Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 200 Da Ge is the Big Brother
On Saturday, the temperature in Harbin dropped to around zero degrees Celsius in the blink of an eye.

Although it didn't feel as damp and cold as it did in Shanghai at the same temperature, it still made Zhai Da realize that he couldn't put off the shopping any longer.

This time, Zhai Da and Lu Wei didn't ride the old-fashioned bicycle again. Zhai Da moved the bicycle left by his grandfather into the house and placed it on the balcony, and even took the opportunity to maintain it.

Today, the two took a taxi to Qiulin Company on Central Avenue.

By the way, Qiulin Company mainly sells red sausage, bread, kvass, etc., but the old building has long been converted into a shopping mall, selling all kinds of things. Online sources say that this is the first choice for locals to buy down jackets, but of course, it is possible that this is just advertising.

Zhai Da hadn't been to a shopping mall in years, especially an old one like this. He felt a bit lost as soon as he entered.

Each brand isn't a separate store, but rather a small open area with few windows, making it very difficult to find your way around. You often end up wandering into someone else's "store" and then have to deal with a few sales assistants who come up to you, which is quite annoying.

"Handsome, bringing your girlfriend to buy lingerie?"

Zhai Da: But then again...
Just as he was about to respond, Lu Wei pulled him away.

Little Wooden wasn't embarrassed; she just didn't want to buy anything outside her plans.

Down jackets are undoubtedly the hot-selling product this season, and they are concentrated on the fifth floor, with many shops displaying them.

Lu Wei always checks the price tag first when buying clothes. The salesperson picks up the tag, glances at it, and puts it back in a second, as if afraid of getting something dirty on it.

Zhai Da picked it up and glanced at it; it read 998.

Actually, it's not too bad. It's already considered cheap in the mall. Down jackets weren't dirt cheap in 08.

Perhaps it was Lu Wei's simple view of money, but she probably felt that this was robbery.

"Give it a try if you like it."

Lu Wei shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.
The two then shopped for another half hour, and finally Lu Wei took a fancy to a short down jacket worth 300 yuan.

They think this little piece of wood is expensive.

Zhai Da touched it; it was as thin as paper and felt very light.

We're saying that there's no need to pursue "ultra-thin" for some things.

Sometimes, ultra-thin is worse than no thin at all.

Finally, tired from shopping, Zhai Da simply told Lu Wei that he was going to the restroom and told Xiao Mutou to stay put and not run around.

Zhai Da returned after about twenty minutes, and Xiao Mutou was indeed well-behaved. Not only did he not run around, but he didn't even leave any footprints, as if he were being punished by standing in the corner.

"Just now, there was a store near the restroom that was having a clearance sale. They said the owner and his sister-in-law ran away and owed their employees wages."

Lu Wei awaited the next installment.

Zhai Da handed the two large bags in his hand directly to Lu Wei: "There were too many people grabbing them, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get any if I came back to you, so I just took two."

As expected, Lu Wei's first action was to check the price tags.
5999
Lu Wei: (.)?

Zhai Da comforted him, "Don't worry, it's 90% off! It's less than 600."

This was a pleasant surprise. Lu Wei took it out and held it up; it was a full-size long style, the warmest kind.

One men's black and one women's white, the sizes are "just right" for both of them.

The label looked unfamiliar; it read "Moncler".
Zhai Da said, "An English name is just pretentious, but a Chinese name like 'Meng Ke Lai' sounds incredibly warm."

Lu Wei touched it; she knew clothes, and the materials and workmanship were indeed very good.

This item was definitely a steal at 600 yuan. With that size and amount of filling, it would fetch the same price even at the Dongyang County farmers' market.
Lu Wei was clearly intrigued and suggested, "Shall we... go take another look? Buy something else?"

"Don't even mention it, it was all gone in the blink of an eye. The clerk almost had her clothes ripped off and ran away screaming. Let's go, we have a lot to buy today."

Feeling like she'd made a good deal, Lu Wei was in a good mood, and as she left, the "emotional expresser" on her back swayed from side to side.

Afterwards, the two went to a large clothing and fabric market and bought a household tabletop sewing machine worth 1500 yuan. They gave the other party an address, and the other party would deliver it to their door.

