Chapter 37: A Lin Maiden Falls from the Heavens

Yan Jiecheng snapped to his senses instantly. Reacting with surprising speed, he saw the red-hot forging rolling toward where he and Liu Haizhong were standing. He dropped his iron tongs, rolled to the side, and dodged it nimbly.

Liu Haizhong, however, failed to react; he stood there, mouth agape and stunned. Moreover, he was the type who relied on brute strength and lacked physical agility. Even had he reacted in time, he might not have escaped, let alone now, when he was caught off guard and dazed.

The glowing forging tumbled from the anvil onto the floor, rolling straight toward Liu Haizhong.

"Master, move out of the way!"

Liu Haizhong had many apprentices in the workshop, and many people, both near and far, had witnessed the scene. Some began to shout in anxiety, but they were too far away to intervene.

It was Liu Haizhong’s good fortune that saved him.

The iron tongs Yan Jiecheng had tossed aside when he scrambled away happened to land against a rectangular steel ingot. As the red-hot forging rolled over, it pressed down on the tongs, turning them into a lever.

As the other end of the tongs flicked upward, it struck Liu Haizhong squarely in the waist. The blow was brutal. Liu Haizhong’s burly, thick-set body was actually sent flying off the ground, landing more than a meter away to the side.

Thank heavens for that; painful as it was, it was far better than being crushed by the rolling mass of red-hot metal.

As Liu Haizhong was sent flying, the forging rumbled past his original spot until it slammed into a pile of steel ingots, finally coming to a rest.

"Master! Master, are you alright?"
"Where are you hurt, Master?"

Liu Haizhong was quickly surrounded by his apprentices.

Lying on the floor amidst the concern of the crowd, Liu Haizhong groaned, clutching his waist as he rolled over. He lay on his back, staring up with wide, panic-stricken eyes, gasping for air. Covered in sweat, it took him a long time to catch his breath before he finally rasped, "I'm fine. I think I’ve just bruised my waist; it shouldn't be too serious. From today on, don't let Yan Jiecheng touch any more forgings. Just have him do odd jobs on the side."

Yan Jiecheng was standing timidly behind the crowd, tiptoeing to catch a glimpse. When he heard these words, his face turned deathly pale.

That single sentence was a death knell for his career prospects in the forging workshop.

If a forge worker couldn't even touch a piece of work, how could he ever advance in rank? How could he expect a pay raise? Didn't everyone see that the ones doing odd jobs and sweeping the floors in the workshop were all temporary workers and apprentices?

***

Yan Jiecheng watched as Liu Haizhong’s apprentices and other coworkers lifted him onto a tricycle they had found and hauled him off to the factory hospital. From start to finish, he didn't offer a hand. Instead, he crouched against the wall outside the workshop like a stray dog, curled up in misery.

He had gathered all his strength, waiting for this evaluation to secure a permanent grade, never imagining such a disaster would strike. It seemed his chances were gone; he would have to wait patiently for his three-year apprenticeship to end before he could even qualify for a first-grade salary. But after hearing what Liu Haizhong said, and observing the attitude of his apprentices and the other workers, did he have any future left in the forging shop?

If he could only do odd jobs and never touch the real technical work, promotion and pay raises were impossible. It was just like that—if you don't eat well, things go wrong, but he had been calculating everything so meticulously. On top of that, there was Duan Chengliang living across the hall, making the air smell delicious right when he was trying to sleep. He used to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but these past two days he had been practically suffering from insomnia. Sigh, why was everything so annoying? Nobody ever considered his feelings.

The more Yan Jiecheng thought about it, the angrier and more depressed he became.

He made up his mind. He would find a way to go home and discuss this with his father; he had to find a way to mend his relationship with the "Second Master" Liu Haizhong and do whatever he could to make him let go of his grudge.

***

Xu Damao was born in 1938; he had reached a milestone birthday and was now in his early twenties.

