Chapter 67

“Who shouted?” Someone exclaimed, and the crowd at the factory gate frantically pushed forward.

Director Lin of the labor union said angrily, “What are you pushing for? The names on there aren’t going to run away!

Behave yourselves. If I catch any of you causing trouble, you’ll lose your spot even if you pass.”

After saying this, everyone was too scared to cause trouble. They could only watch as he put up the red paper.

Tang Wan was a little far away. She hadn’t been able to see the names clearly yet when she heard Peng Cai exclaim.

“Chunli, your name isn’t on there?”

Chunli, the girl, stared blankly at the red paper. Tang Wan finally saw the names on it.

The labor union positions were Ding Yuan and Tang Wan.

She automatically ignored the names of the ordinary workers. Tang Wan’s face flushed with excitement.

This excitement wasn’t just because she could make money by selling the job.

It was because this was a sense of recognition she had gained in this era through her own abilities!

She didn’t hear what those people were saying after that. She squeezed out of the crowd, her legs feeling weak. Her lips curved slightly.

“Chunli, I passed the exam for an ordinary worker!”

Peng Cai, who was next to her, excitedly grabbed Chunli’s arm. Then she asked in a puzzled tone,

“Didn’t your uncle teach you? Why didn’t you pass?”

Peng Cai’s voice unconsciously carried a hint of schadenfreude. Chunli was only luckier than her in terms of her family background.

Chunli, who was lost in her own emotions, didn’t notice this. She bit her lip lightly.

“It’s okay if I didn’t pass. I’ll go see if there are any other recruitment exams.”

“Okay, go check it out. I’m going to register for my job.”

Peng Cai excitedly ran away, ignoring the disappointment in Chunli’s eyes. For the first time, she felt a sense of triumph.

Seeing this, Tang Wan’s eyes twirled. She went up to Chunli.

“Hello, Comrade.”

“Hello.”

Chunli was gentle. When she heard this, she wiped the corner of her eyes and smiled at Tang Wan.

“Is there something you need, Comrade?”

“My name is Tang Wan.”

Tang Wan lowered her voice, but it made Chunli’s eyes widen.

Was it the Tang Wan she was thinking of?

“Yes, it’s me. I passed the exam for the sugar factory’s labor union.”

Tang Wan was afraid she would misunderstand. She continued, “I saw everyone registering when I passed by this morning.

I used to be an accountant at the Dongshi Textile Factory. I also wanted to take the exam.

But after I finished the exam, my husband wouldn’t let me come to work so far away.”

She had a helpless expression. “He has his reasons. I live in the military compound. It would take a lot of time to travel back and forth.”

“You don’t want this job?”

Chunli’s eyes widened excitedly. She lowered her voice, afraid that others would hear.

“Of course I want it. It’s just inconvenient.”

Tang Wan had a helpless expression, giving Chunli hope. She pulled Tang Wan and said,

“Comrade Tang, can you… sell the job to me?”

“If you want it, I’ll sell it to you.”

Tang Wan pulled her lips into a bitter smile, as if she was reluctant. Chunli was afraid that she would change her mind. She hurriedly said,

“My dad said that a formal job costs at least three or four hundred. I’ll give you five hundred. Is that okay?”

Afraid that Tang Wan wouldn’t agree, she quickly took out a handful of tickets from her cloth bag.

“I’ll give you these tickets too.”

This was a labor union job. It was an apprentice job when you first started. It lasted ten months.

Next year, you would become a second-level worker, and you would have thirty months.

So, five hundred yuan was equivalent to the salary of a second-level worker for ten years. Chunli was offering a fair price.

“Okay, I’ll sell it to you!”

Tang Wan put on a pained expression. Afraid that she would regret it, Chunli quickly pulled Tang Wan into the sugar factory.

“I’ll give you the money when I see my uncle.”

When they went inside, most of the people who had gotten the positions had already registered.

Afraid of being seen, Chunli waited for everyone to leave in groups before pulling Tang Wan into the labor union office.

“Uncle, Tang Wan sold the job to me. Can you lend me five hundred yuan?”

She spoke directly. There was no one else in the office except Director Lin of the labor union, Chunli’s uncle.

“You really want to transfer the job to Chunli?”

Director Lin looked at Tang Wan in surprise. This job was one for one. Those who passed the exam for a formal job wouldn’t want to transfer it.

After all, it was a secure job.

“When I took the exam, I didn’t consider the distance from home. My husband was worried about my safety traveling back and forth.”

Tang Wan nodded affirmatively. The original owner was good at accounting, but Tang Wan wasn’t interested.

This job was too boring. She had to find something that suited her.

“Uncle, Tang Wan is accompanying her husband in the army. It’s really inconvenient to travel back and forth.”

Chunli was about to die of anxiety. She quickly winked at Director Lin. What if she changed her mind?

Seeing his niece so anxious, Director Lin, although he thought the price was a little high, didn’t say anything.

“Wait a minute.”

Director Lin went out for a few minutes and soon came back with a brown paper bag. He handed it to Tang Wan.

It was bulging. It was clearly money.

“This is five hundred yuan. Once you sign, the job is Chunli’s. You can’t go back on your word.”

He then handed Tang Wan a job transfer certificate.

Jobs in this era could be transferred and could also be taken over by family members. So the procedures were very complete.

“Okay.”

Tang Wan opened the brown paper bag and roughly estimated the number of ten-yuan bills. Then she signed her name on the paper.

After the money and goods were exchanged, Tang Wan smiled as if bathed in spring sunshine. Chunli was also beaming.

Both sides got what they wanted. Chunli gratefully said to Tang Wan,

“Thank you, Comrade Tang Wan.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tang Wan curved her lips. “Comrade Chunli, you’re simple and sweet. But be careful who you befriend.”

Chunli stared blankly at Tang Wan as she left the office, her eyes full of confusion.

“Uncle, what did she mean?”

“That Peng Cai is not simple. Her eyes are sharper than yours.”

Director Lin glanced helplessly at his niece. She was incredibly naive. He reminded her,

“Do you know that Comrade Tang Wan got a perfect score on the exam?”

So all the tutoring he had given Chunli was in vain.

“She’s that good?”

Chunli opened her mouth in shock and began to seriously think about what Tang Wan had said.

Her uncle carefully processed her employment paperwork.

On the other side, Tang Wan was satisfied. She tucked the five hundred yuan and the cloth and ration coupons Chunli had given her into her pocket and walked out of the sugar factory building.

Bang…

A figure rushed towards her, bumping into Tang Wan and making her take a few steps back.

She raised her eyes in annoyance and looked at the impatient face of Peng Cai.

“How can you walk without looking where you’re going?”

Perhaps because she had passed the exam for a worker, Peng Cai no longer acted cautiously in front of Chunli.

She showed a sense of superiority when she faced Tang Wan. “I’m a worker at the sugar factory.”

As she spoke, she picked up her cloth bag from the ground. When she realized that her pen had broken, she said angrily,

“You broke my pen. You have to pay for it!”