1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is time for the steel mill to pay wages.

Qin Huairu happily rushed to the steel mill early in the morning. She thought that after receiving her salary today, she would be able to buy food for next month. With enough food, she would feel at ease.

As for the ten dollars owed to the Li family, sorry, she subconsciously ignored it.

Because she was on maternity leave, she didn't have to wait until the end of the day to collect her salary with everyone else in the factory. Besides, she really didn't want to meet her colleagues in the workshop.

A few days ago, the news that she owed Li Dajiang money spread all over the city, making her extremely embarrassed. In this factory, it seemed that she could feel someone pointing fingers at her wherever she went.

With a glimmer of hope in her heart, she hurried to the finance office where salaries were paid.

She thought that if she took her salary quietly, she wouldn't have to face the cold eyes of her colleagues in the workshop.

The room was filled with a mixed smell of paper and ink. A few rays of sunlight shone through the gaps in the window onto the ground, and dust danced in the light and shadow.

Qin Huairu took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and whispered to the middle-aged female accountant in charge of paying wages: "Comrade, I'm Qin Huairu from the third workshop, here to collect my wages."

Upon hearing this, the accountant slowly raised his head and looked Qin Huairu up and down.

His eyes revealed undisguised contempt, his mouth slightly raised, and he said in a sarcastic tone: "Are you Qin Huairu? I can't believe that you are so young, but you do things so dishonestly. People helped you out of kindness and paid for your hospitalization, but you took the rest of the money. Tsk, you are so shameless."

Qin Huairu suddenly felt a burning sensation on her face, as if she had been slapped hard in the face.

She never expected that the matter had spread to the factory.

She opened her mouth and wanted to explain the difficult situation at home, but when she looked up, in addition to the accountant in front of her, there were three other staff members who were looking at her intentionally or unintentionally. Their eyes were full of contempt and disdain, like a sharp blade, piercing her body to pieces.

Qin Huairu was annoyed, her neck stiffened, and she mustered up the courage to say, "Comrade, I'm here to collect my salary, please don't say irrelevant things."

She suppressed her inner panic and tried to make her tone sound less harsh.

After all, this is the finance office, and she really doesn't want to offend anyone.

However, Qin Huairu's reckless attitude completely angered the staff who were distributing salaries.

The accountant sneered, "Oh, this is the first time I've seen someone so shameless. You chose this time to collect your salary. I'm afraid you're afraid that others will know and you don't want to pay back Li Dajiang, right?"

Don't you care about your face? Humph, I won't let you have your way!

She rolled her eyes at Qin Huairu and deliberately made things difficult for her: "The factory has a rule that all wages can only be paid after get off work. Comrade Qin Huairu, you'd better come back after get off work."

Her voice echoed in the quiet finance office, with a hint of revengeful pleasure, as if she had seen the embarrassing scene when Qin Huairu received her salary in the afternoon.

Qin Huairu was extremely anxious when she heard this.

If she waited until after get off work when all the workers in the workshop gathered together, the fact that she owed Li Dajiang ten yuan would surely become the focus of everyone's discussion, and she would really not be able to hold her head up in this factory.

She quickly lowered her posture and tried to put on a pitiful look, tears welling up in her eyes: "Comrade, please be kind. My child is still young at home, and I came out when he was asleep. It's really inconvenient to go back and forth again, so please let me take care of him!"

The accountant had heard that Qin Huairu was used to playing pitiful, and now seeing it with his own eyes, his disgust was even greater: "Oh, it's true, but I advise you to go back quickly. The factory rules are here, and I can't be partial to corruption. Come on time at 5 o'clock in the evening."

After saying that, he turned around and complained to the other staff in the finance office: "Humph, it's all because of some people who don't know the rules. They delayed my calculation of material costs. If you don't know what's good for you and refuse to leave, don't blame me for chasing you away with a broom."

Qin Huairu knew that she would not get what she wanted this time. All her hopes were shattered in an instant and she turned around and walked out in despair.

Her footsteps were heavy and slow, as if the whole world had become dark and dim.

As soon as I walked to the door, I happened to run into Li Dahe, Li Dahu and Li Xinchuang who had just returned from outside.

When Li Dahe and Li Xinchuang saw Qin Huairu, they frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashed in their eyes, and they deliberately turned sideways to avoid her.

Only Li Dahu noticed Qin Huairu's low mood at a glance.

At that moment, the long-dormant love in his heart was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples.

After Li Dahe and Li Xin returned to the office, Li Dahu lied that he was going to the toilet, turned around and quickly chased in the direction Qin Huairu left.

"Huai Ru, Huai Ru, wait for me, I have something to tell you."

Li Dahu's voice echoed in the corridor with a hint of urgency.

Qin Huairu stopped when she heard the voice, turned around and saw that it was Li Dahu, and a complex emotion surged in her heart.

"Brother Dahu, do you have something to talk to me about?"

She asked softly, with a hint of confusion and expectation in her eyes.

Li Dahu looked at Qin Huairu with mixed feelings.

He knew very well that Qin Huairu was wrong to not pay back the money she owed, but when he saw how pitiful she looked at this moment, the anger in his heart inexplicably dissipated, and was replaced by endless pity and concern.

"What happened to you just now? You looked depressed. Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Qin Huairu didn't want to mention what happened in the finance office just now, but looking at Li Dahu's eyes full of concern, her eyes became sore and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Brother Dahu, I'm fine."

Having said that, the bean-sized tears rolled down her cheeks and fell to the ground with a plop.

Seeing this, Li Dahu felt distressed, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes were full of anxiety and helplessness.

He wanted to reach out and wipe away Qin Huairu's tears, but in public, he held back.

He just stood there quietly, his eyes fixed on Qin Huairu, as if she was the only one left in the whole world.

The two of them just looked at each other silently, and for a moment, a subtle atmosphere filled the air.

After a long while, Li Dahu broke the silence: "Don't cry, if you encounter difficulties in the future, you can come to me, I will do my best to help you."

His voice was low and gentle, with a barely perceptible firmness.

Li Dahu knew very well that he already had a family and there were certain boundaries that could not be crossed, but at this moment, the only thing in his heart was the crying woman in front of him.

After hearing what Li Dahu said, Qin Huairu felt a warm feeling in her heart, as if she saw a ray of light in the darkness.

"Brother Da Hu, thank you, you are still good to me."

Her voice was choked with sobs and her eyes were full of gratitude.

When Li Dahu heard this, his heart was shocked, as if he had returned to the time when he and Qin Huairu were childhood sweethearts.

At that time, they were carefree, accompanied each other, and had only longing and expectations for the future in their hearts.

But a gust of cold wind blew, and Li Dahu suddenly woke up.

They are no longer the same as they were back then. They each have their own families and bear different responsibilities and obligations.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

I thought to myself: Huairu, I still can't bear to see you being wronged.