Chapter 62

When Yan Lei came back in the evening, Qiao Wei told him about her afternoon socializing: “…Captain Ma’s, Captain Xue’s, and Captain Wang’s families were all there… just chatting and gossiping… everyone plans to paint their walls, which is great.”

She observed as she spoke, and indeed Yan Lei’s eyes brightened, and he expressed his happiness: “That’s great. We should socialize more often in the future.”

Qiao Wei then asked, “Are you all under Captain Pan?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean you’re all under Captain Pan’s command?”

But Yan Lei said, “Not necessarily everyone under your command is your person.”

Qiao Wei asked, “Is there a strong factional divide in the army?”

Yan Lei glanced at her. Qiao Wei’s eyes showed genuine curiosity, not just casual inquiries.

Yan Lei nodded.

“It’s the same everywhere; wherever there are people, there will be factions forming alliances,” he said. “Even in the same village, some listen to the party secretary, some listen to the village chief, and some listen to the team leader.”

Qiao Wei sighed with a smile, “Humans are just like that.”

But Yan Lei didn’t stop there; he gave Qiao Wei even more information.

“Captain Pan and my former leader are related. They are senior and junior brothers from the same division.”

“Which former leader?”

“The one who told you that people need education.”

“That’s the one.”

“Now, my former leader’s siblings are all in Beijing, and they have been in touch with Captain Pan.”

“Captain Pan’s wife is in poor health and is recuperating in Beijing. They have a close relationship, right?”

Qiao Wei nodded, indicating he used the term correctly.

“I’ve heard the captain use this term before,” Yan Lei said. “My former leader’s youngest brother was also a comrade in arms with us, fought together with us. But he got injured and was transferred back to Beijing.”

Captain Pan himself was a famous case of joining the military after being a scholar. His fellow senior brothers were also in Beijing.

Qiao Wei vaguely saw a small circle centered around the capital.

She had read mainly sweet romance novels, which didn’t focus much on supporting characters. The writing was mostly about the main couple and the antagonists who got slapped in the face. The other characters were quite vague.

She vaguely remembered writing a few lines about Yan Lei having connections, and later his superior’s promotion, and now it seemed to be Captain Pan.

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, Yan Lei announced some good news to her: “You have a job now.”

Qiao Wei was surprised, “So fast?”

It had been twenty-two days since she crossed over, and she thought finding a job would take at least a few months.

“What position is it? Where is the job location?”

“It’s in town, as a broadcaster for the town committee’s radio station,” Yan Lei said.

Qiao Wei asked, “Is it the big loudspeaker on the street?”

“Yes,” Yan Lei said, “No need to be on duty, just broadcast twice a day.”

“I know, once in the morning and once in the afternoon,” Qiao Wei said.

You could hear it every day.

“This job is good because you can take Xiang Xiang with you and don’t have to send him to the nursery,” Yan Lei said.

Everyone knew that sending a child to a nursery was very distressing.

Qiao Wei’s eyes lit up, “That’s great.”

She had just mentioned to Yan Lei about wanting to find a job. At that time, she was considering sending Yan Xiang to a nursery.

Although she came with the memories and emotions of the original owner, she was still a transmigrator after all, and her bond with everyone here wasn’t as deep.

But now, after spending more than half a month together, the little things between her and Yan Xiang had changed.

Also, because of Xia Hehua’s incident, her impression of nurseries had become negative. She couldn’t bear to send Yan Xiang to a nursery. Nurseries were too rough for children.

Having such a job where she could take her child with her was fantastic.

“Of course,” Yan Lei said, “The stethoscope, steering wheel, and irreplaceable salesperson; the grain management office, radio station, movie projectionist, and mail carrier; the food supply office, cotton station, three-foot podium, and military industrial worker.”

Qiao Wei chuckled, “What’s this? A rhyme?”

Yan Lei told her, “It’s about the best job positions.”

For example, Driver Zhang had a low rank, but because he was “holding the steering wheel,” he could socialize with a group of company commanders and battalion commanders.

Because of the unique nature of the position, there was a competitive advantage.

And this time, the job Qiao Wei was given was as a broadcaster for the radio station, which was recognized by everyone as one of the best job positions.

