Chapter 46: Say Goodbye to the Past

Factory Director Hu: "No money needed. It is our honor if Comrade Cheng Shi is willing to live here."

Cheng Shi: "That won't do. Rent must be paid. Otherwise, I am afraid people might start gossiping later."

Factory Director Hu: "Then let's make it ten yuan a month. It's just a vacant house anyway."

At a single glance, it was obvious this apartment had been specially prepared for him.

The windows and doors had just been given a fresh coat of paint, and the walls had been newly whitewashed.

Even the glass panes were wiped spotless.

Cheng Shi opened his mouth to say something else.

Yu Dadong pressed a heavy hand down on his shoulder: "Stop overthinking it. The factory director is giving it to you, so just take it and live here."

Factory Director Hu said, "Comrade Cheng Shi, I know you are a man destined for great things in the future. Just think of this as an investment in you. Once your enterprise grows and prospers, you can simply lend us a hand if we ever run into difficulties."

Cheng Shi sighed inwardly: It is no wonder she managed to become the only female factory director in Xiangdong City.

Although the textile factory was much smaller in scale compared to the machinery and automobile plants, her vision, magnanimity, and breadth of mind far surpassed those two factory directors.

Moreover, settling down at the textile factory for now was the best possible choice for him.

Cheng Shi: "That may be true, but I don't want to take advantage of anyone."

Factory Director Hu: "How could this be taking advantage? Just think about it. With a single spinning machine, you saved us tens of thousands of yuan—more than enough to buy this house outright. What is this tiny bit of rent compared to that?"

Cheng Shi accepted the keys: "Very well. Then I will respectfully accept your kind arrangement."

Yu Dadong was beyond thrilled, patting Cheng Shi on the shoulder: "Ah, buddy, it's just fantastic that you're moving in here."

Though it had only been a few days, he already felt as though he and Cheng Shi were brothers who had shared life-and-death experiences.

Cheng Shi winced, drawing a sharp breath: "Whoa, take it easy! Are you trying to shatter me with those bear paws of yours?"

Yu Dadong: "When are you moving? We'll come and help."

Cheng Shi: "I need to go back and discuss it with my parents."

Yu Dadong: "Alright, just give the factory a call and I'll bring some people to help. I have a tricycle."

Factory Director Hu: "Take the factory's small van. You can haul everything back in a single trip and save Comrade Cheng Shi some time."

By the time he returned home, it was already lunchtime.

Cheng Juan had also come back after receiving a phone call from Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi told them all about the arrangement.

Cheng Yongjin sat in silence for a long time.

A myriad of complex emotions churned within his heart.

Although he knew that Liu Jianshe could no longer tolerate them, and that Cheng Shi was no mere fish in a pond, but a roc destined to soar into the vast sky one day,

he knew they would have to move sooner or later.

Yet he had given the best years of his life to the machinery factory.

Remaining there was a matter of loyalty and sentimentality toward the past.

Once he left, those ties would be severed completely.

Cheng Shi said, "Dad, I know you are reluctant to part with those old colleagues of yours, but the textile factory is only a few stops away from the machinery factory anyway. Whenever you want to come back for a visit, you can do so at any time."

Cheng Yongjin nodded: "Alright."

Cheng Juan: "Dad, our lives are getting better and better. You should be happy."

Cheng Shi added, "That's right, things will only improve from here on out. Our living conditions will keep getting better."

Only then did a smile finally appear on Cheng Yongjin's face.

Cheng Shi placed a phone call to the textile factory.

True to her word, the textile factory dispatched a small delivery van.

Pitiably, all the shabby belongings of the Cheng family—including their furniture, pots, pans, clothes, and even the lathe—failed to fill up the back of that small van.

Cheng Shi even threw away some of the glass jars and aluminum cans that Cai Aiping had painstakingly accumulated over time.

Cai Aiping's heart ached so much she wanted to fish them back out.

However, Cheng Shi told her: "Before long, I'll be the chairman of a company. Having the house cluttered with all this junk looks far too cheap."

