HPDBC Chapter 125 Sudden Rain Destroys Courtyard Trees, Warmth Relieves Cold Eaves
Chapter 125 Sudden Rain Destroys Courtyard Trees, Warmth Relieves Cold Eaves
On the morning of the third day after the patent application was submitted, a sudden downpour swept through Beijing. Large raindrops pounded on the green tiles of the courtyard house, making a crackling sound. The rising steam seeped into the house through the window cracks, giving the early summer air a chill. Lin Chen was studying the technology transfer plan on the system panel when a series of urgent bicycle bell sounds came from the courtyard gate, followed by the familiar voice of a police officer from the local police station: "Is Yi Zhonghai home? Please cooperate with our investigation."
Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he dropped his pen and ran outside. On the stone table in the courtyard, Yan Bugui's patent revenue distribution plan, calculated the previous night, was still spread out, its edges damp from the rain. Yi Zhonghai stood at his doorstep, still wearing his faded blue work clothes, his usually straight back slightly hunched. Two police officers solemnly presented their identification, holding summons warrants stamped with a red seal.
"Comrade, may I know what happened?" Yi Zhonghai's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, and his gaze unconsciously drifted into the room, where he could vaguely see the flustered figure of Aunt Yi behind the curtains.
"This involves the misappropriation of work injury compensation funds from many years ago, and you'll need to come to the station to verify it." The police officer's voice wasn't loud, but it boomed like thunder in the courtyard. Qin Huairu, who was busy in the kitchen, dropped the spatula in her hand with a "clatter." Jia Dang quickly supported his mother's trembling shoulders, his eyes filled with terror. Liu Guangtian and his brother, who had just returned from the workshop, stood under the eaves, still clutching the newly printed technical training recruitment brochure in their hands, their smiles frozen.
Suddenly, Aunt Yi rushed out of the house, grabbing Yi Zhonghai's arm tightly. Her gray hair, soaked by the rain, clung to her wrinkled face. "Old Yi, you can't leave! Our patent hasn't been approved yet. What will happen to the workshop if you leave?" Her voice trembled with tears, which mingled with the rain as they streamed down her cheeks. "Is there some mistake? You've never even held a single screw in the government's coffers in your entire life!"
Yi Zhonghai gently patted his wife's hand, his eyes filled with guilt: "Don't cry, I'll be right back. Xiao Lin and the others are keeping an eye on the patent, it won't go wrong." He turned to Lin Chen, his voice suddenly rising a few decibels, filled with a solemn entrustment, "Xiao Lin, I'm entrusting the technical promotion in the workshop and the craft classes for the apprentices to you. Old Yan's cost sheet is on the stone table. After the patent is approved, first get a precision grinding machine for the workshop."
Lin Chen quickly stepped forward and helped the almost unsteady Aunt Yi up: "Uncle Yi, don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on things in the workshop. We'll take care of Aunt Yi here, so please cooperate with the investigation." He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Yi Zhonghai, "Wipe your face, don't let the rain wet it."
Yi Zhonghai took the handkerchief, clutching it tightly without unfolding it. He glanced deeply at the gray bricks and tiles of the courtyard house, then at the rain-soaked allocation sheet on the stone table, before finally following the policeman into the rain. The sound of the bicycle bell faded into the distance. Aunt Yi could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the threshold. Her suppressed sobs were drowned out by the downpour, yet they pierced everyone's hearts like needles.
Yan Bugui had somehow appeared beside Lin Chen, holding the salvaged allocation sheet in his hand. The abacus beads clicked unconsciously in his fingers. "This can't be," he muttered to himself. "Old Yi spent his whole life hoping for the patent to be approved so he could leave something for the workshop. How could he misappropriate workers' compensation funds? I remember Old Yi had the finance department expedite Jia Dongxu's payment back then. How could there be a problem?"
"Don't speculate yet, let's wait for the police station's investigation results." Lin Chen helped Aunt Yi into the house. The furnishings inside were simple and somewhat shabby. The "Factory-Level Model Worker" certificate hanging on the wall was yellowed, but it was wiped spotless. Several neatly folded old clothes were piled on the kang (a heated brick bed), and on top of them was the handicraft lesson plan that Yi Zhonghai was still revising last night, with neat and strong handwriting.
