Chapter 7: A Difficult Matter

◎ Oh, have you made up with your good friend? ◎

That night, the Ming family’s roaring voices, quarrels, and crying filled the entire courtyard.

The people living there were already used to it. Since Ming Xue decided to break off her engagement, the Ming family had been in this state almost every other day.

Everyone was quite unhappy about the disturbance, but no one dared to speak up. For one, they all sympathized—anyone going through such a mess wouldn’t have peace for a few days. For another, no one dared to say anything because Ming Deyong was the deputy factory director. Who would dare to criticize him?

The factory director would.

So when the director heard about the complaints from the neighbors, he specially gave Ming Deyong a bag of Pu’er tea, telling him to calm down, drink some tea, and cool off instead of always being so angry—it’s bad for the liver.

Ming Deyong caught the hint behind the director’s words and planned to keep quiet. But unexpectedly, Ming Xue didn’t give him the chance to calm down and almost made him furious to death.

Sun Lan was taking out the trash and passed by the Ming family’s home, hearing the loud commotion inside. She just sighed.

When she got back, Sun Lan specially warned Gu Ying, “Be careful these days. Don’t provoke Gui Xiwen, and don’t provoke Ming Xue either. The conflict between those two families seems to have gotten worse. It’s better to be cautious.”

Gu Ying obediently nodded, “Okay.”

Sun Lan was a bit surprised and leaned in toward Gu Ying with a smile, “Oh, have you made up with your good friend?”

Gu Ying, this kid, couldn’t hide her emotions at all. Whether happy or unhappy, it all showed on her face. Sun Lan saw that Gu Ying no longer wore a guarded expression and guessed that she and Zhang Kuo had probably made up.

Unexpectedly, Gu Ying pursed her lips and denied with her head held high, “No, we haven’t made up.”

“Really?” Sun Lan didn’t believe it. Gu Ying’s expression clearly showed she had forgiven him.

“Yes, I haven’t forgiven him yet. I told him one thing—if he can do it, then I’ll forgive him.”

Gu Ying really hadn’t forgiven Zhang Kuo yet.

In the evening, Zhang Kuo came with a Chinese knot to apologize. Seeing the Chinese knot quietly resting in Zhang Kuo’s hand, Gu Ying had already forgiven him in her heart, but her mouth still refused to say it and insisted on making things difficult.

Sun Lan raised an eyebrow and curiously asked, “What did you tell him to do?”

Gu Ying tilted her head, acting mysterious, “I’m not telling you.”

Sun Lan chuckled beside her, “Alright, alright, if you don’t want to say, then don’t. But I have to remind you, you should change your temper. You boss around anyone close to you and only show your bad mood to those close to you. You haven’t known Zhang Kuo for long; don’t scare him away.”

Sun Lan’s worry wasn’t unfounded.

Today, Zhang Kuo came to see Gu Ying, and Gu Ying was so unkind to him. Luckily, Zhang Kuo had a gentle temper and was easygoing. If it were someone more calculating and thin-skinned, they would have cut ties with Gu Ying long ago.

While warning Gu Ying, Sun Lan felt a little relieved inside.

Gu Ying had been physically weak since childhood, thinner and smaller than others. Sun Lan had taken care of her carefully all these years and naturally hoped Gu Ying would find someone who truly cared for her.

But girls like Gu Ying, weak and without height or beauty advantages, had very little value in the marriage market.

If someone was after looks, Gu Ying had none. If it was family background, Gu Ying didn’t have a strong one. If it was to find a woman to bear children, they’d look for someone plump and healthy, not a skinny girl like Gu Ying who looked like a child.

When Sun Lan heard a few days ago that Gu Ying liked Zhang Kuo, she felt a bit worried.

Though Zhang Kuo and Gu Ying looked like a good match, Zhang Kuo’s parents might not be satisfied with Gu Ying. But now seeing how much Zhang Kuo cared about Gu Ying, Sun Lan thought she could put her worries aside for the time being.

Sun Lan’s worries faded, but Zhang Kuo’s worries arrived.

Zhang Kuo tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

He had already gotten the Chinese knot back from Ming Xue, but Gu Ying still wouldn’t forgive him. She insisted that he also weave a Chinese knot for her before she would completely let go of the matter.

