Chapter 153

Shi Xiaoyu couldn't help herself. She grabbed Xia Qingtang's sleeve and said tearfully, "What happened? You were doing well, why did they suddenly send you to the union? Why was it so sudden?"

Xia Qingtang quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. I also feel that this is quite sudden, but this is the arrangement of the factory, there is nothing we can do. Besides, we are still working together, just separated by a wall. If you want to go to the bathroom, you can call me if you happen to pass by the door. Lunch and getting off work will be the same as before, there is no difference."

"How can there be no difference? Now that you go next door, I can't even say a word to you during work. What's more, from now on... we won't be people in the same office anymore..." Shi Xiaoyu was still very sad.

Shen Wen looked back at them and felt reluctant to leave. She said, "I also feel reluctant to leave Xiao Xia. After I came here, Xiao Xia has been of great help to me. I haven't even given you back yet. Why do you have to go to the office next door?"

Xia Qingtang said: "I'm not going to work in another factory, I'm just moving to the office next door. We'll still see each other every day in the future."

"That's different!" Shi Xiaoyu started crying again, looking very sad.

Xia Qingtang felt helpless and didn't know what to say. He could only hold her shoulders and keep silent, waiting for her to calm down.

Cheng Shuangmin said, "We all don't want to let Xiaoxia go, but this decision was made by the higher-ups, and it was also a helpless move. As you know, the city sent a union chairman, and the other staff members are all newcomers. They have been in the countryside for many years and have not worked much. If we don't send an experienced old employee to the union, how can the union carry out its work? Xiaoxia is very capable, and she came from the cotton mill union, so she is the most suitable one to help in all aspects. Tell me, if we don't let her go, who will go to help?"

Shi Xiaoyu said, "If she goes over to help, and everyone over there learns how to work, can she come back to our office?"

Cheng Shuangmin said: "I don't know about this either...it depends on the arrangements from above."

"I think Secretary Xia will never leave the union after this time." Li Zifang suddenly said.

Shi Xiaoyu was shocked: "Why do you say that?"

"It's just a guess. Think about it. The union is still short of a deputy position. Xiao Xia is young, but she has the most experience and strong ability. I can't think of anyone more suitable than her to be the deputy position of the union." Li Zifang said, "The higher-ups probably considered transferring her there. So, don't be too sad, because Xiao Xia will definitely be promoted if she goes there. As a good friend, you should be happy for her."

The whole office fell silent for a moment after hearing these words. Xia Qingtang didn't expect Li Zifang to be so smart that he guessed the factory's intention at once.

Shi Xiaoyu sniffed, sighed and said, "You have a point. If that's the case, then Xiaoxia's going there... will be beneficial. I really can't stop her from going there just because of this..."

Li Zifang smiled: "Even if you want to stop it, you can't. This is a decision made by the higher-ups. Even Xiaoxia herself can't stop it. They say they respect personal decisions, but if she really doesn't want to go, wouldn't that offend the big bosses in the factory?"

Li Zifang's words made a lot of sense. Shi Xiaoyu sighed again, then held Xia Qingtang's hand seriously and said firmly: "Xiao Xia, this is really unavoidable. I think you have paid so much here and adapted to the various tasks. You will definitely not be happy if you are suddenly sent to the next door. But I think what Director Li said makes sense. Maybe you can get a promotion when you go there. Let's think about the bright side and go there."

Xia Qingtang was touched. Shi Xiaoyu was innocent and simple, and always cared about her sincerely. She reached out and gave Shi Xiaoyu a big hug, then said softly: "Xiaoshi, thank you. I am really happy and touched that you think about me like this. Don't worry, although there is a wall between us now, we are still good friends. From now on, except for not gossiping during work, everything else will remain the same, okay?"

"Okay, then we have a deal. We'll keep doing it as usual. I'll come find you when I go to the bathroom, and you'll have lunch with me too."

