Chapter 15
After Feng Guangmei finished dealing with her grandmother, she turned to Bei Bitang and said, "I will return to Shanghai after New Year's Day this year."
After Feng Guangmei finished dealing with her grandmother, she turned to Bei Bitang and said, "I returned to Shanghai right after New Year's Day this year, and spent the Spring Festival at home. You came every day, but there was never any news. You always told me to go back and wait."
Bei Bitang was shocked. Feng Guangmei returned to Shanghai much earlier than her, and she was still waiting. How long would she have to wait?
She asked, "No news?"
Feng Guangmei curled her lips and said, "Yes, there are some, but they're a very small minority, and the jobs aren't very good. A lot of the junior high and high school graduates from 1976 and 1977 are still unemployed at home, let alone us, the educated youth who returned to the city. There are over 17 million educated youth nationwide, and 1.1 million of them are in Shanghai. Even if they don't return to Shanghai all at once, many have settled down in the countryside, gotten married, and had children. But even so, many of them are willing to give up everything and come back. With so many people, how can we accommodate them all?"
Bei Bitang's heart sank, and she held onto a glimmer of hope and said, "I just want to have a monthly income. I don't care about the quality of the job."
Feng Guangmei said slowly, "We're lucky. We're back earlier than many other educated youth. Just wait patiently, and you'll eventually get your day. I'll tell you, why didn't I wait at home? Why did I come out here, exposed to the wind, rain and sun? I just wanted the people in the neighborhood office to get annoyed by the sight of me and get rid of me as soon as possible. It's not just me; many people in the queue here have the same idea."
Bei Bitang's heart sank when she remembered that this was her first time here after coming back for so many days.
A man who looked to be in his thirties came out of the street office. He was smiling broadly and you could tell at a glance that something good was going to happen.
Someone in the crowd who knew him asked, "Quansheng, is the work done?"
Someone else said, "Look at that smile, it's obvious it's a happy occasion!"
The man suppressed his smile and pretended to be nonchalant. He said loudly, "Nothing. I was assigned to the Third Food Factory to make biscuits."
Some people said with envy and jealousy: "Oh, from now on, you can eat as much Quansheng Evergreen Biscuits as you want, for free. It's a factory benefit. I'm afraid you'll get tired of it after working for a month."
The man said proudly: "Uncle, aunt, if you want to buy cookies in the future, come to me!"
Someone muttered, "He doesn't own the food factory, why is he so arrogant?"
The man walked out of the queue with his back straight and his head held high.
After a few seconds, another young man came out of the street office, but his expression was completely opposite to that of the man in front.
He stood on the steps angrily and yelled, "It's not fair! How can someone that old make cookies while I'm only 22 and have to be a cleaner, cleaning toilets door to door! That's not for old men! I don't want that!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a staff member came out, holding a piece of paper and said, "Not satisfied with the assignment, huh? Come and sign this form. There are a lot of people waiting behind you. If you don't want it, there are plenty of people who want it!"
The young man's face flushed red. He had spoken so confidently before, and now he was soft-spoken. How could he go out and see people in the future? He would be laughed at by his brothers.
The young man was hesitant and reluctant to take the letter of renunciation.
Many people in the crowd shouted, "Collecting toilets, right?! I want to, I'll do it!"
"Hey, my family doesn't mind. I made the decision for my son. He wants to do this!"
"Hey, and me, I love the smell of toilets, I'm a natural at this!"
"What's there to be unhappy about?! If I don't work now, I'll be starving and won't even be able to eat rice with boiled water!"
“That’s right!”
…
Not only did they shout, they also excitedly wanted to go up and grab the staff's hands to grab the job of cleaning toilets every morning.
The young man was so embarrassed that he had to take the letter of renunciation, scribbled his name on it, and turned around and left angrily.
Seeing the line was about to break down, the staff member waved his hand and shouted, "Don't move! Wait in line! The work that others don't want needs to be done according to the process again."
The crowd who were interested let out a cry of disappointment.
Bei Bitang waited from the zenith of the sun until it was setting before it was her turn.
Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei went in together. It was an office of several square meters, with a large desk in the middle and four chairs, where four staff members worked simultaneously.
Some people had not left yet and were still pestering us. Only two staff members did not receive the crowd.
Bei Bitang walked up to one of them, smiled, and said, "Hello, comrade. Is there any job suitable for me? I can do anything."
Without even looking up, the staff member asked, "What's your name?"
Bei Bitang answered her name honestly like a primary school student.
The staff member frowned and pursed his lips before saying, "Bei Bitang, right? Have you ever registered here before?"
The smile on Bei Bitang's face froze instantly, and she said in a softer voice, "I'm sorry, comrade, I didn't know I had to register."
For others, their parents, brothers, sisters, and younger siblings would have already made arrangements in advance, and each would give their returning educated youth countless instructions. Or close friends would share information and remind each other to register with the neighborhood office.
