The weather was already approaching early autumn, but the “autumn tiger” heat wave was still at its most vicious. She was riding a bicycle again—unlike her past life, where she always drove and never suffered like this.
In this era, bicycles didn’t have lightweight women’s models. They were all heavy, old-style “28-inch” bikes. If the original owner hadn’t been naturally strong, she would have had to get off and push the bike—there was no way she could have ridden it all the way.
She was sweating so much she took off her hat, fanning herself with it in her hand. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing two slender arms like pale lotus stems.
Black hair, red lips—because she was sweating, a strand of hair had fallen from her cheek and slid down into her collar. The first button on her chest was undone, revealing a pair of delicate collarbones. Just a glance was enough to notice that even her arms and collarbone were the same porcelain white.
At Huigang Steel, many workers had been recruited from Haicheng. They were city people from the largest city in Jiang Province. Many of them were “factory second-generation” youths who had seen plenty of beautiful girls. The city girls were far more fashionable than rural ones.
Yet Lin Su, leaning against her bicycle in the most ordinary oversized military-style uniform, still looked so striking that people couldn’t look away.
As she stood there, some young men passing by even blushed. The gatekeeper couldn’t stand it anymore and came out to ask:
“Comrade, who are you looking for? Do you have a letter of introduction?”
“I’m looking for Qin Zhoucheng. He’s responsible for recruitment work in Qiangdi Village at Huigang. I am…” Lin Su paused, a little embarrassed, “I’m his family member.”
“Qin Zhoucheng? Never heard of that name,” the old gatekeeper frowned.
Lin Su froze. Qin Zhoucheng wasn’t just a technician—he was in charge of such a large section of work. He should at least be considered a small leader. How could he not be known?
Seeing her confusion, the gatekeeper softened a bit.
“Wait here, I’ll make a call. Without a letter of introduction, I can’t let you in.”
He picked up the office telephone in the guard room and spoke on it for quite a while.
Lin Su felt a little envious. Huigang Steel really was wealthy—even the gatehouse had a phone. In Qiangdi Village, even the production brigade didn’t have one.
She remembered clearly: pagers only started appearing in the late 1980s, and “big brother” mobile phones didn’t become popular until the 1990s. A single phone cost over ten thousand or even twenty thousand yuan—something only the richest people could afford.
Thinking about the little money she had on hand, Qin Zhoucheng’s bride price of one thousand yuan already felt like a huge sum. Compared to a mobile phone, it was still worlds apart.
Soon, a young man rushed over—about the same age as Qin Zhoucheng. He was also wearing a dark blue work uniform, but Lin Su felt he was too upright, almost like a soldier rather than a factory worker.
There was something about him that resembled Qin Zhoucheng, though she couldn’t quite put it into words.
“Comrade—no, sister-in-law, hello. I’m Sun Yongcheng from the Engineering Technology Department. Just call me Xiao Sun. Engineer Qin… Qin Gong is the head of our department.”
“He’s in charge of recruitment and workshop affairs, but he’s also an engineer?” Lin Su wasn’t completely ignorant. “Qin Gong” was the common abbreviation for “engineer” in factories.
Xiao Sun paused, then smiled.
“Yes, Qin Gong is basically the head of our technical team. The workshop equipment is still being installed, and the workshop director hasn’t been assigned yet, so Qin Gong is temporarily handling multiple roles. He’s very low-profile, so it’s normal the gatekeeper doesn’t know him. But he’s out on a site inspection right now and isn’t in the office.”
Lin Su felt a little disappointed.
“When will he be back home?”
“We don’t really know either, sister-in-law,” Xiao Sun said awkwardly.
Lin Su sighed. “Forget it, I’ll go home and wait for him then. I was worried he wouldn’t eat well, so I brought him food. I don’t even know if your cafeteria is ready yet.”
“It smells really good, sister-in-law. You even brought a big meal,” Xiao Sun said, sniffing the aroma and swallowing unconsciously. “Since you’re already here, why don’t you come in and sit for a while? You could even see Qin Gong’s office.”
Lin Su shook her head. “No need. Since he’s not here, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go in casually. I’ll come another time.”
Xiao Sun seemed to breathe a small sigh of relief.
Then Lin Su suddenly remembered something.
“Right.”
He immediately tensed up, standing straighter.
Lin Su took out the lunchboxes from her bag. “This is food I bought. He’s out on fieldwork and must be exhausted. If he can’t make it home, let him eat this. I bought quite a lot—you can all share it.”
The rich aroma spread instantly from the containers.
Xiao Sun panicked. “Ah, sister-in-law, that’s not appropriate—this really isn’t right…”
Lin Su smiled. She could already see the young man swallowing his saliva at the smell.
“It’s from Jinjiang Hotel. I also bought braised pig trotters—soft and delicious. I can’t just let you call me ‘sister-in-law’ for nothing, right? Take it.”
Without giving him a chance to refuse, she stuffed the bag into his arms, then got on her bicycle and rode away.
Xiao Sun stood there blankly, holding the bag like he was dreaming before slowly walking back into the factory.
Outside the engineering department office hung a sign reading “Engineering Technology Department.” Inside, the atmosphere was quiet. There were only four or five people, but their demeanor was completely different from the ordinary workers outside—serious and composed.
Then, suddenly, they all smelled a strong fragrance of meat.
“Sun Datou, what did you bring back? It smells amazing! The canteen isn’t even built yet—they’ve only got a few older women cooking. It’s either stewed melon or tofu and stir-fried zucchini every day. I’m sick of it!”
Xiao Sun scratched his head. “You know the cafeteria isn’t ready. Where would I get meat? This was brought by the wife of our battalion commander.”
“Wife?”
Everyone instantly became interested. They opened the lunchboxes, and the aroma of braised pork knuckles filled the entire room.
“What does the battalion commander’s wife look like? I heard this was just a fake marriage for a mission.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Maybe a fake marriage turned real. I think she really cares about the commander—look at this food from Jinjiang Hotel. Wow, braised sea cucumber too!”
“Datou, you saw her—tell us, what does she look like?”
Xiao Sun grinned. “Let me tell you, she’s incredibly beautiful. Not inferior to movie stars at all. Just dressed simply. If she went to the capital, she’d be a top beauty in the military compound.”
“Really? I heard she was ugly and fat. Even if it’s a fake marriage, marrying someone like that would be unfair to our commander. Do you know who he is? He’s the son of General Qin Zhongjiang. And I heard he already has a fiancée.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not lying. The sister-in-law is beautiful and gentle, and she cares a lot about the commander—this is all food from Jinjiang Hotel!”
“Then don’t eat it if you don’t want it,” Xiao Sun snapped.
The other immediately backed down. “No, no, give me some. I’ve been eating pumpkin stew until I’ve turned into a pumpkin myself. We’re working undercover here, eating badly and sleeping poorly, and the commander even has to sacrifice himself in a fake marriage. And that fiancée in Beijing…”
The office door suddenly opened.
Qin Zhoucheng walked out from inside, looking slightly tired.
“What are you bunch of kids talking about? What fiancée? Who’s in a relationship and planning to get married?”