048 Student Affairs
"Yuehe, we've arrived at your factory."
Guan Yuehe smiled mysteriously, but didn't stop and continued forward.
"Uncle Ming, I'm going to work somewhere else during this holiday."
Grandpa Ming was quite surprised. "You can change your workplace? You didn't go back to the garment factory after graduation, and you were assigned to another company?"
Before she could answer, Grandpa Ming began to urge her to think it through, "If you switch to another company, the factory will take back the house they allocated, right? Yuehe, you'd better think it through. No matter how good another company is, it won't help if you don't get a house there!"
State-owned factories are profitable, especially factories like Zhuoyue Garment Factory, which have money to build houses for their workers. But other units have a harder time.
Don't just look at the prestigious name of the company; you also need to look at the internal benefits offered.
Guan Yuehe was too embarrassed to tease Uncle Ming any further, so she explained, "The school arranged a summer work-study program, and I was assigned to our car factory for my internship. I'll be going back to the garment factory later."
"Oh my! Going to the car factory is just like going home!" Grandpa Ming asked, "Where were you assigned?"
Guan Yuehe shrugged. "I'll only know when I report to the personnel department."
"Okay, go to the personnel department and mention your Uncle Ming's name, and ask their department head to assign you an easy job."
"Okay, then I'll have to take advantage of your kindness." Guan Yuehe was too embarrassed to ask the old man's name.
She'd gotten used to calling him "Uncle Ming" or "Grandpa Ming" since she was little, and only now did she realize that she didn't know what Grandpa Ming's name was!
She ate breakfast at home that morning. When she went out, she went out with her father and her older brother, pushing their bicycles. However, her father's legs were not as nimble as they used to be, and her older brother was carrying their younger brother. So, when she looked back after riding for more than ten minutes, she couldn't see them at all.
She didn't intend to stop and wait for them.
Along the way, I ran into many neighbors from Ginkgo Hutong. Every time I met one, they would ask, "Where is Yuehe going?" and she would reply, "She's on vacation, interning at a car factory."
Riding a bike isn't tiring, but my mouth is.
To avoid being asked questions any longer, she pedaled hard and rushed to the front, finally getting some peace and quiet.
Along the way, we first passed a clothing factory and an epidemic prevention station, then a post office and a daily chemical factory... Finally, we arrived at Guangming Road, and then passed the factory's guesthouse, supply and marketing cooperative, repair station, barbershop, etc., and finally arrived at the gate of Wuxing Automobile Factory.
She walked the route from Ginkgo Hutong to Wuxing Automobile Factory a lot when she was young. At first, she was placed in a daycare center because she was too young. When she got a little older, she and her childhood friends would run around in the factory's auditorium, barbershop, and supply and marketing cooperative. When she reached school age, she went to the factory's affiliated school.
It's fair to say that if she had gone to work in a car factory as a factory worker, she might never have been able to escape the car factory for the rest of her life.
Guan Yuehe retreated a short distance and waited for her father at the entrance of the barbershop.
She wasn't familiar with the people in the car factory's personnel department, so having her father accompany her would save her a lot of trouble at work.
A state-owned factory, a unit, or a system, especially a large factory like Wuxing Automobile Factory with more than 20 years of history, places even greater emphasis on personal relationships.
Interns arranged by the school are completely different from the children of their own factory workers, or even the children of old acquaintances.
The factory workers and leaders may not all live in Ginkgo Hutong, but they must have all gone to the barbershop to have their hair cut by her father.
Her father said that everyone in the factory knew him, and she believed him.
As soon as she entered the personnel office, her father greeted everyone familiarly, then casually mentioned that she had caught an armed fugitive with her bare hands and was recommended by the Municipal Revolutionary Committee to go to university. Finally, he laughed and said, "Isn't it a coincidence that the school assigned her to our factory for an internship?"
The head of the personnel department exclaimed in surprise, "Wow!" in a very cooperative manner. "It was even on the front page of the daily newspaper, right? We still have the newspaper from back then posted in our factory archives. Oh right, a reporter from the daily newspaper even came to our car factory for an interview. Master Guan, your daughter is truly talented in both academics and martial arts!"
