Fu Xiuhuai finished off the small half bowl of noodles Lin Wan had left, then finished the two liang of noodles he had ordered himself, and finally took out four yuan to pay the noodle stall owner.
Lin Wan followed Fu Xiuhuai into the Santana parked by the roadside. She would not have to squeeze onto the bus to go home. Thinking of it this way, running into Fu Xiuhuai was actually a good thing.
The Fu family had two cars in total. One was the special car assigned to the factory director Fu Xiutong by the steel plant, a Hongqi brand, though it was usually not used for private purposes. The other was the Santana that Fu Xiuhuai had purchased with his own funds, mainly for doing business.
Just after getting in the car, before starting it, Fu Xiuhuai turned sideways to ask Lin Wan’s opinion: “I slipped out in the middle of overtime. I have to go back to the company now. Are you tired at this hour? If you’re not tired, want to go to Kaihua and sit for a while?”
Lin Wan had not expected that a businessman like Fu Xiuhuai would slip out in the middle of overtime just to eat a bowl of noodles. She thought for a few seconds and nodded.
Kaihua Construction Company was located in a six-story building in the south of Jiangcheng. The building was impressive, with the words “Kaihua” in gilded lacquer at the entrance, like a golden signboard.
The most famous high-rise buildings in Jiangcheng had all been built by Kaihua, and almost everyone knew it.
Standing outside the gate of Kaihua Construction Company, Lin Wan remembered that during the summer vacation of her sophomore year, she had once taken a part-time job related to it, earned a few dozen yuan, and saved up tuition and living expenses.
When she had been with Fu Mingjun, Lin Wan had heard him mention his uncle Fu Xiuhuai’s businesses. Kaihua, which had already accumulated wealth by building all kinds of shopping malls and hotels, had later entered the real estate field and was building one of the few commercial housing projects in Jiangcheng.
Now that she had actually come to Kaihua and seen Fu Xiuhuai decisively holding meetings with company employees to discuss the progress of projects in hand, Lin Wan was indeed somewhat surprised.
However, this kind of Fu Xiuhuai seemed to finally match her imagination.
“There are newspapers and magazines on the desk. The computer can be used. Minesweeper is on the desktop. I also prepared apples for you, crisp ones, plus chocolate, corn soft candy, biscuits… I’ll be in the next room in a meeting. Call me if anything comes up.” Fu Xiuhuai explained everything in great detail, then hurriedly left.
Lin Wan stared at the man’s departing back, always feeling that he was like reminding a child. She herself did not really need that much care.
Fu Xiuhuai’s office was not too large. On the red solid wood desk was a stack of newspapers, which he had just had an employee collect and put there. Normally Lin Wan loved reading newspapers, but at this moment she had no interest.
Having only been exposed to computers in university microcomputer classes, she was now more interested in Fu Xiuhuai’s personal computer.
Jiangcheng University had opened microcomputer courses four years earlier. Because computers were precious and few in number, it was already considered good if students got one microcomputer class per month in rotation.
Every microcomputer class, everyone was excited. They brought the shoe covers prepared in advance and entered the microcomputer classroom properly, learning typing, getting simply familiar with computers. Minesweeper was also the students’ favorite computer game.
Lin Wan was not a student in the computer science department. In the entire three years of university she could remember, she had taken only about ten microcomputer classes. At this moment, she raised her hand and placed it on the mouse, sliding the scroll wheel…
“Boss’s wife.” Just as Lin Wan was concentrating on the computer, a female employee outside the office knocked and brought in a glass of milk. “The boss told me to heat it for you. Drink it while it’s hot.”
Lin Wan had not expected Fu Xiuhuai to be meticulous to this degree. She smiled slightly at the visitor and accepted it: “Sorry to trouble you.”
It was just that this form of address was truly novel.
Jiang Li, an employee in the administrative office, did not find it troublesome: “Boss’s wife, it’s good if you come more often. Every time you come, the boss buys lots of tasty things, and in the end we get to enjoy them too.”
Hearing the implication in her words, Lin Wan was somewhat surprised. She had come before?
“When I came before, you…”
“Every time it was me who was responsible for buying the food, boss’s wife. Do you still remember me? Jiang Li. My hometown is even in the production team next to yours. Last time we even chatted.”
Lin Wan nodded. So that was how it was.
After asking a few more questions, Lin Wan learned from Jiang Li that after marriage she had come to Fu Xiuhuai’s company two or three times and seemed to have adapted well.
Fu Xiuhuai’s meeting lasted over an hour. When he returned to the office, Lin Wan had already obtained some information through BBS and chat rooms and carefully written it down on paper.
