Chapter 22 Yu Jiajia and her siblings are at the coal mine…

Yu Jiajia and her siblings were roasting grasshoppers by the coal stove.

This was caught by Yu Songchuan. There were two large bamboo tubes in total. The heads and wings were removed, and the tubes were soaked in lightly salted water for half an hour. Then they were skewered with bamboo sticks and roasted on a coal stove.

After baking, sprinkle some salt on top. It's crunchy and becomes more fragrant the more you chew.

Yu Jiajia was a little hesitant to eat it at first, but in her memory, the original owner of this body often ate it, so she mustered up her courage and ate one, which was quite delicious.

She also joined the roasted grasshoppers team, and contributed a jar of fruit and a plate of steamed egg cakes.

Yu Songchuan also contributed a plate of fried peanuts.

Yu Songchuan is a wealthy man now, and he has lots of delicious food!

Yu Jiajia shared a small portion of the food she brought back from the hospital with Yu Songchuan.

Yu Songchuan loved eating this, and this touched him deeply; his fourth sister was so good to him!

Although he saved people, he didn't go to the hospital. The food that his fourth sister brought back was all hers.

Moreover, the rescue was due to his fourth sister going back to find the hair tie, and he contributed his strength. Ultimately, it was his fourth sister who saved the person.

With so much delicious food at home, who would bother with Granny Xu's house?

Despite Granny Xu's wailing and shouting, and her disgusting display of dirty clothes at the door, the Yu family ignored her and simply kept the west room window firmly closed.

Cheng Xiuying has gone to the factory; she'll definitely be able to get the factory leaders to come.

And the neighborhood committee won't just ignore it; there's so much poop on the streets, someone has to clean it up.

Aunt Pan also came over, trying to get them to fight against the Xu family, but Yu Jiamin brushed her off.

When Cheng Xiuying returned, this was the scene she saw: people eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing, having a wonderful time.

Yu Songchuan: "Mom, you're back! Did anyone come from the factory? Have a skewer! This skewer of grasshoppers is the fattest. These are snacks that Fourth Sister brought out; we've all had them, but she saved them especially for you."

Cheng Xiuying took the roasted grasshoppers, ate a whole skewer in two bites, then ate a piece of peach, grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts, and pulled Yu Jiajia by the hand: "Take your graduation certificate, I'll take you to the exam."

Yu Jiajia was enjoying her meal when Cheng Xiuying suddenly pulled her up from her chair. She said, speechless, "Mom, can't you be a little gentler? You startled me!" Then she asked, "What exam?"

Cheng Xiuying: "The factory director specially set up this position for you, as a staff member in the publicity department. We're just waiting for you to take the exam, so hurry up."

This is great news! All eyes in the family were on Cheng Xiuying.

Yu Hongding put down his newspaper and asked, "What happened?"

Cheng Xiuying recounted how other factories had set examples for others, and said, "Siya just happened to be one of them!"

Everyone was very happy for Yu Jiajia.

Yu Songchuan: "What about me? What reward will I get?"

Cheng Xiuying: "Your tuition is completely waived! You don't need to pay tuition anymore."

Yu Songchuan felt he hadn't received any tangible benefits. His tuition was waived, saving his parents the trouble of paying, but he hadn't received any money. "Isn't there any other reward?"

Cheng Xiuying: "There are other things too, but we'll have to see what the factory manager says. There will definitely be all sorts of daily necessities." She added, "When Grandpa Wang and Grandpa Hu went to the factory this morning, they only said that Xu Dali and Xu Jinbao stole things, but they didn't mention that Siya and Wubao saved people. You should all be more careful in the future."

Yu Songchuan: "I told you long ago that these two can't stand seeing others do well."

Yu Hongding also frowned, not expecting Grandpa Wang and Grandpa Hu to act this way. No wonder they say you can't see into someone's heart.

Yu Songyan: "If our family rises to prominence, how can they stand out?"

In the entire compound, the Wang and Hu families were the leaders, especially Grandpa Wang, who was the undisputed authority in the compound, and everyone basically listened to them.

Cheng Xiuying: "Luckily I went there, otherwise the factory wouldn't know about this. Siya was also lucky. When the factory leaders arrive later, you just need to cooperate with the investigation."

The most important thing right now is Si Ya's job.

Yu Jiajia washed her hands and face, combed her hair again, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and brought her graduation certificate. Cheng Xiuying pulled her outside.

