“Elder Sister, this isn’t right. Day after day of overtime, overtime, overtime. I’m not even an apprentice. They just stuff me in the workshop to hammer screws. I’m not learning anything, and on top of that, I don’t get a single cent in wages. You’re screwing me over!”
In the eldest branch’s room of the Xu family, Su Xiaomei’s younger brother, Su Facai, complained as he rummaged through cabinets and drawers. When he found a bag of peanut candy, he immediately tore it open and stuffed it into his mouth. Anyone who saw him would have called him a disgrace.
But Su Xiaomei genuinely thought her younger brother had suffered real hardship. She quickly said, “Drink some water, don’t swallow it all at once. Hey, little brother, I went through a lot of trouble to get you that job.”
Su Facai scoffed. “That Xu Jianbei has no intention of teaching me anything. You said that once I went there, I just needed to follow him. And what happened? Xu Jianbei spends all day discussing screws with a bunch of old men. He won’t even let me near him.”
Su Xiaomei was indignant. She knew her little brother had been wronged. He’d been working at the screw factory for nearly a week, and things were still like this. She stood up to go find Xu Jianbei and give him a piece of her mind. But just as she was about to cross the threshold, she stopped.
“Hold on a little longer. I’ll find someone to help me look into this.”
Su Facai thought Su Xiaomei was going to have her husband put pressure on Xu Jianbei. He immediately perked up. “Alright, alright, Elder Sister. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
After placating her little brother, Su Xiaomei called Xu Meili. Naturally, she complained that Xu Meili’s idea had been terrible, leaving her little brother to be treated like a beast of burden for nothing.
On the other end of the line, Xu Meili frowned. “That’s just Xu Jianbei being petty, unwilling to teach your little brother any real skills. Listen, Sister Su, you’re the eldest sister-in-law, aren’t you? How can you not even keep your own brother-in-law in check?”
This left Su Xiaomei speechless. It was true—Xu Meili had given her a well-intentioned suggestion, and the selfish brother-in-law simply refused to teach her little brother. This really had nothing to do with Xu Meili.
Thinking about it this way only made Su Xiaomei angrier. She felt that Xu Jianbei, as a brother-in-law, couldn’t even compare to an outsider like Xu Meili.
After all, Xu Meili had helped her buy meat and given her advice.
Little did Xu Meili know that Su Xiaomei was still grateful to her. After hanging up, she immediately called her older brother.
After hearing what Xu Meili had to say, Xu Qiang sighed. He truly hadn’t expected Xu Jianbei to be so inconsiderate of his own sister-in-law’s feelings.
He’d heard that this man was only so-so with his own brothers but was very close to his wife’s family. And since he’d failed with Bai Li, he’d decided to work through the eldest brother and his wife instead.
But now, after half a month, there had been zero progress. Thinking about the news he’d gotten from the workshop, Xu Qiang knew time was running out for him.
He gritted his teeth and went out.
——
Meanwhile, the very person they were all talking about—Xu Jianbei—was having a conversation with Cao Changsheng.
“You came all the way from the steel mill just to deliver this?”
Cao Changsheng pulled a piece of freshly produced steel from his bag.
“This is the sample. It was produced according to the parameters you provided. It’s already passed the testing phase. See if you can use it to make screws that meet the requirements.”
As he spoke, Cao Changsheng looked relieved.
His team had been unusually busy lately. Busy with what? Customizing steel for a special order from the screw factory.
The steel had unique specifications, and because it was important, the factory had been extremely meticulous.
The piece of steel he’d just given Xu Jianbei was the latest improved version. According to his team’s estimates, this time it would definitely meet the screw factory’s needs.
Seeing how haggard he looked, Xu Jianbei smiled and said, “Then go home and get some rest. I’ll take this material to some experienced masters right away. If it works out, we’ll notify you promptly.”
With the work matters settled, Cao Changsheng got up to go home and rest. It was finally the weekend, and he wasn’t about to spend the whole day working.
He hadn’t even gone far from the screw factory when he heard a woman’s cries for help coming from a small alley ahead. Cao Changsheng quickened his pace and headed over, wondering if the person had run into trouble.
When he reached the mouth of the alley, he saw at the other end Xu Qiang raising his fist and landing blows on two street thugs. Standing beside Xu Qiang was a young woman—who was none other than Bai Lan’s second sister, Bai Li.
Taking one look at the scene, Cao Changsheng could roughly guess what had happened. And since the woman standing there was Bai Li, he didn’t hesitate to walk into the alley.
At that same moment, the two thugs, beaten by Xu Qiang, scrambled away.
Seeing this, Cao Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief and slowed his pace. The bad guys were gone—no need to worry so much.
But the next second, he realized he’d been too relieved too soon.
Because no sooner had the thugs left than Cao Changsheng heard Xu Qiang say to Bai Li, “Comrade Bai Li, are you alright?”
Bai Li still looked shaken. Hearing Xu Qiang’s words, she instinctively shook her head. Then she immediately realized that the person in front of her was that annoying Xu Qiang. But he had just saved her, and Bai Li wasn’t one to be unreasonable. She took a deep breath and said, “Thank you, Comrade Xu.”
Hearing this, Xu Qiang’s expression softened even more. He smiled and said, “Comrade Bai Li, don’t mention it. You could say we’ve had a lucky encounter.”
The direction of the conversation struck Bai Li as off. She frowned. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
Xu Qiang immediately stepped forward. “Comrade Bai Li, wait. I have something I need to say to you.”
