Chapter 65

To avoid the children being too excited for bedtime, Qiao Wei only told Yan Xiang the next morning, “Mommy will start working from today.”

Yan Xiang asked, “For how many days? When will you come back?”

“Every day, sometimes even on Sundays.”

Yan Xiang was surprised at first, then disappointed. “So, do I have to go to Brother Zhao’s house every day?”

Qiao Wei asked, “Don’t you like Auntie Yang and Junjun?”

“I like Auntie Yang because she gives me food,” Yan Xiang said. “Junjun is too noisy.”

“What about Wu Nier?”

“Wu Nier is also too noisy,” without Qiao Wei needing to ask further, Yan Xiang said directly, “Sister Lin is noisy too.”

Qiao Wei told Yan Xiang, “Xiang Xiang can come to work with Mommy.”

Yan Xiang’s eyes lit up immediately, and the light returned to her face, sweeping away the previous disappointment.

But Qiao Wei added, “But Xiang Xiang has to be good.”

Yan Xiang immediately straightened her chest, “Auntie Yang said I’m too good, she asked me to hit Junjun, but I didn’t.”

Qiao Wei rubbed her forehead.

The way the Zhao Family raised children was rough.

Sister Yang had told her that Yan Xiang was too quiet and easy to be bullied, so she suggested borrowing Junjun to let Yan Xiang practice.

In Sister Yang’s perception, boys must know how to fight.

The idea that boys must know how to fight, as well as the necessity of having sons, were both products of rural environments.

In human society, the middle class is the most civilized, while the lowest and highest classes often find themselves in a world of survival for the fittest.

In rural households without sons, or with few sons, or with sons who are thin and weak, they would indeed be subjected to malicious bullying by others.

This situation still persisted in Qiao Wei’s future life. Just by casually scrolling through video platforms, you could see videos of families without sons being maliciously encroached upon for their residential land and farmland.

However, as the child of a cadre, Yan Xiang was already in the middle class of society and no longer needed to rely on physical strength to win.

It’s just that Sister Yang’s cognitive concepts had not yet changed with the transformation of her status.

“Sister Yang likes children who can fight, but Mommy likes Xiang Xiang,” Qiao Wei said. “Xiang Xiang doesn’t need to fight. Xiang Xiang can do whatever she wants.”

So Xiang Xiang liked Mommy the most.

Yan Xiang smiled brightly.

On the first official day of work, Qiao Wei arrived a bit earlier as promised, bringing Yan Xiang with her to the office by 9:30 a.m.

Station Chief Lu had already brewed a pot of strong tea.

“You’ve arrived very early,” Qiao Wei walked into the office with a smile, still wearing the same outfit from yesterday. The sunlight seemed to shine on her shoulders, illuminating the office.

“Yan Xiang, this is Station Chief Lu, call him Uncle,” she gently patted Yan Xiang’s head.

Today, Yan Xiang was also wearing a white shirt, clean and tidy. She tilted her neck back and sweetly called out, “Uncle.”

“Hey! Good~” Chief Lu opened a drawer, reached inside, and pulled out a piece of candy. “Here.”

Qiao Wei gently pressed Yan Xiang’s palm behind her, Yan Xiang got permission and happily took the candy, revealing a row of small white teeth. “Thank you, Uncle.”

This was clearly a child with very good upbringing.

Polite children were always liked by everyone, especially when there was nothing to do in the office.

“Oh, this child, wearing such white clothes. It’s so easy to get dirty,” Hu Sui also came over to tease Yan Xiang, pinching her face and ruffling her hair, feeling a bit nostalgic, “She was so cute when she was younger, my children are all grown up now, smelly and noisy.”

Chief Lu said to Yan Xiang, “Give me the candy, and I’ll do a magic trick for you.”

Following his instructions, Yan Xiang handed the candy given by Chief Lu to Lu Tianming. Lu Tianming would then switch the candy between his left and right hands, amusing Yan Xiang and making her giggle.

Lu Tianming asked Qiao Wei how many children she had, and upon learning she only had Yan Xiang, he said, “Just one, huh.”

It was only then that Qiao Wei realized Lu Tianming, about the same age as Yan Lei, already had three children. The youngest one was now in elementary school, and his wife was currently pregnant with their fourth child.

In this era, people really don’t pay much attention to contraception; what matters to them is having more children for good fortune.

Lu Manman arrived a little later than Qiao Wei but still earlier than her usual work time.

Seeing Qiao Wei come early as planned, Lu Manman had a very good impression of her.