"Oh, Section Chief Xiao, that's an exaggeration, haha. Your youngest son is amazing too, he's already in the design department. I could tell at a glance that he's got the makings of a chief designer."
"Not even close, haha, you still need to improve. You can't compare to your Yuehe."
Guan Yuehe suppressed a laugh, her toes curling up in embarrassment.
Guan Canghai and Section Chief Xiao praised each other's sons and daughters, and their relationship was almost complete. Section Chief Xiao then said, "Master Guan, don't worry. When Yuehe comes back to the factory for her internship, it's like she's coming home. I'll make sure to arrange a good position for her."
"No need, no need. Section Chief Xiao, you can let her go to whichever position you think is suitable. There's no need to make special arrangements."
This was also Guan Yuehe's original intention. She didn't expect to work as leisurely as she did in the factory office of the garment factory. Doing more work would be good.
She called her father over to try and get closer to her, wanting those who didn't know her to know that she was the daughter of a car factory worker and that she was recommended to university because of doing good deeds.
The car factory was embroiled in controversy recently over the "backdoor admission to university" issue, which led to many workers having grievances against those in the factory who were recommended for university admission. She was worried that she would be targeted by this resentment once she took up her post.
As it turned out, she was worrying far too much.
After reviewing her letter of introduction and the recommendation letter written by her teacher, Section Chief Xiao directly assigned her to the factory's translation team.
Five Star Automobile Factory does export cars overseas every year, but the export volume is extremely small. Most of its production involves importing cars from abroad for research, imitation, and then modifying them to suit its own products.
The factory's translation team consisted of only two people, who were both technicians from the factory's design department.
Guan Yuehe was assigned there, but she couldn't even find someone to assign her a job. The two technicians who went on a business trip to Haishi hadn't returned yet.
She was the only one in the group, so no one took their anger out on her.
"Take your time to familiarize yourself with the situation first; there's no rush for work." Section Chief Xiao only found out that she had gone on a business trip, so he arranged for someone to process her internship certificate and then go to the finance department to collect her meal tickets for the internship period.
Both car factories and garment factories offer no salary during internships, but car factories provide more meal vouchers, enough for three meals a day.
Since no one assigned her any work, Guan Yuehe busied herself with her studies in the empty office.
"Guan Yuehe, dinner is ready."
Guan Yuehe looked up and saw it was her sister.
She quickly packed up the books and notes she had brought, took out her lunchbox, and followed the older sister who had called out to her.
There wasn't a place in the Five Star Automobile Factory that she didn't know well, and she thought she could just go to the cafeteria by herself. Having another person would only delay her from getting to the cafeteria.
The publicity department is in the office building, and the translation team is in the research building. There's a distance between the two buildings, so there's really no need to make a special trip there.
Cai Yingjie said that we must go to the second canteen where she works to get food. The vegetable washers at the first canteen just rinse the vegetables in the water and pick them up, and the workers at the food serving window are also very fierce. The vegetables at the second canteen are not as clean, and the portions are more generous.
However, the second canteen is a bit far from the research building.
"I'll just take you there once. You'll have to eat by yourself from now on."
Guan Yuehe silently mimicked her sister's tone from behind, shaking her head, rolling her eyes, and making faces.
As soon as Guan Yuehua turned her head, she immediately reached out and scratched her face. "What?"
"Yuehua, who is this?" I haven't heard that the publicity department has new people. Could it be a college student who was assigned to the factory for an internship?
Guan Yuehua tried to pull Guan Yuehe forward, but couldn't. Guan Yuehe took a step forward instead.
"My younger sister, Guan Yuehe, was recommended by the school to intern at the factory and was assigned to the translation team."
"Is this the younger sister you always mentioned, the one who works in the garment factory, is featured in the daily newspaper, and was recommended to go to university?"
