Dong Qi’s parents were longtime employees of the research institute where Feng Yu worked. Her elder sister, who had been in poor health, did not go to the countryside. Dong Qi had been putting off the move until now. When this OEM job opportunity arose, it felt like a lifeline, and she seized it eagerly.

Therefore, Dong Qi’s main purpose in coming here was to find any available job opportunities, even if it meant working in the cafeteria.

Wen Jiajia knew that Sha Yue and her husband had a good relationship with their parents, so she invited Dong Qi to lunch. On the way, she asked curiously, “Can’t your parents get you a job at the institute?”

Dong Qi didn’t hide anything and shrugged. “It’s not convenient for my parents to arrange it because it could lead to unwanted attention.”

Wen Jiajia understood immediately. As an intellectual, or even a high-level intellectual, it was indeed risky to be in the spotlight during these times.

So, Dong Qi had to rely on herself to find a job. If she could find one, great; if not, she would have to go to the countryside.

Having worked on the farm for a few months herself, Wen Jiajia thought that if she were to wear the clothes of these young city dwellers, they would probably prefer to stay in the city, even if it meant cleaning toilets, rather than go to the countryside.

Farm work is truly not that easy.

After training Dong Qi for a day, she had clearly gotten the hang of the job by the second day and was able to write the content for the publicity column independently.

By the third day, she started helping to organize data.

On the fourth day, she followed Wen Jiajia to the workshop and had engaging conversations with the workers.

Wen Jiajia felt that Dong Qi was truly talented. After working for half a month, she might be even more capable than Sha Yue.

Even Director Xue noticed her, and from then on, he became even more dissatisfied with Li Haijun.

The girl who does OEM for others was proving to be better than him.

The term “iron rice bowl” refers to a job that offers job security regardless of competence. At most, you might be transferred, for example, from the workshop to logistics.

It’s acceptable if you can’t handle workshop work, but can you really not handle logistics?

Thus, jobs are so stable these days that it’s incredibly hard to find employment.

After learning that construction had started on the new factory on Fengliu Street, Wen Jiajia advised Dong Qi to stay informed about the new factory.

“It’s hard to get a job in a pharmaceutical factory. Based on past practices, they won’t start recruiting until at least mid-May,” Wen Jiajia said. “It’s better to focus on the new factory.”

“When will the new factory be built?” Dong Qi asked.

Wen Jiajia thought for a moment and replied, “I need to visit it first to find out.”

She was also quite curious.

The factory was likely to be completed soon because it wasn’t being built from scratch. Instead, it was being converted from an old hospital, which meant it could be used after some renovations.

So, the next day at noon, after lunch, Wen Jiajia rode her bike to Fengliu Street.

This street was much quieter compared to the one where the pharmaceutical factory was located. The pharmaceutical factory was a large facility with thousands of employees, so it was naturally bustling with activity.

At the new factory, people were already coming and going. Trucks carrying various materials were frequently entering and exiting through the back door.

Wen Jiajia approached the gate and asked the security guard, “Uncle, I work at the pharmaceutical factory next door. Do you know when the new factory will be completed?”

The old man replied, “How would I know? At least it will be after the middle of the year.”

“It’s going to take that long?” Wen Jiajia asked.

“Not exactly! It was originally a hospital, and the rooms are not very large. You need to knock down some walls. Plus, the machines—some have arrived, but some haven’t. Many still need to be installed. It will take at least five months,” the old man explained.

Wen Jiajia asked, “What about recruiting people?”

The old man laughed, “You’re funny, girl. I’m a security guard, not a factory manager. I have no idea about that.”

“…”

Wen Jiajia realized she had been presumptuous.

When she returned to the pharmaceutical factory, she shared the information with Dong Qi, who breathed a sigh of relief.

She smiled and said, “Sister Sha Yue said she won’t be able to come back to work until July or August at the earliest.”

“It will really take that long?” Wen Jiajia asked.

“Yes! We have to wait until the baby is older.”

Wen Jiajia counted on her fingers and realized that Sha Yue would indeed need to wait until the baby was three or four months old before she could return to work.

Perhaps due to this major development, the atmosphere in the factory continued to improve.

There is a large clock in the center of the pharmaceutical factory. The hands of the clock turn day after day, and in the blink of an eye, it was spring, and flowers were blooming.

The ginkgo trees had sprouted new buds, turning everything green from a distance. Not only had the roadside lawns turned green, but wildflowers had also sprouted, swaying in the wind and showcasing their vibrant vitality.

This was true in the city, and even more so outside of it.

Wen Jiajia felt this deeply. On her daily commute to and from work, she always noticed new life emerging along the roadside.

For instance, peach blossoms, which bloom around the tenth day of the first lunar month in her hometown, only begin to bloom here around the spring equinox.

The hillside was covered with pink and white peach and apricot blossoms, which were very beautiful.

Wen Jiajia made a mental note to check the peach tree’s fruit when it ripened to see if it was edible.

She also had her eye on various wild vegetables.

After being nourished by the spring rain, wild vegetables emerged from the soil and unfurled their leaves.

This was a temptation for many, especially those who worked every day.

Wild vegetables sprouted on the hillside daily. If not picked, they would eventually wither away.

Since this area was far from the village, villagers primarily foraged for wild vegetables around their own villages.

Wen Jiajia saw this as a significant waste, so she spread the word around the factory. Soon, everyone knew about the hillside in the suburbs where abundant wild vegetables could be picked!

