Chapter 40

He Yuzhu finished eating in the cafeteria and returned to the Courtyard House, made an appointment with Old Lai to give him the key at noon today; the two moved the bed and some cabinets into the ear room, which was already narrow, now only enough space for one person to stand; after He Yuzhu locked the ear room, he said, "Master Lai, during this time I won't be back, you can decide on the small matters yourself."

"Okay, Zhuzi brother, entrust it to Old Lai and you can relax; I'll deliver the materials this afternoon and start work with the crew early tomorrow."

He Yuzhu then gave Lai Youning some more details, seeing that everything was more or less settled, he rode his bicycle back to Huaxia University.

Before even entering the gate of Huaxia University, he saw Gao Yue linking arms with Ding Shuyun, the two chatting and laughing as they walked toward the school; He Yuzhu saw this, rode forward a couple of steps and said, "Little Yue, you're quite happy"; Ding Shuyun said to Gao Yue, "Little Yue, I'm heading off first," then greeted He Yuzhu and left.

After Ding Shuyun left, the two walked toward the classroom, talking as they went: "Little Yue, your second brother is fierce; he kicked me in the belly and my stomach still hurts."

Upon hearing that He Yuzhu had been hit by her second brother, Gao Yue immediately asked anxiously, "What? My second brother hit you? How are you, Zhuzi? Where are you hurt?" After saying that, Gao Yue stopped walking and looked at He Yuzhu with concern.

Seeing Gao Yue anxious, He Yuzhu said, "It's fine, Little Yue just kicked me in the belly; I'm basically okay now."

"That's still not okay; wasn't the plan just to find you for a chat? Why did you resort to violence? I'm going to look for him now." After saying that, Gao Yue turned and headed toward the outside of the school.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu grabbed Gao Yue with one hand and held his bicycle with the other, saying, "Little Yue, I'm fine; I'm so sturdy, a kick can't do anything; I really am fine—if you go look for your second brother, I'm really done for."

"He shouldn't have hit you either, Zhuzi—I'm sorry, I really didn't know he would lash out." Gao Yue stopped walking and said apologetically.

"Oh my dear wife, I don't blame you—what's going on today? How did your brother come?" He Yuzhu said, holding Gao Yue's little hand.

Upon hearing He Yuzhu call her "wife" again and grab her hand, Gao Yue's face flushed again; she broke free from his grip and walked ahead.

Seeing Gao Yue shy, He Yuzhu smiled, got on his bicycle and followed, saying, "Little Yue, what's going on?" Seeing that He Yuzhu wasn't calling her "wife" anymore, Gao Yue walked and said, "I wrote to my second brother a while back about our situation; he's been serving in the military, and these days he's come home on leave—today he came to the school insisting on seeing you."

"At that moment I was talking with my second brother; I still had class soon, and after class we were going to grab a meal together, but then I saw you walking over with a cold face." After saying that, Gao Yue gave He Yuzhu a glance and added, "I'm telling you, this can't all be blamed on my second brother—who made you start fist‑fighting with him?"

"Gee, I had no idea that was your second uncle's brother; if I had known, I definitely wouldn't have dared." He Yuzhu said, then laughed embarrassedly.

"By the way, what did you and my second brother talk about?" Gao Yue asked curiously. "Oh, nothing much—just a brief chat. Let's hurry, class is about to start." After saying that, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle, supporting Gao Yue, toward the classroom.

After afternoon classes, He Yuzhu went to Director Liu's office to fetch the transfer order; upon entering and seeing someone inside, he stepped out, waited a moment for that person to leave, then entered.

"Director Liu, I'm here for the transfer order," He Yuzhu said as he approached Director Liu. "Zhuzi, your timing is perfect—tomorrow you don't need to report to the Metallurgy Department; go directly to Red Star Yagangchang to report. The person who just left was from the Metallurgy Department delivering the transfer order." He then handed He Yuzhu a copy of the order.