Qiao Wei said, “How come I’m so lucky?”

She had only been here for twenty days, and not only had she been assigned a real job so quickly, but it was also such a flexible job. She really felt lucky.

Was this Yan Lei’s male lead halo at work?

Little did she know, Yan Lei said, “This isn’t just luck; Captain Pan specially took care of this.”

“Oh?”

“Captain Pan told me that when he saw this position, he immediately thought of you. There were so many people waiting to be assigned positions, but he felt you were the most suitable, so he arranged it for you.”

Qiao Wei asked, “How should I thank Captain Pan?”

Her first reaction was this, and Yan Lei felt relieved and smiled, “Don’t worry about that. Tomorrow, you’ll go to the town committee to report and take the exam.”

“We still need to take an exam?”

“Being a broadcaster is different from other jobs; you have to take an exam,” Yan Lei said, “Both Captain Pan and I are confident that you’ll do fine.”

Qiao Wei had dropped out of high school, but in their eyes, that still counted as having some education.

If there was an exam that could filter out those who had attended high school, it would be unreasonable.

Yan Lei placed heavy emphasis on the filter of high school. Qiao Wei felt a little awkward.

After preparing for a bit, she got up early the next day and took Yan Xiang to the market to buy groceries. When she returned, she entrusted Yan Xiang to Sister Yang, “I’m really sorry.”

Sister Yang was very surprised, “Broadcaster?”

Qiao Wei said, “I have to pass an exam.”

“What exam could stump a high schooler!”

Well,Sister Yang’s tone was just like Yan Lei’s.

“This is great,” Sister Yang clapped her hands. “Broadcaster is one of the ‘Eight Officers’.”

Broadcaster, along with the film projectionist, agricultural technician, forestry technician, mediator, water conservancy technician, agricultural machinery technician, and public security officer, comprised the Eight Officers. They were all considered good jobs in people’s eyes.

Especially broadcasters and film projectionists, who were seen as cultural workers.

Who wouldn’t take a second look?

“Don’t worry about Xiang Xiang. Leave him with me. You focus on the exam. You have to give face to our military families,” Sister Yang pledged confidently.

“If you pass, I’ll treat your whole family to a meal at a restaurant,” Qiao Wei promised.

“I’ll be waiting,” Sister Yang grinned. “When the time comes, you’ll treat us with your own salary.”

“Deal!”

Qiao Wei washed her hair last night, and today she wore a white shirt, green military pants, liberation shoes, and a wide brown leather belt around her waist. She looked youthful and spirited.

She also carried her military green messenger bag on her shoulder.

As she made her way to the town committee’s main courtyard, people couldn’t help but turn their heads to look at her.

Arriving at the registration office with the introduction letter Yan Lei gave her, she announced, “I’m here to report to the broadcasting station.”

She was led to a room resembling a conference room and waited for a while until two men entered. Both were middle-aged, and they were momentarily stunned when they saw Qiao Wei.

They had expected a rural military wife to be coming from the military to the town committee to serve as a new broadcaster. What they encountered instead was a young woman full of youthful vitality.

Sticking to exercise, enhancing metabolism, one’s complexion really improved.

In less than a month, Qiao Wei’s complexion had become much healthier than when she first arrived. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips vibrant, and her eyes bright and clear.

With her hair washed the previous night and slept on, it was smooth and shiny, radiating a healthy glow.

The white shirt made her look like she belonged to an innocent era.

The two middle-aged men were momentarily dumbfounded.

They had expected a military wife, a married woman.

Given their life experiences, they were more accustomed to seeing this kind of youthful and clear appearance in young girls, but few married women could maintain such a state after marriage.

Most married women either withered like flowers or were worn down into resilient vines, resilient but painful to touch.

They almost thought they had the wrong person.

But Qiao Wei handed over the introduction letter.

The two men leaned their heads together to read it, then looked up at Qiao Wei and said, “Comrade Qiao Wei?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“You’re… a military spouse?”

“Yes, my spouse is an active-duty soldier.”

The older one asked, “Please, have a seat.”

All three of them sat down, with the two men sitting together on one side and Qiao Wei sitting opposite.

The older man scrutinized her and asked, “Comrade Xiao Qiao, did you just recently marry into the military?”