"Don't worry, we'll take a nap together." Xia Qingtang patted her back again, then let go of her arm, went back to his desk and started packing.

Shi Xiaoyu said: "Why are you packing up now? Director Chai just told you to move slowly today, no need to rush..."

"But Chairman Ma just asked me to go there as soon as possible because I have to attend a meeting after I move there." Xia Qingtang said, "Now, Chairman Ma is my direct supervisor..."

This was very true. Shi Xiaoyu had no choice but to wipe her eyes, stand up and say, "Then I'll help you clean up."

"Okay, let's do it together." Xia Qingtang smiled and started packing with Shi Xiaoyu.

Her desk was very clean and tidy, with everything inside arranged in an orderly manner and classified into different categories. Shi Xiaoyu helped her move the things in the cabinets and drawers onto the desk first.

Shen Wen looked at it for a minute, then suddenly stood up and said, "Secretary Xia, I'll go to the next office and help you wipe the inside of the table, and then put some old newspapers on it."

Although there are cleaners in the factory who clean the offices and wipe the tables and cabinets every day, the hygiene inside the tables is the responsibility of the individual, so Shen Wen was very thoughtful in this regard.

Xia Qingtang quickly thanked him: "Thank you, Director Shen. Thank you for your hard work."

Shen Wen quickly went to the corner and took a stack of old newspapers from the office, then walked out with a basin of water and a rag.

Xia Qingtang put all her personal belongings on the table, put some more private things into her backpack, and asked Cheng Shuangmin to come over to confirm that she did not take anything from the factory.

Cheng Shuangmin said, "Don't look for it. It's in the next office. If you take something with you and you remember it later, just come back and get it."

"Is that so? That's fine too." Xia Qingtang said, "I've cleaned up my place and I'll move over now."

"Okay, I'll help you." Cheng Shuangmin also stood up and helped Xia Qingtang move things.

The three of them carried Xia Qingtang's things to the next office. Ma Chunhua was sitting in the small office at the moment, and the two clerks outside were talking in a low voice.

Seeing them come in, Shen Wen immediately said, "Secretary Xia, I have wiped the inside of the drawers and cabinets. It's hot, so they will dry quickly. I am laying out newspapers. Wait a moment, it will be done soon."

"Okay, thank you." Xia Qingtang first moved his things to the big table and put them away.

Shi Xiaoyu also put down what he was holding, and whispered, "This table is the biggest..."

"Yes, Chairman Ma asked me to sit here." Xia Qingtang replied in a low voice.

Shi Xiaoyu nodded and whispered in Xia Qingtang's ear: "It seems that what Li Zifang said is true. After you come here, you will definitely be the vice chairman."

"Don't say this carelessly. It will be bad if others hear it." Xia Qingtang warned.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything more. We are the only ones who know about this." Shi Xiaoyu smiled and then greeted the two people. "Hello, I'm Shi Xiaoyu from the factory next door. What are your names?"

"Hello, Secretary Division, my name is Wu Lei, Wu means Wushan, and Lei means three stones." The man spoke first.

He is very tall, about 1.8 meters, with broad shoulders and strong features. He looks quite manly. He should be in his thirties, but somehow he looks younger. He looks quite good when he smiles.

"Hello everyone, my name is Liu Dandan. I lived in the countryside for many years and returned to the city last year. I have been working as a temporary worker on the street. Now I am really happy to work in the Future Electric Appliance Factory." The female comrade was indeed very happy.

She is neither tall nor short, with a thin figure, semi-long hair braided into a pigtail, a small oval face, thin eyebrows and eyes. At first glance, her appearance is ordinary, but a closer look reveals that her skin is delicate and fair, like fine jade. If she wears a dress like cheongsam, she should look very charming.

I don’t know who selected these employees, but judging from their appearance, there is not a single ugly person here. I guess it’s just a coincidence.

