Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 74 (Part 1)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 74.1 Shen Tiantian let a world shattering cry.
The matter of their marriage inexplicably became their topic of discussion.
All this time, Lin Jingzhe never mentioned anything about his relatives, and the Xiao Family understood this and never pursued this question previously. However marriage was an important milestone of one’s life, so Mother Xiao relented and asked, "Jingzhe, your parents shouldn't have any objections, right?"
Parents...
Lin Jingzhe was at a loss; he still hadn't told Lin Runsheng about this yet.
Before today, he had always regarded the ‘marriage’ mentioned by the Xiao Family as a passing joke. And his parents, whether it was Jiang Qiaqia or Lin Runsheng, could never influence his feelings and way of life. Although he had made up with Lin Runsheng now, he had never announced it, nor had he told anyone about his father’s remarriage. Moreover, their relationship was delicately maintained; not once did he have the cognition to solemnly share his personal life with his father.
Shen Juanying and Lin Runsheng were also well aware of this and never crossed any fine lines. Perhaps they were afraid that it would cause him discomfort, or they may feel that they have no position to interfere. Even the parents of the Gao Family and the Zhou Family often teased and joked about Lin Jingzhe's love life. However the Shen Family never dared to ask anything that was deemed too personal. Matters such as Lin Jingzhe's company, his studies, what he did on the days when he couldn’t make it to their routine dinner, his life back in Liyun Town, how he grew up, and even his current grades... were all taboos that neither would bring up at the dinner table. However, now that Yu Shuyuan mentioned it, Lin Jingzhe suddenly realized that no matter what, he still had to give the couple some indication.
This was a rather complicated situation, and Lin Jingzhe didn't know how to explain it. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "I'll go back and discuss with them."
"Let’s make an appointment so the both families can meet and get to know each other. We can then discuss the details then." Yu Shuyuan concluded.
Grandma Xiao continued to beg her son and daughter-in-law to set the wedding wine at the Yan City Restaurant, but to no avail. Seeing that her unworthy descendants refused to pay attention to her humble plea, she stormed to the Buddhist Hall, "Then I shall ask Bodhisattva."
Lin Jingzhe mulled over the question of when was the most suitable time. After saying goodbye to Xiao Family after dinner, this question continued to preoccupy his thoughts while driving.
Three and a half hours later, he drove to Guangming City, the closest neighboring city.
In front of the hotel they had previously agreed to meet at, Mother Zhou and Wang Quan standing and waiting at the door. Both of them were dressed in a new look. It was normal for Mother Zhou, but even Wang Quan stubbornly donned an expensive suit on his round body. His beer belly proudly strangled his top into countless arduous creases.
Regardless, his whole body was filled with joy. The moment he saw Lin Jingzhe, he stepped forward and hugged him, "My good brother, you’re finally here!"
Mother Zhou waved and rushed, "Hurry up, the factory is ready, we just need you there!"
Lin Jingzhe got into Mother Zhou’s car and they drove straight from the urban area to the suburbs. Along the way, he looked at the scenery outside the window and couldn't help reminiscing. He had visited this city multiple times in his previous life, but that was after the new millennium. At that time, Yan City had become an international metropolis, where the citizen’s faced difficulties everyday. This expansion also affected the neighboring sites, including Guangming City. In the future, their highway intersection to the urban area would be full of tall buildings.
A far cry from the current old and desolate urban landscape.
The most popular place in Guangming City was its suburbs, many companies choose to build factories here. Lin Jingzhe came here this time to partake in the inauguration ceremony of Haitang Bean Paste’s new factory. After driving for a short while, a factory building of astonishing scale appeared from behind the temporarily winter-withered trees. Its name was prominently written on the wall of the building– Haitang Food Factory.
Lin Jingzhe was surprised to see a factory several times bigger than that of the one in Yan City. "This is massive."
Mother Zhou and Wang Quan were responsible for tasks of site selection to it’s building completion. Except for the funding, Lin Jingzhe wasn’t aware of any other details of their new factory; this was the first time he directly witnessed exuberant ambitions of his two partners. The gate of the factory area was full of flower baskets and excited people. Some recognized Mother Zhou’s car coming from the other side of the road, and were already making their way towards them. Mother Zhou found a place to park the car, turned off the engine, and turned her head to Lin Jingzhe to high-spiritedly reply, "Of course! Our new factory covers about 6.5 hectares!"
