Chapter 254: A Brand in the Heart
Chapter 254: A Brand in the Heart
On the tenth day of winter, it was drizzling. The rain was not heavy, just enough to leave a few water marks on the ground. The weather forecast said that the lowest temperature would be ten degrees. With just a light drizzle, it felt like the temperature would drop three or four degrees.
There were few people on the street. The doors and windows of the minibuses, which used to leave their doors open to attract passengers, were tightly shut. The conductor would only open the window a little way and stick his head out to ask, 'Going my way?' when he saw someone on the street.
The shops on both sides of the street, with the exception of a few brand name stores, are mostly dark. The proprietresses are all wearing thick down jackets, with gloves on, their heads huddled against their necks, hugging a large hot water bottle as they stare at the small TV in the shop. Most of the time they are watching the phenomenal and divine drama, Princess Returning to the Pearl!
Thanks to the show's popularity, its theme song and ending theme quickly became popular too. In this shop, they played 'Let's be companions in the secular world and live carefree,' while in the shop diagonally opposite they played 'Love can break your heart, but don't blame anyone.' It was like a boxing ring.
Zhang Yan was wearing a blue raincoat, riding a bicycle with a gear shift that Zhang Zuodong had brought her from the provincial capital. She had a scarf around her mouth and was listening to the CD player playing Yudi, going slowly towards the school.
When she entered the building, she had asked the doorman five times in the past few days, 'Do you have a package for me?'
'Yes, I almost forgot, it just arrived.' The young doorman took a small cardboard box from the table and handed it to her.
'Thanks!'
She walked into the classroom with the same backpack that Feng Yiping had given her. Yang Xuan, her junior high school classmate, was quick-eyed and saw her carrying a small box. He ran over to her, 'Is it another birthday present from your brother Feng?'
'Why does everything sound so bad when it comes out of your mouth?' Zhang Yan glared at her.
'Fine, I said it badly. Open it and see what's inside.'
She tore off the tape and found that the small box was full. Zhang Yan took out the contents one by one, while Yang Yan called out the names of each item: 'oil painting brush, needle pen, contour pen, highlighter pen... Is this for opening a shop?'
Zhang Yan ignored her and continued to take out the contents. She opened a birthday card and saw that it was an ordinary card, not the music cards that everyone sends nowadays. It simply said, "Happy Birthday! Feng Yiping." Was that all? Zhang Yan was a little dissatisfied.
Underneath the card was a bag containing something soft. She took it out and saw that it was a pink silk scarf. She didn't recognise the brand, but the logo was of a person pulling a cart, and below that was a line of letters starting with H. However, she knew that it must not have been cheap.
Around the National Day, she received a small package from Feng Yiping, which contained a CD player and some painting supplies. She didn't take it seriously either. Later, the art teacher saw her paintbrushes and was taken aback. She said with regret something she didn't like to hear, 'You're wasting these paintbrushes by using them like this.'
Although she was unhappy to hear this, she also knew that those paintbrushes were probably not cheap, even if Feng Yiping had sent them to her.
Yang Xuan immediately liked the silk scarf as soon as she saw it, 'It's really beautiful, lend it to me to wear sometime!'
'Mm,' Zhang Yan absentmindedly answered her, and took out a small box. When she opened it, it was a narrow bracelet with a big H on it, with gold trim. The outside of the bracelet was a ring of creamy white enamel, very beautiful and delicate.
'Wow, put it on and take a look,' Yang Yan was more excited than she was.
Zhang Yanshun's gloves looked really good on her left hand.
Looking further, there were a few more plates, and at a glance they were the latest popular songs. The last one was obviously not officially published, and it was in a protective sleeve with a label stuck on it that said, 'You are the brand in my heart.'
Is that it? No more letters? Zhang Yan tipped the small box upside down and indeed, there was nothing left.
Except for her birthday every year, Feng Yiping would send her things from school from time to time, sometimes with a few sheets of paper attached, at least three, and at most eight at a time. Most of the time, they were just about everyday trivia, but sometimes there were just things, not a single piece of paper.
It wasn't that Feng Yiping didn't want to write; he wanted to say so much that he wrote every time, but sometimes when he looked at what he had written, he realised that many of the things he had written were not suitable for her to hear now. She would definitely be shocked if she read it, so Feng Yiping kept the letters he had written.
Zhang Yan subconsciously picked up the burned CD, put it in the CD player, and immediately, a familiar song came out, 'You are a deep mark in my heart, you are the only figure in my eyes...'
...
This winter month has been the busiest in years.
Under pressure from the city government, the agreement to merge the city aluminium products factory was signed before the end of the lunar year. This gave the city government a political achievement in the old year and made the new year a little less of a burden.
The hard part was for the people at Youjia Company. Accepting such a factory and hundreds of workers made Ding Qiang, the newly hired person in charge of this area, extremely busy. As this was the first time they had set foot in manufacturing, Feng Yiping also put a lot of energy into this area.
For several weekends in a row, he spent time at the factory with Huang Jingping, learning the work processes set out by the original aluminium products factory together with the people from Zhitong. After familiarising themselves with the original processes, they corrected the unreasonable parts. Then they mobilised all the workers to put forward rationalisation proposals based on their own work practices – this was also part of the competition for the job.
Hong Haoran also distilled some of the experience he had learned during his time at the tool factory. As fellow production enterprises, there were still many similarities.
After considering these factors, they formulated a very scientific and reasonable process. After formulating the process, they determined the departments to be established and compiled departmental responsibilities according to these process nodes.
This is also the reason why the old three workshops were first demolished and then replaced with standard steel structure workshops. While there were safety considerations, it was also to allow time for Hong Haoran to get the system up and running, and to allow this old enterprise to be reborn to a high standard.
Living by the river has a beautiful view and is cool in the summer, but it's a bit miserable in the winter, with the cold wind blowing all day long.
So every evening, they close the doors and windows tightly. Even the study is too cold to sit in. In the evenings, the two of them often snuggle together on the sofa, watching TV, with a blanket draped over one of them.
'Yiping, on New Year's Day, our school is hosting a party, and my solo song 'Double Fly' has been selected. Will you come?'
'Of course I will, even if it means skipping school.' Feng Yiping answered her without hesitation. He knew that what was sung in the song "Double Fly" was also what Huang Jingping wanted to say to him.
Huang Jingping was very happy to hear this, and under the blanket, she held his hand a little tighter.