Cheng Shuangmin smiled and said, "We are all colleagues from now on. I am Cheng Shuangmin. Our factory office is next door, so we will visit each other often. You just came here, so if you have anything you are not familiar with, you can come to us. There are a few more people in our office, so don't be polite with us."

"Okay, you are Deputy Director Cheng, right? I've heard about you just now." Wu Lei came over, shook hands with Cheng Shuangmin, and then started chatting with him, "I heard that you also worked in the production team in Dahe County before?"

"Yeah, you too?"

During their conversation, Xia Qingtang and Shen Wen had already put the items they had moved back into the new desk. They still arranged them according to the previous layout, but it now seemed a little emptier.

Because this table is bigger, the drawers and cabinets are also larger, so it can hold more things.

After packing up, Shen Wen said, "Secretary Xia, I'll go back first. We'll talk about it later at lunch."

"Okay." Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "Thank you so much for today."

"I should be the one to say thank you. How many times have you helped me? I can't even count them all." Shen Wen said, "If you have anything to say, you must come to me and talk to me."

"Don't worry." Xia Qingtang nodded.

Shi Xiaoyu hugged her again: "Xiaoxia, I still can't bear to leave you."

"Master, go back and don't delay other people's work." Cheng Shuangmin said.

Shi Xiaoyu had no choice but to let go and reluctantly followed Cheng Shuangmin and Shen Wen back.

After the three of them walked out, Wu Lei and Liu Dandan took the initiative to talk to Xia Qingtang.

Wu Lei said, "Secretary Xia, you have a really good relationship with your colleagues in the factory office."

"Yes, they are all very nice people and they are very nice to me." Xia Qingtang closed the drawer with a smile and then hung the small lock she brought on it.

Because Cheng Shuangmin was responsible for the arrangement, locks were installed on the tables and cabinets in advance, so there was no need to find someone to do it later.

"It can be seen that they are all reluctant to part with you. Secretary Xia is very popular among everyone." Liu Dandan said.

"Our future electrical appliance factory will be like this. If you go around the workshop later, you'll find that the employees are very enthusiastic. In this factory, we are a family." Xia Qingtang smiled even more brightly.

She is not the same age as these two colleagues, but she is their senior, so attitude is still more important.

As she was talking, Ma Chunhua came out of the small office, holding a thick notebook in her hand, with that habitual smile on her face. She said, "Sit down, let's talk briefly first."

"yes."

Several people returned to their seats and sat down. Xia Qingtang looked at the empty table next to him, wondering why there was still one person missing.

Ma Chunhua said, "Have you all met? Do you know each other's names? This is Wu Lei, this is Liu Dandan, this is Xia Qingtang, and there is a little Zheng Kaiyu who won't arrive until tomorrow. He had some problems at home, so he can only arrive a day later. But it doesn't matter. Little Zheng worked in a trade union before, he is very familiar with the work of the trade union, and should be able to help."

Xia Qingtang was a little surprised. She didn't expect that there were people here who didn't come back from the countryside.

But she didn't say anything, but listened carefully to Ma Chunhua's meeting.

Ma Chunhua briefly talked about some of the goals after the establishment of the factory union. The first is to hand over all the work belonging to the union from the factory office. After that, all employees in the factory should be made aware of the existence and importance of the union. After the union's work is on the right track, Ma Chunhua plans to organize more activities that are beneficial to the employees, and then strive for more benefits.

Xia Qingtang was very familiar with this kind of thing. The cotton mill union used to do this kind of work. But it could be seen that although Ma Chunhua always looked gentle and kind, she was very ambitious in doing things. Although she did not say it explicitly, every word she said showed her determination, which was to suppress the presence of the factory office and make the union the first priority in the minds of the employees.

This happened every day in the cotton mill. The trade union was always competing with the factory office, so Xia Qingtang was not surprised at all.

