The city had, of course, already submitted an application to the province last year, but it still hadn’t been approved.
Qu Mingli glanced around quietly when he heard this, saying nothing. Yan Xue immediately understood—there was something they couldn’t discuss openly.
She hopped off her bike. “I’ll watch the kids here. You two find somewhere private to talk.”
Qu Mingli didn’t refuse, and Qi Fang got off the bike as well, parking it by the roadside before heading with Qu Mingli to a nearby tree.
With the bike parked, Little Fatty turned his head to look at his dad, then back at his mother, who was right there.
“Your dad has something to take care of. He’ll be back soon,” Yan Xue said, gently patting her son’s little head.
Little Fatty didn’t seem to fully understand. He looked up at her face for a long moment, then started tugging at the hat on his head.
Yan Xue thought he was feeling hot and tried to help take it off, but instead, he grabbed the hat, holding it firmly and offering it to her. “Mommy, wear.”
“Oh, you want me to wear it?” Yan Xue was surprised but bent down and leaned her head closer.
The little guy immediately placed the hat on her head, then smiled brightly up at her.
Then he patted the bike beneath him, signaling to his mother, “Car, go.”
Yan Xue couldn’t help but laugh. “You gave me your hat just so I’d take you for a ride?”
Little Fatty just smiled, then patted the bike again. “Car, Mommy go.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. Your mom can’t ride this one,” Yan Xue said helplessly, shrugging.
If it were a 26-inch bike, she might manage to ride it, thanks to her proportions. But Qi Fang’s was a 28-inch, meant for someone over 175 cm tall.
Little Fatty looked at her, she looked back at him, and finally, the boy remembered the father he was almost left behind. “Daddy!”
“Yeah,” Qi Fang replied from over there, glancing their way. Qu Mingli also looked over. “I’ll think of something, see if I can borrow one.”
After finishing their conversation, they all came back. Qu Mingli looked at Little Fatty on the bike and asked Yan Xue, “Is this your son? How old is he?”
“Two and a half years old.” Yan Xue introduced Little Fatty to Qu Mingli, “This is Uncle Qu. Yan Yu calls him ‘Uncle’.”
“Uncle Qu,” Little Fatty pronounced quite clearly, making Qu Mingli chuckle softly.
“You two head home now. I have to get going too.”
Everyone got into their cars. Yan Xue didn’t ask any more questions. Even after they got home, Little Fatty was reluctant to get off.
Yan Jigang, who had come home early from school, peeked inside. “Yan Yu, do you want to listen to the radio?” He stomped his feet, then told Qi Fang to put him down.
As soon as he was on the ground, he ran inside on his own. When he reached the door and found it locked, he knew to call back to his dad.
Qi Fang went over to open the door, then looked back at Yan Xue walking behind him. “Do you want to sit a little longer?”
Yan Xue thought he meant to go out again and was about to ask, but Qi Fang suddenly came over, picked her up, and placed her on the bike’s rear seat.
Her view instantly lifted, and when she looked at Qi Fang, she no longer had to crane her neck so much.
She chuckled a little. “Do you think everyone is your son?”
Qi Fang rested one hand on the front seat of the bike and looked at her. “It’s not like I haven’t carried you before.”
Whether he had carried her before or not had nothing to do with whether he would now lift her onto the back of the bike.
Yan Xue was about to say something when she suddenly remembered a time long ago watching an outdoor movie, when someone teased her for still needing her dad to carry her at her age...
This man was secretly taking advantage of her, so Yan Xue lifted her foot and kicked his leg.
Qi Fang didn’t mind at all. He leaned down and patted her, saying, “The funding for the system replacement wasn’t approved by the provincial authorities.”
His voice was softer than before, so Yan Xue straightened her expression. “What’s going on?”
Just now, when Qu Mingli came looking for Qi Fang, she had a feeling something was off. If it were straightforward, they would have just replaced the system directly—why would they need Qi Fang to make modifications?
Qu Mingli hadn’t said anything in public afterward, which only confirmed her suspicions. There were probably some complications involved.
Sure enough, Qi Fang lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, “Things are a bit unstable up top. They don’t have time to deal with this.”
Yan Xue had nothing to say. These past few years, things had been like this—there were always issues popping up, and the higher up it went, the more serious it became.
Ironically, the smaller, more remote places gradually quieted down after the initial turbulence because most ordinary people just wanted to live their lives in peace.
