Zhang's wife left the kitchen to Political Commissar Xu to clean up, and then she and Bao Ni went to Qu Hong's house.
Political Commissar Xu watched his wife walk away. Well, fine, he was lucky to have a neighbor like Gu Ye!
Qu Hong's family and Su Mo's family lived relatively close to each other, so they greeted each other and gathered together.
"Sister Zhang, Bao Ni, come in quickly. I just finished eating and haven't cleaned up yet." Qu Hong invited the two into the house; her husband and children had already gone out.
Soon after, Su Mo arrived. Bao Ni told Qu Hong about the odd jobs, and Qu Hong was very happy. Su Mo said she wouldn't go, as she couldn't even sew her own clothes properly.
Actually, Su Mo wasn't used to going to unfamiliar, crowded places because of her family background. Since her family wasn't burdened with heavy financial responsibilities, she didn't go.
Bonnie understands that in this era, people with less favorable family backgrounds have concerns about everything they do.
Bonnie and the others went to Sister Chen's house again. She was happy because another sister-in-law who had picked wild vegetables with them before lived near Sister Chen's house. She was good at work and didn't talk much.
Finally, there were the two companies Gu Ye mentioned. Bao Ni and Aunt Zhang went there, and both of them were very happy and grateful, promising to work hard.
After going around in circles, we agreed to meet at Bonnie's house tomorrow night to confirm the departure time.
On Sunday, Bonnie and Anhe confirmed the time to enter the factory and what they needed to prepare.
"Sister Bonnie, you don't need to prepare anything. Just make sure your nails are short; if they're too long, they might accidentally fuzz the fabric. I'm off tomorrow, so I'll wait for you at the garment factory entrance and show you around." An Heping thought that if he took them in himself, it would save them from those gossipy people who might bully them.
“That’s great, I’ll take them with me then.”
Bonnie remembered An Heping's kindness and decided to repay it when she had the chance.
After a long day at work, several of Bao Ni's sisters-in-law came to her house in the evening.
"Sisters, I asked around. You only need to bring your lunchboxes and water bottles; nothing else. There's a canteen at the factory, so you can eat there or bring your own food. I'm not working tomorrow, so I'll take you there. After that, you'll have to go by yourselves."
I want to emphasize again: work hard and strive for the next opportunity. We don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either. Follow orders, do your job well, and keep it up!
Bonnie encouraged them. They were all from the countryside, had barely attended school, and didn't know many words. It was their first time working outside, and they were feeling uncertain. Bonnie decided to give them some encouragement.
The group thanked Bonnie and went home.
The other women, who were enjoying the cool evening air, saw them gathered at Bao Ni's house again and assumed they were going to pick wild vegetables. They wondered to themselves, "In this heat, aren't they afraid of getting sunburned? Is it worth it to pick those wild vegetables and fruits?"
The group didn't explain to them, but hurried home to look for their lunchboxes and water cups, since they usually drank water from bowls at home.
On Monday, after breakfast, Bonnie took them to the bus stop outside the residential compound. There was a direct bus, and they bought tickets. It was crowded, as it was rush hour.
When they arrived at the gate of the garment factory, An Heping was already there.
"Sister Bonnie, this way, come with me." With An Heping leading the way, they easily found a place to do odd jobs.
"Aunt Fang, these are my sister's friends. I'm entrusting them to you. They're all very capable workers. Please keep an eye on them and make sure they're not bullied." An Heping was born and raised in this compound, and he knows almost everyone in the garment factory, especially since his parents are factory leaders.
"You brat, I know, you'd better hurry up and get going, we need to start working." Aunt Fang said with a laugh and a scolding tone, and began to assign tasks.
Bonnie told Zhang's wife and the others not to worry and to ask Sister Fang if they needed anything, then she left, not wanting to disturb their work.
Bonnie thanked An Heping and left on her own.
Everyone knows how to sew buttons. After understanding the instructions on how to sew them, the group started working.
It's quite simple. The key is to be careful, avoid getting the thread tangled, and sew neatly. Once you've finished sewing and it passes inspection, you can count it as one piece.
Zhang's wife and the others knew this was a rare opportunity, so they worked hard sewing, hoping that each additional piece they sewed would earn them more money and make things a little easier for their families.
The women all brought their own meals, so they weren't worried about the temperature being too cold here.
While everyone else went to eat, they ate at a table in the corner.
A simple cornbread with some pickled vegetables makes a meal.
Sister Zhang brought tomatoes, cucumbers, and some fruit. Everyone else brought their own. After eating cornbread, they had some fruit after their meal. Life was pretty good; they could even earn a dollar and eighty cents a day. How wonderful!
I finished get off work at 5 pm. I counted the number of sewers I had completed so I knew exactly how many I had done, and then paid them all at once when I was done.
Zhang's wife and the others were quite skilled, and they each earned a little over a dollar a day.
"If you work here for ten days or half a month, you can earn more than ten yuan. That's half a month's wages for a worker. You can make dumplings for your child!" Zhang's wife is from Northeast China. They believe that nothing tastes better than dumplings, and nothing is worse than lying down.
When I think about having something good to eat, the first thing that comes to mind is making dumplings.
"Who says otherwise? It's all thanks to Bonnie, who always thinks of us." Sister Chen was also grateful to Bonnie. She was able to earn money now, even if it wasn't much, but she felt at ease.
"That young man this morning is Bonnie's colleague. He was thanking Bonnie for teaching him how to give a lecture, so he specially gave Bonnie the opportunity, thinking that Bonnie's family was all here." Aunt Zhang knew the whole story and chatted with the others, remembering how kind Bonnie was.
Everyone knew that they not only remembered Bonnie's kindness, but also had to work hard so as not to embarrass her.
Back at the family compound, the group went home separately, asking Sister Zhang and Bao Ni to let them know.
Bonnie knew they had done a good job and was relieved; it hadn't been easy for any of them.
For several days in a row, Zhang's six companions left in the morning and returned at night. They didn't take baskets with them when they went out, and they weren't wearing work clothes. The other women in the residential compound who had nothing to do were puzzled.
They were all quite excited when they found out indirectly that the six people had found odd jobs sewing buttons, and that Bonnie had helped them find them.
"If I had known that Commander Gu's family was so capable, I would have flattered her more. That way, if something good happened, she would think of me."
"You've got to be kidding me. Look at how long Brigade Commander Gu's wife has been here, and apart from Sister Zhang and a few others, she hasn't gotten close to anyone."
I heard that Commander Gu's wife is quite capable. In her previous unit, she led the wives of soldiers to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, including seaweed, which made a lot of money. The woman speaking was a witness to the Xu Mei incident and knew quite a bit about it.
"Sigh, it's so frustrating to compare yourself to others. We've been waiting for so long and still haven't found a job, while they found one so easily, working only two days a week. Isn't that great!"
"Who can argue with that!"
Bonnie has once again become the envy of everyone in the family compound.
Bonnie helped some of the military wives come up with some clever ideas, and the news quickly spread, even reaching the neighboring courtyard.
The leaders of the logistics department were also thinking about Lin Baoni. She was truly capable, as could be seen from what had happened before.
But after arriving here, she stopped moving and did nothing. Why is that?
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