Ice is not averse to deception

It's one thing to see an old man squatting by the door smoking; it's understandable that he can't resist the urge. But to be squatting by the door smoking in the dead of winter, and it looks like it's going to be for a while, is a bit hard to understand.

Needless to say, the people in the dormitory...

An old man went to the factory to check on the engine in the middle of the night and hasn't come back for so long. He also showed indifference to others who offered him help.

The old man's sudden wailing startled Sun Bing even more.

The ice sculpture factory was mostly staffed by elderly people, and Sun Bing seemed to have guessed the root cause of the factory's downfall.

After an unknown amount of time, Sun Bing finally fell asleep.

He woke up the next morning.

The room was much emptier; a quick glance revealed that only he and Wu Dayong remained.

They woke up Wu Dayong, and as soon as they went outside, they saw a group of elderly people sitting around the stove in the "kitchen" eating. Dongmei was holding a rice bowl in one hand and standing on the stove with one foot, and it looked like she was showing off something to the old people in the factory.

A series of soft, uncomfortable sounds emanated from the cold air, and for a moment, I didn't feel so cold anymore.

Seeing Sun Bing and the other person approaching, Dongmei didn't stop. While chatting with the workers, she skillfully ladled noodles into a bowl, added two spoonfuls of braised sauce, and then handed it to Sun Bing.

Actually, it wasn't late. Sun Bing checked his watch; it was only eight in the morning. It seemed that these people had already gotten up long ago.

After finishing their meal, the workers went to work in the factory, leaving only Sun Bing and a few others in the warm "kitchen".

As the workers were leaving, Sun Bing saw the old man who had been wailing the night before. Only when he saw the old man get up did he realize that the old man had broken a leg and could only walk with the help of a cane.

"he……"

As soon as Sun Bing opened his mouth, Dongmei seemed to understand what he meant and said calmly, "It's been five or six years. Back then, a young man came to the factory. He knew how to use computers, and the whole factory treated him like a treasure. The young man was quite clever, but he wasn't familiar with the equipment. He made a mistake and almost got hit by the crane. Old Liu did this to save him."

"Was the leg broken?"

Recalling the old man's appearance with a cane, Sun Bing couldn't help but feel shocked.

"Everyone was terrified at the time. The crane was so heavy, and something weighing tens of tons came crashing down. My leg was broken in two right then and there," Dongmei seemed to recall the scene, her expression of shock quickly calming down. "Fortunately, we were brought in in time, and we were saved, but there's nothing we can do about my leg."

"I recuperated for over a year and eventually recovered, but I don't know when the phantom pain started. Every night when I fall asleep, I start howling in pain, which is really creepy. The medicine was specifically for treating this."

Not seeing any young people in the crowd, Sun Bing couldn't help but ask, "Where's the young man who was rescued?"

At this point, Dongmei couldn't help but sigh and said helplessly, "He's gone. Old Liu resigned and left the day after he broke his leg."

Old Liu blamed himself for a long time, saying that if he hadn't caused such a commotion, the young man might have been able to stay. It's incredibly difficult for this factory to retain a young person.

Sun Bing suddenly understood.

Perhaps the old man's phantom pain wasn't actually due to the broken leg.

After the meal, Dongmei took Sun Bing and the others to the factory area to see how the workers were working.

Sun Bing is also an ice sculptor. Looking at the busy workers, Sun Bing quickly realized the reason for the ice sculpture factory's poor performance.

In fact, these master craftsmen are all very skilled, even on par with Sun Bing. But the only problem is that the designs of their ice sculptures are flawed. Most of them depict traditional figures, such as tigers, leopards, wolves, and Guan Yu, which seem out of touch with the times.

But at the same time, Sun Bing also knows that for these traditional craftsmen, making changes is not an easy thing.

This is like an old man in the countryside sitting alone on a traditional chair on the first day of the Lunar New Year, waiting for his younger relatives to kowtow to him. The young people think it's just outdated tradition and should be changed, so they discuss replacing it with a bow.

No one knew why the old man suddenly smashed the teacup.

Some things cannot be changed or abandoned. As an art student and an inheritor of ice sculpting skills, Sun Bing knows how precious the perseverance of these craftsmen is.

