Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The next morning, before it was fully light.

Last night's snowfall wasn't heavy; only a thin layer of white covered the ground. However, the wind was fierce, whistling like knives against one's face.

The warehouse was quiet.

The figures of the people on night duty at the gate huddled in the wind, motionless, looking from a distance like two wooden stakes driven into the snow.

A person sauntered over from the base of the wall.

Wrapped in a faded old cotton-padded coat, with the brim of his hat pulled low, he stopped outside the warehouse, hands behind his back, pretending to be out for some fresh air, but his eyes were fixed on the warehouse door.

It was Old Chen.

Old Chen was the only Grade 8 fitter at the Red Star Factory, and he had worked there for nearly 30 years.

The most difficult machine blueprints, the most tedious precision calibrations, and the most bizarre old equipment malfunctions—he can always figure them out bit by bit.

In the past, when Hongxing Factory was still doing well, the factory would select technical pacesetters and award rotating red flags. Old Chen was always the most outstanding in the fitter group.

The factory has been getting worse day by day in the past two years. The workshop is deserted, wages have stopped, and even Old Chen's stubbornness has made life much heavier.

But having just forcibly taken back those dozen or so German machine tools from outside yesterday, he was even more worried.

The gatekeeper has changed.

Those security guards who used to just coast along, who were only good at bullying their own people and couldn't do anything when something really happened, were all thoroughly purged yesterday by the new factory manager, Director Zhao.

Old Chen doesn't feel wronged by this.

Those bastards should have gotten out of here.

But those who should leave should leave.

The new recruits aren't the same people who've been there for years in the factory.

It came from outside; it was brought by the new factory director, Zhao.

He looks energetic and stands up straight.

But Old Chen just couldn't let it go.

They're still young.

They're not familiar faces from the factory.

Who knows how much they really care about these machines?

If you can't stay awake all night, doze off, or lose focus, you might think it's just a few pieces of metal, nothing that scary—

If anything else goes wrong, the Hongxing Factory will be completely finished.

Liang Tiejun was still going back and forth in the factory yesterday, saying that this is not an ordinary machine, but the factory's future and the hope for the future of the entire factory.

With things having come to this point, how could Old Chen possibly sleep?

When he got home, before he had even taken off his clothes properly, he lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) and dozed off for a short while before opening his eyes again.

When I close my eyes, all I see is yesterday's fire.

When I close my eyes again, all I see is that pile of fake shells that have been replaced.

When I closed my eyes again, I saw those same few German machine tools that I had just seized, which they dragged out in the dark.

Old Chen lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) for half a day, and the longer he lay there, the more depressed he felt.

Finally, he muttered a curse under his breath, decided not to sleep anymore, wrapped himself in his cotton-padded coat, and wandered over to the warehouse before dawn.

He didn't move forward; he just stood at the base of the wall, staring at the warehouse door.

A moment later, another figure stumbled through the snow from the other side.

The man was walking quickly when he suddenly saw a dark figure standing against the wall. Startled, he immediately shrank back and yelled:

"What are you doing?!"

Old Chen's shoulders twitched at the shout, and he turned around to curse:

"What are you shouting for!"

The newcomer took a look in the dim light and immediately burst out laughing.

"Hey, Master Chen?"

"I thought some thief was scouting the place in the middle of the night, but it turns out it was you."

It was Wang Daikui who arrived.

Wang Daikui was wrapped in an old military overcoat, his nose was red from the cold, but his mouth was still warm.

He was also a veteran worker in the factory. In his early years, he worked very hard in the lathe group. He joined the factory around the same time as Lao Chen. Back then, the two of them often argued over who would be the best technical worker and who would win the rotating red flag.

Old Chen glared at him.

"Get lost."

"You're the one who looks like a thief."

Wang Daikui tucked his hands into his sleeves and grinned broadly.

"If I'm like a thief, then what are you like?"

"Standing at the warehouse door before dawn, anyone who didn't know better would think you were there to keep watch over the door all night."

Old Chen kept a straight face and didn't answer.

Wang Daikui glanced towards the warehouse door, lowering his voice as well.

"You're not at ease either, are you?"

The wind passed between the two people, swirling the snowflakes around.

Old Chen remained silent for two seconds before finally uttering a soft "hmm".

Wang Daikui smacked his lips.

"What a coincidence."

"I'm worried too."

"When I got back to bed yesterday, all I could think about were those machines. I was afraid that someone would steal them again during the night."

Old Chen muttered a curse under his breath:

"With such a big incident just happening, who can sleep?"

Wang Daikui leaned against the wall, hunched his neck, and gave a chuckle.

"Too."

"Back when we were competing for the title of technical pacesetter and the rotating red flag, we would stay up all night figuring out how to outdo each other the next day."

"Now look what's happened, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, they're standing against the wall in the warehouse."

