Chapter 9: First Day at Work

The next day, Su Yue put on a brand-new work uniform, tied her two long, black braids, and walked out of the room.

Shen Qiuxia urged, “Come eat quickly. It’s your first day at work, you can’t be late.”

Su Yue obediently sat down to eat. Shen Qiuxia started nagging, “Although the county isn’t far from home, it still takes about an hour to get there. You’re a grown girl; going back and forth alone isn’t safe. Listen to your mother and stay in the dormitory quietly. Come back when you have a break. Understand?”

Su Yue took a bite of the pancake in her hand, her cheeks slightly puffed, “I understand, Mom. Don’t worry. This pancake is so fragrant.”

Shen Qiuxia smiled and patted her daughter’s head.

From the time Su Yue was born, she had been more sensible than her three older brothers. By the age of two or three, she could brush her teeth, wash her face, dress, and eat by herself. By four or five, she could even help with chores. After she started school, she became even more considerate—after class, she’d do housework, and during winter and summer vacations, she’d work in the fields to earn some pocket money. During the three great famines, she even secretly brought food home.

Time flew so fast. Seeing her daughter about to get married after the holidays, Shen Qiuxia felt a pang of sadness, and her eyes reddened instantly.

Su Yue was enjoying her meal when she looked up and saw her mother’s expression. Quickly, she put down her bowl and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Shen Qiuxia shook her head, her voice choking slightly, “Nothing, my daughter is growing more and more beautiful. Hurry and eat, don’t be late for work.”

Su Yue understood her mother’s reluctance and worry and quickly comforted her, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll come back to keep you company during breaks.”

Shen Qiuxia nodded. After Su Yue finished eating, she urged, “Go quickly, don’t be late.”

Su Yue smiled in reply, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed out.

At the village entrance, she saw Li Yanbei riding a bicycle towards her.

His face was beaming with a bright smile as he called out, “Yueyue, get on. I’ll take you to work.”

Su Yue was quite surprised, “Where did you get a bike? Just wait at the county gate.”

She had just been thinking that Li Yanbei would wait for her at the city gate, but unexpectedly, he had come early by bike, and a warm feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

Li Yanbei scratched his head and smiled, explaining, “I borrowed it from Daliang. It’s your first day at work; how could I not come to pick you up?”

Daliang, whose full name was Zhang Daliang, was their classmate. Daliang’s grandfather and father had both been to the battlefield, and the family was quite well-off. Earlier, he had a crush on Su Yue, but later he and Li Yanbei became close friends.

Su Yue smiled and pulled on Li Yanbei’s shirt sleeve, then sat on the back seat.

“Let’s go!” Li Yanbei cheered, pedaled hard, and the bicycle quickly sped down the road.

“Look, that must be the Su family girl’s boyfriend. This young man’s really good, coming early to pick her up,” the villagers passing by whispered.

“Yes, tall and strong, looks like a reliable person.”
After riding for half an hour, they arrived near the county gate and hurriedly got off. Nowadays, in the county town, many people wore red armbands. If an unmarried couple rode together on one vehicle, they could get taken away for “education.”

The two walked one after another towards the steel factory.

Su Yue stopped and softly said, “I’ve arrived. You should hurry to work; don’t be late.”

Li Yanbei said, “My mom asked me to ask if you want to come eat at our house tonight?”

Su Yue smiled and replied, “Okay, thanks. I’m going in now.”

Su Yue put on her work badge and followed the large crowd into the steel factory. She turned a corner toward the factory’s office building, heading to the third floor’s archives room. Seeing the door closed, she was about to knock when a voice came from behind her.

“You must be the new Comrade Su, right?”

Su Yue turned and saw a woman about forty years old, wearing a tidy work uniform, smiling at her.

Su Yue immediately nodded and said, “Yes, I’m Su Yue.”

The woman took out a key, opened the archive room door, and warmly introduced herself, “I’m Ling Shufang, the head of the archives room. There are three of us in total here, and the other comrade is Wu Yuxia. Come on in.”

Su Yue smiled and replied, “Nice to meet you, Sister Ling. I’ll be relying on you to guide me from now on.”

Ling Shufang had a very kind and blessed appearance. In times of scarcity, it was rare to see someone as plump as her.

She smiled and said, “The work here isn’t hard. As long as you’re careful and patient, you’ll pick it up quickly. After a few days, you’ll get the hang of it.” As she spoke, she pointed to an empty workstation. “That will be your seat from now on.”

Su Yue nodded in agreement, “Okay, thank you, Sister Ling.” She then walked over to her workstation.

“Xiao Su,” Ling Shufang continued, “after you put your things down, take a basin to the stairway and get some water. Wipe down your desk and everything else.”

As she spoke, she picked up a broom.

Su Yue placed her shoulder bag on the stool and said, “Alright, I’ll go now.” She had her money and ration coupons in her pocket, and the bag only contained her lunchbox. She planned to tidy up before storing it in the cabinet.

Carrying her washbasin, Su Yue headed to the water station. At that moment, there were quite a few people lining up to fetch water—it seemed everyone had to clean their workspace first thing in the morning.

While she was queuing, she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

“Su Yue! I didn’t expect to see you working at the steel factory too! I’m in the logistics department. Which department are you in?”

Su Yue turned around and saw it was her former classmate, Qin Mingyue.

Smiling, she responded, “Oh, it’s you, Qin! I’m working in the archives room.”

“What a coincidence! I just started here too and don’t know anyone yet. Su Yue, I’m so happy to see you!” Qin Mingyue was visibly excited and spoke rapidly, like a machine gun.

While they chatted, it was Su Yue’s turn to fetch water. As she washed her rag, she replied, “I’m happy to run into you here too.”

After washing the cloth and filling a basin with water, Su Yue finally cut off Qin Mingyue’s non-stop talking.

“Comrade Qin, I’ve got to head back.”

Qin Mingyue quickly nodded, “Alright, I’ll come find you when I’m free.”

Su Yue smiled and nodded before heading back to the archive room.

Seeing that Ling Shufang wasn’t around, Su Yue started cleaning her workstation. She placed her shoulder bag down, took out her enamel mug, and set it on the desk.

Then she went to dump the used water and returned with a fresh basin.

By then, another woman had arrived in the archive room and was sitting at her desk, looking into a mirror.

“You must be Su Yue,” she said. “I’m Wu Yuxia. I started here two years ago. Go fetch a pot of hot water from the cafeteria with your thermos. Remember, from now on, you have to bring a pot of hot water every day.”

Su Yue was just about to respond when Ling Shufang returned.

She was carrying a thermos and placed it on the water basin rack. Noticing the water in the basin was clean, she smiled and said, “Xiao Su, I’ll write you a slip so you can go to the logistics department and collect your office supplies.”

Su Yue nodded, “Okay, thank you, Sister Ling.”

Wu Yuxia put down her mirror and said with a mocking tone, “Hey, Xiao Su, I was talking to you just now—why were you pretending not to hear?”

Su Yue turned around, a bit surprised. “You were talking to me? I thought maybe your maid was also named Su Yue.”

She had noticed earlier that Wu Yuxia had taken the thermos from the cabinet at her own workstation. And there was a key on that cabinet too—clearly her personal property.

Ling Shufang chuckled and handed the slip to Su Yue, saying, “Xiao Su, if you need water, use this thermos. That’s the one shared by the whole office.”

Su Yue smiled and said, “Got it, Sister Ling. I’ll fetch water next time.”