Yu Songchuan: "Go, Fourth Sister!"

Yu Songyan: "Jiajia's grades are good, she's guaranteed to pass the exam." He then added, "Don't eat anything from outside before the exam."

Yu Jiajia: "Mmm."

Once outside, Cheng Xiuying carried her bicycle ahead and ran, calling for Yu Jiajia to hurry up and catch up.

Pan Hongying: "What are you doing here again? There's a bucket of shit lying there, and you guys don't care at all?"

Cheng Xiuying dismissed her with a simple "I have something to do." Once outside the courtyard, they had to be careful, lest they accidentally step in excrement. When the path ahead became difficult, Cheng Xiuying lifted Yu Jiajia up with one hand, saying, "You're going to take an exam, don't step in anything and get some bad luck."

Yu Jiajia quickly grabbed Cheng Xiuying's arm, afraid that she would fall into the feces.

After bypassing the public restroom, Cheng Xiuying drove Yu Jiajia to the factory gate, where they saw a recruitment notice posted on the small gate by an official from the publicity department.

Female candidates who have graduated from high school, are skilled in drawing, have high moral character, and are familiar with safety knowledge and first aid skills will be given priority.

This is the Luobo Gang (a type of residential area) tailor-made for Yu Jiajia.

Exam location: Conference Room 201; Exam time: 6:20 PM.

It's 6:10 now, and the exam starts in ten minutes!

Cheng Xiuying instructed, "Do your best on the exam. If you don't know the answer, guess. Don't leave it blank. If you fail, see how I deal with you."

The tone was relatively amiable at the beginning, but the last sentence was quite fierce.

Yu Jiajia: "Mom, don't worry. I'm going to take the exam." She happily entered the exam room with her schoolbag on her back.

She thought she was the only one there, but when she went in, she found that there were already four girls sitting in the meeting room. Three of them looked familiar; they were all children of steel mill workers, and one was from high school.

One of the pretty girls with a small bun waved to Yu Jiajia: "Jiajia, sit here. You saw the job posting too? We're so lucky."

Her name is Zhou Yulan.

Don't mention luck; it has nothing to do with luck. The job postings are only up on the small door for less than twenty minutes. How many people can see them? Those who can come here all have connections and know about the exam in advance.

Yu Jiajia sat in the seat next to her, smiling and nodding.

Zhou Yulan ate a small piece of peach shortbread: "Have you eaten yet? I have some peach shortbread here, have a piece, otherwise you'll be hungry during the exam later."

The original owner wasn't close to her, they weren't even that friendly with each other, let alone sharing peach shortbread. She couldn't possibly accept it just because she was being polite. She shook her head and said, "Thank you, I've already had some."

Zhou Yulan: "It's only a few o'clock, there's no time to eat. Don't be shy!" She stood up, stuffed the peach shortbread into Yu Jiajia's hand, and watched Yu Jiajia eat the shortbread with anticipation.

This is too enthusiastic, it's a bit unusual.

Yu Jiajia immediately remembered her second brother's words and became alert: "I really ate it. We eat early at home today. Thank you, you can keep it."

Zhou Yulan: "Don't be so polite with me." She said warmly, "You've become so much prettier than before, I almost didn't recognize you just now."

The two girls kept passing the peach shortbread back and forth, but the little girl with two braids reached out and took the shortbread from them, saying, "Don't keep passing it around. If you don't want it, I'll eat it."

Zhou Yulan quickly reached out to grab it, saying, "Hey, I don't even know you."

The young girl said, "My name is Xu Qinghua, we know each other now." She quickly ate a handful of peach shortbread and leaned closer to the two of them, asking, "This recruitment wasn't announced in advance, so I wasn't prepared and don't know how difficult the test will be. But I'm good at drawing, and I've also learned some nursing knowledge from my grandma. What about you?"

"I'm fine." Zhou Yulan finished the peach shortbread in her hand and took out another one: "Jiajia, are you really not going to eat any? I can hear your stomach growling."

"My stomach isn't growling." Yu Jiajia became even more wary. These peach shortbreads weren't something you could just eat casually like in later generations; they were rare items, high-class gifts! Letting her eat them like this was too suspicious.

Xu Qinghua: "My stomach is growling, do you want me to eat another piece?"

Zhou Yulan was annoyed by Xu Qinghua. Who was this guy? How could he be so shameless? She leaned close to Yu Jiajia and whispered, "She's so annoying. We're not even friends. Jiajia, let's split this peach shortbread in half."

After breaking it open, I handed the larger piece to Yu Jiajia and fed it to her directly this time.

There's something wrong with these peach shortbreads!!!

This "radish post" was specially set up for her by the factory director! As long as she takes the exam, the job is definitely hers, unless the head of the publicity department wants to get his own relative hired.

Yu Jiajia felt that it was unlikely. If the head of the propaganda department did that, it would be too unwise of him. Wouldn't that offend the factory director?

The factory manager wanted her to join the factory so she could be the factory's mascot.

That was to set an example and to secure resource allocation for the second half of the year.

She refused firmly and stood up with her schoolbag on her back: "I already said I've eaten, why do you keep making me eat? This food is so precious, don't just keep pushing it around and it'll fall on the ground."

Zhou Yulan: "I'm sorry, I was afraid you'd go hungry."

Yu Jiajia replied indifferently, "Thank you, but I'm not hungry." She sat down in the seat next to Zhou Yulan, a little distance away.

Xu Qinghua wanted to eat it, so she reached out and took the peach shortbread again. "You don't even want to eat the peach shortbread? You really don't know what's good for you. Thank you for the peach shortbread." She then stuffed the peach shortbread into her mouth again.

She was in such a rush to take the exam that she didn't eat anything, and now her stomach is growling.

Zhou Yulan lowered her eyes, divided the last peach shortbread into four pieces, and gave half to each of the other two girls. This time, she did not give half to Yu Jiajia.

One girl refused, while the other accepted the peach shortbread. The three of them shared the shortbread, whispering and talking amongst themselves.

Yu Jiajia heard her name mentioned, but she couldn't be bothered to respond; the exam was the most important thing.

Two staff members from the publicity department came in with the exam papers and handed them out to several people.

There are two test papers in total. The first is a written test, and the second is a blank sheet of paper.

He said, "We are using drawing to convey safety education."

That's easy. Yu Jiajia can just modify her previous comics a little and use them.

She flipped through the exam paper; it was a comprehensive test, including Chinese, math, and political science questions, all of which were quite simple.

Before she finished her exam, Xu Qinghua next to her ran into trouble. She had a stomachache and was curled up, but she still insisted on doing the questions. The female staff member from the publicity department asked, "Are you feeling unwell? Can you still take the exam?"

Xu Qinghua didn't want to give up the exam; she wanted to persevere, but her stomach was hurting so badly that beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, almost blurring her vision. Eventually, she was helped to the toilet by another female staff member.

Zhou Yulan was also clutching her stomach, but she persisted, hunched over the table, working on her problems.

The other girl was also feeling a little uncomfortable, but it was tolerable.

Yu Jiajia shuddered. Without a doubt, it was the peach shortbread that was the problem. Luckily, she hadn't eaten it.

How vicious!

Thanks for the reminder, second brother.

Xu Qinghua initially wanted to come back to continue the exam, but she had diarrhea and became so weak that she was almost in tears. "I was perfectly fine, but I ate peach shortbread, which Zhou Yulan gave me."

Zhou Yulan also felt wronged, "You took it from me. I don't know what happened to the peach shortbread. It was perfectly fine."

Xu Qinghua even hated Yu Jiajia now. It was all Yu Jiajia's fault for not eating the peach shortbread. If she had eaten it, he wouldn't have snatched it. "Did you put laxatives in the peach shortbread?!"

Zhou Yulan: "Would I poison myself with laxatives? Am I crazy?"

Another girl also felt unwell, which affected her exam, and several of them asked if they could reschedule the exam.

The propaganda department staff disagreed. They needed to process Yu Jiajia's onboarding the next morning, so they couldn't delay it. "Health is the foundation of everything. There will be plenty of job opportunities in the future."

How could there possibly be enough job opportunities? The factory has very few openings right now; finding a job is practically impossible. It's a one-person-one-job system, unless you take over your parents' job.

However, parents generally cannot work for their children before retirement age. Parents receive at least 38 yuan in wages, and if the child takes over, they will receive 18 yuan as an apprentice.

Getting promoted requires meeting quotas! Many people haven't been able to get promoted even after many years.

Xu Qinghua stared at Yu Jiajia: "Did you put something in the peach shortbread? That's why you won't eat it, and we got diarrhea and did poorly on the test."

