Chapter 1279: Securing the Prize

On this day, the textile factory was bustling with activity.

Gongs and drums clamored sky-high, and firecrackers rang out in unison.

Early in the morning, the aroma of meat drifted from the textile factory's small canteen; inside, red silk banners hung everywhere, creating an atmosphere of pure joy.

Wang Yan wore a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie, stepped out in polished leather shoes, and had his hair slicked back with wax.

A little past eight o'clock, he drove an old sedan that had been reclaimed from the city and refurbished, while the factory's propaganda officer rode a motorcycle as they headed to Old Song's home in Hongwei Town.

Today was a good day; he was getting married!

Many people had gathered at the Song family's entrance; even though the Song family currently faced problems, no one ostracized them anymore, after all, their son-in-law was Director Wang of the county textile factory. Wang Yan's deeds were now truly known by everyone in the entire county; even children aged four or five knew that following Director Wang meant having food to eat.

Facing greetings from bystanders, Wang Yan smiled and nodded, allowing the propaganda officer to take photos and record the event.

At this time, not just in the county, but even in the city, arranging for a wedding video recording was very difficult. Wang Yan had become numb to marriage and didn't bother insisting on having it recorded.

Passing through the wall plastered with the character "Joy," they entered the courtyard.

Wang Yan immediately called out, "Dad, Mom, Little Brother-in-law."

Father Song and Mother Song nodded with gratification, while Song Yunhui, who had specially rushed back, was speechless and choked up.

He said, "Treat my sister well."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement, "Mom and Dad know me best, right?"

"This child Xiaohui just doesn't know how to speak," Mother Song said, slapping her biological son, then leading Wang Yan into the house.

Inside the room, Song Yunping was already dressed up, wearing red clothes.

"You're here," she said, blinking her eyes as she looked at Wang Yan, her gaze holding only him.

"I'm here," Wang Yan replied with a smile, "You look truly beautiful."

Without saying much more, he let the propaganda officer begin taking photographs.

Photos were taken of the four members of the Song family, individual shots, and group shots including him; they took pictures everywhere inside and outside, even photographing the crowd gathering to join the fun, and distributed wedding candy to them.

After all this commotion, they loaded Song Yunping's clothes, the cotton quilts and mattresses made by Mother Song, and other items onto the vehicle. Wang Yan drove, taking all four members of the Song family together, and returned to the county town.

The propaganda officer rode the three-wheeled motorcycle with a sidecar himself, the sidecar loaded with a pile of goods...

Originally, Father and Mother Song did not want to come, but when Wang Yan mentioned that his own home had no parents or relatives, they agreed to come along.

The house where Wang Yan lived was also plastered with red "Joy" characters and paper-cut window decorations; the entire place had been cleaned thoroughly, neat and tidy. The propaganda officer who followed along took another round of photographs.

As a revolutionary marriage, there were no many complicated ceremonies; bringing the bride over, everyone sharing a meal together, and getting to know one another was sufficient.

Therefore, there were no special activities; people simply came to see the bride, exchanged a few words, and then left. Visitors brought items like thermos flasks and washbasins, very simple and honest.

Wang Yan distributed a pile of candy to the children who had gathered to join the fun.

After all this busy work, things finally settled down, waiting for the appointed time to go to the textile factory's small canteen for the meal...

Mother Song diligently tidied up the room together with Song Yunping, organizing the messy items. Wang Yan didn't have many belongings; a row of cabinets along the wall offered plenty of space, all prepared for Song Yunping.

Wang Yan sat with Father Song in the outer room near the entrance, drinking tea, cracking melon seeds, smoking, and chatting intermittently.

In the study of the west room, Song Yunhui flipped through books, silently marveling that Wang Yan was truly awesome and had such great audacity...

After looking for a while, he picked up a roll of drawing paper from the scroll jar inserted beside the desk. Unfolding it, he saw hand-drawn mechanical blueprints with straight lines, marked with various dimensions, and notes of precautions.

"This is a design drawing for an engine, isn't it?"

Holding the blueprint, Song Yunhui walked out and asked curiously.

Wang Yan glanced at it, nodded, and smiled, "The first facility we merged was the agricultural machinery factory, which also undertook tasks of agricultural machinery manufacturing and repair. Agricultural production in the county is a major matter, so we certainly must find ways to address it."

"Then what is this one of yours?"

"An engine."

"An engine for what kind of machine?"

"All kinds," Wang Yan said. "The one you are holding is for a tractor; I also designed rotary tillers and harvesters. The engines are largely similar, differing only in horsepower and torque. Currently, our materials are somewhat insufficient; the materials from the steel mill do not meet requirements, so we can only make these small-scale ones. When you return in another two years, you will see a huge array of machines. By the way, speaking of this, I have a task for you."

