Chapter 86: The female workers regret it—why didn't I marry Lu Yuan back then?

When Su Liyan arrived at the podium with a happy and proud smile, jogging all the way.

The leader of Bing Jia Chang then continued speaking into the loudspeaker powered by a spirit-energy core:

"Besides the bonus, the leaders of Bing Jia Chang and the Forging Bureau have unanimously decided to promote comrade Lu Yuan to reserve cadre!"

Everybody clapped!!

After the Bing Jia Chang leader finished speaking, the venue erupted again with warm applause.

Pang Kaige and Gao Tingyu below were completely dumbfounded.

Ha??

Reserve cadre!!

This just means…… Lu Yuan could at any time become the workshop director??

That is, the leader of the two of them??

For a moment, the two of them went completely numb.

From now on, who would dare to offend Lu Yuan!!

From now on, he's actually a cadre!!

However, speaking of which, neither Gao Tingyu nor Pang Kaige would dare to offend Lu Yuan now.

Regarding that banquet incident, Gao Tingyu still can't sleep at night even now.

And Pang Kaige doesn't want to become Gao Tingyu's number two.

At this moment, the two of them slightly lifted their heads at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky.

The two couldn't understand why someone like Lu Yuan—a bad seed, a devious trickster who spends all day swindling—could receive such an award!

Lu Yuan had just earned three hundred bucks a few days ago after finishing the frame, and then, relying on the banquet, he swindled another two hundred plus.

He had just gotten that two hundred plus in hand when—bang! —Bing Jia Chang awarded another three hundred.

Wuuu, why does this good-for-nothing who just loafs around at home all day, this devious ghost, always manage to live a good life!!

Someone as diligent and hardworking as me, an artisan striving upward, can only stand in the cold wind and listen to Lu Yuan receiving the award?

Especially when Gao Tingyu saw Su Liyan today, her lips painted red, making her look even more gorgeous, his eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

"Eh?

"Gao Tingyu, why are you crying!!"

Someone nearby noticed Gao Tingyu and asked, full of curiosity.

Gao Tingyu hurriedly wiped his tears while saying:

"The wind is strong…… the wind is strong……"

Gao Tingyu felt that Lu Yuan's great abilities were all thanks to Su Liyan.

It must be that Su Liyan is extremely prosperous for her husband!!

Originally, Lu Yuan was good-for-nothing!

But ever since Su Liyan married in, Lu Yuan now has whatever he wants!

His life is like that of an emperor every day!

I heard that yesterday he didn't even feed himself; he lay in bed and let Su Liyan feed him.

Look, is this something a normal man could do?

Having such a beautiful wife who can also serve you—isn't that just being prosperous for the husband!!

Su Liyan is also too prosperous for her husband!

It turned Lu Yuan from good-for-nothing to now enjoying the good life.

Just thinking about it, Gao Tingyu's tears had just stopped, then they came pouring down again.

Wuuu, Su Liyan was clearly the one I saw first……

If it weren't for those two dollars…… Su Liyan would definitely be my wife……

Now the one being prospered must be me……

Wuuuu……

At this moment, Su Liyan came down with a face full of pride and happiness, holding the silver yuan and the award certificate.

As soon as she arrived, Liu Jie and her group immediately gathered around again.

These days, everyone has heard from Pang Kaige that Lu Yuan didn't even get out of bed yesterday; he ate while sitting in bed, not lifting a hand.

Whatever he wanted to eat or drink, Su Liyan attended to him on the side, feeding him.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt Lu Yuan was simply too bullying!!

How could this be?

Although this man does have some ability and even built such a grand banquet for his wife, surely he wouldn't go so far as to not even lift a finger to eat, would he?

Isn't this just pure torment?

How could Lu Yuan possibly do that!

This is just bullying Su Liyan because she's from the countryside!

Everyone still thought they'd wait until Lu Yuan comes to the factory next time, then properly give him a piece of their mind.

This absolutely cannot be allowed to bully Su Liyan like this!!

But now…… everyone has changed their tune.

"Liyan, your husband is also too talented, right? Just after receiving the award the other day, only a few days have passed and he's already gotten another three hundred dollars!!"

"Exactly…… even if we didn't eat or drink for two years, we couldn't earn six hundred dollars!!"

"No wonder you attend to your husband like that; if I had such a husband, I'd also wait on him hand and foot every day, not letting him do anything."

"Exactly, if my husband had even half of your husband's abilities, I'd also wait on him like that!"

When people mentioned Lu Yuan, the looks they gave Su Liyan became especially envious.