Cao Changsheng, who had made it about halfway down the alley, suddenly didn’t know whether he should keep walking. Mainly because he hadn’t heard Bai Li refuse yet.
Xu Qiang, not waiting for Bai Li’s reply, let the words he had prepared tumble out: “Comrade Bai Li, I truly like you. I sincerely want to ask you to give me a chance.”
Bai Li: “Comrade Xu Qiang, that’s impossible. I’ve already said no. I have things to do at home. I’m leaving.”
With that, Bai Li turned to run. But Xu Qiang reached out and grabbed her arm.
At this point, Cao Changsheng was sure that Xu Qiang was up to no good. He dashed forward and delivered a flying kick from behind Xu Qiang, slamming him into the wall.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, Bai Li was then relieved. Xu Qiang grabbing her arm like that had been terrifying. Just as she’d thought—the man was no good. He’d saved her, but his true colors had shown immediately.
“Comrade Bai Li, are you alright?”
Bai Li shook her head. “Comrade Cao, thank you.”
Cao Changsheng waved his hand and looked at Xu Qiang. “Have you lost your mind? You dare harass a female comrade?”
Seeing Cao Changsheng, Xu Qiang was absolutely livid. This brat’s team had stolen his team’s project, and now he dared to kick him as well?
He picked himself up off the ground and threw a punch at Cao Changsheng.
But Cao Changsheng wasn’t about to give him the chance. He raised his foot and landed another kick square in Xu Qiang’s chest. Watching Xu Qiang fall to the ground again, he delivered a final warning: “If you bother Comrade Bai Li again, I’ll take you straight to the police station.”
With that, he looked at Bai Li. Seeing that she had calmed down, he immediately escorted her back to the Bai family home.
Left behind, Xu Qiang listened to the lingering echoes of those words in the air and slammed his fist against the ground. He knew now that all his roundabout methods had failed.
After this small incident, Bai Li didn’t tell anyone about it when she got home.
And Cao Changsheng, eager to get back and catch up on sleep, didn’t immediately inform Xu Jianbei either.
So no one knew that after leaving the alley, Xu Qiang finally dialed the number he had been afraid to call all along.
——
Monday morning. Bai Lan was busy working in the textile factory’s large canteen kitchen when she heard someone call out: “Bai Lan, your sister-in-law is here to see you. She looks really anxious.”
Bai Lan checked her watch. It was only a little past nine in the morning. What could Su Xiaomei possibly want with her at this hour? She didn’t want to go out, but soon another person ran in to call her.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Lan finally walked to the factory gate to see what this sister-in-law was up to this time.
But as soon as she reached the gate, she saw Su Xiaomei carrying a child in her arms in front and another child strapped to her back. Both children’s faces were flushed red, clearly uncomfortable.
Bai Lan immediately walked over and asked, “What’s wrong with Xiao Qiang and Xiao Yong?”
Xiao Qiang and Xiao Yong were Su Xiaomei’s two sons—one six, one four. Normally, their grandmother Miao Daju looked after them, and they weren’t bad kids like their mother. They weren’t little terrors either. Bai Lan actually liked these two children.
Hearing Bai Lan’s question, Su Xiaomei looked frantic. “Your eldest brother went on a business trip today. Mom went out early this morning and hasn’t come back yet. Dad’s at work too. I had no choice but to come ask for your help. Come with me to take the two kids to the hospital.”
If it had been any other kind of favor, Bai Lan would have refused outright. But helping take children to the hospital—she was willing to do that. And both children were delirious with fever. In those days, plenty of kids ended up with brain damage from high fevers. Knowing there was no time to waste, Bai Lan quickly took Xiao Yong from Su Xiaomei’s arms and let her lead the way.
On the road, something finally struck her as odd.
Sure, there was no one at home, but there were plenty of neighbors in the communal courtyard. With children running such high fevers, she should have asked the neighbors for help. The neighbors back then were very warm-hearted and would have definitely helped. Besides, there was a health station not far from home. In an emergency like this, there was really no need to carry the children all the way to the textile factory to find her.
The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Just as Bai Lan was about to speak, a jeep suddenly appeared behind her. The car door opened without warning while the vehicle was moving, and Bai Lan was yanked inside.
It all happened so fast that Bai Lan didn’t even have time to react. She was tied up with ropes, unable to move. Outside the car, Su Xiaomei, who had been looking relieved, hadn’t even had a chance to leave before she too was dragged into the vehicle—along with the two feverish children.
——
Xu Jianbei worked late as usual that day. The material Cao Changsheng had brought yesterday had been used to produce the screws his second brother needed, with even better results than expected. The moment the finished product came out, the whole team found it unbelievable.
Even with overtime, he was happy about something this exciting. He’d been looking forward to going home and sharing the news with Bai Lan. With the finished product ready, mass production could begin immediately. At this stage, his workload would lighten, and he could start coming and going on time.
But this buoyant mood evaporated the moment he got home and found the place cold and empty. He knew immediately that something was wrong.
Bai Lan would never not come home without letting him know.
Realizing this, Xu Jianbei immediately ran downstairs and called his second brother.
The two brothers exchanged a few words on the phone—things that would have sounded like nonsense to anyone listening—then Xu Jianbei hung up. Just as he was about to head back upstairs, someone in the building handed him a letter.
“Jianbei, someone dropped this letter off at the factory gate for you.”
Xu Jianbei thanked the person, knowing in his heart that the letter surely contained news about Bai Lan.
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