City dwellers might look down on wild vegetables from the mountains, but since city vegetables cost money, many would prefer to pick wild vegetables if given the chance.

Wen Jiajia noticed that after lunch every day, groups of workers would ride bicycles out of the city.

Where to? To the outskirts of the city.

As it neared work time, they would return in groups, with their bicycle baskets full of green wild vegetables.

Shepherd’s purse, dandelion, mint, wild onion, chrysanthemum leaves…

Wen Jiajia was amazed! She had limited knowledge of wild vegetables. Aside from the commonly eaten ones like shepherd’s purse and wild onion, she didn’t know much about the others or how to prepare them.

“How else can you eat them? Just blanch them in water and serve them cold!” a colleague from the workshop explained. “You can also cook them into soup. As long as the smell isn’t too strong, you can make a decent soup.”

The colleague provided a few examples, and Wen Jiajia quickly wrote them down.

The wild vegetable season lasted a long time, and Wen Jiajia spent her rest days over the past few months searching for wild vegetables.

Why? She discovered the amazing uses of wild vegetables.

It wasn’t just about eating wild vegetables after drying them out of season; she discovered they could actually be synthesized.

This discovery was quite unexpected. When she picked up a shepherd’s purse in the back of the mountain and tried synthesizing it on a whim, she thought it would likely fail and didn’t take it seriously. However, the option of “sitosterol”^[1]is a beneficial plant sterol with cholesterol-lowering properties, contributing to heart health, and available in various plant-based foods and supplements. appeared.

Having worked in a pharmaceutical factory, Wen Jiajia was familiar with steroid compounds through what she had seen and heard, even though she had been in an office role. Additionally, her father suffered from high cholesterol, so she knew the benefits of sitosterol.

It can not only lower serum cholesterol but also prevent atherosclerosis^[2]is a condition characterized by the buildup of plaque in the arteries..

Wen Jiajia clicked the synthesis button, and three seconds later, a small amount of yellow-brown powder appeared in her hand.

It wasn’t much—just a handful—but it was enough to excite her. What opportunity had caused this significant change in her Golden Finger?

She observed for a while and noticed a progress bar at the bottom of the light screen. The progress bar was near the origin, indicating that the previous stage had been completed and it had officially entered the second stage.

Perhaps that was why she could now synthesize plants.

Wen Jiajia was thrilled and suppressed her excitement, waiting for the next opportunity to synthesize other plants. By the time she had tried almost all the plants in the back mountain, two months had passed.

Her excitement had long since calmed down. In her opinion, synthetic machines were more practical. Plants could synthesize various substances, including medicines and poisons, and many chemicals were beyond her understanding. So, despite her curiosity, she didn’t dare to synthesize unfamiliar substances, fearing legal trouble or potential poisoning.

I’m even more afraid that the wind might accidentally blow and cause someone to be poisoned to death.

But synthetic essential oils are fine.

Spring and summer are the seasons for flowers. The roses in the back mountain were in full bloom. Wen Jiajia spent two months producing two bottles of rose essential oil.

The smell of rose essential oil is very similar to that of fresh roses, though slightly less fragrant.

But that was enough. Wen Jiajia applied the rose essential oil to her skin, and sure enough, the two girls nearby gathered around her, sniffing and saying, “It smells so good.”

How could it not smell good? The flowers from just two rose bushes produced about 100 ml of essential oil.

This is pure rose essential oil. After a few decades, it could be sold for at least a thousand yuan.

Once she gets some popular essential oils like lavender and rose, selling them for three or four thousand won’t be a problem!

Wen Jiajia’s breathing became rapid. Great, there was one more way to make money.

It was officially May, and Wei Dai had been away from home for two whole months.

He left in early March, saying he was on a mission.

He didn’t specify what the mission was, and Wen Jiajia didn’t ask. Wei Dai only mentioned that the mission would take a while. Not only was he absent, but Xie Yang next door was also nowhere to be seen.

Wen Jiajia thought that “a while” meant one month, but who knew it would stretch to two months.

And there was no news at all, which prompted Wen Jiajia to visit the logistics department frequently to ask about him.

The troops were concerned that Wei Dai might have been injured or something, so they didn’t dare tell her anything.

Unable to get any answers from the logistics department, Wen Jiajia could only sigh at home and even lost interest in synthesizing essential oils.

When the weather gradually warmed up, she finally shook off this gloomy mood.

There was no other choice; the thick quilts at home had to be put out in the sun. The straw mats needed to be washed and brushed, and the straw mattresses had to be exposed to the sun for a few days.

The good news was that Wen Chun and Wen Xuan hadn’t wet the bed in the past six months. Wen Jiajia didn’t need to weave new straw mats for them or take apart and re-stuff the cotton, which saved her a lot of effort.

Amidst the busyness, the weather continued to get hotter. It seemed even hotter than last year.

Peaches ripened during this period, but unfortunately, they were not even half the size of her fist and were so sour and astringent that they were simply inedible.

This was normal. If they were edible, villagers nearby would have transplanted them long ago. There’s no way they would have survived until now.

Wen Jiajia thought about it but couldn’t come up with a good way to deal with these sour peaches, so she regretfully gave up and turned to picking apricots nearby.

Although apricots are astringent^[3]describes the specific taste quality of apricots that can make them feel dry or puckering on the palate., they are still edible if pickled. And there were bayberries as well. Wen Jiajia brought a basket of bayberries to visit Sha Yue that day.

***

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