Chapter 6

Leaving Chen Rongkun's place, Qin Hai smiled and asked Ning Mo, "So, Ning Mo, is your father also from this factory?"

Ning Mo nodded and pointed at Yu Haitao and Miao Lei, saying, "All three of us are children of the agricultural machinery factory. Yu's father is the deputy head of the finance department, and Lei's father is the director of the casting workshop."

"Why don't you say your father is the factory manager?" Yu Haitao couldn't help but expose Ning Mo's secret.

"He's the director of the research office now, okay?" Ning Mo retorted, then turned back to Qin Hai to explain, "My old man used to be the factory manager, but he stepped down to a secondary position two years ago. Now he's the director of the research office, which is basically a ceremonial role."

"So, you three are all the sons of our factory's officials. My apologies." Qin Hai laughed. The children of officials in a small agricultural machinery factory weren't enough to make Qin Hai feel particularly reverent, but it was harmless to joke about their status.

"What's an 'official's son'?" the studious Miao Lei asked curiously.

Qin Hai said, "It means the son of an official. If you were in ancient times, you'd be the kind of people who could carry birds in cages, take a bunch of lackeys and servants, and go around the streets to bully innocent women."

"Ha ha ha ha!" Ning Mo and the others were amused by Qin Hai's joke. This modern reference was extremely funny to people of that era. Ning Mo laughed and patted Qin Hai's shoulder with his bear-like hand, almost turning Qin Hai into a meat patty.

After a while, Yu Haitao said, "Qin Hai, you just arrived at Qingfeng Factory and don't know the situation. What kind of 'official's sons' are we? Qingfeng Factory has been losing money for the past two years and is almost broke. The factory can only pay basic wages, and even old employees can't get their medical expenses reimbursed. We earn about 20 yuan as apprentices and have to hand all of it to our families. If we want to buy a pack of cigarettes, we have to do some side jobs to earn the money."

"Side jobs?" Qin Hai was taken aback.

"It means doing a bit of small business," Miao Lei explained for Yu Haitao. "Like today, we take some scraps from the factory, make a few shovels or hoes, and sell them to the farmers to earn some pocket money."

"Oh, I see." Qin Hai understood. He knew that "farmers" was a general term for rural people, though it didn't carry much positive or negative connotation, it did reflect a sense of superiority in the speaker.

As they talked, they arrived at the single dormitory building, a two-story barrack that looked quite old, with gray walls and windows. Entering the building, a wave of heat hit them, mixed with the smell of cooking, sweat, and the fishy odor from the washroom. In the hallway, each room had a coal stove at the door, and men and women were busy cooking dinner while loudly exchanging gossip.

Chen Rongkun had assigned Qin Hai a room on the second floor of the single dormitory. They climbed the wooden stairs, with Miao Lei leading the way and warning Qin Hai, "Qin Hai, be careful, that piece of wood is rotten. If you step on it wrong, you'll fall."

"Thanks, Lei." Qin Hai replied.

They reached room 208, and as Qin Hai was about to unlock the door, the door opposite opened, and a girl's head poked out.

"Fatso, who are you looking for?" the girl recognized Ning Mo and asked him.

This was the third time Qin Hai had heard someone call Ning Mo "Fatso." It seemed that Ning Mo's nickname was well-known in Qingfeng Factory. Considering that Ning Mo's father was the former factory manager, it wasn't surprising that his son received so much attention.

"Wang Xiaochen, it's you living opposite?" Ning Mo also recognized the girl. He pointed at Qin Hai and said, "This is Qin Hai, my buddy. He graduated from the agricultural machinery technical school and has been assigned to our factory. He'll be your neighbor from now on."

"Oh?" The girl looked at Qin Hai with interest and smiled, "You're so small, about the same size as my brother."

"Hehe, then I'll call you sister," Qin Hai, being a friendly person, responded, "A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor, and a close neighbor is not as good as a next-door neighbor. I'll rely on you, Sister Xiaochen, from now on."

"Ha ha ha ha..." Wang Xiaochen laughed, "You're quite witty, aren't you? By the way, you're Qin Hai, right? I'm 20, how old are you?"

"I'm 18." Qin Hai answered.

"One year older than my brother." Wang Xiaochen nodded seriously, correcting her earlier statement, then asked warmly, "Have you eaten? It's Sunday, and the canteen serves food early. There's no food left now. I cooked sweet potato porridge. Do you want some?"

