Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Tingnan resumed her routine of going to school, practicing martial arts, running errands, and doing housework. The only difference was that she now had a good teacher and friend by her side, who adorned her with a more "cultured" air.

Zuo Jinyue noticed that Ting Nan didn't need her to worry about Chinese or math, and could focus on cultivating Ting Nan's language sense, which was truly a painstaking effort.

Since she couldn't recite along with Ting Nan while she practiced, she would seize every opportunity to speak English beside her—on the way to and from school, while doing housework, before bed, and even while Ting Nan was washing her feet. Ting Nan always felt that a string of foreign words might suddenly burst from Teacher Zuo's mouth, and she had to be on her guard to catch it.

After some time, results were in. Nan would occasionally utter a foreign phrase, and Zuo Jinyue, immersing herself in the conversation, would then speak. Nan's language talent thrilled Zuo Jinyue and gave her a great sense of accomplishment. She wanted to share this with Gao Haoran, but couldn't find him; little did she know that danger was approaching.

Song Tingnan, however, carries a sweet burden—she has to remind herself to speak Chinese when she's out selling goods. Why? Her customers are all local middle-aged and elderly people, many of whom have weathered life's storms, and in the county town, there are quite a few retired or veteran Party members. Tingnan is afraid of being reported.

While Song Tingnan's life continued as usual, Songjia Village underwent some changes. Many young people began to go out to work, including 18-year-old Lingling from next door.

She said she didn't want to have children so early and then live a muddled life, so her parents gave in to her.

Song Wanli said at home, "There were quite a few young women who went with us this time. Some of the girls were only 14 years old. Lingling is considered older."

"Who did you go with? What kind of work did you do?" Ting Nan asked curiously.

"I heard she went to work at a clothing factory, following the niece of a cousin from a neighboring village." Song Wanli now enjoys wandering around, and has become the source of gossip in the family.

“The connection is a bit distant, but it’s always good to have someone familiar to guide you. Lingling, that quiet and skillful girl, would be a good fit for the garment factory,” Qian Shuzhen said.

This minor disturbance did not affect Tingnan's family, since no one in her family was suitable to go out to work, and everyone was content to keep to themselves.

Zheng Ruidong wrote a letter. Judging from the time the letter was sent, the restless Zheng Xiangqian had already infiltrated a brick factory as an apprentice.

The letter said that the factory was quite far from home, and her older brother lived there. He only planned to take a few days off to help with the autumn harvest, and would have to go back afterward, so he asked his grandmother and uncle for forgiveness; his mother's return to her parents' home would be postponed. Song Xiuying was worried about Ruidong being home alone, as he had to go to school, cook for himself, feed the chickens and ducks, and do a lot of housework.

When Qian Shuzhen found out, she was somewhat disappointed: "Why is she so busy when I just want to see her?"

But as parents ourselves, we understand that children always come first. So let it be postponed; they'll come back eventually. We'll wait.

Zheng Xiangqian didn't want to break his promise; he knew his mother wanted to go back to her parents' home.

But entering this red brick factory opened up a new world for him. Just listening to Nan talk about it was shocking enough, but seeing it with his own eyes made him even more excited.

He thought back to his past and slapped himself twice—what a waste of his youth! Although it was tiring here, he learned a lot and broadened his horizons.

The owner of this business had returned from out of town, and his perspective made Zheng Xiangqian feel like a frog in a well. He was also glad he hadn't jumped in headfirst with just enthusiasm; there was a lot to learn involved.

Not to mention mastering the firing temperature of red bricks, you must also have a grasp of the basic knowledge of construction sites, factory management, and red brick sales. These core skills are the key to building a factory.

If you continue to be a hands-off manager and rely on others for everything, you're foolish and will only end up doing all the work for someone else.

At that moment, he was incredibly grateful to Zheng Ruidong for taking away the hundred yuan Tingnan had given him. After buying the old sewing machine, he followed Ruidong's advice and bought several feet of white polyester fabric. He ended up with a string of bells tied to his backside—he was so poor they were practically jingling. Otherwise…

With a clear understanding and a well-defined goal, Zheng Xiangqian threw himself into the task wholeheartedly.