FIMA Ch105: Going to Work

No matter how shocked and incredulous the Gu family members were,

Anyway, by Monday, Gu Siyuan was going to work at the county agricultural machinery factory.

Of course, before that, there were things to settle.

Gu Siyuan looked at the person squeezing beside him even though there was a fire burning, and said in a light tone, “It’s almost the end of April, isn’t it hot being so close?”

Since the division of the family a few days ago, Gu Siyuan’s family, along with Gu’s parents, started their own fires.

To avoid further conflicts, each of the three families agreed on kitchen usage times.

Gu Siyuan’s family ended up being last.

However, this was also the most comfortable, avoiding being urged time and again.

“Not hot,” Xie Yiyang said, squeezing even closer.

Gu Siyuan watched his tender face turn red from the fire, even beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

The little wife seemed to be becoming more and more sincere when lying.

Gu Siyuan raised his arm and gently wiped the sweat from the person’s face with his sleeve, his voice low, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Yiyang tilted his head to let him wipe the sweat, staring straight at him with eyes reflecting the firelight, showing deep affection, “You’re going to work, and I won’t see you for a long time.”

Gu Siyuan was slightly stunned for a moment, then pulled him into his arms, and no one mentioned the heat again.

He gently stroked the person in his arms and said softly, “I’ll go to work during the day at the agricultural machinery factory. I’ll be back at night. You’ll be alone at home. If you have any trouble with Gu Lili or anyone else, come back and tell me.”

“Hmph, who would argue with him anymore? Anyway, now that we’ve divided the family, after you go to work, I’ll continue to work in the fields. But I can only earn four or five work points. Now that you’re a worker, don’t look down on me…”

Xie Yiyang held Gu Siyuan’s neck tightly with both hands, humming and muttering in his arms.

Gu Siyuan chuckled softly and pinched his face. “I’m not rejecting you, but you don’t need to go to the fields. There are other things you need to do.”

Xie Yiyang immediately looked at him with sparkling eyes, and confidently said, “Whatever it is, just tell me. I guarantee I’ll complete the task.”

Gu Siyuan’s cold voice came from above his head. “Study.”

“Ah…” Xie Yiyang was a bit stunned.

Gu Siyuan continued, “I remember you graduated from middle school, right?”

“Yeah…” Xie Yiyang nodded, proudly boasting, “Humph, don’t look down on me just because I curse a lot. I had excellent grades in school, always ranking first in the whole school until I graduated from middle school.”

Gu Siyuan nodded. “That’s even better, it’ll be easier to pick it up again.”

Xie Yiyang thought for a moment, then looked up at him. “Why are you suddenly talking about studying? Do you want me to go to a technical secondary school or something?”

“Not a technical secondary school, but a university,” Gu Siyuan said solemnly.

“University?” Xie Yiyang’s eyes widened.

He wanted to say, Husband, are you overestimating me?

The current universities for workers, peasants, and soldiers have quota recommendations. Besides those with connections, only labor models can get in. For someone like him, earning only four or five work points a day, becoming a labor model is unlikely even in the next life.

Gu Siyuan looked at him like a little cat and couldn’t help but pinch his cheek again, then leaned down to kiss his face.

“Mm…” Xie Yiyang immediately kissed him back enthusiastically, even lightly biting him.

Gu Siyuan extinguished the fire in the stove, stood up with the little clingy one stuck to him, and went to check the pot in front.

In the countryside in April, especially in those times, there wasn’t much good food.

Meals were all cooked in one pot. The staple food was mixed grain rice, with wild vegetables seasoned with a bit of oil and salt on top. This was Gu Siyuan’s attempt to make the food taste as good as possible.

While mixing the food together, he casually made up a story, “Yesterday, I accidentally overheard Feng Keng and Gu Lili talking. Feng Keng’s family seems to be officials in the capital. He received a letter from home saying that they’re discussing reinstating the college entrance exam, probably within a year or two.”

Xie Yiyang abruptly looked up, shocked. “Husband, are you serious…”

“Yes,” Gu Siyuan nodded lightly, simultaneously gesturing for Xie Yiyang to get two bowls.

“That’s great.” Xie Yiyang stretched his arm to get two bowls from the cupboard, washed them, and handed them to Gu Siyuan, smiling, “So, you want me to study hard now and take the college entrance exam in the future?”