"No, thank you, Wang Xiaochen." Ning Mo declined for Qin Hai, "We'll take Qin Hai out to eat later. We'll help him settle in first."

"Okay, when did Fatso become so generous?" Wang Xiaochen said, "Go ahead and settle in. If you need anything, just come to my place."

"Thanks, Xiaochen." Qin Hai bowed to Wang Xiaochen, and the affectionate nickname made her blush.

Wang Xiaochen returned to her room. Qin Hai unlocked his door and pushed it open. The room was relatively clean, with some discarded items from the previous occupant on the floor, but they were of little value. Along the wall was an iron-framed single bed, the mattress slightly sagging but not likely to break soon. By the window was an old writing desk with two drawers and a small cabinet, and next to it was a wooden armchair. That was all the furniture in the room.

On the wall by the bed was an expired movie poster, featuring a beautiful woman with a perfect smile. Qin Hai recognized her as the young Liu Jie.

"Let's put the luggage down and go eat," Qin Hai said, "The room isn't dirty. I'll clean it up when I come back."

Ning Mo immediately agreed, "Good, let's go. I'm starving after all that work this afternoon."

They threw the luggage on the single bed and patted their hands, ready to leave. Although they didn't have the life of officials' sons, they still had a bit of the laziness and extravagance of such people. Hearing that Qin Hai could clean the room himself, they were happy to let him do it.

In those days, not many people had the spare money to eat out, so there were only two or three restaurants in the entire eastern industrial area. Ning Mo and the others rode their bikes with Qin Hai for about a mile to a small private restaurant called "For the People Restaurant" and went inside.

"Boss Kong, Boss Kong!" Ning Mo shouted as soon as he entered.

"Coming, coming." A middle-aged man, slightly smaller than Ning Mo, responded and saw Ning Mo, grinning, "Fatso, here to eat?"

"I have a friend, ten yuan, give us your best dishes," Ning Mo handed the ten yuan he had planned to give Qin Hai to Boss Kong and instructed, "And a bottle of loose liquor."

"Wow, ten yuan!" Boss Kong's eyes lit up. It was rare for ordinary people to spend ten yuan on a meal outside of official expenses. Boss Kong was familiar with Ning Mo and the others, who would come here about once every half month, usually scraping together two or three yuan for a meat and a vegetable dish. This kind of generous spending was unprecedented in his memory.

"So, Fatso, who's your friend?" Boss Kong asked curiously.

"My buddy, he graduated from the agricultural machinery technical school and just started working at our Qingfeng Factory," Ning Mo, being straightforward, had already introduced Qin Hai several times.

This introduction meant nothing to Boss Kong, who nodded and smiled at Qin Hai, then hurried to the kitchen to start cooking. As soon as he left, a thin, young girl ran out and brought a small plate of sunflower seeds and a small plate of fried soybeans to Ning Mo's table, letting them snack while waiting for the food.

"Thanks for the treat," Qin Hai had no objections to Ning Mo's arrangement and simply thanked him.

"This is actually your money," Ning Mo said, "Qin Hai, I really admire you. You're capable and don't care about money. If it were the other single men in the dormitory, they'd clutch even one yuan tightly, let alone ten yuan."

"Right, right, Qin Hai, you're really generous!" Yu Haitao and Miao Lei also praised him.

Earlier, when Ning Mo offered to pay Qin Hai ten yuan, Yu Haitao and Miao Lei felt a bit reluctant. But when Qin Hai insisted on not taking the money, they found him to be very magnanimous. Ning Mo, being the son of the factory manager, though not wealthy, still had the air of someone who treated money like dirt. Qin Hai's refusal of the ten yuan made him decide to use it to treat Qin Hai to a meal, fulfilling his wish.

As they were chatting, a shadow appeared at the door, and another customer entered. It was a middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit, his dark complexion revealing his true identity as someone not from a wealthy background. He walked straight to a table, dropped a heavy burlap bag on the ground, and it made a metallic clanging sound.

"Xiao Fang!" the man called to the kitchen.

The young girl ran out and stood in front of the man, waiting for his instructions.

"A plate of stir-fried tofu, a dish of peanuts, and half a pound of loose liquor," the man said in a slightly tired voice.

"Xiao Ke, come to our table, let's eat together," Ning Mo stood up and called to the man.

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