Chapter 33

Thanks to Wu Xiaoxiao’s soothing powers, this young girl didn’t experience any more motion sickness during the journey. Wu Xiaoxiao chatted with her a little. This girl was from the third team and her name was Wang Qifang.

Wu Xiaoxiao actually thought of her as a young girl, but in reality, Wang Qifang was two years older than her, almost 20.

Wang Qifang had a distant uncle who worked in the agricultural machinery factory, and it was because of him that she had been selected to join the group to repair farm machinery in the county.

“Thank you, Xiaoxiao. When we have free time, let’s go visit my uncle’s house,” Wang Qifang said slowly, her voice soft and sweet, appearing to be quite shy.

She didn’t want to throw up, but her mother insisted she eat more in the morning, fearing she might get hungry on the long road. She ate, and throughout the journey, she could feel the cornmeal porridge from breakfast rising in her throat. She couldn’t hold it back any longer.

She didn’t want to make the car dirty. Seeing others moving away from her in disgust, she felt bad. She didn’t expect Wu Xiaoxiao to be so kind—not only did she not complain, but she even came closer to her. Wu Xiaoxiao’s body was cool to the touch, and when she got close, the feeling of discomfort in Wang Qifang seemed to ease considerably.

Zhao Xiaoyan watched Wu Xiaoxiao sit next to the girl from the neighboring village and felt curious. Didn’t she think it smelled terrible? Even from a distance, it was unbearable. She certainly didn’t want to sit there herself. It was gross to sit in a spot that had just been thrown up on.

Zhao Xiaoyan’s eyes shifted over to Gu Zhenghong, and she saw him gazing at Wu Xiaoxiao with a face full of admiration. Her heart sank. After thinking it over, she decided it wasn’t worth it. The smell from the vomit was just too bad, even for Gu Zhenghong.

At this time, the road conditions were poor, so the car couldn’t go fast. The group stopped for a break, had some dry snacks, and after almost four hours, they finally arrived at the county town. Once they entered the county, it was noticeably more developed than the town Wu Xiaoxiao had been to before.

First, they saw several big factories with beautiful gates, and in the distance, towering smokestacks. Along the roadside, there were a couple of small stores here and there. People began talking quietly, with those who had been to the county before explaining, “These stores aren’t much. I don’t know where the agricultural machinery factory arranged our dorms, but I remember that if you walk two streets over, there’s a big shopping mall. Beixian County is one of the most developed in the area. There are three big factories here, and the workers earn high wages. That’s why the shopping mall has a lot of goods, very diverse. You can even see small cars on the road!”

Everyone followed his gaze, and sure enough, there was a black Hongqi car driving by. At that time, a car like that was rare, and many people were seeing it for the first time, expressing their amazement. There were also those who had seen such cars before and offered explanations.

Some people thought to themselves, “What’s so special about that? I’ve even ridden in one.” They didn’t want to show off, so they kept their thoughts to themselves.

There were many people riding bicycles as well, and it was obvious that the people in the county dressed differently from those in the village. There were shirts made of good fabric, floral dresses, and neatly pressed trousers. The whole area had the vibe of a city.

Especially the young men on their 28-speed bikes, speeding down the road, some even racing each other to see who could ride faster. The girls walking nearby burst into laughter at the sight.

The boys and girls from the village looked around in awe, while the educated youth showed expressions of nostalgia. After driving a little longer, the car stopped at the entrance of the agricultural machinery factory. Everyone got off and registered with the security guard before entering the factory, where they would stay for over a month.

The factory looked quite impressive, with a red-brick gate and spacious, bright factory buildings on either side, all with shiny glass windows. A wide road ran down the middle, lined with rows of shade trees. The group continued walking forward, guided by the factory staff to the large conference room in the office building. Upon entering, many people couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Li, the factory receptionist, smiled and said, “This conference room has a long history and has hosted many provincial leaders. The building is a typical Soviet-style structure. You can see the windows on both sides and the columns in the middle, all modeled after Soviet architecture. That’s why it’s so spacious. It also has a sound amplification system, designed by an expert. Standing at the podium, you don’t need to raise your voice or use a microphone. The sound can reach everyone clearly. Now, comrades, please take a seat, and we will discuss the arrangements for the next month.”

Following the instructions, everyone sat down in neat rows, eagerly looking at the podium to see which leader would come to speak next and what arrangements would be made.

However, the excitement over the beautiful conference room and the anticipation of life in the county soon faded after the leader spoke for more than an hour. The applause at the beginning grew fewer, and people’s attention drifted away. They just wanted to know when lunch would be and where they would sleep that night.

Finally, after the long speech, Li came back to the podium and didn’t say much. She immediately led everyone to the cafeteria to eat, then to the dormitories to settle in.

Everyone clapped happily. This time, the applause was genuine.

—-

After listening to the long speech, Wu Xiaoxiao understood what they were here to do. It was exactly as she had expected. No matter what the leaders on the podium said, it all boiled down to one thing: the agricultural machinery factory had received a large batch of parts and components, which were mixed up during the transportation process. The factory didn’t have enough workers to sort them out. So, they had selected people from the villages to come help sort them. It would be even better if they could assist with some simple assembly work.

As for the more complicated tasks like machinery research and debugging, they wouldn’t let amateurs like them handle it. But when Wu Xiaoxiao entered, she didn’t see Grandpa Lu anywhere. Perhaps Grandpa Lu was the one they had sent to oversee things at the factory.