Qi Fang clearly gained inspiration at the exchange meeting, returning to work through the night to design a control valve.
Even after their playful antics, he showed no signs of fatigue, heading to work as usual, refreshed and energetic.
Yan Xue sometimes wondered if boundless energy was a standard trait of high achievers—how else could someone as ill as he was in the books still manage to overtake Wu Xingde?
Though the design was conceived during a sleepless night, Qi Fang wasn’t in a rush to implement it. He patiently integrated it among other components.
After all, he was always tinkering with modifications—no one could tell which parts were truly functional.
Before the first snowfall, all two hundred Jicai-50 machines in the city were finally retrofitted and rumbled their way up the mountain.
The tractor operators, accustomed to the old hydrostatic system, were initially hesitant but soon adapted, significantly improving efficiency.
Whether it was pent-up frustration or a desire to redeem themselves, the forestry farms reported data that even surpassed other cities.
This reassured Secretary Tang at the municipal bureau—at least it proved the problem wasn’t incompetence but the old hydraulic system.
As for Qi Fang, the hero of the hour, the mechanical factory proposed promoting him to a seventh-grade engineer, and the approval came without hesitation.
In this era, engineers were ranked from one to nine, with one being the highest. A sixth-grade engineer enjoyed treatment equivalent to a senior colonel, so seventh-grade was no small feat.
Most engineers in large factories of ten thousand workers topped out at fifth-grade, while fourth-grade and above were reserved for specialized facilities.
And Qi Fang was only twenty-seven—most his age were just scraping into ninth-grade.
Naturally, along with the promotion, he was named a municipal model worker. Yan Xue wasn’t overlooked either—her bottle-cultivation method had boosted this year’s wood ear profits.
With expanded sales channels, the harvest sold faster than ever, nearly depleted before year’s end.
Secretary Tang even spotted one of the cultivation center’s delivery trucks in the city—impossible to miss, thanks to their eye-catching branding.
The effective advertising had opened new markets, and the bottle-cultivation method, no longer reliant on wood, earned orders from two more towns.
Now, seven towns in Jiangcheng City were engaged in artificial wood ear cultivation, turning it into a major local industry.
The affordable bottle-cultivated wood ear hadn’t yet hit its sales ceiling. Wugang and Liuhu Towns planned to expand production next year, ordering 15,000 bottles of fungal strains.
By year’s end, the center had received 80,000 bottle orders, not counting potential autumn additions.
The extra revenue alone could nearly buy a Liberation truck. Within two years, they’d recoup their investment and then some.
Before the New Year, Yan Xue held a review meeting, celebrating the center’s achievements, commending outstanding individuals, and outlining next year’s goals.
"Our center isn’t like other workplaces—we start cultivating strains before the New Year, so shifts must run around the clock. Work out a schedule, and we’ll compensate with post-holiday leave."
As the center’s top leader, she took the New Year’s Eve shift herself—though not the full night, as a local male employee hired the year before would relieve her after midnight.
Guo Chang’an, Lang Yue’e, and Zhou Wenhui, who were returning to their parents in Chengshui for the holidays, were scheduled for post-festival shifts.
The young man arrived earlier than agreed, showing up just past midnight. "Manager Yan, you can head home. I’ve already had dumplings."
After checking the boiler and temperature, Yan Xue, having trained him for over two years and trusting his reliability, packed up to leave.
Unexpectedly, Qi Fang arrived with dumplings for her, still warm from the bike ride.
Rather than let them cool on the return trip, Yan Xue shed her coat and ate them there. "Has everyone else eaten? Are Grandma, Jigang, and Yan Yu asleep?"
"All done." Qi Fang had even brought garlic sauce and vinegar. "Grandma and Yan Yu are asleep. Jigang’s still listening to the radio in our room."
No one had expected Yan Jigang to develop such a passion for foreign languages in middle school, speaking them more fluently than his native tongue.
The family was surprised, and even Jigang couldn’t quite explain it. "Maybe because no one understands, so I don’t feel nervous."
By high school, the curriculum couldn’t keep up, and he secretly tuned into foreign broadcasts at night.
Now, his speaking and listening skills surpassed Yan Xue’s, who’d only recently brushed up on hers for a high school diploma.
Hearing the others were asleep, Yan Xue took her time. Qi Fang watched her eat. "I looked into it—the provincial normal university is enrolling foreign language students."
"Requires a work-unit recommendation, right?" In this era, universities were for workers, peasants, and soldiers, contingent on employer referrals and political vetting.
"We could first get Jigang a teaching job." Qi Fang had clearly thought it through. "After a year or two, the school could recommend him."
He poured water into Yan Xue’s cup. "He’s talented and loves it. It’d be a waste not to let him advance."