However, if one cannot uphold their principles while being accepted by the market, then decline becomes inevitable.

It was noon soon, and Dongmei called Chen Bing, saying that she would arrive at the ice sculpture factory in the afternoon, at which point the ice source problem should be solved.

Sun Bing went back to his dormitory to take a nap. From afar, he saw an old man squatting at the dormitory entrance, looking like a stone pillar.

He was smoking a pipe, looking utterly lifeless.

"Has he always been like this?" Sun Bing couldn't help but ask Dongmei, who was narrating the scene.

Dongmei pursed her lips: "It wasn't like this before. His son was an overseas student and owned a large company in the south. He could have been enjoying his retirement."

This man's name is Liu Changshui, and everyone calls him Changshui.

Uncle Changshui was actually the previous director of the ice sculpture factory, and could be considered the soul of the factory in the past.

Uncle Changshui has a son and a daughter, both of whom are very successful. His son returned from studying abroad and made a lot of money by running a factory in the south. His daughter is a lawyer and later settled down in the south as well.

Uncle Changshui could have enjoyed a peaceful retirement, but a few years ago he suddenly had a fierce conflict with his children.

His children wanted to take Uncle Changshui to the south, but he refused because he couldn't bear to leave the ice sculpture factory.

His son and daughter both advised him that this was no longer the old era, that old traditions didn't work in this day and age, and that there was nothing to miss about a run-down factory.

Because of this sentence, Uncle Changshui almost severed ties with his children.

Uncle Changshui kept the factory afloat until a few years ago when he finally transferred it to Chen Bing.

From that time on, the old man often squatted at the doorway smoking his pipe, sometimes for most of the day.

When Sun Bing was still a little confused, Dongmei told him directly, "That's where he had his falling out with his son and daughter back then."

Perhaps Uncle Changshui was also conflicted, perhaps he even regretted it.

In pursuit of so-called traditional crafts and so-called inheritance, they have driven themselves to the point of isolation.

Sun Bing also knew that it was too difficult for the elderly of that era to let go of their obsessions.

In the afternoon, Chen Bing finally returned.

A used pineapple truck slowly drove into the factory yard. Sun Bing could clearly see that the workers' emotions became very high at that moment, and they all put down their work to welcome the factory manager back.

But before long, that surge had dissipated.

The workers turned back to their work, fiddling with the ice sculptures as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Sun Bing and Dong Mei followed Chen Bing into the office.

Sun Bing knew that Liu Ruo had a cousin who was very important to her.

Sun Bing had only seen him in photos and did not know that Chen Bing in front of him was Liu Ruo's cousin.

"This is Sun Bing, Liu Ruo's husband."

As soon as Dongmei finished her introduction, Chen Bing's stiff expression eased considerably, and she quickly stepped forward to greet her.

But Chen Bing wasn't sure either. He knew that Liu Ruo was against him being with Dongmei and that things were getting really heated. He didn't know what his brother-in-law's attitude was, so he simply chose to avoid the topic. Otherwise, if the conflict escalated, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

"How's it going, Lao Chen? Did you close the deal?" Dongmei asked proactively.

Mentioning this, Chen Bing's expression instantly turned bitter, clearly indicating that she hadn't managed to close the deal.

The problem is clear: the ice sculpture factory has decent technical skills, but their designs are too tacky and fail to meet the client's requirements.

But it's not entirely hopeless, as long as the craftsmen keep creating new designs until the client is satisfied. But that's easier said than done...

This is not the first time the factory has encountered this problem.

The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive, so to ease the tension, Dongmei directly asked about Bingyuan.

"Well, Chen Bing and his team came to Yanji to find ice sources. As the manager of an ice sculpture factory, it wouldn't be difficult for you to help them out."

After Dongmei finished speaking, Chen Bing realized the purpose of Sun Bing and the others' trip and then learned some details.

But the result still disappointed Sun Bing.

The ice sculpture factory makes small ice sculptures, and the ice source problem can be solved by using an ice-making machine. But the ice source that Sun Bing mentioned is for large ice sculptures made at the Ice and Snow World, which have very large volume requirements and cannot be made by an ice-making machine at all.

But after understanding the situation, Chen Bing couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't a park of this size, like the Ice and Snow World, have its own backup ice source?"