◎First update◎

The days of studying in the workshop are actually not bad. It is better than working in the fields in the village. At least there is no wind and sun. However, the work in the office is much better than that in the workshop.

Liang Baozhen has good academic performance, so writing articles and preparing materials for radio broadcasts every day should not be a big problem. The only drawback is that there is no room for advancement in this position.

There are eight levels of workers in the factory. The higher the level, the higher the salary and status. There are three level eight workers in the National Cotton Mill. They are all senior workers. Even Chen Yong has to call them "old masters". In the fine yarn workshop where Liang Baozhen works, the highest level of workers is level five workers, who earn 72 yuan a month. Xu Shengjie is a retired soldier who has a better treatment. Although he has been in the factory for a short time, he directly receives the salary of a level two worker, 43 yuan a month, plus overtime allowance, high temperature allowance in summer, night shift allowance, all in all, he should be able to earn 50 yuan.

The further you get into a job, the harder it is to get promoted. In those days, the working class was the most envied and respected, and the high-ranking workers among them were particularly prominent.

But Liang Baozhen didn't care much. She was still thinking about the college entrance examination next year. If she could become a broadcaster, she could stay in the office and it would be more convenient for her to read and review.

"I think it's a good idea too. Working in a workshop requires physical labor after all. It's easy to get injured if you work too hard. It's better to sit in the office." Xu Shengjie and his wife thought the same thing.

"I heard that this position is very popular. When Director Xue asked me today, I said I would think about it for a while. Now that it has been decided, I will reply tomorrow."

"When will the previous announcer leave?" Liang Baozhen just said that she was going home to take care of her pregnancy, and as soon as she left, Liang Baozhen would take over.

"At the beginning of next month, Director Xue wants me to finish this month's work and then transfer from the fine yarn workshop to the factory office."

"Okay." Xu Shengjie walked to the door and pushed it open. "Tell grandma about this. She will be happy. She even told me secretly before that she was worried that working in the workshop was too tiring. She thought that you were only good at studying, and it would be a shame for you to do manual labor."

Liang Baozhen looked around the house and saw that her grandmother had already gone to bed. Actually, she was not really asleep because it was dark. She had to light a kerosene lamp to do anything, which wasted too much kerosene. Even sewing and making clothes had to be done during the day. Kerosene coupons were precious, so she had to use them sparingly.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

The next day at breakfast, Zhou Yun was very happy to learn that her granddaughter-in-law could work in the office. She had always felt that Liang Baozhen should not be a workshop worker, but now that she thought about it, sitting in the office and writing was indeed suitable for her.

"Then do it well, it will be easier this way."

Today's breakfast was dried taro nests with some pickled vegetables. I broke open the nests, put a spoonful of pickled vegetables in, and ate it in one bite. It was very delicious. However, no matter how delicious something is, it will be uncomfortable if you eat too much.

The Xu family had eaten most of the thirty kilograms of dried taro, and Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya were already tired of it.

"Brother, how long do we have to eat this dried taro?"

"I've checked. There's only a little bit left, not much." Outside the Xu family's house, there's a wooden house. It's not high and compact. It's where they store vegetables and it's usually locked.

"We're finally finishing our meal!" Xu Shengwei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't you two like to eat it? You said that taro flour dumplings are much more delicious than cornmeal ones." Liang Baozhen looked at the two little ones with sad faces, eating one bite at a time with great effort.

"Sister-in-law, that was the first day I ate it. I thought it was delicious! But I can't bear to eat it every day. Oh~" Xu Shengwei swallowed another mouthful, "I kind of miss cornmeal steamed buns."

"It's good to have something to eat. Why are you so picky?" Zhou Yun recalled the hard times more than ten years ago and felt that these kouwowotou were all good things. "In the past, grandma couldn't even eat kouwowotou. At that time, she ate soil, Guanyin soil."

"Really? He's even eating dirt." Xu Shengwei pondered for a moment, and remembered the soil in the yard. Hey, Wowotou is still the most delicious!

Xu Shengya felt that it was not easy for her grandma to pass away, so she picked up a piece of pickled vegetables with chopsticks and put it on the wowotou, "Grandma, you won't eat dirt anymore in the future. Eat wowotou every day."