Yan Xue didn’t press the topic further. “So Qu Bureau’s idea is to have you modify the current hydrostatic system back to the old one?”
“Yeah, some machines in our county have been pushed too hard. The hydrostatic system is nearly worn out. Even if we don’t replace it, it’ll have to be reinstalled.”
Although when he patched it up before, he’d said the power shouldn’t be pushed to the max, with the logging tasks piling up, who cared about that?
During last year’s pre-logging inspection, many of the timber collection 50s in the forest farms showed problems, which is why the city was so eager to apply for replacements.
But now the funding hasn’t been approved. Nobody knows if it will be by winter. Who would dare risk the entire county’s logging tasks on this? What if the system fails halfway through?
In the past few days, the city and county have been holding meetings to discuss this matter, so when Qu Mingli saw Qi Fang, he thought to ask him about it.
If they could modify the existing hydrostatic system, it would save some costs. And if the province refused to approve the funds, they could at least be prepared.
The old batch of timber collection 50’s hydraulic system was much more stable than this hydrostatic one and had been used for many years without any problems.
“Can it be modified? From hydrostatic back to hydraulic?” Yan Xue wasn’t a specialist and didn’t understand the difference.
“Some parts are interchangeable, but we need to first see what the original was,” Qi Fang said.
Hydrostatic transmission actually evolved from hydraulic transmission. He had even helped his teacher dismantle the old timber collection 50’s hydraulic system before.
He just didn’t know if the parts had changed over the years, so he told Qu Mingli they needed to find one to take a look at.
Qu Mingli came to Qi Fang to solve the problem. Within a few days, a previously produced timber collection 50 was borrowed from another city and brought into the machinery factory.
The machine was operated by a tractor driver from the county. After finishing, he still asked with some concern, “Is it okay to run this at full power?”
The county’s Ji Cai 50 kept having issues, so now, unless it was freezing cold weather or the batch from the county, he didn’t dare push it too hard.
“It should be fine.” Qi Fang made a call to the bureau, informing Qu Mingli that the parts had arrived. Without another word, he climbed onto the machine and started dismantling it.
By the time Master Hong arrived after hearing the news, Qi Fang had already taken off several components and laid them out neatly on an oilcloth nearby.
Master Hong squatted down and took a look. “This part’s a bit different, huh? The hydraulic motor is different. What’s this one?”
“A hydraulic cylinder,” Qi Fang replied. “The hydrostatic system is a closed loop, so it doesn’t have this inside.”
A conventional hydraulic system is an open loop, and even if the hydraulic motors look similar, the parts used differ.
Master Hong wasn’t a specialist in this area, so he only understood bits and pieces. After watching for a while, he noticed Qi Fang set one part aside.
“What’s wrong with this one?” He wasn’t shy about asking. In front of Qi Fang, he didn’t pretend to be some old factory engineer.
Qi Fang was familiar with him and answered as soon as he asked, “It’s a control valve. It can be used in hydrostatic systems, too.”
Master Hong looked it over and felt that it still differed somewhat from the hydrostatic systems used in the county’s Ji Cai 50, but since Qi Fang said it worked, it probably wasn’t a big deal.
He rolled up his sleeves and asked Qi Fang, “Anything left to take apart? Want me to help?”
“Almost done.” Qi Fang pointed to the last few spots, and the two of them worked together to finish dismantling.
Once done, they sorted the parts into two piles. Master Hong could tell a bit more now. “Besides the hydraulic pump and motor, the rest aren’t all that different.”
In fact, in the latest version of the hydrostatic system that Qi Fang and the teacher developed, the components differed even more, but what Wu Xingde brought out was just a half-finished product.
Qi Fang went to wash his hands and began drawing the design plans. He first sketched the few core components that couldn’t be changed, then filled in the rest one by one.
Master Hong had helped repair the county’s Ji Cai 50 before, so he could easily tell which parts belonged to the hydraulic system and which to the hydrostatic system.
After finishing the draft, Qi Fang revised it once more. His energy was impressive. He immediately dismantled a Ji Cai 50 from the factory and started assembling the new system.
To be honest, it looked a bit odd. Compared to the hydraulic system, the hydrostatic system’s structure was much more compact.
But no matter if it looked awkward or not, once it was installed, it actually worked. At least this proved that some parts could indeed be used interchangeably.
