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This was Wen Nuan’s first time visiting the backyard of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. While the storefront in the front might not seem very large, the backyard was surprisingly spacious. Particularly striking was the warehouse, which, at a rough glance, spanned at least three or four hundred square meters.
“Father!”
As soon as the two entered, they spotted Li Dabin standing by the warehouse door.
“My girl! What brings you here?”
The moment Li Dabin saw his daughter, his previously stern expression softened into a smile as bright as a blooming flower.
“Father, I need to talk to you about something. Is now a good time?”
“Of course, of course! My daughter’s here—what wouldn’t I make time for? Xiao Zhang, keep counting the stock for me. I’ll be back shortly!”
“No problem, Deputy Director Li. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure everything’s counted properly!”
“Good!”
After wrapping up the task, Li Dabin led Li Hongmei and Wen Nuan to his office.
“Alright, tell me—what brings you here? If I’m not mistaken, this must be your classmate… let me think… Wen Nuan, right?”
“You’re absolutely right, Uncle. I’m Wen Nuan. I apologize for coming unannounced and causing any inconvenience. Please forgive me.”
“Oh, don’t be so formal, child! Come, sit down, sit down!”
“Come on, Nuan Nuan, don’t go mimicking my father. The moment he’s at work, he loves putting on airs. It’s such an annoying habit!”
“Hey, you cheeky girl! Is that any way to talk about your father?”
“Hehe…”
Li Hongmei chuckled, then leaned in close to Li Dabin, lowering her voice as she discreetly explained Wen Nuan’s situation about selling her job.
“Really?”
“Of course! Nuan Nuan’s standing right here—how could it not be true?”
Li Dabin didn’t respond to his daughter. Instead, he turned to Wen Nuan with a serious expression and asked:
“Wen… classmate, is what Hongmei said true? Did you really voluntarily agree to sell your job to her?”
“Father, what do you mean by that? Do you think I’d trick Nuan Nuan or something?”
“No, no! That’s not what I meant. I’m just asking… just asking, that’s all!”
“Uncle Li,” Wen Nuan spoke up, her tone steady but sincere, “I’m selling the job voluntarily. You might not know much about my family’s situation, but Hongmei does.
I’m not afraid of being laughed at, but I really don’t have any other choice. If I had an alternative, I wouldn’t want to sell my job. It’s just the harsh reality I’m facing.
In three days, I’m scheduled to be sent to the countryside. My father personally signed me up for it—he wanted me to give up my job for my stepsister. I’m heartbroken, and that’s why I decided to sell it privately.”
“If this job goes to them, I won’t see a single cent. You know as well as I do what life in the countryside is like. There’s no need for me to say more.”
Li Dabin couldn’t help but sigh deeply after hearing this. Every family has its struggles, and it wasn’t his place to pry too much into someone else’s affairs. Still, his daughter did genuinely need this job.
“In that case, we’ll buy this job from you. Don’t worry, Uncle won’t let you walk away empty-handed.
On the surface, apprentice positions at the clothing factory typically go for four to five hundred yuan. Here’s what I’ll offer you: Five hundred yuan in cash, thirty industrial vouchers, and one hundred jin of nationwide grain coupons.
As for cotton vouchers, they’re out of season right now, and I truly don’t have any on hand. However, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative does have a batch of defective fabric in the warehouse.”
Note: Jin is a traditional Chinese weight unit, approximately equal to 0.5 kilograms.
“I can make the decision to let you pick out some of the defective fabric first. It was originally meant as an internal benefit for staff, not for external sale.”
Hearing this, Wen Nuan couldn’t hide the light in her eyes. Compared to the eight hundred yuan in cash, the grain coupons, industrial vouchers, and defective fabric were far more valuable.
It wasn’t easy to get grain coupons these days, especially the nationwide ones. The amount of effort it took to obtain them was enormous, yet here he was, offering one hundred jin of them in a single transaction. Truly, the authority of a deputy director at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was no joke.
Of course, Wen Nuan also understood that the reason Li Dabin was offering so much was because she was Li Hongmei’s classmate.
“Thank you, Uncle. Let’s proceed as you’ve said—I have no objections!”
“Alright then. The warehouse is being inventoried tomorrow, so come find me after 8 a.m. As for the job handover, when would it be convenient for you to finalize it?”
Wen Nuan glanced at the clock on the wall—it was 3 p.m. From here to the clothing factory was just a little over a 20-minute walk.
“If you have time now, Uncle, we can go right away. I’ve brought all the necessary documents with me.”
Wen Nuan pulled out a transfer form from her pocket. It had the clothing factory’s official stamp. With this form, one could report directly to the factory. Right now, it was the paperwork that mattered, not the person holding it!
“Well, Wen Nuan, you’ve certainly come prepared. In that case, to avoid any complications, let’s handle it today. But first, we need to stop by my house to grab the household registration booklet and get your money before heading to the clothing factory!”
“I’ve got no problem with that, Uncle. I’ll follow your lead!”
“Hehe… good, good. I’ll get everything arranged. You two just wait for me at the door.”
“Alright!”
Li Dabin moved quickly. After greeting the director and delegating his work to Xiao Zhang, he stepped out to join them.
By the roadside, Li Hongmei turned to Wen Nuan and expressed her gratitude once more:
“Nuan Nuan, I really owe you for this. Without your help, I wouldn’t know what to do. The street office has already come to my house twice, urging me to register, and my mom has been stalling as much as she can!”
“Oh, come on, what’s with the formalities between us?” Wen Nuan replied with a smile.
“Exactly! With the relationship we have, there’s no need for formality. Oh, and when you get to the countryside, make sure to write to me and tell me your address.
If you’re missing anything, let me know—I can buy it here and send it to you. And don’t you dare be polite with me!”
“Alright, I’ll remember. Once I’ve settled down in the countryside, I’ll write to you. You’d better work hard at the clothing factory, and don’t forget about me, your old classmate, when you make it big!”
“What are you talking about? Do I seem like that kind of person?”
Wen Nuan chuckled softly. Having been reborn, she instinctively kept her distance from people, maintaining a natural sense of caution and hesitating to get too close.
The decision to approach Li Hongmei hadn’t been made lightly; she had thought it through carefully. Yet to her surprise, Li Hongmei remained as warm and sincere as ever, like a small sun radiating unrestrained warmth.
Unknowingly, the walls around Wen Nuan’s heart cracked slightly, and within the fissure, a seed named friendship began to take root and grow.
In her previous life, the two of them had been very close friends. Unfortunately, not long after Wen Nuan went to the countryside, Li Hongmei, unable to secure a job, was also sent down. From that point onward, their paths no longer crossed.
By the time Wen Nuan passed the college entrance exams and returned, she hadn’t had the chance to reconnect with her old classmate before being sold off to that wretched village.
Thinking about that hellish place, Wen Nuan clenched her teeth. If given the chance, she was determined to return there one day.
She would seek justice for herself and ensure that filthy place was utterly destroyed, so no one else would ever have to suffer there again.