78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Ye Bingwen didn't say anything more and rode his bike home.

An'an was sitting in the living room drawing. As soon as she saw him enter, she immediately dropped her paintbrush and ran over excitedly.

"Dad! Are you going to my parent-teacher conference tomorrow?"

"Yes, my mom told me."

An'an jumped up happily and said, "My deskmate Xiaoming's dad never goes to parent-teacher conferences; it's always his grandpa who goes."

"So, does that mean Dad is better than his dad?"

An'an nodded vigorously, her face serious, and said, "Of course! My dad is the best."

Zheng Shuyun just came out of the kitchen carrying dishes, and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, the best dad, hurry up and wash your hands and eat."

Ye Bingwen washed his hands and sat down at the table.

An'an picked up a piece of potato and put it in his bowl, then picked up a piece for herself and looked at Ye Bingwen and said.

"Dad, when you go to kindergarten tomorrow, you have to sit on my little stool. My stool is the smallest, so don't break it."

"It won't break. Daddy's gentle."

An'an didn't believe him and tilted her head, asking, "You're so heavy, how could you not break?"

Zheng Shuyun said with a smile, "An'an, Dad sat on your chair before, it's not broken."

An An thought about it for a while before she felt relieved.

After dinner, Ye Bingwen helped An'an take a bath and coaxed her to bed.

An'an held his hand, not letting him leave, and whispered.

"Dad, you'll be the first one there tomorrow."

"Okay. First one."

"If you're the first one there, the teacher will praise you."

"Then Dad will definitely be the first one to arrive."

An'an closed her eyes, a smile still on her lips, and quickly fell asleep.

Ye Bingwen gently released his hand, turned off the light, and came out.

Zheng Shuyun was taking notes in her notebook.

"Is An'an asleep?" she asked.

"I'm going to sleep. They told me to be the first one there tomorrow, and the teacher will praise me."

Zheng Shuyun chuckled: "You were incredibly bold when you were running the factory. Weren't you nervous at the parent-teacher conference?"

"I'm not nervous. It's just sitting on a small stool."

"That stool is really small."

Ye Bingwen didn't reply, but sat down and opened his textbook.

Zheng Shuyun continued reading her English.

The next day at noon, Ye Bingwen went over the formula for the second batch of carbon fiber sheets with Chen An at the factory.

The heat preservation time is set at 75 minutes, with other parameters remaining unchanged.

Liu Xiaojun has already cut the carbon fiber cloth and re-polished the tooling; he's just waiting to get started this afternoon.

"Uncle Ye, you weren't here this afternoon?" Liu Xiaojun asked.

"I'm going to An'an Kindergarten for a parent-teacher meeting. You guys start, follow Chen An's parameters. I'll check the data for the first batch when I get back." Ye Bingwen put on his coat and grabbed his car keys.

"Okay. You go ahead, I'll stay here." Liu Xiaojun patted the control box of the press.

Ye Bingwen rode his bicycle home first to change into clean clothes.

Zheng Shuyun changed An'an into a new dress, red with a small flower embroidered on the neckline.

An An stood in front of the mirror and twirled twice, her skirt billowing up.

"Daddy, is it pretty?"

"It's beautiful. It looks like a doll from a traditional Chinese New Year painting."

An'an pouted unhappily: "I'm not a New Year's picture doll. I'm a princess."

"Alright, Princess. Let's go, or the teacher won't praise Daddy if we're late."

Ye Bingwen carried An'an downstairs and placed her on the bicycle frame.

An'an gripped the handlebars with one hand and held a paper windmill in the other, which spun rapidly in the wind.

When we arrived at the kindergarten gate, there were already quite a few parents there.

An'an took Ye Bingwen's hand and walked inside, greeting the children along the way.

"An'an, is this your dad?" A little boy ran over and looked at Ye Bingwen curiously.

"Yes! My dad!" An'an puffed out her chest.

The little boy circled around Ye Bingwen and said, "Your dad is so tall."

"Of course!" An An pulled Ye Bingwen into the classroom.

There was a row of small stools in the classroom, and a name was posted on the back of each stool.

An'an found her stool, pointed at it, and said, "Dad, this is it."

Ye Bingwen squatted down and took a look; the stool was indeed small.

He tried to sit down, but his knees hit the seat in front of him.

The parents nearby all laughed.

"An'an's dad, please sit on the big bench in the back." Teacher Wang, the homeroom teacher, brought over an adult chair.

"No need, no need, I can fit." Ye Bingwen said, shifting his legs to the sides and squeezing himself onto the small stool.

An'an obediently sat down next to him.

Standing on the podium, Teacher Wang first briefly explained the teaching arrangements for this semester, and then gave special praise to a group of outstanding students.

When An'an's name was called, the little one immediately grabbed Ye Bingwen's sleeve excitedly and whispered, "Daddy, the teacher called me!"

"This is to praise you. Sit still and don't make a sound," Ye Bingwen whispered to her.

An'an immediately covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with joy.

The parent-teacher meeting lasted a full hour.

Ye Bingwen sat on the narrow stool, his legs already numb, but he didn't move at all and listened quietly until the end.

After the meeting, Teacher Wang came over and said something.

"An'an's dad, An'an has been doing exceptionally well in class lately, especially in drawing. She's very talented. You can encourage her more at home."

"Thank you, Teacher Wang. You've worked so hard. She paints every day at home; the walls are almost completely covered with her paintings," Ye Bingwen replied with a smile.

An'an held Teacher Wang's hand, looked up at her with her little face, and asked curiously, "Teacher, was my dad the first one to arrive today?"

Teacher Wang gently patted her head and said with a smile, "Yes, your dad was the first one to arrive, he was right on time."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, An'an smiled with particular joy.

After leaving the kindergarten, An'an sat on the crossbar of her bicycle, holding up the little red flower that her teacher had awarded her, and said with a proud look on her face.

"Dad, you did a great job today! The teacher even secretly praised you."

"You praised me? I didn't hear that?" Ye Bingwen teased her with a smile as he rode his bike.

"My teacher told me secretly that you listen very attentively during meetings."

Ye Bingwen felt a warmth in his heart and asked with a smile, "Would An'an like to give her hardworking father a little reward?"

An'an tilted her head and thought for a moment, then stuck the little red flower in her hand to Ye Bingwen's chest and said with a smile, "This is for you!"

Ye Bingwen looked down at the little red flower on his chest, then gently patted An'an's head.

He didn't take the little red flower off; he just left it there and rode his bike back to the factory.

As soon as he arrived at the factory gate, he saw a green Jeep parked by the roadside.

Ye Bingwen's heart tightened instantly. He immediately propped up his bicycle and hurried towards the workshop.

There are three people standing in the workshop at this moment.

Engineer Zhang was also present. When he saw Ye Bingwen enter, he quietly nodded to him.

"Xiao Ye, let me introduce you. This is Director Zhou from the Equipment Department of the Provincial Military Region," Zhang Gong said, pointing to the middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit.