Chapter 36: The First Day of Work

When Leng Yongkang woke up, he habitually glanced at the window and found it was just beginning to dawn. He reached under his pillow to check his watch; it was already seven o'clock.

He stretched and sat up from his small bed. His movements woke Leng Hui, who was sleeping in the large bed; she sat up as well to get dressed.

"You're up so early even though you don't have work. If you have nothing to do, sleep a bit longer. It should be a cloudy day today, perfect for sleeping in."

Spring weather is unpredictable. Yesterday the temperature was in the twenties, but with the change in weather today, it had dropped by more than ten degrees.

Even wearing yesterday's jacket, Leng Hui still felt cold, so she found a sweater in the trunk to layer underneath. Only then did she feel a bit warmer.

"Find my sweater for me." Leng Yongkang also felt the chill in the air and, wrapped in his quilt, felt reluctant to get out of bed.

Leng Hui tossed the folded sweater to him and urged, "You're so sluggish even just getting out of bed. Hurry up."

While Leng Hui went to the washroom to freshen up, Leng Yongkang asked Tang Lin, who was already awake, while he was getting dressed: "Huihui is up so early today. Is something going on?"

Tang Lin yawned, sat up, and began dressing. "She's covering my shift at the factory today. Give her a ride later."

Leng Yongkang's movement paused as he buttoned his shirt. He asked in disbelief, "She's covering for you? Your section chief agreed to that?"

"What? A female replacement for a mother isn't allowed?" Tang Lin asked coldly.

"No, it's just that you guys rely on technical skills. Can Huihui handle your job? Don't let her mess up your work."

*Who do you think you're looking down on?* Tang Lin rolled her eyes at him. "She has plenty of strength. Even if she doesn't know the technical side, she can act as an assistant to the technicians. Lifting, carrying, and hauling are nothing to her. It's much more appropriate than your sister-in-law taking over my job."

Leng Yongkang: "..."

*So we can't just drop this subject, can we?*

Feeling stifled, Leng Yongkang pulled back the curtain and stepped out, only to run right into Leng Yongxing, who was also getting dressed. The two brothers nodded awkwardly to each other, and Leng Yongkang went out to wash up.

Breakfast today was corn grits, accompanied by a bowl of pickles and a bowl of cold shredded bamboo shoots.

The fresh bamboo shoots had been blanched in boiling water and then mixed with minced garlic, chili powder, sesame oil, and other seasonings. The taste was quite good, better than the pickles.

Recently, because Leng Hui and Tang Lin (mother and daughter) were not to be trifled with, no one dared to ask questions after breakfast, and even fewer dared to stop Leng Hui when she left with Leng Yongkang.

The early morning wind was biting. Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Leng Hui felt the chill even more intensely as she held onto the iron frame. She glanced at the large pocket on Leng Yongkang's work uniform and slipped her hands inside, finally feeling a bit of warmth.

Sensing her small hands in his pocket, Leng Yongkang laughed and scolded, "I've realized no one enjoys life more than you. You're as cunning as a fox."

"Isn't it good to be shrewd?" Leng Hui huffed lightly. "It's better than certain fools who are being sold and are still helping the seller count the money."

Leng Yongkang felt that what she said was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Do you want me to pick you up after work this afternoon?" Upon arriving at the entrance of the Machinery Plant, Leng Yongkang called out to Leng Hui as she prepared to enter.

Leng Hui nodded. "Of course. If I take the bus back by myself, it's a waste of money."

Leng Yongkang didn't say much more; he simply nodded and rode away.

S-City Machinery Plant primarily focused on the design and manufacture of heavy machinery and equipment.

The heavy machinery projects were numerous and diverse, with the plant focusing mainly on metallurgical and construction machinery.

The Technical Section was responsible not only for design and supervision but also for the plant's mechanical maintenance. During the spring plowing and autumn harvesting seasons, when the agricultural machinery stations were overwhelmed, they would also go to the countryside to help repair farm equipment.

