Chapter 14 Stepsister Happily Arrives in the Northwest! Working to Make Money!

After separating from Lin Xiuzhen and her daughter, Su Yue's obedient smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold indifference.

Carrying the cloth bag containing her household registration book and letter of introduction, she turned and walked straight in the opposite direction from the department store.

Shanghai Municipal Office for Educated Youth

These days, responding to the national call to go to the countryside is a "glorious mission" for countless urban young people.

"Comrade, hello, I'm here to process my sister's application for going to the countryside." Su Yue's voice was clear and crisp, with just the right amount of respect.

The official looked up and adjusted his glasses: "Did you bring your letter of introduction and household registration booklet?"

"I brought it."

Su Yue handed over the prepared materials.

The cadre took it and carefully checked the information: "Lin Wan'er... um, is she your younger sister?"

“My stepsister,” Su Yue answered frankly, then added with a hint of “helplessness” and “pride” in her tone, “My stepsister has a very high level of awareness and has long yearned to make a difference in the wider world. As soon as she heard about the opportunity, she urged me to sign her up immediately, and I couldn’t stop her.”

"Oh?" The cadre was clearly intrigued; these days, it was rare to see young people voluntarily requesting to go to the most difficult places. "Where does she want to go?"

A sly glint flashed in Su Yue's eyes, but her face wore an expression of "I'm proud of my sister."

"She said she wanted to go to the place where the motherland needed her most! The more arduous the journey, the more it would temper her revolutionary will!" Her tone was firm, and she almost believed it herself. "She said she would go to the Great Northwest! The wind and sand there are strong, and the conditions are harsh, which is the perfect place to temper this hothouse flower!"

The cadres nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with approval as they looked at Su Yue: "Good! That's the kind of spirit that young people need these days!"

He picked up the red stamp on the table and stamped it onto a brand new form with a "bang".

"The formalities are complete. We'll all gather and depart in three days. Here are the train ticket and the educated youth certificate. Tell her to get ready. There's a rural allowance of 200 yuan; please take it back for her."

"Thank you, comrade!"

Su Yue took the thin piece of paper that would determine Lin Wan'er's fate for the next few years, and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Next stop, the textile factory.

When Su Yue reappeared before Section Chief Liu of the Labor and Wages Department, her previous composure was gone, replaced by a tearful expression, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Section Chief Liu..." Her voice trembled, her eyes were red, and tears welled up in her eyes before she could even finish speaking.

Section Chief Liu was startled and quickly stood up: "Hey, Comrade Su Yue, what's wrong? Wasn't everything done?"

"I...I'm so sorry..." Su Yue lowered her head, her shoulders shaking, her voice thick with nasal congestion, "My stepmother...she...she thinks the job I found for my sister isn't respectable enough, and she's forcing me to take it back...she even said...she even said if I don't obey, she'll...waaaah..."

Her crying was perfectly timed, making the whole story clear while also making her appear incredibly weak and pitiful, as if she were about to be ravaged by a storm at any moment.

Section Chief Liu frowned as he listened. He had been through similar experiences and had heard countless stories of stepmothers tormenting their stepdaughters. A mixture of sympathy and anger welled up in his heart.

"Outrageous! What era are we living in? There are still such feudal patriarchs!" He slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Just then, the office door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman carrying a lunchbox walked in.

"Old Liu, what are you yelling about? I could hear you banging on the table from way out!"

The person who came was Li Fanghua, the wife of Section Chief Liu.

She immediately noticed Su Yue wiping away tears, and then looked at her husband's angry face, and instantly understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

"Oh, this girl's crying breaks my heart. Whose child is this? What has she suffered?" Li Fanghua is a kind-hearted and straightforward person.

Section Chief Liu sighed and briefly explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, Li Fanghua's eyes suddenly lit up.

She slammed the lunchbox on the table, walked over to Su Yue, grabbed her hand, and asked urgently, "Girl, don't cry! Tell me the truth, do you still want this job?"

Su Yue raised her tear-filled eyes and looked at her blankly: "I...I don't know..."

"What do you mean I don't know!" Li Fanghua, with her quick temper, immediately made a decision. "If you don't want it, is this job... for sale?"

"Huh?" Su Yue was stunned, as if she had heard something unbelievable. "Sell? A job... you can sell it?"

