Jin Xiu

Jin Xiu

Li Tie

Chunfeng Literature and Art Publishing House

December 2021

45.00 （CNY）

The book tells the story of the workers of an old chemical factory who worked diligently and devotedly to make positive contributions to the chemical industry of New China.

Li Tie

Li Tie was born in the 1960s. His works have been selected multiple times in the annual list of novels of the Chinese Fiction Institution and the latest Chinese literary works of Beijing Literature. Many of his works have been adapted into films and television dramas.

After work， Zhang Dahe waited at the gate of the factory for Yan Zhenbang as appointed. Zhang Dahe searched the thronged crowd out of the gate with his eyes wide open， afraid of missing the target. Constantly， there were familiar people greeting him， asking whom he was waiting for. “Waiting for Director Yan，” he said. Hearing his answer， they always appeared surprised. He knew the reason. Yan Zhenbang， though the director of the factory， was not very well-liked. People admired his skills and techniques but tended to keep a distance from him personally. He was priggish and manipulative， having a passion for giving lectures and sticking his finger in other people’s businesses. No matter whose work he was unsatisfied with， ordinary employees or cadres， he would reprimand them like a teacher telling off his students， plus give some empty talks that they might not understand. He was domineering to everyone， even Secretary Niu Hongbo and Director Ao Hongwei. He was arrogant and simple， and always too blunt and straightforward. From this point of view， Zhang Dahe really had some similarities with him. Perhaps that was why Yan Zhenbang asked him for a drink in the first place.

With fewer and fewer people coming out from the gate， he finally saw Yan Zhenbang. Yan Zhenbang was neatly dressed， carrying a leather bag in his hand， an attire distinctly different from other workers. Following Yan Zhenbang， Zhang Dahe arrived at the tavern next to the Fairview Factory. After ordering pork， peanuts， mixed vegetables， and two pots （a small glass pouring jar） of 60-degree Baijiu， the two began to drink. Knowing the status of the two in the Jin Xiu Factory， Old Bao， the owner of the tavern， dared not snub， serving the wine with the best quality and the dishes with added portions. After drinking up three shots in a row， Zhang Dahe could not help but ask， “Director Yan， why invite me to drink？” Yan Zhenbang laughed， “Isn’t it lonely to have no one to talk to？”

Zhang Dahe said， “How Come？ You are the deputy director and chief engineer; loads of people want to talk to you！” “Yes， loads，” Yan Zhenbang said， “but there isn’t much to say to someone who doesn’t understand me. I have a belly full of words but no one to talk to.” Zhang Dahe said， “Then speak. I am willing to listen.” “I have a question for you first，” Yan Zhenbang said， “I heard that you have an idea to make Jin Xiu a large and efficient factory.” Zhang Dahe was stunned for a moment. He did talk to some people about his ideal， but that was not his original words. He wanted to make the Jin Xiu Factory the same as the Refinery Plant， a factory focused on technology and regulations. The refinery was run by the Japanese， while the country owns Jin Xiu， or the people in other words， so to say that he wanted to make a state-run factory like the one run by the Japanese was inappropriate. For that， Yan Zhenbang’s tampering with his original words was well-intentioned. Thinking of this， Zhang Dahe nodded. Yes， our Jin Xiu now has many deficiencies; I am anxious and can’t wait to make our factory strong as soon as possible. Great minds think alike， Yan Zhenbang said; I also have this vision， but every time I want to do so， there is resistance. He then emptied his shot with a tilt of the head.

Zhang Dahe said， “Secretary Niu has more ambitious ideals， and he should support you.” “I know he is a good man，” Yan Zhenbang said， “he loves talent， and he can use people who are capable， and he has ambitious ideals. But， an ideal too big is not a good thing.” “What do you mean？” Zhang Dahe asked， “It’s like drawing a big wagon with small horses.” Yan Zhenbang said， “No， drawing a small wagon with big horses is more accurate. Now our factory has more than 3，000 workers， and Secretary Niu proposed at the factory meeting to expand to 8，000. However the size of the factory does not depend on the number of workers but on the output value and economic efficiency. I raised objections， but Secretary Niu ignored me， everyone ignored me， so my words were only a few bubbles in the big wind and waves.” Zhang Dahe said， “If you think your words are reasonable， you can persuade them to change their minds.” Yan Zhenbang just shook his head and drank.

Zhang Dahe knew that among the leading cadres of the factory， Yan Zhenbang’s influence and support is the weakest， which was due to his stern appearance and straightforward way of speaking， but also had something to do with his overbearing manner. Zhang Dahe did not agree with everything he said either. For example， on the issue of the development of Jin Xiu， Zhang Dahe held a different opinion from his-if Jin Xiu really could have 8，000 workers， how tremendous would that be？

The two said a lot and drank a lot. By the time they got out of the tavern， they were both staggering.

Zhang Dahe was working by the furnace when Liu Yinghua ran over at a trot， shouting， “Zhang Dahe， there is a good news for you，” attracting the attention of the whole crew. Liu Yinghua wiped the sweat off her forehead with her arm， panting and saying， “Zhang Dahe， you have finally been named a national model worker.” Zhang Dahe， in a trance， said without thinking， “So what？” Liu Yinghua said， “You are the first national model worker in our factory; this honor does not belong to you alone; it belongs to our whole workshop， our whole factory， do you understand？ It belongs to our whole factory.” The workshop was quiet for a moment， then everyone around him began to applaud.

Zhang Dahe felt his face getting hot. He subconsciously looked to Jiang Lianzi behind him， feeling an unspeakable wave of guilt rolling over his heart.

Zhang Dahe was going to Beijing to attend the commendation conference. The news soon spread throughout the plant of Jin Xiu Factory， the workers’ residential area， and Guhe district. People were running around telling each other that Zhang Dahe of the Jin Xiu Factory had become a national model worker. When saying this， they all appeared joyful， feeling that they had also shared in the glory of the national model worker. Zhang Dahe has also changed， both externally and internally. The first external change was his appearance. Usually， he did not love to cut his hair， often letting the hair grow past. But now his hair was cut， his sideburns were short， and his hair was neatly combed to the right， black and greasy， seemed to be waxed， and his beard was cleanly shaved， with two cheeks smooth， and his labor cloth overalls were washed to be whitish. People looked at him in amazement， feeling that he had changed into a different person. For this， Niu Hongbo specifically approached him， saying that he should not forget his origin because he became a national model worker and should consistently maintain a good style of honesty and simplicity. Zhang Dahe laughed and said， “I won’t forget my origin at any time， I want to clean myself up to build an image for the workers， and I don’t want to disgrace the Jin Xiu Factory.” Niu Hongbo patted his shoulder， nodded， and said， “I’m relieved to have you say that.”

The day Zhang Dahe left for Beijing， many people went to the train station to see him off. There were even people holding a banner reading “Farewell to Model Worker Zhang Dahe off to Beijing.” As Zhang Dahe boarded the train， his nose suddenly soured， and he almost shed tears.

Gu Xiaoxian was squeezed among the people sending him off， and she tried to stay behind. Every time the crowd pushed her to the front， she would actively step back. Throughout the course， she kept avoiding Zhang Dahe’s attention， trying her best not to let him discover her presence. She knew that compared to the smiling people， her face did not look good. She secretly said， “Forget the past. Zhang Dahe no longer has a relationship with you， you have come to send him off just as an ordinary worker to sending a model worker to Beijing to be honored.”