When working on projects, he had always been indifferent to day or night, never stopping until at least ten o’clock every evening.
Ten o’clock was actually the limit set by his superiors; otherwise, he would easily work until one or two in the morning, sleep for three or four hours, then get up and continue.
He was the undisputed king of workaholics in the entire Research Institute.
Lin Yunshi had been there for several days but hadn’t managed to have more than a few words with Lu Changfeng. Her attempts to show concern for him were met with indifference.
Now, out of options, she waited outside the Laboratory for Lu Changfeng to finish work.
Finally, when Lu Changfeng emerged, she handed him a cup of prepared Malted Milk Powder. “Engineer Lu, working like this will ruin your health.”
But Lu Changfeng didn’t accept it. “Comrade Lin, thank you for your kindness, but my wife has prepared Malted Milk Powder for me. You should keep this cup for yourself.”
With no one else around, Lin Yunshi mustered the courage to confess. “Engineer Lu, I’ve fallen in love with you. I’ve loved you since the day you saved me. Why don’t you divorce that fat woman at home and be with me? I promise I’ll treat your three children as my own.”
Lu Changfeng had never encountered a woman with such thick skin. Moreover, in this era, his morals wouldn’t allow him to engage in an affair.
He coldly refused, “Comrade Lin, I’ll pretend I never heard that. I’ve let my wife down over the years, and I have no intention of divorcing her now. Please stop hovering around me. I’m not interested in you.”
Lin Yunshi wouldn’t give up and directly hugged Lu Changfeng. “Engineer Lu, I love you, I really do. I don’t want to miss my chance with you.”
This finally pushed Lu Changfeng over the edge. If anyone saw this, where would he put his face?
He broke free from Lin Yunshi. “If you keep this up, I’ll report to the leadership and have you transferred.”
In his view, a woman actively seducing a married man like this was utterly shameless.
“And don’t bring me any more food in the future. I don’t need it.”
With that, he walked away without looking back.
Returning to the dormitory, Lu Changfeng, starving to the point of feeling hollow, made a bowl of Malted Milk Powder and ate a few biscuits prepared by Su Wanqing. After washing up, he went to bed.
In the past, he would often go to bed hungry, but recently, with Su Wanqing’s provisions, he felt a warm comfort in his heart every night before sleep.
…………
The next day at work, Su Wanqing went to pick up Xia Yue. Xia Yue handed her the television ticket, and Su Wanqing gave her forty yuan.
Xia Yue’s mother, Tian Nanxiang, saw this at the door and immediately waved her hands. “No, no, that won’t do. Comrade Su, you pick up and drop off my Xiao Yue every day, already saving her a lot of effort. We have no use for this television ticket; how can we accept your money?”
But Su Wanqing insisted on giving it. “Let’s keep things separate. If I bought it from someone else, I’d have to pay too. Rather than letting others benefit, I’d rather give it to someone close.”
Xia Yue urged Tian Nanxiang to accept it. “Mom, Wanqing is just that kind of kind and outstanding person. Please take it with peace of mind and use it to improve our meals at home.”
“That’s right, Auntie. Buy more meat to eat; it’ll do wonders for your health. With Xia Yue at the factory, I’ll look after her at noon. You can rest assured and leave her to me.”
After Su Wanqing finished speaking, Tian Nanxiang was so moved that she wiped away tears.
The two rode their bikes back to the factory for work. Since they didn’t need to go out today, Su Wanqing stayed at the factory to write reports with Secretary Tang.
Although Secretary Tang was quite sharp, she was quite satisfied with Su Wanqing’s performance over the past few days.
He whispered to Su Wanqing, “Comrade Su, you have no idea. Yesterday, when he heard you had contacted Black, Gao Weiguo almost flipped the table in the office.”
Su Wanqing said, “This matter hasn’t even taken shape yet, and he’s already this angry. If we actually sign a contract, wouldn’t he be so furious he’d end up half-paralyzed?”