"Why can't you sell it!" Seeing her naive appearance, Li Fanghua felt even more confident. "You have a permanent job at the textile factory! A secure job! So many people would kill to get in! Your stepmother is so ignorant, she doesn't even want such a good job!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, spitting as she spoke: "Girl, let me tell you, I'm not going to take advantage of you! My daughter-in-law is about your age and has never had a proper job, which is really worrying me! If you're willing to give up this job, I'll give you a fair price!"

Su Yue blinked her eyelashes, still glistening with tears, and asked timidly, "What... price?"

Li Fanghua held up three fingers and waved them in front of Su Yue.

"As a permanent employee, your monthly salary is 33.5 yuan, which is 402 yuan a year. Let me calculate your salary for three years, that's over 1200 yuan!"

She counted on her fingers, making sure everything was clear.

"There are also various welfare coupons, labor protection supplies, and fish, meat and cloth distributed during the Spring Festival and other holidays. I'll convert all of these into cash and coupons for you, plus two hundred yuan!"

"Also, the new apprentices will have lower wages for the first three years, far less than you, a regular employee. I'll make up the difference for you with another hundred!"

Li Fanghua's eyes grew brighter as she calculated, and finally she slapped her thigh, giving a number that made Su Yue's heart skip a beat.

"One price! 1,500 yuan! Plus 300 jin of national grain coupons and 50 feet of cloth coupons! How about it, girl? Go and ask around, you won't find another place like this in the whole of Shanghai!"

1,500 yuan!

In an era when even households with 10,000 yuan in savings had not yet emerged, this was absolutely a huge sum of money!

That's enough for an average family to save for several years without eating or drinking!

Su Yue was overjoyed inside, but her face still showed a stunned expression as she stammered, "This... so much money..."

"Not at all!" Seeing that she was interested, Li Fanghua quickly pressed her advantage, "This job is one you can do for a lifetime! I'm buying my daughter-in-law a future! It's worth it!"

She turned and glared at her husband: "Old Liu, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and prepare the paperwork for them! I'm going home to get the money!"

After saying that, Li Fanghua rushed out of the office like a gust of wind.

Looking at his wife's decisive and efficient manner, Section Chief Liu shook his head helplessly, then turned to Su Yue and smiled gently: "Comrade Su Yue, don't worry, leave this to me. I'll take care of it for you right away, and I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly!"

As he spoke, he deftly pulled out a new form from the filing cabinet.

Less than half an hour later, Li Fanghua returned, carrying a heavy cloth bag in her arms, panting heavily.

"Here it comes! Here's the money!"

She placed the cloth bag on the table, untied the rope, and revealed stacks of neatly tied "big unity" bills, along with a large stack of brand-new receipts.

Su Yue's heart skipped a beat when she saw the mountain of money and tickets.

It's out!

This is a huge profit!

"Girl, count it." Li Fanghua pushed the money and tickets in front of Su Yue.

Su Yue counted them symbolically and then nodded.

"Money and goods settled!" Li Fanghua beamed, urging Section Chief Liu, "Old Liu, hurry! Change the start date to tomorrow! Let my daughter-in-law start work tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay."

Driven by money, all the formalities were completed at an incredible speed.

Su Yue felt extremely pleased as she held the invalid letter of introduction bearing Lin Wan'er's name.

After finishing her business, Su Yue was about to take her leave when she seemed to remember something and paused.

"Section Chief Liu, Aunt Li, I'd like to ask you about something."

"Tell me, tell me!" Li Fanghua now found Su Yue pleasing to the eye no matter how she looked at her.

"I'd like to find a place for a relative in the countryside to stay. I was wondering if there are any detached villas with their own courtyards in the suburbs of Shanghai?" Su Yue asked casually.

Li Fanghua and Section Chief Liu exchanged a glance.

"A small Western-style building?" Section Chief Liu thought for a moment. "That must be the area in the southern suburbs of the city. Before liberation, it was where some wealthy merchants and foreigners lived, and a few small Western-style buildings were left behind. But now... that place is a bit chaotic, and it's inhabited by all sorts of shady people. Respectable families don't go there."

The southern suburbs of the city.

Having received the answer she wanted, Su Yue felt much more at ease.

"Thank you, Aunt Li. Thank you, Section Chief Liu. I'll be going now."

Carrying the cloth bag filled with a huge sum of money, she bid farewell to the hospitable Li Fanghua and her husband, and quickly walked out of the textile factory.

As soon as she stepped out of the gate, she immediately turned into an empty alley.

With a thought, the heavy cloth bag in her arms vanished instantly, and the money and receipts inside were now safely stored in her personal space.