In this era, so-called "matchmaking" was nothing like what later generations would understand; it was usually arranged by the organization.

The political cadres of various units, including the directors of the neighborhood committees, were the ones who specialized in this work.

The political cadres in each unit knew every detail about the eligible young people in their factories and offices. The neighborhood committee staff were even more concerned with every move made by the men and women in their jurisdiction.

As long as there were suitable bachelors and bachelorettes, they could quickly ignite their enthusiasm and initiative.

The key was that in this day and age, "eligible" did not mean twenty-seven or twenty-eight, or in their early thirties. Generally, as soon as you were in your early twenties, had graduated from school, held a proper job, and were unmarried, you were considered a "mature" candidate.

Moreover, when young men and women were courting nowadays, they truly didn't care about housing or living conditions. In many cases, the only things that mattered were the other person's family background and social standing.

You could say that the purer the family background, the better. If you added a decent job on top of that, you were an ideal candidate for marriage.

Therefore, in every sense, Xu Damao was considered a premium resource in the eyes of factory officials and neighborhood committee directors. He was already twenty, and with such excellent conditions, not being married was viewed as a total failure of their work.

Consequently, since the second half of last year, besides his regular work, Xu Damao had been busy in his spare time, having "met" countless women.

***

However, none of the candidates whom the matchmakers praised to the skies could catch his eye or enter his heart. The main reason was that their appearances were just as "pure" as their backgrounds, and Xu Damao simply couldn't muster any passion or excitement for them.

Today, he had used a bath ticket he’d traded for a small hen to scrub himself clean, inside and out. He dressed himself up smartly, having put a great deal of effort into it.

He had wised up: he wouldn't release the hawk until he saw the rabbit. From now on, he demanded to see a photograph before agreeing to a meeting; if he didn't like what he saw, he wouldn't take the next step. He would no longer trust the tongues of those meddling women.

The female worker from the machinery plant he was going to meet today looked very pretty in her photo. According to the matchmaker, she was also a key member of the factory's cultural propaganda team, able to sing and dance. Such qualifications immediately ignited Xu Damao’s enthusiasm.

That was why he had invested so much energy into his preparations.

When they finally met, sitting across from the young woman, Xu Damao was thrilled to find she was even prettier than in her photo. He felt like the lyrics from the Yue opera *Dream of the Red Chamber* he had recently screened: "A Lin Daiyu has fallen from the heavens." He fell for her at first sight; it was the first time he had truly considered the idea of marriage.

But while the first glance brought infatuation, the second brought surprise, and the third brought nothing but disappointment.

It wasn't that the girl wasn't attractive; in fact, the more he looked, the more he liked her. But after chatting for a while, Xu Damao’s heart grew colder and colder—happiness had arrived quickly and departed just as fast.

First of all, the girl explained that she had two younger twin brothers whom she had always supported, and she had promised her deceased parents that she would see them through to university.

Xu Damao asked with trepidation, and it turned out the brothers were only in junior high. They had excellent grades and would surely get into key high schools. He calculated silently—that was at least five or six more years. The real issue was that, given her attitude, even if they actually went to university, there would be even more trouble ahead.

Secondly, the girl declared that although the organization was pushing, they could get married, but having children had to be put on hold. She loved performing, the stage, and dancing. Even though she was just an ordinary worker now, she still had dreams and was striving to get into an art troupe.

Xu Damao thought to himself: if he went home saying he was married but wouldn't have children, his parents would tear him apart.

Finally, Xu Damao discovered that he and the girl had no common language. She talked about singing and dancing with great animation, while he was completely ignorant of such things—he was only good at "kneading and shaping" things. In the end, the girl remarked, "The matchmaker said you were a film projectionist and knew about the arts, that you were very talented. But looking at it now, that’s not really the case, is it?"

Xu Damao thought to himself, it seemed that this "Lin Daiyu from the heavens" wasn't suited for him after all. If he wanted to settle down, he would have to look for a different type.