Chapter 101 Notes

Chapter 101 Notebook

Gu Ying collapsed suddenly at work, and her colleagues immediately sent her to the hospital and contacted the Gu family.

When Xie Xinyi heard the news and rushed to the hospital, Wen Shuhua was standing in the corner, dabbing at her tears.

Luo Jinxia sat by the bed, holding Gu Ying’s hand, and said, “You foolish girl, how could you go to work without eating? Your health is your greatest wealth. No matter how worried you are about him, you can’t jeopardize your health.”

Gu Ying remained silent, lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

Due to low blood sugar, the girl looked pale and weak, like a soulless shell. No matter what anyone said, it didn't get through to her.

Xie Xinyi had just spoken to the doctor—Gu Ying’s condition was due to severe low blood sugar from not eating for an extended period.

Even though Xie Xinyi spent every day with the girl, she hadn’t realized that Gu Ying hadn’t been eating properly at work. She would only eat a little when she got home, and at night, her mind would wander, making it hard for her to sleep. It was a wonder she hadn't fallen ill sooner.

When Gu Yu arrived, Xie Xinyi noticed his bloodshot eyes and clenched fists. She stepped forward to calm him down.

“It’s nothing serious, just a bit of low blood sugar. She’ll recover with some rest.”

Her underlying message was: Don’t take your anger out on your sister. I know you care about her, but Gu Ying is already suffering—don’t add to her burden.

Gu Yu got the message. After Xie Xinyi spoke, he let out a long sigh and went outside to smoke.

Xie Xinyi glanced at Gu Ying lying in bed, then at Wen Shuhua, who was secretly wiping away tears, and Luo Jinxia, who was putting on a brave face.

Even after all this time, Zhang Xin’s disappearance was like a thorn in everyone’s heart. The slightest touch brought piercing pain.

Xie Xinyi understood Gu Ying’s state of mind, so she didn’t ask questions or offer advice. Instead, she found the right moment to say indirectly, “When Zhang Xin returns, he’ll want to see the same you as before.”

Whether it was her words that made a difference or not, after being discharged from the hospital, Gu Ying seemed much more at ease.

Though she still didn’t smile, at least she didn’t end up back in the hospital.

As for the Zhang family, aside from having Luo Jinxia return to wait for news, Zhang Xin’s father and Ma Dakui had both submitted transfer applications.

Zhang Xin’s father had originally gone to Shanghai for a temporary assignment and was always meant to return to the First Military District. His transfer request had been submitted even before Zhang Xin’s incident, and the Shanghai Military District had already agreed to transfer him back the following year.

As for Ma Dakui, transferring from Shanghai to Beijing involved crossing military districts, making the process more complicated than Zhang Xin’s father’s.

The procedures were complex, with many restrictions. Ma Dakui had already served as a battalion commander in Shanghai for two years and had recently received a second-class merit award. If he stayed in Shanghai, he would likely be promoted to regiment commander soon. But now that he had applied for a transfer to the First Military District, his promotion might be delayed for several years.

Initially, the Zhang family didn’t support Ma Dakui’s return to Beijing, considering how hard he had worked to get to where he was. They had planned for Zhang Juan to stay with him in Shanghai until he was promoted to regiment commander. But then Zhang Xin’s incident happened.

Life is unpredictable. Ma Dakui didn’t want to live with regrets, and after his previous injury, he had come to a realization.

In his view, nothing in the world was more important than being with family.

He had no parents or siblings. Meeting Zhang Juan and being accepted by the Zhang family as one of their own had given him a home and people to care about.

Since then, the lonely wanderer had found family. What mattered most to him was no longer climbing the ranks but being with his loved ones.

Now, with Zhang Xin missing, the Zhang family needed support. Worried about Zhang Xin’s parents, Ma Dakui pressed for his transfer application to be processed sooner.

With Luo Jinxia alone in Shanghai, Wen Shuhua feared she might overthink things. Every day, she carried Xiao Yueer to the neighboring house to keep Luo Jinxia company.