Su Liyan held the reward in her arms, her face full of happiness as she said:

"I'm not serving Big Brother Yuan just because of these~"

"I serve Big Brother Yuan because I like him~"

"I'm his wife, and even without these I'd still be willing to serve him~"

Hearing Su Liyan's words, the surrounding female workers immediately said:

"Yo yo yo~~~ Look at you cherishing your man~"

Everyone teased with smiles, making Su Liyan a bit shy, yet she still lifted her delicate chin, blushing, and said:

"I just treasure my man~"

Everyone looked at Su Liyan's appearance, and all they felt was envy.

Then someone sharp-eyed asked curiously:

"Hey, Liyan, why are your lips all plump and glossy? Did you put something on them?"

Su Liyan blinked, then immediately said with a happy face:

"It's the lipstick my man bought me yesterday at the department store~"

"Lipstick?"

Everyone stared, then instantly said with curious faces:

"Is this something that just came from Jiangnan this year?"

Su Liyan nodded repeatedly, then said happily again:

"My man also bought me snowflake cream; applying it keeps my skin from cracking in winter~"

Actually Su Liyan's skin wouldn't crack either; she just wanted to show off.

Upon hearing this, everyone stared in disbelief and said:

"No wonder…… I was wondering why you smelled so fragrant today; it must be the scent of that snowflake cream~"

Speaking of that snowflake cream, Su Liyan also recalled something.

With one hand holding the money and award certificate, she then pulled out a box of snowflake cream from her pocket and handed it to the smiling Sister Liu beside her, saying:

"\"Master, my man said to also send you a box. \""

Sister Liu couldn't help but startle, a hint of joy appearing on her face.

As a widow, although her living conditions were good, she had no children or husband, and rarely received any gifts or care from others.

This sudden gift of snowflake cream from Su Liyan moved Sister Liu deeply.

Sister Liu doesn't lack snowflake cream, after all her living conditions are quite good.

But the thoughtfulness behind this gift from Lu Yuan and Su Liyan is what Sister Liu values most.

After nodding and accepting it, Sister Liu also felt that her care for Su Liyan was truly not in vain.

Those around had nothing to say about it.

A disciple giving something to their master is perfectly natural.

But someone couldn't help but say enviously:

"I never expected Lu Yuan to be this capable, this talented……"

"How come I never noticed before…… I've known Lu Yuan for ages; we joined the factory the same year."

"Our workstations used to be right next to each other……"

As soon as those words were spoken, Su Liyan's gaze instantly turned sharp.

And the people around turned back with strange looks to find the speaker.

Sister Liu immediately looked in a direction, frowning displeased and said:

"\"Xiao Li, what nonsense are you spouting!! \""

The female worker who had been muttering in a daze was snapped out of it by Sister Liu's scolding, and she immediately came to her senses, flustered and hastily saying:

"\"I… I was just speaking off the cuff…… truly…… truly no other meaning! \"

Sister Liu then frowned and said:

"\"From now on, say less of these words that harm unity!! \""

The female worker nodded repeatedly, afraid, and said:

"\"I understand, Sister Liu……\""

The surrounding female workers looked at Xiao Li, but didn't say much more.

Well, this matter……

Although what Xiao Li said was wrong, Lu Yuan is Su Liyan's man……

But……

Everyone also felt that Xiao Li had voiced what everyone was thinking.

Yeah……

How come nobody noticed before how outstanding Lu Yuan is……

Before, Lu Yuan was quiet and unnoticeable, just a background figure in the factory.

He wasn't much stronger than Gao Tingyu……

Speaking of which, any of the female workers present had known Lu Yuan at least a year longer than Su Liyan.

If back then……

Then the one now enjoying blessings by following Lu Yuan…… could it be me??

To be honest, the female workers around Lu Yuan's age all felt a bit of regret for a while……

…………

At this moment, Lu Yuan was slurping big meat noodles in a noodle shop not far outside the Siheyuan.

Beside him there was also a bag of steamed corn buns.

"Boss, the Chinese cabbage you wanted has been cooked; may I ask who you are?"

The noodle shop's shopkeeper came up beside Lu Yuan to ask.

He is a regular customer of our noodle shop, so naturally we should treat him well.

Although our noodle shop doesn't usually cook dishes, since this regular customer requested it, we also helped make a big pot.

Having finished his noodles, Lu Yuan tipped back and gulped down the old soda, then belched, stood up, and handed the shopkeeper a silver dollar, saying:

"No need for change, consider it payment for your trouble cooking the vegetables; get two workers to help me carry it back to my courtyard."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he immediately put the money away.

I knew this gentleman wouldn't let us work for nothing; he's well-off.

Afterwards, the shopkeeper repeatedly nodded and said:

"Alright, sir, go ahead; I'll have someone send it over to you."

……

In the afternoon, Lu Yuan began directing these migrant workers to work.

Although Lu Yuan's requests seemed strange to these people, they still efficiently got it done for him.

