Chapter 36: A Chance Encounter with the Textile Factory Director

An’an’s choices were all to her liking. She knew that the system was “advising” him.

Zhao Sihai was also surprised that An’an knew so many characters.

Bai Ruojiao laughed, “Don’t spoil him. Just one bowl of wonton, one bowl of dumplings, a serving of honey-glazed plum meat, and a serving of pearl meatballs will do.”

Seeing that Zhao Sihai was about to say something, she immediately glared at him, “It’s a waste if you don’t finish it. Even if you take it home, it won’t taste as good. If you want to eat it again later, we can come back.”

Zhao Sihai listened and gave up.

Then, Bai Ruojiao picked up An’an and went back to their seat.

Zhao Sihai ordered the dishes she had just mentioned and added a serving of winter melon rolls.

“Wonton is 60 cents, dumplings are 80 cents, a total of 1.4 yuan plus one ration coupon for grain. Honey-glazed plum meat is 1.5 yuan, pearl meatballs are 80 cents, winter melon rolls are 50 cents, a total of 2.8 yuan, plus two ration coupons for meat.”

The waitress quoted the prices and wrote them down on the receipt.

She also muttered to herself.

A meal cost almost four yuan. Judging by their clothes, they didn’t seem to be from a wealthy family.

Looks can’t buy food. They really don’t know how to manage money.

Zhao Sihai paid and handed over the ration coupons. He took the tickets and went to the window to give them to the waitress who collected them.

Because there were few people, their food came out quickly.

The wonton and dumplings came out first.

Bai Ruojiao asked for an empty bowl and scooped two of each for An’an.

One ration coupon for grain was enough for a generous portion of dumplings and wonton.

There were about ten dumplings, all plump and white.

There were also thirty wonton, with plump meat fillings. The soup had egg threads and green vegetable threads, making it look appetizing.

This was An’an’s first time seeing this kind of noodle dish. He scooped some up with a spoon, his eyes full of curiosity.

“An’an, eat quickly. Don’t just stare at it. It won’t taste good if it gets soggy.”

“Okay, okay.” An’an immediately turned his head and scooped up a wonton, taking a bite.

“Mmm! Mom, it’s delicious.”

Bai Ruojiao took a handkerchief and wiped the soup from his chin. “Eat properly. You can’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Mmm-hmm.” An’an quickly slurped a mouthful, then ate obediently.

Zhao Sihai smiled and scooped a few dumplings for her, then took a few wonton from her bowl.

Bai Ruojiao chuckled and scooped more wonton for him, “I can’t eat that much. There are other dishes.”

Soon, the first dish arrived. Seeing a large plate of winter melon rolls, she looked at Zhao Sihai helplessly.

Zhao Sihai smiled and put one on her plate and one on An’an’s. “It’s rare for us to come out. Anyway, we can’t finish all these dishes. We can just heat them up when we get back.”

Bai Ruojiao sighed, “Don’t spoil him.”

“He won’t be spoiled. An’an is so sensible,” Zhao Sihai smiled and rubbed An’an’s head.

An’an immediately nodded. This time, he swallowed his food before raising his hand to speak.

“Mom, I will always listen to you and Dad.”

Bai Ruojiao smiled, “Then you better remember that. If you don’t listen, I’ll spank you.”

An’an immediately widened his eyes and went to cover his bottom.

But he was still holding a spoon and chopsticks. He rolled his eyes and scooped a wonton for his mother.

“Mom, the wonton is delicious. Mom, you eat.”

Bai Ruojiao was amused by his attempt to change the subject.

“Hey, isn’t this Comrade Zhao?”

A woman’s voice suddenly came from behind. She looked up and saw a woman standing at the table.

Bai Ruojiao took a look. It was a woman wearing the uniform of the textile factory. She was about forty years old, with laugh lines around her eyes, and she seemed to be a rather easygoing person.

Zhao Sihai stood up when he saw her.

“Director Cai, hello. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Right? Vice Director Zhang was still talking about wanting to find you yesterday. I didn’t expect to meet you first. These two are your wife and son, right?”

Bai Ruojiao also stood up. Seeing her looking at them, she smiled in response.

Only An’an looked up, blinking his big eyes in confusion.

Vice Director Cai took one look at the little guy, who was small and round like a glutinous rice ball, and her heart melted.

“Oh my, Zhao Comrade, your child is so cute. Unlike my child, who is so rough. Oh, he’s so adorable. Come, come, Grandma Cai will give you some candy.”

She said this and took two pieces of Big White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket and handed them to An’an.

An’an looked at his mother, a little unsure.

Bai Ruojiao smiled, “You’re too kind. We can’t take the candy.”

“Oh, come on, it’s just two pieces of candy. Zhao Comrade, you’ve helped us a lot. We’ll probably need your help again in the future.”

After she said this, Bai Ruojiao couldn’t refuse anymore. She could only thank her.

An’an also took the candy and smiled sweetly, “Thank you, Grandma Cai.”

“Oh, what a darling little treasure,” Vice Director Cai liked An’an more and more.

She thought to herself that she should have found a wife like Zhao Comrade’s wife, beautiful and gentle, to give birth to a beautiful and well-behaved child.

She regretted letting her son run wild. Now, he had given birth to a child that everyone disliked.

Zhao Sihai smiled and changed the subject, “Director Cai, did Vice Director Zhang want to find me for something?”

Speaking of business, Vice Director Cai immediately became serious.

“Zhao Comrade, I wonder if you can fix this machine tool?” She said this with both anticipation and a little embarrassment.

After all, young Zhao Comrade wasn’t a professional mechanic.

But the situation at the factory was quite troublesome.

Zhao Sihai was surprised, “Machine tool? Isn’t that managed by professional technicians and engineers?”

Vice Director Cai sighed and waved her hand, “Don’t even mention it. It’s so infuriating. This machine was bought from R-country at a high price, but now when we ask people to come and repair it, they say they want to add this price and that price. It’s almost as expensive as buying a new one. They also have a bunch of requirements. They’re clearly trying to take advantage of the situation and make a quick buck. A few experts from Beicheng also came, but they all said that it’s broken and there’s nothing they can do. Vice Director Zhang wanted to ask you to take a look.”

Zhao Sihai listened and couldn’t help but laugh, “If the experts can’t fix it, how can I?”

“Well, we just want to try. It’s so expensive to buy a new lathe, and we can only import it from R-country right now. It’s so annoying.”

Bai Ruojiao’s brow suddenly furrowed.

She remembered that in her previous life, not long after she was discharged from the hospital and taken home, she had seen her father get very angry.

It seemed that two lathes worth three hundred million yuan, which they had newly purchased from R-country, broke down within a year. One of them was sent to Qingyang County.

But at that time, the words “Qingyang County” were taboo at home. They were afraid of triggering her heartache.

The topic was abruptly stopped, and she asked later.

Could it be that this was the textile factory?

Zhao Sihai frowned.

Vice Director Cai sighed, “Otherwise, Zhao Comrade, when will you have time to take a look? If you can’t, then we’ll have to buy a new one.”

Zhao Sihai thought for a moment and could only say, “Okay, I’ll go to the factory at noon tomorrow. Is that convenient?”

“Convenient, convenient. You can come anytime. I’ll tell Lao Xu. When you arrive, he’ll take you directly to the workshop.” Vice Director Cai said hurriedly.

“Okay, but I can only take a look. I can’t guarantee anything.”

“No problem. That’s settled then. Okay, I won’t interrupt your meal. I’ll go tell Lao Zhang.”

Vice Director Cai said this and rushed off, not even eating her meal.

It was clear that she was a very capable person.