Chapter 102: Second Watch

Chapter 102: Second Watch

"What's the big deal about being pregnant? She's still working as usual, handling the factory's production tasks alongside Xing Fangjie. I can't even get a word in," Jin Caifei rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming. "Director Shen may seem easygoing, but she's not someone without a temper. We've all been through that."

On the other end of the phone, Mao Jianxin chuckled, "Yes, we've all been through that. But you're still comfortably holding the position of Deputy Factory Director, while I'm stuck in the logistics department as a small section chief with no real authority."

Jin Caifei felt awkward, "Section Chief Mao, you're really..."

Mao Jianxin interrupted her, "I don't believe you don't want to return to the provincial capital. Your son is about to graduate from elementary school, right? How is it? Does he get close to you every time you visit? And your husband, Lao Cheng, how long can your relationship last with you two living apart like this?"

Jin Caifei fell silent.

Mao Jianxin's words hit a nerve. She couldn't accompany her son during his growth, and the child was becoming increasingly indifferent to her. Her husband, too, had gone from being supportive to now often complaining.

On the surface, it seemed like she had taken a shortcut, reaching a position she couldn't have achieved in the provincial capital. But who knew what she had really lost?

"You don't need to do anything else, just sign and stamp a few documents. She can't always be at the factory. When she's giving birth and during her maternity leave, she'll have to delegate authority to you for a while, right?"

Mao Jianxin's voice was laced with temptation, "When the time comes, you'll take over as Factory Director, and I'll be your Deputy. I'll assist you, and we'll take the Second Embroidery Factory to new heights. It's not like when the Ninth Workshop was first established. Now the factory has a solid foundation, with workers, equipment, and orders—nothing is lacking. Whether Director Shen is around or not, no one will notice."

"She's been insisting on keeping the factory in that remote corner of Liuqiao Commune, and the provincial leaders are not happy about it, understand?"

Jin Caifei said, "I'll think it over."

She hung up the phone abruptly.

Someone knocked on the door. Jin Caifei composed herself and called out, "Come in."

Liu Yingshuang entered with a purchase order, "Deputy Factory Director Jin, this batch of goods exceeds my authorization limit. I need your signature."

Liu Yingshuang was originally the Deputy Director of the workshop, but after working for a while, she went to Director Shen and requested a transfer. Her hard-earned skills were no match for the increasingly skilled embroiderers.

Having experience from the Canton Fair, Liu Yingshuang felt she was more suited for procurement and sales.

Indeed, after joining the procurement and sales department, Liu Yingshuang felt like a fish in water.

Later, as the factory expanded, the procurement and sales departments were split, and Liu Yingshuang was promoted to head of the procurement department.

Jin Caifei took the order, glanced at it, and quickly signed it.

Liu Yingshuang glanced at Jin Caifei before leaving the office.

After returning to her office, Liu Yingshuang quickly handled some tasks and then went to the Factory Director's office empty-handed.

When she entered, Director Shen was reviewing documents. Liu Yingshuang automatically poured herself a glass of water, took an apple from the cabinet, peeled it, and handed it to Director Shen, "Time for your vitamins."

Director Shen put down the documents, took the apple, and took a bite, asking, "Did Fu Zhiqing assign you a task as well?"

Liu Yingshuang made a face that said, "Please rein in your man; he's going overboard," "Not just me, he's assigned tasks to all of us. There's a fruit team, a snack team, a leave-on-time team, a tea-serving team... Zhao Tingting and I are in the fruit team. We're on alternating shifts, whoever is free will supervise you eating fruits."

Director Shen rubbed her temples in frustration, "Just pay him no mind."

Ever since she got pregnant, Fu Zhiqing had changed. He used to be quite bold, but now he was overly cautious, treating her like she's made of glass.

To make matters worse, her father, who rarely agreed with her husband, was now in complete alignment with him. The two men were in complete agreement, and in a family of three, she was always outvoted.

But this is really a bit over the top.

As the months passed, she had indeed started to feel some inconveniences in her daily life, but nothing this extreme.

"It's no big deal, just peeling an apple—piece of cake," Liu Yingshuang said, sipping her tea. "I’ll just take it as a chance to relax."

Shen Moer glanced at her and asked, "Did something happen? Did another admirer send gifts to your house, or is there trouble with the rattan weaving co-op?"

Since the year they returned from the Canton Fair and the ninth workshop was transformed into the second branch factory, and Liu Yingshuang was promoted to Deputy Director of the workshop, suitors started popping up left and right.

Some just handed her food or small gifts on her way home, trying to win her over, while others went a bit further, directly going to her father's house to curry favor and send gifts.

Even though Liu Yingshuang and her grandfather had moved out long ago, people still assumed her father had the final say in her marriage.

This meant Liu Yingshuang ended up arguing with her father and stepmother every time she visited the Pine Tree Brigade.

The rattan weaving co-op had slowly taken shape after the first Canton Fair.

Shen Moer had managed to sell fifty thousand rattan gift boxes. At first, the commune gathered skilled workers from different brigades to weave the boxes, adopting a regular purchase method, with the commune acting as the unified seller to the factory. Later, as orders grew, the commune set up a dedicated rattan weaving co-op.

