Chapter 65: Buying a Sewing Machine

The logistics staff member Lao Wang didn’t keep the secret well enough, and soon the entire family knew that Wen Jiajia had moved to the new factory.

Previously, people only knew that Wen Jiajia worked in a pharmaceutical factory. After all, Xinyi Glass was jointly opened by a pharmaceutical factory and a chemical factory, and employees from the pharmaceutical factory wouldn’t be expected to provide much help at the new factory.

Now that Wen Jiajia had moved to Xinyi Glass Factory, everyone wanted to know when the factory would recruit new workers and how many people they would hire. What would be tested in the exam? Are there any recommended positions? They had to ask!

It didn’t matter, even if they had to pay. Children are the apple of their parents’ eyes^[1]is a phrase means that the child is very precious and beloved by their parents.. If possible, who would willingly send their children to the countryside?

So Wen Jiajia found herself in trouble. She hadn’t stopped talking about it for days.

As soon as she got home in the evening, someone would spot her and pull her aside to ask questions.

The key issue was that they came bearing gifts. Sometimes they brought a handful of mustard greens, sometimes a bowl of river shrimp, all accompanied by smiles. With the social pressure of “don’t offend a smiling person” and “the more polite you are, the less blame you’ll get,” how could she turn them away coldly? She had to explain things to them.

“Jia Jia, is there any news today? My Xiao Ping really can’t be delayed any longer. I heard that most of the children in her batch were assigned to the northwest. In the northwest, even the military corps are suffering! My Xiao Ping has endured many hardships since she was a child. She was a premature baby and fell ill frequently. I raised her with great difficulty. She has never suffered any hardship until she turned 18… You know her situation. She was spoiled by me and her father and became somewhat naive. How will she survive in a strange countryside?”

In the countryside, relationships are crucial. You have to be good at dealing with people to live well; otherwise, you will suffer.

Wen Jiajia felt a headache coming on.

If it were someone else, she might have been perfunctory and tactfully persuaded them to leave. But Xiao Ping’s mother was recognized as a good friend in the family area.

When the family turned the vegetable garden last year and this year, it was Xiao Ping’s mother who helped with the work. She also helped with watering and weeding the garden occasionally. Later, Wen Jiajia had cut her half a pound of meat, but she had refused it.

Xiao Ping’s mother still worked in the Yuhong class, cooking for the children there.

According to Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, Xiao Ping’s mother had taken good care of them. Last year, when Wen Xuan was still young and had trouble adjusting to the Yuhong class, it was Xiao Ping’s mother who held her and coaxed her to sleep. Just for this reason, Wen Jiajia had to be polite to her.

Moreover, Xiao Ping was like the modern version of Lin Daiyu^[2]is a fictional character from the classic Chinese novel “Dream of the Red Chamber”.. She looked really thin, but if you went for a check-up, you would find she didn’t have any serious illnesses—just malnutrition.

But the problem is that at least 70% of Chinese people are malnourished these days, so how serious could it be?

However, Wen Jiajia felt that Xiao Ping’s malnutrition was more severe than others. Once, when she went to the vegetable garden, she saw Xiao Ping panting on a small slope, almost falling over. Wen Jiajia was so scared she didn’t dare to walk quickly, fearing Xiao Ping might fall and hurt herself.

With that kind of health condition, she would definitely not last more than three hours in the fields. It would be lucky if she didn’t faint.

Besides, the Northwest is at a high altitude. Could Xiao Ping adapt to the high altitude with her physique?

Wen Jiajia sighed, “Sister, I will go and ask for you tomorrow, but I might not be able to find out much.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Xiao Ping’s mother said it quickly. “Please help me pay attention to how many people are recruited, no matter if it’s…”

She looked around and whispered, “If there is a position, we can buy it with money. I’ll even pay 500 for a temporary worker!”

Wow! That’s really a lot.

The current market price for a temporary worker is 380, though it varies by factory.

