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

The figure disappeared into the night, and Ye Bingwen stood motionless by the window.

The moonlight shone on the empty road, and the dim yellow lamp still swayed. He stared at the direction where the figure disappeared for a long time, until his eyes were sore before he turned around.

Zheng Shuyun had already lit the candles, the flames flickering. An'an was asleep in her arms, her little face buried in Zheng Shuyun's neck.

"What did you see?" Zheng Shuyun asked softly.

"It's nothing."

She didn't ask any more questions. The candle was mostly burned, and wax dripped onto the table. Ye Bingwen blew it out, plunging the room into darkness again. He lay down, and An'an's hand rested on his face; he didn't remove it.

Ye Bingwen went to the school-run factory. The lock on the factory door was working, but there were still traces of paste on the door panel, a white, sticky mess. He reached out and touched it, picked off a piece of paste, and crushed it into powder between his fingertips.

Master Li was already adjusting the precision lathe. The smell of machine oil filled the air.

"Master Li, this is an order from the provincial military region, and the precision requirements are high. Can this machine meet them?"

Master Li stopped what he was doing. "It can be done. But the tools need to be replaced; the current tools can't be sharpened that finely. Get a sharper one, and use a low speed for finishing; it should be fine."

Where can I buy knives?

"They don't have it in Harbin. You'll have to go to Shenyang. I'll have my apprentice go there; his hometown is there."

"Let him go. The factory will cover his travel expenses."

Master Li went out to find his apprentice. Ye Bingwen stood in front of the lathe, touching the guide rail with his hand. This lathe was a treasure of the school-run factory; lending it to him was a favor to Liu Deben. He couldn't afford to lose face.

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Master Li was there with his apprentice, Zhao Jianguo—not the one from the Provincial Department of Industry, but someone with the same name, tall and thin, in his early twenties. Ye Bingwen always felt awkward calling him by his name.

"Zhao Jianguo, go to Shenyang and buy a few knives." Ye Bingwen handed him a slip of paper.

Zhao Jianguo took the note, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "Okay. I'll go tomorrow." He turned and left.

Ye Bingwen watched his retreating figure and gave a bitter smile. He too was named Zhao Jianguo, but he wasn't that person.

Two days later, Zheng Shuyun returned from the provincial newspaper office, looking pale.

"What's wrong?" Ye Bingwen took An'an from him.

"Someone wrote an anonymous letter to the newspaper, accusing my article of being 'inaccurate.' They said that the household responsibility system wasn't as good as it seemed, and that I made it up."

Who wrote it?

"I don't know. Editor Liu said the newspaper suppressed the letter, but told me to be careful."

Ye Bingwen remained silent for a moment. Anonymous letter, yet another anonymous letter. Zhou Mingyuan wrote one, and now someone else is writing one. The handwriting is different, but the method is the same.

"Don't be afraid. The article is true. Let anyone who wants to investigate come and do it."

Zheng Shuyun nodded. An'an broke free from her embrace, climbed to the table, and reached for the remittance slip on it. Ye Bingwen picked up the remittance slip, and An'an huffed unhappily.

At the school-run factory, Zhao Jianguo bought cutting tools from Shenyang. Master Li replaced the tools, readjusted the lathe, and made a prototype rotor. Ye Bingwen measured it three times with a micrometer, and all dimensions were within tolerance.

"Master Li, okay."

"That's fine." Master Li placed the rotor on the table. "When is the provincial military region's order due?"

"As soon as possible. Sign the formal contract after the test passes."

"Let's make these twenty units first. Do we have enough materials?"

Ye Bingwen flipped through the materials list. There was enough silicon steel sheets, enough copper wire, enough bearings, but not enough housings. The housings needed to be cast aluminum, but the school-run factory didn't have casting equipment.

"I'll go find the outer casing."

He went to the Light Industry Department. Su Min was in a meeting, and he waited in the corridor for more than half an hour.

"Comrade Ye Bingwen, what is it?"

"Outer casing. Cast aluminum casing, needs to be made by a manufacturer."

Su Min thought for a moment. "The provincial foundry is fine. I'll make a call for you, and you can go directly to their factory manager." She turned and went back to her office, coming out with a slip of paper in her hand. "This is the factory manager's name and phone number. When you go to him, just tell him I sent you."

