Master Craftsmen: Rising Since 1959

Chapter 28 One foot in Tsinghua University

When it came to money, Chen Weiguo calculated the wages he had saved up over this period.

He had more than 500 yuan in his hand before he went to school. During the three months he was in school, the factory paid him his wages without missing a penny. Every month, 76 yuan was deposited into his salary card on time.

I don't have many expenses at school. The cafeteria provides subsidies, so I don't spend much on meals. After half a year, I have almost 800 yuan in my pocket.

This amount is quite good for an ordinary worker. Most people only earn thirty or forty yuan a month, and at most they can save a hundred yuan a year. The eight hundred yuan he has is enough to buy several bicycles.

With some spare money in hand, Chen Weiguo thought about tidying up his home.

This old house hasn't been renovated for many years; the plaster on the walls is peeling off in patches, and the windows are drafty.

Chen Weihong usually has to wrap herself in a cotton-padded coat when she does her homework at home alone, because her hands are so cold that she can't hold the pen.

We got right to it and started working on it over the next few days.

Chen Weiguo bought lime and paste from the supply and marketing cooperative, and also found some old newspapers. He scraped off all the peeling paint from the wall and applied a new layer of putty.

After it dried, I brushed it twice with lime water, and the wall became clean and white, just like a newly built house.

The window gaps were all stuffed with old strips of cloth, and another layer of window paper was pasted on. The door curtain was also replaced with a new one; the old ones were so torn they looked like fishing nets and couldn't block out the wind at all.

He took the old, stiff cotton quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed) and had it fluffed. The old man who fluffed cotton was quite skilled; after he finished, it became much fluffier and softer to the touch.

Once all the work was done, I stood in the middle of the house and looked around. The whole house looked completely different.

The walls were clean and white, the windows were sealed, and the bedding on the kang (a heated brick bed) was soft and fluffy. Although it was still the same three east wing rooms, the interior looked like a completely different home.

Chen Weihong walked around the house several times, touching this and looking at that, and said excitedly, "Brother, our house looks brand new, I hardly recognize it."

When the neighbors heard that he was renovating his house, they all came over to visit.

Aunt Wang was the first to arrive. She looked at the wall several times after entering the door, then walked to the window and pushed it open, saying, "Weiguo, you've really learned this skill! You've painted this wall much better than my husband. I'll have your uncle learn from you tomorrow."

Several other aunties and older women gathered around, praising the house one after another, saying that it looked so much better after being tidied up, and that Weiguo was a really good thrifty kid.

Chen Weiguo laughed and said, "I just messed around with it myself. Anyway, I was just killing time during the holidays."

After tidying up the house, the next step is to prepare for the New Year.

Chen Weiguo planned to make the most of this year and not settle for less.

He went to the market several times and bought a whole pig's hind leg. The pig's hind leg was heavy in his hand, and the fat was as thick as a finger. It was obviously genuine local pork.

I bought another ten catties of wheat flour, five catties of rice, and a large amount of cabbage, radish, and vermicelli. I also replenished all the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Passing by the supply and marketing cooperative, he saw that they were selling candy, so he bought half a pound of fruit candy and also bought a few feet of floral fabric for his sister to make her a new dress.

On New Year's Eve, Chen Weiguo started preparing at noon. He stewed a pot of braised pork, cutting the pork into neat squares. He stir-fried the pork until golden brown, then added soy sauce and caramel coloring and simmered it for more than half an hour. The whole house was filled with the aroma of meat.

I steamed another fish and made two trays of white flour dumplings. The filling was pork and cabbage, and the white flour wrappers were rolled out very thinly. When they were cooked, each one looked like a small ingot.

Chen Weihong assisted from the side, occasionally sneaking a piece of freshly cooked braised pork, scalding it so much she grimaced but still couldn't bear to spit it out.

In the evening, the brother and sister sat at the table, which was set with four dishes and a bowl of dumplings, a feast even more lavish than the factory canteen's New Year celebrations.

Chen Weihong picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's: "Brother, our family had a really good New Year this year, better than any year before."

Chen Weiguo said confidently, "Every year will be better than this year, do you believe me?"

Chen Weihong nodded vigorously.

After the New Year, Chen Weiguo and his sister began visiting each household to offer New Year's greetings.

Our first stop was Guo Dajiang's house. Master Guo lived in a row of red brick bungalows in the family quarters. As soon as we entered, his wife grabbed Chen Weihong and wouldn't let go, praising how beautiful the child was growing up and stuffing peanuts and melon seeds into her hands until they were full.

Guo Dajiang was still the same as always, not saying much, but his smile was impossible to hide. He pulled Chen Weiguo aside and talked to him for a while, asking him if he was keeping up with his studies at school and if anyone was bullying him.

Chen Weiguo briefly recounted the incident involving Deputy Factory Director Liu, and Guo Dajiang snorted, "That Liu fellow was no good; he deserved to leave."

The teacher's wife insisted on stuffing a red envelope into Chen Weihong's pocket. Chen Weiguo tried to push it away a couple of times but couldn't. Guo Dajiang insisted, "It's for your sister, not for you, so stop dawdling."

Chen Weiguo had no choice but to let Chen Weihong accept it.

……

After visiting Zhao Dehai's home as the second stop, the third stop was Professor Zheng's home.

Professor Zheng's house is a small, detached house with many books and boxes of documents piled up in the yard, clearly indicating that he doesn't have time to tidy it up.

Professor Zheng was delighted to see them and personally brewed a pot of tea, then took out half a pack of biscuits for Chen Weihong to eat.

He chatted with Chen Weiguo for a while about the paper. The paper on the dynamic optimization model of cutting tools has been published in the Journal of Mechanical Engineering and will be published in the first issue after the New Year.

Chen Weiguo said excitedly, "That's great, Professor. Once this paper is published, all our efforts over the past year will have been worthwhile."

Professor Zheng nodded and then mentioned something even bigger: "Next semester I won't be taking classes here at the university. A new mechanical engineering research institute has been established at Tsinghua University, right next to Tsinghua Garden. Most of the staff there are Tsinghua students and teachers, and the ministry wants me to go there to lead some research projects."

He paused, looked at Chen Weiguo, and asked, "You're one of my students, and I'd like you to come over too. When you have classes, attend them diligently at school; when you don't have classes, come to the research institute to work and learn with me. Are you willing?"

Huh? Chen Weiguo almost thought he had misheard.

The mechanical research institute near Tsinghua University is full of Tsinghua students. For a student from a vocational high school to be able to enter such a place and do research is practically like having one foot in the door of Tsinghua.

If someone else had made such a request, they wouldn't have even dared to think about it, but when Professor Zheng said it, it was a done deal.

Chen Weiguo nodded quickly: "Yes, of course I'm willing. Thank you, Professor, for giving me this opportunity."

Professor Zheng smiled and said, "This opportunity wasn't given to you by someone else; you earned it yourself."

It was already getting dark when I left Professor Zheng's house.

Chen Weiguo pushed his old-fashioned bicycle and walked with Chen Weihong through the alley. Chen Weihong was overjoyed, clutching three red envelopes in her hand.

"Brother, this year's New Year's visit was so worthwhile, I got three red envelopes!"

Chen Weiguo chuckled and patted her head, thinking to himself that he would have to shuttle between the two places after the New Year. He would attend classes at the university when he had them, and go to the research institute to do research with Professor Zheng when he didn't.

The research institute is full of Tsinghua students. Hanging out with them not only allows you to learn new things, but also helps you build a large network of connections.

This is more important for his future development than publishing another paper.