"I am not your subordinate."

"An elder brother-in-law is like a father; if you don't complete it, I'll deal with you."

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow at his young brother-in-law, then turned to serious matters, "You have two years left before graduation. During these two years, go back and make more friends with classmates in your department and people from other majors. Tell them about the tremendous changes in our Jin Ling County over the past two years, and speak about my spirit and pursuits as your brother-in-law; strive to coax a few people with genuine talent and learning to come over."

"Then I really cannot complete this task."

Song Yunhui said helplessly, "You yourself are a university student; don't you know how scarce university students are nowadays? Even if they don't go to big places, if they return home, they return to the city. How could they possibly come to a place like ours?"

"I offer good benefits; that is competitiveness," Wang Yan said. "Everyone is poor; if they come to me, I will allocate apartment buildings, introduce wives, provide treatment according to the highest standards, and give extra bonuses. You probably don't know that the highest treatment in our county is higher than that of leaders in the city."

"Aren't you leaving the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow I will list it out for you. These are the highest benefits we can currently offer; in two years, they will only be higher, absolutely not lower. I don't believe not a single person will be willing to come."

"Your skills are too shallow; you don't know how to talk to people about dreams or the value of life, and you don't know how to coax people. I don't have high demands on you; first, just convey my meaning to them. When you graduate, I will visit your school myself. You pull together a few dozen people for me, and I will explain to them what the value of life is, what the future of the nation is, and what responsibility our generation should bear."

"I..."

Before Song Yunhui could refuse, Wang Yan continued, "You don't need to worry; I can guarantee that their future prospects here will only be better, absolutely not worse. If they want honor, there is honor; if they want treatment, there is treatment; if they want status, there is status. You are helping them by providing a choice, not ruining their prospects. You are not wrong; on the contrary, you are a good person. Do you understand this logic?"

While speaking, Wang Yan picked up a notebook from the textile factory beside him, wrote a note directly with a fountain pen, and handed it to Song Yunhui.

"Take this note; after finishing the meal later, go find your Second Uncle-in-law and ask him to get one thousand yuan for you. This is funding for recruiting university students. For those you think highly of, who seem decent, have correct thinking, high awareness, and good professional abilities, take them out to eat to deepen relationships."

"I think you shouldn't do this."

"By the time you graduate, every unit will be fighting tooth and nail for talent. If I don't cultivate relationships in advance, do you think a rural enterprise like mine can compete for people? Not to mention state assignment; the state also respects individual willingness."

Wang Yan waved his hand, then tore up the paper slip, took out his wallet from his pocket, counted out two hundred yuan, and slapped it on the table: "This is personally from me, not factory money. You take it to treat people to meals; there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"How could one eat that much?" Song Yunhui shook his head. "I'll take one hundred."

He really didn't know how to refuse anymore.

"It's about treating them to a meal every now and then, not treating everyone to a single meal altogether. Take this money first; if it's not enough, we'll talk again."

"It's my own fault for having a loose tongue," Song Yunhui said helplessly as he accepted the money.

"Otherwise, I would have to go myself," Wang Yan laughed heartily. "When your sister gets into university this year and I send her to school, I must also give a speech at their university to attract talent. To tell you the truth, achieving socialism nationwide is beyond my capability, but for our Jin Ling County, with a population of over two hundred thousand, based on the current situation, I am confident we can make great strides forward."

"It would be truly wonderful if that were the case."

"I still say the same thing: success depends on human effort."

Wang Yan said, "Currently, the county is already planning educational matters; the county will bear the cost of primary schools, while our textile factory will bear the cost of middle and high schools. This will be formally implemented in the new academic year this year. At present, for students reviewing to prepare for the college entrance exam, we have opened centralized study classes in the county, providing subsidies for three meals a day and offering accommodation. Those who get into university will receive a reward from the county, and a subsidy will be provided for their schooling."

"But what if they don't come back?"

"Then let it be the county's blessing to them; even if only one person returns, that is good."

Song Yunhui asked, "How has the textile factory developed now? Can it afford to spend so much money?"

"This year, the projected output value is expected to exceed ten million."

Wang Yan spoke lightly, leaving Song Yunhui dumbfounded.

"No wonder you want to research agricultural machinery; is it because there are no idle people left in the county town, so you need to liberate the farmers' productive forces?"

"A college student is indeed a college student." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, acknowledging his words, then continued, "The county town has only over thirty thousand people; excluding the elderly and children, there are less than twenty thousand, and some of them are released from production duties, while others are taking care of the elderly; basically, there are no idle personnel left in the county town."