“…Hmm.” Guan Yuehua felt a little awkward and quickly asked her colleague what dishes were served at the second canteen today.
"You've come at the right time, little sister. They have steamed pork with rice flour today. It's rare that you even care about what the cafeteria has to offer. Anyway, hurry up, or it'll be gone."
Guan Yuehe originally wanted to ask her sister smugly: "You always say at the factory that you have a younger sister who is both literate and skilled in martial arts?"
But when she heard that there would be no more steamed pork if they were late, she didn't care about anything else and hurriedly pulled her sister to leave.
Ten minutes later, Guan Yuehe ate heartily with satisfaction. The car factory was indeed a large factory with tens of thousands of employees; the food was only slightly better than that of the clothing factory.
If it weren't for her, her sister would never have gotten to eat steamed pork with rice flour!
Perhaps her sister was too embarrassed to rush to the cafeteria with her, because after that meal, her sister never asked her to eat together again.
She ran into her on the way to the cafeteria, and her sister immediately started talking to her colleagues, avoiding eye contact with her.
One didn't want to run together, and the other thought having more people would be a burden.
The two sisters breathed a sigh of relief.
"How's work at the factory? Is everything going smoothly?" Jiang Guiying asked two days later.
"It's alright." Apart from the commute being a bit long, everything else is fine.
Thanks to her father and her older brother and sister, at least half of the people at the car factory knew about Comrade Guan Yuehe, who was interning in the translation group.
That's right, it's Comrade Guan Yuehe who was in the newspaper.
No one in the factory questioned whether it was fair for her to be recommended to go to university. Whenever she went to the second canteen for meals, her lunchbox would be filled to the brim.
When the two technicians from the translation team returned from their business trip and learned that they had gained a "particularly capable" assistant, they both remarked that the personnel department had finally done something useful, and that the person they sent to the design department was finally someone with some skill.
On her fifth day at work, Guan Yuehe received pastries and a thick stack of documents that needed to be translated from her colleague's house in Shanghai.
It wasn't any confidential information, and one of my colleagues even thoughtfully said, "You can take it home and translate it at your own pace, no rush."
Guan Yuehe casually flipped to a page of information and couldn't help but take a breath.
This was a Chinese document that needed to be translated into English, and it was full of automotive-related technical terms, giving her a headache. She couldn't even understand the Chinese meanings, let alone translate it into English.
"Comrade Zhang, do you have any reference books I can borrow? There are a lot of terms in them that I don't understand."
Zhang Xinbi handed her another thick stack of documents. "These are materials that Guo Xusheng and I compiled. They contain translations of most of the professional terms. If there are any you don't understand, just write them down and ask us."
"By the way, we're usually in Workshop 3. If you need anything, just go there and find us."
After handing over the work, Zhang Xinbi remembered to ask her what she studied in school.
Seeing that she seemed quite honest, Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng offered her a few more words of advice, suggesting that she spend her free time reading more English materials related to automobiles, which would greatly help her future translation work.
It was obvious that the two had misunderstood. Guan Yuehe explained, "I am a worker at Zhuoyue Garment Factory, and I will go back to the garment factory after graduation."
"Ah?" Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng said regretfully, "We thought you came from our car factory."
“My dad and my older brother and sister work in a car factory.”
"Then how did you end up working in a garment factory?"
"..." She's been asked this question countless times these past few days. Of course, it's because she'll go to whichever company hires her!
Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng asked casually. They weren't gossipy people, and they were a whole generation older than her, so they really didn't have anything in common to talk about.
Once they felt they were familiar enough with each other, they went about their own work.
Guan Yuehe was left looking at the tall stack of documents on the table, feeling worried.
Staring blankly won't do any good, let's get started!
On Sunday, Guan Yuehe slept until late morning. When she saw that the entire desk under the window was covered with documents in alphabetical order, she couldn't help but shudder and quickly looked away.
She was squatting in front of her house brushing her teeth when Cao Lili's son, Shunshun, walked over unsteadily and squatted down a short distance away, babbling at her.
