Chapter 9

Zhang Yifu lived in the old dormitory yard of the Jijing Power Supply Bureau, where most of the people in the yard were his parents' colleagues. It was a weekend, and as the neighbors saw a tall young man carrying a large suitcase enter the yard, they all gathered around. Without a doubt, it must be the college student son of the Zhang family.

"Yifu! Are you graduating now?" An auntie fanned herself and approached first.

"Yes, I'm graduating," Zhang Yifu replied casually, not stopping in his tracks.

"How about your job placement? Did you get into the ministry?" Another middle-aged man followed up, "There aren't many college graduates in our yard, we're counting on you to become a leader!"

"Hehe, I didn't go to the ministry."

"…No problem, no problem, it's too hard to get into the ministry directly. You must be going to the North China Bureau, right?"

"I didn't go to the North China Bureau either."

The neighbors were surprised and a bit awkward for a few seconds before someone asked, "Did you come to our power supply bureau? That's good… we're all colleagues, it's convenient to take care of each other."

"No," Zhang Yifu shook his head.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

They all understood the system. If it wasn't the ministry, the power management bureau, or the power supply bureau, it could only be a power plant. The top college graduate in the yard, the Zhang family's college student, actually went to a power plant after graduation!

No one knew what to say. They couldn't comfort him, nor could they not. They could only watch as Zhang Yifu left the crowd and went home.

"Probably his grades were too poor," the auntie sighed, looking at Zhang Yifu's back, "What a waste, a good college student going to a power plant…"

"Yes, the Wang family's child, who graduated from a junior college, was assigned to the power management bureau."

"Well, Wang is the director of the power management bureau. With some effort, it's possible."

"But Zhang… he used to be a leader in the power management bureau too."

"That was many years ago. Now he can only repair meters."

"Ah… Yifu is such a pity. In our circle, everything is passed down from generation to generation. His father can't help him anymore."

"I had already arranged a match for him. The daughter of Director Song also liked Yifu. Now, it's probably off."

"Hehe, you should stop. Who would want to marry into a power plant? Especially the daughter of Director Song!"

Thus, the neighbors began to lament the Zhang family's misfortune.

Zhang Guodong, Zhang Yifu's father, had been demoted from the power management bureau to the power supply bureau, which was certainly unfortunate. However, it was comforting that he had raised an outstanding college student son. After graduation, entering the power system, as long as the starting point wasn't too low, becoming a director in the future wouldn't be a problem.

If we had to rank it, the power supply bureau was a third-level unit, above which was the power management bureau, and above that was the ministry. Relatively speaking, it was difficult for the children of the power supply bureau to excel, so in the dormitory yard, everyone had high hopes for Zhang Yifu, hoping he would rise to the top and bring glory to the entire yard. This also made people respect Zhang Guodong more, and even his superiors had hinted at the possibility of becoming in-laws.

But now, everything was in vain. Once he entered the power plant, it would be hard to say how many years he would have to wait. In those days, intellectuals had a sense of superiority and should engage in technical and management work, while the power plant was a place for workers. Zhang Yifu had fallen a class. Among the neighbors, some were secretly gloating. In the same dormitory yard, everyone was competing, and if they couldn't do well themselves, they would compare whose children were more successful. Many people felt inferior when they saw Zhang Guodong, but now they felt relieved. The power plant was the lowest-level unit, and their high school-graduated sons might do better than Zhang Yifu.

In the yard, they talked, but Zhang Yifu didn't care at all. He just wanted to go home and see his parents. It didn't matter if others didn't understand; the key was to make his parents feel at ease.

At the door, his mother, Ning Lan, opened it and saw her precious son return unexpectedly, her face full of surprise and joy, but she scolded, "Why did you come back without telling us? If you had said earlier, I would have gone to the train station with your father to pick you up!"

"I'm old enough, no need for that," Zhang Yifu smiled and carried his luggage inside, "I can't stay for more than two days, I have to report to my unit soon."

"Really… the schedule is too tight," Ning Lan wiped her hands on her apron and quickly took off her apron, picking up the old, wrinkled leather wallet, "You rest first, I'll go buy a fish. We'll have your favorite braised fish tonight."

"No need, anything is fine," Zhang Yifu tried to persuade her, "We had very good farewell dinners these past few days."

"Don't worry about it," Ning Lan didn't listen and immediately changed her shoes and rushed out, her face full of joy and happiness.

"Such a good mother," Zhang Yifu smiled, looking at Ning Lan's back. His mother didn't ask where he was assigned, she just rushed to buy a fish, which was enough to be touching.

At that moment, Zhang Guodong also arrived at the door, adjusted his glasses, and exclaimed in surprise, "Yifu?"

Ning Lan looked younger than her age, while Zhang Guodong looked older, with a heavy old-fashioned glasses and white hair at his temples, making him look like someone close to retirement.

"It's me," Zhang Yifu stepped forward, "Mom saw me and went to buy a fish, I couldn't stop her…"

"Hehe, that's just your mom's nature," Zhang Guodong smiled after seeing his son, "Come, come, come, rest for a bit, we'll tidy up later."

So, Zhang Yifu followed his father and sat on the sofa in the living room.

It was called a leather sofa, but the leather was already worn out, and in some places, the yellow sponge was exposed. The old TV opposite had a screen not much larger than a future iPad. But in those days, a family with these things was considered quite well-off.

Zhang Guodong was naturally happy to see his son. He casually pulled out a pack of Su cigarettes from under the coffee table, lit one with satisfaction, and then smiled and pushed the pack towards Zhang Yifu, "Four years, you should have learned, right?"

"I did learn," Zhang Yifu declined, "But it's better to smoke less."

"That's right, smoke only when necessary. I'm happy today, so I'll have a good one," Zhang Guodong shook his head and smiled, "So, where are you assigned to work?"

Talking to his father was always straightforward. Zhang Yifu didn't plan to beat around the bush and just lowered his head, "I'm going to the Jibei Power Plant."

When he said this, Zhang Yifu was already prepared for a scolding.

"Jibei Power Plant? Great!" To his surprise, Zhang Guodong was full of joy, "I started my career there too! The second-largest power plant in North China! It's very challenging!"

"Ah…" Zhang Yifu was at a loss, "I thought… you would blame me for choosing the power plant."

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