Chapter 6

The performance ended at 8 PM, and by the time Ye Manzhi got home, it was already past 9.

As soon as the front door opened a crack, her fourth brother, who was setting up a bed in the living room, shouted, “The youngest is back!”

The others quickly ran out from their rooms, and Chang Yue’e, observing her daughter’s expression, asked, “Did you come back by yourself, or did Captain Wu come with you?”

“Captain Wu sent me back.”

Chang Yue’e’s heart, which had been anxious, relaxed halfway, only to hear her fourth sister-in-law eagerly ask, “What’s Captain Wu like? Is he easy to get along with?”

The military representative at the factory was no less important than the vice factory director. If the military representative and the family were to hit it off, Shen Liangmei would be willing to support her sister-in-law living at her parents’ house for the rest of her life!

Ye Manzhi tiredly replied, “He’s not bad. I mentioned that I was looking for a job, and Captain Wu said he could help me get a position at the street office. He even wrote me a letter of recommendation.”

The entire family: “……”

Weren’t they supposed to be discussing a potential match for marriage? How did it turn into a job recommendation instead?

After reading the letter of recommendation her daughter brought home, Ye Shouxin was the first to recover his senses.

“I knew it! I’ve never been wrong about people! Don’t be fooled by how quiet Xiao Wu is, he’s especially sincere and definitely a warm-hearted person!”

After one matchmaking session, Captain Wu had automatically turned into Xiao Wu in his eyes.

This time, it was Ye Manzhi’s turn to be silent.

Was the Captain Wu she met really the same person as the “Xiao Wu” her father was talking about?

He had just recommended a job to her. It seemed inappropriate to say anything bad about him. But if someone like Wu Zhengrong could be considered warm-hearted, then what was her heart, boiling hot?

When dealing with the man in the bowler hat tonight, he had mostly stood by, watching the situation unfold with a cold attitude.

And when faced with a nosebleeding potential match, his expression was strange, his eyes full of mockery.

Even though he didn’t say anything at the time and even kindly offered her a handkerchief to wipe her nose, his silent actions spoke louder than words!

It was deafening!

Under his seemingly all-knowing gaze, she could hardly wait to vanish into thin air!

Oh, she had mentioned she was feeling a bit on edge lately—she wasn’t sure if he bought that or not…

Ye Manzhi’s mind was a whirl of thoughts. She sighed inwardly—beauty really can lead people astray, and the grace of a handsome man was truly hard to withstand.

Her family, however, thought this matchmaking was going well and began to ask about the details of the meeting.

She shared what she could, then casually asked, “Dad, Captain Wu said his position at the factory is only temporary, and that he might be transferred back to Beijing soon. Did you know about this?”

She was hoping to never see Wu Zhengrong again after the embarrassing scene at her maternal grandmother’s house tonight. Her pride was utterly shattered.

Based on her understanding of her parents, they would never allow her to marry far away.

Sure enough, Ye Shouxin stopped what he was doing, furrowing his brows and asking, “Did he say this himself?”

“Yes.” Ye Manzhi repeated their conversation.

Ye Shouxin exchanged a look with his wife, and a furrowed brow appeared between them. “Military orders are like mountains. If he’s being transferred back to the capital, that’s better than being sent off to some remote place where communication would be difficult.”

It seemed like the “temporary position” might just be an excuse from Captain Wu. The real situation was probably that he wasn’t interested in their daughter.

After thinking for a while with his hands behind his back, Ye Shouxin shook his head with regret.

“Our daughter will not marry far away! I’ll reply to the matchmaker tomorrow and tell them to forget about it.”

Chang Yue’e was afraid that her daughter would be hurt by the first matchmaking experience and tried to comfort her: “At least Captain Wu has a good eye and helped you get a good job. The money we spent on those performance tickets wasn’t wasted.”

Looking at it from another angle, Captain Wu had handled the situation with dignity.

Fourth brother, fiddling with a cricket jar, cluelessly disrupted the conversation: “What kind of good job is the street office? There are only aunties and old ladies there. What would a young girl like you be doing at the street office?”

