Chapter 349: Happy Working

"It's those team leaders who are so terrible; just look at each of them—my god, the tall ones are as high as gate gods that could reach the sky, and the short ones can crawl on the ground."

Xiao Zhou: "Exactly. Have you seen the monkeys at the zoo? That one named Chang Jinbu is just like those monkeys, leaping up and down… haha…"

Another burst of giggles came from the broadcast, causing the passengers who heard it to erupt in roaring laughter.

Now Chang Jinbu couldn't stay calm: "Hey Lu Jingzhang, they're bugging me! No way, I have to go after them, quickly cut off the broadcast, this is outrageous."

Lu Cheng grabbed him again.

"You see, you're not tall, yet your mind is so petty!"

"I…"

Lu Cheng set his face sternly: "That's not right. I have to criticize you for a couple of sentences! From now on we'll be working on the same train, so we're like brothers and sisters. If someone says a couple of words to you, you can't take it?"

"Your name is Jinbu; do you know what it means to be modest and let others help you improve? When others say a couple of words, you should humbly accept the criticism. What they say is the truth; look at me, I love hearing the truth."

Chang Jinbu looked speechless: "But… the passengers all heard it, it's so laughable."

"Your thinking is still wrong. Think about it: sitting on a train for such a long time, isn't it boring? Right, making the revolutionary masses happy for a moment is your honor."

"Look at me, I don't mind! Happy Working, understand?"

Chang Jinbu nodded: "Then I understand, Lu Jingzhang."

……

Xiao Zhou: "By the way, our Lu Jingzhang is good at everything except that he's divorced."

Lu Cheng couldn't help but frown; when did his marriage become gossip around the unit?

Chang Jinbu couldn't help but say: "Lu Jingzhang, they seem to be buzzing you; maybe we should just cut off the broadcast."

Lu Cheng cleared his throat, pretending not to care: "No need, be magnanimous. What's there to argue with them about? Happy Working!"

Xiao Qin: "Yeah, it's a pity; being divorced makes you a second‑hand item."

Xiao Zhou: "Shh, don't let Lu Jingzhang hear that."

Xiao Qin: "He's not here, what's there to fear! By the way, Xiao Ye, what did you just say about Lu Jingzhang?"

Xiao Ye: "Hmm? He must be unable to have children; that's why they divorced, maybe there's some physical problem."

Xiao Zhou: "What kind of problem could that be?"

Xiao Qin: "I know, we have a male comrade who can't have children, they say it's something in that department."

"That department? Which department?"

When the passengers stopped chatting, they all perked up, ears upright, listening to the broadcast, each looking intensely curious.

Lu Cheng's face turned pale; once he recovered, he immediately called to Chang Jinbu: "Quick, cut off the broadcast right away!"

A passenger shouted in protest: "Hey, hey, don't cut it, we want to keep listening."

……

At the Broadcast Room doorway, Xiao Zhou and the other two stood in a line.

Lu Cheng, hands behind his back, paced back and forth a few times, then stopped and stared at the three.

"During work hours, who allowed you to chat here?"

Xiao Zhou stood in the middle, Xiao Qin and Xiao Ye on either side, both reaching out to tug at her.

Xiao Zhou muttered: "I… I just forgot to turn off the broadcast; next time I'll definitely pay attention."

Lu Cheng glared: "What does this have to do with turning the broadcast on or off! No matter when, you must never gossip about a comrade behind their back!"

The three hurriedly nodded: "Yes, yes, Lu Jingzhang, we were wrong; we'll definitely stop speaking carelessly in the future."

Seeing their attitude was decent, Lu Cheng didn't press the issue further; after all, these people belong to the Train Captain's management.

"Alright, alright, all go work quickly."

The three lowered their heads, hurriedly linking hands to leave, but Lu Cheng remembered something and called out to Xiao Ye.

"You stand there first!"

When Xiao Ye heard she was being called, she instantly became nervous, while Xiao Zhou and Xiao Qin abandoned her and ran off, leaving Xiao Ye even more frantic.

"Lu, Lu Jingzhang."

Xiao Ye was the youngest of the three, only nineteen this year, with two braids, and her face would turn apple‑red when talking to a male comrade.

Lu Cheng, with a stern face, asked: "Did you just say I can't have children?"

"I…" Xiao Ye lowered her head.

"You also said I have a physical problem? I have no such problem."

Xiao Ye lowered her head even further.

"No, whose nonsense did you all hear? I'm perfectly healthy; why would there be a problem? Why can't I have children?"

Xiao Ye's cheek flushed bright, truly embarrassed; how could Xiao Zhou forget to turn off the broadcast! Now everyone heard it, how mortifying.

"We… we heard Broadcaster Jiang Mengmeng say it."

Jiang Mengmeng? Lu Cheng immediately frowned, guessing it was that little girl spreading it, chatterbox as if she were chewing on a shoe sole.

One day I'll have to deal with her! Let her know what a little motor is!

Beside him, Chang Jinbu couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Lu Cheng kicked him.

"Chief, didn't you say we should Happy Working? I think they're chatting quite happily."

"Go, go, go…"

Even if they chat happily, they can't expose anyone's shortcoming! No, actually he has no such shortcoming at all; it's just a few girls idly gossiping nonsense.

Lu Cheng was too ashamed to face the passengers, so he simply lay down in the Bunk Car to read the Newspaper; fortunately they arrived at Shencheng quickly, and he got off the train early.

The Shencheng Vehicle Factory sent a car to pick him up, showing how much they valued this deputy chief commander.

Tan Kaiping and Director Pan, head of the Equipment Manufacturing Department, also arrived; they were old acquaintances, and the few of them quickly stepped forward to shake hands.

"Tan Zonggong, Director Pan, long time no see."

Pan Jihai said loudly, "What, I heard you've become a sheriff now."

"Ha, that's all thanks to your Shencheng Vehicle Factory; if the snow removal machine hadn't been built, I couldn't have become this sheriff."

Pan Jihai laughed heartily, "Building the snow removal machine is our factory's duty; if you really want to give thanks, you should thank Chief Engineer Tan. To meet the deadline, Chief Engineer Tan was working overtime nonstop."

Lu Cheng couldn't possibly not know, and he kept thinking about how to repay them.

Chief Engineer Tan, at his age, no longer cared about fame or money; his only hope in life was to achieve Rehabilitation.

Lu Cheng came to Shencheng this time both to attend the Ribbon‑Cutting Ceremony and to take another risk, trying to secure Rehabilitation for Tan Kaiping.

He got into the car, first went to the Guesthouse to store his luggage, then rushed back to the Vehicle Factory; for tomorrow's Ribbon‑Cutting Ceremony, various preparations had to be completed in advance.

While the Vehicle Factory staff were busy, Lu Cheng only needed to follow the scheduled order and go onstage to speak, and he was actually delighted to have free time.

He casually chatted with Tan Kaiping, "Chief Engineer Tan, you'll be speaking tomorrow too, right?"

Tan Kaiping gave a wry smile, "With my status, I'm not suitable to attend tomorrow's Ribbon‑Cutting Ceremony."

Lu Cheng fell silent suddenly; the snow removal machine being produced ahead of schedule meant Chief Engineer Tan had exerted great effort.

Yet, he couldn't claim any credit; not even his name could be mentioned, and he could only remain a behind‑the‑scenes figure.

Lu Cheng felt a bit unwilling; that night back at the Guesthouse, he revised the draft through the night.

After finishing, he checked it again, thinking that if he read this Speech Draft aloud tomorrow, who knew what sensation it would cause?

But to prevent Chief Engineer Tan's deeds from being buried, he still prepared to give it a try!