Munitions Empire

The couple had a muddled and anxious night, and when they went to work the next day, they both seemed a bit out of sorts.

For the first time, Lu Ming's wife left for work without tidying up their love nest, even forgetting to remind Lu Ming to be careful on the road.

"Hey! Li Hui! What's the matter with you, you look like you're out of it." On the way, she ran into a colleague, and it wasn't until then that Lu Ming's wife, Li Hui, snapped back to reality and exchanged a few embarrassed pleasantries before the two of them walked to the factory together.

They were old acquaintances, and as they chatted, they brought up the matter of Lu Ming's promotion; the colleague immediately exclaimed with surprise, "That's a good thing! Why do you look like you've lost your soul?"

"I think it's a good thing too, but the thought of living apart from Lu Ming just dampens my spirits," responded Li Hui as she walked along, pushing her bicycle.

They were now approaching the factory gate, which was busier and necessitated that they push their bikes in.

Bicycles, as an extremely convenient mode of transport, were very popular among the workers. During the times of commuting to and from work, the crowded multitude of bicycles resembled a tidal wave that filled the streets and alleys.

This was mainly because bicycles were cheap and didn't consume too many resources. They were convenient for production and didn't require much skill, which led to their rapid proliferation.

The workers who first saw these bicycles weren't picky about the smoothness of the bearings, nor did they care about the frames being too heavy. Manufacturing bicycles was really a matter of just having the hands to do it.

The bicycle factory in Tongcheng couldn't really compare with the one in Linshui in terms of technology, so the Linshui bicycles were more popular. But, due to the sheer demand, Tongcheng's bicycle business was also doing well.

Because he had a higher income among the workers, Lu Ming bought his wife a Linshui bicycle—a new model with a slanted crossbar designed for ladies, which drew the envy of many female workers. And marrying Lu Ming, a skilled production backbone, made Li Hui the object of jealousy among many unmarried girls.

"If I were you, I'd quit my job and go with him. That would be better than earning this little money here," said the colleague, enviously.

The female workers' wages were not high, amounting to only a few dozen silver coins each month. In Brunas, this would already be considered the minimum income standard.

But in the less expensive Tongcheng, things were different. Besides, women were traditionally not considered part of the productive force; having the opportunity to contribute so many silver coins to the family income was highly attractive to many women.

"Lu Ming doesn't earn much either, and without my few dozen silver coins, we probably couldn't even afford meat in Anpu," said Li Hui as she walked past the security guard, flashed her identity card, and then pushed her bicycle into the factory.

This textile factory was quite large, providing employment for over seven thousand female workers, and the fabrics produced here were quite renowned around Tongcheng.

"Trust me, just go with him. Otherwise, some little vixen might snatch away Lu Ming, and then you'll have nowhere to cry," her colleague emphasized once again in the changing room, which intensified Li Hui's worries.

She wrapped her short hair with a white headscarf and pondered her colleague's words, her anxiety growing heavier.

The two of them left the changing room, passed through a corridor, and arrived at the production workshop. Here, the looms were spinning rapidly, and the roaring sound made conversation very difficult.

The duty worker waiting by the machines handed over the sign-in logbook for shift change to Li Hui and her colleague, and they signed their names.

The women in charge of the night shift were mostly over forty years old. Since they were mostly past childbearing age, they were assigned the night shift.

The medical standard of this era was apparent; without advanced technology or sufficient gynecological healthcare staff, late-age childbearing remained a very dangerous act.

To maintain fertility rates, all factories prohibited women of childbearing age from working night shifts, with night shift workers generally presumed to be older males and females.

Soon, Li Hui began her busy day of work, operating the machines quickly, overseeing two devices at a time, focused and with clean, deft movements.

It seemed that only by working tirelessly could she forget that her husband was soon to leave, and that misfortune would soon have them in different corners of the world.

As she continued to work nonstop, the person in charge of the workshop came over with another female worker and arranged for her to take over Li Hui's tasks: "Keep an eye on things for her. I need to speak with Li Hui about something."

The female worker nodded slightly and then took over Li Hui's work, while Li Hui followed her supervisor to the corridor by the changing room.

After the door was shut, the roaring of the machinery became much quieter. The supervisor looked at Li Hui with a smile, sizing her up, and nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, a good girl."

Li Hui was somewhat confused. She stood there at a loss, not knowing why her supervisor had come to see her.

