought someone who wants to see your watchmaking skills. Could you take a look?" Zhen Guo said politely.

Lin Qiangsheng saw that the old man was holding a bamboo smoking pipe and quickly took out a pack of ginseng cigarettes from his backpack.

"Sir, have a smoke from this pack, it's really good!" Lin Qiangsheng smiled and offered the cigarettes.

"Wow, that's rare!"

Politeness never hurts. The old man looked at the cigarettes, then at Lin Qiangsheng. A pack of cigarettes made him much more polite, and he asked, "What kind of skills do you want to see?"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "Whatever you show me, I'll watch!"

The old man looked at the beautifully packaged cigarettes, feeling very tempted. He looked at his own smoking pipe, and finally, after a moment's hesitation, took the cigarettes from Lin Qiangsheng and said, "Wait, I'll have a bite to eat. Have you eaten?"

Lin Qiangsheng and Zhen Guo quickly nodded.

The old man went back into the house, gave the cigarettes to his wife, and told her to hide them. Then he served himself a bowl of noodle soup and quickly finished it.

The old man wiped his mouth, came out, and said to the two, "Let's go, I'll show you. Don't tell anyone else! I'm only showing you this because of Zhen Guo, otherwise, I wouldn't show it to outsiders!"

Zhen Guo and his aunt, who had come out, smiled. His aunt was clearly not good with words, but she smiled at the two young men.

The old man led the two to the warehouse. The outside was very dilapidated, but the inside was a different world. The old man lit a candle and carefully lifted a thick cloth on the west wall.

"Wow!" Lin Qiangsheng was instantly stunned when he saw the objects covered by the cloth.

There was a wooden board, and on it hung various sizes of watches, more than twenty in total!

The metal cases of these watches reflected the candlelight, creating a dazzling display!

There were steel cases and polished copper cases! It was clear that the old man often handled them. The watches were all shiny. The watch faces, though simple in color and design, were undoubtedly the brightest colors Lin Qiangsheng had seen since returning to this era!

"Uncle! When did you make these? How many are there!" Zhen Guo was also shocked; he had never seen his uncle take out a watch he had made!

Wang Guoxi's face showed a faint sense of satisfaction. He pointed to the watches and said softly, "I made these from parts I collected from the city's factory during the winter, over ten years ago. I think it's fine to take them out now and let them see the light."

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the watches on the wooden board and asked, "Why are they all clocks?" He glanced at Zhen Guo.

Zhen Guo immediately said, "Right! Uncle, didn't you make pressure gauges? Why are there no pressure gauges here?" Zhen Guo was somewhat educated and could distinguish between clocks and tool gauges.

Wang Guoxi said with a hint of melancholy, "When the instrument factory let us go, they didn't allow us to deal with pressure gauges or measuring instruments anymore, saying it was to prevent the leakage of state secrets! So, I could only make clocks to pass the time."

The old man then said with renewed interest, "But I found making clocks more interesting. Gradually, I made so many, and before I knew it, it had been over ten years! I've been living with them!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, understanding. The instrument factory was probably afraid that they would create similar instruments in the civilian sector, which could be stolen.

The instrument factory in Bin City was responsible for many national large-scale projects, including defense projects, and had even provided equipment for submarines and the nuclear industry. These devices had specific parameters that couldn't fall into the wrong hands.

It was during those years that tens of millions of people were sent back home. These skilled workers ended up in society or returned to the countryside. Some were forced to leave due to their rural household registration or poor family backgrounds.

There were talents among them!

Lin Qiangsheng thought that if many of these people were still alive and he could meet them, it would be a great asset!

Seeing his treasures impress the two young men, Wang Guoxi felt a sense of satisfaction. He continued, "Let me show you the tools I use."

The old man pulled open a drawer, took out a small wooden box, and carefully opened it, moving the candle closer.

Lin Qiangsheng immediately saw a set of simple watchmaking tools, even a small monocular magnifying glass.

"Mr. Wang, I'll call you that. Did you make all these tools yourself?" Lin Qiangsheng asked in surprise.