In factories like furniture, ceramics, and printing, 380 is often negotiable, sometimes dropping to 280.

But this depends on luck. Most people work the same job for life, so jobs are not readily available in the market.

In large factories like pharmaceutical, chemical, and steel factories, the average price is around 380, sometimes even higher. Especially during the critical period of June, July, and August, when educated youth were sent to the countryside, the price could soar to 450 or 460.

Xiao Ping’s mother asking for 500 was quite a significant amount. It made Wen Jiajia’s heart race just thinking about it.

No wonder Dong Qi wanted to kneel down to thank Director Xue. It was a job worth hundreds of dollars, and Director Xue gave it to her directly because he liked her. When Dong Qi returned from Director Xue’s office, she cried tears of joy in Wen Jiajia’s arms.

After Xiao Ping’s mother left, Wen Jiajia was visited by two more people. After finally seeing them off, she was exhausted both physically and mentally and didn’t even want to cook.

This situation continued until August 18th, when Wen Jiajia finally got accurate news.

_

The ginkgo leaves were showing signs of turning yellow, swaying in the wind, and the shadows under the tree danced with them.

In the afternoon, Wen Jiajia propped up her head and almost fell asleep.

The sun was shining brightly, but it was windy today. The breeze blowing in from the window was cool, and having just finished lunch, Wen Jiajia’s food coma^[3]term used to describe the feeling of extreme drowsiness or lethargy after eating a large meal. made her feel extremely drowsy.

Not only was she drowsy, but the other three people in the office were also struggling with sleepiness until Director Xue knocked on their office door.

“Bang, bang, bang—”

The four of them woke up simultaneously, and Wen Jiajia even saw Li Haijun wiping saliva from the corner of his mouth.

She subconsciously touched the corner of her own mouth. Hmm, it’s dry.

“Director, is there something wrong?” Li Haijun was closest to the door, so he stood up quickly and asked.

Director Xue said, “Jia Jia and Hai Jun, you can prepare to move your things to the medical department this Friday. The medical department will start recruiting next Monday, so you need to keep an eye on it.”

Wen Jiajia: “Finally, we’re hiring!”

The relocation would begin on September 1st, and recruitment would start on the following Monday, August 22nd. There were only a few days between them. Fortunately, this was the era we lived in; otherwise, recruiting enough people might have been challenging.

Li Haijun glanced at the calendar on the table. “Tomorrow is Thursday the 18th, which is just two or three days away.”

Director Xue nodded and said, “When the time comes, you can go find Director Song Jiacheng. He is in charge of the workers who are transferring from our factory to Medical Glass.”

Wen Jiajia: “Director Song has also been transferred to the medical department?”

“Of course not. Director Song has been promoted to deputy director,” Director Xue said with a smile, jokingly adding, “You need to be more alert in the future. When you meet someone, call them Director Song. Don’t be foolish and just call him Director Song or deputy director.”

“Of course, of course!” Li Haijun was so pleased his eyebrows danced with joy. Having someone from the pharmaceutical factory among the senior management of the new factory was quite exciting.

Not only was Li Haijun pleased, but Wen Jiajia was in a good mood as well.

As for Director Song, Wen Jiajia had first met him before she joined the pharmaceutical factory. He was somewhat acquainted with Wei Dai, but even that small connection could be useful.

She had basically handed over all her work and now had some free time.

In the evening, Wen Jiajia prepared to go home.

It was still daylight, and as she passed by the state-owned hotel, she saw a crowd gathered there.

“Hey, Lan Lan, what are you selling today that’s so lively?” Wen Jiajia stopped her bike and asked.

Lan Lan was a waitress at a state-owned restaurant and also the niece of Master He. After becoming familiar with Wen Jiajia, she would sometimes visit the factory to chat.