Bei Bitang felt that she had a very bad relationship with people, whether it was with her relatives or friends.
The staff member started to lecture him, "You didn't even know you had to register in advance?! I don't think you're in a hurry! These young people are really unreliable! All they talk about is work, work! They didn't even register!"
Bei Bitang's face was filled with shame and anger, and she wished there was a crack in the ground for her to crawl into.
The staff member was tired of talking. He picked up the enamel cup on the table and gulped down a few large gulps of tea. He sighed comfortably, glanced at Bei Bitang, and said, "First, get a registration form and fill out the information. Then go back and wait."
The situation was stronger than people, so Bei Bitang nodded and did as she was told. She took a blank registration form from the table, took out the pen next to it, bent down and started writing.
Not only did Bei Bitang not have a job, she was also scolded. Feng Guangmei had good news this time, but she was not very satisfied.
Feng Guangmei said, "Auntie Huang, I don't want to go to the grocery store. I come here every day to report. Can you give me a change?"
Feng Guangmei, unlike her superficial appearance, had carefully considered her job. A grocery store, as the name suggests, sells all kinds of non-staple foods, with a wide variety and a large storefront. The customers would surely be young and old, and she would be terribly busy. She might as well work in a smaller store, get the same job, only lacking the benefits.
Feng Guangmei noticed the information on the desk and said, "Auntie Huang, can you change it for me? I want to go to the fruit store."
The fruit is precious, the shop is small, there is not much stock and few customers. Most of the customers who come to buy fruit are not picky and easy to deal with.
The staff member quickly flipped the document over. She shook her head and advised Feng Guangmei, "How can you be so picky about your job? You can't even choose an egg when you go to the supply and marketing cooperative and have to let the salesperson get it for you. How can you be so picky about your job? Guangmei, you've been waiting for half a year. They only assigned you to the grocery store because you're a high school student. Don't be ungrateful."
Bei Bitang's fingers holding the pen paused, turning slightly pale.
"Auntie, let me tell you the truth. If you miss this job, you won't be assigned a better one. Think about it, do you want to give it up?"
Feng Guangmei frowned, her face deep in thought. After a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, "Auntie Huang, I want this job. Thank you."
Aunt Huang smiled and said, "Oh, that's right."
Feng Guangmei said something kindly, "It was Aunt Huang who woke me up."
Aunt Huang handed Feng Guangmei a leather file bag and said seriously, "Here are the information forms, letters of introduction, and report notices. You must report tomorrow. Don't forget, overdue report notices will be invalid!"
Feng Guangmei nodded repeatedly, indicating that she had remembered. She took the document bag, her face a look of reassurance.
Bei Bitang quickly and neatly filled out the registration form, handed it to the staff member, and said, "Comrade, I've filled it out."
The staff member didn't answer and said, "Put it on the table and go back and wait."
Bei Bitang placed her registration form on the table, bit her lip, and mustered up the courage to say, "Comrade, I've been in the Northwest Corps for four years, clearing wasteland and growing crops, and training like a militiaman. Although not a soldier, I'm half a soldier. Could you, for the sake of your contribution to the Northwest Third Front, help keep an eye on me?"
The staff member put the enamel teacup back, looked up at Bei Bitang, and said righteously, "Contributions are not limited to small or large; everyone is serving the people. Do you know how many unemployed young people there are on this street? How heavy is the burden on me? How great is my responsibility? If everyone were like you, opening the back door just because someone said something nice, would I be doing justice to the people waiting? Young people, don't think you're great just because you've made a small contribution..."
Bei Bitang's face began to turn red again, and she tried hard to resist the shame in her heart.
In this era, relationships are everything, sometimes even more effective than rules and regulations. Using connections is commonplace, nothing new, and everyone considers it a normal means of gaining access. If someone truly has connections, they'll brag about it.
After a long speech, the staff member waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can go out now. Let the people behind you come in and don't interfere with my work."
Bei Bitang didn't leave. She secretly glanced at other people in the office out of the corner of her eye. Everyone was busy communicating about work assignments and no one noticed this side at all.
Bei Bitang reached into her trouser pocket, took out a fresh and hot Big Unity, and handed it to the gap between the staff and the table.
The staff member's expression froze, and he glanced at the others. He quickly took the Great Unity and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. He gave Bei Bitang a deep look, and said in a much more consolidating tone, "Go back and wait. I'll let you know as soon as there's work."
It looked like there was a chance, and Bei Bitang breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled and said, "Thank you, comrade. I'll go out and wait."
A middle-aged woman wearing patched clothes nearby grabbed the staff member's hand and cried, "Comrade, you must help me. My husband has lung disease and has been taking medicine all year round. I can only earn a few copper coins by washing clothes for others. Xiaomao has five younger brothers and sisters. If I don't find a job, our whole family will have no way to survive and can only wait to die!"
Bei Bitang hardened her heart and walked past her.
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