Secretary Tang laughed heartily, “That’s for sure.”
Curious, Su Wanqing asked, “By the way, how did you find out?”
Secretary Tang didn’t intend to hide it from her and said in a low voice, “I have someone keeping an eye on him. Originally, he and Sun Ningde planned to spread rumors to drive you away, but they felt that spreading rumors about you and the factory director wouldn’t be believable, so they’re thinking of another lousy idea. You need to be careful yourself lately.”
Su Wanqing said gratefully, “Thank you for the reminder, Secretary Tang. I’ll be cautious.”
Secretary Tang replied, “Hey, we’re all in the same boat now. If you get targeted and forced out, I’ll be fighting alone, and the factory director will be in trouble.”
“Your mindset is truly commendable. Come over to my place for dinner tomorrow if you’re free.”
Secretary Tang said, “Thank you for your kindness, but I have something to do tomorrow. Another day, I’ll bring my wife and kids to your place for a meal.”
“Sounds good!”
On Sunday morning, after finishing breakfast, Su Wanqing took the children to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy a television.
After buying the television, she spotted down jackets and cashmere sweaters, both very expensive, adding up to a hundred yuan.
Su Wanqing gritted her teeth and said, “Comrade, one down jacket and one cashmere sweater, please.”
The salesperson remarked, “You’re quite well-off, comrade. But you’re buying men’s sizes—is it for your husband?” She had just bought a television and was now buying a down jacket.
Su Wanqing nodded, “Yes!”
“You’re so good to your husband!”
Lu An’an exclaimed loudly, “My mom really cares about my dad.”
Su Wanqing thought to herself, “If I don’t show him some care, he might divorce me.”
Afterward, she took the children to buy five jin of beef and five jin of pork. Lu An’an asked curiously, “Mom, why are you buying so much meat? We won’t be able to finish it.”
Su Wanqing replied, “I plan to make some pork jerky and beef jerky for your dad to take with him, to boost his nutrition. His research work is mentally taxing, and if his nutrition isn’t up to par, his health could suffer.”
All three children clapped their hands together, “Mom is so great!”
After returning home, Su Wanqing set up the television, and the three children excitedly started watching.
There weren’t many TV programs at the time, and it was still a black-and-white television, but the children watched with great interest.
Su Wanqing went into the kitchen, cut the pork and beef, and marinated them with cooking wine, sugar, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and garlic.
After marinating, she slowly dried the moisture in a pan, and simple pork jerky and beef jerky were ready.
Although there was no vacuum packaging at the time, the food wouldn’t spoil in this season. It would be enough for Lu Changfeng to eat for a while.
She set aside some for the children to eat and packed the rest, along with the clothes, to be picked up by Qiu Mingjie in the afternoon.
After lunch, Xia Tian arrived. He attended No. 3 Middle School, where the teaching staff was just average.
He genuinely wanted to get into a good university, but he struggled with many subjects.
After hearing from Xia Yue that Su Wanqing could tutor him, he rushed over right after lunch. He brought some fried rice made by Tian Nanxiang with him. Su Wanqing accepted it and said, “You’re too kind.”
Xia Tian said, “My mom said since you’re helping me so much, and we don’t have anything particularly impressive at home, we just brought a little something.”
Su Wanqing replied, “Auntie is always so thoughtful.”
She placed the fried rice into the package she had prepared for Lu Changfeng.
Su Wanqing first picked up the Chinese textbook and began explaining classical Chinese prose to him. For any sentences he didn’t understand, Su Wanqing explained them one by one.
While she was in the middle of explaining, Qiu Mingjie arrived.
Su Wanqing asked Xia Tian to read the text first, then went inside to fetch a package and handed it to Qiu Mingjie. “I made some pork jerky and beef jerky, and there’s also fried rice brought by my coworker’s mother. Tell Lu Changfeng to remember to eat it.”
Qiu Mingjie said, “You’re so concerned about Changfeng now—why don’t you come with us to see him?”