“Yes.” Gu Siyuan nodded and added in a serious tone, “Not just you, I want to take it too. You study at home during the day, and when I come back from work, you can teach me. When we go to the county, I’ll try to find more related books.”

Actually, those subjects were very simple for Gu Siyuan.

But on the surface, he was just a rural guy who hadn’t even attended middle school.

“Alright. Husband, I’ll work hard.” Xie Yiyang clapped his hands energetically, feeling a great sense of responsibility.

Gu Siyuan divided the food into two bowls and pinched his little wife’s cheek. “Alright, time to eat.”

“Okay.” Xie Yiyang quickly carried the two bowls and ran ahead happily.

He was full of energy, without a trace of his earlier melancholy and clinginess.

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes.

Such an easily coaxed little fool!

On Monday, Gu Siyuan went to the agricultural repair factory as planned.

Yunxi Village is nearly thirty li (about 15 kilometers) from the county. If he relied solely on his feet, it would take at least two to three hours each way, which would be exhausting every day.

However, Captain Zhou Jiandang, always ready to help, anticipated his predicament early on and lent him his bicycle.

Gu Siyuan indeed needed it, so he didn’t refuse much, just planning to repay the favor later.

At this time of planned economy, workers strictly adhered to an eight-hour workday.

The agricultural repair factory was no exception, starting work at 9 a.m. and finishing at 5 p.m.

Since it was his first day, Gu Siyuan went a bit early. When he arrived in the factory area on his bicycle, the workers he passed by were all like him, full of energy and enthusiasm, dedicated to building socialism.

He locked his bicycle in a corner of the factory yard, where many other bicycles were parked.

Then he went to the personnel office to report. He needed to transfer his grain relationship so that his salary and grain would no longer come from the Yunxi Village Forward Production Team but would be managed by the agricultural repair factory.

The personnel officer behind the desk was the same proud lady from the other day.

She seemed to recognize him and asked directly, “Are you here to transfer your grain relationship?”

Gu Siyuan nodded. “Yes.”

He handed over the certificate from the production team, which required stamping and archiving by both parties.

The personnel officer took the certificate, carefully checked it, and put it aside after confirming there were no issues.

She looked up and continued, “The agricultural repair factory has good benefits. We pay salaries on the third of each month. As an official worker, your monthly salary is 27 yuan, plus a subsidy of 32 jin of grain and 1 jin of oil. As for other ration tickets, it depends on the factory’s situation each month, generally including cloth tickets, sugar tickets, and meat tickets, and possibly others.”

Gu Siyuan nodded. These benefits were indeed good, especially the 1 jin oil subsidy. In Yunxi Village, during the annual settlement of work points and grain, each person received only two or three jin of oil per year.

Now, he would get 1 jin per month, totaling 12 jin per year.

Xie Yiyang actually liked stir-fried dishes a lot, so now he could enjoy them several times each month.

Finally, the personnel officer pointed him in the right direction. “You’ve been assigned to Section Chief Lu’s engine section, in the tall building at the end of the row. You’ll see the sign when you get there.”

Gu Siyuan nodded and thanked her.

When he left the personnel office, the courtyard of the agricultural repair factory was already full of people. Everyone was walking hurriedly, and many were even holding and munching on buns.

As they passed by Gu Siyuan, they instinctively took a few glances at him, as his appearance and aura were indeed eye-catching.

Following the personnel’s directions, Gu Siyuan headed toward the engine section.

As he got close to the row of tall buildings, he could smell a strong diesel odor and hear various machine noises.

He looked up at the large room with a sign that read “Engine” and lightly knocked on the open wooden door.

At this moment, there was only one young man, about twenty years old, sitting in the spacious office. Hearing the noise, he looked over.

Gu Siyuan took the initiative to introduce himself. “Hello, comrade. I am Gu Siyuan, reporting to the engine section today.”

The young man blinked, took a moment to react, and then quickly stood up with a smile. “Comrade Gu Siyuan… Oh, it’s you. I heard from our section chief last week that a new person would be coming…”

As he spoke, he pointed to a desk near the corner. “Your seat and stationery have been arranged early on, right here. You can sit for a while; the section chief and the others will be here soon.”

“Okay, thank you.” Gu Siyuan walked over to the designated spot.

“You’re welcome. Serving the people, learning from Lei Feng.” The young man was very enthusiastic and continued, “By the way, my name is Fang Jie.”