Master Hong couldn’t help but admire Qi Fang’s mind. It was like he had extra compartments in his head where all these parts existed, and inside, they could be assembled at will.
Still, Master Hong had his own work and didn’t stay long. When he came back next time, the system’s structure on Qi Fang’s side had already changed again.
In truth, Qi Fang was trying to use as many original parts as possible, seeking a balance between cutting costs and maintaining performance.
It was fortunate that Qi Fang had presented a semi-finished product, using many of the original components; otherwise, controlling the cost would have been nearly impossible.
By the time June rolled around, both the city and county offices were already overwhelmed and at their wits’ end, still without any solutions. Only then did Qi Fang write back to Qu Mingli.
When Qu Mingli saw the booklet handed to him, he immediately had a clear idea. “You’ve made the modifications?”
“Yes,” Qi Fang replied. “But there are still a few parts whose specifications need to be adjusted. We’ll have to wait until we get them back and take another look.”
“That’s already quite good,” Qu Mingli said directly, then asked the question that mattered most to him: “What about the cost?”
“We can bring it down to about a third of replacing the entire unit,” Qi Fang answered.
After all, some parts were reused from the originals, and they assembled it themselves.
This reassured Qu Mingli even more, but to be certain, he still flipped open the booklet.
He remembered that every time Qi Fang submitted something, he always included a detailed budget. Sure enough, after the design diagrams at the front, the rest of the booklet contained exactly that.
What surprised him was that, besides the budget, Qi Fang had listed the names, models, and manufacturers of every required part in meticulous detail.
Even if you hired a purchasing agent from a machinery factory, they might not be able to provide such precise information offhand. Someone unfamiliar might even think the parts came labeled with all that info.
Qu Mingli couldn’t help but glance at Qi Fang again. He wasn’t sure whether Qi Fang was just being thorough or if he was simply that knowledgeable, able to recognize everything at a glance.
But with this level of precision, there was no need to waste time trying to find procurement channels. Qu Mingli closed the booklet and said, “Alright, I’ll go talk to Secretary Tang later.”
His tone was all business, but after speaking, he smiled. “Thanks for your hard work this time.”
Qi Fang relaxed his expression a little. “After all, I’ve eaten at your home before. It’s only right to do something for the county.”
He actually had other thoughts in mind, but now wasn’t the time to say them. He would wait to see what the bureau decided.
Qu Mingli was cautious and read the booklet several times to fully understand it before taking it to Secretary Tang of the county bureau.
Secretary Tang was nearly fifty, his hairline receding noticeably. Over the past year, he and Qu Mingli had gotten along fairly well.
Mainly because Qu Mingli was capable and effective, and rare among deputies, he knew his place and never meddled in matters outside his jurisdiction.
That made things comfortable. After all, no leader wanted a deputy who suddenly showed up and constantly tried to challenge their authority.
So when Qu Mingli came to him, even if Secretary Tang had his doubts, he still opened the booklet to take a look. “Do you think this will work?”
“It’s Qi Fang’s idea. It should,” Qu Mingli said. “He patched up the batch of 50 timber collectors before, and then modified the excavator after that.”
Worried Secretary Tang might not know Qi Fang’s capabilities, he added, “He graduated from Qinggong University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and came here to support the construction efforts.”
Secretary Tang vaguely remembered Qi Fang as a young man, though he wasn’t sure exactly how old. But with a degree from Qinggong University, he had to have some skill. He lowered his head to study the booklet again.
"I was thinking that some of the county’s tractors have really worn out to the point they can’t be used anymore. Instead of waiting for funding, why not come up with our own solution?" Qu Mingli lowered his voice. "At least we can replace the worst few first. That way, we can get through this year’s logging season. The cost won’t be that high."
Secretary Tang was also worried. Their city’s logging was already at the bottom of the rankings. If a few more tractors broke down, would they even be able to continue? Fixing tractors constantly isn’t free, after all.
If the costs could truly be kept within that budget, and if they could get three tractors replaced for the price of one from the manufacturer, the county could grit its teeth and scrape together some money to replace the most critical ones first.
After some thought, Secretary Tang decided to buy a set of parts and have Qi Fang modify them first, then see how the results turned out.
Fortunately, the bureau had gained some income from the mushroom cultivation industry over the past two years. Compared to other county forestry bureaus, their funds were relatively sufficient.
