Chapter 30

“Are you so hard all over? Like a piece of steel!”

Bai Yan rubbed her swollen nose and said, “It was so bumpy along the way, couldn’t you ride slower?”

The tone was slightly angry.

But she had tears in her eyes, and her anger had no deterrent effect at all. Instead, she looked like a kitten that had been bullied.

Meng Hechuan has no sisters at home, and he usually interacts with male soldiers in the brigade, and their slogans are all “shed blood, not tears”.

I never knew girls could be so delicate.

But seeing that she seemed to be in real pain, he still patiently asked, “Are you not bleeding?”

Bai Yan sniffed, then tilted her head back slightly, asking Meng Hechuan to help check, “I don’t know, probably not?”

The two men, one with his head held high and the other bowed, stopped the car on the side of the road in a funny manner and checked Bai Yan’s nose.

Lu Jili, who was standing not far away, couldn’t stand it anymore, so he clapped his hands and interrupted, “Hey, buddy has been standing here panting for so long, didn’t anyone notice you two?”

He took out a stack of toilet paper from his pocket and handed it over, “Here, Sister Yan, you’re not bleeding from your nose, but you’re frozen by the wind. Here, let me wipe your nose.”

Bai Yan looked at the crumpled piece of toilet paper, her brows twitched, but she didn’t take it in the end.

Meng Hechuan parked the car, and the three of them walked through the alleys towards the Xinhua Bookstore.

“Aren’t you not coming to the bookstore?” The alley was too narrow, so Meng Hechuan let Bai Yan walk in front, while he and Lu Jili followed behind her like two door gods.

Lu Jili whistled, “If I don’t come, won’t I miss Chief Engineer Meng’s caring and considerate performance?”

He teased his friend, “When did you get a southern fiancée? Why have I never heard my parents mention it?”

“Do you take gossip seriously?” Meng Hechuan said coldly, “How can you be the captain of a team if you don’t even have the ability to distinguish right from wrong?”

Lu Jili was not convinced and elbowed him, “If it was just gossip, why did you follow the girl around every day? I have been secretly observing you two for several days since I came back from Xiyuan, and you still used your power for personal gain and arranged for the girl to live next to your office?”

Perhaps because he was talking to a good friend, Meng Hechuan patiently explained, “Don’t talk nonsense. The team’s blueprints and foreign technology are all first-level protected documents. Although her English level is very high and she is a good knife, she has no letter of introduction and no detailed proof of three generations of social relations. It is natural to be cautious when using such personnel, so I must keep her by my side and keep an eye on her.”

Bai Yan is a good knife, delicate and sharp.

If used well, it can quickly break the current R&D dilemma.

But if you don’t use it properly, you can easily cut yourself.

Meng Hechuan naturally did not dare to be careless.

Lu Jili knew that he had become particularly cautious after the big loss he suffered two years ago, and patted his shoulder, “Okay, okay, whatever you say is what it means! But you are not a child anymore, it’s the 27th day of the lunar year, and even the most stubborn person should bloom. I think Sister Bai Yan is pretty good, she is pretty, smart, and knows English. The name of Xiao Mengtai is not false at all, she is a replica of your mother!”

Meng Hechuan looked at him seriously, “Lu Jili, can’t you shut your mouth?”

“Tsk, yes, yes, you are noble, you are great, your life motto is that as long as the Huns are not destroyed, there is no way to have a home.”

His gaze swept across Bai Yan who was walking in front of him, and then fell on Meng Hechuan.

“Don’t think you’re so popular just because you’re being pursued by those girls in the art class. I don’t mean to throw cold water on you, but if a girl can let you look down on her without any scruples, I think there will be no hope for you in the future if you don’t take the initiative.”

Meng Hechuan paused, raised his eyelids and glanced at him quietly, “You talk too much.”

“We have been brothers for more than 20 years, so I will not hesitate to teach you a few tricks. You have to be careful with girls. Look, she is wearing such big clothes, and her whole body is hanging empty inside, not warm at all. And you are riding a broken bicycle and freezing the girl’s ears red.

Later, remember to find an opportunity to go to the Friendship Store and buy her some clothes and a scarf. From now on, when she gets dressed, she will think of you. After a while, you two will have the opportunity to interact more often, right? “

Lu Jili chattered for a long time, “Do you understand?”

“Um.”

Meng Hechuan responded in a flat tone, “I understand. The food at Xiyuan Airport has too much salt. I see you have nothing to do.”

Lu Jili was furious and rolled his eyes, leaving Meng Hechuan behind. “You are more stubborn than a dead duck.”

…

There were very few bookstores in the 1980s. Even the largest Xinhua Bookstore in Jingzhou only had two floors.

Lu Jili got a headache whenever he saw the book, so he went out to smoke, making the excuse that he had a craving for a cigarette.

Bai Yan and Meng Hechuan stepped in.

As soon as Meng Hechuan entered the door, he was attracted by the latest issue of “Aviation Knowledge” magazine. Bai Yan did not disturb him and walked around first.