"Our Xiaoya is still caring!" Zhou Yun's face was full of smiles. A mouthful of steamed buns was already delicious to her.

——

Liang Baozhen went to the factory office and confirmed her work with Director Xue, and planned to officially transfer to the factory office at the beginning of next month to serve as a broadcaster.

Wang Xin was envious of the good job she got. She also wanted to work in an office, but such an opportunity was hard to come by. Of course, some workers did not take such a job seriously. After all, the job only lasted until the second-level worker, and there was little room for salary increase.

"Sister Baozhen, you must remember to come back and see us."

"Of course. If you miss me, just listen to the radio every noon."

"Hahaha that's fine, just read more interesting things from the newspaper~"

"As long as Director Xue approves, I will definitely study it!" The only person Liang Baozhen found difficult to face when she left the fine yarn workshop this time was her master Meng Ping. She had been with her for more than a month, and now that she was leaving, she felt really bad about it.

On the last day in the fine sand workshop, Liang Baozhen went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a pound of peach cakes and prepared to go to Meng Ping's house. After all, the man was her first master.

"Sister Meng, I have been in the factory for a short time. The first time I went to the fine yarn workshop, I worked under you. Now I am going to transfer to the factory office. No matter what, I will remember that you are my master."

Liang Baozhen spoke sincerely, and she was very motivated when she first started learning. Meng Ping liked this girl very much. Although she was reluctant to see her apprentice leave the fine yarn workshop, she felt that the factory office was a good place for her apprentice to go.

"You are lucky to have such a job. Broadcasters are very popular." Meng Ping was more happy for her apprentice. "Work hard in the factory office in the future. The benefits there are also good, which is better than working in the workshop."

"I will!"

"If you encounter something and need help, come here. You haven't been in our spinning workshop for a short time, but you are still one of our people. If anything happens, we will definitely have to support you. But you have a good temper and will not make trouble with others easily."

"Let's make a deal. If I'm bullied, I'll come to you for support." Liang Baozhen went along with it and made Meng Ping smile with just one sentence.

"I have to support you! No one can bully those who come out of our fine yarn workshop!"

The two chatted and laughed. Meng Ping reminisced about the time when she first joined the factory. She became interested and even showed Liang Baozhen some old photos.

"This is a photo taken when I entered the factory in 1950. Look, I was only 15 years old then." Twenty-six years have passed in a flash. Time makes people grow old. Meng Ping stroked the group photo of a hundred people who entered the factory that year. The yellowed old photo seemed to have endless stories to tell and was full of traces of time.

"Sister Meng, is this Mr. Liu?" Liang Baozhen found several familiar faces in the photos, who were the old men working in the fine yarn workshop.

"Yes, Liu Shengqiang was still a young man at that time, but he has aged a lot now." Meng Ping scanned the photos one by one, looking at the many people in them, "The factory director Chen Yong was not the factory director at that time, but he was very famous in the factory and was very arrogant. A few years later, he took over the position of factory director, but before he could even get comfortable in the position, some people were dissatisfied with him and wanted to kick him out. But within a few years, he was able to take over the position and developed the National Cotton Mill."

Liang Baozhen usually heard a lot of things about the factory, but she had no place to listen to some old stories. Now, listening to Meng Ping's recollection of the past, she quickly pricked up her ears, "Is this Deputy Director Wu? I got this job quota back thanks to his help."

"Yes, Wu Bingnian was not the deputy factory director at that time. He was the director of the production workshop in the factory. He was also quite capable."

Meng Ping's fingers kept moving until they stopped in front of a beautiful woman in the photo. "This is your mother-in-law, Wu Huacui."

Xu Shengjie's mother!

Liang Baozhen once saw a photo of Xu Shengjie's parents in his house, but the photo was blurry and could no longer be seen clearly after more than 20 years. Even the one in Meng Ping's hand could only give a rough idea of ​​the picture.

It can be vaguely seen that Wu Huacui is a young and beautiful lesbian.

"It's such a pity." Meng Ping sighed when she talked about Wu Huacui. "Your mother-in-law was beautiful and smart back then. She was good at spinning yarn and was a popular figure in the factory. She was well-liked."

Liang Baozhen looked at the photo of Wu Huacui, whose features had become blurred over time. She knew that her mother was an excellent person just from the fact that Xu Shengjie had mentioned her once or twice.

