Chapter 27: A New Thought

Early the next morning, Liu Weidong went out to buy soy milk and fried dough sticks. When he returned, Lou Yanru was once again dressed in that faded green military uniform, having washed her floral blouse.

“Wife, why don’t you take Yanhua to the Third Store at noon and buy some clothes? You haven’t even worn that skirt, and your sister just took it...” Liu Weidong suggested.

Lou Yanru looked embarrassed.

“Weidong, she just snatched it as soon as she saw it. As her older sister, I felt awkward denying her. I don’t need to buy clothes. Our tutoring classmates dress quite plainly, not much different from when we were sent down to the countryside.”

Liu Weidong grimaced. “At least buy a few replacement undershirts and underwear. Being in the city isn’t like the countryside. Rural women don’t even wear underwear; if a city girl goes without, wouldn’t people talk?”

“Oh, why do you say such things?” Lou Yanru blushed, lowering her head as she ate breakfast.

While helping Lou Yanru pack her schoolbag and tidying his own pockets, Liu Weidong accidentally dropped a photo tucked inside his notebook.

Lou Yanru’s eyes immediately widened.

“Isn’t this Li Baotian? And that woman looks like Li Hong. Where did you get this photo?”

“You know Li Hong? Is she from your school?” Liu Weidong asked.

Hurriedly, Lou Yanru found an envelope to put the photo in and also gathered the film roll and written materials about Li Hong.

“How dare you carry such photos in your bag? What if someone sees them? Li Hong is my classmate; we were close in high school. You haven’t told me what this photo is about.”

With a sigh, Liu Weidong recounted the adultery incident, though sparing the lengthy details.

Lou Yanru’s expression was complicated, her gaze filled with both sorrow and helplessness.

“Weidong, this is all because of me. If it weren’t for helping me get regular employment, you wouldn’t have done this. By doing so, you’ve made an enemy of Li Baotian.”

Liu Weidong snorted. “Do you think I could have gotten along peacefully with him otherwise? Once the sent-down youth return to the city, the Youth Office will become history. What’s the point of being afraid now? Before leaving, I gave him a final warning at the health clinic, right in front of Liu Xiufen. If he dares to feign illness and delay things again, I’ll send the photos and evidence to the municipal party committee. Yanru, don’t feel pressured. Even without extra points for being a private teacher, I can still help you get into the Teachers’ College. Maybe one day you’ll become a renowned scholar or writer.”

Lou Yanru shook her head firmly. “With my abilities? A scholar or a writer? I’d be grateful just to become a teacher. Actually, Li Hong is quite pitiable. She was beaten and accused of being a spy during the movement and committed suicide. After going down to the countryside, her situation was worse than mine. Besides, she met the wrong people—she never met a good man like you.”

Talking about Li Hong piqued Liu Weidong’s curiosity.

“Wasn’t it said that Li Hong got divorced because of bad behavior?”

Lou Yanru sighed. “Isn’t it the same in every rural area? Women who are pretty become targets of male jealousy. Li Hong was actually raped before marrying a local commune member. Later, when it was discovered she wasn’t a virgin, that man beat her every day until they divorced. I heard the rapist was even a commune leader...”

Liu Weidong was stunned by the revelation.

From his observations during the adultery case, the rapist couldn’t have been Li Baotian; two years ago, Li Baotian had just become the propaganda team leader and wasn’t really a leader at all.

After breakfast, Lou Yanru got up and headed out. “Stop snooping around. Hurry and take me to school. I don’t even know if my mom agrees to let Yanhua attend the tutoring classes here.”

Liu Weidong quickly grabbed his bag and followed his wife downstairs, but not before giving her 100 yuan to buy some replacement clothes for herself and her younger sister.

After seeing them off, Liu Weidong went to the machinery factory. The casting of parts had reached a critical stage; he had to oversee it daily. Also, he needed to inform the factory leaders about the firewood supply in advance.

In Workshop One, Song Yizheng and Master Liu, a level-eight technician, were studying blueprints. Seeing Liu Weidong enter, Song Yi called him over to inspect the machined parts.

Liu Weidong measured carefully with a caliper and nodded repeatedly.

“The technology of a state-owned factory is impeccable, down to the tiniest fraction. Looks like the test run is entering its final countdown.”

Liu had already instructed Song to procure motors and several special electronic components from Shenyang. The costs to produce one machine himself were less than a tenth of the price for imported equipment, which delighted the grease factory leaders.

“Weidong, with your skills, you’d be welcomed with open arms even as Director Sun at the machinery factory, let alone in the grease factory. Why don’t you want to work in a state enterprise? Many would kill for a secure government job,” Song Yizheng said, puzzled.

“Everyone has their own aspirations. The leader’s phrase about going to the countryside and finding great opportunities there—few truly understand it now. The countryside isn’t just about building terraced fields or learning from Dazhai. I actually have the idea of running a business in the countryside, but the policies don’t allow it yet,” Liu Weidong replied.

Song Yizheng and Master Liu looked astonished.

In the city, there were many collective enterprises run by street offices or district offices, but they mostly relied on large state-owned enterprises, processing scraps. They weren’t truly about making profits but increasing employment.

Rural areas still operated on a collective work-point system. Liu’s ideas weren’t just ahead of their time—they were impractical.

Which production team member would dare not earn their work points by working for an individual? That would be a step backward.

Song Yizheng whispered a warning: “Weidong, don’t say these ideas out loud. It’s dangerous.”

Liu Weidong smiled. “Are you afraid I’ll try to restore capitalism? What a joke. When I say running a business, I mean helping the collective start village-run enterprises. Give me a hundred guts, and I still wouldn’t dare be a capitalist.”

Song Yizheng finally relaxed.

“But your ideas are too far ahead. The sent-down youth are about to return to the city. How can there be so much surplus labor in the countryside? Besides, there’s a lack of funds and technology, and the market isn’t open. How would your business products be sold?”

Liu Weidong smiled. “Start with contract manufacturing, just like the large collectives run by the city’s street offices. For example, the parts I design and the oil separation technology—I trade technology for contracts. Isn’t that a win-win for village enterprises and state-owned enterprises? The only things missing now are legal permits and invoices. The government hasn’t issued policies for that yet.”

“You really have all sorts of ideas. If policy ever loosens, the grease factory would cooperate with you.”

Liu Weidong thanked them and turned his attention back to studying the blueprints, avoiding further discussion.

He made sure to subtly convey his ideas to the grease factory and machinery factory leaders, planting the seed early.

If it weren’t for his own future development, Liu Weidong wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell his technology cheaply.

At noon, Wang Jianguo called the workshop.

As soon as Liu Weidong answered, Wang Jianguo excitedly said, “Weidong, Yanru’s regular employment has been approved. The commune specially approved two spots, for Yanru and Li Hong. By the way, what exactly did you do? Liu Xiufen came back from the clinic crying and begging me to plead for Li Baotian, asking you to let their family off.”

Liu Weidong snorted. “Jianguo, don’t get involved in this. I’ll deal with it when I get back. Bad deeds always catch up with you. It’s time to settle things with Li Baotian and his wife…”