Ye Bingwen took the note. "Comrade Su, thank you."

"You're welcome. You have to deliver the order for five thousand motors."

He went to the provincial foundry. The factory director, surnamed Liu, was in his fifties and rather plump. He looked at Ye Bingwen's drawings and frowned. "This outer shell requires high precision. Our molds can't meet that requirement."

"Can the mold be modified?"

"Yes, but it costs money. A mold will cost at least two thousand yuan."

Ye Bingwen was silent for a moment. He had loans and advance payments, but every penny was worthwhile. Was it worth spending two thousand yuan to open a mold? Yes.

"Director Liu, I'll make the mold. I'll pay for it."

Factory Director Liu glanced at him. "Alright. Leave the drawings here first, and I'll give you a quote in two weeks."

Ye Bingwen left the blueprints and signed a letter of intent. Standing at the factory gate, he glanced back. Black smoke billowed from the factory chimneys, and the roar of the machines made the ground tremble slightly. He thought of Daxing Village, where he used to work in the fields every day, so tired he could barely stand up straight, but he felt at peace. Now that he no longer farmed, he felt uneasy. It wasn't because the technology was difficult, but because the people were too difficult to deal with.

Back at the school-run factory, Master Li told him some news.

"Director Han from the motor factory came to the school today and spoke with Principal Liu."

Ye Bingwen's heart tightened. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know. But some people say he came to sue for peace."

"Sue for peace?"

"They lost face at the exhibition, and the province is going to investigate them. They panicked." Master Li lit a cigarette. "Director Han is a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong."

Ye Bingwen remained silent. Was Factory Director Han's request for peace at Zhao Jianguo's behest, or was it his own? If it was Zhao Jianguo's, then the peace offer was a pretense, a delaying tactic. If it was Factory Director Han's own intention, then it indicated a rift had formed between him and Zhao Jianguo.

"How did Director Han look when he left?"

"It doesn't look good. Principal Liu didn't give him a friendly look."

Ye Bingwen breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Deben was on his side. But he knew that Zhao Jianguo still had cards to play.

Ye Bingwen received a call from Liu Yongqiang.

"Comrade Ye Bingwen, the second batch of prototypes is ready. Twenty units, all passed testing. When do you need them?"

"The sooner the better. Should you deliver it, or should I pick it up?"

"I'll send it over. It'll arrive tomorrow night."

"Okay. Be careful on the road."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Bingwen turned and walked back. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw a figure standing at the entrance of the building. It was Zhou Mingyi, wearing a gray overcoat.

"Ye Bingwen, is it convenient for you to say a few words?"

"Section Chief Zhou, please speak."

"You know that Director Han came to the school today, right?"

"Know."

"He was sent by Zhao Jianguo." Zhou Mingyi looked at him. "Zhao Jianguo wants to make peace, but not really. He just wants to buy time. He's waiting for the results of the provincial investigation. If the investigation is in his favor, he'll turn on him."

When will the investigation results be released?

"Soon. Ten days to two weeks." Zhou Mingyi paused. "You need to be prepared. If the investigation results are unfavorable to you, your factory may have to close down."

Ye Bingwen clenched his fists. "Section Chief Zhou, why are you telling me this?"

"I said I want to be able to sleep."

He turned and walked away. His gray figure receded further and further into the distance under the streetlights.

Ye Bingwen stood downstairs, looking at the swaying streetlight. Zhao Jianguo was waiting, and so was he. Who would win and who would lose would soon be known.

He went upstairs. Zheng Shuyun had already put An'an to sleep and was sitting at the table reading. She looked up at him. "You look so pale, what's wrong?"

"fine."

He sat down beside her, picked up his pen, and continued drawing. An'an rolled over in her crib and mumbled something.

The table lamp flickered briefly, then came back on. Ye Bingwen looked up, staring at the lamp. It flickered, but didn't go out. He stared at it for a long time; it didn't flicker again.

The sound of a car engine came from downstairs, growing louder as it approached, and stopped in front of his apartment building. Ye Bingwen walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked down. A black sedan stopped under the streetlight, the door opened, and a person got out. The person stood beside the car, looking up into Ye Bingwen's window. The streetlight shone directly on the person's face.

It's Zhao Jianguo.