Wang Guoxi nodded and said, "Some I made myself, and some I traded for with others."

Lin Qiangsheng was overjoyed to find a watchmaking master in this rural area!

Lin Qiangsheng quickly asked, "Mr. Wang, you mentioned that others like you were also let go from the factory. Where are they now? Are they all skilled like you?"

Wang Guoxi looked at Lin Qiangsheng and asked cautiously, "What do you want? Why are you asking about this?"

Lin Qiangsheng rubbed his hands and explained, "I want to invite you to come out of retirement! Such good skills shouldn't be wasted! If they disappear, it would be a huge loss!"

Zhen Guo looked at Lin Qiangsheng in surprise, and Lin Qiangsheng winked at him.

The old man smiled and said, "I'm old! What loss? There were about ten of us who left the factory together. Some were skilled, some less so, and some did other jobs. Now, only about seven or eight are still alive, and they're all close to the end. They don't have the energy for anything else!"

"Uncle, this is Lin Xiang's brother, Lin Qiangsheng, from my village. We get along well!" Zhen Guo explained to the old man.

Wang Guoxi nodded and said, "Oh! That girl who came back, she's a good girl. You're her brother?"

"Yes, Mr. Wang. I'm Lin Xiang's younger brother!" Lin Qiangsheng quickly said.

Wang Guoxi looked at him, then at Zhen Guo, and said with a smile, "I heard you two get along well."

Zhen Guo scratched his head and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, hehe..."

Wang Guoxi looked at Lin Qiangsheng and said, "Then we're family. Young man, what's your name again?"

"Lin Qiangsheng!" Lin Qiangsheng quickly said.

Wang Guoxi nodded and asked uncertainly, "You said you want to invite me to come out of retirement. What do you mean? Is the city recruiting workers again? Is the instrument factory hiring?"

Lin Qiangsheng was taken aback and said, "Mr. Wang, it's not the instrument factory. I saw your skills and thought about starting a watch factory. What do you think? Mr. Wang, you could be the master of the factory!"

Wang Guoxi looked at Lin Qiangsheng with disbelief and asked, "Starting a watch factory is no small matter. But you're so young, can you do it? How will you solve the problem of tools and materials?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said confidently, "Don't worry about that. My father is Li Gang!"

"Wait, no! My father is the factory manager of a large factory in the city. We won't have any problems with materials. Besides, watchmaking doesn't require much material."

Wang Guoxi nodded and said, "That's true. Watchmaking doesn't require much material. As long as the materials are available, a few people can manage it."

After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said, "Alright, young man. As long as you can get the materials and a few machines, we can do it."

The old man didn't quite understand what kind of business this would be, just as he didn't understand why the factory let them go back then.

Wang Guoxi wrote a list of materials and equipment. Lin Qiangsheng looked at it and realized that the car factory could provide these things. The equipment could be produced by the mold workshop, which he had set up with the idea of future use. The workshop had some of the machine tools that Lin Qiangsheng had collected.

For materials, mainly glass, steel cases, springs, and some metal gears needed for the watches, these could be obtained from the factory and the camera factory. Lin Qiangsheng was familiar with the factory manager of the camera factory, Zhao Hongbo, who had even traded cloth coupons with him. The camera factory could provide the glass covers, metal gears, and watch movements.

The more Lin Qiangsheng thought about it, the more excited he became. He imagined the wave of watch sales that would come in a few years. At that time, any watch that could tell time would sell. If he could expand his small watch factory, it could become a large enterprise.

Lin Qiangsheng finally found a legitimate business he could pursue!

"Great, Mr. Wang, let's do it! I'll contact the equipment and materials as soon as I get back. You just get ready." Lin Qiangsheng said excitedly.

Wang Guoxi also smiled and said, "Great, great, young man, thank you for giving me something to do. Watchmaking isn't easy, let me tell you..."

Having something to do that he loved made the old man very happy. He had always had a restless heart from his time in the factory and couldn't let go of his past experiences and the work he had done.

Lin Qiangsheng's encouragement today had rekindled the old man's passion.