Qiao Wei smiled, “My child is almost four years old.”

The other man asked, “Is your spouse a company-level officer?”

Normally, lower-ranking officers are younger than higher-ranking officers. Xue and Wang, both company commanders, were younger than Zhao, the battalion commander.

But Yan Lei was not normal; he was the youngest battalion commander in the military district.

He was younger than Xue and Wang, and Qiao Wei was younger than Yan Lei.

Qiao Wei replied, “No, he’s a battalion-level officer.”

Upon hearing that she was a battalion-level officer’s spouse, the two middle-aged men immediately conjured up an image in their minds similar to Zhao, the battalion commander.

“What a waste,” they lamented inwardly.

A flower-like young woman married to such a rough middle-aged man.

Who wouldn’t feel sorry?

But officers receive high salaries and good treatment, which can indeed provide her with a better life.

Perhaps it was because of this that she could still maintain such a youthful appearance after being married for several years.

The combination of an older man and a young, charming wife was always a situation where the older man doted on the younger wife.

After introducing themselves, the older man said, “I am Xie, the head of the propaganda department, and this is Lu, the head of the broadcasting station.”

“Comrade Qiao, please introduce yourself.”

Qiao Wei’s back was naturally straight, not stiff, showing that she was not nervous or constrained.

“My name is Qiao Weiwei, I’m 22 years old, a military spouse, and a high school dropout. I’m good at textual work, which is somewhat related to the scope of work of a broadcaster. However, I lack experience and still need to learn and enrich myself under the guidance of our leaders in order to progress.”

Both middle-aged men nodded.

Lu opened the folder in his hand and pulled out a piece of paper. “Please read this aloud.”

There were two paragraphs of text on the paper. Qiao Wei quickly glanced over it, cleared her throat, and began to read.

The first paragraph was particularly simple, just the opening and closing statements of a broadcast:

“The broadcasting station of the Xiahekou Township People’s Commune is now broadcasting. At ten o’clock and five minutes, we will rebroadcast the program from the Yongming County People’s Broadcasting Station.”

“The broadcasting station of the Xiahekou Township People’s Commune, this broadcast is now ending. Goodbye.”

After a pause, she began to read the second paragraph, which was a piece of news from last year:

“Extra edition of People’s Daily: Major achievements in strengthening national defense and significant contributions to safeguarding world peace—the successful explosion of China’s first atomic bomb! The Chinese government has issued a statement, solemnly suggesting the convening of a summit meeting of heads of state from various countries to discuss the comprehensive prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons.

“On October 16th, 196X, China successfully detonated an atomic bomb in its western region, conducting its first nuclear test. The successful nuclear test in China is a strengthening of national defense by the Chinese people…”

“Okay, stop there,” Xie interrupted.

Both he and Lu were a bit puzzled. “Comrade Qiao, are you from Beijing?”

“No, I’m from Lin City. I followed the military to the town after getting married.”

The two men found it hard to believe. “Lin City isn’t far, but can people from Lin City speak Mandarin so well?”

With muscle memory, Qiao Wei usually spoke Mandarin with a Lin City accent, though it naturally sounded like the original Qiao Weiwei. However, when she was asked to read aloud, and especially when reading a news article, Qiao Wei enunciated clearly and fluently, speaking the most standard Mandarin.

Listening, the two leaders felt that her pronunciation was no different from that of the announcers on Central People’s Broadcasting Station, which the county broadcasting station rebroadcasted.

Having been tempered in the workplace, Qiao Wei shamelessly said with a straight face, “Through diligent practice.”

She had truly hit the leaders’ soft spot.

The two leaders exchanged glances and sighed, “This time, the military district has finally…”

Finally sent someone decent.

It should be noted that the last person sent to the broadcasting station by the military district was nicknamed “Can’t Control.”

Because her Mandarin broadcast sounded like this:

“The Xiahekou Township People’s Commune can’t control, broadcasting is now not starting. At ten o’clock and five minutes, we are not rebroadcasting the program from the Yongming County People’s can’t control station.”

“The broadcasting station of the Xiahekou Township People’s Commune can’t control, this broadcast is now not starting. Goodbye.”