Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 219 Working
Back inside, Yan Hui's brother-in-law thoughtfully prepared a map of Jinan for him.

Yan Hui glanced at the map and casually put it aside. Getting familiar with a new city isn't that easy; he'd just take it slow later.

He casually picked up a book, which his sister had given him.

This is a history book that mainly introduces a person named Su Shi.

Yan Hui certainly knew Su Shi. He had studied Su Shi's poems in school and at that time he only knew that Su Shi was very talented, and that he had been demoted all the time.

The four words "bad luck" that appear briefly in history books fully express the bitterness of his life.

Yan Hui has been having a tough time lately, and he didn't want to read such a sad story, but since he'd already picked it up, he decided to give it a try.

Yan Hui read the book for several hours straight, finishing it in one go.

Su Shi's mother was a very loving woman. When she married Su Xun, Su Xun was practically a failure. This woman was extraordinary; she gave Su Shi and Su Zhe immense care, which forced Su Xun to become more serious and urge his two sons to study diligently.

Su Xun also did something significant: he arranged for his two sons to "immigrate" from Sichuan Province to Henan Province to participate in the scientific expedition.

The imperial examination in the second year of the Jiayou era was known as the "Millennium Dragon and Tiger List," and the candidates included great figures such as Su Zhe, Su Shi, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, and Zhang Heng.

Su Zhe and Su Shi served as officials at the same time, but they rarely saw each other.

Historically, it is said that Su Zhe worked hard to become an official in order to help his brother Su Shi. In reality, Su Shi also loved his younger brother very much and wrote many famous works, which made Su Zhe famous.

Yan Hui only learned after reading this history book that the "Ziyou" in the line "I was very drunk, so I wrote this poem, also thinking of Ziyou" in the poem "Shuidiao Getou" refers to Su Zhe. The two brothers had not seen each other for seven years, and Su Shi missed his younger brother very much.

The brothers' deep bond has been celebrated throughout history, and they were buried together after their deaths.

Su Shi had three wives, all of whom were his beloved wives.

Su Shi married at the age of 18; his wife, Wang Fu, was 15. They were in love for 11 years before Wang Fu passed away. Su Shi wrote the poem: "Ten years have passed, life and death are separated by a vast distance; I try not to think of her, yet I cannot forget. A lonely grave a thousand miles away, where can I speak of my sorrow?"

The second...
The third one.
After reading about Su Shi's life, Yan Hui suddenly felt that he was also very fortunate.

Yan Hui felt that Su Shi's bumpy official career was completely unimportant to Su Shi.

His parents, brother, and lover all had very good and deep feelings for him, and many of their stories are timeless classics.

All three of Su Shi's wives have left their mark on history, a very rare phenomenon in ancient times. It's worth noting that even Empress Ma, the wife of Zhu Yuanzhang, did not leave behind her real name.

After reading about Su Shi's life, Yan Hui felt completely healed.

He deeply agrees.

Sisters, grandparents, parents—these are all people like this, and they are incredibly important to Yan Hui.

In recent years, Yan Hui has begun to understand his parents. While his parents' nurturing kindness may not be as great as his grandparents', their years of working away from home were all for his sake. When he returned home for Chinese New Year this year, his mother talked to him about the money they had prepared for his wedding.

His life was full of twists and turns. When Yan Hui first saw those four words in the history book, he understood a great deal.

Will there come a day when someone writes his story into a book and concludes with the same sentence: bad luck and a life full of twists and turns?
Hahaha!
Hahaha!
Yan Hui actually laughed.

This is the first time Yan Hui has smiled since the end of the Lunar New Year this year.

After arriving in Jinan, Yan Hui spent a peaceful week. He called home almost every day, and as long as Jianye wasn't mentioned, he was in a good mood.

He couldn't deal with the situation in Jianye for the time being, so he could only focus his energy on Quancheng.

A week later, Yan Hui's brother-in-law found him and enrolled him in a mechanical and electrical repair training course.

The book Yan Hui received was "Manual for the Use and Maintenance of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment" published by Mechanical Engineering Press, and he started learning from scratch.

In terms of basic theory, Yan Hui can understand it at a glance, as he has a certain foundation in high school physics.

In terms of refrigeration, the common systems are vapor compression refrigeration cycle and absorption refrigeration cycle. This system is still in use today.

This kind of training course is purely about teaching repair. The book only covers the basics for two or three days before it starts teaching practical skills directly.

The most common problems with large central air conditioning systems are concentrated in the compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve, fan, refrigerant piping, electrical control system, and drainage system. In addition, four-way valves and filters may also malfunction.

“Remember this: we can only handle 80% of the common problems in our classes. We can’t possibly be experts, and I can’t teach you to be experts either. For the remaining 20% ​​of problems, just contact the manufacturer to handle them. If that doesn’t work, replace them with new ones. Remember this: if your competitors can’t fix it, then it doesn’t matter if you can’t fix it either!” Yan Hui found the teacher’s words very reasonable from the start.

The teachers here are quite dedicated, and although Yan Hui was somewhat distracted, he still persevered in his studies.

Around the tenth day, the teacher began teaching high-altitude operations.

Yan Hui's future work will mainly involve the maintenance of central air conditioning units. These air conditioning units are usually located on the rooftop of buildings, so rope hoisting is unlikely to be required, but he still needs to learn how to do it.

At first, Yan Hui wasn't used to rope hoisting, but he quickly got the hang of it and was very brave.

What we learned in class was only a six-story residential building; in the future, we will be facing many high-rise buildings.

Of the people who went up the rope with Yan Hui, eight out of ten were terrified, but Yan Hui was in a state of mind where he wasn't afraid of death. He was the first to adapt and quickly accepted working at heights.

...

As the weather gradually warmed up, Yan Hui soon graduated.

He wasn't very good at it; compared to most people, he was just very bold.

His condition has actually been fluctuating during this period. Reality is really cruel; sudden enlightenment is impossible, or rather, even if one does achieve enlightenment, it can only last for a short time.

After Yan Hui “achieved academic success,” her brother-in-law began taking her to various construction sites.

If you can repair an air conditioner, you can install one; Yan Hui quickly got the hang of it.

During the day, I installed and repaired air conditioners, and at night I watched over them. Before I knew it, it was May.

Yan Hui was still not in good condition. He really disliked repairing air conditioners, and the several times he couldn't fix them made him somewhat discouraged, since he couldn't make money if he couldn't fix them.

His business all came from his brother-in-law, but his brother-in-law mainly dealt with large air conditioners, which didn't have many sales or repair volume. In addition, he often couldn't fix them properly. He was eager to earn some money, so Yan Hui talked to his brother-in-law and prepared to change jobs.

He chose the most lucrative job, "Spiderman," hanging on high-rise buildings to paint and tile, repairing air conditioners part-time, and guarding warehouses at night.

Gradually, Yan Hui returned to the feeling he had in Fengtian.

(No extra update today, I've been too busy. I expect to update late tomorrow as well.)
(End of this chapter)