Hearing that, she had no choice but to let it go.

Some of the neighbors came downstairs to see them off and lend a hand.

Others maintained a detached, indifferent attitude.

The cat named Caramel kept rubbing against Cheng Shi's ankles.

With Mo Xiaoxi away from home these past few days, it had once again been coming over to bum meals every day and sleep at Cheng Shi's place.

Cheng Shi didn't have the heart to abandon it.

Otherwise, it would go back to starving for six days and feasting for one.

While the summer weather was still manageable, if it were chased out during the freezing winter in Xiangdong City when temperatures dropped several degrees below zero, it might very well freeze to death.

He casually picked up Caramel, tucked it into his shoulder bag, and climbed into the rear cargo bed along with Cheng Yongjin.

He had Cai Aiping and Cheng Juan sit in the passenger cab.

He caught sight of Qian Xiaoying standing on the second-floor balcony, but chose to ignore her entirely.

To be finally rid of her harassment was precisely what he wished for most.

Once the truck started moving, Cheng Yongjin raised his head to gaze at the receding, dilapidated reinforced-concrete red-brick building, along with the familiar factory workshops, boundary walls, and trees, his eyes once again welling up with tears.

When he first started working at the machinery factory, he had been around Cheng Shi's age.

In the blink of an eye, over twenty years had slipped away, and now he was leaving just like this, without any warning.

Cheng Shi gently patted the back of Cheng Yongjin's hand: "Dad, don't be sad. Someday, I will bring us back."

Though Cheng Yongjin felt it was hardly possible, he understood that Cheng Shi was merely trying to comfort him, and nodded: "Alright."

At that moment, however, boundless ambition surged within Cheng Shi's heart, and a couplet flashed through his mind: "When the roc rides the wind on a single day, it soars ninety thousand li straight up into the firmament."

Yu Dadong and the others finished moving all their possessions in just two trips.

Mostly because they were poor and owned very few belongings.

Cheng Shi busied himself downstairs, anchoring the lathe securely to the ground.

With both doors of the current workshop opened up, a gentle cross breeze drifted through.

Even without air conditioning, it felt comfortably cool.

Once Yu Dadong and his crew finished moving everything, they gathered around in a circle to watch Cheng Shi work.

Yu Dadong marveled, "I can see you're even younger than me, but where on earth did you learn all these skills?"

Cheng Shi smiled: "I taught myself by reading books."

Yu Dadong: "I admire people who are good at studying more than anything else. Whenever I open a book, my head starts throbbing. Those words just turn into little ants dancing right in front of my eyes."

Cheng Shi: "It certainly is difficult."

Before his rebirth, he had not only had to self-study physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, electromechanics, but English as well.

When he first started, it felt as though there were nails stuck to his stool, and he simply couldn't sit still.

Later on, after forming the habit of studying for an hour every day, drop by drop making an ocean, he unconsciously finished learning the entire high school curriculum.

Then he sneaked into university lectures and completed the college coursework as well.

The professors back then were all wonderful.

As long as someone genuinely wanted to listen in on a lecture, regardless of their background or identity, the professors generally wouldn't drive them away.

That evening, Cheng Yongjin and Cai Aiping prepared a table full of dishes to treat everyone who had helped with the move.

That night, lying in his own private bedroom, Cheng Shi felt even happier than when he would later move into a grand villa.

The significance of obtaining certain things earlier versus later, as well as the emotional value they provided, could be completely different.

Caramel let out a soft meow, curled up beside his pillow, and began to purr rhythmically.

Cheng Shi stroked it gently: "Go to sleep. Today was just too busy, I hardly had time to look after you."

The very next day, Cheng Shi went out to update the address on his business license and collected the newly issued document.

He had a plaque made and hung it proudly above the entrance. It read: "Shiyun Machinery and Electronics Co., Ltd."

Yu Dadong bought an extra-long string of firecrackers and set them off right outside the storefront. Factory Director Hu even thoughtfully sent over several flower baskets, making Cheng Shi's establishment look all the more grand and impressive.