1
When Lao Ning was still Xiao Ning, he made up his mind to open a laughing gourd head steamed bun restaurant.
To be precise, Xiao Ning was eighteen years old. It was the summer of 1987, after the high school graduation ceremony, it was a group photo of each class, and several girls in the class had cried a lot at the ceremony, and the group photo could not be in place smoothly, and the snot was a handful of tears. Xiao Ning is the class leader, seeing that the teachers are all seated, and there are several girls rubbing, they are anxious, and criticize the saddest of them by name: Li Xiaoxiao, don't cry!
In a hurry, Xiao Ning's voice was a little loud, and the teachers all heard it, laughing but not speaking. The principal also shook his hand and said that he was not in a hurry. I don't want to laugh and cry like that, but I can also take the time to refute it, choking back: I will cry!
Everyone, including all the teachers, laughed.
Back in the class to clean up the desk, Xiao Ning took the graduation message book and asked the students to sign. Most of the students in the class posted a photo, wrote an impassioned and spirited word, and then signed their name with the dragon flying phoenix dance. To laugh here, just three big words, with an exclamation point: I will cry!
Xiao Ning was a little embarrassed, the three-year class leader when he and his classmates got along very well, did not want to leave a heart disease when they graduated, just wanted to explain: laughing classmates, I am not aimed at you...
Laughter and hum: they all yelled at my name, not at me!
Xiao Ning whispered for half a day: Then I apologize to you, right?
Smile and smile: No... Yes, you must be in front of your classmates.
Xiao Ning stepped onto the podium in three steps and said loudly: Students, I was a little anxious when I took the graduation photos today, yelling at Li Xiaoxiao, I did something wrong, and apologized to her.
Xiao Ning bowed deeply, and when he looked up, he saw a smile on his pink face, smiling with a smile, mixed with emotion, and his heart suddenly "clucked" a little——
Not relieved, but broken!
He found out that he was... I liked the smile.
Xiao Ning had always been dull and insensitive to girls before. What does Xiaoning like to do? He grew up loving electrical repairs... How to say it? Nor can it be called "repair", because everything that passes through his hand will be scrapped. As soon as Xiao Ning's mother saw Xiao Ning holding a cone and pliers and the like, and stroking back and forth at home, she was nervous and called out to Xiao Ning's father Lao Ning: Hurry up, take care of your son!
Old Ning hey hey le, patted the back of Xiao Ning's head: good son.
Xiao Ning's mother jumped to her feet angrily: Get used to it, wait for the day to tear down the home, see if you are happy.
Lao Ning took Xiao Ning to the basement, which was converted into a studio, full of tools, files, various fixtures, measuring tools and molds, and a vise. Lao Ning is the "eight-level fitter" in the unit, evaluated in the sixties of the last century, a construction engineering bureau of nearly 10,000 people, eight-level workers can count with two hands, turning, milling, pliers, welding, planing, grinding, wood, tiles, paint, etc., a type of work on the evaluation of one.
Coincidentally, her father Lao Li is also one of the few eight-level workers, but he is an "eight-level welder", the two people are not in a workshop, but they feel sorry for each other, but they often play together, go to work to exchange skills and techniques, and exchange wine and chess skills after work. Because the class is not a kind of work, it is mostly to learn and learn. After work, it is different, Lao Ning's alcohol consumption is higher than Old Li's, and Old Li's chess skills are better than Old Ning's. The two often drink together red-faced, don't drink, play chess. Less than three or five plates were laid, and the noise was red in the face.
Lao Ning shouted that he had no regrets. Old Li shouted that you were full of hearts and knocked me unconscious.
At the end of the quarrel, it was not happy. But after ten days and a half months, the two of them got together again, the same plot, and did it again. Both are in a small area, the two families are less than a mile apart, this time in Xiaoning's house, next time in Xiaoxiao's house.
So Xiao Ning and Xiao Xiao almost grew up together. They are all children of the same unit, the two families move around frequently, although they cannot be said to be green plum bamboo horses and two small guesses, but they are much more familiar than other students in the class. Xiao Ning did not expect that the little girl next to him suddenly grew into a bright and radiant big girl one day.
Once she has someone she likes, Xiaoning finds herself scratching her heart and sitting restlessly. After dinner, as usual, Xiong Zhao was angry to find XiaoXiao, and when he saw the small courtyard of Xiaoxiao's house, his heart suddenly accelerated, so fast that he could not walk, lying on the railing and panting. Strange, it wasn't like this before!
Laughing and laughing, he walked to Xiao Ning step by step, and his head was crooked: What's wrong, squad leader?