When Leng Hui walked into the Technical Section office, there were only five people present, including the section chief. The others had mostly gone to the countryside to support agriculture.

Leng Hui greeted everyone. The other technicians nodded and smiled politely, though they hadn't actually figured out who she was yet.

It wasn't until the section chief, Li Yong, introduced her that they learned she was covering a shift today.

Initially, no one was optimistic about her. After all, judging solely by her appearance, how much strength could the thin Leng Hui possibly have?

However, after following several technicians to the workshop in the morning to perform minor repairs on a few lathes, they saw her in action and realized she truly possessed great strength.

For junior technicians, life was quite easy if the plant didn't have any machinery requiring major overhauls. After all, the people who could actually design blueprints were engineers; they had little to do with junior technicians, serving at most as assistants.

The morning passed as they performed minor repairs on several machine tools. After having lunch in the canteen, Leng Hui wanted to take a short nap in the office. However, before fifteen minutes had passed, Section Chief Li Yong emerged from his office.

He tapped on the desk, and once everyone lying on their desks had looked up, he spoke: "For the time being, until the other technicians return, you are all going to be very busy. The Zaguang Steel Plant just called; they said one of their lathes has malfunctioned and hasn't been fixed. They are asking for our help."

"Which of you is willing to make a trip this afternoon to see what's wrong with their machine?"

The younger technicians, having only a few years of experience, didn't dare to take on such a task easily. They feared that if they couldn't fix it, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face, but a serious issue if they left a bad impression on the leadership.

In the end, a senior technician from the Technical Section took the job. Leng Hui was honorably appointed as his assistant to help him go to the Zaguang Steel Plant for repairs.

On the way to the steel plant, Leng Hui learned through conversation that this senior technician, Chen Zhongxiang, was forty-two years old and had been with the plant for nearly twenty years, only reaching the rank of Level 11 technician.

"Level 11 is very good. My mother is only Level 14."

Leng Hui wasn't lying. Tang Lin was thirty-seven years old, several years younger than Chen Zhongxiang, yet she was only Level 14, which was indeed a bit embarrassing.

Of course, perhaps the original owner of this body had spent most of her time on domestic trivialities and hadn't focused much on her work. After all, with the burden of a family, it was difficult to devote one's entire mind to work.

Upon arriving at the Zaguang Steel Plant, Leng Hui hopped off the back of the bicycle. Seeing Chen Zhongxiang panting heavily, she thought to herself, *My bad! Making an old comrade carry me... what a sin!*

At the factory gate, the two presented their work IDs and were led to the workshop by security personnel.

The ride over had been so cold that their lips had turned slightly purple, but as soon as they entered the workshop, a wave of heat hit them, enveloping their bodies.

Leng Hui let out a sigh of relief; she finally wouldn't be freezing.

All the other machines were running normally, except for one that was idle, with several people gathered around it.

Noticing Chen Zhongxiang and Leng Hui, they waved at them: "Over here, over here!"

The noise in the workshop was actually quite loud; from a distance, Leng Hui and the others couldn't hear them, but the gestures were clear.

"Hello, I am Chen Zhongxiang, a technician sent from the Machinery Plant's Technical Section, and this is my assistant, Leng Hui."

Li Mingzhi hurriedly wiped his hands and stepped forward to shake Chen Zhongxiang's hand. "Welcome, welcome. We appreciate your hard work. This machine has been broken for two days and we haven't been able to fix it; it keeps acting up. Please help us take a look."

Chen Zhongxiang nodded. "Tell me about the situation first so I can understand what's going on."

Standing behind Chen Zhongxiang, Leng Hui observed the workshop like an outsider.

As she scanned the room, her eyes inadvertently met a pair of familiar eyes.

"..."

The workshop was vast; in the face of the massive machinery, the workers appeared very small.

In particular, since the workers all wore uniform, dusty gray work clothes, she would have had a hard time noticing him if it weren't for those eyes.