Gu Siyuan shook hands with him. “Hello, Comrade Fang Jie.”

Fang Jie had been eating breakfast. After arranging for Gu Siyuan, he sat back down to continue eating while curiously looking at him and asking, “Comrade Gu Siyuan, I heard that when you got in, both your written test and practical test scores were perfect. The section chief even went to the personnel department specifically to request you.”

Gu Siyuan casually replied while flipping through a promotional booklet on the agricultural repair factory on the desk, “Maybe.”

Fang Jie said excitedly, “So it’s true then. Comrade Gu Siyuan, you are amazing. The section chief is very strict with work.”

“You’re flattering me,” Gu Siyuan said in a calm tone.

After this brief exchange, Fang Jie clearly realized that this new colleague was not much of a talker.

However, Fang Jie was naturally talkative and was not deterred by Gu Siyuan’s aloofness. He became even more interested and asked him all sorts of random things.

Gu Siyuan mostly responded with short answers of two or three words.

It wasn’t until later, when Fang Jie casually mentioned some things about their engine section, that Gu Siyuan spoke a bit more, extracting quite a lot of information about the daily operations and work direction of the engine section, as well as the personalities and hobbies of some colleagues.

Fang Jie gradually realized that this person in front of him truly lived up to the section chief’s special request. In just this short conversation, Gu Siyuan demonstrated an incredible breadth of knowledge and insight.

Moreover, much of what he knew about tractors and machinery was unknown even to Fang Jie, a long-time employee.

So, Fang Jie took the opportunity to ask about some problems he encountered in his daily work.

Gu Siyuan didn’t hold back, pointing out some key points in a few words and even solving several issues on the spot.

In the end, Fang Jie almost wanted to ask the heavens: Who exactly is the newcomer here?

By this time, the office was nearly full.

Coincidentally, Ling Zhi had also been assigned to the engine section. Seeing Gu Siyuan, he excitedly ran over immediately.

Fang Jie and Ling Zhi had similar personalities, and soon the two of them, taking advantage of getting to know Gu Siyuan, chattered away, making Gu Siyuan’s head spin.

Section Chief Lu walked in from outside.

Seeing Fang Jie and the others talking happily with Gu Siyuan, he was somewhat surprised. “Gu Siyuan, this is the second time we’ve met, and you always keep a stern face with me, but you seem to get along well with them.”

Everyone looked up and greeted, “Section Chief.”

“Everyone, continue working,” Section Chief Lu waved his hand and then looked at Fang Jie. “Since you get along well with them, you will temporarily guide these two newcomers. You’ve been working in our section for two years now. The organization trusts you, so do a good job.”

“Yes.” Fang Jie immediately blushed with excitement and responded.

At this time, such words were the most motivating.

Especially since Section Chief Lu was a renowned technical expert in their agricultural repair factory. Being recognized by him was the highest praise.

After Section Chief Lu entered his own office, Fang Jie excitedly called Gu Siyuan and Ling Zhi outside. The three of them walked out of the office, turned right, and after a few steps, they reached the end of the corridor, where there was a large double door.

When Gu Siyuan came earlier, he had seen this place, but the door was locked then. Now it was wide open.

Therefore, he could clearly see inside. Obviously, it was a huge workshop.

Several half-dismantled tractors were parked on the ground, and various parts and components were placed on a long workbench on one side. Of course, the main components were engines and internal combustion engines, as this was the workshop of their section.

Fang Jie led them inside and said, “Because we are in the engine section and many engine parts are relatively delicate, everyone has a desk. But we are still technical workers, not office clerks, so we spend more time in the workshop. Sometimes we might even have to go to various teams to help the villagers repair their tractors.”

Gu Siyuan nodded, his expression calm.

However, Ling Zhi’s attention was completely elsewhere, his eyes fixed on the engines the entire time.

Fang Jie smiled, not minding, as he had felt the same way before.

“Who knows what the section chief was thinking, assigning you to guide the newcomers?”

At this moment, an unfriendly voice sounded.

Gu Siyuan and the others looked up to see a thin young man dressed neatly.

Fang Jie frowned in disgust at the sight of this person. “It’s none of your business who’s guiding the newcomers, Ma Jun. Are you jealous that the section chief values me?”

Ma Jun’s face immediately changed, and he sneered, “You’re a useless person yourself, and you want to guide newcomers? Don’t waste other people’s time.”

After saying that, he turned and left.