Xiao Ning blushed so much that he was about to drip blood: I... Would like to please... Watching movies...
He smiled and froze for a moment, then suddenly understood. In that year, inviting female students to watch movies could not be simpler. The smile that understood was even redder than Xiao Ning's, and she didn't say yes, nor did she say no, she turned around and ran home.
Thirty-four years later, in early May 2021, just after the summer and the climate was just right, I was in Xi'an, and I was ordered to interview Lao Ning, a national labor model and a model of the Three Qins.
When I went to Lao Ning's house that night for an interview, and when I saw his wife smiling, I asked her: How did you promise him that year?
Smiling and glancing at Lao Ning: He promised to open a gourd head steamed bun restaurant for me.
Hulutou is a traditional snack in Xi'an, similar to the famous local beef and mutton steamed bun, but it does not use beef and mutton, but pig intestines and pork belly. Because this ingredient is more "heavy taste", it is difficult to accept.
I wondered: Why would such a request be made?
Laughing and saying: My father loves to eat, and when he was a child, he didn't eat with him. He asked me how I could promise him, and I was nervous and said this casually.
Lao Ning interjected: Not only this, you still have requirements.
Old Ning turned to me: she made three requests at that time, first, not to shout at her in the future. Second, open a gourd head steamed bun house. Third, she said she hadn't thought about it at the time and would think about it later.
I couldn't help but laugh: So what did you say?
Old Ning laughed: Of course I agreed with my mouth.
In Lao Ning's description, I went back to the eighteen-year-old with him, just came out of the movie theater, through the gray street lamp, like a flower woman hiding in the shadow of the tree, covering her mouth and watching him smile. Xiao Ning straightened his waist, raised his fists, smiled at him, and swore the same: I promise you, I will definitely open a gourd head steamed bun house. Just name it after you: Smile Gourd Head!
2
Xiao Ning's father would rather not agree: By what?!
Lao Ning nodded at Xiao Ning's nose and trained: Her father's alcohol consumption is not as good as mine, and her chess skills are not as good as mine. Why? My son, surnamed Ning, opened a gourd head steamed bun restaurant to hang up the sign of his Li family's girlfriend.
Xiao Ning's mother couldn't see it and said to her old man: You can stop it! What's wrong with hanging a sign? People are so handsome a big girl, white raised? Give you silly son, find a place to steal the fun for you.
As an eighth-level fitter, Lao Ning is entitled to pride. How powerful was the eighth-level worker at that time? It can be said that there are people in the unit who do not know the director, secretary, and chief engineer, and there is no one who does not know Lao Ning and several other eighth-level workers. Like the "baby" of the unit, the rostrum at the small meeting of the conference, the salary is not less than that of the director, and there are cars to sit when going out to meetings.
Lao Ning has many legendary stories.
It is said that once, a motor that has just been repaired on the production line always has a different sound, and the amplitude exceeds the normal frequency. Several engineers from the department in the bureau took the drawings and instructions to disassemble and close the motor for several days, but they did not solve it. Seeing that it was about to affect the production task of the month, the deputy director of production was very anxious and invited Lao Ning from another workshop. Lao Ning arrived at the scene, the drawings did not look, the instructions did not read, just take a large screwdriver close to the motor, put it aside, listened to it for less than ten minutes, pointed to a place and said, here is more than half a circle of wire.
Open a pack, close it again, less than an hour before and after, it's really good.
Another time...
It is this legend that makes Xiao Ning have a goal since he was a child, to be an eighth-level fitter like a father.
Unexpectedly, I was admitted to the local electric power college for the college entrance examination. Xiao Ning is still a little conflicted, he is bent on going to college. Lao Ning made up his mind: Electricity is good, sending light and warmth to thousands of households, what a glorious thing. Besides, the efficiency of electricity is also good.
Xiao Ning's mother also beat the side drum on the side: Don't go to college, college is four years, it is estimated that you have to go to other places, you can't bear to smile in Xi'an? What if someone else snatches it?
Laughing at the bad grades, she took her mother's class and went to the textile factory. So these words are saying that Xiao Ning's heart is difficult, OK, just drop it, happy to report to the electric power college.
Two years later, Xiaoning graduated from school and was assigned back to the local power bureau. As soon as Xiao Ning joined the work, Lao Ning entrusted the retired old bureau chief to be a matchmaker, find a good day, the two families sat together, the wine glass touched, and the family affair was finalized.
At the beginning of August, Xiao Ning rushed to work, first three months of new job training and safety education. When the day starts to cold, he is officially assigned to the line operation class, engaged in line operation maintenance and fault repair. A "two eight" bicycle, go out early in the morning, the day is not dark and do not come back, sometimes come back to the middle of the night, when the mother's heartache: Son, what are you doing all day? I haven't seen an easier life than your dad!