Yu Jiajia: "...You're overthinking it. Let's not even talk about how I didn't touch the peach shortbread in the oil paper package. I could get full marks on these questions with my eyes closed."

Xu Qinghua was silent for a moment, then realized that what she said made sense. She asked Zhou Yulan for more peach shortbread, as she wanted to take it to the health center for testing. Unfortunately, all the peach shortbread had been eaten.

She was vomiting and had diarrhea, and could no longer continue the exam. She was sent to the health center, where she shouted, "Even if there are no more peach cakes, the food I ate will still be able to be tested."

Zhou Yulan endured the pain and said, "I'm sorry, please get tested first. I'll take responsibility for any problems that arise."

While the others continued working on their questions, Yu Jiajia quickly finished her test paper and switched to another blank sheet of paper to draw comics.

After checking it again, she handed the test paper to the staff member of the publicity department.

The propaganda department staff member said, "Wait half an hour, and we will announce the results on the spot."

Another half hour passed, and those who hadn't finished their papers handed in theirs.

The propaganda department staff graded the exam papers on the spot. The total score for the academic subjects was 50 points, and the total score for the drawing subjects was 100 points.

Yu Jiajia, who ranked first, scored 50 points in cultural studies and 100 points in painting.

Zhou Yulan, who came in second, scored 40 points in cultural studies and 85 points in painting.

Xie Yuying, who came in third place, scored 45 points in cultural studies and 40 points in painting. She was the girl who didn't eat the peach shortbread.

The other girl came in fourth place with 32 points in academic subjects and 40 points in painting.

Xu Qinghua hardly participated in any exams and has no scores.

Yu Jiajia was accepted on the spot.

The propaganda department staff member said, "Comrade Xiao Yu, please stay behind."

Zhou Yulan was filled with hatred. If it weren't for Yu Jiajia, she would have been number one. But she couldn't say anything, since she hadn't passed the exam. She asked another girl, "Are you alright? Do you need to go to the clinic? It's all my fault for making you eat peach shortbread. I'll pay for the check-up and medicine."

The girl had a stomachache, and even if her stomach didn't hurt, she wouldn't pass the exam anyway; at most, she could only envy Yu Jiajia for having a good job. So she went to the health center with Zhou Yulan.

Zhou Yulan also said to Yu Jiajia, "We're leaving now, let's make plans later."

"We're not close, so let's not make plans." Yu Jiajia just wanted to stay as far away from this kind of person as possible.

Zhou Yulan came here specifically for her. If she gets diarrhea and ends up at the health center, how will she pass the exam? She'll end up getting second place for the job.

In the end, the factory manager can't blame anyone; after all, she had an upset stomach and went to the clinic.

Unless it can be found that there is something wrong with the peach shortbread.

Can you still check something that's already inside your belly?

Yu Jiajia thought it was probably impossible to find out, otherwise Zhou Yulan wouldn't be so calm.

The propaganda officer was organizing the test papers: "Xiao Yu, we'll be colleagues from now on. My name is Liu Weidong, you can call me Brother Dong. The lady who accompanied you to the health center is Lu Lingyi. I'll take you to see the section chief."

Yu Jiajia smiled and said, "Okay, Brother Dong."

Liu Weidong was stunned by Yu Jiajia's smile; she was too beautiful. Staring at her like that was impolite. He looked away and said a few more words: "Do you know who Zhou Yulan is?"

Yu Jiajia nodded, "She was my classmate in high school."

Liu Weidong: "She's the sister-in-law of the vice president of the trade union, and Xu Qinghua, who got into the health center, is the granddaughter of the director of the third workshop. Luckily you didn't eat the peach shortbread, otherwise, who knows who would have gotten the job. If something had happened to you, I would definitely have said that the exam should be canceled for the sake of fairness. But I reckon they have a backup plan and will definitely make sure the exam goes ahead."

When the publicity department gets a job, they'll find someone they don't want to hire.

It was also blamed on the propaganda department for being incompetent, unable to even handle a pre-arranged exam.

Yu Jiajia: "Thank you, Brother Dong!"

She never expected that even a small village like Luobogang could have so many people with connections.

Liu Weidong laughed heartily: "As long as you have a plan in mind. Don't be afraid. If anything happens, just tell the section chief. The section chief will definitely back you up. If the section chief can't handle it, there's still the factory director."

Yu Jiajia: "Thank you."