After the main heating duct was completely dug out, branches needed to be made; specifically, four branch ducts were to be opened, leading to the heated walls.

How to build the heated wall? Simply erect a wall.

Also dug underneath was a trench of heating duct leading to the main heating duct; this couldn't be twenty centimeters wide, ten centimeters would do.

Inside the room a wall was being built; between the original wall and the newly built wall, a gap of about seven or eight centimeters was left.

When the time comes, after burning coal outside, the heat will spread from the Kang heating ducts into this heated wall.

There are two rooms, each with two heated walls.

By then this effect will definitely be stronger than the radiators in northern Earth!

Worked straight until the Forging Bureau knocked off in the afternoon.

Basically everything that needed to be done is done; now we just wait to fire the Kang tonight so the cement dries quickly.

By tomorrow afternoon, we should be able to apply plaster to the new wall.

Immediately, Lu Yuan looked at these still busy workers and said:

"Alright, that's enough for today, everyone go back."

Lu Yuan needs to go pick up Su Liyan; tonight they'll eat out, then after eating go straight to the grand manor to sleep.

The workers marveled that today's work was also great: they started at 11:30 AM and knocked off around 5 PM.

Earning this much money, the boss even provides meals at noon.

Just as Lu Yuan was preparing to fire the Kang.

One of the older brothers among the migrant workers quickly ran over and said:

"Boss, this wall needs to be scraped smooth, right?"

Lu Yuan looked up at this older brother and gave a slight nod, saying:

"Yeah, tomorrow I'll go find a plasterer; hey, do you know a reliable plasterer you could introduce to me?"

These migrant workers, always working outside the city, surely know each other and help find jobs.

If you could recommend a reliable one, that would save me from having to get up early tomorrow morning to go to the East City Gate to look.

And this older brother repeatedly nodded, saying:

"Sure, but boss, my meaning is, if you want to scrape smooth, you need to apply plaster first tonight; otherwise, just on the brick wall, the plaster won't stick!"

Huh?

Need to apply plaster first?

Lu Yuan blinked his eyes, really not clear about this.

Lu Yuan only knows how to design it, but the rest he doesn't really understand.

Afterwards, this older brother also brought Lu Yuan to the brick wall inside the house to explain:

"Just this red brick wall needs a layer of cement mortar first; if you don't apply that cement mortar and directly use the red brick wall, the plaster won't adhere."

This older brother guessed Lu Yuan doesn't really understand.

After all, this boss is from the city and not that old; I guess he's sharp enough to know, so I'm giving him a heads-up.

Oh...

Is that so?

Lu Yuan really didn't know; immediately Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Alright, then you masons stay behind tomorrow to help me apply plaster, and then I'll find a plasterer to scrape smooth."

The older brother was taken aback, then quickly said:

"No need, boss; we actually know a bit about all this stuff; it's simple, we can come tomorrow to scrape smooth for you."

"As for applying plaster, we can do it for you right now; we have enough materials here."

"We started work at eleven, so by rights we also owe you a few work hours."

"We'll apply plaster for you tonight, then tomorrow we can scrape smooth; otherwise, if we wait until tomorrow to apply plaster, we won't be able to scrape smooth until the day after."

Lu Yuan looked at the older brother in front of him, couldn't help but blink, opened the system to check the rating.

Hmm... three stars, not bad, tags: 【Simple and honest】 【Sincere】.

Immediately Lu Yuan nodded and said:

「All right, anyway I'm staying out tonight, you guys handle things here, I'll take care of tonight's meal for you. 」

「If you have nowhere to sleep tonight, just come to my place and sleep on the floor—I'm burning coal here, so it's warm. 」

Lu Yuan thought this person was not bad; speaking of which, Lu Yuan wasn't just planning to install Kang heating ducts in his own Siheyuan, that three-entry three-exit large courtyard—Lu Yuan figured he should also get it done there.

For these reliable people, arrange for this group to go next and also get that three-entry three-exit large courtyard done.

Immediately Lu Yuan looked at the excited older brother in front of him, who was excited because someone would be taking care of things tonight and there was a place to sleep, and handed him a cigarette, saying:

「Older brother, what's your name? 」

The older brother was startled, then quickly took the cigarette from Lu Yuan with both hands and respectfully said:

「Landlord, my name is Liu Shoucai. 」

Lu Yuan nodded, struck a match to light Liu Shoucai's cigarette, then lit his own, saying:

「Tonight help me watch the house; if any of these neighbors in my courtyard want to go in and have a look, don't let them in. 」

Liu Shoucai was startled, then repeatedly patted his chest and promised:

「Don't worry, landlord; with us here, no one will even think of getting in. 」

Lu Yuan nodded.

Lu Yuan wanted to first do something quietly, then astonish everyone~

(End of chapter)