Fang Jie frowned as he watched his departing figure for a moment, then turned to Gu Siyuan and Ling Zhi, “You don’t need to pay attention to him.”

“Okay,” Gu Siyuan’s expression remained indifferent.

“Got it,” Ling Zhi, on the other hand, was always polite.

Soon, Fang Jie led them to a workbench in the middle of the workshop.

“Xiao Fang, there are three tractors waiting for maintenance, and there’s one with an engine that overheats as soon as it’s started. It might need to be taken apart and fixed quickly, so as not to delay the villagers’ work,” said a middle-aged man nearby.

Fang Jie quickly responded, “Got it, Team Leader Zhu. We have two newcomers in the section today, and the section chief arranged for me to guide them.”

“Alright, then get to it!” Team Leader Zhu nodded and went to check on other workbenches.

Fang Jie turned to Gu Siyuan and Ling Zhi, “You heard what Team Leader Zhu said. There is work ready for you. The engine is the most precious part of a tractor, so maintenance usually focuses on the engine, apart from the tires. This is our section’s most routine task. Since you both passed the entrance exams, you should have some understanding of this. I’ll go through the maintenance process carefully, and you both need to pay close attention.”

“Okay,” Gu Siyuan and Ling Zhi nodded in unison.

The time spent working seriously passed quickly.

By noon, the three tractors had been mostly serviced, and the engine of the one that needed repairs was being dismantled.

Fang Jie said, “You both brought lunch boxes, right? Let’s go to the cafeteria to eat. The chefs in our agricultural repair factory’s cafeteria are really good, not inferior to state-owned restaurants.”

Saying this, he gave a thumbs-up.

The three of them left the workshop and joined the stream of people from other sections and workshops heading towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria had four windows, and they arrived relatively early, so they got their turn quickly. Looking back, they saw a long queue behind them.

Fang Jie stood on tiptoe to look at the large basins inside the window and was pleasantly surprised, “They have fried oil cakes today. Quick, give me four.”

Fried oil cakes were fragrant but consumed a lot of oil. Most households only had a limited amount of oil ration tickets for the year, so apart from holidays, they couldn’t afford to make such food.

However, in the agricultural repair factory’s cafeteria, fried oil cakes were as common as buns and rice, requiring only food ration tickets.

So whenever they were made, they were in high demand.

To prevent anyone from being excessive, the cafeteria also limited purchases to four pieces per person.

When it was Gu Siyuan’s turn, he also bought four oil cakes, but he also got three mixed-grain buns and a braised dish.

Perhaps because of his appearance, the lady serving gave him a noticeably larger portion of the braised dish.

The three of them found a place to sit with their lunch boxes.

Fang Jie and Ling Zhi, eager to eat, started immediately, happily munching on oil cakes and braised dishes, their expressions almost ecstatic.

Meanwhile, those who arrived a bit late and didn’t get the oil cakes looked at them with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

After finishing the four oil cakes, Ling Zhi finally had the time to look at Gu Siyuan.

Curiously, he asked, “You’re not eating the rest after just one piece? How about selling the rest to me?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him and coldly replied, “I’m taking the rest back.”

“Oh…” Ling Zhi nodded, feeling a bit emotional, “You’re taking them for your wife, right? Brother, you’re really a good husband. Luckily, I haven’t married early.”

Hearing their conversation, Fang Jie casually asked, “You know Comrade Siyuan’s wife?”

Ling Zhi replied, “Yes, he used to be the belle of the staff compound where I lived.”

Fang Jie glanced at Gu Siyuan and laughed, “Comrade Siyuan is handsome too. No wonder the lady gave him more braised dish. They must be a perfect match.”

With that, everyone laughed.

After lunch, the three of them returned to the office to rest for a while.

Gu Siyuan took the opportunity to learn from Fang Jie that the agricultural repair factory had a small library with many books and magazines on tractors and machinery. All employees could borrow and browse with their work ID.

Hearing this, he immediately got up and went out to borrow some books.

After spending the whole morning in the workshop, he had a good understanding of the current state of the agricultural repair factory and the engine section. He knew what needed to be done next.

Ling Zhi watched as he brought back five or six books and couldn’t help but marvel, “No wonder you did so well on the exams. Just your diligence alone is much better than mine.”

Fang Jie nodded in agreement.

Soon, it was time to resume work in the afternoon.

However, the work didn’t go as smoothly as in the morning.