These two women, who had bickered for half their lives, unexpectedly became joined at the hip in their old age.

But their bickering habits remained unchanged. Wen Shuhua often complained as she walked home, frustrated by Luo Jinxia’s remarks, swearing she was asking for trouble and vowing that whoever went next door was a dog. Yet the next day, she would once again carry Xiao Yueer to Luo Jinxia’s house, breaking her own vow.

While Wen Shuhua worried about her friend, Gu Yu remained surprisingly calm. During the period when there was no news of Zhang Xin, he even found time to take several trips.

Whether it was confidence in his friend or something else, Gu Yu, the future tycoon, didn’t let the opportunity slip away.

Shortly after the reforms began, he traveled to several places without delay.

Xie Xinyi heard him mention it briefly but didn’t comment, silently marveling at his sharp instincts and foresight.

If she remembered correctly, the coastal areas didn’t see significant development until the 1980s, but Gu Yu had keenly predicted the trend and spent most of his time visiting those regions.

Aside from Grandma Gu, the rest of the Gu family didn’t know that Gu Yu had left the military. Xie Xinyi kept it to herself and even covered for him.

She supported Gu Yu in pursuing his goals but didn’t pry into the details of his business ventures unless he volunteered the information.

That night on the balcony, Gu Yu had dropped his guard and spoken openly with her. It was the first time she had seen him so talkative. Since then, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Whenever they were alone in their room, Gu Yu would chatter nonstop, sharing everything—even what he had eaten in the military.

The once-reserved man had become a chatterbox. At first, Xie Xinyi found it a bit overwhelming, but as it became a daily occurrence, she grew accustomed to it.

However, Gu Yu’s talkativeness was reserved for their private moments. Outside their room, he reverted to his silent, stern-faced self, speaking sparingly to others.

Xie Xinyi knew exactly where Gu Yu went and what he did. While admiring his business acumen, she also excelled in her own work.

After her previous training trip to Shanghai, Old Liu had handed over the leadership of the R&D team to her.

Now, Xie Xinyi was responsible for training team members and making decisions about new product development. Old Liu merely dropped by in the morning and afternoon, enjoying a leisurely routine.

Yuan Kang joked that Old Liu had finally seen the light—approaching seventy, he was finally enjoying his retirement.

Old Liu didn’t argue, content to wander around the factory at his own pace.

While the old man enjoyed his carefree days, Xie Xinyi was as busy as a spinning top.

In addition to training her subordinates, she made time to check on her elder sister in the Boiler Team.

After hearing from Ms. Liu about her sister and Big Chen, Xie Xinyi visited the Boiler Team more frequently. To avoid raising suspicion, she would only take a quick glance from the doorway before leaving.

If Big Chen was there, she would eavesdrop discreetly. If he wasn’t, she would circle the workshop to see if anyone was bullying her sister in his absence.

But it seemed she had worried unnecessarily.

After a month of observation, she noticed that even without Big Chen around, no one in the workshop dared to mistreat her sister.

As Ms. Liu had said, her sister had established her authority after the previous incident.

Relieved, Xie Xinyi leisurely made her way back to the R&D team. She was about to study the new products planned for the Sweet Rice Ball Team this year when she realized she couldn’t find her notebook anywhere.

“Where did it go?”

When Old Liu entered and saw the mess on the floor, he thought the office had been robbed.

“What’s going on? This is…”

He picked up the documents from the floor and asked Xie Xinyi, who was frantically searching through a pile of notebooks.

“Master,” the girl looked up, “my notebook is missing.”

The notebook is missing?!

"The one you kept in the second drawer?"

The notebook that the girl used to jot down key points when he had taken Xie Xinyi for on-site trials in the workshop!

Xie Xinyi nodded.

It contained many important notes. She clearly remembered putting it in the second drawer—how could it suddenly disappear?

She was puzzled. Old Liu sighed and then asked when she noticed it was missing and who had been in their office recently.

