Chapter 45: Wu Nanhai's Morning

He flipped past that page of the newspaper. There were two popular science sections. One was dedicated to natural sciences, covering simple applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The other was focused on agricultural technology, publishing popular science articles on scientific farming and animal husbandry techniques. These articles were all commissioned by Ding Ding from the Agriculture Committee. Wu Nanhai had also written a few himself—it was very difficult, as they had to be both simple and profound, and the writing style had to be colloquial.

The agricultural science section was Wu Nanhai’s main focus when he read the newspaper. He primarily checked for any major errors in the articles published that day. Some Transmigrators, just to get the job done, would copy from old agricultural popular science books, including outdated or even incorrect information. Wu Nanhai was too busy to review every manuscript, so he had to go over them again in the newspaper.

After looking over the agricultural science section, he skipped the policy propaganda section, which published all the recently promulgated laws and administrative documents. He turned to the “Advanced Commendation” column. An employee of the Agriculture Committee had recently received a “Second-Class Labor Hero Medal,” and he wanted to confirm if it had been reported.

The “Advanced Commendation” column took up almost half a page. Due to printing technology limitations, there were no photos, just a grid of squares containing the honor awarded, personal information, and a brief description of the deeds. Those with black borders were award recipients who had died in the line of duty.

In this dense grid, the first and second squares in the top row were for Jin Wushun and Jin Liushun. Not only were they honored here, but there was also a special feature report on their advanced deeds, “Eternal Life in the Flames of Fire,” at the bottom of the column—a rare honor. Wu Nanhai knew that almost all who received this honor were martyrs. Looking at the honors they received, it was indeed so. Jin Wushun had received the Special-Class Labor Hero Medal, which no living person had ever received, and Jin Liushun had received the First-Class Labor Hero Medal.

The Labor Hero Medal was a newly established award for non-military personnel who had rendered meritorious service to the Senate in various incidents.

Wu Nanhai knew the story of the Jin siblings—the sluice gate was, after all, an agricultural facility. Wanli Hui had even attended Jin Liushun’s memorial and commendation ceremony on Jeju Island as a representative of the Agriculture Committee.

The centerfold of the newspaper, as usual, was the advertising section. Today’s ad was for a promotional sale of the Four Books and Five Classics, with commentary by a great Australian Confucian scholar, published by the printing house. With the coupon from the newspaper, one could get a 10% discount on the full set and a 5% discount on individual volumes.

Following that were product advertisements from various shops and firms in Lingao, including both state-owned enterprises under the Ministry of Commerce and various private enterprises: “Fujian Autumn New Tea Arrival,” “Nanhai Cigars, a Chief’s Enjoyment,” “Qionghai Firm’s New Arrival of Nanjing Velvets…”

Wu Nanhai’s eyes fell on a large advertisement for the cooperative’s autumn new product exhibition and sale. Although there were no discounts, there was a detailed catalog and price list of the new products at the exhibition. Many were new items with hefty price tags. It seemed this was aimed at attracting the maids of the various Transmigrator households. He would have Chuqing go and take a look, to see if there was anything new they could add to their home.

While Wu Nanhai was reading the newspaper, Chuqing and the maid were in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Chuqing opened the lower compartment of the refrigerator and took out some eggs. Since the establishment of intensive chicken farms in the various communes and farms under the Agriculture Committee, and the widespread promotion of small-scale rural breeding loans, eggs were no longer a specially supplied item. Not only was there more than enough for the Transmigrators, but they could also be supplied in large quantities to the canteens of schools, government agencies, and enterprises.

This refrigerator was not an electric one, but a traditional icebox. This type of refrigerator was manufactured by the mechanical department based on the structure of refrigerators that used natural ice for cooling in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It used ice blocks produced by the cold storage facility. Its overall appearance was similar to a large three-door refrigerator. The outer layer was made of insulated wooden boards filled with sawdust, and the inner lining was made of tin-plated thin steel sheets. The shelves inside the box were made of the same material, but with many holes drilled in them to facilitate the circulation of cold air.

It had two doors on the left side, one above the other. The upper space had a tin box for holding ice. The lower door was divided into two parts. The upper part was a water pan to catch the dripping water from the melting ice in the upper space, and a small number of items that needed to be refrigerated could also be placed there. The right side of the refrigerator was a single large door, divided into four compartments, used for storing chilled food.

This type of refrigerator was very heavy and bulky. But for places that could not yet manufacture compressors and had no conditions for gas refrigerators, it was very convenient. The cold storage facility delivered ice blocks at regular intervals every day. One block could last a whole day. In a place with a relatively high temperature like Lingao, it was an important tool for keeping food fresh.

The flat-bottomed frying pan was heated on the stove. This frying pan was made of iron and was quite heavy, but it was very useful. Chuqing poured some peanut oil, specially supplied by the Nanhai Farm to the General Office, into the pan and then cracked two eggs into it. On the other side of the stove, Sister Ju was checking the fire, occasionally adding a handful of wood shavings. Due to the impact of the “Engine Project,” the demand for coal everywhere had surged. The stingy Planning Commission had suspended the coal briquette quota for Transmigrator households and instead sent scraps from the lumber mill as fuel for the stoves. A large bag was sent every day, which looked like a lot but was actually just enough for one day’s use.