After the small meeting was over, Ma Chunhua said, "Xiao Xia, you are more familiar with the factory office. Director Chai said earlier that he would let Deputy Director Cheng work with us. You can take Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu to the next door to do the handover. The workload should be large. Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu are relatively unfamiliar with these things. Don't worry. Talk to them slowly about what you encounter and try to let them get familiar with the environment here as soon as possible. When Xiao Zheng arrives tomorrow, we will go to each workshop and talk to the front-line workers."

"Okay, I got it. I'll go over first to see if the deputy director is in the office." Xia Qingtang said, and went out with his notebook.

Cheng Shuangmin happened to be in the office. When he saw Xia Qingtang coming over, he said, "Did Chairman Ma ask you to come over to take over? Xiaoshi and I are sorting it out."

"Yes, Deputy Director Cheng, should I call two colleagues over, or should they go to our office?" Xia Qingtang asked.

"Let's go to your side. There's an empty desk there. Let's go." Cheng Shuangmin stood up, then carried a thick stack of file bags and went back to the union office with Xia Qingtang.

Xia Qingtang was very busy all morning. She had to hand over the work to Cheng Shuangmin, take notes for herself, and then find time to explain some work matters to Wu Lei and Liu Dandan.

Fortunately, Cheng Shuangmin is also very experienced. Sometimes when Xia Qingtang is too busy to talk, he will help explain.

Ma Chunhua went out after the meeting and did not show up for the whole morning. She came back in a hurry at noon when get off work was over. When she came back, she just said hello and went straight into the small office to continue working.

Cheng Shuangmin looked at the time and said, "I didn't expect it's already noon. How about we go eat first and continue in the afternoon?"

"Okay, let's continue in the afternoon." Xia Qingtang said, "I need to drink some water and take a break."

She hadn't drunk a sip of water this morning and her mouth was already dry.

Although promotion is right in front of him, Xia Qingtang is also very clear that he has been able to stand out by working harder than others.

Liu Dandan said: "You two are so efficient in doing things. I can hardly keep up with you when I'm listening to you."

Cheng Shuangmin said: "It was like this at the beginning, but you get used to it later. When Xiaoxia and I were the busiest, we had to do our regular work in the factory office while being called to the workshop from time to time to translate for several technicians. That's what we call busy."

"Be a translator? Isn't there a dedicated translator in the factory?" Wu Lei was a little curious.

Cheng Shuangmin smiled and said, "You just arrived, so you don't know yet. The factory has translators, but there are several technicians, so there are often not enough translators, so we can only ask the factory office staff to take over."

"I didn't expect Secretary Xia could speak foreign languages, that's amazing." Liu Dandan looked surprised.

"Yes, Secretary Xia can communicate with foreigners normally, and everyone likes talking to her." Cheng Shuangmin deliberately praised Xia Qingtang, "At the same time, she can write articles. She started publishing articles in newspapers two years ago. Some of the formal manuscripts that our Assistant Yan needs to use are all written by Secretary Xia. Our entire factory knows that she is a very capable and talented woman."

Wu Lei and Liu Dandan were both even more surprised. Xia Qingtang had drunk enough water at this point, so she quickly smiled and said, "Deputy Director Cheng, you are really good at praising people. What's the big deal about me? In terms of English proficiency, you and Secretary Shen are much better than me. You two are the real foreign language talents."

"But you are young, you are only a few years old. When you reach our age, you will definitely be much stronger than us." Cheng Shuangmin packed up his things and said, "Okay, let's go eat first, and we will continue in the afternoon when we go to work. There is no end to the work, we must pay attention to the combination of work and rest."

Having said that, he went out.

Xia Qingtang quickly moved the file bags on the table to the cabinet at the back. Wu Lei was quick and followed over to help.

Liu Dandan didn't get anything to do, so she said, "Secretary Xia, I didn't expect you to be so capable. You must help me more in my future work."

"I just have a little more work experience than you. We are all colleagues. We should learn from each other and make progress together." Xia Qingtang closed the cabinet door with a smile and went to refill his cup with hot water. "Okay, let's go eat. At noon on the first day, I will take you to exchange meal tickets, and then we will go to get food together."