Last month, our factory's Security Section, in conjunction with the County Gongan Bureau, cracked down on illegal crimes throughout the entire county, arresting several hundred who had popped up. They are all repairing reservoirs in the mountains now. There is no one loitering outside anymore.

"So, just as you said, we must improve the efficiency of land cultivation and harvest to liberate the farmers' productive forces. In fact, young people from surrounding communes have already come to work in the city. However, we cannot solve the accommodation problem, which is why this matter is advancing slowly."

"Didn't you see it when you returned to the county earlier? Construction sites are everywhere. Building roads, erecting houses, laying pipelines, stringing power lines—it's very lively. Truly bursting with vitality, with all things competing to flourish."

Song Yunhui was left speechless; this brother-in-law was truly awesome. Almost by his own strength, in less than a year, he had created such a grand situation; whoever came would have to be convinced...

Of course, Wang Yan was not being modest; this was the actual situation. Now, the burden of Jin Ling County could be said to be pressing entirely on his shoulders. A series of tasks in the county were also unfolding around the development plan of the textile factory.

Having reached this stage, Wang Yan had thoroughly tied the county's will to the textile factory, while the textile factory was tied to him, Wang Mou.

At present, the spiritual state of the county town's people is excellent; regardless of whether they themselves are employees of the textile factory, there are always their children in the family. Regardless of whether the factory's performance is good or not, they are never worried, because they know that the factories merged into the textile factory will only increase.

Of course, they also know that all of this depends on Wang Yan being here!

Wang Yan has a reputation in the county; in the county town, he possesses supreme prestige. If he raises his arm and calls out, truly everyone gathers to respond...

After sitting at home for a while and chatting for a bit, Wang Yan took the entire Song family group to the factory's Lideshitang.

This was a newly built small canteen, not large, yet not small either. Today's meals were partially funded personally by Wang Yan, with the factory subsidizing the rest. Since everyone was originally going to eat here anyway, Wang Yan was essentially taking advantage of the public, but no one would say anything, after all, he himself had paid several hundred yuan.

Those counted as attending the wedding, besides the leaders of the textile factory and advanced workers, included leaders from other factories in the county, as well as some relevant personnel from the county government.

It is worth mentioning that County Head Xu came, while Secretary Gong did not...

Secretary Gong was now honestly waiting for retirement; he could not fight against County Head Xu, let alone against County Head Xu supported by Wang Yan, so he had submitted. Thus, his state was very good; he hardly spoke at small meetings, and at large meetings, everything he said was false, exaggerated, and empty. Usually, when conducting research on the streets, he did indeed point out some problems and propose some suggestions; apart from lacking great power, he actually looked like someone getting things done.

But he still had not forgiven Wang Yan...

County Head Xu presided over Wang Yan's wedding, delivered a speech on stage, praised Wang Yan, affirmed Wang Yan, and expressed hope that Wang Yan would have a happy married life and be able to devote himself even better to the great cause of constructing Jin Ling County.

Wang Yan and Song Yunping thanked all the guests, and then, taking Song Yunping with him, began to go table by table to propose toasts.

"Thank you, Leader, for taking time out of your busy schedule to come and witness our marriage; we, the couple, offer a toast to the Leader."

County Head Xu shook his head and smiled, saying, "Now that you are married, work hard in the future; you must not bully Comrade Yunping, otherwise I will deal with you. Comrade Yunping, keep an eye on him; if there are any problems, come to me."

Song Yunping was still somewhat unaccustomed, after all, County Head Xu's status was very high; she nodded with a smile: "I will listen to whatever the Leader says."

The three of them drank a cup of wine, let out an "Ai," and then turned to call out, "Youngest Uncle, come here!"

Song Yunhui was eating honestly over there; hearing Wang Yan's call, he walked over, puzzled.

"Leader, this is my wife's younger brother, Song Yunhui, studying in the Chemistry Department at Anyun University. He has two years left before graduation and starting work; let the Leader see him first, as we might need to trouble the Leader to make introductions later. Come, brother-in-law, let's toast our local official."

Song Yunhui was somewhat reluctant, but still obediently complied; out of politeness, he drank a cup.

County Head Xu nodded with a smile: "If your brother-in-law asked me to make introductions for you, it means you are quite capable. Our country currently lacks talent; Little Song, you must study your professional knowledge well and utilize it once you start working in the future."

"Yes."

Song Yunhui responded, and immediately Wang Yan let him go.

"Excuse me, Leader, my younger brother is a bit..."

"He is a person of scholarship." County Head Xu interrupted Song Yunping's explanation, smiling, "I just said that if Wang Yan called him over, he certainly knows his character; I trust him."

"A leader is indeed a leader."