Sister Ju added fuel to the stove while working the bellows to make the fire burn more intensely. Sister Ju’s husband’s surname was Liu, and his name was Liu Ashui. The couple was in their 50s, from Foshan, Guangdong. They had originally crossed the sea to seek refuge with relatives working in the factories but couldn’t find them. When looking for work, because they were older, their physical examination deemed them unsuitable for heavy manual labor in the factories, so they were placed on the light manual labor waiting list.

It just so happened that Wu Nanhai needed someone to help look after the small chapel, and his household also needed a servant and a coachman. So, after passing the review by the General Office and the General Political Security Bureau, they became servants in the Wu household. Because the issue of whether Transmigrators could own slaves had not yet been discussed, they signed an employment contract instead of a deed of sale.

The couple lived in the small chapel. Sister Ju would come to the house at 5:30 every morning to help with the cooking and then take care of the household chores. Chuqing was now a key naturalized citizen cadre in the Agriculture Committee system, and her work was very busy, leaving her with little time to take care of the family. Old Liu was responsible for driving Wu Nanhai’s carriage and doing odd jobs.

“Master, breakfast is ready.”

Chuqing said as she brought a tray of breakfast over and placed it on the square table. The main dish for breakfast was rice porridge with green vegetables: leftover rice from the previous night, cooked with water and chopped green vegetables. The side dishes were a platter of four types of pickles from the Tianchu Food Factory: olive vegetables, pickled radish, shrimp-oil pickled cucumbers, and Sichuan-style pickled cabbage. Each person also had a fried egg.

“I originally wanted to make century egg congee, but I forgot to grind the rice last night,” Chuqing said, untying the apron behind her back. “I’ll definitely make it tomorrow.”

“It’s no trouble. This is also very good.”

Before the meal, as was their custom, they said grace. Wu Nanhai led the prayer.

After breakfast, as Chuqing was clearing the dishes, the doorbell rang.

There was a knock on the door, and Sister Ju went to answer it. She then came to report that a messenger from the Senate had arrived.

“Please show him into the living room.”

The messenger came into the living room and gave a military salute. “Reporting, Chief! Special Reconnaissance Training Detachment cadet Yang Xingfu reporting. This is my special pass.”

Wu Nanhai checked the photo and name on it. The naturalized citizens who could enter the Transmigrator residential area had already been carefully checked by the guards. This was just a formality for him.

After confirming there were no issues, he returned the pass to the sergeant and said, “At ease, comrade cadet. Please wait in the living room for a moment. I will give you the document box now.”

Wu Nanhai turned and went into his study. The study’s furnishings were not complicated, but access was strictly controlled. Not only were servants like Sister Ju not allowed in, but even Chuqing was not permitted to enter. He was the only one with a key to the door.

In the center of the study was a desk and a large armchair. On the desk were several filing boxes and a desk lamp. Chinese calligraphy tools and a Western-style inkstand coexisted. Behind the desk was a row of bookshelves, filled with various documents, files, and books. In a corner of the room was a steel-reinforced concrete safe. On a table with upturned ends against the wall were several document boxes of different colors.

Wu Nanhai walked over to the table and picked up a leather document box with the insignia of a fist and a chrysanthemum engraved on it, secured with a padlock. This was the Senate’s classified document box. Because the Senate General Assembly did not meet every day, and most of the standing committee members had their own full-time jobs, and some Transmigrators were not even in Lingao, general matters that required a vote by the assembly were handled through this document box system. Inside were various public documents for the Transmigrators, ballots for various proposals that required a simple vote, and the meeting minutes of the relevant parties on the proposals. Every three days in the morning, a soldier from the Special Reconnaissance Team, who served as the Senate guard, would come to collect the previously delivered documents, and then in the afternoon, new documents would be delivered in the document box. Wu Nanhai checked again to confirm that the seal he had personally affixed the previous night was intact. He then took it out and handed it to Yang Xingfu.

After Yang Xingfu confirmed the seal was intact, he took out a registration stamp and stamped it on the seal.

“Reporting, Chief! The Senate’s classified document box has been sealed. Please present the handover registration form.”

Chuqing quickly took the document handover registration form and a box of ink paste from a drawer in the living room and handed them to Yang Xingfu. He carefully affixed his fingerprint and then signed the date.

“My schedule is quite full today. You can deliver the document box directly to the farm’s coffee shop tonight and wait for me there,” Wu Nanhai instructed.

After seeing off the messenger, Wu Nanhai looked at his schedule again. His work for the day was, as usual, packed, and it was so full that it would extend into his after-work hours. The Transmigrators in Lingao did not work an eight-hour day; the standard working time was ten hours. There were many workaholics who worked more than twelve hours, or even sixteen hours a day, sometimes going for days and nights without sleep. For this reason, the Ministry of Health had to issue a health warning, requiring Transmigrators to sleep at least eight hours a day and advising against working continuously through the night.