Old Chen's lips twitched slightly at what he was saying, but he couldn't hold back any longer and let out a low hum.

Stop trying to glorify yourself.

"In which year has the rotating red flag not been hung at the entrance of my fitter's group?"

Wang Daikui immediately objected.

"fart."

"That's because the lathe crew was giving you a break."

Old Chen glanced at him sideways.

"Your mouth, after all these years, is still all you can do is boast."

Wang Daikui chuckled, and after he finished laughing, the slight relief on his face slowly faded.

He glanced toward the warehouse door, lowering his voice even further.

"You heard how harsh Director Liang's words were yesterday."

"They said these machines aren't ordinary machines; they're key to the factory's transformation, the future of the Red Star Factory, and they're going to get into fur processing."

"But we're a machine factory after all."

"After working as a mechanic my whole life, I suddenly found myself veering off that road..."

Wang Daikui smacked his lips.

"To be honest, I'm actually a little unsure about this."

Old Chen stared at the warehouse door for a long time before finally replying in a muffled voice:

"Even if you're unsure, you still have to keep moving forward."

"The factory has been pushed to this point, how can it still cling to the old almanac and try to make a living?"

"But to say that I'm not at all worried would be a lie."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than footsteps came from the other side of the snow.

The two turned around and saw that Zhao Shanhe had also arrived.

He had clearly gotten up early; his hat brim and shoulders were covered with a thin layer of white frost. He walked over through the snow, his steps slow but steady.

Zhao Shanhe walked closer, glanced at the two of them, and raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he was also a little surprised.

"Master Wang, Master Chen."

"Why are you all up so early?"

"It's not time to start work yet, is it?"

Wang Daikui was taken aback at first.

Old Chen was also visibly taken aback.

Neither of them expected that Zhao Shanhe could call them out so easily.

Wang Daikui subconsciously replied:

"Director Zhao, do you still recognize us?"

Zhao Shanhe's lips twitched slightly.

"Director Liang talked about it to me for ages yesterday."

"There are only a handful of master craftsmen in the entire Hongxing Factory who are truly skilled and take their work seriously."

"Master Wang is a bit of a chatterbox, but he's quick on his feet. Master Chen goes without saying, he's an eighth-grade fitter, a top-notch worker in the factory."

"I have to admit it."

As soon as he said those words, Wang Daikui's expression relaxed considerably.

Even Old Chen's usually tense face relaxed a little.

Wang Daikui smacked his lips and chuckled.

"Director Zhao, your memory is really good."

Old Chen didn't respond to that question, but instead looked at Zhao Shanhe and asked in a low voice:

"Why are you up so early?"

Zhao Shanhe glanced towards the warehouse door, his tone casual.

"I went back to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep even with my eyes closed."

"I might as well come and take a look around."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the two of them again and smiled.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who can't sleep."

Upon hearing this, Wang Daikui was taken aback for a moment, then grinned.

Old Chen's tense face finally relaxed.

The three of them looked at each other and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

The smile wasn't big, but it dissipated a lot of the tension that had been building up in the wind.

Zhao Shanhe smiled and waved the keys in his hand.

"Since both masters have come—"

He looked at Lao Chen and Wang Daikui, his tone very serious.

"Then don't stay out here exposed to the wind."

"I don't know anything about machines, could you go in and take a look for me?"

"Give me your opinion, and also give the Hongxing Factory a heads-up."

Wang Daikui was taken aback at first, then grinned.

"Director Zhao, now that you've said that, it would seem like I'm putting on airs if I didn't go in and take a look."

Old Chen didn't take the joke seriously.

He first glanced at Zhao Shanhe, and after two seconds, he gave a soft "hmm".

"Let's take a look first."

Zhao Shanhe nodded and bent down to insert the key into the lock.

A "click" sound.

The lock is open.

He reached out and pushed, and the warehouse door slowly opened inward.

As soon as the door opened, the smell of engine oil, wood, and cold iron immediately rushed out.

The factory was lit by dim, yellow lights.

Erga and two other young men who had been keeping watch all night were leaning against the wall inside, barely managing to stay upright when they saw Zhao Shanhe come in.

"Brother Shanhe".

Zhao Shanhe glanced at the group and, seeing that their eyes were all bloodshot, simply waved his hand.

"Alright."

"Go back to sleep, everyone."

Erga Zi opened his mouth as if to say something.

"Alright."

"Now that I'm here, what are you still worried about?"

Zhao Shanhe had already suppressed his words.

"Go back to sleep."

Erga grinned, but ultimately swallowed his words and nodded.

"clear."

The two young men breathed a sigh of relief and dragged their numb legs outside.

The factory suddenly fell silent.

All that remained were the dim yellow light, the shadows of wooden crates, and rows of German machine tools standing quietly.

Zhao Shanhe stepped aside by half a step.

"bring it on."

"Masters, please take a look at these items first."