Shunshun was born half a month premature. She was tiny when she was born, but now she's grown into a chubby little girl. Her face is so round when she walks.
The boy across the street, Southwest, is seven years old and will soon be a primary school student. He considers himself a big kid and doesn't want to play with the little one who can't run or talk yet.
Otherwise, Shunshun wouldn't be so bored as to want to play with an adult like her.
A moment later, Cao Lili found him. "He ran out in the blink of an eye. Can't he just behave himself?"
After saying that, he slapped her buttocks twice.
Across from them was an even more unruly boy, a tall guy from Northwest China who was about to enter junior high school. He had grown quite a bit taller and become another skinny guy in the No. 2 courtyard. Suddenly, he darted out, and Song, the police officer who chased after him, was so angry that his chest heaved.
Guan Yuehe thought to herself that Officer Song should go to Grandpa Lin for advice on how to treat the monkey.
Laughter filled the house of Aunt Bai in the front yard today. Bai Xianghong, who had worked as a temporary worker at Zhuoyue Garment Factory for two years, was finally promoted to a permanent position yesterday and will start receiving a regular salary next month.
After two years of worry, Aunt Bai can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Aunt Er's family hasn't heard any good news yet; everyone's been waiting to attend Zhang Chaonan and Hao Daren's wedding.
Zhou Dasao and Wu Erni's family remained the same, with Zhou Dasao focusing on work and raising her children every day. However, the two women had grown closer, and they would even go out to dig for wild vegetables together when they had some free time in the spring.
Guan Yuehe went over the affairs of each household in the No. 2 courtyard, and then yawned widely.
She rarely had a free day, and she was determined not to look at any documents today.
"Then what should we do?" Lin Sitian also didn't want to stay at home reading; she hadn't had a Sunday off in a long time.
The two looked at each other, then went back to their respective homes to continue sleeping.
Aunt Fang and Jiang Guiying went to the alley entrance to cool off and chat, just because they didn't want to disturb them at home.
“I see that Yuehe has to look at documents even after she gets off work. It’s really not easy for her.”
"Isn't your Sitian the same? Since the factory clinic was turned into a hospital, I've noticed that Sitian's rest schedule has become irregular."
Aunt Bai joined the conversation, saying, "The garment factory has been busy lately, and Xiang Hong in my family works overtime every day, just like that."
Although they felt sorry for their children being so busy, they all had smiles on their faces.
Being busy is good; it means either the factory is thriving or your own child is being given important responsibilities and is promising.
In previous years, several batches of young people were sent to the countryside, but this year, the number of people going to the countryside through Ginkgo Hutong has decreased significantly.
So this summer, the alleyway wasn't filled with resentment every day. For once, people were all smiling when they talked about their children.
Soon, Aunt Xu and her family stopped smiling.
When Director Ma came to see Grandpa Chang, he casually congratulated Grandma Xu, saying, "Congratulations, Grandma Xu."
Aunt Xu looked bewildered. "It's neither a holiday nor a festival, why are you wishing me happiness?"
"Your fourth son? I saw him at the Civil Affairs Bureau yesterday. He married a good woman; you have good taste. Aunt Xu, when are you having the wedding?"
The others chuckled and asked, "Your fourth son has a girlfriend? How come you got married without letting anyone know?"
The one who reacted the most was Aunt Zhao. Aunt Xu had asked her to help introduce a potential partner a while ago. Her colleague said that her niece was a good match and that the two of them were a good match. Aunt Zhao was planning to ask Aunt Xu to set a time for the two of them to meet today.
What the hell? Her own son already has a girlfriend, and she still wants her to help introduce them? Isn't that just making her offend people?!
Aunt Xu's usually kind face couldn't hold back anymore; her eyes were blazing with anger. Just as she was about to go to the clothing factory to confront Xu Chengcai and get some answers, she saw Xu Chengcai walking over with a girl.
"Dear elders, this is my wife, Qin Zilan. We just got our marriage certificate yesterday. Please enjoy some wedding candy."
"Zilan, this is my mother. Mom, Zilan, you've met her before."
