Chapter Two: Hello, 1993

As Qin Fang ran off, Wei Hongying stomped her foot and followed suit, leaving Liu Jiande standing alone.

“This matter might just be a misunderstanding. Dongling, don’t take it to heart. After all, Qin Fang is a woman, and her family has just gone through a tragedy; it’s understandable that she might be emotional,” Liu Jiande said to Li Dongling. “Rest assured, I will seriously reprimand her.”

At this point, Liu Jiande believed Li Dongling would say no more. In this era, a good man didn’t quarrel with women. If Li Dongling continued to press the issue, it would seem petty and narrow-minded.

But as Liu Jiande was about to leave, he heard Li Dongling say, “I understand that Sister Qin has family troubles, but this must be thoroughly investigated. Otherwise, someone might be using this opportunity to stir up trouble.”

Liu Jiande’s expression shifted slightly as he scrutinized Li Dongling, then smiled and said, “Dongling, don’t overthink it. Our First Wireless Factory in Xicheng has a pretty good reputation.”

Li Dongling smiled softly but said nothing. Pulling his luggage, he headed toward the workers’ dormitory in the tubular building. He was determined to get to the bottom of this.

After returning to the provincial city in his previous life, Li Dongling had often felt a chill when recalling this incident. Had he not left discreetly, things might have escalated beyond mere rumors and whispers behind his back.

Watching Li Dongling leave, Liu Jiande walked toward Qin Fang’s family room in the tubular dormitory.

“Manager Liu, how can you just let Li Dongling go without any investigation?” Wei Hongying said indignantly, defending Qin Fang when she saw Liu Jiande.

“Hongying, I told you, that wasn’t Li Dongling. I must have mistaken him,” Qin Fang said as she sat on the bed, grabbing Wei Hongying’s hand.

“You go out first. I need to talk to Qin Fang,” said Liu Jiande. Wei Hongying wanted to say more but was silenced by his glare and left in a huff.

“Qin Fang!”

Liu Jiande looked at her with a grim expression. “Regarding your situation, the factory leadership and I want to resolve it quickly so you can replace Wei Qiang’s position and become a formal worker here. What happened today? How am I supposed to report this to the factory?!”

“I…”

“I can’t ruin him!” Qin Fang lowered her head and whispered.

Since her husband Wei Qiang’s accident, the burden of the family had fallen on Qin Fang’s shoulders. Married for just over a year with no children yet, and with Wei Qiang’s parents gone, she had to support his younger siblings and relatives relying on Wei Qiang’s income—now all on her.

After Wei Qiang’s accident, Qin Fang had repeatedly approached the factory leadership, hoping to take over his position, but was always delayed due to the factory’s full staffing. This wasn’t deceit; in fact, all state-owned factories in Pingyang were packed, with numerous temporary workers anxiously waiting for regular positions.

But Qin Fang desperately needed this formal worker spot to support Wei Qiang’s siblings and help her rural family. Without it, the small room she lived in within the tubular dormitory would be repossessed.

“What do you mean by ruining him?!” Liu Jiande’s face darkened with anger. “When have I ever asked you to ruin him? What do you take me, Liu Jiande, for? I’m trying to help you, and you say things like that?”

Qin Fang remained silent, head bowed. Liu Jiande hadn’t explicitly told her to frame Li Dongling, but he had strongly hinted it.

He had told Qin Fang that Li Dongling was a university graduate who could find work at other state factories or even return to the provincial city through connections if he left Xicheng Wireless Factory.

If Qin Fang could get Li Dongling to leave, a technical department formal worker position would open up for her to replace Wei Qiang.

“A good deed mistaken for betrayal,” Liu Jiande sneered coldly. “I can’t help you replace Wei Qiang’s spot. Find someone else; it’s none of my business.”

Li Dongling climbed to the sixth floor of the tubular dormitory. The building was similar to a university dorm but much more crowded.

Inside, the hallway was cluttered with various items. On both sides were rows of small single rooms, with communal water facilities and toilets. Many rooms had stoves outside for cooking. When one household cooked spicy dishes, the whole building coughed; when one fought, the entire building gossiped.

Relying on memory, Li Dongling found his assigned room. Thanks to his official worker status at Xicheng Wireless Factory and his technical department role, he was allocated a bed—just one bed!

Many residents here lived with entire families, sometimes spanning generations, in rooms barely over ten square meters.

By local standards, this was considered decent. Many single workers and temporary employees had no chance to live here.

Pushing open the door, Li Dongling saw a somewhat messy room filled with various belongings—typical for a place housing several men—but at least it was clean enough.

He placed his things on the empty bed; clearly, his two roommates had prepared the bed in anticipation of his arrival. Normally, it would have been piled with stuff.

Picking up a mirror on the table, Li Dongling saw a young face framed by the era’s long hair, with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a high nose bridge giving his features a striking three-dimensional quality.

Fresh from university, he still carried the scholarly air of a recent graduate. Now, with a hint of a TV drama leading man’s charm, if not for his Hanxi Jiaotong University heartthrob looks, he wouldn’t have been able to win An Ruoxue’s heart.

Looking at his reflection and then at his still flat stomach, Li Dongling sighed deeply. In his past life after arriving in the provincial city, he had joined the Provincial Mechanical Design Bureau but ended up with a beer belly, a bent back from overtime, thinning hair, and no real career progress. He hadn’t ended up with An Ruoxue either.

Gazing at himself in the mirror, he let go of the past and smiled. “Hello, 1993!”

Not long after Li Dongling tidied his bed, the door opened. A thin, bespectacled man in his thirties entered, carrying a stack of documents.

“You must be Dongling. I’m Zhou Wenyan.”

Zhou put down the papers and greeted Li Dongling warmly. “I’ve heard from our technical department head that a top student from Hanxi Jiaotong University was coming. Finally, you’re here!”

Li Dongling hesitated briefly, then took out a cigarette and offered one to Zhou.

Even the technical department head knew Li Dongling was coming. Yet today, when Liu Jiande heard Li Dongling’s name, he acted as if it was unfamiliar. Li Dongling didn’t believe there was no trickery involved.

“Monkey King cigarettes—these are good smokes,” Zhou said as he took the cigarette and sniffed it. Produced by the Pingyang local cigarette factory—the biggest tobacco company in the northwest and the best state-owned factory locally—this brand pulled in over 600 million in annual revenue. Many fought tooth and nail to get in.

For married Zhou Wenyan, a few yuan’s worth of cigarettes were a luxury; he usually smoked cheaper loose tobacco just for a quick hit.

Li Dongling lit Zhou’s cigarette with a metal lighter. Seeing the metal lighter, Zhou’s eyes brightened. “That lighter isn’t cheap, is it?”

Hearing Zhou’s comment and looking at the lighter, Li Dongling thought of An Ruoxue. This lighter was a gift from her, smuggled in from Dong’ou. It was an imitation Japanese or Korean export model, which sold for over sixty yuan inland.

Seeing Li Dongling remain silent, Zhou continued talking. “You know, it’s rare to see university graduates like you return to their hometowns nowadays.

Most go to special economic zones like Pengcheng or cities like Shanghai and the capital. At worst, they try to stay in the provincial city.

But now that you’re here, our technical department finally has someone useful. You have no idea what kind of skills those technical school graduates have—they can’t even read blueprints…”