Since the initial samples were made by Grandpa Liu, after the cooperative was established, Grandpa Liu was given the title of Deputy Director, while the Director was directly appointed by the commune.

The title of Deputy Director often landed Grandpa Liu in hot water, as relatives would always try to seek his help, wanting to secure a team leader position or pass off defective products. Even Grandpa Liu, who was usually easygoing, often lost his temper.

Liu Yingshuang wanted her grandfather to retire and take it easy at home, but the old man was unwilling, saying that after living for decades, it's rare to have the opportunity to contribute to socialist construction, and he wanted to keep working until the day the organization didn’t need him anymore.

Liu Yingshuang had no choice but to let him be, though she quietly warned off those distant relatives.

These things were annoying, sure, but not enough to make her complain to the factory director during work.

Liu Yingshuang shook her head, "No, it's..."

She stood up and closed the office door, ensuring that even the secretary outside couldn't hear, then said, "Earlier, I went to Deputy Factory Director Jin for a signature and accidentally overheard her on the phone, saying something about pregnancy, not being able to get involved, and so on."

Shen Moer smiled faintly, "Accidentally overheard?"

Liu Yingshuang then candidly said, "At first, it was an accident—I heard something about pregnancy—but then I stayed and listened on purpose. Unfortunately, she didn't say much; it seemed like the other side was doing most of the talking, and in the end, she just said she would consider it further."

"She’s definitely scheming something."

She concluded.

Shen Moer thought for a moment, then smiled, "Don’t worry, it won’t stir up any trouble."

And indeed, by July 1977, as the weather was getting hotter, the factory remained calm and peaceful.

By now, Shen Moer was heavily pregnant, but thanks to Fu Zhiqing’s attentive care, she was doing well, eating well and sleeping soundly every day.

After the afternoon rain, the clouds cleared by evening. The air had cooled, and a gentle breeze brought a welcome chill.

Shen Moer walked toward the factory gate, one hand on her waist, and the people in the security room greeted her, "Fu Zhiqing’s already here, waiting at the gate."

Sure enough, under the camphor tree outside the gate of the embroidery factory, Fu Mingze was waiting there with his bicycle.

"Why didn’t you come inside? It’s sweltering out here," Shen Moer said, handing Fu Mingze the cloth bag.

Fu Mingze took out a brown paper package from the bike basket, "Here, have a snack first."

After Shen Moer took it, he continued to answer her previous question, "It’s cooled down after the rain."

The brown paper package contained two still-warm scallion and egg pancakes, made with just a little oil, eggs, and chopped scallions.

As her belly grew larger, Shen Moer found herself getting hungry easily. As she walked, she ate the two palm-sized scallion and egg pancakes, licking her lips, realizing they only served as a light snack.

Fu Mingze, knowing exactly what she was thinking, chuckled and said, "These pancakes were made by Aunt Cai for her grandson. I couldn't bring myself to take too many."

Shen Moer had already guessed that he had "scrounged" for these, as Fu Zhiqing certainly didn't know how to make these pancakes.

However, since she became pregnant, Fu Zhiqing seemed to have developed a thicker skin, often asking people to prepare food for her. He had asked Aunt Chen, Aunt Cai, Auntie Wang, the brigade leader's wife, Zhou Dashuan's wife, and even Lu Dongyun.

The first few were fine, but even though Zhou Dashuan's family lived next door, they didn't interact much because of the brigade headquarters in between. Shen Moer wasn't even very familiar with Zhou Dashuan's wife.

As for Lu Dongyun, although she did embroidery work for the garment factory, her family's "landlord" label hadn't been cleared yet, so she didn't interact much with others. It was unclear how Fu Mingze discovered her skill at making mung bean cakes, but he had gathered the ingredients and asked her to make a batch.

In short, even though Shen Moer didn't have any strange pregnancy cravings, she certainly didn't go hungry, eating just as much as those who did.

Shen Moer ribbed, "So Fu Zhiqing can feel embarrassed too?"

Fu Mingze shot her a look, "Who do you think I'm doing all this for?"

Shen Moer immediately pretended to zip her lips shut.

After a while, she changed the subject, "Have you written back to your dad? It's only natural for the old man to want to see you after so many years. Maybe after I give birth, you can find some time to visit?"

In the past two years, many educated youths had returned to the city. From what Liu Yingshuang said, most educated youths should be able to return within a year or two.

Since last winter, Fu Mingze's family had been writing more frequently. Shen Moer guessed they were also asking when he could return.

Fu Mingze had never taken leave to visit his family in all these years. Once, Shen Moer suggested they go to the capital together to visit his family, but he said it would be better to send the money home to help them out. Given how far the capital was and how busy they both were, Shen Moer eventually agreed to let him send 300 yuan home instead.

Fu Mingze lowered his gaze slightly, "We'll see. After the baby is born, we'll probably be even busier."

Actually, his father wasn't just asking him to visit. His parents had been rehabilitated and returned to the capital, urging him to bring his wife to visit. However, he hadn't figured out how to explain to his wife that his family wasn't exactly "red and proletarian."