Sensing a gaze coming toward her, Lin Wan looked up and somewhat embarrassedly curved her lips: “I borrowed your paper and pen.”
“Mm, use whatever you like.” Fu Xiuhuai walked behind the desk and glanced at the computer desktop, only seeing the unfinished half-played game of Minesweeper. “I heard from them that you were very good at Minesweeper the previous times you played. I never got the chance to see it. Finish this round before leaving.”
Lin Wan had originally been passing the time, and besides, Minesweeper was indeed attractive to university students who had taken microcomputer classes and been exposed to computers. She had played several rounds and naturally enjoyed herself.
It was just… with someone beside her like a teaching director, every click she made was a little unsteady, until… with one careless slip of the hand, she clicked a mine.
Lin Wan: “…”
Sitting in the Santana on the way back to the Fu family villa, Lin Wan felt somewhat embarrassed and could not help suspecting whether this person had done it on purpose.
When getting out of the car, Lin Wan walked toward the house almost step for step with Fu Xiuhuai and murmured softly: “I just clicked wrong by accident.”
She had still been first place in Minesweeper in the department’s microcomputer class. Restoring her reputation was imperative.
After saying this, Lin Wan quickly walked inside, leaving Fu Xiuhuai behind.
“Then next time I’ll watch you play another round?” The man’s low voice was mixed with a low, pleasant laugh.
The only answer to Fu Xiuhuai was the gentle night wind.
In the current era, personal computers were precious and rare. The entire garment factory did not have a single one. The greatest channels for people to obtain information were still newspapers and television.
The information Lin Wan had obtained a few days earlier on the computer in Fu Xiuhuai’s office was now on the paper in her hands.
The speed at which the Internet spread information was astonishing. It was on BBS that Lin Wan saw some clothing information from the far south. The rapidly changing clothing reform, updating and iterating, spread from south to north. Quite a few people from Yue City and Shen City would even cross the sea to Hong Kong City to buy goods.
On the Internet forums, some people bragged about how impressive they were. Setting aside the arrogance in their words, there was actually quite a lot of useful information.
In addition, some people on the forum mentioned that factories in certain regions were seeing increasingly lower efficiency, and wages were being postponed again and again.
Although she could not be certain whether a sought-after state-owned factory like this would really run into problems, Lin Wan still took note of it.
Later, during the factory office meeting, the office director Feng Tianjiao, who had just returned from leave, led several veteran employees and the key university-student newcomers in speaking freely and looking toward the future.
When it was Lin Wan’s turn, she tried to bring up the possible crisis: “Nowadays, many of the clothes sold in department stores and department buildings that are shipped up from the south are fashionable in style and bright in color. Even many clothes sold at street stalls are pretty. They really will snatch away a lot of our factory’s market.”
The factory office director Feng Tianjiao did not take it seriously: “Comrade Lin Wan, what you’re saying actually shows a lack of confidence in our factory. Our factory has walked forward step by step along with the country’s development. Back then, when [XXXXX] came to inspect Jiangcheng, he even visited our factory and singled it out to contribute to socialist construction. How could all these messy clothes now possibly compete with a factory as big as ours?”
Once Director Feng spoke, several others also chimed in one after another, each taking pride in the garment factory and unwilling to hear any talk about business being snatched away.
Yang Guifen smiled and tried to smooth things over: “Xiao Lin just entered the factory. This is also her considering the factory, just considering it too much. Her starting point is good.”
Lin Wan did not say anything more. When the meeting ended and she walked out with Sister Yang, she heard her whisper: “Xiao Lin, some things still can’t be said casually.”
“Indeed.” Lin Wan nodded, looking at Director Feng, whom she had met for the first time today. That was someone who could not bear to hear unpleasant but honest advice.
“Director Feng probably still has some opinion about that matter of yours. No matter what, today it shouldn’t have been raised to such a high level. Don’t take it to heart.”
What Sister Yang said left Lin Wan completely bewildered: “That matter?”
Yang Guifen looked left and right, then leaned close to Lin Wan’s ear and muttered: “It’s your marriage matter. You girl are really carefree, you forgot it yourself! Director Feng wanted to introduce her niece to your man, but in the end it didn’t work out. So more or less, she looks at you with some displeasure.”
Lin Wan truly had not known about this. Feng Tianjiao’s father was a cousin of Fu Xiuhuai’s father. It seemed the two families had deep ties.
Today she had vaguely sensed that the director was indeed not very amiable toward her and was rather strict, but she had only taken it as the airs of a leader.
Now hearing the reason, she had not expected Fu Xiuhuai to turn out to be a source of trouble.
……
Lin Wan just did her own work and was not too worried about Director Feng making things difficult for her. She even tossed the scene at the meeting to the back of her mind. After all, this was her iron rice bowl. Let her be.