They soon arrived at the publicity department, where Chen Litong was writing materials. When he saw the two of them come in, he put down his pen, glanced at Yu Jiajia first, and then quickly looked away. This girl was really beautiful, even more so than her father.

He picked up the test paper and praised, "Not bad. Welcome, Comrade Xiao Yu. Bring your household registration booklet to register tomorrow."

Yu Jiajia: "Thank you, Section Chief."

Chen Litong then asked Yu Jiajia about the rescue, and then told Yu Jiajia to go back and rest, while Liu Weidong stayed behind.

Yu Jiajia left the office with her schoolbag on her back, feeling quite happy. She had a job now and no longer had to worry about being sent to the countryside as an educated youth.

As she left the steel rolling mill, she saw Cheng Xiuying chatting with the security guard at the gate.

Is he waiting for her?

Yu Jiajia was truly flattered that Comrade Cheng Xiuying would wait for her!

Cheng Xiuying: "How did the exam go?"

Yu Jiajia proudly declared, "All perfect scores! I'm going to work tomorrow."

Cheng Xiuying nodded in satisfaction, said goodbye to the security guard, and went to ride her bicycle to take Yu Jiajia home.

Yu Jiajia recounted the peach shortbread incident, and Cheng Xiuying gritted her teeth in anger: "These shameless old hags, they even want to fight for our own Luobogang, and they resort to such despicable means. Don't be a coward in the future. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll deal with them."

Yu Jiajia felt incredibly safe: "Mom, you're so good to me, thank you."

Cheng Xiuying was speechless at the sweet talk. "Speak properly." She then added, "The factory manager didn't just recruit you directly; he had to make you take an exam."

What they didn't know was that the factory manager already knew the result and was criticizing his younger sister: "Didn't you say she was good at academics, singing, and drawing? She finally got a job opportunity, but she didn't pass the exam. What a waste of the chance I gave her."

My younger sister's aunt is a complete idiot. She scored only 30 points on such an easy test and even got diarrhea from eating something.

It's a shame that so many people were caught in the incident at Luobogang. The health center couldn't find anything wrong; they just guessed that the peach cakes had gone bad from being left out for too long.

Nobody's a fool; they can tell what's going on as soon as they hear it.

Fortunately, Yu Jiajia is not a greedy child.

-

Cheng Xiuying and her daughter saw Granny Xu and her daughter-in-law cleaning the road near the toilet. They first covered it with a layer of coal ash, then shoveled it clean, and then rinsed it with water.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were working hard, while a junior union official was supervising them.

When Granny Xu saw the mother and daughter, she spat and her eyes were full of hatred.

Cheng Xiuying's temper flared up immediately, but she certainly couldn't take action at this moment. Granny Xu smelled terrible; she had soaked in the river again and again, but she still hadn't gotten her completely clean.

If they get into a fight, they'll get it on them.

She covered her nose: "How old are you? How could you fall into a latrine? You should wash yourself properly, you stink and maggots might infest you. You should have some hygiene!"

Granny Xu had lost all face in her life, and now, hearing Cheng Xiuying mock her, she was even more furious: "It must have been your family's doing! Otherwise, how could I have fallen into the cesspool! And my teeth too! You whole family are heartless!"

She's starting to doubt whether the claim of gold hidden in the cesspool is true. Could it be that the Yu family deliberately said it to make her fall in?

Cheng Xiuying was speechless: "How dare you blame others? Hey, where's Xu Changjin? Why isn't he here to help? He's so unfilial."

Granny Xu quickly explained, "Changjin wasn't feeling well, so I scolded him back and told him to rest."

Cheng Xiuying clicked her tongue twice. "Your old mother is doing all the dirty and hard work outside, while he's enjoying himself at home. Where's your grandson? Is he still at the police station? It's been a whole day, and he still hasn't learned anything? Is he not smart enough, or does he just not want to learn?"

Granny Xu was so angry she was panting. Her son, her grandson!

Cheng Xiuying: Forget it, talking to you is like talking to an idiot. Don't lower my IQ.

Once Granny Xu and her daughter-in-law have cleaned up, she'll definitely go and give them a beating.

Yu Jiajia really wanted to applaud Comrade Cheng Xiuying. Her mother was so sharp-tongued, always hitting Xu Pozi right where it hurt. Look how angry Xu Pozi was! She barely managed to hold back her laughter! That's how you teach her a lesson!