"Okay, thank you, Secretary Xia." Wu Lei said, "I heard that the food in this factory is very good."

"It's really good. There are many dishes for every meal in the big cafeteria, including meat and vegetarian dishes. But we seldom go to the big cafeteria because there are too many people. We are used to going to the small cafeteria, where there are fewer dishes but fewer people, so it's not so crowded." As Xia Qingtang was speaking, he saw Shi Xiaoyu coming over with a lunch box and a smile on his face.

"Xiao Xia, let's go out for dinner!"

"Okay, wait a moment. I'll go with Officer Wu and Officer Liu." Xia Qingtang said, "We need to take them to get to know the place."

"Okay, let's go together." Shi Xiaoyu nodded.

Wu Lei took his lunch box, walked to the door of the small office, knocked on it, and said, "Chairman Ma, aren't you going to eat yet?"

Ma Chunhua said, "I'm not in a hurry yet, you guys go first."

"Do you need me to bring food back for Chairman Ma?"

"Thank you, but no, I'll go eat it myself in a moment."

"Okay, then we'll go over first." Wu Lei closed the door again, and then went out with Xia Qingtang and the others.

Xia Qingtang first took them to exchange meal tickets, and then they went to the canteen together.

Several technicians had already started eating inside, and Xia Qingtang greeted them with a smile.

Mr. Martin said, “Xia, I can only see you here from now on.”

"Yeah, I miss you a little bit." Mr. Thomas said with a smile: "Xia, come back occasionally and continue to help us translate."

"Okay, if there's a chance." Xia Qingtang said with a smile.

Thomas handed over a small object next to his plate and said, "Xia, this chocolate is for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Thomas." Xia Qingtang said, "Didn't you say last time that all the chocolates were eaten? How come there are still some?"

"We found another place to buy it. This is chocolate from Country E. It tastes very good. You can try it," said Mr. Thomas.

"Thank you. I will enjoy it. I won't disturb you while you're eating. I'll go get the food first." Xia Qingtang returned to Shi Xiaoyu and the others, holding the lunch box and the chocolate.

Liu Dandan said with envy: "Secretary Xia, you are really familiar with these foreigners, and you speak foreign languages so elegantly."

Shi Xiaoyu nodded vigorously: "Yes, our Xiaoxia is not afraid of anything. The first time she was asked to interpret for foreigners, she could talk non-stop. I envy her so much."

"He really was talking non-stop. Although I didn't understand him, I thought he was speaking fluently." Liu Dandan said, "That foreigner also gave Secretary Xia something."

"It's chocolate. That person is Mr. Thomas. He said I'm about the same age as his eldest daughter, so he has always been very kind to me and always gives me some candies and cookies to try." Xia Qingtang explained.

Liu Dandan's expression became even more envious: "How amazing! Secretary Xia has made friends with foreigners!"

Shi Xiaoyu said: "Of course, our Xiaoxia is the most popular wherever she goes."

Xia Qingtang smiled and patted her shoulder: "Stop bragging for me. We are actually colleagues, and they are very nice to Secretary Shen."

"Who is Secretary Shen?" Wu Lei asked.

"It's Shen Wen, a clerk in the factory office. She was admitted to the Foreign Languages Department of the provincial university. Her foreign language level is very high, comparable to that of Deputy Director Cheng. Both of them can understand original English works, but I am far from that." Xia Qingtang said.

Wu Lei said: "I did learn foreign languages before, but unfortunately, after so many years, I have long forgotten them."

"It doesn't matter. You can continue learning if you throw it away. Both of you have been to university and are smart people. It will definitely be easy for you to learn." Shi Xiaoyu said.

"It's not that easy. I don't even know how to start learning." Liu Dandan sighed.