The problem lay with the tractor that needed repairs. According to Team Leader Zhu, the engine was overheating, so Fang Jie had dismantled it. He initially thought it was just the usual wear and tear or sludge in the fuel tank.

But from the start of work in the afternoon until now, two or three hours had passed, and Fang Jie had almost inspected every inch of the engine but still couldn’t find the issue.

Gu Siyuan watched as sweat dripped from Fang Jie’s forehead.

Finally, Fang Jie wiped the oil off his hands, troubled, “Still can’t find the cause. We might have to ask the senior members from other teams for help.”

He should have gone to ask for help earlier, but it was the section chief’s first time assigning him to guide newcomers, and he didn’t want to disappoint by failing to solve the problem.

Especially since he had been mocked by his rival Ma Jun in the morning, making it even harder for him to bear.

Gu Siyuan glanced at him, then stared at the engine for a while before suddenly speaking up, “I think I saw this fault phenomenon in the book I read during lunch. I wonder if the method mentioned in the book can solve it?”

Fang Jie immediately looked up, shocked, and glanced at him, “Did you really see it?”

Gu Siyuan nodded, “Yes.”

Seeing his determined expression, Fang Jie hesitated, “Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll try to fix it?”

In those days, there was a saying: teaching your apprentice could starve the master.

Most people kept some skills to themselves, especially in their craft and technical work.

Fang Jie awkwardly explained, “Mainly because it’s your first day on the job, and letting you directly handle such delicate work like dismantling an engine… if something goes wrong…”

Before he could finish, Gu Siyuan proactively nodded, “Yes, Comrade Fang Jie is very considerate. I’ll tell you what the book says, and you can see if it works.”

Fang Jie quickly nodded, “Alright.”

After a while.

After listening to Gu Siyuan, Fang Jie sighed deeply, “I was really stubborn. Just hearing that the engine’s temperature was high, I took the engine apart and got stuck on it, without thinking that a clogged oil pump could lead to the same result over time…”

He looked at Gu Siyuan and smiled, “Reading more books is good. Next time, I’ll borrow some books too.”

Gu Siyuan nodded, “That should be the way.”

About twenty minutes later, Fang Jie reassembled the engine parts and followed Gu Siyuan’s suggestions to address the relevant areas.

Then, he installed the engine back into the tractor and started it. With a “chug chug chug…”, the tractor restarted, and after a while, the engine’s temperature remained within the normal range.

“Great,” the three of them were delighted.

Not far away, Section Chief Lu also watched and nodded in satisfaction, “This young man likes to read but doesn’t just read books. That’s really good.”

At five o’clock, someone outside rang the bell.

In an instant, everyone in the workshop disappeared.

Regardless of the era, getting off work and school was always something people were most enthusiastic about.

Gu Siyuan got on his bicycle and hurried towards Yunxi Village.

By the time he entered the village path, it was just past six o’clock, and since it was early summer, it was still light.

From a distance, he saw a round figure squatting under a big tree at the village entrance.

He chuckled, raised his hand, and rang the bike bell.

Sure enough, the next moment, that round figure swiftly jumped up and ran towards his bicycle.

Gu Siyuan stopped his bike, put one foot on the ground, and extended an arm. The round figure ran straight into his embrace.

Xie Yiyang buried his face in Gu Siyuan’s chest, rubbing vigorously, and said coquettishly, “Husband, I missed you so much today.”

Gu Siyuan gently stroked his back and leaned down to kiss his head lightly, “I missed you too, and I brought you something delicious.”

Xie Yiyang hummed, “I’m not a baby.”

Gu Siyuan, wrapping his arm around Xie Yiyang’s slender waist, exerted a bit of force, and Xie Yiyang found himself being lifted.

The next moment, Xie Yiyang realized he was sitting sideways on the front bar of the bicycle, nestled between Gu Siyuan’s arms and the handlebars.

Xie Yiyang felt warm and slightly shy.

Usually, only children sat like this.

At that moment, Gu Siyuan whispered in his ear, “You are a baby, see, you fit just right, and I can hold you with one hand.”

Xie Yiyang blushed completely, his mind feeling hazy, unable to do anything but curl up in Gu Siyuan’s arms.

“Alright, let’s go. Time to take the baby home!” With that, Gu Siyuan started pedaling, and the bicycle sped forward.

In the sunset, their silhouette stretched long on the village path.