“Those old ladies you’re talking about are from the neighborhood committee. The street office isn’t the same as the neighborhood committee! The street office is made up of cadre positions!”

Ye Shouxin wasn’t entirely clear about the differences either.

But finding a job these days was hard.

Liu from the workshop, whose younger son had just graduated this year, couldn’t find a suitable job, so two days ago, he joined the city’s youth volunteer pioneer team and went to Songbei to help develop a collective farm.

Ye Laiya wasn’t cut out for farm work; she’d rather go to the street office and be around aunties and old ladies than join a farm development team.

Compared to her somewhat clueless parents and younger brother, her older brother, Ye Mantang, understood the situation much better.

“Those who work are managed by their units, those who study are managed by schools, and those who do neither are managed by the street office. Most of the workers’ families in our factory are under the street office’s jurisdiction. From large matters like conscription and recruitment, to small matters like issuing marriage certificates and introduction letters, the street office takes care of it. Your sewing business was shut down by the street office, right?”

Though the street office wasn’t as large as the factory, its power wasn’t small. It had a say in all the major and minor affairs of the residents in its jurisdiction.

Fourth brother fed the cricket a bean sprout and, with a casual glance, said, “Liu Zhuo’s mother is the head of the neighborhood committee, and she only gets three yuan a month! Little sister, if you go work at the street office, how much salary do you think you’ll get?”

Three yuan was too little, barely more than what he earned taking care of the cricket!

He had always thought that his younger sister, with her high school diploma, could get a good office job, but instead, she was sent to the small street office with hardly any employees.

Ye Manzhi was still thinking about the bloodstained handkerchief in her pocket. She just wanted to get it cleaned up as soon as possible, to destroy the evidence and keep this embarrassing moment to herself.

She sighed: “I don’t know how much the salary will be. I’ll go to the street office tomorrow and find out.”

---

The Ye family had mixed opinions about the job, but Ye Manzhi herself was still grateful for the opportunity.

The next morning, she set out with the recommendation letter in hand.

The street office wasn’t far from home; it was located in a small courtyard by the street, hidden in the sprawling shantytown.

The ginkgo trees along the road provided shade, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the sign by the door.

“Binjiang City, Zhengyang District, Guangming Street Office.”

This wasn’t Ye Manzhi’s first time at the street office. During the time when her second brother-in-law, Xu Dajun, had reported her for secretly opening a tailor shop, she had come here many times.

She walked straight into the red brick house directly facing the main gate.

Outside the office, some residents were lined up to get introduction letters.

The street office director’s desk was at the back. As soon as Ye Manzhi pushed open the door, Director Mu, who had a sharp eye, spotted her.

“Xiao Ye, you’re here. I guess it’s about your brother and sister-in-law’s divorce, right? It would be best if he comes in person. Avoiding mediation like this isn’t going to solve anything!”

Ye Manzhi felt embarrassed and quickly made a few explanations to her third brother. She then made her intention clear and handed over Captain Wu’s recommendation letter.

Mu Lan unfolded the letter. The few short lines were read by her two or three times, occasionally glancing over Ye Manzhi through her glasses.

After waiting for an unknown period, Mu Lan smiled and said, “It’s always good to have Captain Wu recommending talent. Of course, we welcome someone like you. I understand your situation a bit. For a woman like you, with a higher education, our street office is definitely happy to have you!”

Her tone was firm, and she spoke with a friendly and straightforward energy.

Ye Manzhi quickly thanked her, remembering the “20 phrases to handle leadership” her father and third brother had drilled into her the night before. She humbly added, “Director Mu, this is my first time working, and I lack experience. I’ll have to trouble you to guide me.”

Director Mu seemed quite satisfied with her response. After reviewing the graduation certificate and other materials she brought, she smiled and said, “Xiao Ye, we’ll accept the recommendation letter. The street office will need to verify your situation first, and we’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.”

Verifying the educational background and family background was essential, and Ye Manzhi had already prepared herself for that.

The attitude of the street office’s leadership was much warmer than other units, likely thanks to Captain Wu’s influence.