But by then, the national college entrance exams would have resumed, allowing all high school graduates to compete for university spots.
Yan Xue knew this—and that Qi Fang’s suggestion came from genuine care for Jigang. "Then let’s find him a teaching position."
Perfect timing: between Jigang’s graduation and the exam announcement, schools were short on language teachers.
After finishing the dumplings, Yan Xue bundled up again. Outside, firecrackers still popped, and snowflakes dusted the ground, glinting under flashlight beams.
They walked home side by side, footsteps light on the thin snow, amid the New Year’s revelry.
After a while, Yan Xue gazed ahead and suddenly said, "It’s 1976."
The words were lost in the firecrackers, and Qi Fang didn’t catch them at first.
But then she turned to him, repeating, "Qi Fang, it’s 1976."
1976—just eight more months until this era of stifled lives would end.
Just eight more months, and he could stand up openly to restore his teacher's reputation.
Just eight more months, and he could return to his research instead of hiding his greatest talents in a small machinery factory.
Just eight more months, and this decade that felt endless to so many would finally come to a close...
Yan Xue’s face was mostly hidden beneath a hat and scarf, leaving only her bright, round eyes exposed. Yet those eyes seemed to hold all the brilliance in the world.
It was also those eyes that had found him seven years ago, offering him a new possibility amidst the swirling snow.
Qi Fang could sense that the year 1976 held some special significance for Yan Xue, but perhaps the mood was too perfect—he simply responded with a quiet "Mm."
After walking a short distance, the memory of her smiling eyes lingered in his mind. He suddenly stopped and asked, "Are you in a hurry to go home?"
His tone was as calm as ever, but his gaze, fixed on Yan Xue, seemed to catch snowflakes of its own.
Yan Xue’s eyes curved. "Not at all." The next second, she was pulled onto his bicycle. "Let me show you the new system I just finished."
Despite being parents to two six- or seven-year-old children, they acted like a young couple newly in love, braving the snow on New Year’s Eve to rush to the machinery factory.
When they knocked on the guardhouse door, the night watchman was baffled. "Engineer Qi, did you forget something?" It took him a moment to come out and open the gate.
Qi Fang didn’t offer an explanation, just grunted in affirmation before riding straight to his workshop.
The vast factory lay silent, its only light coming from the guardhouse. Qi Fang dismounted and, without hesitation, took Yan Xue’s hand.
Even through thick gloves, she could feel the firmness of his grip as he led her inside.
"I finished this thing two months ago," he said. "Been tweaking and testing it. Just got it working properly—let me show you."
After retrieving the parts he needed, he paused to cup her face and kiss her. "Won’t take long."
His peach-blossom eyes lingered on her for a moment before he turned away, swiftly mounting the machine to begin his work.
Yan Xue wondered if this was how he had been at seventeen or eighteen—outwardly reserved, but burning with quiet passion inside.
When he’d said he wanted her to see his work, it reminded her of Jigang proudly showing her his exam results.
Lost in thought, she barely noticed the passage of time before Qi Fang finished, washed his hands, changed out of his work clothes, and swept her up into his arms.
Tall and long-legged, he carried her effortlessly to the machine and set her down before climbing up beside her.
Yan Xue immediately noticed the hydraulic system—compact, even more so than the one Wu Xingde had designed.
Though she didn’t fully understand the mechanics, she could tell some components had been streamlined. She turned to him. "Is it completely finished?"
"Mm. Just needs long-term testing now." He rested a hand on the controls. "Want to take it for a spin?"
For some reason, Yan Xue thought of those scenes in novels and dramas where suave men impress women with luxury cars. Too bad her Qi Fang was offering a tractor instead.
Still, none of those wealthy playboys could say, "I built the system in this." She couldn’t help laughing. "Sure."
Qi Fang might not be one for grand romantic gestures, but on that night leading into 1976, she became the first to share in his achievement.
By the time they returned home at sunrise, Qi Fang had reverted to his usual aloof demeanor, as if he hadn’t dragged her out in the middle of the night to see his new system.
But Yan Xue knew—he had everything prepared, waiting only for the right moment. And though he didn’t realize it, that moment was drawing closer.
After the New Year’s timber harvest, the Jiangcheng Forestry Bureau, usually at the bottom of the rankings, unexpectedly surged to first place, leaving many stunned.
When they received the "Advanced Unit" award from the provincial government, the bureau’s secretary finally held his head high, free from the frustration of past years.
Over in Changshan County, Secretary Tang was also in high spirits. After years in his position, he was finally being promoted to the city.
He’d actually expected Qu Mingli to be the one moving up, but instead, Qu had only risen from bureau chief to secretary.