He didn’t blame Gu Ying but was anxious about weaving the Chinese knot.

He was a grown man, clumsier with his hands than his feet—how could he weave a Chinese knot?

The next day after work, Zhang Kuo came home early, took out red cords and a detailed step-by-step guide he got from Aunt Wang in the cafeteria, sat on a small stool, and began weaving.

After a whole night, Zhang Kuo successfully brainwashed himself: clumsy hands don’t matter, try a few more times, and he’ll definitely get it right.

Made a mistake while weaving, unraveled it, wove again—repeated this over a dozen times. The originally straight red cord had started curling up, but his hands, slowly untangling the cord, showed no sign of impatience at all.

It must be said, Zhang Kuo was an extremely patient person.

Just as he was carefully unraveling the red cord, two unexpected guests walked in.

“Zhang Kuo, Zhang Kuo, are you home?”

Zhang Tao pulled on Gui Xiwen’s arm and leisurely walked inside.

Hearing the voice, Zhang Kuo tried to take off the red cord and cover it with a fan, but it was too late—Zhang Tao immediately spotted the red cord tied to the armrest of the bamboo chair.

“Oh, Zhang Kuo, what are you doing? Hiding at home weaving this thing?” Zhang Tao looked at him with surprise, a smile hidden in his eyes.

Weaving red cords was usually something girls did; if someone else were teased like this by Zhang Tao, they’d probably blush with embarrassment. But Zhang Kuo just smiled calmly and changed the subject without a fuss. “Why are you here? What do you need from me?”

Both Zhang Tao and Zhang Kuo worked at the machinery factory, and though they weren’t related, since they shared the same surname Zhang, Zhang Tao felt a vague obligation to get closer to him, as if they were family from 500 years ago.

But Zhang Kuo’s personality was completely different from his. Zhang Tao was playful, talkative, and a bit annoying, while Zhang Kuo was quiet and mostly stayed at home—hard for them to get along.

Zhang Tao was more suited to hang out with troublemaker Gui Xiwen, but Gui Xiwen was too sharp. Back in school, while everyone was goofing off outside, during exams Zhang Tao would get 10 points, and Gui Xiwen got 100.

When he was younger, Zhang Tao suspected Gui Xiwen was secretly studying hard at home, so he slyly decided to sleep with him. But he found Gui Xiwen often stayed up late reading martial arts novels and comics, not studying seriously. Eventually, Zhang Tao’s scores dropped to 5 points, but Gui Xiwen kept getting perfect scores.

He had to admit: Gui Xiwen was truly a genius.

That genius later went on to a good university, while Zhang Tao remained his good buddy but with a clear gap between them.

Gui Xiwen graduated and would be assigned a good job, while Zhang Tao had to enter the factory early and just drift along.

Recently, Zhang Tao wasn’t so keen on drifting anymore. That was why he came to see Zhang Kuo today.

“Zhang Kuo, I actually have something to ask. You’re the team leader of workshop 7, right? I want to transfer to your workshop. Can you talk to the supervisor for me?”

Zhang Kuo was a bit surprised and reminded him, “Our workshop always has the heaviest workload. Are you sure you want to transfer here?”

Workshop 7 had the hardest tasks in the factory; many people couldn’t handle the pressure and tried everything to transfer out. So it was surprising that laid-back Zhang Tao wanted to transfer in. Zhang Kuo looked him over but couldn’t figure out his real intention.

Zhang Tao joked, “I saw you got promoted to team leader shortly after joining workshop 7, so I’m taking you as my role model, learning from your spirit.”

Zhang Kuo and Zhang Tao then casually chatted about some factory matters. Gui Xiwen felt bored standing nearby.

He wasn’t a factory worker and didn’t care about factory affairs; he was only dragged along by Zhang Tao. In fact, Gui Xiwen and Zhang Kuo weren’t very close. If it weren’t for Zhang Tao, who liked chatting with everyone, Gui Xiwen might not have even greeted Zhang Kuo.

Seeing the two engrossed in factory talk, Gui Xiwen got bored and noticed the red cord hanging on the bamboo chair.