Shi Xiaoyu said, "My colleagues and I in the office are also learning foreign languages. Since everyone else can communicate fluently, we don't want to fall too far behind. If you want to learn, you can first borrow some books from someone, and then find an English teacher from a university to teach you the basics. You can learn the rest by yourself. That's how Secretary Xia learned it, Xiaoxia, right?"

Xia Qingtang said: "Yes, someone will guide you through the process, and then you can learn on your own. It's hard at first, but it's okay if you stick to it. In fact, learning anything is similar, as long as you put your heart into it, you can learn it well. Even if you have to spend more time than others sometimes, as long as you study hard, you will definitely get results."

As they were talking, they had already packed their meals, so they found an empty table and sat down with their lunch boxes.

Shen Wen and Li Zifang waved to this side, Xia Qingtang also waved to them, then lowered his head and started eating.

She was a little tired this morning, so she ordered a meat dish, a vegetable dish and rice. The meat dish was stir-fried pork with peppers, and the vegetable dish was roasted eggplant. Both dishes go well with rice, and the portions were very filling.

The family saved more and more money, and work was hard, so Xia Qingtang would never go hungry. He could satisfy himself with whatever he wanted to eat. His colleagues in the factory office had long been accustomed to this.

Shi Xiaoyu didn't want to order any meat dishes, so she only ordered some fried celery with dried tofu. It tasted delicious because it was topped with vegetable soup.

Although she and her husband are both working, they both plan to have a baby next year, so they usually pay attention to saving money and their meals are relatively simple.

Liu Dandan turned her head to look at the food that others had ordered, and whispered, "Secretary Xia, are you married?"

"Huh? Married? I'm married." Xia Qingtang was a little confused.

"Then you definitely don't have any children?" Liu Dandan laughed.

"Yes, I haven't had a baby yet."

"Seeing how generous you are with your meals, I know you definitely don't have children. People like us with children have to calculate our meals carefully. If I eat one more bite, the child won't be able to finish it." Liu Dandan said.

There wasn't even any soy products in her lunch box, only a serving of roasted eggplant.

Shi Xiaoyu said: "But the salary and benefits of our factory are very good. My wife and I have calculated that even if we raise a child in the future, it will be relatively easy."

"I have many children." Liu Dandan said: "I have two children, and now I am the only one taking care of them in the city. My wife is still in the countryside and hasn't come back yet."

"Why don't you come back?"

"Our two families are not from the same city, and I don't want to go to his place with him. Besides, there are no jobs. Now that I'm back in the city, my place is only big enough for me and my two children to squeeze in. If he comes back, not to mention having no food to eat, there will be no place to live. As for me, I'm luckier. My uncle is a well-known man. He introduced me to a temporary job. It just so happened that my son was going to elementary school, so I brought them back to settle down. The elementary schools in the city are much better than those in the countryside. It doesn't matter if we adults suffer, but we can't let the children suffer. Now I have a job, and later I'll see if I can get my wife back." Liu Dandan lowered her voice and said, "You are old employees. Will our factory recruit workers like this in the future?"

Shi Xiaoyu said, "I think so. I heard that we will add more production lines next year. But our factory only wants people with local household registration. Isn't your wife from outside the city?"

"It doesn't matter. If we are sure we can still recruit workers, I will let him come to our place in advance. He will be registered with me and have a local hukou." Liu Dandan looked very happy when she heard the good news. "Next year... I really hope it will come soon."

Wu Lei didn't say much. He waited until Xia Qingtang finished her meal before he started asking her about learning foreign languages.

Xia Qingtang has always been open about anything related to her studies, so she told her how she started learning a foreign language.

Wu Lei nodded: "It seems that I still need to find a teacher to teach me first."

Liu Dandan said: "I don't know any English teachers."

"I don't know him either. I can only go home and think of a solution."

Seeing that everyone had finished their meal, Xia Qingtang said, "Let's go wash the lunch boxes and then go back."

Several people carried their lunch boxes to the sink outside to wash the dishes. Xia Qingtang took out a small old handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wash the dishes.