"I heard your husband is being transferred to Anpu?" the supervisor asked Li Hui with a smile.

Li Hui was startled, wondering who the blabbermouth was that had so quickly passed the news of Lu Ming's transfer to the supervisor.

"Lu Ming is quite good," the female supervisor praised without any preamble, then continued, "The reason I'm here is to inquire about your opinion. Your husband Lu Ming is going to be transferred to Anpu to serve as the deputy chief engineer. Have you considered, do you want to follow him to Anpu?"

"I want to go!" Li Hui said without a moment's hesitation, revealing her thoughts.

"Well, there is a textile factory over there; we've been in touch with them. They have a supervisor who wants to come to Tongcheng... After you go there, you will replace her work... It's just that the position alternates between a month of night shift and a month of day shift." The female supervisor looked at Li Hui and explained for her to decide: "See if you can accept it."

"I can! I can accept it! Thank you, thank you, leaders, thank you, leaders!" Li Hui felt she was about to cry.

She had thought she would have to live apart from her husband, but then suddenly there was the opportunity to go to Anpu together. How could she give that up?

Even though it meant spending half the time on night shifts, it was much, much better than living apart, wasn't it? Right now, she wished she could immediately share this good news with Lu Ming. She thought maybe they should buy some pork or beef tonight! The two could have a good meal to celebrate! Otherwise, going to a restaurant would be okay too!

"Actually, you should give it some thought. If you go with him, the education for your children might be a bit worse compared to Tongcheng. As you know, Tongcheng is also considered a big city and is a lot better than Anpu," the female supervisor reminded Li Hui.

Seeing that Li Hui still insisted, she nodded and said, "Then get ready, pack up the apartment. When you leave, you'll need to return the house to the factory."
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"Okay, okay." Remembering the small home she had tidied so neatly, Li Hui felt a sudden pang of reluctance. It was her first home, into which she had poured so much emotion, and she knew every nook and cranny of it intimately.

"You really are fortunate," the female supervisor said, looking at Li Hui, who was about to be promoted to workshop manager just like her. She smiled and said, "Both of you getting promoted together, just counting your side, the salary increases by fifteen silver coins... Tsk tsk."

"Your husband Lu Ming really is capable, managing to have Tongcheng Industrial Bureau call Anpu Industrial Bureau to coordinate personnel arrangements... That's truly a huge favor. I'm giving you the day off today; go get ready, celebrate a bit," the supervisor finished the conversation and turned to push open the big door of the workshop to return.

Although the two would likely have no further interaction after this, Li Hui was pretty much certain to be promoted to workshop manager, so leaving a good impression and creating a positive relationship was something anyone would do. After all, if that connection were ever needed one day, it wouldn't be awkward.

The leader had left, leaving only Li standing there, still kind of unable to digest the good news. Everything had happened so quickly, it felt a bit unreal to her.

Suddenly, she came to her senses, leaned against the wall and let out an excited scream: "Ah! Hahaha! This is great! This is great!"

...

When Lu Ming came to the office of the workshop leader again, he learned that his wife was going to be transferred with him. He knew that this favor owed was somewhat large.

"Don't feel pressured, just work hard! Take good care of the factory the country has entrusted to you!" the person in charge consoled Lu Ming, who once again had red-rimmed eyes, "There isn't a dormitory for you over there yet, and the conditions will be tough. Prepare yourself mentally; it's definitely not going to be as good as in Tongcheng."

"Please rest assured, leader! I, Lu Ming, will give it my all and not let our Tank Factory No. 2 lose face! I will definitely build up the armored reconnaissance vehicle factory in Anpu," Lu Ming said excitedly, standing straight like a pine tree.

"Good! When you return, be sure to thank your teacher. He, this old face... he wouldn't even lend it to me for once," the person in charge sighed, "Speaking of which, I met him even before you did."

"My teacher cares about me," Lu Ming said, scratching his head awkwardly. He decided that before he left, he would definitely treat his mentor to a good meal at a restaurant.

"Go on! I reckon your wife already knows. Today, I'm giving you the day off. Go and celebrate properly, and may you... soon have a big, fat son," the person in charge said with a mischievous grin.

Lu Ming immediately blushed. The factory was mostly men, especially in the production workshop where women were rare, and it was common for them to joke around and tell risqué jokes.

"Thank you, leader!" Lu Ming said shyly with gratitude. He truly appreciated those who had helped him, grateful for the country, and for the King whom he had never met but who had brought him hope.