Then again, Qu Mingli seemed to bring luck to his superiors—or maybe it was Yan Xue and Qi Fang, who followed him, that brought success wherever they went.
The former head of their forestry station had already been promoted to bureau chief, Qu Mingli had taken over as county secretary, and Zhuang Qixiang had become the top official in Liuhu.
Now, with Secretary Tang’s departure, the pattern seemed even clearer. He couldn’t help wondering if someone might try to meddle with the cultivation center’s management after he left.
Since much of his political success was tied to Yan Xue and her husband, he made sure to drop a hint to Qu Mingli before leaving.
Qu Mingli understood. His first act as secretary was to convene a meeting to discuss making Yan Xue’s interim manager position permanent.
Predictably, objections arose—all the usual excuses. Yan Xue was simply too young.
At just twenty-five, with only seven years of work experience, she wouldn’t qualify for a leadership role in any other organization.
Had Qu Mingli not insisted back then—and had the mushroom cultivation not depended on her—she might never have become deputy manager in the first place.
Now, less than four years later, they wanted to promote her to manager? Zhuang Qixiang had served as section chief for years before being transferred to the center.
Some even suggested bringing in a seasoned veteran to oversee the "reckless youngsters" and prevent problems.
Qu Mingli countered immediately: Could anyone else achieve what Yan Xue had, developing the center so dramatically in just two years?
Zhuang Qixiang had been gone nearly two years—wasn’t it obvious by now whether Yan Xue could manage the center?
When the opposition persisted, Qu Mingli added coolly, "If anyone’s willing to stake their career on it, I’ll send them over."
Silence fell. Some might privately believe they could do better, but a military order was no joke. What if luck wasn’t on their side? What if they were set up?
As the room stayed quiet, Qu Mingli took a sip of water. "If you’re still unsure, we could consult the township forestry bureaus. They’re the ones buying the spores and growing the mushrooms—they’ve dealt with the center more than we have."
No one replied. What was the point? Yan Xue was from Chengshui, Zhuang Qixiang from the cultivation center, and Donggou wouldn’t want to cross her either.
After all, the most technically skilled individuals currently were either Yan Xue herself or those she had brought over from Chengshui. Who would they turn to if they pissed them off?
So there was nothing more to say—Yan Xue’s promotion to manager was settled just like that. The bureau only symbolically sent a deputy manager to the center, one who didn’t even handle real work.
Once the decision was made, the bureau staff also came to their senses. This new secretary wasn’t like Secretary Tang, who would drag things out and muddle through.
Moreover, he liked people who got things done. He didn’t care about age or seniority, only ability. Working under him required full focus.
In any case, Yan Xue could finally officially move into the manager’s office. When she went to the bureau to submit her documents, she also took the opportunity to update her education records.
“Graduated from high school?” Qu Mingli was a little surprised. The last time he helped Yan Xue transfer to the county, she only had a middle school education.
“Yeah.” At the mention of this, Yan Xue’s eyes softened. “I graduated last year. I took all the required exams.”
The high school textbooks in this era were quite different from those in her past life, and Qi Fang had even tutored her for a while.
Qu Mingli didn’t know the full story, but he admired ambitious young people. “Good. Once the center stabilizes in a couple of years, you could go to university.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Yan Xue smiled brightly, though the university she had in mind was probably different from what Qu Mingli imagined.
Still, getting her high school diploma brought her one step closer to making up for past regrets—and one step closer to her dreams.
Unexpectedly, good news didn’t stop there. Guo Chang'an, after years of hybridization experiments, had actually developed a new strain of fungus with higher yields and thicker flesh.
Last year, when they were cultivating it in the lab, they could already see promising signs. This year, they tested it using both bottle cultivation and log cultivation, and both methods produced higher yields than the original strain.
“I’ll contact Chengshui and arrange for a trial planting there next year,” Yan Xue said after carefully examining and tasting the samples.
Even though Zhuang Qixiang had come from the cultivation center, in terms of closeness, Chengshui had stronger ties with them.
After all, Yan Xue had started her career in Chengshui, and the current state of Chengshui’s wood ear cultivation was largely due to her efforts. They trusted her more.
Besides, the situation in Liu Lake was far more complicated than in Chengshui. Even if she approached Zhuang Qixiang, the people in the forestry stations might not be willing to cooperate.
Sure enough, as soon as Yan Xue asked, Chengshui immediately agreed and even inquired how many bottles she wanted to test and if there were any special instructions.
“Let’s start with 1,000 bottles. If we plant too few, the data might not be accurate enough.”
The more samples, the better—but 1,000 bottles was already close to the annual planting volume of a small forestry station. She didn’t want them taking unnecessary risks for nothing.
Yan Xue told them, “We’ll provide this batch of fungal strains for free, but we need detailed and accurate data in return.”
