Chapter 90: A Coat

When Li Xian returned to the Forestry Bureau, it was already past five o'clock. At this time, the factory had already changed shifts. Although the workshop was still busy, the two-story office building was almost empty.

If it weren't for the need to file the contract with the Beilin Paper Factory, he would have gone straight back to the retirement home.

In the empty corridor, Li Xian went straight to his office. Just as he was about to unlock the door, he noticed something unusual.

His office was located at the end of the corridor. At this moment, in the dim light at the end of the corridor, someone was huddled in the corner next to the radiator!

"My God!"

He was startled and dropped the key he was holding.

This also clearly startled the person. The small figure immediately unfolded, seeming like a frightened little animal, jumping up from the ground.

"Su Ya?"

Under the dim light in the corridor, Li Xian recognized the person and patted his racing heart. "It's almost six o'clock, why are you still here?"

In response to his question, Su Ya rubbed her eyes and smiled apologetically. She turned around and patted her back, then pointed outside the window and made a shivering gesture with her hands clasped in front of her chest.

The sound of her patting seemed muffled, as if she was hitting a blanket that had just been washed and was still damp.

Li Xian then noticed that her thin coat was already soaked through, and the radiator had left marks on it, with steam rising.

Li Xian understood. "You got wet while cleaning the factory?"

Su Ya nodded.

According to the factory's regulations, the workshop needed to be cleaned every day at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to maintain a good working environment. Due to the heavy production tasks, the cleaning time was tight, so this girl must have accidentally gotten herself wet.

"Wait here for a moment." Seeing Su Ya's thin coat, which had very little cotton and was tightly stuck to her body, Li Xian picked up the key from the floor and went into his office. He took down the wool military coat he had worn at the factory from the coat rack.

"Here, wear this to go back."

Seeing the coat, which was almost the same length as her, Su Ya was startled. She took a step back, repeatedly shaking her head. At the same time, she patted her clothes again and pointed to the radiator, indicating that it would soon dry.

Seeing her so hesitant, Li Xian smiled and directly handed the coat over. "I'm not wearing it. Just return it tomorrow when your clothes are dry. Otherwise, how long will you have to wait to go home in this cold weather?"

Su Ya bit her lip, thought for a while, and then nodded. After making a "thank you" gesture, she hugged the coat and quickly ran out of the corridor with quick steps.

In no time, Li Xian saw a figure appear outside the window. The military coat was so large and long that it almost dragged on the ground. The standing collar almost completely covered her head.

However, her footsteps were swift, and she disappeared into the snow in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the small trail of footprints in the night, Li Xian smiled slightly, put away the contract, and left the factory.

The matter with the Beilin Paper Factory was settled. According to Li Xian's plan, he needed to expand the paper factory's market further.

He couldn't afford to be slow. Out of the more than 400,000 yuan in loans, half needed to be repaid before February of the next year, before the Lunar New Year. The 50,000 yuan loan from the Rural Credit Cooperative had a term of only six months.

Currently, Sina Teyou had entered the market in the surrounding cities and counties of Bangye. However, the market capacity at the district and county levels was still limited, so he urgently needed a larger stage.

After thinking it over, he decided to go to the provincial capital, Bingcheng. The street there was currently the second-largest small commodity distribution center in the entire Northeast region, with Shenyang's Wuwei being the largest. However, due to the high transportation costs and low efficiency at this time, he had to follow the principle of proximity.

In the evening, after returning to the retirement home, Li Xian told Li Jie, who was watching TV in the activity room, about his trip to Bingcheng. Li Jie was excited and urged Li Xian to buy a tape recorder and some tapes of Aaron Kwok.

Seeing Li Jie's excited face, Li Xian rolled his eyes and sang, "Shouldn't you quietly walk away, or shamelessly stay?"

Hasn't she learned anything!

These days, tape recorders are as big as a computer case. Who wants to carry that on a train?

"Little miser!"

Rejected by her elder brother, Li Jie muttered and then retreated to a corner with her English oral exercises. Soon, the sound of her angry English recitations filled the room.

"Are you free tomorrow!"

"Can I have a word with you?"

"Did you have a good day today?"

In the activity room, a group of old men was watching TV.

Due to the heavy snow in recent days, the TV signal was poor. Old Wu had spent a lot of effort to find a direction where the antenna could receive the signal. The screen, covered in snowflakes, intermittently played the theme song of "The Wheel Woman and the Well."

"White cliffs and yellow sand port... hissing... who wishes for a cool breeze... hissing..."

Yesterday, the TV drama was interrupted just as the character Zao Hua Niang met the old man Mao Yuan by the riverside forest. The old men were getting impatient. Seeing that the signal was still poor, they were a bit frustrated.

Zheng Weishi, who already had trouble hearing the TV, was even more irritated by Li Jie's noise: "Don't make noise anymore!"

Well, under Li Jie's influence these days, everyone's English level had improved significantly.

Meanwhile, Wu Shengli found that as long as he held the antenna with his hands, the sound was clear. But when he let go, the noise returned. Determined, he held the antenna with both hands.

"Damn it, I'll watch it this way!"

Li Xian chuckled and said, "Old Wu, buy two pounds of pork tomorrow and hang it up. You're working too hard…"

…

Early the next morning, Li Xian gathered his ID and money for the trip and went to the paper factory.

In front of the office door, the military coat was neatly folded beside the door.

Not seeing anyone around, he picked up the coat. This military coat had been used to shield against the wind during motorcycle rides. Since he no longer rode a motorcycle, he had no use for it.

Entering the office, he hung it on the coat rack.

After placing it, he noticed that the coat, which had been scratched by the motorcycle cover, was now repaired. Although the stitching was done with slightly noticeable black thread, the stitches were very firm. The triangular tear, under the detailed stitching, looked quite attractive.

As he curiously touched the stitching, a small paper, about the size of a child's palm, fell out of the coat and landed at his feet. On it was written, in elegant handwriting, two words.

"Thank you."

Seeing this note, Li Xian was taken aback. He was surprised by the neat handwriting, which did not seem like it came from someone with a "illiterate and semi-literate" educational background.

At that moment, Chen Shulin walked in. "Factory Director, I heard from Old Zhang that you're going out?"

Li Xian came back to his senses and nodded. "Going to Harbin to find sales channels."

"I'm coming too!"

"If you hadn't said anything, I would have made you come with me anyway. Did you bring your ID?"

While speaking, Li Xian picked up the note, quickly scribbled a few words on the back with a pencil, and then carried the coat and coat rack out into the corridor.

"Factory Director, what's this for?"

Li Xian waved his hand, pushing the talkative Chen Shulin out. "Stop talking, hurry home and get your ID. We need to catch the train later."