He Yuzhu looked at the transfer order in his hand, which read: "Loan transfer of Comrade He Yuzhu from your university to Red Star Yagangchang effective July 28 to assist in forming the safety production team and drafting the employee safety manual, Metallurgy Department, July 27, 1952." Seeing the words, He Yuzhu finally understood why the Metallurgy Department had transferred him.

After reading the order, He Yuzhu said to Director Liu, "I just came from Yagangchang and now I have to go back again—did they say how long I'll be gone, Director Liu?"

"They didn't say, Zhuzi; I think it won't be too long—hurry back and get ready." After saying that, Director Liu waved at He Yuzhu.

Leaving Director Liu's office, he went to the bottom of the female dormitory building, had someone call Gao Yue down; after she came down, she ran to He Yuzhu's side and asked, "What's up, Zhuzi? Have you packed everything? When are you leaving tomorrow?"

He Yuzhu raised the transfer order and said, "No longer going to the Metallurgy Department; heading to Red Star Yagangchang," then handed the order to Gao Yue.

Gao Yue took the transfer order, glanced at it, and asked, "Zhuzi, did it say how long you'll be there? Are you supposed to stay at Yagangchang?"

He Yuzhu shook his head and said, "No need—it's not far; I can just run back and forth. Besides, I've already paid the dorm fees here."

The two walked to the small river, lingered a while longer, then He Yuzhu returned to the dormitory; over the past two months, Gao Yue, having been teased by He Yuzhu, no longer felt shy about small gestures when they were alone.

The next day, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle to Red Star Yagangchang; the old gatekeeper who used to be there was gone, and now two sturdy youths holding wooden clubs stood at the gate. He Yuzhu went to the guardroom, produced the transfer order, and said, "Comrade, hello—I'm here to report." He then passed the order over.

A security staff member told He Yuzhu, "Wait a moment," then took his transfer order and walked away. He Yuzhu stood at the gate, staring at the big characters of Red Star Yagangchang, feeling dazed, when someone behind him said, "Sha Zhu, what are you doing here?" He Yuzhu turned to see Xu Daming riding a bicycle, stopped at the factory gate, and said, "I'm telling you, Xu Daming, you little rascal—why aren't you honestly working? What are you running off to do?"

"Hey, let me tell you, Sha Zhu, buddy I'm off on legitimate business," he said, pulling a little red book from his bag and waving it at Sha Zhu, "See? Sha Zhu, projection certificate—buddy I'm now a licensed projectionist." Xu Daming was about to add a couple more sentences when the security staffer walked up to the two of them.

When the security staffer reached the two of them and said to He Yuzhu, "Comrade Leader, Factory Director Yang sent me to bring you in; he's waiting in his office."

He Yuzhu replied to the security staffer, "Fine, take it," and after saying that he still glanced at Xu Daming. The two entered the factory area, He Yuzhu left his bicycle at the gate, leaving Xu Daming alone there, dazed; after a while Xu Daming finally reacted and muttered to himself, "When did Sha Zhu become a leader?"

He Yuzhu and the other person arrived at the office building, knocked on the factory director's office, and He Yuzhu went inside; the furnishings were unchanged, except that Lou Dong had been replaced by Factory Director Yang.

Seeing He Yuzhu enter, Factory Director Yang hurried from behind his desk to meet him, shook his hand and said, "Comrade He Yuzhu, we've been eagerly awaiting you."

He Yuzhu gazed at Factory Director Yang's youthful face, sighed, and said, "Factory Director Yang, you're too kind; after all, I'm also someone who came out of this factory—being able to contribute to it is my honor."

"Good, good, good," Factory Director Yang said three times, then added, "Our factory is currently expanding; we've just recruited another two thousand people, and we'll soon be recruiting a second batch. For a factory this size, lacking its own safety manual makes management truly difficult—finally we've gotten the long-awaited Comrade He Yuzhu."