Lu Wei also bought a lot of fabric; she really intended to make several sets of thermal underwear for Zhai Da.

And cotton-padded clothes, shorts and socks, scarves and gloves, T-shirts and jeans, etc.

On Sunday morning, the sewing machine ordered yesterday was delivered downstairs. Zhai Da moved it into Xiao Mutou's room and assembled and tested it.

I don't know how to sew, but I do know about machinery, so I can make sure it's flat and can rotate.

The milky white sewing machine requires no foot pedal, has a built-in workbench, can be used simply by plugging it in, and has many functions that only tailors would know.

After tidying up, Lu Wei immediately tried it out.

She didn't particularly enjoy working at the wool mill for the first few months, but after Yu Xiaoli's careful guidance, she gradually changed.

Especially after making a pair of "mid-length trousers" for Zhai Da, she realized that this craft did indeed have practical uses.

Moreover, she can draw the templates herself.

Zhai Da leaned against Lu Wei's door, watching her sit in front of the sewing machine, intently cutting.

Because it was warm indoors, Lu Wei was dressed very lightly. When she leaned forward, a glimpse of pinkish-white skin was revealed at her waist, and the rounded contours of her spine were also visible in her waist dimples.

Zhai Da suddenly felt that having a girl at home operating a sewing machine was more in line with Chinese romance than having a girl playing the piano at home.

Perhaps the same applies to women; it seems warmer and more attractive to have a man at home painting or cooking than to have one at home.

I can't quite describe the feeling, it's just...
It would make him subconsciously stare at that back view for a long time, even if it was only for ten minutes or so.

Even more than a decade.

Before they knew it, it was already past two o'clock. Zhai Da snapped out of his reverie and said to Lu Wei:

"I've gone to the airport to pick someone up. I'll call you out for dinner later. Old Xu is here."

------

Harbin Taiping Airport. An old man wearing a thick cotton coat walked out of the arrival exit.

Sweat beaded on his forehead; Xu Xuejun felt like he'd been tricked.

The weather here.

I was initially worried about the cold weather here, so I wore thick clothes on the plane. But it got hot on the plane, so I took them off and stuffed them into my suitcase.

I thought the airport would definitely have heating, but after getting off the plane, I had to wait for a shuttle bus. I gave up after standing in the cold wind for 30 seconds and had to rummage through my suitcase to put on more clothes.

Ten minutes later, I went inside, and it was unbearably hot again!

I was sweating profusely not so much from the heat, but from the exhaustion of constantly changing clothes. Isn't it this troublesome for people here to go in and out of the house?
As I walked to the door, I saw Zhai Da in the distance, with two other people beside him.

Xu Xuejun's lips curled up unconsciously, after all, it had been many days since they last met, but he quickly regained his usual stern expression.

Zhai Da took the old man's suitcase: "You've never been here before, have you? You must have had a long journey."

The stubborn old man, as usual, said rudely, "Who would travel this far for no reason? It's all for you."

To put it bluntly, given Xu Xuejun's personality, he would never be willing to fly in to do ordinary work, no matter how much money it costs.

Are the old ladies dancing in the square no longer appealing?
Zhai Da was already used to the old man's "original taste" and introduced him with a smile: "I won't introduce Wu Yue. This is Song Wu, our winemaker. He arrived on a flight earlier than you. Let me take you back to the city first and give you a welcome dinner."

"Where is Xiao Wei?"

Having not seen each other for a while, besides missing Zhai Da, I also missed Lu Wei quite a bit. Every time I taught Zhai Da in that remote workshop, Lu Wei would quietly sit beside me and wait whenever she didn't have a class. We spent many days together.

"She comes over when she has dinner in the evening."

The group got into a taxi and headed towards the city center.

They were all men, dressed in thick clothes and carrying luggage. The four of them split into two cars: Zhai Da and Xu Xuejun, and Wu Yue and Song Wu.

In Zhai Da's car, the two chatted casually, and the atmosphere was relatively quiet. In contrast, Wu Yue's car was much more lively.

Looking at the bleak winter scene outside the window, Song Wu felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"Brother Yue, has the equipment arrived yet?"