The cost of giving them away was only a few hundred yuan, but if the product was truly good, they’d recoup the loss quickly.
Besides, artificial wood ear cultivation had been successfully achieved in labs as early as the 1950s. They couldn’t remain the sole producers forever.
And when competitors eventually emerged, more advanced technology and superior strains would be the key to staying ahead.
Yan Xue was thinking about the long-term future, but Chengshui saw it as yet another example of her thoughtfulness.
Given her history with Chengshui, they would have helped her test the strains even if she charged full price. But she offered them for free right from the start.
Who wouldn’t feel good about that? Which forestry station wouldn’t jump at the chance to help? Of course, they’d also make sure to record the data meticulously.
No wonder she had been transferred to the county so early and was now, at such a young age, the head of the cultivation center.
Once Chengshui spread the word, several forestry stations expressed interest, and in the end, they even had to compete for the opportunity.
When Chengshui’s new secretary called Yan Xue to report this, he couldn’t help but think, upon seeing Lang Zhongting, that the old man had really lucked out.
Yan Xue had barely hung up when Qu Mingli called. “An inspection team is coming down from above?”
“Yes.” Qu Mingli hinted, “They’re touring our province to inspect revolutionary conditions and the study of revolutionary spirit.”
Yan Xue immediately understood which faction they belonged to. Without needing further explanation from Qu Mingli, she thanked him and hung up.
After the call, she reminded everyone at the center to clean the portraits and quotations thoroughly—the inspection team was coming. Soon, everyone got the message.
Though things hadn’t been as intense in recent years, they had all lived through that era and knew how to handle these situations. They hurried back to their offices to check everything, brushing up on required recitations as well.
Yan Xue also meticulously inspected her own office. Out of caution, she rarely wrote anything down except for technical matters.
Once she confirmed her office was clean, she went home and told Qi Fang about it, checking the house together with him.
“The inspection team will probably visit your factory too. Is everything okay there?” she asked quietly at night when no one else was around.
Qi Fang immediately sensed something was off. Yan Xue was being unusually cautious. “Is there a problem with this inspection team?”
It wasn’t that there was a problem—it was just that the timing was a little too coincidental, right in this final month. Yan Xue wanted to be extra careful.
But she couldn’t explain it to Qi Fang, so she just met his gaze and said, “I just think the more careful we are, the safer we’ll be.”
It wasn’t a very convincing argument, especially for someone like Qi Fang, who made his own judgments and didn’t just follow others blindly.
Yet after silently studying her for a long moment, he didn’t press further. “Then I’ll take care of anything that needs handling.”
He chose to trust her without question. Hearing this, Yan Xue felt something stir in her chest—something soft and aching.
Noticing the shift in her expression, Qi Fang even patted her head. “We should send the jewelry and toys away too, back to the forestry station.”
No matter how thorough the inspection team was, they wouldn’t go all the way to the remote forestry station to search random homes.
Yan Xue nodded, looked at him for a moment, then wrapped her arms around him. “Everything will be fine.”
Soon, the items were packed into an ordinary bag and entrusted to Zhou Wenhui to take back to Jinchuan. Huang Fengying would hide them somewhere.
Yan Xue even opened the bag in front of Zhou Wenhui to show it contained nothing dangerous. Zhou Wenhui didn’t ask questions, just took the opportunity to visit her in-laws with her child.
A few days after her return, the inspection team arrived. Yan Xue got the call from the bureau immediately, instructing her to prepare for their arrival.
By the time they came, the center had been scrubbed inside and out. Yan Xue was in the middle of weighing, bagging, and recording the sun-dried wood ears with her team.
From a distance, Qu Mingli's voice could be heard clearly: "In industry, learn from Daqing; in agriculture, learn from Dazhai. Our bureau has also been striving to build socialism with greater, faster, better, and more economical results. Researching and promoting the artificial cultivation of wood ear mushrooms is one such initiative, and we’ve already seen promising results."
Someone seemed to ask a question, to which he replied with a laugh, "Yes, the stir-fried wood ears served in the canteen at noon were grown by us. They’ve greatly enriched the local residents' dining tables."
Yan Xue set aside her work and stepped out to greet them. As she looked up, her eyes met a refined face framed by glasses, and her heart sank. It felt like something she had long anticipated had finally arrived.
Meanwhile, the man listened as Qu Mingli introduced her: "This is Comrade Yan Xue, the head of our Wood Ear Fungus Cultivation Center. The artificial cultivation of wood ears was her discovery and initiative." Behind the lenses, his eyes cooled slightly.
So, it was her discovery and promotion? And she was even the head of the Wood Ear Fungus Cultivation Center in Changshan County.
It seemed he had underestimated her before…