Wang Quan also added, "In addition to the production line for our bean paste, Mrs. Ding also set up the pickles’ production workshop. We experimented last year and developed a suitable formula that can be produced in bulk. Since our sales channels have been established, our distributors have been waiting for the new factory to finish its construction. Moreover, our Haitang Bean Paste is now a widely recognized brand through the success of our advertisements; it’s time to strike the iron while it’s still hot."
The few people who were originally watching at the factory gate had already arrived at their car's side. Lin Jingzhe peered at the incoming group and found a relatively familiar workshop director from their factory in Yan City. This man had attended several of their factory meetings before, and seemed to be very experienced. Lin Jingzhe looked around some more, only to find that most of the people were familiar workers from the Yan City factory. The workshop director greeted him and quickly reported to Mother Zhou, "Mrs. Ding, the reporter's interview vehicle has arrived just now, and it is now parked by the factory. We have arranged for the interviewers from the TV station to rest in the factory's lounge. Mr. Gao is accompanying them at the moment."
Mother Zhou nodded repeatedly, and led the way towards the factory.
Seeing that Lin Jingzhe glanced at the employees’ faces several times, Wang Quan immediately explained, "Mrs. Ding and I have transferred some directors who had previously performed well in our first factory area. The new factory needs manpower. They all know the basics, and will manage the new people well.”
Lin Jingzhe asked, "They are willing to go all the way here?"
"What's not to like?" Wang Quan answered. "Our factory's dormitory building is more comfortable than their residence in Yan City. It's so spacious and clean inside, some even brought over their wives and children to live together."
The ground along the road to the factory entrance was full of red shavings from firecrackers. The huge interview vehicle was parked quietly by the courtyard wall. At first, Lin Jingzhe thought it was some kind of interview team from a newspaper or magazine, but was extremely shocked when he saw the name printed on the vehicle.
He exclaimed, "What's going on here?"
When were major TV stations responsible for filming the start-up of a factory?
Wang Quan chuckled, "I don't know, it was arranged by Gao Sheng. I was also taken aback when I received his notice. But I heard that this was part of a Reality TV Show program. They were specially looking for entrepreneurs who have made a comeback after being laid off. Wasn’t Mrs. Ding laid off before? She happened to meet the requirements. Gao Sheng probably knew them, so he recommended us."
Lin Jingzhe was slightly taken aback for a moment and then suddenly realized something. They had already walked a certain distance, but he still stopped and looked back at the eye-catching vehicle.
A moment later, he sighed— the progress of the times was like a torrent, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake its positional direction.
1992… It wouldn’t be long before the grandiose and far-reaching wave of laid-offs kicked off.
He just hoped that Haitang Food Factory could still continue to develop then, and try to provide some jobs for those workers who have lost their source of income. This was the best he could offer at the moment.
In the factory lounge:
Gao Sheng was obviously very familiar with the group of reporters who arrived today, so he executed the reception work with ease. He even took the time to take the group around the spacious factory area a few times.
Relying on the popularity of <Legend of Jianghu>, his company, Gao Sheng Advertising, received countless large orders. Several major TV stations in Yan City were now one of his biggest clients. Advertising was now the biggest source of profit for every TV station, so the existence of Gao Sheng naturally became extremely important. With these resources at hand, Gao Sheng quickly became quite close with the several major TV stations, so he was informed as soon as this program was approved. Knowing this was an excellent opportunity, he hurriedly nominated Mother Zhou, who met the interview requirements.
This was a program that will be airing during prime time; there was no better promotional channel than this.
As soon as Lin Jingzhe entered the lounge, Gao Sheng put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Here, let me introduce you our factroy’s most capable man..."
…
At the auspicious time, firecrackers were set off outside the entrance of the new factory.
The firecrackers exploded loudly in the air and sprinkled down one after another, covering everyone's heads with shreds of red paper. Under the focused camera, Lin Jingzhe smiled and moved the large scissor with Mother Zhou and Wang Quan, cutting the red ribbon simultaneously.
The cheers of their employees resounded in the factory area.