After leaving Meng Ping's house, Liang Baozhen rode her bicycle back home. Today, she had told Xu Shengjie in advance that she was going to visit Meng Ping at the family building, and asked him to go home first after get off work. Xu Shengjie then left the bicycle to his wife and walked back.

The family meal was ready, a dish of fried tofu with green onions and a portion of dried duck that Xu Shengjie packed back from the state-owned hotel!

"What good day is today?" Liang Baozhen gnawed the dried duck in her hand. Her fingers were covered in oil and she just felt good in her stomach.

"You're going to be a broadcaster soon." Xu Shengjie raised his eyebrows and looked at his wife, "Don't you have to have a good meal?"

"Spendthrift!" Liang Baozhen's red lips were glossy as she smiled and spoke disparagingly to Xu Shengjie. She quietly calculated that this man would buy some delicious food home from time to time. She wondered if he had used up his five yuan pocket money.

After dinner, it was already dark. Liang Baozhen prepared to look for Cheng Caili to get something. A few days ago, she heard from Cheng Caili that the supply and marketing cooperative had a batch of defective square handkerchiefs, the edges of which were out of place and the printing was not done well, and they could be sold at a discount.

"Come and have a look!" Cheng Caili took out three square scarves and spread them on the sofa. One was pure cotton and pure white with a peony flower printed on the lower left corner, one was a purple triangle square scarf, and one was a goose yellow triangle square scarf. "They are all very beautiful. The flaw is actually not very noticeable. It's a bargain for us. It's only two yuan each!"

The cheapest handkerchief sold at the supply and marketing cooperative is at least four yuan.

The pure cotton handkerchief feels very good and soft to the touch. Liang Baozhen picked up a goose yellow one and wrapped it around her neck, then held the two corners and tied a bow around it.

Cheng Caili knew that Liang Baozhen was originally fair-skinned, and the goose-yellow scarf she wore made her look even fairer and more beautiful. It felt like her name was written on the scarf. "This is it! It's so beautiful!"

Liang Baozhen looked at herself in the magpie mirror at Cheng Caili's house and was satisfied. It could keep out the wind and keep warm in autumn and winter, and most importantly, it was beautiful. "Sister Caili, I want all three."

"Why did you buy so many? I told you to keep two."

"I have an older sister and a younger sister at home." Liang Baozhen took off the square scarf from her neck and immediately prepared to pay. "It's so convenient for you to buy these at ordinary times. Why don't you go back and get two more?"

Holding Cheng Caili's hand, Liang Baozhen tilted her head and blinked, which made Cheng Caili lose her temper. "Sister Caili, you are the best~"

"Okay, okay, you're such an annoyance, really." A smile crept up Cheng Caili's eyes and eyebrows, and she pretended to be angry and stretched out her hand, "Then pay quickly, it's six yuan."

"Six yuan and ten cents." Liang Baozhen put an extra ten cents in her hand. "You must have worked hard to bring it back."

One cent is not a small amount, but Liang Baozhen's three handkerchiefs are worth it. If it weren't for Cheng Caili's connections, she wouldn't have been able to get them. They are said to have defects, but you may not be able to find the problem even if you look carefully for a long time. It is reasonable to give her one cent as a reward for her hard work.

"Look at you, you're quite reserved." Cheng Caili felt relieved. Liang Baozhen was a sensible person. It didn't matter if it was a penny or not. After all, she helped, and she knew how to appreciate it.

After talking for a while, Liang Baozhen left Cheng Caili's house with three handkerchiefs and prepared to return to the second courtyard through the hanging flower gate, but she happened to meet Zhou Guoping coming out of the courtyard.

"Xiao Liang, have you eaten?"

"Brother Zhou, we've eaten." Liang Baozhen looked at the sky. It was dark and she estimated that it was past nine o'clock. It was quiet all around. "Why are you still going out so late?"

"Yes, something happened. I'll leave first." Zhou Guoping walked hurriedly and disappeared into the night.

Liang Baozhen had just walked a few steps when she ran into Liu Nianhua, who was rushing out. She and Liu Nianhua were much more familiar with each other. "Sister Hua, where are you going so late?"

In the dark night, Liu Nianhua looked serious, as if he was about to do something important.