That notebook was crucial. Back when Xie Xinyi was taking notes, he had reminded her to keep it safe. Yet, it still went missing.

Old Liu was frustrated but couldn’t bring himself to scold her. Instead, he crouched down, helping Xie Xinyi search high and low while pondering the notebook’s whereabouts.

"...I’ve kept it in the second drawer all this time and haven’t moved it. It shouldn’t be misplaced."

Xie Xinyi recalled carefully, then went over everyone who had visited the office recently.

"Ms. Liu came by a few times, Big Chen also visited, and Xiao Jiang dropped off braised pork made by her mother-in-law once when I wasn’t here. Deputy Factory Manager Yuan came the most, but he was always looking for you. Recently, Director Ou and her son came to see me about this year’s new products for the Sweet Rice Ball Team. Other than that, no one else. At least, these are the only people who came while I was in the office."

She listed everyone who had entered the office, but none of them seemed likely to have taken her notebook.

Besides, the notebook didn’t contain anything truly important—even if someone took it, it would be useless.

"...What is all this? Wasn’t this thing supposed to be Xie Xinyi’s treasure?"

At Hongguang Food Factory, Ma Xinsheng flipped through the notebook in his hands repeatedly.

April 20th, 5:00 PM, Boiler Team coal yard, 15 minutes.

May 3rd, 10:00 AM, Boiler Team entrance, 2 minutes.

June 12th, 12:00 PM, Boiler Team workshop side, 30 minutes.

……

……

Isn’t Xie Xinyi the head of the R&D team? Wasn’t it said that she recorded all the techniques Old Liu taught her in this notebook?

This... Ma Xinsheng nearly tore the notebook apart flipping through it. Aside from these entries, he couldn’t find a single word about formulas or key points.

Not a single sentence—not even half a word.

The entire notebook was just records of the Boiler Team, noting dates and who met with whom.

That guy Big Chen—why did he have so much going on? So many people looking for him, and all of them women.

Ma Xinsheng was furious. After going to such great lengths and taking such risks, he ended up stealing something utterly useless.

He threw the notebook in front of Deputy Factory Manager and told him to take back everything promised to the informant.

"Factory Manager... this, this isn’t right."

He had handed over the rewards and taken the notebook in return. Regardless of whether the informant had used the rewards or not, there was no justification for demanding them back.

Moreover, the person he’d hired this time was a notorious troublemaker from Guohui—a big, fearless guy who even Guohui couldn’t control, let alone him.

Deputy Factory Manager glanced at his own frail physique and picked up the notebook to examine it.

Huh, the handwriting is quite neat.

But what is all this written here?

The more he read, the more his frown deepened. Weren't these supposed to be secret notes? Could the intel be wrong?

Deputy Factory Manager wondered if they had stolen the wrong notebook, but Ma Xinsheng snorted coldly and insisted that he must steal the notebook containing the formulas and key points no matter what.

Last time, after painstakingly developing the "Seven Dwarfs" ice pops, he thought he would crush Guohui underfoot. But that old fool Liu Yinsheng unexpectedly created an unbeatable "Grenade" ice cream in such a short time.

"Grenade"—not only was the name weird, but its shape was strange too. In all his years in the food industry, he had never seen such an ugly ice cream.

At first, he looked down on it, but that bizarre product stole the spotlight from his "Seven Dwarfs" as soon as it hit the market.

Ma Xinsheng, who had worked so hard to become factory manager thanks to the "Seven Dwarfs," was humiliated.

After competing with Guohui for so many years, this was the first time he had suffered such a great insult.

In previous clashes, he had either barely managed or started at a disadvantage. His competitive spirit wasn’t particularly strong, and he had never been this angry before.

After all, this time he had almost crushed Guohui underfoot. Even Section Chief Tang from the Commercial Bureau had praised him repeatedly the last time they met.

That old fool.

