A foreign city, dear you

This topic is a bit heavy.

The morale of key figures in Tongxin Factory is wavering, which is a very dangerous signal.

Tongxin Factory seemed to be losing its engine and direction.

*

After coming out of the restaurant, Ye Lian and Cao Xueqin invited Han Yumo and Cheng Yufei to go to Jia Yuyuan's house, but Han Yumo and Cheng Yufei said they also wanted to go home.

Ye Lian and Cao Xueqin did not try to keep them, but waved goodbye to them and watched them drive away.

"Let's go too, Cao Lanshan is waiting for dinner." Ye Lian said.

During dinner time, Cao Lanshan refused to come out, saying that it would be better for him to stay home and do some homework. He asked Ye Lian and Cao Xueqin to pack a bag for him when they got home.

Cao Xueqin hummed, looked at the time, and said, "It's late. My son must be starving."

Cao Xueqin was carrying a take-away box, and Ye Lian took Cao Xueqin's arm, and they walked together along Linbao Road towards Jiayuyuan.

Linbao Road is not wide, but both sides of the road are lined with ancient trees with silver leaves that require an adult to hug. The lush treetops create a green "time and space tunnel" above the road, giving pedestrians on the road the illusion of traveling through time.

"What do you think of what Cheng Yufei said tonight?" Ye Lian asked.

"What did he say?"

"He said he had no motivation to visit customers anymore, and he also said he was not willing to be so proactive in the transformation of Tongxin Factory."

"That's understandable. If a person's efforts are not seen, understood, or applauded, but are instead questioned and interrogated, he or she will definitely feel uncomfortable and will easily develop a sense of powerlessness."

"What about you? Do you think so too?"

Cao Xueqin thought for a moment and said, "Sometimes. Especially when I was in so much pain from the kidney stones that night, I also wondered, why should I bear such great pressure?

"The money was shared by everyone, but the pressure was borne by Cheng Yufei and I alone? And someone kept adding to my difficulties? Then, I also felt powerless. It was the first time I felt this powerless."

"Alas, people's hearts are scattered, the building is about to collapse, and the future of Tongxin Factory is worrying."

"It hasn't come to that yet, don't worry about it yet."

"If you and Cheng Yufei both want to give up, what future does Tongxin Factory have?"

"I didn't say I would give up. People's ideas can change. Besides, can you just give up on such a big factory? With so many employees, can you just give up on it?"

……

As they were talking, they arrived at the bottom of Jiayuyuan building and the door of their rented apartment.

They no longer discussed what they had said during the meal, nor did they discuss Tongxin Factory. The fate of Tongxin Factory could only be left to time to answer.

************************

Ye Lian likes Linbao Road very much.

It’s not just because there are big old trees on both sides of Linbao Road, which makes the road look deep, quiet and beautiful;

Also, after leaving Jiayuyuan, walk a few hundred meters to the right along Linbao Road, and you will find Anbao Middle School on your right. Cao Lanshan went to school in this school, so Ye Lian felt that this road was very familiar.

Look, Ye Lian is running on this Linbao Road again.

Ye Lian ran slowly. She was not in a hurry. She didn't need to rush now.

Ye Lian was alone, Cao Xueqin was not with her, as Cao Xueqin had gone to work.

Ye Lian is not going to work now. She has resigned from her job as a cashier at Tongxin Factory.

She resigned for two reasons:

First, she increasingly didn’t want to work with Jian Xiqi;

Second, Cao Lanshan’s high school studies are crucial. Ye Lian wants to provide better logistical services for her son and wants him to eat three meals a day at home to ensure his nutrition and sleep.

Of course, reason two is the main reason.

Because if Ye Lian goes to work at Tongxin Factory, Cao Lanshan can only eat lunch at school, and he will not go home at noon. Even if Ye Lian gets off work late at night, there is no guarantee that Cao Lanshan can have dinner on time.

So, after discussing with Cao Xueqin, Ye Lian resigned and went home. Her cashier job was taken over by a relative of another shareholder.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Ye Lian now wants to go all out to support Cao Lanshan's studies. As for work, let's talk about it three years later.

There will always be a way when the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge. Let's not talk about the future for now.

It is already November and the weather is cold, but Ye Lian is still only wearing a sports short-sleeved shirt.

When I first went out, I was still so cold that I had goose bumps all over my body, but as I ran a little while longer, I no longer felt cold and was no longer afraid of the cold wind blowing in my face.

There is a narrow road between Jiayuyuan and Anbao Middle School. This road intersects with Linbao Road at a T-shape and winds its way to Shahong Sports Park.

As long as you cross this road, you will reach the wide sidewalk on the side of Linbao Road. On the right side of the sidewalk is Anbao Middle School. Through the fence of Anbao Middle School, you can see the school's teaching building and playground.

Ye Lian likes school.

When she sees the school, she recalls her time at Meiying School and Pingcheng Middle School.

Run along Linbao Road for a while and you will reach the east gate of Anbao Middle School.

The East Gate is the closest gate to Jiayuyuan, and Cao Lanshan goes in and out from here when going to and from school.

However, this is not the main gate of Anbao Middle School, and not many students enter and exit here.

After passing the east gate, Linbao Road will turn right.

Ye Lian will also turn right along the road.

As she ran, she would see the south gate of Anbao Middle School.

The South Gate is the main entrance of Anbao Middle School and also the most imposing gate. It has an imposing teaching building, imposing stairs, and the four imposing characters "Anbao Middle School". In addition, there is a huge towering ancient tree at the gate, reflected by the blue sky and white clouds, creating an amazing beauty.