It was Saturday after work, with tomorrow off. The factory entrance was lively, with all kinds of street vendors hawking without stop.
Lin Wan had made plans in advance with her good friend He Qiumei to go look around and, by the way, ask around for information.
After all, for the past half month or so, she had still not seen Fu Mingjun and had no way of knowing what exactly had happened in the year from 1994 to 1995. Since she had not found out anything from the Fu family, she thought of starting with classmates.
Accompanying He Qiumei to buy a finely made dress in the department store for a blind date, Lin Wan saw her face full of astonishment.
“Wanwan, you and Fu Mingjun, and your current husband… you’re still asking about him now?” He Qiumei really could not understand the relationship among these three people. How embarrassing.
Lin Wan looked calm: “What are you thinking? Fu Xiuhuai and Fu Mingjun are uncle and nephew no matter what. Could they become enemies? It’s just that Fu Mingjun has run off somewhere to play, and as an elder, he’s concerned about him. TV and newspapers often report things like bandits and highway robbers. So scary.”
“That’s true too.” He Qiumei thought about it for a while and figured it out. Maybe the Fu family did not mind at all. “Otherwise, next week how about asking Fu Mingjun’s best buddy from university?”
“You mean Liang Bin?”
“Yeah, Liang Bin contacted classmates a few days ago to come support the place. His brother’s karaoke hall has even opened a branch, right in the south of the city. I heard that area is going to be developed, and later they’re even going to build a Hong Kong City chain high-rise. Very impressive.”
Lin Wan’s relationship with Fu Mingjun’s group of good buddies was neither warm nor cold. They had eaten together a few times. Starting with them should be more suitable.
“All right, then let’s go together.”
After settling the old classmates’ gathering, He Qiumei painfully spent thirty yuan on a beautiful dress and, pulling Lin Wan along, chattered about the blind date. In the end, she did not forget to urge Lin Wan to buy some clothes too.
Lin Wan had been quite settled during this period. Although some things were still not figured out, life still had to go on.
Looking at the dazzling array of beautiful clothes, it was hard not to feel moved.
She picked a white shirt and a goose-yellow plaid dress. It was the first time Lin Wan had spent seventy yuan. It was just that the fabric of the clothes was really good, and the style was a rare fashionable and novel one, making people love them too much to let go.
When the two were about to leave, He Qiumei pointed to the children’s clothing section in the mall and said excitedly: “Is it too early to buy clothes for the child now?”
Lin Wan, who had been trying her best to ignore this matter, stopped in her tracks. She gently stroked her slightly bulging abdomen and looked at the various small, cute clothes in the children’s clothing section. As if possessed, she moved her feet.
……
An hour later, Lin Wan returned to the Fu family carrying several paper bags. The old master and old madam had already gone back to their rooms to rest. Under the brilliant crystal chandelier in the living room, the two brothers Fu Xiutong and Fu Xiuhuai were talking.
Zhang Meiying was drinking silver ear and bird’s nest soup to nourish her beauty. Seeing Lin Wan return, she still had to put on the proper appearance: “Auntie Wang, bring up the bird’s nest reserved for Lin Wan.”
Lin Wan was now already able to adapt well to the boyfriend’s mother who insisted on playing the good elder sister-in-law. She smiled and thanked her, and was just about to go upstairs first to put the clothes away when she saw Zhang Meiying come over.
“Lin Wan, you bought quite a lot of clothes?” Zhang Meiying knew her husband was talking with Fu Xiuhuai about work and needed to borrow money to turn over funds to pay the factory’s wages, so at this moment she naturally had to play the good virtuous helpmate. “Look how beautiful this dress is. You’ll definitely look good in it. And there are baby clothes too. How cute…”
Her enthusiastic voice echoed through the living room, drawing the attention of the Fu brothers.
Zhang Meiying was adept at speaking to people in human words and to ghosts in ghost words. She knew what her husband’s younger brother liked to hear, so she spoke with flourishes: “Second brother, come quickly and see. Your wife bought so many clothes, hers, the child’s, and yours too. They all say one should marry a virtuous wife. Lin Wan really does keep this family in mind.”
Listening to her elder sister-in-law’s rumored-style flattery, Lin Wan stared blankly at the man walking over step by step, feeling somewhat awkward. When had she bought clothes for Fu Xiuhuai?
At the mall, from beginning to end, Lin Wan had never remembered this matter.
With several beautiful dresses in her left hand and cute baby clothes in her right, and a tall, handsome man in front of her, Lin Wan felt somewhat embarrassed.
Which one could you wear? Pick for yourself.