It was all because of Liu Yinsheng. Back when Ma Xinsheng was at Guohui, Liu Yinsheng looked down on him. Now, even as factory manager, Liu Yinsheng still went out of his way to oppose him.

Feeling deeply humiliated, Ma Xinsheng learned that the "Grenade" ice cream idea came from Liu Yinsheng’s capable assistant. He became determined to steal Xie Xinyi’s notebook.

The notebook was said to be filled with formulas and key points—intel secretly provided by Section Chief Tang of the Commercial Bureau. It couldn’t possibly be wrong.

He ordered Deputy Factory Manager to hire someone to steal it again.

He refused to believe that Xie Xinyi could have simply swallowed the notebook.

~~~

Xie Xinyi and Old Liu searched the office for several days but still couldn’t find the notebook that recorded the number of times Big Chen secretly met with the elder sister.

"Do you think Big Chen found out and took it secretly to avoid being laughed at?"

News of the R&D team’s missing notebook spread throughout Guohui Food Factory that very day.

Xie Xinyi’s notebook was missing. When it disappeared, whether it was lost or stolen—no one knew.

But Old Liu and Xie Xinyi searched the office for days as if facing a major crisis, even alerting Director Fang and Deputy Factory Manager Yuan. It seemed the notebook was anything but ordinary.

Rumors spread that the notebook contained new product formulas and Old Liu’s lifelong work—extremely important.

Now that it was lost, and on Xie Xinyi’s watch, everyone speculated about what punishment she would face. But over a month passed, and nothing happened to Xie Xinyi or Old Liu.

The master and apprentice didn’t argue or fight. They continued going to the workshop for trials every day, chatting and laughing as usual—hardly the behavior of people who had lost something crucial.

While things were calm in the R&D team, the Ice Pop Team was recently acting as if facing a crisis, desperately searching for Xie Xinyi’s missing notebook.

Ms. Liu asked everyone she could but no one had seen it. Since few people usually entered Xie Xinyi’s office, she began to suspect Big Chen.

"It must be him, and Big Chen has been to your place more than once."

Ms. Liu suspected that Big Chen had discovered it, was afraid of being laughed at, and secretly took it.

Xie Xinyi didn’t make wild guesses like Ms. Liu did; she went straight to Big Chen to ask him.

"What notebook? I’ve never seen it."

"...If it wasn’t Eldest Brother Chen who took it, then who else could it be?"

Xiao Jiang was confused, and Cui Mama also couldn’t make sense of who had stolen the notebook.

"Whoever stole it must have some weird taste. There were so many things they could have taken, but they went specifically for this notebook."

Cui Mama complained. At first, Xie Xinyi didn’t catch on, but later, when she thought about it in the office, she realized.

"Master, the notebook might really have been stolen."

She said to Old Liu uneasily, "Whoever stole it might not have been after this particular notebook."

Old Liu looked up when he heard this. "You suspect someone is after our technology?"

Xie Xinyi had switched notebooks. After realizing the notebook was missing that day, she had told Old Liu about it.

The missing notebook was indeed the one she had used to jot down key points before. However, after Old Liu reminded her to be cautious, she had copied the key points into another notebook and took it home for safekeeping.

The contents were precious—not only Old Liu’s efforts but also her own insights.

Aware of this, she had switched the notebooks. So, the stolen notebook now only contained notes about Big Chen and her eldest sister’s meetings, with no key points or formulas.

However, she hadn’t told anyone else about this. Even Old Liu, who Xie Xinyi hadn’t told, assumed the missing notebook contained important information.

No one knew about the switch, so the loss of the notebook wasn’t a simple matter.

Xie Xinyi and Old Liu had turned the office upside down over the past few days and found nothing, so it was likely the notebook had been stolen. The thief probably knew the notebook contained key points and thought stealing it would get their hands on the factory’s technology.

The motive was clear, the target specific—clearly a premeditated act.

Old Liu asked her, "Who have you offended in the factory recently?"

Offended, again? Who?

Xie Xinyi thought carefully and shook her head. "No, I’ve been keeping a low profile lately."

Aside from developing new products, she hadn’t drawn much attention. At most, she had visited the Boiler Team more frequently, but that shouldn’t have provoked envy.

Xie Xinyi was puzzled. Seeing this, Old Liu stayed quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Maybe it wasn’t someone from the factory."

He recalled a similar incident that had happened to Lin Wei and guessed it was likely Red Light Factory causing trouble again.

"Alright, let it go. Since there’s nothing important in the notebook, it’s no big loss. Another day, I’ll have your master's wife bring my notebook to you."

Xie Xinyi, who didn’t need more notebooks, nodded. "I could use a new notepad anyway."

She hadn’t finished recording the number of times her eldest sister and Big Chen had met. She needed to continue, or she’d have no "evidence" when matchmaking for them later.

The master and apprentice didn’t dwell on the matter. The next day, they just asked Yuan Kang to get them a large lock.

The lock was shiny and golden, and Xie Xinyi was very pleased. She happily locked it on the door of the R&D team’s office, making it obvious that something valuable was inside.

Well, now she’d see who could steal her "evidence" again.