Every time Ye Lian ran here, she would stop to appreciate the scenery, and sometimes she couldn't help but take out her mobile phone to take a few photos.

After passing the South Gate and running for a while, Ye Lian no longer ran along Linbao Road.

She turned right again and ran along another road connected to Linbao Road, and continued to run around Anbao Middle School.

After running a few hundred meters like this, she could see the west gate of Anbao Middle School.

The West Gate is the main entrance and exit gate for Anbao Middle School. It is also closest to the teaching building. It is also the busiest during the morning rush hour and afternoon rush hour.

Ye Lian ran through the west gate.

At this time, the west gate was already very quiet. The children had already entered the campus and were studying in their respective classes.

Faintly, Ye Lian could hear the children reading.

Ye Lian likes to listen to children reading. She feels that it is not only the sound of reading, but also the sound of struggle.

Every child, starting from kindergarten, is heading towards the battlefield of the college entrance examination.

How many times have I gotten up early and gone to bed late, how many times have I recited and memorized, how many times have I stayed up late for tutoring...

It is so hard, but they never give up, never retreat, but move forward bravely and persistently step by step on the road to the college entrance examination.

Kindergarten, primary school, junior high school,

To current high school.

It wasn’t easy, but I finally made it to high school.

High school is the last stop leading to the college entrance examination. You can almost hear the gongs and drums and smell the smoke of gunpowder in the examination hall.

Therefore, every high school student is sharpening his knife to go to the battlefield, fighting, fighting, and fighting again!

This includes Cao Lanshan.

After passing the west gate, on the left side of Anbao Middle School is Shahong Sports Park.

Ye Lian’s running habit is to run around Anbao Middle School first, and then run around Shahong Park a few times.

Ye Lian then crossed the road and ran around Shahong Park.

Shahong Park is a very small park, only slightly larger than the Jinjinghuayuan community garden, and there is a running track on the outer circle of the park.

To make it easier for runners to count their miles, the track is marked with 100 meters, 200 meters, etc. at certain intervals, so one lap is 800 meters.

Every time she ran the first two laps, Ye Lian still remembered the number of laps, but as she ran she became confused and couldn't remember which lap she was in, so she just ran casually.

Even when Ye Lian was running, she would look towards the campus of Anbao Middle School from time to time.

The best children are those at home, and the best school is the one for children.

Although Anbao Middle School is not a very good school in Yancheng, the overall academic atmosphere is still good.

The bell of Kishiba Junior High School rang.

It's one of those nice music ringtones, melodious and inspiring.

The school was very quiet, and there was no noise from children rushing out of the classroom.

Because, starting today, Anbao Middle School will have a two-day midterm exam.

For Cao Lanshan, today is his first serious competition with his classmates since entering high school.

If we go by his high school entrance exam scores when he entered school, Cao Lanshan's results were in the upper middle range. He ranked more than 300th out of more than a thousand people in his grade.

At Anbao Middle School, with such a ranking, there is no hope of getting into any good university, but it is still a close call to an average university.

Cao Lanshan's study process at each stage is also a process in which Ye Lian constantly adjusts her expectations.

By the time they were in high school, Ye Lian's expectation for Cao Lanshan was that, no matter how good or bad things went, as long as he could get into a university and become independent after college, that would be enough.

But after entering high school, the students will undergo another major reshuffle. I wonder if Cao Lanshan can maintain his grades?

At the beginning of the school year, Ye Lian said this to Cao Lanshan:

Son, in high school, studying will be more intense, and the homework will be more and more difficult. Mom can’t help you at all. Even with English, there is a limit to what I can do for you. You can only rely on yourself.

Mom hopes that you can pay more attention to study methods and study efficiency, and avoid staying up late and squeezing out your rest time, which is not worth the loss. You must finish your homework every day in school, and you are not allowed to bring homework home after late study.

It has been more than two months since school started, and Cao Lanshan has never brought homework home after evening study, although sometimes he would delay going home for a while.

Cao Lanshan didn't bring his homework home. Ye Lian didn't know if he had really finished it or not. Was it done well? But she could only believe what Cao Lanshan said: He had finished it, so it was OK.

However, according to Ye Lian's observation, Cao Lanshan is still very serious about his studies.

Every day when he went home for lunch, he would use the time to memorize twenty words online using Ye Lian’s mobile phone.

Every night after coming back from school, he would lie on the sofa for a while to relax, while taking a page of idioms from his notebook.

Neither of these is homework, but tasks he set for himself.

Since he is so self-aware and well-organized, there is no reason not to believe what he says.

In order not to add invisible psychological pressure to Cao Lanshan, every time he came home from school, Ye Lian rarely asked about his studies and always asked him to rest early. Even when they chatted, they only talked about relaxing things in life.

Ye Lian was very nervous and cautious.

But when she looked at Cao Lanshan, she seemed not to be under much pressure.

Cao Lanshan would hum little tunes every night when he returned home.

Although Cao Lanshan gave up practicing the violin in junior high school, he still loves music and likes to listen to songs. Moreover, he can learn them after listening to them a few times. He has collected thousands of songs in Chinese and foreign languages.

Music is a good thing. It can bring people wonderful enjoyment, cultivate their sentiments and relax their mood.

So Ye Lian likes to see Cao Lanshan sing.

For someone who loves singing, nothing will go wrong.

Cao Lanshan also likes to sing while taking a bath. Ye Lian and Cao Xueqian even jokingly call him the "toilet singer."

……

All of these are Ye Lian’s observations and what Ye Lian thinks.

Whether Cao Lanshan really had an easy time studying or he was just too careless is still unknown.

But everything will be clear after the midterm exam.