How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 361 - 363: Pass_1

Upon arriving at the clothing production area, Ma Hongxiang looked around curiously.

The place was piled with fabrics, and the floor was littered with scraps—there was no room to step.

The workers were laboring in an empty room.

There were seven or eight people, all female workers. novelbuddy.cσ๓

In another room lay a rather large machine. Ma Hongxiang asked out of curiosity, "What’s this for?"

Li Qiao replied, "It’s for cutting patterns. It can cut more than a dozen at a time."

"The machines are so impressive nowadays. How come nobody is operating it?"

Li Qiao, "There’s one person assigned to cutting. She’s pregnant and went home for prenatal care. Now another seamstress is doing the cutting. She stays after her shift to cut enough for everyone’s work the next day."

That person was Hu Zhuyun, and she really was especially hardworking.

It was mainly because her in-laws were understanding and reasonable. She said that when she got home from work every day, her child had already been bathed and put to sleep by her mother-in-law.

The child was laid on her bed, and if he woke up at night and her husband was home, he would get up and hold the child to soothe him.

She could then sleep through the night. With ample rest, her mood was good, and she worked with energy.

On the other hand, Maimiao said her in-laws always fought with her over the child. As soon as she stepped out, they would joke with the child, saying, "Your mom doesn’t want you anymore," making it hard for her to feel good all day long when she heard that.

Ma Hongxiang, "My parents are almost fifty. What kind of fabric would you say is appropriate?"

"For older folks, choose darker colors for a more dignified look. Plus, it hides dirt," Li Qiao pointed out some navy blue and black fabrics.

Ma Hongxiang touched one of the materials and found it felt the same as the cotton clothes sold in stores for dozens of yuan per piece. "This fabric must be expensive, right?"

"You just need to work for five days."

Ma Hongxiang smiled shyly, "Thank you so much."

"Look at how formal you are."

"...."

Li Qiao and Old Mrs. Qin mentioned the matter of Ma Hongxiang making clothes. Old Mrs. Qin called her to come at daybreak or during the noon rest period when everybody else is taking a break—that’s when the machines are not in use.

Ma Hongxiang, "Isn’t the evening okay?"

"It’s too dark then. I wouldn’t feel at ease with a young girl walking the night road," Old Mrs. Qin said.

Ma Hongxiang was quite touched; apart from her parents, this was the first time she had received concern from another elder. "Eh."

After Ma Hongxiang left, Li Qiao took the opportunity to go home and opened a cupboard, intending to find a couple of undergarments to take to school.

She discovered a large paper box at the bottom of the cupboard.

Where did this come from?

She took it out for a look.

Inside were all sorts of baby items—bottles, bibs, little socks, tiny clothes, and head ornaments. Everything to be worn was in bright red.

It must have been Qin Jin who bought them.

She used to think he gave her bright red clothes because he thought the color suited her.

It seemed he just liked that color.

What’s this now?

My goodness, he had even bought a large cape and a swaddling blanket.

The child was not yet born, but everything was already prepared.

.......

Li Qiao put everything back in place and took her own clothes back to school. She successfully passed Mr. Dai’s assessment on Wednesday and became one of his graduate students. The day before the holiday, the school made a public announcement of the names.

Li Qiao saw a familiar name:

Song Zhixiu.

It was the person who had taken the acceleration test with her earlier.

Song Zhixiu was also looking at the list. Noticing Li Qiao, he greeted her proactively, "Hello, I didn’t expect you to be accepted as a graduate student too—pretty impressive."

Li Qiao: "You are pretty impressive yourself."

"Do you know Su Yu? The one who took the accelerated exam with us. He was a senior and got assigned to Beijing’s Equipment Department after graduation, a bright future ahead. But he recently quit his job, saying he was fed up and didn’t want to do it anymore. He’s been working on developing a Pinyin input method, spending his days fiddling with keyboards and living off his parents, who are worrying their hair white. Let’s go see him together."

Li Qiao: "Well, I..." Not even close. Why see him? "I’d rather not go."

"Let’s try to persuade him together. If that doesn’t work, he can come back and consider graduate school. Staying on as faculty isn’t a bad way out."

"How do you know we’ll definitely stay on as faculty after we graduate?"

"With our level, even if we can’t stay here, any university in Beijing would be eager to have us as teachers," Song Zhixiu insisted, pressing Li Qiao to visit the Su family with him, reasoning that the three of them took the accelerated exam together.

Only they were qualified to persuade Su Yu.

Li Qiao, overwhelmed by his insistence, finally gave in: "Alright, then."

To encourage a fellow top student to regain his spirits surely counted as a good deed.

She bought a gift and followed Song Zhixiu to the Su family’s door.

The Su family wasn’t home.

Su Yu answered the door. His features, once delicate and handsome and his attire once neat, now looked unkempt and utterly dispirited.

Li Qiao couldn’t believe it; how could the spirited young man from a year ago have changed so drastically?

"You came? And you brought her?" Su Yu’s tone was cold as he turned and walked inside.

Song Zhixiu: "Both she and I have been accepted into graduate school. We’ve come to persuade you to join us. With your abilities, the teachers would definitely fight over you."

"Not going."

Li Qiao followed him inside and casually closed the door behind her.

The house wasn’t large and the living room was tidy, but his room was a complete mess.

There was, however, one clean table, on which some components were neatly arranged.

She approached, seeing a simple input method model. The current input methods, being foreign, were awkward and difficult to understand. The printers used for typing were also complicated and hard to operate; someone really needed to come up with improvements.

"Don’t touch," warned Su Yu.

Li Qiao: "I’m just looking. This thing of yours seems pretty good. If developed, connecting to computers and printers, it could be an extremely great invention."

Su Yu’s eyes lit up: "That’s what I’m thinking. You can actually understand my work."

Song Zhixiu, curious: "It’s just a broken keyboard. What makes you think it’s a great invention?"

"Um..." Li Qiao was at a loss for words: "I was only guessing based on the model and the arrangement of symbols." If this device could be made, wouldn’t it earn a lot of money? And it might lead to overnight wealth—I wonder if Qin Jin has enough money to invest.

But she decided to keep those thoughts to herself for now.

Pointing at the model, she suggested: "These two letters, if you change the sequence, might make it more user-friendly."

Thinking it over, Su Yu chuckled: "Actually, yes. I never thought I’d have a confidante."

Song Zhixiu reminded him: "She’s married."

Su Yu’s face flushed: "My apologies. I get carried away when excited; I’m not good at talking normally."

Li Qiao laughed lightly: "No worries, your research is quite good, but your place is a mess. A nice environment leads to a good mood, right? And seeing you like this, your parents must be worried. Why don’t you try to communicate with them? Their moral support could help make your research go more smoothly."

Su Yu cleared his throat twice: "Hmm."

As they spoke, the outside door opened.

A dignified-looking middle-aged woman, surprised to see Li Qiao and another: "Zhixiu’s here, and this is...?"

"Hello, auntie. She’s a top-notch student from our school named Li Qiao. Last year, she, Su Yu, and I took the accelerated exam together. Knowing about Su Yu’s situation, she specifically came to check on him today," explained Song Zhixiu.

"Hello," Mrs. Su suddenly became reserved: "Look at the mess in his room; there isn’t even a place to sit."

"It’s okay. I was just leaving," said Li Qiao.

"Stay a while," offered Mrs. Su warmly, bustling to make tea.

"No, thanks."

"...."

.......