Liu Dandan said, "Secretary Xia, when you used a handkerchief to wash the dishes, didn't you make it dirty?"

"Oh, this is an old handkerchief. It's used for washing dishes. Because I occasionally eat meat dishes, the lunch boxes are greasey and need to be cleaned with a rag." Xia Qingtang explained.

It was better in the 1990s. She used detergent to wash dishes and it could remove any grease.

Liu Dandan nodded: "It seems that Secretary Xia's family is well off."

Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "My family conditions are indeed not bad."

Liu Dandan was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Secretary Xia, you are really honest. Most people would say no, no, but you are different."

Xia Qingtang said: "Because my family conditions are indeed not bad. If I say that I don't have any, I would be lying."

Shi Xiaoyu also said: "Yes, Xiaoxia's family is well off, she is also very nice to me and often brings me delicious food."

"Speaking of delicious food, do you want to eat this chocolate together?" Xia Qingtang asked.

"Okay, let's eat when we get off work."

Xia Qingtang nodded and said, "Secretary Liu, it is the custom of our building that female colleagues usually go to the small conference room on the first floor to take a nap, while male colleagues stay in the office. If you want to take a nap later, you can go to the small conference room with us. We will prepare some small pillows and blankets ourselves, so it is still very comfortable to sleep."

Liu Dandan said: "I discussed it with Secretary Wu. We just arrived and there are still many things we don't understand, so we plan to walk around the factory a few times at noon to familiarize ourselves with the environment."

"Okay, I'll go take a nap with Master Xiaoyu in a while." Xia Qingtang said as he picked up the clean lunch box, wrung out his handkerchief, and walked forward hand in hand with Master Xiaoyu.

After returning to the office, Xia Qingtang put down the lunch box, spread out his handkerchief and hung it on the table, then took out the cloth bag containing pillows from the cabinet and went out.

When they arrived at the small meeting room on the first floor, since no one else had gone there yet, Shi Xiaoyu quietly asked Xia Qingtang: "How do you feel over there?"

"For now, I just feel busy, and nothing else."

"What are the origins of those two officers?"

"I don't know, and it's not easy to ask. I'll have to ask Deputy Director Cheng later. He will definitely know." Xia Qingtang said, "How are you guys? Now that I'm gone, do we need to add another person?"

"I heard from the deputy director that they are not hiring for the time being, saying that they have enough staff."

"That's good too. At least they are all familiar people and environments."

"Why is there still an empty desk in your office?"

Xia Qingtang said: "Chairman Ma said that there is another person, Zheng, who will not come until tomorrow. He said he used to work in the trade union, but I don't know what his background is."

"Well, it's not easy for you over there. There are strangers everywhere and you are busy with work." Shi Xiaoyu felt sorry for her.

"It's okay. Being busy is temporary. It will be much easier once you get back on track. As for strangers, we will get familiar with each other." Xia Qingtang comforted her, "You don't have to worry about me too much. Let's go to sleep quickly. I'm really sleepy."

"Okay, go to bed."

Xia Qingtang pulled a few chairs over, put them together as usual, then lay down on his side and began to take a nap.

After sleeping soundly for half an hour, Xia Qingtang woke up as usual. Seeing that others were still taking a nap, he tiptoed out with the cloth bag in his hand.

She didn't want to go back to the office yet, so she sat down where she usually sat during her lunch break and enjoyed the cool breeze in the shade of the tree for a while.

"Xiao Xia, why are you here?" Cheng Shuangmin walked over holding a stack of things.

Xia Qingtang said: "I woke up from my nap and sat here to enjoy the fresh air."

"Why? Don't you want to go back to the office?"

"No, I just want to get some fresh air." Xia Qingtang looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he whispered, "Deputy Director Cheng, do you know where these people in the union come from?"

