Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Fu Xunian is an engineer, while they are just rank-and-file workers. If they go to ask Fu Xunian for help, he'd surely turn them down.

Li Daniu couldn’t help but imagine the scene where they approached Fu Xunian to repair the sewing machine, only to be met with a cold rejection.

"Engineer Fu, why didn’t I think of him?"

Liu Minhua smacked his forehead.

Right! Fu Xunian is an engineer at their auto plant. He had heard that Fu Xunian had skills that ordinary workers didn’t, but he never expected Fu Xunian knew how to fix sewing machines.

"I’ll go find Engineer Fu."

As soon as he made a move, Li Daniu grabbed Liu Minhua.

"Minhua, are you really going to ask Engineer Fu?"

"Of course. Since Engineer Fu can fix sewing machines, I must go ask him." Naturally, he wanted Fu Xunian’s help.

"Brother Minhua is right. If Engineer Fu can fix sewing machines, he’ll surely agree to help if we ask."

A Ye piped up as well.

But Li Daniu shook his head. "Have you forgotten Engineer Fu's position? He’s an engineer. Do you really think he’d help you repair a sewing machine? Impossible."

"Minhua, just look for someone else. Engineer Fu would never agree to help you."

He even advised Liu Minhua to see if anyone else could fix the sewing machine.

Li Daniu’s words weren’t unreasonable, but last time when Liu Minhua’s bicycle broke, Fu Xunian had stepped up to help. When shop floor guys encountered problems and sought Fu Xunian’s advice, he would assist and walk them through fixes.

"Daniu, it’s true that Engineer Fu is the factory’s engineer, but I believe if I ask for his help, he won’t say no to me."

Somehow, Liu Minhua was convinced that Fu Xunian wouldn’t turn him down if he asked for help with the sewing machine.

Seeing Liu Minhua’s confidence, Li Daniu hesitated but eventually let go of his arm.

He reminded Liu Minhua, "If Engineer Fu refuses, let me know. I’ll help you find someone else who can repair sewing machines."

Liu Minhua grinned. "Good brother, just wait for my good news."

With that, Liu Minhua took off so quickly he disappeared in an instant.

Li Daniu drew A Ye aside and began trying to recall who else in their No. 3 Auto Works, besides Fu Xunian, could repair sewing machines.

In one of the offices at the No. 3 Auto Works administrative building,

Fu Xunian, with his clean-cut, handsome features, wore a pair of black-framed glasses that gave him a scholarly look.

On the side of his desk sat two lunch tins, both open, revealing their contents.

One lunch tin contained three mantou, while the other held stir-fried shredded potatoes with meat, steamed eggplant with minced pork, and scrambled eggs.

The dishes were way better than what most line workers could usually get. But Fu Xunian’s attention was entirely focused on the blueprint he was studying.

Suddenly, his furrowed brow tightened, and he snatched up a pencil to mark up the blueprint.

In no time, his furrowed brow smoothed out, and his face eased into satisfaction.

Knock-knock-knock-knock. Someone rapped on the office door. Fu Xunian looked up, a flicker of confusion in his eyes before it quickly faded.

"Liu Minhua, come in."

He set the blueprint aside.

Standing outside the door, Liu Minhua swallowed hard. None of the confidence he'd shown with Li Daniu remained.

Instead, he edged forward nervously, inexplicably convinced he should have listened to Li Daniu and sought someone else.

Perhaps sensing Liu's unease, Fu took the initiative to speak.

"Having trouble with something at work?"

This was an automobile factory, after all, where workers often encountered technical problems and sought Fu's assistance. Fu assumed Liu had come for similar reasons.

But Liu kept nodding and shaking his head.

Fu was puzzled—this wasn’t about machinery.

"Engineer Fu, I do have a problem, but... but..."

The request for sewing machine repairs died in Liu Minhua’s throat, too daunting to voice, yet impossible to avoid.

"Liu, we're both Third Auto Plant workers. Spit it out," Fu said, watching as Liu continued to hesitate.

Better to speak plainly than to keep stammering.

Wrung his sweaty hands, Liu blurted out, "Engineer Fu, I heard you know how to repair sewing machines. Is that true?"

Fu blinked, considering. "I don’t."

"What? You don’t?" Liu shot back, pure dismay etched across his face.

So Fu Xunian couldn’t fix sewing machines?

Why’d Li Daniu steer him wrong?

"I don’t, but I do know how sewing machines are mechanically assembled."

Fu truly hadn’t repaired one before, but he had read about sewing machine parts and assembly in books.

If it came to repairs, he could take a crack at it—he was confident in his ability to fix it.

