Chapter 66: Working at the Tractor Factory

“I guessed, of course,” Qiu Yinuo replied. “Why else would they come all the way just for me if they weren’t planning to hire me?”

Thinking of this, she instantly lit up. “Mom, did they say how much they’re paying me per month?”

Cheng Hongying shot her a glare. “They said you’ll have to go in at least four times a month. They’ll pay you twelve yuan per month, and you’ll get the same benefits as other factory workers. But there’s one condition: if they get swamped, you’ll have to show up whenever they call. Any extra hours will be compensated accordingly.”

She grew more frustrated the more she spoke. “It could’ve been thirty yuan a month—such a good job—and you just had to stir things up and turn it into twelve!”

“But I only have to go four days a month!” Qiu Yinuo said with a grin. “If you think about it that way, I’m actually making a killing.”

“Yes, yes, you’re the smartest of us all,” Cheng Hongying grumbled. “They said if you agree, you need to report tomorrow. They’re giving you such generous terms, you’re not planning to refuse again, are you?”

Qiu Yinuo shook her head. “Of course not. If I refuse again, you’d probably break my leg.”

Cheng Hongying could only comfort herself in her heart, thinking that twelve yuan a month wasn’t too bad. At least she would have time to spend with Dabao and Erbao. It was better than those who worked nine to five every day.

Tomorrow, she’d go around the Ding family’s gate a few times to spread the good news—her daughter wasn’t marrying their son, but her life wasn’t bad either.

In her excitement, Cheng Hongying didn’t even notice how strange her son was acting.

“Today is such a good day! I’m going to make two extra dishes for dinner. Oh, and tonight, tell Jinzi to borrow a bicycle from the village head. Tomorrow morning, he’ll take you there.”

Qiu Yinuo nodded. “What dishes are you making tonight?”

“I’ll cook, you just eat. Stop asking all these questions.”

“I want to pick the dishes.”

When Cheng Hongying heard that, her scalp tingled. The last time Qiu Yinuo asked to choose the dishes, she ended up owing a lot of favors and almost got into a fight with someone.

This time, she wasn’t going to let her daughter get away with it. “No picking dishes! Whatever I make, you’ll eat.”

Qiu Yinuo reluctantly agreed. “…Alright.”

When she saw that dinner was just cabbage stewed with small salted fish and potatoes stewed with sauerkraut, her lips couldn’t help but twitch.

The small salted fish were cut into tiny pieces, so small that you could hardly see the fish. You could only taste the flavor. The potatoes with sauerkraut were even worse. The sauerkraut had soaked up all the oil, and the dish looked so bland and unappetizing.

“So this is what you call two good dishes?” Qiu Yinuo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What else? If you don’t want to eat, don’t force yourself. You think it’s the New Year? You should be grateful you even have these two dishes, especially since you found a job.”

Qiu Qianjin froze. “What job?”

“What do you mean, ‘what job’? Haven’t you been listening? Why are you sitting there like your soul has left your body? Hurry up and finish your meal. Then go to the village head’s house to borrow a bicycle. Tomorrow morning, take your sister there.”

“Okay, I’ll go right away.” Qiu Yinuo’s younger brother, Qiu Qianjin, shouted towards He Ziqing, who was serving the rice. “Qingqing, give me some extra rice.”

“It’s not harvest time. You don’t need to eat that much.”

But to Qiu Yinuo and her brother, that advice went in one ear and out the other.

What a joke. If they didn’t eat enough, how would they be able to work tomorrow or take their sister to the factory?

Qiu Qianjin shot a glance at her sister. “Sis, maybe you should eat less, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to ride tomorrow. Ouch… why are you hitting me?”

“Serves you right for talking nonsense.”

The next day, before the sun was up, Qiu Yinuo was called to get up.

For someone who had trouble getting out of bed, it was pure torture.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of miserable life she had led before.

Waking up early to study, then working on company matters late into the night until one or two in the morning, getting less than four hours of sleep every day, and she had managed this for many years. Now, asking her to go back to those days would surely drive her mad.

Groggy, she climbed out of bed, and after washing her face, she felt a little more awake. Sitting in the car, munching on a pickled cabbage bun with noodles, she was still trying to figure out a way to suggest that maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal to start work later at the tractor factory.

Qiu Qianjin pedaled the bike, panting with each push of the pedal. “Sis, you should lose some weight! My legs feel like they’re not even mine anymore.”

Qiu Yinuo decided to close her eyes and play dead. After all, she still needed him right now.

About an hour later, the siblings arrived at the tractor factory.

After giving Director Liu’s name, they were respectfully escorted to the factory director’s office.

Looking at Qiu Yinuo, who had a round figure, the most beautiful thing about her was probably her bright eyes.

Her eyes sparkled, and she was calm and confident, even when meeting him. She didn’t seem nervous at all but introduced herself in a graceful manner.

She didn’t fit the stereotype of a rural woman he had imagined. When Director Liu had mentioned hiring a rural woman as a technical advisor, he had thought they must have been out of their minds with all their research work.

But, with the endorsement of Director Liu, and Xiao Wang and Xiao Li, he had to trust his people.

“Come on, let me show you around our tractor factory.” The factory director was more interested in seeing Qiu Yinuo’s skills.

“Director, may I make a small request?”

“What is it?”

“Our village is quite far from the factory, and today my younger brother is sending me. He had to leave early this morning to get to the city.”

“I don’t feel safe going into the city alone.”

The factory director thought she was asking for an employee dormitory, and was preparing to turn her down when she said, “Could my brother work as my apprentice? Actually, it’s funny, he’s also quite interested in tractors, but he hasn’t had many opportunities to see them. I’ll personally teach him, and I won’t disturb the other workers. This way, he can come home with me after work.”

“Director, don’t worry, my brother will work for free. If you can just provide lunch, we’ll be extremely grateful.”

The factory director thought for a moment. This was a lot more cost-effective than providing a dormitory. Besides, the senior workers in their factory always had apprentices. Qiu Yinuo was offering a free apprentice, and the only thing they needed to do was provide lunch. This arrangement was a bargain.

“Okay, he can stay, but he won’t be able to participate in confidential projects. He’ll only be able to work in the regular factory.”

“Thank you, Director.” She had originally planned to be a bit late to work, but thinking about Jinzi’s mood lately, she decided to give him something else to focus on. Working four days a month wouldn’t interfere with the farm work at home.

If he learned something useful at the tractor factory, maybe he could even catch the director’s eye.

So, Jinzi was somewhat cluelessly left at the tractor factory as an unpaid apprentice, still a bit dazed.

That evening, as most of the workers rode their bicycles out of the factory, Qiu Yinuo couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

“Jinzi, what do you think about us buying a bicycle?”

Qiu Qianjin nearly lost his balance on the bike. “Sis, are you not afraid Mom will call you wasteful?”

“I already said, it’s not like I’m losing any meat. If I could lose some, I’d definitely let her nag at me every day.”