Chapter 42: The Machine Factory Poaching

After lunch, she snuck out some Dacron fabric and made Zhao Sihai a pair of pants that were half-suit and half-casual, along with a few cotton T-shirts.

The jacket was more complicated. She was spreading out the fabric to start drawing the structure diagram when she heard a familiar bell ringing outside.

An’an was excited and ran outside.

“Dad is back! Dad is back!”

When An’an ran into the courtyard, Zhao Sihai had already pushed open the door and was pushing his bicycle in.

Bai Ruojiao also walked out in surprise, “Why are you back so early?”

Then, she saw the piles of fabric tied to the back of his bicycle, “So much fabric?”

Zhao Sihai put down the bicycle and untied the rope, explaining with a smile, “The textile factory sent it.”

Her eyes lit up, “Did it work?”

Zhao Sihai smiled, his eyes shining, “It’s fixed. No big deal.”

Bai Ruojiao was puzzled, “If it’s no big deal, why did they need to replace things?”

Zhao Sihai hugged the fabric, and she quickly went to help.

An’an also pulled at his pants, “Dad, Dad, I’ll help you carry it too.”

Zhao Sihai smiled and handed him a piece of fabric, “Take it. Don’t drop it.”

An’an held the fabric with both arms and hugged it to his body. The fabric was directly against his face.

He took a step back and almost fell, but he was caught.

An’an steadied himself, took a breath, “Don’t worry, Dad, I can do it!”

He then walked towards the main room with his short legs.

Bai Ruojiao couldn’t help but laugh and shout, “Don’t walk too fast. Watch out for the steps.”

“Okay!”

Zhao Sihai smiled and handed her the pieces of fabric, “The broken part was tricky. Thanks to your book, I was able to find it, let alone fix it. Luckily, I went quickly. Otherwise, the whole machine would have been dismantled today. It would have been truly ruined.”

After all, some parts require special equipment to assemble.

After listening, Bai Ruojiao understood.

In her previous life, the machine was probably dismantled and couldn’t be reassembled, so it couldn’t be repaired. They could only buy a new one.

She couldn’t help but put down the fabric, reached out and rubbed his face, “Hai ge, you’re amazing. You know, you saved the country over a hundred million!”

Zhao Sihai was surprised that she knew the price of the machine.

But then he thought about her father’s job and understood.

He smiled and held her hand. Seeing her so happy, he felt much more relaxed, “So, is there a reward?”

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow, “Of course. It’s in the house. You’re just in time. Come try on the pants.”

Zhao Sihai pulled her hand, smiling and pointing to her cheek, “I want this reward.”

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow, “Just that?”

Zhao Sihai smiled, lowered his head slightly, and whispered, “Or a daughter as a reward?”

Bai Ruojiao was stunned for a moment before she understood what he meant. Her face turned red.

She raised her hand and punched him, “You’re being naughty.”

Zhao Sihai smiled and put his arm around her waist, “I just want a daughter who is as beautiful and gentle as you. Why is that naughty?”

An’an secretly peeked out from behind the door with his little head.

The system was chattering in his mind, making a big fuss.

He instinctively covered his ears, “Mom isn’t fierce. Mom is the most gentle.”

The two of them heard the little guy’s voice and remembered that there was a third person.

Bai Ruojiao quickly pushed him away, then hugged the fabric, her face red, and turned to go back to the house.

Zhao Sihai also smiled, his mood cheerful as he hugged the remaining fabric and followed her in.

“This is for me? I’ve never seen this style.” Taking the pants, Zhao Sihai looked at them curiously.

“Dad, Mom also made pants and clothes for An’an. They’re right here.”

An’an grabbed a set of clothes on the bed, his face full of happiness.

Is that so? Really? An’an will look so good wearing it.

“Yes, An’an looks good!” The little guy was not at all modest.

Both of them were amused by him.

Bai Ruojiao motioned for him to try it on.

Zhao Sihai nodded and went to take off his pants.

Bai Ruojiao quickly stopped him, “Hey, no need to take them off. Just try them on like that. I made them a little loose.”

But Zhao Sihai had already taken off his pants. He raised an eyebrow and said, “How can you tell if they fit properly with your pants on?”

He said as he put them on, and then…

Bai Ruojiao looked at the tight fabric and felt embarrassed.

“Cough, take them off. I’ll fix them.”

Zhao Sihai smiled meaningfully, “It’s hard to tell for sure by looking. How about you come and ‘measure’ them yourself when you take a bath tonight?”

Bai Ruojiao grabbed the pants, rolled her eyes at him, and turned to take out the needle.

Zhao Sihai didn’t tease him anymore. He picked up An’an and sat him at the table, “What did An’an do today?”

An’an immediately pointed to the notebook on the table, “I learned math this morning. Dad, I can count to one hundred!”

“Oh? Really? An’an is so smart. Dad wants to hear. Can you?”

“Yes! 1, 2, 3…”

—

In the middle of the night, when the moon was high in the sky, Bai Ruojiao was carried out of the bathroom by Zhao Sihai.

At this point, she was too tired to move. Her whole body was limp, and she couldn’t muster any strength.

On the other hand, Zhao Sihai looked satisfied. His big white teeth were particularly dazzling in the moonlight.

After being put on the bed, Bai Ruojiao turned her body to the side, pulled up the blanket, and only showed him her back.

Zhao Sihai couldn’t help but touch his nose. He knew he had gone too far.

He lay down beside her, leaned close to her ear, “Are you angry? I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Bai Ruojiao’s face instantly flushed even more. She could only grit her teeth and turn her head, warning in a low voice, “Go to sleep!”

“Yes, sir!” Zhao Sihai readily complied, smiling as he pulled up the blanket and pulled her into his arms.

He suddenly thought of something. He hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, “The factory director at the textile factory wanted to hire me as a technician today. What do you think?”

Bai Ruojiao was stunned, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Zhao Sihai could fix machines that even experts couldn’t fix. It was normal for them to want to recruit him into the factory.

She said, “What do you think?”

Zhao Sihai pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before saying, “I don’t want to go.”

“Why?”

“I want to have the opportunity to work with more machines.”

Bai Ruojiao raised an eyebrow, “So you want to go to the machine factory?”

Zhao Sihai nodded slightly, “I just don’t know if the machine factory is hiring.”

Actually, he didn’t say it, but an expert wanted to recommend him to the Beicheng Machine Factory today, and he refused.

Bai Ruojiao turned over, “If you like, go try it out. If the county doesn’t have any openings, try the city, the province. With your skills, you’ll definitely be in high demand.”

Zhao Sihai smiled, kissed her forehead, and hugged her tightly, patting her, “Go to sleep.”

It was true, as she said.

The country was most in need of this kind of technical talent. If they hadn’t discovered it, that’s fine. Now that they know this person exists, how could they let him go?

Zhao Sihai didn’t even need to go to the machine factory to check. Early in the morning, the factory director of the machine factory called Secretary Wang’s office.

The meaning was clear: they wanted to poach him. They also said that it was a waste of such talent to be a driver.

Yesterday, the news of Zhao Sihai repairing the textile factory’s lathe had spread within a small circle.

After the factory director reported the situation to the Ministry of Commerce, Minister Li quickly called the director of the county machine factory.

He also told him that the experts from Beicheng were already trying to poach him, and asked the director of the machine factory to do his best to keep him.

So, early in the morning, the director of the machine factory was waiting at work to make a call.