~~~

The notebook incident didn’t cause much of a stir at Guohui Food Factory. Meanwhile, Ma Xinsheng had been frustrated for a long time because the Deputy Factory Manager couldn’t find a suitable "thief."

As the Chinese New Year approached, Guohui Food Factory gained attention from the commercial bureau again with their new fruit-filled sweet rice balls.

Xie Xinyi, as the key contributor to the new product’s development, was once again awarded the title of model worker at the year-end party.

When Gu Yu came to pick her up, Xie Xinyi proudly showed him the prize she had received.

"This time, I didn’t give it away. I’m taking it back for my mom."

Gu Yu glanced at the proud peacock before him and called her out. "You didn’t give it away, or no one wanted it?"

Xie Xinyi had never cared much for such things. Gu Yu didn’t believe someone as lazy as her would willingly carry so much stuff back to her parents’ home.

He called her out on her lie, only to have Xie Xinyi stomp hard on his foot before leaving him behind and heading to her parents’ home alone.

He had brought it upon himself.

Gu Yu spent a few days without seeing his wife. On the day Guohui Food Factory closed for the holiday, he waited early at the factory gate.

"Oh, Xiao Gu is here again."

Uncle Wang greeted him from afar. He was about to say it was still early and invite Gu Yu to play a few rounds of chess with him when he noticed the man frowning intently while staring at a corner not far away.

When Xie Xinyi finished work and left with her eldest sister, Xie Xinyue, Gu Yu was standing at the gate, looking very cold.

Had he been waiting too long for her?

The factory had been taking inventory that day, and she had gone to help the Ice Pop Team since she had nothing else to do. By then, almost everyone had left.

Seeing his cold demeanor, she thought he was upset about waiting so long.

But because Gu Yu had teased her earlier, Xie Xinyi didn’t approach him. Instead, she and her sister ignored him as if he were air and walked straight toward home.

"Xinyi."

Seeing this, the man pushed his bicycle and caught up with her.

Now he no longer seemed aloof or reserved. Xie Xinyi thought he might apologize for the earlier incident, but instead, he mentioned a name she hadn’t heard in a long time.

"I just saw your cousin."

"Xie Tingting?"

Xie Xinyi and her sister turned around simultaneously. "Where?"

Gu Yu glanced toward a corner not far away.

"Over there, the one in a dress."

In a dress? In the middle of winter?

Xie Xinyi didn’t believe him and was about to ask if he was joking when she turned and saw Xie Tingting wearing a summer dress, disheveled and curled up in the corner.

Several men surrounded her. One bold enough reached out to hold her hand, and Xie Tingting didn’t react, allowing the man to hold it. She even looked up and smiled at him.

"A fool, she really is a fool."

The man’s teasing words drifted over from afar, and Xie Xinyi froze on the spot.

Why was Xie Tingting here?

Where was her husband?