[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981":3,"chapter-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-875":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","That Year, the Flowers Bloomed in 1981",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2295293,4489,"Chapter 875","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-875",875,"\u003Cp>After the Spring Festival, Factory No. 1 quickly became busy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The headquarters urgently transferred Zheng Qiang, a Jilin University master’s graduate, to Factory No. 1, and kept pressuring it to help complete the ramp-up of the 1041 car model as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two production lines imported from Japan gradually arrived, along with Ludwig, the German engineer from Mitsubishi’s Lighthouse Plant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Ludwig arrived at Factory No. 1, he drew a crowd; even Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang’s stern scolding couldn’t stop everyone’s enthusiasm for “watching the foreign spectacle”—if they couldn’t get close, they’d watch from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that the young workers at Factory No. 1 were rude; it was simply that foreigners coming to inland China were as rare as three-legged frogs, if not as rare as giant pandas—just a few glances gave them something to brag about to their friends later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, you know? Our factory has a foreign engineer—yellow hair, big nose, wears just a shirt even in the cold snap, and his chest is all hairy—he’s tough against the cold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you know? He used to be from West Germany, worked at the Santana factory, then went to Lighthouse—strange, wasn’t it? Didn’t Lighthouse defeat them before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his first days in inland China, Ludwig was deeply uncomfortable—anyone constantly stared at like this would grow restless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once he started assembling equipment with the workers, working the production line, and especially drinking with them, this quiet, rigid West German slowly grew fond of these flower-people who always smiled when they saw him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【They are all kind.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the most frequent thing Ludwig said to Li Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the second most frequent thing Ludwig said was “raise my salary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, after Ludwig and Factory No. 1’s technical team completed a round of technical validation, he brought along Zheng Qiang, temporarily assigned as his interpreter, to find Li Ye again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon meeting, he bluntly said: “Mr. Li, your car factory’s production conditions are far below the standards you previously confirmed with me,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so I must exert ten times the workload to bring it up to normal production levels—my salary must be raised; that’s mutual respect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye sat in his chair, watching Ludwig and internally grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Damn, aren’t Germans supposed to be rigid, serious engineers? Why is this guy so sneaky?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Factory No. 1’s production processes and conditions could never match those of Volkswagen in West Germany or Mitsubishi in Japan, but they were already quite good by inland standards,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and under a learning mindset, Professor Zhao had assembled an excellent technical team for Li Ye—most of the work was handled by inland engineers and technicians; Ludwig, as chief engineer, absolutely didn’t need to exert “ten times the workload.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after Ludwig went on and on about his hardships, Li Ye cut straight to the point: “Mr. Ludwig, as far as I know, you work only eight hours a day—if you need to exert ten times the workload, does that mean you plan to work eighty hours a day?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Qiang glanced at Li Ye, unable to suppress a slight twitch of his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past few days, inland technicians and workers had been putting in twelve hours daily to get the two production lines running, but Ludwig strictly stuck to the eight-hour workday as stipulated in his contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Li Ye fired back at him, Zheng Qiang felt deeply satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ludwig didn’t hesitate—he replied to Li Ye: “Mr. Li, mental labor’s intensity is invisible, but if you raise my salary, I’m willing to match Zheng’s work hours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Are you deliberately messing with me, or just too blunt to lie?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye was both angry and amused—right here in front of Zheng Qiang himself, you say you’ll work as long as he does if you get a raise—but how much does Zheng earn? Less than one-twentieth of your salary!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But remembering how Ludwig was shunned by his colleagues when Li Ye first met him, it wasn’t hard to understand his social incompetence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ludwig, we have a contract. For the first few months, you only worked twenty days in Japan, yet we still paid you your full salary—so tell me, what made you suddenly become so greedy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ludwig froze, surprised that the usually mild-mannered Li Ye had suddenly turned so sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly recalled the scene when he’d tried to jump, and Li Ye grabbed his arm and bargained with him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, he’d demanded ten thousand dollars a month—and Li Ye immediately threatened to throw him off: “Then go ahead and die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why he later settled for seven thousand dollars a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, seeing Li Ye’s expression, Ludwig suddenly felt panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【He won’t throw me off again, will he?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Ludwig finally blushed and confessed: “I only asked for the bare minimum to survive—I owe three hundred fifty thousand dollars, and the annual interest is over forty thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have two children to support; my wife and kids need at least a basic home—I can’t let them live on the streets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s face remained stern, coldly saying: “If you’re short on money, just say you’re short on money—why invent this nonsense about ten times the workload or claim our place is backward? If our place weren’t backward, why would we need you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since you arrived, you’ve worked only eight hours a day—how long will it take for my two production lines to start? If I get no returns, how can I raise your salary?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s sarcastic scolding turned Ludwig bright red—even Zheng Qiang, the interpreter, felt a pang of pity for this German.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was an international friend who’d left home and family to work here—it was truly hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he awkwardly said to Ludwig in broken English: “You can bring your family to China—prices here are low, and there are special schools for foreign children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ludwig shook his head sadly: “Zheng, thank you, I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Qiang was puzzled—he thought if Ludwig brought his wife and kids inland, even after paying interest, seven thousand dollars a month would let them live like gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye smiled faintly and explained to Zheng Qiang: “Do you think American bankers are benevolent? Do you think they’re like inland banks, where if you don’t repay, they can’t kill you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Li Ye’s single sentence revealed the darkness of the free world, he still gave Ludwig a chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ludwig, if you learn Chinese well and get both production lines running smoothly, we’ll consider giving you a bonus at year-end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dejected Ludwig immediately asked: “How much is this bonus?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye replied seriously: “At least fifty thousand dollars—if you perform excellently, there’s no upper limit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, I’ll learn Chinese well and perform excellently!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just moments ago dejected, Ludwig now had energy—he readily accepted Li Ye’s terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is learning a foreign language hard? Is working hard hard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both are ten times easier than dealing with bank collection notices!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Li Ye gave him only fifty thousand dollars, it would slash his debt principal significantly, making the remaining debt shrink instead of snowballing with compound interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Ye’s two conditions left Zheng Qiang disappointed—he, as Ludwig’s interpreter, could gain firsthand experience; if he was no longer needed, he’d be lost among deputy researchers and researchers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye noticed Zheng Qiang’s mood and kept him behind: “What’s wrong, Zheng Qiang? Are you jealous because Ludwig’s salary is too high?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No no no, we’re not jealous—Ludwig really has skills we’ve never seen. I’m just wondering—why are you forcing him to learn Chinese?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t it obvious?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye smiled: “Giving him an interpreter makes him feel like a ‘guest of honor’—but once he learns Chinese, he becomes just another worker at Factory No. 1,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>if he always relies on interpreters, any work problem will become an excuse for language barriers,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but if he understands Chinese, even if I speak to him in Sichuan dialect, not understanding is his own fault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Qiang was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly realized that Li Ye, whom the workers considered “incredibly kind,” had a cunning, even devious side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【No wonder some say he’s a capitalist—turns out it’s not without reason. Pfft, the more capitalists like him, the better.】\u003C\u002Fp>",1375,"2026-06-20T05:05:02.628Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a19ca4f281d9c0711d8352ae708bb1e2901637373d006ee4681b8ebe55b4c9a4","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-876","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-874",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]