Qin Zilan immediately called out, "Mom!"
Aunt Xu was so shocked by the sudden news that she felt dizzy and couldn't find her voice for a long time.
Isn't Qin Zilan the daughter of Master Lao Si? When did they start dating?
The others also noticed something amiss. Aunt Zhao chuckled twice, "Chengcai, you've kept your relationship a secret quite well. If you hadn't come to hand out wedding candy today, no one would have known you had a boyfriend. Your mother even asked me to introduce you to someone."
Xu Cheng chuckled and said, "My wife is my master's daughter, and my family knows her. We dated for half a month, and we both felt that things were going well. The factory has been busy with production lately, so I've been working overtime and haven't had time to come home and tell my family. We're both factory employees, and we've just reached the required seniority. When we heard that the next batch of housing allocation eligibility was coming out, we quickly submitted our application and got our marriage certificate."
Hearing this, Aunt Zhao's anger subsided considerably.
The two young people have enough years of service to qualify for housing allocation. They should get their marriage certificate before the next batch of housing allocations comes out, as dual-income couples can get a larger house.
Housing allocation is a big deal, and she can understand that.
Aunt Xu felt extremely uncomfortable.
She was unhappy that Xu Chengcai had gotten the marriage certificate without prior notice, and she didn't particularly like Xu Chengcai's mentor, let alone his mentor's daughter. But Xu Chengcai said it was to be in the next batch of housing allocations, which was perfectly reasonable, so she had no outlet for her anger.
"Chengcai, you young people really know how to think things through. This marriage is a good one. Since you two both work, you should be able to get a one-bedroom apartment, right?"
No one cared that he suddenly got married. His family already knew about the woman's situation; they knew her inside and out, so there was nothing wrong with that.
His wife is his master's daughter, no wonder Xu Cheng was promoted to team leader.
This kid is lucky. He doesn't need to rely on his family; he's managed to get a job, get married, and have his own housing all sorted out.
"Yes, it can be divided into a one-bedroom and one-living room. When we have children, we can partition off a small room from the living room. That will be enough." Xu Cheng's mouth stretched even wider as he thought about the good days to come.
When are you planning to hold your wedding banquet?
"No rush, the factory is very busy lately, neither of us has any free time."
"That's true, production is the most important task at the factory." Since the certificates have already been obtained, postponing the banquet for a while is not a problem.
Xu Chengcai stayed at the entrance of the alley for a while, then said to Aunt Xu, "Mom, I'm taking Zilan to give out wedding candy to the neighbors in the courtyard. I'll come back and tell you later."
Aunt Xu took two deep breaths before managing to force a smile.
Before returning to Courtyard No. 3, Xu Cheng took Qin Zilan to Courtyard No. 2 first, heading straight for the left side room in the backyard.
"Guan Yuehe, I've come to hand out wedding candies!"
As soon as Guan Yuehe opened the door, she stared at the two of them with wide eyes, "You two?"
One was her childhood friend, and the other was a good friend she used to have in the workshop. How did they end up together?
But upon closer reflection, Qin Zilan's mother was Xu Chengcai's mentor, and Xu Chengcai had already asked his mentor to introduce him to a potential partner... It seems quite normal for the two of them to get together.
After the initial shock came joy. Guan Yuehe laughed heartily and said, "That's wonderful! For your wedding, I only need to give one gift!"
Xu Chengcai and Qin Zilan: "...We have to give double!"
Guan Yuehe received so many wedding candies that she couldn't hold them all in her hands, so she piled them up on the dining table and excitedly wanted to go with them to hand out the candies.
"It's the two of us getting married, and you're the most excited."
"Oh dear, I don't know either, I'm just so happy." Guan Yuehe told them to go ahead and took the bag of wedding candy. "Let me take it, let me take it."
As soon as the people arrived at the gate of Courtyard No. 3, Guan Yuehe couldn't wait to call out, "Lin Sitian, come out and collect the wedding candy!"