Xiao Ning comforted his mother: On the ground in our Xi'an New Area, east, west, south and north, all the power poles, we rode around the car, and found that something was wrong, we gave it to deal with. It's that simple.
Old Ning Xun's wife: When you are young, you don't suffer hardships, when do you eat? Long hair, short sight.
Turning his head to Xiao Ning: Don't listen to your mother, not only are you not afraid of being tired, but you also have to rush to do it. Learn from the master in a down-to-earth manner, and the key to learning the real skills is the most important.
After explaining this matter, he went out the door with his hand back: go, find your relatives to play chess.
During the Spring Festival in 1993, three cannons rang out, and Xiao Ning, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes and full of red light, married back to a delicate and bright bride. The convoy of greeters made a big circle around the city. The wedding car was open-top, the wind was blowing, smiling and squinting at Xiao Ning, who couldn't close his mouth, and asked him: Do you remember what you promised me?
Xiao Ning was stunned: What?
The band's voice is very noisy, and laughter can only say loudly: answer-answer-me-thing!
Xiao Ning was obviously overwhelmed by happiness and couldn't remember: What's the matter?
Smile and laugh the small fists, and attack in a row: laugh- laugh - gourd - lu - head!
Twenty-eight years later, one day in May 2021, I was sitting at Lao Ning's house. Laughing and saying: If you really want to open a gourd head steamed bun house, there are three time points, the first time is the winter of 1995, the second time is the autumn of 2008, and the last time is the summer of 2012.
Let's start with the first time, when the textile factory shut down that winter. I was only 26 years old that year, in fact, I didn't earn much for that little salary, I didn't earn much myself, I just felt that I didn't fall at once, and I became a waste. He advised me, let's open a gourd head steamed bun restaurant. I thought, yes, find a place, look at the equipment, choose a date, open.
I asked: Why didn't it open?
Smile and glance at Lao Ning: You asked him.
Old Ning laughed: Because in the past few years, she has become pregnant. Then rest assured that the family will be raised, pregnant in October, born out, more things, four years old to kindergarten, seven years old to go to primary school, every day to pick up. More than ten years have passed, until the child is in junior high school and wants to live in school, she is relieved. I remember, that's all to... It's 2008.
Smile and nod: Yes, the child went to junior high school, to live in school, only come back once a week, my mind moved again, not yet forty years old, start a business. That was the second time I wanted to open a gourd head steamed bun house. I am optimistic about the place, and it is not far from home.
I asked: This time it did not open, and why?
Smiling and looking at Lao Ning: Because of our family, this one, became the captain...
3
The captain of the laughing and laughing is the captain of the newly established power emergency repair service team of the Xi'an New District Power Supply Company.
Laughing and laughing did not say, is Xiao Ning all the way hard, but also all the way to a brilliant career, set a popular sentence on the Internet: open and hanging life, do not need to explain.
Working to the third year, Xiao Ning was proficient in the "Eighteen Martial Arts" that must be possessed in professional professions such as line patrol, emergency repair, and asset account page processing, and became the youngest technical expert in the unit.
In the seventh year of work, XiaoNing accumulated and summarized nearly 10,000 fault causes and common cases he encountered, and compiled the "Book of Hundred Treasures for Emergency Repair" and the "Emergency Repair Case Library Work Method". The superior recognized the importance of these two materials, organized the expert review in the system, and several old experts with gray hair sincerely sighed: This is not only a treasure book for emergency repair, but also a good teaching material for learning and training, a good material for experience exchange, it can be said that it fills the gap in the domestic power fault emergency repair file. I can't imagine, a young man, with his own strength to do such a big thing, too incredible...
In the tenth year of work, Xiaoning had a new name called "Living Map". Because he not only loves to ponder at work, he rides his bicycle through the streets and alleys after work, one by one to familiarize himself with the direction of the line, and when he encounters the line cutting and changing, he will draw it casually. In ten years, he drew more than a thousand line maps, which in the eyes of colleagues were better than those Baidu and Gaode maps that were launched later. More than a thousand drawings were drawn, and Xiao Zhang was really familiar with the power grid architecture on this land boundary. The parameters and indicators of each line, the change status, the environment along the line and the characteristics of the user, etc., are well understood, which place has a problem, Xiaoning according to the power outage range, weather conditions and line health, etc., do not need to go to the scene, remote to a "look and hear", you can judge the cause and point of the fault.