Qin Huairu carried in a steaming bowl of ginger and brown sugar water and handed it to Aunt Yi: "Auntie, drink some ginger and brown sugar water to warm yourself up and don't catch a cold. Old Yi is a good man, it must be a misunderstanding, he'll be back in a couple of days." She called Jia Dang to her side, "Go and get the thermos from your brother Lin's room, and find a dry towel for Auntie to wipe her head."
Aunt Yi took the ginger tea but didn't drink it, just staring blankly at the rain outside the window. "That year Dongxu had the accident, it was even colder than it is now," she suddenly said, her voice hoarse. "Old Yi carried Dongxu, who had a high fever, for ten miles to the hospital, losing his shoes in the process. Later, when the compensation money came in, he was worried that Qin Huairu, a woman, wouldn't be able to manage the money, so he specially helped her put it in a fixed deposit, withdrawing a small amount each month for her living expenses. How could he have misappropriated that money…?"
Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat. He recalled seeing a 1962 work injury compensation record while organizing old workshop files a few days ago. The amount was a full two hundred yuan less than what Aunt Yi had said. At the time, he thought it was a mistake due to wear and tear on the file, but now he thought there might be more to it. He reassured her, "Auntie, don't worry, I'll go to the workshop today to check the old files and see if I can find the original document. We all trust Uncle Yi's character."
The torrential rain didn't stop until noon. Lin Chen braved the rain to rush to the steel rolling mill. Workshop director Zhou Jianguo was anxiously looking out of his office door. Seeing Lin Chen, he quickly came to greet him: "Xiao Lin, you've finally arrived! I've heard about Lao Yi's matter. The factory has already sent people from the labor and personnel department to the police station to explain the situation. There was indeed a problem with Jia Dongxu's compensation payment back then. It wasn't Lao Yi who embezzled it; it was the head of the finance department at the time who manipulated it. That person confessed when he retired last year, but we haven't been able to find the person in charge to verify it."
"Then why are you only looking for Uncle Yi now?" Lin Chen asked anxiously.
"The section chief passed away last month. His family found the old account book while sorting through his belongings and handed it over to the factory." Zhou Jianguo sighed and handed Lin Chen a yellowed account book. "Look, this has Lao Yi's signature. He only took what he was entitled to, and the section chief kept the two hundred yuan for himself. But Lao Yi was a kind person and didn't pursue it at the time. I didn't expect it to be found now."
Lin Chen flipped through the ledger and, sure enough, found Yi Zhonghai's signature on the 1962 record page, along with a note from the finance director: "Temporarily withheld two hundred yuan for the purchase of workshop tools." Below that was the workshop tool purchase invoice from that year, the amount of which was exactly two hundred yuan. His heart finally settled down, and he quickly made copies of the ledger and invoices, stuffed them into his pocket, and rushed to the police station.
When Lin Chen returned to the courtyard with the supporting documents, a number of neighbors had already gathered there. Sha Zhu came back from outside carrying a thermos and called out to Lin Chen, "Little Lin, you're finally back! I just got back from the police station. Old Yi told you not to worry about the workshop; he explained everything to the police and should be back tomorrow." He handed the thermos to Qin Huairu, "This is chicken soup from the guesthouse; it's for Aunt Yi to nourish herself."
Yan Bugui approached with an abacus, his face beaming: "Xiao Lin, look at this calculation I did. The Patent Office just called, saying our application materials are complete and should be approved in three months if all goes well. I did the math; if the technology transfer fee is 5,000 yuan per year, that'll be 50,000 yuan in ten years—enough to build a dedicated skills training room for the workshop. We'll give Lao Yi a surprise when he gets back!"
Lin Chen handed the supporting documents to Aunt Yi, and seeing the worry on the old woman's face gradually disappear, he felt particularly at ease. He suddenly remembered the "Technology Transfer Assistance" function that the system had unlocked. He opened the panel and saw that a detailed operation plan for the craft training class had been generated, including the curriculum, teacher arrangements, and equipment procurement list, and even marked the suitable jobs for different apprentices.