Although Captain Wu had turned her down using the excuse of a temporary position and had mocked her for the nosebleed, she still appreciated the help he had given in recommending her for the job. She knew when to show gratitude.

After crossing Wu Zhenrong’s name off her mental list, Ye Manzhi said goodbye to Director Mu and left happily to wait for news at home.

Meanwhile, in the office, Mu Lan held onto the recommendation letter and lamented to the deputy director next door: “What’s going on with this situation?”

Zhang Qinjan, holding a tea jar in one hand and a newspaper in the other, absentmindedly replied, “Well, having someone recommend talent for you is certainly a good thing.”

“If it was just Xiao Ye, we could have kept her directly. She’s a high school graduate and pretty too. At least we’d have something nice to look at in the office!” Mu Lan pulled open a drawer and took out four similar recommendation letters, “Looks like all the connected people are gathering here!”

Zhang Qinjan finally set the newspaper down and took out two envelopes, “I’ve got two here too. Let’s discuss how we’re going to allocate these spots.”

Each street office has a staff quota, which is based on the total population in the jurisdiction. Typically, 5-7 cadre positions are allocated.

The director and deputy director are appointed by the district.

Other positions are supplementary staff that can be hired by the street office itself.

Guangming Street had a 6-person quota. During the recent public-private partnership initiative, one of the office staff went to manage a public restaurant, and another was transferred to the union at Factory 656.

This left two vacancies.

However, before their recruitment announcement had even been posted, recommendation letters had already poured in, each trying to get ahead of the others.

Zhang Qinjan suggested, “We can’t delay this any longer. The longer we wait, the more people will start putting in requests. Right now, we have seven candidates, but only four meet the requirement of having at least a middle school education. In the past, we didn’t pay much attention to educational qualifications, but this time, let’s use education as the key criterion. That way, no one can find fault.”

Now, they had to choose four out of these candidates. Who would be eliminated?

Mu Lan took the recommendation letters for the four candidates, laid them out on the table, and began reviewing them.

The signatures of the leaders at the bottom of the letters were from both the district and nearby units.

The street office’s work is an essential link between the higher authorities and the residents, requiring input from many different sectors.

Mu Lan always adhered to the principle of uniting all available forces.

There was no need to offend people over the matter of filling positions.

After a long period of quiet thought, she spoke up, “In neighborhood work, personality and ability are more important than education. If we hire someone like Feng Chaoyang again, it will still be a headache for us. Anyway, all new recruits have a probation period. I think we can have them all try the position for two months. We’ll explain the pros and cons in advance, and then keep the two who perform the best. If they’re okay with that, they can start the trial period.”

Zhang Qinjan thought that this approach might not be appropriate, and could end up offending everyone. But thinking of Feng Chaoyang’s conduct, he closed his mouth.

The idea was a bit flawed, but at least it would allow him to make a gesture of accountability to the people who had helped out.

If someone refused to try the position, that would save him some trouble too.

“Then let’s proceed according to the Director’s plan!”

He gathered the recommendation letters together, and when he came to Ye Manzhi’s, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why did Wu Zhenrong also submit a letter?”

Most of the residents of Guangming Street were workers and families from the 656 Factory, and the two units had a close relationship.

Wu Zhenrong, the young leader, was usually very measured and not the kind of person to meddle in other people’s affairs, so it was quite surprising that he would get involved in the street office’s recruitment.

“Last time I went to a meeting at the district, I joked about how the 656 Factory union had poached our little Liu from the street office. At that time, Captain Wu said he would find a chance to make up for it by recommending a talent. I thought it was just a joke, but who knew he actually sent over a high school graduate!”

Mu Lan had some guesses about the relationship between the two, but when she thought about their age difference, she quickly dismissed the idea.

656 Factory was a large factory, and it was a close-knit community. Every household had connections, so maybe there was some kind of familial link between the two.

Mu Lan only speculated internally, but on the other side of Guangming Street, in the 656 Factory’s cafeteria, someone had already asked about Wu Zhenrong.

“How’s the girl you went to see the performance with yesterday?”