Thinking this over, he glanced at Qu Mingli with some approval. Having such a capable and well-connected person under his wing wasn’t a bad thing.
At least they could manage to come up with this money. Other counties’ forestry bureaus were probably even more stressed.
Now, all they could hope was that Qi Fang really had the skills to properly improve the hydraulic system and that this money wouldn’t be wasted.
Meanwhile, the procurement officer from the Forestry Bureau’s Supply Section in Changshan County left with money and an order to buy parts. Back at Qi Fang and Yan Xue’s place, the household was gradually becoming lively.
The Guo and Lang families had met and set the wedding date for this month. The ceremony wouldn’t be held at the forest farm or in Chengshui but in the county instead.
After all, both Guo Chang'an and Lang Yue’e worked in the county, so they had to get their marriage certificate there. The Guo family hadn’t prepared a new house for them at the forest farm.
The old house that Yan Xue and Qi Fang had once lived in was now rented out by Xu Wanchang. It was already quite rundown and not suitable to be cleared out just to make room for a wedding.
Starting in April, the Guo family had made several trips to the county, renting a place and buying furniture—preparing everything needed for the wedding.
Aunt Guo had been looking forward to this day for so long. She wasn’t planning a lavish event, but when it came to spending money, she didn’t hesitate at all.
In her words, the money was saved up for Guo Chang’an anyway, and since he was able to earn on his own, if they didn’t spend it on the wedding, what was the point of holding onto it?
Lang Yue’e was getting married for the second time. Her mother had originally hoped for a simple ceremony, but the Guo family took things very seriously, so they had to do the same. They even prepared a full set of trunks and luggage as her dowry.
Now both families were frequently headed to the county. Sometimes, when it was inconvenient to return home, they would stay over at Yan Xue and Qi Fang’s place, especially in the days leading up to the wedding.
The day before the wedding, even Guo Changping and his wife Jin Baozhi showed up, bringing along their nine-year-old son, Tiedan.
Little Fatty had never seen so many people come to their home before. He looked at one, then another, until Aunt Guo scooped him up in her arms. "Oh my little Yan Yu, tomorrow you’re going to roll around in bed with Uncle Chang’an!"
On the big day, they really let the little chubby guy roll around in bed, and after it was over, they even slipped a red envelope into his hand. The little chubby guy stared at it for a long time before turning around and handing it to his mother.
But when Aunt Guo saw the newlyweds finish registering their marriage and stand together raising their glasses in a toast, tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn’t hold them back.
Jin Baozhi, standing beside her, didn’t know what to say either. She simply squeezed Aunt Guo’s hand, gently wiping the corners of her eyes. “It’s okay, I’m happy,” she said.
When she first heard that Guo Chang’an had been disabled, it felt like the sky was falling. Who would have thought they’d come this far, seeing this scene today?
The elderly woman couldn’t help but squeeze her daughter-in-law’s hand. “Luckily, that day was a coincidence. I went out to empty the stove ash and ran into Yan Xue and Qi Fang looking for a place to rent.”
She had forgotten how she ended up telling the two that her family had a house to rent, but thankfully she did.
Everything changed from that winter night, from the moment she struck up a conversation and rented the house to the young couple.
“A little later, we have to let Chang’an properly toast Yan Xue and Qi Fang, especially Yan Xue,” Aunt Guo whispered to her eldest daughter-in-law.
But actually, there was no need for her reminder. After toasting their parents and siblings, the first cup was always raised to Yan Xue and Qi Fang.
Guo Chang’an even lifted his deformed right hand and raised both cups toward Yan Xue. “I still say this—without you, there wouldn’t be the Guo Chang’an you see today.”
Lang Yue’e clinked glasses with Yan Xue as well. “I will never forget that afternoon when you and Qi Fang saved me.”
It was they who spared her from humiliation, and Yan Xue who came up with the idea that kept Kang Peisheng from bothering her father again.
That little Qi Fang, who had a very good memory, glanced at Yan Xue. Seeing no reaction, he quietly withdrew his gaze.
Unexpectedly, after the banquet started, the usually quiet Guo Changping also raised his glass. “Wei Guo, I toast you.”
Liu Weiguo was stunned. “Toast me? Why toast me? I didn’t save Jin Baozhi, nor did I play matchmaker for this couple.”
But Jin Baozhi said, “Didn’t you switch to sales? I signed up for this year’s chainsaw operator training.”