Lin Sitian came running out in her slippers, equally shocked. "Xu Chengcai, you really got married? My God! What good luck you have to marry such a beautiful wife?!"
Xu Cheng just kept grinning foolishly, but then he realized something was off: Was this a compliment?
Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian talked and talked, and before long, everyone in the No. 3 courtyard knew that Xu Chengcai had gotten married. His wife was his master's daughter, and the two would be able to share a one-bedroom apartment after their marriage.
The neighbors offered their congratulations, but only the Xu family forced a smile, pinching their noses as they acknowledged, "Yes, she's Cheng Cai's master's daughter. The wedding was a bit rushed, but it was all for housing allocation. If they missed it, they'd only get a single room, and it wouldn't be easy to get a bigger one later..."
Qin Zilan breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother and Xu Chengcai were right to get their marriage certificate sooner rather than later. Now Xu Chengcai's family couldn't object even if they wanted to.
Xu Chengcai's parents, brother, and sister-in-law wanted to find him someone easy to control, someone who could tie him to the family in the future. They didn't like her because she was difficult to control.
She turned her head and met Guan Yuehe's gaze; the two of them smiled knowingly.
After the excitement subsided, the Xu family closed their door.
Xu Chengcai's parents, elder brother, and sister-in-law's faces immediately darkened, silently expressing their dissatisfaction.
The Xu couple remained silent, each holding a child and sitting on the side, peeling candy for them.
Xu Xiaomei was the happiest, as she liked Qin Zilan, her sister-in-law.
Heaven knows how worried she was that her fourth brother would get together with Guan Yuehe or Lin Sitian.
Before she started working, Guan Yuehua was the prettiest girl in Ginkgo Hutong. After starting work, she became the most beautiful girl at the Five Star Automobile Factory. Wherever Guan Yuehua was, no one else could see her. She disliked Guan Yuehua, and therefore also disliked Guan Yuehua's younger sister, Guan Yuehe.
As for Lin Sitian, she used to like Lin Yiku, but Lin Yiku scolded her for being mentally unstable, and she has hated Lin Yiku ever since, so she also dislikes Lin Yiku's younger sister, Lin Sitian.
In short, as long as it's not Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian, she'd be happy with anyone else.
Xu Xiaomei even spoke well of them.
"Mom, look how well Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law got married. They're both working, and they'll have a house soon. If Fourth Brother didn't have a house after getting married, you'd have to worry about where to make room in the house."
"Elder brother and sister-in-law, it's none of your business to object to Fourth Brother's marriage. Fourth Brother moved out a long time ago, it's no different from separating from the family. Whether he gets married or not, he won't pay any wages to the family. If Fourth Brother really moves back home, you'll be unhappy again."
For the first time, Xu Chengcai realized that his usually brainless younger sister actually had some intelligence.
"You have no right to speak, go away!" This was the first time Xu Da T's mother had ever felt that her little girl's head was just naturally beautiful.
But even if they shut the little girl up, they still wouldn't say anything.
What else can be said? Everything is settled. The newlywed couple sitting in front of them stared at the floor, looking like they were ready to ignore everything they said.
Sister-in-law Xu said, "The elders haven't even met each other yet, and they've already made the engagement. In the past, this would be called eloping, and they would be drowned in a pig cage."
Xu Chengcai retorted, "Those are all outdated customs. The country supports free love. If you don't understand, sister-in-law, you'll have to listen carefully when the Women's Federation comes to promote it another day."
Grandpa Xu glanced at him and said, "There's nothing wrong with free love, but what you're doing is against the rules. Who gets a marriage certificate without telling their family?"
Xu Cheng blurted out, "Chang Zhengyi!"
Chang Zhengyi, from the neighboring No. 2 courtyard, sneezed at that moment, and the next second Cao Lili pushed him aside, telling him to stay away from his son and be careful not to infect Shunshun with his cold.
"I don't have a cold!"
The rest of the Xu family remained silent.
Nearly two years have passed, and everyone has almost forgotten that Chang Zhengyi also acted first and informed his family later, getting a marriage certificate without telling them.