“Pretty good. But you also saw the situation here, right? We’re approaching the deadline for deliveries and have to prepare for National Day celebrations. The schedule is tight, and there’s a lot to do, so I can’t really think about personal matters right now. Aunt, you can head back to work after lunch.”

“Whose job isn’t busy? Doing revolutionary work doesn’t stop you from settling down!”

Wu Zhenrong’s aunt had specifically taken two hours off from her school just to inquire about her nephew’s matchmaking situation.

This nephew was always determined and had strong opinions. If she hadn’t been forceful, the matchmaking session from yesterday would have come to nothing.

Wu Zhenrong’s aunt looked across at him. The hot summer sunlight hit his profile, making it hard to read his expression. She paused for a moment, her gaze lingering for two seconds before asking in a subtle tone, “Are you doing that thing again?”

“No.”

Wu Zhenrong answered honestly, but his aunt didn’t believe him.

This nephew of hers was exceptionally bright. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Southwestern United University, a merger of Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University, with the highest score in the provincial entrance exams.

Everyone praised him as a young talent.

But as with any family, they knew their own well. Although he appeared humble and polite outwardly, with a cultured demeanor, deep down he was extremely proud of his intellect and looked down on others equally.

Even though, as an adult, he had learned to restrain his sharpness, he still carried this pride within him.

However, changing one’s nature is difficult. Wu Xiaogu reasonably suspected that her nephew’s old habit of seeing everyone as a fool had probably resurfaced.

Otherwise, why would he introduce two different candidates for a match?

“Uncle Wu!”

Her thoughts were interrupted. Wu Xiaogu looked up and saw two young men, who looked like students, walking past their table holding lunch boxes.

Wu Zhenrong smiled and responded, “Don’t you have class today?”

“The preparatory class is in the afternoon. We had lunch at the factory before heading over,” Zhou Mu replied casually. He then smiled and asked, “Uncle Wu, I heard you’re teaching theory to the young workers at the Stalin Automobile Factory. Could we audit your class?”

Zhou Mu and Liu Guoqing were planning to study engineering after arriving in the Soviet Union. To ensure they didn’t fall behind in their studies, Zhou Mu’s father had used his connections to arrange for the two of them to attend supplementary classes with the factory’s Soviet-bound young workers, essentially giving them a head start.

Occasionally, Wu Zhenrong was invited to teach theory classes, where he explained concepts in a simple and accessible manner, drawing on various sources. His classes were well received.

However, as Wu Zhenrong was the military representative at the factory, his classes could cover sensitive topics, so they were only open to the group of young workers who were about to go to the Soviet Union.

Even though Zhou Mu’s father was the deputy factory director, he couldn’t just send him into a class meant for military representatives.

The theory classes were held alongside the practical ones, and recently, Zhou Mu had found himself struggling to follow the practical lessons in the workshop, feeling like he was listening to a foreign language.

Out of options, he decided to try and find out from Uncle Wu what the situation was.

Wu Zhenrong was easygoing and quite tolerant of his somewhat impulsive behavior. Smiling, he said, “I teach the class as a commission from the factory’s study abroad committee. As long as you have an attendance certificate when you enter, anyone can come to audit the class.”

“So we just need to go to the study abroad committee and get an attendance certificate to attend your class, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great!” Zhou Mu and Liu Guoqing both showed delighted expressions, repeatedly thanking Wu Zhenrong.

They were so pleased they hadn’t realized that without the military representative’s direct approval, the study abroad committee wouldn’t easily issue the certificates.

Zhou Mu had a few more questions for Wu Zhenrong and was about to ask if they could sit at the same table, but Wu Zhenrong casually pointed to another table and, with a tone that suggested concern, said, “There’s an empty table over there. Hurry up, don’t delay your class this afternoon.”

“Ah,” Zhou Mu froze, holding his lunchbox halfway, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment and trying to act casual. “Okay, Uncle Wu, you enjoy your meal, I’ll head over now…”

Wu Zhenrong nodded and said no more.

