Chapter 695 Discussing Girls
“Don’t be afraid of not doing well, and don’t be afraid of making mistakes.”
Wang Jianguo took a step forward and patted the two men's shoulders heavily. The warmth of his palms penetrated their skin through their coarse clothes.
"The first time I went to supply and marketing, I got lost in the snow and almost lost all the goods."
He pointed to the factory building that was being expanded in the distance.
“Look at these. Which one didn’t start out by stumbling? No one is born knowing how to steer.”
He pulled out a crumpled notebook from his pocket, which was densely filled with various data and improvement plans.
"I'll leave these to you. Experience is gained through falling. I'll always be watching from the sidelines."
Cheng Erhua clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh. He remembered that when Wang Jianguo was teaching them how to control the temperature, he always said, "Bricks are like children, you have to warm them carefully."
Thinking of the hot ginger soup that Wang Jianguo silently brought me when I was working overtime late at night, the expectation in the eyes of the big brother at this moment was more important than any lofty words.
Liu Erzhu suddenly straightened his back and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand:
"Brother Jianguo, let's do it!"
Cheng Erhua nodded as well, and the two looked at each other, with a determined light in their eyes. In the distance, the newly delivered red bricks were neatly stacked, reflecting the fiery hope in the sun.
The mountain breeze blows through the brick factory, carrying the unique scent of black soil, as if saying: This vibrant northern wilderness is waiting for young shoulders to carry a new tomorrow.
The sun was scorching overhead at the brick factory. Cheng Erhua wiped the sweat from his forehead and suddenly stopped moving the bricks.
The scene of leaving home in the morning flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern - my old father squatted on the doorstep, tapping the bluestone slab with his pipe, his cloudy eyes looking towards the village:
"Erhua, the team sent a letter saying that there will be two trains arriving at the county town today and tomorrow. I don't know if Shuzhuo can catch them..."
At this moment, the heat wave from the brick kiln hit him in the face, but he turned around and shouted to Wang Jianguo as if he had been hit by cold water:
"Brother Jianguo, is the captain coming back soon? My dad said there are trains arriving today and tomorrow. I wonder if he can make it back on time."
Wang Jianguo was looking down at the firing records of a new batch of bricks, and the tip of his pen made a rustling sound on the paper.
Hearing this, he pushed up his reading glasses and counted lightly on the calendar with his bony fingers. The poplar trees outside the window rustled, casting tiny shadows on his patched blue shirt.
The scene of sending team leader Zhao Shuzhuo to the provincial capital ten days ago is still vivid in my mind—the man was standing under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, carrying his bedding roll, and the morning sun stretched his shadow very long:
"Jianguo, when I come back, we're going to give this brick factory a new look!"
"Well, Brother Shuzhuo has been gone for a while, it's about time for him to come back."
There was a hint of relief in Wang Jianguo's voice, and he lowered his voice again, with a smile in the corners of his eyes.
"Maybe this time we can bring back his girlfriend, Comrade Yang Xiaohua."
He put down his pen, took out a few slices of dried hawthorn from the tin box and gave them to Cheng Erhua and Liu Erzhu.
"Comrade Xiaohua is a nurse at the provincial hospital. I heard she's a key nurse. If she's willing to come, the old headaches and fevers in our village will be cured."
Liu Erzhu bit the hawthorn slices, his eyes shining like stars:
"If there really is a clinic, my mother wouldn't have to endure her old rheumatoid arthritis!"
Cheng Erhua also nodded, remembering that his mother had suffered from acute gastroenteritis last month and had to walk ten miles in the rain overnight to find a doctor.
Wang Jianguo looked toward the unused adobe house in the northwest corner of the factory. On the windowsill were still the frozen autumn pears distributed by the team last year.
The spider webs under the eaves swayed gently in the wind. He raised his hand and patted the brick dust off his body:
"I have to let the rain clean up the house and get it ready."
As he spoke, he took out the small notebook on his waist and wrote down the following words crookedly:
"First, make the kang in the rain room wider, and then borrow two new quilts from Lao Li's family..."
The heat waves from the brick kiln were rolling up fine dust in the air. Liu Erzhu dropped the handle of the cart and took two steps at a time to approach Wang Jianguo, with curiosity flashing in his eyes.
He tugged at the corner of Wang Jianguo's clothes and grinned:
"Brother Jianguo, you often go to the provincial capital for work, so you must have seen the captain's girlfriend! Tell us quickly, what does she look like? Is she very beautiful?"
As he spoke, beads of sweat on his neck rolled down his protruding Adam's apple into his collar, but he was completely unaware.
Cheng Erhua was originally bending over to sort the bricks, but upon hearing this he immediately straightened up, not even bothering to brush off the dust on his body, and walked over quickly.
He rubbed his rough palms together, his face flushed with anticipation:
"Yes, yes! We have been curious for a long time! What do you think she looks like? Is she as pretty as my sister Yushui?"
When he mentioned He Yushui, the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised with a hint of pride, as if he was talking about his own sister.
Wang Jianguo couldn't help laughing as he looked at the two young faces in front of him that were full of expectation.
He took off the towel from his neck and wiped his face, and his thoughts instantly went back to the scene when he met Yang Xiaohua in the provincial hospital a few months ago.
The sunlight shines through the glass windows of the hospital corridor onto the girl in the white coat.
She was patiently explaining to an elderly person the precautions for taking medicine, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze.
“They are not of the same type.”
Wang Jianguo leaned against the brick pile and his eyes softened.
"Comrade Yang Xiaohua is the kind of person who is gentle and kind, speaks softly, and looks delicate and delicate, especially petite."
He used his hands to indicate his approximate height.
"I remember the first time I saw her, she was walking down the stairs carrying a thick medical record book and accidentally sprained her ankle. She looked like a frightened deer, and I wanted to protect her the moment I saw her."
Cheng Erhua listened attentively and couldn't help imagining the scene. Liu Erzhu tilted his head and asked:
"How about compared with Sister Yushui?"
Wang Jianguo pondered for a moment and continued:
"Your sister Yushui is a different kind of beauty. When she first came here with me, many people in the village thought that this city girl couldn't endure hardship, but she gritted her teeth and followed everyone to work in the fields."
He recalled the rainy night last year when Rainwater took the lead in rushing into the waist-deep water to rescue supplies, his eyes full of admiration.
"She is the gentle type. She speaks and acts with a calmness that makes people feel at ease. But she also has a stubbornness that refuses to admit defeat."
"Just like the red willows in our Great Northern Wilderness, they look gentle but can take root firmly in the wind and sand."
Liu Erzhu nodded repeatedly, smacking his lips and sighing:
"So the captain is really lucky! He suddenly got such a good girl!"
Cheng Erhua also smiled foolishly:
"When the captain comes back, we must take a good look at this Nurse Yang. Maybe we can ask her to teach us how to give injections. It will be much more convenient for the villagers to get headaches and fevers in the future!"
The three of them were talking and laughing, and smoke was rising from the brick kiln in the distance, as if it was also looking forward to the arrival of new members. The hot air was full of longing and yearning for the future.