"I know. Liu Dandan and Wu Lei are in similar situations to me. We were both sent to the countryside to work as farmers during college. However, they did not continue their studies in the countryside, so they may have fallen behind in many aspects. But I heard that they are both very hardworking. When they came back from the commune, the chairman of the commune wrote them high praises, so they were selected by Assistant Yan to join the union. After all, isn't the union looking for people who are good at interpersonal relationships?"

"What about the other Officer Zheng?"

"He, he was recommended by Chairman Ma." Cheng Shuangmin lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Secretary Zheng is a relative of Chairman Ma's family. He used to work in the union of the leather shoe factory. He came to the right place. When he comes, you have to pay more attention to him."

"Keep an eye on him?"

"Yes, because later... you knew about the factory's arrangement for you, but Chairman Ma may have other ideas about this. That Xiao Zheng is much older than you, almost thirty years old, and you are far behind him in terms of years of work in the trade union. But you are an employee who came here at the very beginning, and your contribution to the factory is also very great. The translation was not enough before, and you replaced him for such a long time. Other leaders of ability have also seen it, so the deputy position belongs to you. Whether Chairman Ma agrees or not, the factory's arrangement must be implemented. However, you must be careful over there, and don't make any mistakes that give others a handle. I must understand what I mean." Cheng Shuangmin said earnestly.

Xia Qingtang knew that he was sincerely reminding her, so she nodded seriously and said, "I understand. Thank you for the reminder from Deputy Director Cheng. I will be careful in my work."

Cheng Shuangmin smiled and said, "You are young, but you have always been very steady. I believe you should be fine. If you encounter any troubles, you can come to me directly or find Director Chai privately. In fact, Director Chai is particularly reluctant to let you go, but there is no other way. You have a better future if you go to the next door, and Director Chai also hopes that you can be promoted."

"Thank you, Deputy Director Cheng, and thank you, Director Chai, you have been so nice to me. And my colleagues, you all take such good care of me." Xia Qingtang said seriously.

"Of course, we came here together to open up new land. That's revolutionary friendship, it's different." Cheng Shuangmin said, "I still have things to do, so I'm leaving first."

"Okay." Xia Qingtang watched him leave, then continued to sit on the stone block and ponder for a while.

From this point of view, the future situation of the union will still be very complicated, especially when her immediate superior is on guard against her, and she doesn’t know whether the work can proceed normally.

Xia Qingtang thought for a while and suddenly laughed.

In fact, being the so-called vice chairman of the trade union is not that important to her, so she plans to keep a calm mind. But if Ma Chunhua really wants her relatives to take the position, they have to show their real abilities.

If the other party is far inferior to her, she will definitely not give up this opportunity.

Afterwards, some employees passing by came over to greet her. Xia Qingtang sat for a few more minutes and then went back to the office.

There was no one in the big office, and no one in the small office either.

Xia Qingtang first drank a glass of water, then took out the things he had recorded in the morning, found a stack of white paper and started copying.

By the time Liu Dandan and Wu Lei returned to the office, Xia Qingtang had almost finished copying what he had written down in the morning.

When Ma Chunhua came in, Xia Qingtang had already finished copying.

"Xiao Xia, how much content did you hand over this morning?"

Xia Qingtang took out the paper he had just copied and handed it over, saying, "These are the contents. It is estimated that it will take another day or two to complete the initial handover."

Ma Chunhua took a quick glance and saw that the cursive writing was neat and beautiful, so she said, "You are quite efficient. Thank you for your hard work this afternoon."

As she said that, she returned the paper to Xia Qingtang.

Xia Qingtang said, "Chairman Ma, I copied this separately just to report my work to you. Please keep it and check it out. I still have the original manuscript."

Ma Chunhua's eyes changed slightly, and for the first time she began to look at Xia Qingtang's delicate and pretty little face seriously.

After a few seconds, she laughed: "Xiao Xia, you really live up to your reputation. From the factory director to the employees, everyone is praising you. It seems that there is a reason for it."