Xiaoning still remembers that it was September 2008, the Olympic power protection had just ended, and the commendation meeting was held immediately after that. In the morning, Xiao Ning wore red flowers and went to the rostrum again, and in the afternoon, he handled two fault repairs, and when he was about to leave work, the director of the department informed Xiao Ning: Wang Zong asked you to go to his office.
Wang is always the number one in the unit. What can he do with me? There was a difference of several levels in the middle, and Xiao Ning went to the administrative office building with a stomach full of doubts.
Entering the office, Mr. Wang was very polite, personally served tea and poured water, sat down and said to Xiaoning: In order to meet the needs of customers, improve the quality of our services, but also in order to create a service brand of our power supply company, the company wants to set up a power emergency repair service team, mainly responsible for the jurisdiction of our power related to a variety of emergency and difficulty heavy repair tasks.
Xiao Ning nodded: Good thing!
Mr. Wang stood up and paced back and forth a few steps: However, there is a lack of a leader, that is, the captain. In the past few days, I have passed through the people in our unit, age, experience, technology, choose and choose -
Wang Zong stood in front of Xiao Ning: Only you can carry this flag!
Xiao Ning stood up "Teng": Thank you for the trust of the leadership.
Mr. Wang smiled: But then you have to go back from the cadre management position to the production post as a worker.
Xiao Ning put his chest up: the management post and the production post are not a problem for me. Seriously, I really like repair work, and I'm willing to go to the front line.
General Manager Wang sighed and said with emotion: Before, there were still people who complained in front of me, saying that you were young, and you had taken all the personal honors that our unit had not won for many years. Employees like you, no matter how much honor you give, it is not too much.
Mr. Wang said again: In this way, Xiao Ning, don't be in a hurry to promise me. "People go to the high places, and the water flows to the low places", this is the common sentiment of people. Whether you want it or not, we all understand. So you think about it and talk to your family.
The family meeting was attended by all the members, Lao Ning agreed, Xiao Ning's mother did not agree, and smiled and did not express her position.
Xiao Ning's mother pestle daughter-in-law elbowed: Don't you object to waiting? He's stupid, you're also stupid. Following the official's wife, following the pig's intestines, such a simple truth is not understood.
Lao Ning pointed to his wife and started training: What age, or your old yellow calendar.
The old partner angrily took off the apron: "Okay, you have a kind." Have the ability to cook your own food to go.
The door flickered and left. Lao Ning asked: What are you doing?
Two hard-spoken words came in through the door: strike.
Well, Old Ning shook his head, the old lady was still quite trendy.
Old Ning turned his head and said Xiao Ning: Remember that we are from workers. Don't look down on the workers, you don't even want to be a worker...
Xiao Ning said: Dad, I know. I said yes as soon as I took a bite.
Old Ning said: Good. Laughter, what about your opinion?
Smiling and glancing at Xiao Ning, he looked at Lao Ning again: I listen to you.
Lao Ning said: Just listen to me. Listen to me now and chase your mother.
Thirteen years later, one day in May 2021, I was sitting at Lao Ning's house and laughing that she wanted to open the third point in time of the Gourd Head Steamed Bun Restaurant, which was the summer of 2012.
Because that summer, Lao Ning and Lao Li, these two old guys, two outstanding "eighth-level workers" cultivated by New China itself, passed away one after another. First Lao Ning, the condition suddenly worsened. Xiao Ning threw herself into her work, and usually called her parents to see if she cared about her parents and went to see them on weekends or holidays. This time, his father was seriously ill, and Xiao Ning thought about doing his filial piety well. He went to work during the day and rushed to the hospital at night to accompany the bed. Xiao Ning always thought that he could save his father like every time he failed to repair it. More than a month later, on the day his father left, Xiao Ning cried loudly, and for the first time in his life, there was a deep sense of powerlessness.
Lao Ning had been gone for less than two months, and Xiao Xiao's father reported that he was critically ill again. Sitting by my father's bedside, the more I smiled and thought about it, the sadder I became: Dad, I promised to open a gourd head steamed bun restaurant for you...
Old Li Yu took his last breath and laughed: Silly child, as long as you have a good life...
In those days, laughing and dreaming, I could dream of the opening of the Gourd Head Steamed Bun House. Firecrackers exploded outside the door, people came and went in the shop, Lao Ning and Old Brother Li, one holding a large bowl of hot, fragrant gourd head steamed buns, eating sweaty, laughing and nodding together: Good!
Then, I woke up from crying from my dream.
What about later? After the two old people left, why hasn't it opened yet?