"But if it's just from books..." Liu mumbled.

Scratching his head, he shot Fu an awkward grin. "My bad for bothering you. I thought if you knew how to fix sewing machines, I’d ask for your help. But since you haven’t done it before, forget it."

Fu got the message.

Fu shrugged. "It’s fine. I really haven’t repaired one before."

Noticing the untouched lunchbox on Fu’s desk, Liu realized he hadn’t eaten yet. "I’ll let you eat. Dig in."

Liu Minhua wanted to track down Li Daniu and A Ye quickly, to see if anyone else at the factory could fix sewing machines.

They had to hurry, otherwise Jiang Yiwei would be stuck without a working machine.

Fu Xunian nodded.

As Liu Minhua walked out of the room, he grumbled under his breath, "What should I do? I already talked big to Yi Wei."

Fu Xunian, about to continue reviewing the blueprints, heard Jiang Yiwei's name. Before he could think, his body moved first.

"Liu Minhua, please wait a moment."

Fu Xunian's shout made Liu Minhua jump, who had already stepped out the door. Pointing at himself, he asked, "Xunian, are you calling me?"

"Yes, I’m calling you."

Liu Minhua looked puzzled as he walked back into the office and approached the desk.

"Xunian, what did you want to talk about?"

Now it was Fu Xunian’s turn to hesitate. The image of Jiang Yiwei’s pretty face flashed in his mind.

"You’re looking for someone to repair the sewing machine for Jiang Yiwei?"

Liu Minhua wondered how Fu Xunian knew, then remembered he had just mentioned Jiang Yiwei’s name. There was nothing to hide.

So Liu Minhua explained that Jiang Yiwei had bought an old sewing machine, but it was acting up and wasn’t working right. She wanted someone to fix it, which was why Liu Minhua had come to the factory to ask around. Someone had told him Fu Xunian could repair sewing machines, so he had approached him. But since Fu Xunian said he had never repaired one before, Liu Minhua had to keep asking around for someone else in the factory who might know how.

Fu Xunian understood.

So Jiang Yiwei had bought a sewing machine herself.

He glanced at Liu Minhua and said, "Although I’ve never repaired a sewing machine, I’ve studied up on them. If you don’t mind, I could try to help fix it."

After saying this, Liu Minhua gaped at him. Even Fu Xunian himself felt strange—why he'd offered to repair a sewing machine?

Since Fu Xunian had never fixed one before, Liu Minhua was on the fence about accepting the offer.

But soon, he agreed.

"Sure thing! But I’ll have to check with Yi Wei first."

"It's her machine, so I need to ask if she agrees."

Liu Minhua did hesitate, considering whether to decline Fu Xunian’s offer since he had no experience repairing sewing machines. He wasn't sure it would pan out.

But then he thought about how whenever there was a mechanical issue in the factory, Fu Xunian could sort it out no problem.

Somehow, he believed Fu Xunian could definitely handle fixing the sewing machine too.

Still, before proceeding, Liu Minhua needed to run it by Jiang Yiwei. If she objected, he would turn down Fu Xunian’s offer.

"Just let me know," Fu Xunian replied.

Yes, Jiang Yiwei should be consulted.

After seeing Liu Minhua off, Fu Xunian was antsy—equal parts hopeful and nervous.

He took a deep breath, pulled himself together, finished his meal, and got back to poring over the blueprints.

No. 1 Garment and Textile Factory.

At the end of the workday, workers poured out of the factory, some riding bicycles and others walking, creating a lively scene.

Xiaofeng gave Yiwei a ride on her bike.

Xiaofeng slowly pedaled to an open spot by the gate and stopped, allowing Yiwei to hop off.

"Xiaofeng, see you tomorrow."

Yiwei waved at Xiaofeng, who responded, "See you tomorrow," before riding forward.

Meanwhile, Yiwei stayed behind, waiting for Liu Minhua to pick her up.

Since she happened to be near Zhang Eldest Master's guardhouse, they started chatting. At one point, Yiwei took out a small wax paper package from her bag.

She handed it to Zhang Eldest Master and said, "Zhang Eldest Master, this is red date cake (a traditional Chinese sweet). I originally wanted to give it to you this morning when I came to work, but you weren’t in the guardhouse. Now that I’ve run into you, here, take this."

"You should keep it for yourself. There’s no need to give it to me." Zhang Eldest Master declined Yiwei’s kind gesture.

It warmed his heart, though, feeling he hadn’t misjudged her.

She was a grateful person.

She had brought him food several times before. Once or twice was fine, but any more than that and Zhang Eldest Master had to refuse.