Chang Zhengyi and Cao Lili now have a child, and Aunt Zhao no longer holds a grudge against Cao Lili. They are living a happy life.
"We get the marriage certificate first, then hold the wedding banquet, that's what everyone does." Xu Cheng's eyes darted around. "If we follow my family's traditions, how much dowry will my family give me?"
When money was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room became even quieter.
Xu Chengcai has five siblings. His second brother went to the countryside a long time ago and hasn't been heard from since. It's unknown whether he's settled down there or not. His third sister-in-law's family is well-off, so they didn't ask for a bride price. Instead, they prepared a considerable dowry for her.
Only the eldest brother's marriage was paid for by the family, and he took full advantage of the family.
Xu Cheng had anticipated his family's attitude and was just waiting to shut them up by mentioning the bride price.
If anyone dares to talk about him and his wife outside, he'll come back and whine to the neighbors about how biased his family is.
Sure enough, no one objected.
Xu Cheng and Qin Zilan's marriage was no longer public. Less than three days after they got their marriage certificate, the factory released the next batch of housing allocation lists. They promptly reported their marital status to the factory and, based on their marriage certificate, were allocated a one-bedroom apartment.
Of the four who grew up together, he was the first to get married.
Guan Yuehe and Lin Sitian wrote a letter to Ding Xuewen to report the good news, and then busied themselves saving up tickets to prepare a wedding gift for Xu Chengcai.
Lin Sitian receives her salary and tickets as usual, so accumulating tickets isn't difficult. Guan Yuehe, however, is worried.
She's currently an intern who only receives a meal ticket, and her savings have shrunk considerably due to various unexpected expenses.
"Xiao Guan, what don't you understand?" As soon as Zhang Xinbi entered the office, she saw Guan Yuehe biting her pen and frowning in deep thought, wondering if the task assigned to her was too difficult.
Guan Yuehe immediately put aside her chores, took out her notebook, and found two pages filled with words she couldn't translate. "There are so many I don't understand."
Feeling guilty, I was too embarrassed to look Comrade Zhang in the eye, and even felt that I had let the teachers down.
If she had known this would happen, she shouldn't have mentioned her school's name when she first arrived.
Zhang Xinbi glanced at it, and since she had some time, she pulled over a chair. "I'll explain, and you take notes."
"Okay!" Guan Yuehe sat up straight.
Perhaps knowing that Guan Yuehe's skills were only mediocre, Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng would come over to give her lessons whenever they had free time.
They are both legitimate college students who took the college entrance examination. They studied automotive engineering in college and also taught themselves English, Russian, and German. They are more than qualified to be her teachers.
For the next two weeks, Guan Yuehe went to Workshop 3 almost every day. Sometimes she would ask Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng questions, and sometimes she would go to the workshop technicians to learn about the car body structure. Just this alone was enough for her to learn gradually.
I knew before that the car factory was a big factory that mainly produced cars, but I never really thought about how cars were produced.
"Isn't that interesting?" Zhang Xinbi asked her jokingly, "I think you'd be a good fit for our factory. Why don't you come after graduation?"
Although worker-peasant-soldier college students were supposed to return to where they came from, it was common for factories to borrow people and materials from each other.
Guan Yuehe's curiosity vanished instantly, and she shook her head repeatedly, "I still want to go back to the garment factory."
"The garment factory doesn't need a translator."
Guan Yuehe casually made up an excuse, "What if our factory can export in the future? Then I'll have a place to contribute my labor."
Zhang Xinbi saw through her thoughts and chimed in, "That's right. If Zhuoyue brand sports shoes are popular in China, who knows, they might be able to sell abroad and earn foreign exchange someday."
"Yes, yes, the car factory has you and Comrade Guo, but our factory only has me."
Although Guan Yuehe only wanted to return to her family's garment factory, she did not slack off at her work at the car factory.