But she didn’t find any books related to English on the first floor, so she asked the salesperson at the counter: “Hello, comrade, where are the English books?”

A salesperson with curly hair leaning against the glass counter looked at Bai Yan’s clothes with a haughty look, “What book?”

“English-Chinese dictionary, preferably some self-study material for English.”

“Who’s buying it?”

Bai Yan nodded politely, “I’ll buy it.”

The salesperson sneered and teased the person next to him, “The spring breeze of reform is really blowing everywhere. Anyone can come and ask about foreign books. Look, here comes another foreign worshipper.”

Bai Yan put away her polite smile and said that she would avenge her grudge immediately. “Indeed, social conditions have improved and there are more job opportunities. Anyone can become a salesperson.”

“You!” The saleswoman’s expression cracked a little. “Look at the clothes you are wearing. They are men’s style, right? Tsk, I don’t know which man you took them from. You have no shame! A woman like you wants to pretend to be an intellectual. Why buy foreign books? I think your purpose of learning English is not pure. Do you want to speak a few words of English and find an opportunity to hang out with foreigners?”

Bai Yan then looked down at her clothes and realized what was happening.

The fashion of clothing has changed in the 21st century, and girls mostly like loose and baggy clothes.

So at first Bai Yan didn’t really care whether the jacket she was wearing was a men’s jacket.

Just put it on. This dress is thick and windproof, and it reflects Bai Yan’s thoughts. “What era is it now? Why are we still closing our country to the outside world? Is the only way to learn English relying on foreigners? Can’t we learn from foreigners to defeat them?”

She was articulate and quick to respond, and she knew how to respond without any hesitation: “What’s wrong with wearing men’s clothes? My partner was afraid that I would be cold, so he forced me to wear it. You don’t have a partner, so you don’t understand.”

“If you don’t understand when I ask you where the books are, judging people by appearance is the most professional.”

Bai Yan said this and turned around to change a salesperson, but unexpectedly she saw Meng Hechuan holding a magazine in his hand.

She looked embarrassed for a moment, wondering how much of her nonsense he had heard.

“Let’s go to the second floor. It seems that the book you want is not available on the first floor.” Bai Yan quickly found an excuse and pulled him upstairs.

I don’t know if it’s because Master Meng has a strong aura, but when he’s around, the sales clerks he meets are much more polite.

He enthusiastically recommended an English-Chinese dictionary to them and pointed Bai Yan in the direction of the bookshelf containing English books.

Bai Yan walked around and scanned the rows of bookshelves with unstoppable excitement in her eyes.

Bai Yan has a hobby in the 21st century, which is collecting original foreign books.

But some of them are out of print because they are too old.

I didn’t expect to have the chance to see it in the 1980s.

It’s just that she is short of money now, and the two hundred yuan hidden under the pillow was stolen from Meng Hechuan’s pocket on the train.

Money must be spent wisely.

Bai Yan happily stroked the books on the bookshelf, and saw that one of them was the collection of medieval prose poems that she had always wanted. She couldn’t help but reached out to take it from the bookshelf to read.

As soon as my fingertips touched the cover of the book, the space in front of me suddenly became empty.

Someone had pulled the books from the other side of the shelf.

Bai Yan looked across through the gap and met Tan Hean’s slightly surprised eyes.

“Comrade Bai Yan.” Tan Hean walked out from the bookshelf holding a book. “What a coincidence! You are also out to visit the bookstore alone?”

Just as Bai Yan was about to explain, she heard footsteps behind her. Meng Hechuan, who had gone to pay for the book, came back.

When he saw Tan Hean, he said there was no obvious change and greeted him lightly, “Chief Engineer Tan.”

Tan Hean reacted, “Chief Engineer Meng and Comrade Bai Yan came together?”

They shook hands and then separated. Although they were polite and seemed to be smiling, Bai Yan felt a chill.

“English-Chinese dictionary? Chief Engineer Meng is also going to start learning English?”

Tan Hean glanced at the book in Meng Hechuan’s hand and said, “Chief Engineer Meng is indeed studious and motivated. He is busy with the development of aircraft, but he still finds time to study. I want to learn from you.”

“I don’t deserve it.” Watching Tan He approach Bai Yan, Meng Hechuan stood over calmly, his tall body directly blocking half of Bai Yan’s body.

“Chief Engineer Tan has the new country’s technical drawings but is unwilling to share them. If I don’t work harder, the aerospace team may not even be able to complete the maiden flight in the future.”

“Whether it is private or state-owned, both can make progress in aircraft manufacturing technology, and the nature is the same.”

Meng Hechuan told the truth in a joking tone, “Is it the same? Shouhang is one of the first joint ventures. If the technology is developed in the future, according to your company’s terms, whether it can be made public to the society is unknown.”

Tan Hean smiled lightly and changed the subject: “Chief Engineer Meng, we don’t talk about business on weekends. By the way, did Comrade Bai Yan also want to take this book just now?”