After a few more jokes and remarks, Wang Yan took Song Yunping to continue proposing toasts; they toasted every table, and for some individuals, they drank separately, certainly affirming others' work, encouraging others to continue working hard to add bricks and tiles to the cause of Jin Ling County, and so on.

After all this fuss, it was not until one o'clock that people finally dispersed to attend to their duties, as today was still a workday.

Wang Yan, together with Song Yunping, ate their own wedding banquet. It had been set aside earlier and was still warm. Eating a banquet at this time, truly nothing was left over; material conditions were still not abundant.

Although he had drunk a lot of wine, it did not prevent Wang Yan from eating and drinking heartily.

The family gathered together to chat casually.

Song Yunhui said, "Why did you introduce me to County Head Xu?"

"Didn't I say it? To arrange a job for you in the future. State assignment cherishes college graduates, but the places available vary from good to bad. If you are unwilling to return to engage in construction and want to go to a big factory to realize your value, do you think big factories are so easy to enter? You must know that big factories do not lack talent, nor do they lack college graduates. Everyone knows those places are good, so everyone sharpens their heads trying to rush there; what makes you special?"

"If I can't get in, I won't get in; anyway, I will definitely have a place to work. As long as I work diligently and continue to learn advanced knowledge, I don't believe I cannot stand out."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile; indeed, one could stand out now, and even if one could not stand out, it would never be too bad; in the future, one could also have certain social connections and a relatively peaceful old age.

"I believe in you, it's just that the path might be difficult to walk, and the ceiling is not high." Wang Yan waved his hand, "There are still two years until then; we can talk about it at that time; there is plenty of time. It is just to let County Head Xu know about you first; our local official is still very energetic, with roots in Beijing. Our jeans are selling smoothly now, and state-owned stores pay promptly; he contributed greatly to this."

Song Yunhui responded but said nothing.

"Xiao Hui, thank your brother-in-law; he is truly thinking of you."

Without waiting for Song Yunhui to speak, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "Among family, we don't speak two different languages; if I can handle it, I will help arrange it; if I cannot, then it is not my fault."

"Since you are so powerful in the county and have now married my sister, our family's label..."

"Xiao Hui!" It was Father Song who spoke from the side.

"It's fine, Dad. This matter is actually not difficult, just unnecessary. After all, I am here now; currently, you old couple are not hindered in anything, and Xiao Ping attending university is not affected either, so it really doesn't matter. The state has policies in this regard, localities are implementing them; it is only a matter of time before it reaches our family."

Father Song nodded and said, "Since it is getting late, we will head back first."

"Stay here; accommodations at the guesthouse have already been arranged."

"No staying, no staying," Mother Song said, "The chickens and ducks raised at home need to be fed, and the work is not finished yet."

"Then I will have someone drive you back."

Wang Yan arranged for people from the factory's Security Section to escort the three members of the Song family back to Hongwei Town, and also gave them some extra dishes to take home and eat.

The newlywed couple also returned home.

"Thank you, Wang Yan."

Wang Yan held Song Yunping as they lay down, both gazing at the ceiling. "We're all family now; what is there to thank me for? Do you think I would stoop to the level of your younger brother? He's just young and has experienced little; once he starts working, he'll be fine."

"As for your parents, rest assured. By next year, when the house is built, I'll arrange for your father to work at the factory clinic. His hydro-massage skills will be more than enough to handle minor headaches and fevers; the requirements for the factory clinic aren't high. Your mother can stop working then. I'll allocate a suite to the old couple, right next to ours, with a small courtyard. They can farm if they wish, or grow flowers if they prefer; it'll be a leisurely life for them."

"That doesn't seem right..."

"What's not right about it? My contributions to the factory and the county are clear to see. Allocating a house to my own father-in-law and mother-in-law—who could possibly object?"

"Let's not. Allocating a house is too big a matter; let's just stay in this one. This house is perfectly fine."

"This one needs to be vacated. Workers coming from the countryside below have nowhere to live. Since ours was among the first batch of allocated housing, it must be cleared out to accommodate them. Listen to me; if I say it's fine, then it's fine."

"Thank you."

"There you go again. As I said before, if you truly want to thank me, show it through action."

Smack~

Song Yunping turned and kissed Wang Yan on the cheek.

So Wang Yan rolled over, embraced her, and began to grope. "We are a legally wedded couple now."

"Oh, but it's not even dark yet..."

"I'll draw the curtains."

"Then everyone will know."

"Let them know. This is the great way of humanity; how else do all those children running around on the streets come to be?"

"Oh, don't move; let me do it myself..."

Song Yunping's pretty face flushed with a rosy glow, and her breathing grew somewhat heavy...