Zhang Xinbi and Guo Xusheng frequently praised her, and after her internship ended, they specially wrote her a certificate praising Comrade Guan Yuehe for her diligence, eagerness to learn, and meticulous work during her time at the Wuxing Automobile Factory, helping the Wuxing Automobile Factory's translation team complete a large amount of translation work...
Guan Yuehe put the certificate away with satisfaction, intending to take it back to the school to hand it in.
Even if it weren't for fulfilling a requirement, she would still do her job well.
In Xie Dongxue's words: We absolutely cannot embarrass Zhuoyue Garment Factory in other factories!
Xie Dongxue was assigned to a cannery. When she went to report for duty, the cannery wanted to assign her to the publicity department to do writing work, but she volunteered to go to the workshop.
Only by living, eating, and working alongside the workers can we truly capture the spirit of the cannery workers.
When her summer internship ended, Xie Dongxue came to visit her and interviewed her about her experience of "learning to work" for a month.
Guan Yuehe seemed oblivious, flipping through her notebook with a rustling sound, listing her "study and work achievements for this month."
With such a thick notebook, if she stayed a little longer, she might even become a half-baked expert in the automotive industry.
Xie Dongxue's eyes hurt from the dense English letters in her notebook, so she quickly closed it, losing all interest in the interview.
“I went back to the factory yesterday. Our director asked me if I wanted to stay in the union or go to the publicity department after I returned. I thought I would stay in the union after I went back, so I hadn’t thought about this question. What about you? Are you still staying in the factory office?”
With a full year left until graduation, I already need to start thinking about jobs after graduation.
"Don't overthink it. I'll obey the organization's arrangements. I'm fine with going anywhere." Guan Yuehe changed the subject and chuckled, "It would be best if I were assigned back to the factory office."
But I feel a little sorry for her; she studied English for nothing.
When I returned to school, my roommates said, "It's a real shame. You could... Oh no, female students have to be under nineteen to enlist in the army, so you can't apply."
Even more regrettable!
"So there's an age limit?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"
"You didn't ask either," the roommates said matter-of-factly.
Guan Yuehe took the opportunity to exchange industrial coupons with her roommates. Unlike her, they received stipends even though they were in school. They would either lend out their remaining industrial coupons, exchange them for nationally valid grain coupons, or exchange them for cloth to send home.
Fortunately, she had the cloth, and they had the tickets.
Xu Chengcai arranged his wedding on National Day because he thought it would be a festive day, and everyone would be on holiday and have free time.
Unexpectedly, Guan Yuehe has to participate in a field training organized by the school today, which is National Day, and she won't be able to go home.
During this five-day training exercise, no one in their class fell behind, and they even left the other class far behind.
The students in Class One were not convinced and accused them of cheating, saying that Guan Yuehe must have served in the military corps.
Guan Yuehe took out her worker's certificate, and after the people in the second shift saw it, they stopped arguing.
Later, when they practiced archery together, he would often come to challenge her.
Guan Yuehe wasn't annoyed at all; on the contrary, she was quite pleased. She was finally on holiday and went home to show off to Lin Sitian and the others.
"What does that prove? It proves I'm awesome. Even if your brother's home, I can knock him out with one punch!"
"You're all talk and no action," Xu Cheng laughed at her for showing off, and held out his hand, "What wedding gift are you giving me?"
It would ruin the mood; I really didn't want to take it out for him.
So, Guan Yuehe handed two brand-new thermos flasks to Qin Zilan.
"I knew Yuehe would send a pair of thermos flasks. Luckily I bought something else, otherwise your family would have four thermos flasks!"
—
This year, the holiday started early, and Guan Yuehe returned just in time to stock up on Chinese cabbage and white radishes.
"Yuehe, you've stockpiled so much? Can you finish it all?"
"This winter vacation is long, we can finish all the food," Guan Yuehe said as she carried the food home.
"Yuehe?" the person behind her exclaimed in surprise. "Wow, she's amazing! She carried a whole basket of white radishes all by herself."
Guan Yuehe turned around and saw that the person she had boasted about, who she said she could knock down with one punch, had returned.
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