【Serial】The Growth Story of a Chemical Engineering Designer - 52

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This post was last edited by colinzh on 2015-9-8 08:19. (52) It gets dark quite early; outside, it’s dark and windy, with the wind causing the tree branches to rustle. Although it’s early autumn, there’s still a slight chill in this small room. When he was young, Ye Wenhui often came to Grandpa Chen’s house to play. At that time, Grandma Chen was still alive, and she would often give the pastries and fruits she had on hand to children like Ye Wenhui to eat. Due to being stored for a long time, those pastries and fruits had a strange taste. In those times when snacks were extremely scarce, pastries and fruits were rare luxuries; although children didn’t like their taste, they weren’t willing to turn them down either. Looking back, several years have passed since Grandma Chen passed away, yet the layout of Grandpa Chen’s house remains exactly as it was twenty years ago. Grandpa Chen’s house was very simply furnished; there was a window on each side as well as in the front and back – the one on the south side was larger than the one on the north. On the east side, there was no door frame, only a curtain. On the west side, right in front of the entrance, stood a large solid wood table painted black. Above the table, on the wall, hung a large mirror with spots on it. Due to its age, large areas of rust had formed along the edges of the mirror, spreading gradually toward the center and creating shapes that resembled reddish-brown flowers. Hanging from the mirror was another, slimmer decorative mirror, on which colorful flowers were depicted. It’s easy to imagine the fashion sense Grandpa Chen had when he decorated his new house decades ago. Times have changed, but sitting here now, Ye Wenhui felt a strange sense of familiarity. The most prominent feature in the room was the large bed on the south side. Ye Wenhui sat on Grandpa Chen’s bed, chatting with him about everyday matters. The information conveyed by Grandpa Chen shocked Ye Wenhui greatly – if the Earth Master was dead, then who was the person he met in front of the Guandi Temple that day? Ye Wenhui’s heart was pounding. He had never believed in ghosts or supernatural things, but the reality of what was happening shocked him greatly. He never imagined that scenes usually seen only in TV dramas and movies could actually take place in this ordinary little village where he had grown up. He looked at Grandpa Chen in disbelief, feeling both excited and nervous, and said almost impatiently, \"How is that possible?\" Both Shufen and I have met him. Although the old man is quite old and thin, he still seems to be in good health. Old Chen, you’re not mistaken, are you? ” Grandpa Chen gradually regained his composure and asked Ye Wenhui in a serious voice, \"Tell me about what happened that day when you saw him.\" ” It had only been a little over a month, and the old man had left a deep impression on Ye Wenhui. Therefore, when he talked about the encounter with Hong Xiaojun that day, he spoke at length, sharing many details that surprised him even himself; he hadn’t expected his memory to be so good. When the talk turned to the compass that Hong Xiaojun had used, Grandpa Chen couldn’t help but interrupt him, “What did that compass look like?” ” Grandpa Chen was taken aback by Ye Wenhui’s question. In his eyes, a compass was the same everywhere; even if he were to look at it closely, he might not be able to tell much about it, let alone since he hadn’t paid much attention to it. He tried his best to recall and said, “The compass was yellow-green in color, seemingly made of copper. It was quite large, about the size of a big bowl, with numerous inscriptions on its surface – things like the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams. I didn’t look at it closely. There were several rings on the compass, and it seemed to be able to rotate; I’m not sure how it was used.” “By the way, there’s a red dot on the surface; everything else is old, but that red dot is very bright, as if it were just applied there. It was so dazzling when I looked at it. Now that I think about it, I still seem to be able to see that red light…” As Ye Wenhui spoke, Grandpa Chen moved closer and closer, until eventually his face was almost touching Ye Wenhui’s. When talking about that dot, Grandpa Chen’s eyes widened greatly, appearing even brighter than that red dot on the compass. Ye Wenhui was startled by Grandpa Chen’s face coming close to his, so he quickly stepped back, and the conversation came to an end. Grandpa Chen became excited again; looking in the direction of Jinan, he trembled as he said, “Yang Gongpan, Yang Gongpan… It’s Yang Gongpan!” I never expected that, after decades, he really hadn’t died. ” Grandpa Chen, who used to have such an air of elegance and wisdom, had lost his composure several times in just this short period of time, which surprised Ye Wenhui greatly. He grabbed Grandpa Chen’s arm and asked, “Old Chen, I’m becoming more and more confused. What on earth is going on here?” ” Only then did Grandpa Chen realize his mistake; he pulled himself back and managed to regain his usual cheerful demeanor, saying to Ye Wenhui, “Didn’t he give you a business card or something?” Give it to me and let me see. ” Upon hearing this, Ye Wenhui quickly took out his wallet. The wallet had several small pockets; he was used to putting his ID card, one-inch photos, and other minor items that he didn’t use often inside it. Fortunately, since he had put that “business card” in his wallet that day, he hadn’t taken it out again. He found it right away when he searched. He took out the crumpled piece of paper; under the dim light of the bulb, it appeared even older. Grandpa Chen had clear eyes and sharp hearing, so he didn’t need reading glasses. After talking with him for a while, Ye Wenhui felt that this unremarkable piece of paper was even more precious than a message carried by a chicken feather. He carefully unfolded the paper and took it to a brighter place so that Grandpa Chen could see it. The handwriting on the note was bold and expressive, still giving off a sense of enthusiasm. Upon looking at it again, it took on an even more mysterious aura. After Grandpa Chen read the words on the note, he became calm, as if he had encountered some wonderful good news; he was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling: “Hehe, haha… It really is him. I knew this old fellow had good luck – it’s not that easy for him to die.” ”When Grandpa Chen heard Ye Wenhui say that Hong Xiaojun had retired from China State Construction Eighth Engineering Bureau, he was filled with tears; despite crying, he still couldn’t help smiling, and in the end all that remained were sobbing sounds. Hearing this, Ye Wenhui too couldn’t help having his eyes turn red. Although it is unknown what exactly happened between those two elders decades ago, the genuine feelings expressed by Grandpa Chen are far more meaningful than any story that could ever be told. At that moment, his father’s voice came from outside. Ye Wenhui checked his watch – it was almost 7 p.m., and his father had come to call him home for dinner. Ye Wenhui agreed and invited Grandpa Chen to come to his house for a meal, but Grandpa Chen refused to go under any circumstances, so Ye Wenhui had no choice but to say goodbye to him. As for the stories of Grandpa Chen and Hong Xiaojun from that era, there’s still plenty of time; there will always be a chance to hear them. Besides, next time she comes, she can also call Shufen – how could she miss such a story?