Military dependents from rural backgrounds really lack a sense of time. Hu Sui is able to arrive and leave on time now because Chief Lu has implemented rules at the broadcasting station to deduct salary for late arrivals and early departures, forcing her to comply.

The one who is currently at home resting due to strong pregnancy reactions used to be frequently late.

Broadcasters already have flexible and relaxed schedules, yet she still managed to be late despite many reminders that “the broadcast of Central Radio News is fixed and must be on time.”

It was only through salary deductions that this behavior was forcibly corrected.

Just talking to these military dependents is completely ineffective. They are particularly indifferent to “rules” and “regulations.”

Only when real money is deducted can they feel the pain.

Hu Sui broke the machine twice. The first time, Chief Lu kindly covered the natural wear and tear, but when she came for the second time, he told her that starting from the third time, the cost of replacing new parts would be deducted from her salary. Only then did she behave.

Compared to others, leaving aside other aspects, Qiao Wei is more pleasing to the eye just for her punctuality.

Lu Manman teased Yan Xiang a bit and then said to Qiao Wei, “Come with me, I’ll teach you how to use the machine.”

Qiao Wei touched Yan Xiang’s head, looked around, and followed Lu Manman.

Chief Lu pointed to a table. “You’ll sit here from now on.”

Hu Sui showed off, “I’ve cleaned it up for you.”

The wooden table was somewhat old, but indeed wiped spotlessly clean.

Although Hu Sui was stubborn, she didn’t slack off when it came to work. This office wasn’t as spacious as her home, but she managed to tidy it up effortlessly every morning.

Objectively speaking, her real work was essentially done in those ten or so minutes in the morning.

And then, for the rest of the day, she mostly sat in the office, drinking tea, sewing, or knitting.

Chief Lu and Lu Tianming were engrossed in reading.

The sounds of sipping tea or pouring tea water echoed, and nothing else could be heard, each person doing their own thing.

Emphasizing an atmosphere of golden years, tranquil and far-reaching.

Today, because of Yan Xiang, it was livelier than usual.

Qiao Wei asked Yan Xiang to sit at her seat and pulled out two comic books from her bag. “Read slowly, don’t disturb others.”

She also placed a military green kettle on the table for him, then took a pen and notebook and followed Lu Manman to the broadcasting room.

Lu Manman spoke clearly and was indeed a good teacher. “First, turn on the electronic tube amplifier for preheating.”

Qiao Wei asked, “How long does it need to preheat?”

“About ten minutes,” Lu Manman said. “So, at the latest…”

Qiao Wei interjected, “We must be there by nine fifty-five.”

“Yes.”

Lu Manman pointed at the machine and instructed her, “This switch, move it to ‘broadcast,’ and the broadcast will be live. Speak into the microphone, and the speakers outside will hear you. Have you got the opening and closing statements?”

“I have, I’ve memorized them already.”

Truly a capable person.

Lu Manman was pleased and continued, “You have to time the switch just right. After finishing the opening statement, immediately switch to the county’s broadcast channel. This transition is very short; the county also has an opening statement. Once she finishes hers, she switches to the central channel. We can’t delay her opening statement, and she can’t delay the central station’s opening statement. Understand? Write it down, write it down. This is the most important.”

So the most crucial part of this job was timing, finishing two sentences within a minute.

Qiao Wei earnestly and seriously made notes, even highlighting the key points.

Lu Manman was very satisfied with her work attitude.

She also emphasized the sequence of opening and closing the switch a few more times. “Remember, if you open this one first, sparks will fly, and it will break directly.”

Hu Sui just couldn’t grasp such a simple operation.

Qiao Wei could sympathize with the three Lu’s helplessness.

Actually, rather than saying she couldn’t learn it, it was more of a “I don’t believe in it, I won’t follow it” attitude.

Anything I don’t know, I won’t believe; it’s all bragging, all nonsense.

I won’t listen.

“That clock, Uncle Tianming adjusts it once every month. It’s very accurate,” Lu Manman told Qiao Wei, pointing to the wall clock.

Qiao Wei noticed that she addressed him as an uncle, despite being younger than Lu Tianming. But there was no time to chat about this; it was time.

Lu Manman said, “Watch closely.”

She demonstrated the operation to Qiao Wei on the spot. When the broadcast switched to the Central Broadcasting Station, the morning’s work was done.

“Pay attention to this switch. If you pull it down, the microphone will stay on. If you sneeze inside, everyone in town will hear it. Yue Xiufen always forgets this, causing several jokes.”

“Is Yue Xiufen the pregnant one on leave?” 

“Yes, she’s a military spouse like you.”

Qiao Wei asked, “So, what do we do now?”

