Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 697 Receives Another Award

Xia Maosheng said, "Okay, we'll accept them as our godfather and godmother."

Geng Hui said, "I haven't come up with any good ones yet. I've thought of quite a few, but none of them seem quite right. I can't decide. Why don't you help me choose one?"

Xiao Wei asked Xia Maosheng, "Doesn't your old man care about that?"

Xia Maosheng said, "He told us to name the child whatever we wanted. He said that naming the child is the father's right, and it only happens once in a lifetime, so he wouldn't fight me for it."

Xiao Wei said, "I think if your dad really doesn't plan to name your son, you might as well ask Uncle Chen to help you choose one. Uncle Chen's status back then would have been considered a bestowal of a name, which meant he had great fortune."

Geng Hui's eyes lit up, and Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that's a good idea. Let's ask Uncle Chen to get it for us."

Xiao Hong chuckled to herself, saying, "Don't let that traitor fool you. He just feels your names aren't good enough and is trying to push you out. I know him too well."

Xiao Wei chuckled and said, "Not entirely. Uncle Chen is protective of his children, so having him name them will be good for them in the future. However, your surname is indeed difficult to name. To be honest, I've thought of a few, but none of them felt right. A perfectly good name would be ruined by your surname."

Xia Maosheng asked, "What names have you come up with? Write them down so I can see. What's wrong with my surname?"

Xiao Wei took a pen and paper and wrote down the four characters "宸, 昶, 琝, 璟", saying, "They are all very good in terms of both their literal meaning and their significance, but they don't work when paired with your surname."

Xiao Hong was laughing uncontrollably, leaning on Geng Hui's shoulder as she laughed. Geng Hui read them out one by one: "Sinking, ending, commoners, down the well. Zhang Wei, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Two words? I really hadn't thought of two words. These words are indeed good, but they're also definitely not usable. Never mind, I'll go see Uncle Chen tomorrow."

Geng Hui nudged the limp, slumped-over Xiao Hong and said, "Get off me! Do you two think you did this on purpose? Did you find something to laugh at?"

Xiao Hong shook her head, clutching her stomach, and said, "No, my classmate, my classmate has a name, ...

Xiao Wei said, "She joined the propaganda department, and there's a guy named Xia Jian there. He came back and told me about it, so I thought about it for a bit and realized that the surname 'Old Xia' and the given name are too difficult to come up with because there are too many homophones."

……

After talking for a while, Geng Hui got sleepy, and Xiao Wei's parents and their child were tired from the journey, so they all went back to their rooms to rest.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, after breakfast, Xiaowei drove Xiaobing to the school. The household registration had been completed a few days earlier, and Wanliu Police Station was an acquaintance there, so it was just a matter of a word.

There are several junior high schools in this area. Xiaowei drove Xiaobing around to see them all and let him choose. Xiaobing pretended to consider for a long time and chose No. 27 Middle School. Xiaowei then called to contact the school. By the time they finished the transfer procedures, paid the fees, and returned, it was already noon.

The school here is much farther away than the one in Longcheng, both are more than two kilometers away. Xiaowei decided to buy Xiaobing a bicycle, which made Xiaobing very happy, as he had never touched a bicycle before.

After lunch, Xiaowei and Chen Hui arrived at the headquarters construction site. The main structure was to be capped this afternoon, and the two of them were coming to attend the ceremony.

Under Engineer Wang's direction, the construction site has been decorated. A large red silk banner celebrating the auspicious completion of the building's roof hangs from the top to the middle of the building. The entire site is filled with colorful flags, balloons float in the air, and an offering table is set up at the main entrance of the building, with offerings of pig's head, chicken, and fish.

All the workers had dressed themselves up neatly and gathered downstairs for a ceremony.

Under Wang's direction, Xiaowei and Chen Hui offered incense and lit firecrackers. Xiaowei and Chen Hui led the way, with Wang behind them and all the workers behind him. They all bowed three times together, and then Wang shouted, "May the topping-out ceremony bring good fortune and abundant wealth!" The workers echoed him a few times, released the balloons, and the ceremony was considered complete. I wonder where they learned that from.

Then came the distribution of red envelopes, not many, just fifty yuan each, one for every worker, for good luck. Xiao Wei gave Engineer Wang a separate one with a thousand yuan, as he was the one directing everything here and had really put in a lot of effort. This round of giving away over ten thousand yuan.

With the main structure completed, the countdown to the use of the annex below has begun, and preparations for the factory are about to start.

Engineer Wang said, "It will take about twenty more days for your yard to be finished, but the foundation work here will be done soon. If you want to sell it, you can start making arrangements. I've separated the workers for the main structure, and we'll try to finish the brickwork before it freezes. I can't guarantee that, so let's do our best."

Xiao Wei said, "There's no rush for the main structure, since we won't need it this year anyway. We just need to get the annex building done quickly. As for the foundation, let's wait until the roads and landscaping are finished before we talk about that. Let's leave it for now."

Engineer Wang said, "If it's not urgent here, I'll send some more people over to lay bricks. Otherwise, it's a bit dangerous for you to be sealing the bricks up at the noodle factory when it's open after the New Year. If they fall and damage something, it'll be all over."

Xiao Wei looked up at the concrete building frame that pierced the sky and said, "Okay, then you make the arrangements. It's fine to stop here for now."

Engineer Wang also looked up and asked, "How does it look? What's it like?"

Xiao Wei said, "I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm a little excited, and a little uneasy."

Engineer Wang said, "Your building is the second tallest in Fengtian. Besides the power company building, it's the tallest. It's about ten meters taller than the third tallest. When it's completed next year, we'll invite some leaders to cut the ribbon for you. I reckon it'll be on the newspapers and TV."

Xiao Wei said, "There's no use in all that fancy stuff. We're just ordinary people. We should live our lives honestly and focus on running the factory well."

In later generations, the height of buildings would always become a news target, a project for publicity or competition, as if building a tall building would bring in a fortune. But in the early 90s, nobody cared about this. At most, someone would say, "This building is really tall," and that would be it.

As things progressed, people's focus seemed to become increasingly bizarre, and the news media did an excellent job guiding the discussion.

Chen Hui came out of the building and said, "Are you alright? If you're alright, I'm going home."

Xiao Wei asked, "What did you go in there for?" Chen Hui's phone rang.

Chen Hui took out his phone and looked at it, saying, "It's nothing, just taking a look. What number is this? Is it for you?" He then handed the phone to Xiao Wei.

Xiao Wei took the phone and glanced at it. It was from Director Lu's office. He answered and asked, "Hey? Director Lu, what's up?"

Lu said, "We've been notified that we'll have a meeting in the hall tomorrow afternoon, at 1:30. Just go there then, it'll be the same meeting room as last time."

Xiao Wei asked, "What kind of meeting is it? Do I have to attend? Is it mandatory?"

Lu said, "We've done another good deed at the commendation meeting, hehe. Of course you have to go, you're the one who made the biggest contribution, what are we supposed to receive if you don't go?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll be there on time at 1:30."

(End of this chapter)