No one had heard about this before, and everyone turned to look. Jin Baozhi was close with Yan Xue, who immediately asked, “So you passed?”
A smile appeared on Jin Baozhi’s face. “Passed. Sister You also signed up for the tractor operator course this year. Someone in the forest farm is retiring.”
“Congratulations then,” Yan Xue promptly raised her glass to toast her. “You two will be the first female chainsaw operator and female tractor operator in Chengshui, right?”
“Not exactly,” Jin Baozhi said. “There used to be the only women’s logging team in our 13th line, but back then they didn’t use chainsaws or tractors.”
“Well then, Sis-in-law, you can be the second one in our forest farm,” Liu Weiguo chimed in supportively, quickly raising his glass. “Here’s to our first female chainsaw operator.”
“Thank you,” Jin Baozhi accepted the toast graciously, but in her heart she was thinking about the support Yan Xue had given her when she decided to join the logging team.
It proved that what the men could do, she and Sister You could do too. They were no less capable than anyone else. So why should they be stuck at home having children?
The leader said, "Women hold up half the sky," so this half of the sky should stand just as firmly outside as the men do.
Jin Baozhi unknowingly had a few more drinks. "It's just that once you all leave, it'll be hard to gather everyone together like this again."
They all had their own careers—Xiao Yan and Qi were in the county, Liu Weiguo was in the town, and she and Changping were at the forestry farm.
Unexpectedly, Liu Weiguo suddenly felt a bit wistful. "Not necessarily. Maybe, if Chuncai gets married, we could still gather."
Qi Fang immediately looked up. "Chuncai is getting married?" Yan Xue was also surprised. "Does Chuncai have a boyfriend?"
"They just started seeing each other recently," Liu Weiguo said. "It's quite a coincidence. Someone introduced him to her last year, and again this year. She took one look and realized it was the same guy."
That was indeed quite a coincidence—he was introduced to her last year as well. Yan Xue wondered if it was the same person she was thinking of.
While pondering, Liu Weiguo started complaining, "How come it's such a coincidence that both times it's the same guy? My mom thought it was fate and told Chuncai to give it a try. Oh, by the way, you all know him too. We’ve seen him before up in the mountains."
Yan Xue glanced at Qi Fang. Although Qi Fang wasn’t about to marry his sister, his expression wasn’t much better than Liu Weiguo’s, who was about to marry his sister.
All the way home, the man’s expression remained faint. When they entered the house, he glanced at Yan Xue once more. "How come it's such a coincidence?" he muttered.
The more you try not to think about something, the more it comes to mind. But he couldn’t just go and tell the Liu family about this—after all, Qi Fang had once been set up with Yan Xue.
Yan Xue, however, thought there was nothing to it. She and Qi Fang never even met face to face before she married Qi Fang. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even really a formal matchmaking.
It was just too coincidental. "I remember I gave Chuncai that pair of roller skates, and Qi Fang made them as a thank-you gift."
Qi Fang also remembered those roller skates. For quite a while, the only memory he had of Qi Fang was those skates...
But how did the roller skates end up with Chuncai? And how did the guy end up with Chuncai too?
If only he had kept them for himself...
But he couldn’t keep them—how could his family have anything given by Qi Fang?
While he was still thinking, he suddenly felt a light touch on his lips. "Let me see if it’s sour," Yan Xue teased, smiling brightly before pulling away.
Qi Fang immediately wrapped his arm around Yan Xue’s waist and whispered against her lips, "I don’t think you tasted it properly. You should try again."
They had been tasting this jar of aged vinegar for years now. With Liu Weiguo starting to go out and do sales, Yan Xue sometimes got to savor the flavor at night.
Of course, she had to do it behind their little boss’s back. The little boss hated secretaries like Qi who didn’t do real work but just clung to the boss.
A secretary’s job was to drive the little boss properly. How could he refuse to drive the little boss during the day but then drive the big boss at night?
So, Qi had to work double shifts—being a close secretary at night and the little boss’s driver during the day. It was exhausting, to say the least.
Sometimes, when the big boss needed to review and prepare for the upcoming middle school exam, Qi even had to play the role of a parent helping with studies.
Yes, as a parent, the main responsibility is to quietly sketch nearby, without casually wielding the teaching stick.
Amidst this tireless day-and-night effort, the purchasing clerk from the supply department finally managed to buy the parts he needed.