"Aunt Yi," Lin Chen said, pointing to the plan, "this is the craft training class plan that Uncle Yi and I discussed before. Now all the materials are ready, and we'll start the class as soon as Uncle Yi comes back. As you can see, we'll recruit twenty apprentices for the first session. Uncle Yi will teach forging, I'll teach drafting, Liu Guangtian will teach precision machining, and Jia Dang can help organize the drawings. Once the patent is approved, we'll buy some new equipment and make the training class a proper institution."
Aunt Yi took the proposal, her fingers gently tracing the words on it, her eyes reddening again: "Old Yi has been looking forward to this day all his life, to pass on the old craft. He always said that a skill is the foundation of a living; teaching one person can support a whole family." She turned to Qin Huairu, "If Dongxu had been able to learn the craft properly from Old Yi back then, things wouldn't have been like this..."
Qin Huairu quickly grasped Aunt Yi's hand: "Auntie, it's all in the past. Jia Geng is now learning a trade from Liu Guangtian, and he's much more dedicated than his father was back then. When the training course starts, I'll have him be the first to sign up so he can learn properly from Uncle Yi."
As evening fell, the setting sun shone through the clouds onto the rooftops of the courtyard house, bathing the blue tiles in a golden light. Lin Chen was explaining forging blueprints to his apprentices in the central courtyard when Liu Guangtian approached with a freshly polished gear sample: "Brother Lin, look at this precision. It's two levels higher than before, perfectly meeting the patent requirements. Once the equipment arrives, we can start mass production."
Jia Geng came over, holding a small homemade hammer in his hand: "Brother Lin, I learned how to polish today from Brother Guangtian. What do you think of this little hammer I made?" Although the hammer was not very refined, the hammerhead was polished very smoothly and the handle was easy to grip.
Lin Chen took the small hammer and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, much better than the first time I made it. I'll take this hammer to Grandpa Yi tomorrow, he'll definitely be happy." He looked towards the courtyard gate and saw Yi Zhonghai carrying a cloth bag, walking slowly in the afterglow of the setting sun. Although his work clothes were a little dusty, his back was straight.
"Old Yi!" Yan Bugui was the first to rush forward, shoving an abacus in front of him. "You're finally back! We have news from the patent office; it should be approved in three months! I've calculated it; our skills training class can recruit thirty apprentices, and that covers the equipment costs!"
Yi Zhonghai's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the neighbors who had gathered around, at the training course plan spread out on the stone table, and at the small hammer in Jia Geng's hand. He took out a brand-new copy of "The Complete Book of Forging Technology" from his cloth bag and handed it to Lin Chen: "I bought this at a bookstore near the police station. It contains the latest precision forging technology, which will be useful for our training course."
Aunt Yi brought out freshly steamed buns from the house. The steaming buns, fragrant with wheat, were rising in the setting sun. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." She distributed the buns to everyone. "Tomorrow we'll go buy the materials and hang up the training center sign."
Looking at the scene before him, Lin Chen suddenly remembered the notification on the system panel. He opened the panel, which displayed: [The host has successfully resolved the team crisis, strengthened neighborhood bonds, and deepened the concept of technology inheritance. The "Team Leader" skill has been upgraded, unlocking the exclusive "Craftsmanship Inheritance" buff, increasing apprentices' skill mastery speed by 50%. 10000 points have been gained, bringing the total points to 43100.]
As the sun gradually set, the lights in the courtyard gradually illuminated the hopeful faces. Lin Chen knew that the patent approval was just the beginning; the inheritance of his craft and the warmth of his neighbors—things more precious than money and honor—were the greatest gains he had made since his rebirth. This sudden storm, far from breaking up this united group, had instead made everyone understand even more clearly that sincerity and trust were the strongest forces that had sustained them through the storm.
It was late at night, and Lin Chen was still revising the training course schedule. Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui sat to the side, one explaining forging techniques and the other calculating teaching costs. The three of them occasionally let out knowing laughter.