He remained calm, and his words were without fault, but Wu Xiaogu, who had raised him for over ten years, could tell he was impatient and just going through the motions.

The young man was about to attend the Soviet preparatory class, and no matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem like a fool. Why was Zhenrong showing this attitude?

Wu Zhenrong picked up his chopsticks again, pretending not to notice the doubt in his aunt’s eyes.

Earlier that morning, he had looked into the background of the Ye and Zhou families.

His impression of Zhou Mu had shifted from the smart son of a colleague’s family to that of a smart fool.

Zhou Zhenye was cunning, and it made sense that he wasn’t happy with his son’s arranged engagement.

If he had been upfront and rejected the engagement openly, Wu Zhenrong might have even thought more highly of him.

But this family wanted both material gain and social status. Their methods were underhanded, their words deceptive, and their reasoning convoluted. It all came across as the behavior of petty people.

Wu Xiaogu didn’t have time to care about other people’s children. She quietly reminded her nephew to maintain good relations with his colleagues and not act like a proud peacock, looking down on everyone. Then she sighed and said, “With you acting like this, it’s no wonder that Xiao Ye’s father thinks you’re not a good match. They rejected both of you early this morning…”

While Wu Xiaogu rambled on, Wu Zhenrong listened, casually picking up his chopsticks and eating with swift efficiency.

That Ye family would reject him was no surprise.

He had already anticipated it. Ye’s parents might not be too willing to let their daughter marry far away.

Even if they were willing, Ye Manzhi might not agree herself.

The girl seemed somewhat afraid of him and had lost face in front of him.

When they parted last night, she seemed almost relieved, her stiff shoulders finally relaxing.

Wu Xiaogu said regretfully, “It’s rare for an ordinary family to allow their daughter to finish high school, which at least shows that Ye’s parents are very enlightened. Xiao Ye is well-educated, has a good family background, and is quiet and obedient. Your grandfather should be happy with her.”

She privately regretted allowing her father to meddle in her nephew’s marriage matters. Had she known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have let the old man interfere.

Her father’s only criterion for choosing a spouse was obedience and diligence.

The wives who married into the Wu family, from her mother to her several sisters-in-law, all fit that mold.

Given Wu Zhenrong’s various temperaments, there was a 99% chance he wouldn’t want to live with a wife like that.

Seeing her nephew’s expression grow distant, Wu Xiaogu hastily added, “Although it was your grandfather’s idea to have the Party organization recommend a match, the candidates were chosen by your factory leaders, and your grandfather didn’t interfere. Don’t let past grievances stop you from meeting a good girl.”

Wu Zhenrong recalled how Ye Manzhi had defended others passionately, her bright eyes and lively expression standing in stark contrast to his grandfather’s usual selection standards.

However, her nosebleed and the way she looked mortified were just as vivid in his mind.

Wu Xiaogu saw that he didn’t seem willing to listen, so after a brief hesitation, she took out two new photos from her bag and smiled as she handed them to him.

“Since you don’t seem interested in the previous one, let’s put the past behind us and move forward. These are two other candidates recommended by the Women’s Federation’s Chairperson, Yao. I’ve carefully inquired, and both are outstanding girls. You should meet this Xiao Liu tonight!”

Wu Zhenrong stared at the two new photos in front of him, not expecting the matchmaking to be so relentless, almost like running from one event to the next.

He couldn’t help but frown.

“This Xiao Liu is a nurse at your factory’s hospital, 23 years old. She has been named an outstanding individual for two years in a row, and she’s passionate about revolutionary work, just like you. You should have things in common. After work today, you can meet at the Workers’ Club nearby, and if you get along…”

Wu Zhenrong listened quietly for a while, but couldn’t resist interrupting his aunt’s incessant chatter.

“Aunt, I’ve thought it over, and actually, you do have a point. Yesterday’s Xiao Ye was very impressive. The Ye family’s conditions may not be the best, but they are suitable.”

He pushed the photos back, speaking calmly and steadily to assure her, “As for this Xiao Liu, I’ll pass on meeting her for now. Give me some time; I’d like to try again with Xiao Ye.”