Chapter 248: Chapter 240: Hu Weiwen
The car slowly navigated through the factory compound, Hu Weiwen proudly briefed them on the paper factory’s situation: "Our factory produces five tons of copper plate paper every day!"
"Why do we need so much copper plate paper?" Tian Sisi didn’t understand.
"Ah Nan, you’re so naive. Of course, it’s for printing the Red Treasure Books!" Tian Qinghua chuckled from the side.
"Oh!"
Tian Sisi didn’t ask further. In this era, apart from the Red Treasure Book, there really weren’t any other books to read. Almost everyone had a copy. With a population of seven or eight hundred million, just imagine, it’s no wonder a small paper factory in Jining has to produce five tons of copper plate paper daily.
The factory was rather rudimentary, devoid of tall buildings, all were low flat houses. Occasionally, you could see soldiers in green uniforms. According to Hu Weiwen, these were active-duty military personnel overseeing them. Few women were around, all with ruddy highland complexions, and their dusty appearances made it hard to discern if they were pretty or not.
The car stopped outside the dormitory where Hu Weiwen lived. It was work hours, so the dormitory was deserted and quite clean. Hu Weiwen stayed in a room for six and occupied a top bunk. Tian Xinhua opened the rear compartment, taking out all the food they brought: fried flour (made from soybean flour, rice flour, corn flour, etc.), homemade shredded pork, sausages, pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes, and so on. Other items were fine, but when Hu Weiwen saw the cucumber and tomato, his eyes lit up, and he immediately started munching on a cucumber.
"Ah, I’m dying of craving here. It’s okay to eat poorly here, but the lack of vegetables and fruits is suffocating. Only during this time of year can we buy a couple of watermelons to eat. Other times, we can’t even see anything green. When I first arrived, don’t laugh at me, but I didn’t have a bowel movement for a whole week. It was only after taking two laxatives did I manage to relieve myself, ah, so delicious!"
Hu Weiwen devoured the cucumber, eating it all, including the skin and stem, and then went on to eat two tomatoes. Only after that did he let out a satisfied belch, looking considerably more spirited.
Hu Weiwen kept prattling on about their situation here: "When I first arrived, I really couldn’t adapt at all. The battalion commander knew who my third uncle was, so he specifically took care of me, arranging for me to do the lighter work of pulp washing, but that’s usually done by girls. I only did it for two days before I volunteered to join the grass rolling team, which involves breaking grass into pieces. Now my strength has increased a lot compared to before."
At this point, Hu Weiwen even flexed his arm, striking a bodybuilder’s pose. Hu Weixin couldn’t help it and gave his brother a scornful glance, "Big brother, you’re really silly. You turn down easy work and choose to exhaust yourself with the breaking job. Look at your hands, they’ve become like pig’s trotters."
"I’m not a woman—how can I work alongside the girls! Third uncle has even praised me for my high consciousness. Little brother, don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand," Hu Weiwen didn’t appreciate his brother’s retort and slapped Hu Weixin’s shoulder.
"Working here isn’t bad, but the food is really awful. Don’t even think about having rice. The first year was okay; we had millet flour buns every meal, and they tasted fine, except there were too many sand grains inside, making this gritty noise while eating. But later, they said we had to save, and each meal they gave us two big Inner Mongolian potatoes, each weighing about half a pound, leaving us belching acid all day in our stomachs."
Hu Weiwen spoke of his experiences with a smile on his face, but upon seeing the expressions of sadness on his younger siblings’ faces, he quickly added: "Ah, my conditions here are already very good. I have a classmate who was assigned to an agricultural company in Wulate Banner, and that place is really tough. Every time he sees me, he’s almost in tears, claiming that where I am is paradise!"
"No matter what, I have three uncles looking after me here, which is already much luckier than those educated youths who are all alone. Don’t be sad, I’m really doing well, much better than many others!"
Hu Weiwen spoke sincerely, and it was only then that he truly understood how naive he had been before and realized the painstaking efforts of Daddy and Mama. These three years felt as long as thirty, through which he had experienced the darkness, cruelty, and disgust of society. Fortunately, thanks to his uncles, he always remained on the sidelines, never falling into it.
Although he also felt sad for those pitiable educated youths, he was powerless to help. He couldn’t cause trouble for his uncles. It was only after arriving here that he realized how tough his uncles had it, too. The core circle of the Inner Mongolia Military Region was composed of generals who came from Beijing and the Northeast, with very few from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai area. If it weren’t for his uncles’ distinguished military service, they probably wouldn’t have been able to become division commanders. Still, even so, life was hard for them, and he couldn’t afford to make things difficult for them. It was best to stay out of trouble.
"Mmm, as long as Brother Weiwen is doing well, that’s good. Third Aunt and Third Uncle have been really worried about you. These pork floss snacks, sausages, and fried noodles were all prepared by Third Aunt and Third Uncle. Brother Weiwen, make sure you keep them safe, and don’t give them all away to others!"
Tian Sisi made the special request, worried that Hu Weiwen, the naïve brother, would give away all the love Tian Manxing and Hu Dingbei had for their son to his colleagues.
"I know, I can’t bear to part with them either," Hu Weiwen blinked, holding back his tears.
"Come on, let’s go to the canteen to eat. Today, big brother will treat you all to giant Inner Mongolian potatoes, and if we’re lucky, we might even get to have 90s Powder!" With his belongings securely locked away in his trunk and tucking two cucumbers into his jacket, Hu Weiwen gestured grandly, ready to lead his younger siblings to lunch.
The canteen was a bit of a distance from the dormitory area, and as it seemed like it wasn’t yet the end of the workday, the road was still devoid of people. However, as they approached the canteen, they encountered a young girl walking toward them. Although her face also bore the highland blush, she looked different from other women, exuding an air of worldliness. Her figure, curvy and distinct despite the loose green battalion uniform, swayed entrancingly as she walked, making onlookers flush with a mix of emotions.
"Wow, Weiwen, did your family come to visit? This little sister is really pretty – I find myself charmed even as a woman!"
The woman’s voice sounded pleasant, like the tolling of a bell, but her words were frivolous, causing discomfort to those who heard them.
"Xu Feifei, just mind your own business; my brother and sisters don’t need you to worry about them," Hu Weiwen said, utterly ungentlemanly and cold, without even glancing at Xu Feifei, gesturing for Tian Xinhua and the others to follow.
"Hmph! Hu Weiwen, you think you’re so great just because you have a good uncle. Why do you look down on Xu Feifei? The sister is quite pretty, though a bit young."
Xu Feifei spat in vexation as she watched the backs of Hu Weiwen and the group. Xu Feifei was used to having her way with men, but it was this young lad, Hu Weiwen, who had tripped her up. What was most frustrating was that she had intended to latch onto Hu Weiwen for protection so that she could get an easy job in the factory. Who would have known that Hu Weiwen wouldn’t take the bait? Without any choice, she had to resign herself to sleep with the coarse active-duty soldiers in the battalion – it might have led to the same result, but was sleeping with a brute the same as sleeping with a scholar? Because of this, Xu Feifei harbored both love and hate for Hu Weiwen.