The smile grew and shook his head: "Because, I don't want to open." I suddenly understood that there was something more important than opening a gourd head steamed bun house, and when I was going to do it, that is, to accompany my relatives. Although the father and father-in-law are gone, the mother-in-law and mother are still there, and the two old people are old and cannot be separated from each other. The child is also in high school, the school is getting heavier, nutrition must keep up, although only come back once a week, I also have to do my best to do a good job in logistics.
And also......
4
In fact, the most uneasy thing about smiling is Xiao Ning. Of course, at this time, we can also call him "Lao Ning".
Since becoming the captain of the power repair service team, Lao Ning has no sense of existence in this home. Although I used to be busy and came back late, I was always able to come back. As the service team became more and more popular, the smile became more depressed, "Before, this home was a hotel for him. Now even a hotel is not counted."
Often it is three or five days without coming back, and when you come back, you change your clothes, take a shower, and fall asleep. Wake up, pat your butt and go, leaving a smile and angry at a pile of dirty work clothes. Finally, one day, blocking Lao Ning's anger: Do you still want this home?
Old Ning smiled: Look at what you said, how important this home is to me...
Smile and smile: Then tell me, what do you think of this house now? Do you still have me and my children in your heart? I've been married to you for so many years, and I haven't been on the street once! The children are about to enter the university, have not picked up once, and have not held a parent-teacher conference! Every New Year's Festival, other people's homes are reunited, and they travel from north to south. You are good, once the holidays, you can't find anyone! Tell me, where have you taken me over the years?
Lao Ning quickly calmed down, looked at the smile and the mood settled, and said a word before going out: You can rest assured, strive to go home early tonight.
Smiling and smiling bitterly, he shook his head, this so-called "fight", Lao Ning did not know how many times he had promised her.
In the second year of the service team, an "innovation studio" named after Lao Ning was established. Lao Ning loved to tinker with the "problems" of electrical appliances when he was a child, and when he arrived here, he became an "innovation" that loved to ponder and love research... Over the years, Lao Ning has led his team to achieve more than 100 technological innovations, obtained more than 40 national patents, and more than 20 achievements to fill the gap in the construction of international smart grids.
Roll up your sleeves and work hard, the achievements are all struggle.
Lao Ning's honor has not been broken since he went to work, and in 2015, the honor has been qualitatively improved, rising to the central and national levels: the National May Day Labor Medal, the National Labor Model, the Representative of the Nineteenth National Congress, the Model of the Three Qins...
During the epidemic period, Lao Ning was not idle, xi'an's "Xiaotangshan" hospital, the project was established in early February, construction began in the middle of the same month, ten days to complete the project construction, fifteen days to smoothly hand over. Lao Ning, as the general manager of the power of this project, did not have a home for more than a month, and when he returned home at the end of March, he was black and thin, and he joked with laughter when he entered the door: You see this epidemic is quite bullying, covering your home whiter and better looking, making me darker and uglier...
One day in May 2021, I was at Lao Ning's house, and the interview began at 6 o'clock in the afternoon, and unconsciously, it was 12 o'clock at night. As soon as I looked at my watch, I was embarrassed, and while cleaning up the interview book and the voice recorder, I apologized to the smile: I'm sorry, it's rare that Lao Ning came back early today, I came to disturb it again, so late I can't rest.
Smile and shake your head: It's okay, I'm used to it.
I suddenly remembered something and asked her: By the way, when Lao Ning confessed to you, you made three requests, the first was not to shout at you, the second was to open a gourd head steamed bun restaurant, and the third was that you did not think about it at that time. Did you think about it later?
Lao Ning also looked at it curiously and smiled: Yes, it is not Liu Writer who reminds me, I forgot. Have you thought about it?
Smile and sigh: I have thought about it earlier, I am afraid that you can't do it.
Old Ning scratched his head: You say first.
Smile and take a deep breath: My third request is to stop playing with my life like this, after all, I am also more than fifty people.
Old Ning was stunned for a moment, looked up and smiled: Compared with before, now it is much better, the power grid is getting stronger and stronger, the fault repair is getting less and less, you don't look, I have a lot less phone now? Busy now, mainly for the service of the people...
Smile and say: Don't go around the bend, you say can you do it?
Lao Ning nodded hesitantly: "Definitely fight, definitely fight."
As he spoke, he walked to the door and put on his shoes and asked me to go downstairs. Laughing and sending us both to the door, while also criticizing Lao Ning: This is not a matter of striving for or not fighting, it is something that must be done and must be promised to me.
Old Ning Du went out, and turned back to look at the smile, full of tenderness, just like the eighteen-year-old boy who just came out of the movie theater, looked at the girl who was like a flower under the shadow of the tree, stood up his waist, and raised his fist, like an oath: I promise you, I will definitely open a laughing gourd head steamed bun house.