Lan Lan hurriedly called her over. “Selling beef potstickers^[4]is a type of Chinese dumpling that is typically pan-fried on one side to create a crispy bottom while the rest of the dumpling is steamed to keep it soft and tender.. The cow was just slaughtered today. Do you want some?”

Wen Jiajia: “Dead cow?” She immediately withdrew her hand from her pocket, ready to take out money.

“Oh, don’t worry! It didn’t die of illness; it fell and died,” Lan Lan explained quickly.

Wen Jiajia breathed a sigh of relief, looked around, and whispered, “Then give me two servings. I can cook a pot of porridge when I get home to make a meal.”

Lan Lan pointed at Wen Jiajia’s backpack, indicating she should hand over her lunch box. Wen Jiajia handed it over discreetly, and Lan Lan took it to the kitchen.

After a while, she came out again with a lunch box.

She handed the hot lunch box to Wen Jiajia and said, “There aren’t many beef potstickers left, and we need to save some for the people in the room. So, I packed you one beef potsticker, one pork potsticker, and two chive potstickers.”

Wen Jiajia was delighted. “Great! I like the pork ones too, and I love the chive potstickers even more.”

As she spoke, she took out the money and gave it to Lan Lan, eager to eat a chive potsticker right then and there.

Lan Lan was too busy to chat with Wen Jiajia at the moment.

Soon, she saw a few more people entering the restaurant. She counted them and stood at the door, shouting, “Beef potstickers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are about 20 left. People who come later can only buy pork potstickers. If you want beef, get your money ready and come quickly… Hey, hey, hey, what are you eating? Pork potstickers? Don’t worry, there are plenty of pork fillings. I’ll get you one so you don’t have to squeeze in.”

Lan Lan was known as the loudspeaker on this street. Even a hundred meters away, Wen Jiajia could still hear her voice.

When Wen Jiajia returned to the army, she was stopped before she even got home.

Wen Jiajia had learned her lesson and said directly, “The Medical Glass Factory will start the exam at 9:30 next Monday morning. The exam will be held at the Municipal Industrial Bureau^[5]is a government agency or department responsible for overseeing and managing industrial activities within a specific city or municipality.. Sister, please tell everyone for me. As for what the exam entails, I really don’t know, but if there’s no special explanation, it will be based on what is taught in school.”

After hearing this, the family member was too tired to ask any more questions and hurried home to tell their child to study and review.

“Sister, help me spread the word!” Wen Jiajia shouted while chasing after someone on her bike.

“Okay!”

Wen Jiajia was still worried, so she told the wife of Lao Wang, the logistics officer.

Lan Lan was the loudspeaker, and Lao Wang’s wife was the town crier. The last time news of the unit change was accidentally leaked by Lao Wang’s wife, Sister Bao told her that people in the family compound should avoid sharing secrets with Lao Wang’s wife because her mouth was like a sieve. Even the army leader had to remind Lao Wang not to share important things with his wife.

Fortunately, Lao Wang was in charge of the logistics for the family compound, and not other parts of the army; otherwise, the leaders would have lost sleep.

After giving the information, Wen Jiajia went home with peace of mind.

When she got home, she cooked the porridge directly in the pot. The casserole was too slow for her needs.

Wen Chun probably realized that avoiding homework wasn’t an option, so she came home early from school in recent days, and the first thing she did when she got home was tackle the homework assigned by Wen Jiajia.

Even if Wen Xuan was playing outside, she resisted the temptation and ran back home.

Well, God rewards hard work! Wen Chun was the first to enjoy the potstickers today.

The potstickers were a perfect snack for her. Wen Chun’s eyes grew round and bright as she ate them, like a baby experiencing solid food for the first time.

“Aunt, what is this called?”

“It’s called potstickers! You should be eating beef potstickers,” Wen Jiajia said. She counted the potstickers and found there were 20 in a serving—a substantial amount.

Wen Chun narrowed her eyes in delight. “It’s super delicious, like thin dumplings with crispy bottoms. I really like potstickers.”