Although he is seven years older than Wu Yue and Zhai Da, Song Wu, who is 25 years old this year, still calls them "brother," probably because the three of them met in a nightclub.

At that moment, I said: "Brother, what's up?"

It was never changed after that.

This young man from Shandong Province originally had a rather generous and cheerful personality, but unfortunately, the three years he spent studying in Germany were the most unforgettable seven years of his five years of life. Alone overseas, his social circle was monotonous and boring, and his psychological maturity did not keep up with his age.

Wu Yue, sitting in the passenger seat, said, "The equipment is on its way. All the necessary procedures have been completed. It is expected to arrive tomorrow. You and Grandpa Xu can study it together then."

Song Wu nodded, filled with anticipation for this opportunity to make a living.

How many people do we have now?

Wu Yue: "There are only a few core members today, plus my cousin."

Song Wu's eyes lit up.

Although the company is a bit small, he calls me a core member!
"Once we confirm that the equipment can be replicated, we'll start assigning people. We'll give you two assistants, otherwise you won't be able to manage as the equipment grows. We'll also need people to handle the delivery and other tasks."

Song Wu's eyes lit up again.

Even though it's about the future, I'll still have subordinates!
Wu Yue glanced at Song Wu's expression in the rearview mirror, smiled, and took a brick out of his bag and handed it to him.

"Brother Yue, what's this?"

Wu Yue said casually, "Settlement allowance."

When Song Wu opened it, he was surprised to find a bundle of 20,000 yuan.
This place is different from abroad. He works the night shift at a nightclub and only earns a little over two thousand a month. Twenty thousand yuan is equivalent to more than half a year's salary for him.
Isn't this too much?

Wu Yue shook his head and said, "This money was given by your brother Da and me. It won't go through the company's accounts. Since we asked you to come out, we naturally have to be responsible for you. Send 10,000 yuan back home and tell them that we received an advance on your salary here. This will put your uncle and aunt at ease."

"Keep the rest of your strength in mind; you need to have enough energy when you're out and about."

Song Wushui was about to burst into tears.
When a student who studied abroad returned to China and started working at a nightclub, his family naturally faced some difficulties.

They were ripped off by a study abroad agency. Their ordinary family had gone to great lengths to send Song Wu abroad to study an unpopular humanities major. Although tuition fees in Germany were low, the agency charged them over 200,000 yuan. Moreover, living expenses abroad were high, and even though he worked part-time while studying, it still exhausted the family's savings.

It seemed like a vicious cycle: he couldn't afford to stay home without working, but if he did work, he couldn't focus on his studies, which in turn made him stay home longer and longer.

As a result, he encountered the 08 financial crisis in the year he returned to China, and he had difficulty finding a job, so he could only try to make a living.

He didn't dare tell his parents that he was traveling so far with some college freshmen, otherwise they would never have agreed.

Did Brother Yue even think of this aspect?
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the three-pronged attack completely stunned Song Wu, instantly raising his initial loyalty value to "99".

"Brother Yue, I'll definitely follow you closely!"

Wu Yue smiled and said, "It's all thanks to everyone's hard work. The company doesn't belong to me alone."

"Hey Yue-ge, I was too embarrassed to ask before, who's the boss between you and Da-ge?"

If Song Wu had even two more years of work experience, he wouldn't have asked such a reckless question, but he still did.

To be honest, Wu Yue was the one who contacted him more often afterward, and he was also closer to Wu Yue.

Wu Yue turned his head and said:
"You're already calling him Brother Da, isn't the conclusion obvious?"

"Da Ge is the eldest brother, the boss."

The taxi driver next to him had his pupils darting around seven times per second, but he didn't dare to make it too obvious.
The two young people offered both a settlement allowance and efforts to win people's hearts.
There's also "Brother Da".
Just from his name, you can tell he's not a respectable person!
Was that brick they threw at the guy in the back row for money?! Should we take him to the police station?
　Thank you to the generous donor "Dead Extra" for the generous donation!
　　A generous donation will result in an extra chapter; I'll fulfill my promise as soon as possible!

　　(Note: The big shot doesn't seem to be in the executive group. Remember to add him so we can chat and relax in the group.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)