“Now we have nothing to do,” Lu Manman said. “Just watch the time. End it in thirty-five minutes. Pull down the switch, finish the closing statement, push the switch up, then push this, and this. The machine will shut down completely.”

“Lock the door, the key hangs in the office. We’ll use it again in the afternoon.”

Truly leisurely.

The two didn’t stay in the broadcasting room either.

Because the broadcasting room was well soundproofed for broadcasting, the windows were sealed with bricks, and they needed to keep the lights on during the day, making it stuffy.

As soon as the broadcast started, the broadcasters would leave. Lu Manman and Qiao Wei talked outside.

“So, should we just stay in the office?” Qiao Wei asked.

“Anywhere is fine, just manage the time. Return in thirty-five minutes.”

The two returned to the office.

As soon as they entered, Hu Sui said, “Oh my, your child is so well-behaved.”

In the ten minutes Qiao Wei was away, Yan Xiang didn’t fuss; he just quietly read.

The three adults were quite surprised. They had all raised children, and few boys of this age could be so quiet.

“As long as he doesn’t disturb anyone,” Qiao Wei said, “he just loves reading.”

Chief Lu asked, “Done studying? How was it?”

Lu Manman was very happy. “She’s got it all.”

“Then you two can alternate shifts,” Chief Lu said. “Although she’s learned it, it’s safer to have you on duty this week.”

The two broadcasters took turns each week as per usual. Even when off duty, they had to come on time in case of emergencies to stand in. The person on duty for the week also had to work on Sundays.

Lu Manman’s face changed suddenly. “Second Uncle!”

She was supposed to have rested last Sunday, but now they wouldn’t let her rest this week either!

Yesterday, she addressed Chief Lu. So, they were related as uncle and niece.

Seeing that Chief Lu was about to reprimand her, Qiao Wei smiled and said, “Why don’t we let Lu Man take me first to try it out? If I’m okay, I’ll start taking over from this Sunday. From now on, let’s count a full rotation starting from Sunday, and keep rotating like that.”

Lu Manman immediately smiled. “Great, great, great! You’ll definitely be fine!”

Chief Lu gestured in the air a few times with his finger, indicating his agreement, but he also reminded her, “Call me ‘Station Chief.’ Don’t mix private and professional matters.”

Lu Manman stuck out her tongue.

The matter of shifts was resolved with just a few words.

Holding thirty-five minutes, Lu Manman returned to the broadcasting room to deliver the closing remarks, turned off the machine, and greeted, “I’m leaving.”

Chief Lu said, “Don’t oversleep this afternoon.”

Lu Manman retorted, “Who would oversleep?”

The morning’s work for the announcer ended like this.

Chief Lu asked, “Is Qiao Wei going home for lunch or eating at the canteen?”

Qiao Wei replied, “Eating at the canteen. It’s too troublesome to cook at home.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Hu Sui chimed in. “It’s too troublesome to cook for just one person. Let’s go eat together later.”

Qiao Wei smiled and said, “Okay.”

Chief Lu enjoyed his tea.

He thought to himself that this time the military district had really sent someone capable. Finally, they had given them someone decent.

Young, good-looking, energetic, positive attitude, clever and discerning about whose advice to follow.

What could be more satisfying for a leader than this?

Qiao Wei was happy to have lunch with Hu Sui at noon.

The canteen was not big, and many people took their lunchboxes back to the office to eat. They chose to stay in the canteen deliberately.

Obviously, Hu Sui was also trying to get closer to her.

Humans naturally tend to gather in groups and have an instinct to form cliques. Besides them, everyone else in the office was a local resident surnamed Lu. If Hu Sui didn’t try to get close to her, who else would she approach?

Sure enough.

“Lu Manman is the station chief’s niece. Lu Tianming and the station chief are not from the same family; they are sworn brothers.”

“Lu Manman’s father is the deputy director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.”

“The head of the propaganda department, Xie, is the station chief’s cousin.”

Qiao Wei didn’t need to ask; Hu Sui blurted out all the information.

You should always trust the information-gathering abilities of the older ladies.

“Wait, wait.” Qiao Wei also had knowledge gaps. “What does ‘sworn brothers’ mean?”

“Huh, you city folks don’t understand anything, can’t even figure out family relationships,” Hu Sui chuckled, explaining to her, “Xie’s wife is the station chief’s cousin. If it were a real sister, it would be a close relationship. But since they’re just cousins from the same family, I call it ‘sworn brothers from a different mother.’ It’s still a close relationship.”

“Mm-hmm, got it, got it!” Qiao Wei nodded throughout the meal.

Lesson learned.

Time to relearn the “Family Song”!