Next to the cord was a set of detailed diagrams drawn with pencil on cigarette pack paper, messy and confusing.

Gui Xiwen’s curiosity was piqued. He recalled the day Gu Ying sat beside Ming Xue, reaching to snatch something from her.

That also looked like a Chinese knot.

Was this thing suddenly popular? Why did he keep seeing it everywhere?

Driven by boredom, Gui Xiwen sat on a small stool and started studying the detailed diagrams on the cigarette pack paper.

After a while, his hands itched, and he began weaving.

Nearby, Zhang Kuo was still discussing the workshop transfer with Zhang Tao. Transferring wasn’t a big deal, and workshop 7 was always short-handed. The supervisor was eager to have more people, so it was just a matter of asking.

Zhang Kuo patted Zhang Tao on the shoulder to reassure him and promised to speak with the supervisor first thing the next day.

As their conversation wound down and Zhang Kuo felt it was time to end, since he needed time to weave the Chinese knot, he turned around and saw Gui Xiwen sitting on the small stool, having already woven the Chinese knot Zhang Kuo had struggled with, only a few finishing knots left.

Zhang Kuo was so shocked he almost stumbled over his words. “You… how do you know how to do this?”

Gui Xiwen stood up casually, pointing at the cigarette pack paper, “Isn’t there a detailed diagram? It’s pretty simple.”

Those four words “pretty simple” rang in Zhang Kuo’s ears, making his expression shift as if silently mocking his countless failed attempts.

Zhang Kuo fell silent.

Even after Zhang Tao had dragged Gui Xiwen away, Zhang Kuo remained lost in thought, staring at the nearly finished Chinese knot hanging on the bamboo chair, his feelings complicated.

Zhang Tao had resolved a big matter weighing on his mind and felt grateful Gui Xiwen had endured the boredom to accompany him, so he decided to treat Gui Xiwen to beef noodles.

The two sat at a street-side stall, slurping noodles heartily.

Suddenly Zhang Tao said, “I think Zhang Kuo will definitely make something of himself in the future.”

Gui Xiwen didn’t even look up, asking, “Why?”

“He seems quiet and doesn’t talk much, but he’s very steady in what he does. He was promoted to team leader shortly after transferring to workshop 7, and he gained the respect of the people there, even though he was new.”

Zhang Tao took a sip of hot soup and continued, “Workshop 7 is a place where everyone’s desperately trying to get ahead. For him to get most people to respect him, I think he’s not simple at all.”

Across from him, Gui Xiwen listened silently. After a while, he asked, “Why do you want to go to workshop 7?”

In the past, Zhang Tao often preached living in the moment, frequently sounding like an old man, saying life was short and people should enjoy it as much as possible. No one expected that such a carefree and free-spirited Zhang Tao would one day decide to work hard and become the best screw in the factory.

Zhang Tao quickly finished the noodles left in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and asked Gui Xiwen an unrelated question: “Is your assigned unit going to be confirmed soon?”

“Yeah, soon.”

“That’s serious,” Zhang Tao said as he pressed both hands on the table with great energy, looking earnestly and sincerely at Gui Xiwen. “Even though I can never catch up to you, I don’t want to fall too far behind.”

“I still want to be friends with you.”

The air fell silent, as if unspoken emotions were swirling around the two of them.

Gui Xiwen didn’t say anything for a long time, then suddenly smacked Zhang Tao on the forehead with a big palm, “Cut it out, are you trying to get married?”

Zhang Tao touched his forehead, chuckled twice, and didn’t deny it.

He had hoped to move Gui Xiwen a bit, but the guy wasn’t buying it at all. Zhang Tao quickly got up to pay the bill.

As the two were about to leave, Zhang Tao glanced back and saw a familiar figure walking not far away. He tugged on Gui Xiwen’s sleeve, “Hey, look, isn’t that Gu Ying?”

Gui Xiwen looked up and saw Gu Ying a short distance away, head down, stepping happily on the street. She was holding something in her hand and looked very pleased, as if she had found some treasure.

Gui Xiwen didn’t pay much attention and turned to leave.

After a few steps, the feeling that something was off grew stronger.

Wait, wasn’t that thing Gu Ying was holding just now very much like the Chinese knot he had woven?