054 Good news
During the two and a half years that Guan Yuehe went to school, the Zhuoyue Garment Factory underwent many changes.
The factory has finally built its own auditorium, and the canteen has doubled in size. Two new workshops have also been added, bringing the total number of workshops in the factory to eight...
"The sportswear production line and the sports shoe production line have been separated, with one deputy factory manager overseeing each production line. See the locations of the two newly built workshops? That's to separate the two production lines for easier management in the future."
"And that row of new buildings across from the factory, you see them too? That's allocated to our Zhuoyue Garment Factory. We'll have our own supply and marketing cooperative and barbershop soon. Oh, and that vacant lot behind the new buildings, that's also our factory's land. We'll build a button and zipper workshop there..."
Guan Yuehe returned to the factory office. Her colleagues were still the same, only their positions had changed.
Sister Zhu, who is now the director of the factory office, is explaining the current situation of the factory to her in detail.
"So, does that mean our factory is going to be hiring again?"
The last time they recruited workers was in 1970. Back then, they only hired 50 temporary workers, and now, those 50 temporary workers have all been promoted to permanent employees in the factory.
If word gets out that we're hiring, the factory's going to get a ton of applications!
Sister Zhu said, "The factory is recruiting quite a few workers this time, but there are many restrictions. We will recruit 60 people, leaving 10 positions for military dependents or veterans. Of the remaining positions, 40 will be reserved for children of factory workers, and the remaining 10 will be open to this year's graduates from across the city."
Of course, factory children who don't meet the requirements won't be accepted, and the vacant positions will be filled by recruiting from this year's graduates. However, the factory children being recruited don't just refer to those currently unemployed in the city, but also include those who have been working in the countryside for three years.
“Under roughly the same conditions, children of factory workers who went to the countryside as educated youth will be given priority in recruitment,” Sister Zhu added.
Back in the day, the factory didn't care whether someone was a child of factory workers or not; recruitment was open to everyone, and hiring was based on merit.
But the situation is different now. There are many more workers in the factory. Not every family, but at least a third of the workers have children waiting to be assigned jobs. If we don't give more opportunities to the children of factory workers, the workers will become resentful sooner or later.
The factory set up a button and zipper workshop to save costs and increase revenue, and also to create more jobs for the factory's employees' children.
Brother Wang strolled over with a large teacup in hand, leisurely saying, "Our factory is doing well. Even now, we can still free up positions to accommodate employees' children, and the benefits aren't lacking either. It's better than some of the big factories outside."
Another colleague chimed in, "Isn't that all thanks to our factory leaders' capabilities? Just those dozen or so buildings in the staff housing complex alone—how many factories can compare?"
"Everything is fine at our factory now, except for the factory clinic... Sister Zhu, you have to talk to the factory leaders about this. The new doctor, Dr. Jia, at our factory clinic is really not good. Last time I went to get an IV drip, good heavens, the blood was gushing into the tube, I fainted on the spot, it was so scary!"
Guan Yuehe had just thought the doctor in the infirmary was still unreliable, but now, upon hearing this, she was surprised: "The infirmary has changed to an even more unreliable one?"
The doctor before wasn't surnamed Jia!
"It's a different doctor! I went to get fever reducers a few days ago, and then I had diarrhea for two days. I couldn't take it anymore and went to the hospital. The doctor said I was taking medicine indiscriminately."
Sister Zhu sighed. The factory's clinic was indeed a drag on the business, but it was difficult to find a reliable doctor to take charge.
"I'll raise this issue again, and you can bring it up at the next workers' meeting too!"
The others were speechless, feeling sullen and frustrated.
She first checked to see if anyone was outside the office before whispering, "That Dr. Jia has already gone through a training course and been assigned here. If we replace him with someone else, he might be even worse."
If this is the case for those who have attended training courses, what about those who haven't? They dare not even think about it.
Brother Wang said irritably, "We finally got the previous Dr. Qian to get the hang of it, but who knew he offended someone and was assigned to be a barefoot doctor in the countryside, supposedly to support rural healthcare. Fine, he's transferred, but now another one comes along... Do they really think we're their guinea pigs?"
Guan Yuehe fell silent. It seemed she needed to exercise more. If she got sick, she could only go to the car factory's workers' hospital; she absolutely could not go to the factory's clinic.
Unexpectedly, before she even went to the clinic, Dr. Jia from the clinic approached her.
"Comrade Guan Yuehe, I'm Jia Zhidong, the doctor from our factory clinic. Here to get some food?"
Guan Yuehe glanced at the stranger in front of her. She was not familiar with the name Jia Zhidong, but she had heard of Dr. Jia from the factory clinic.
Knowing full well that his medical skills were terrible and that he wouldn't allow anyone to criticize him, even though he was quite handsome, Guan Yuehe just couldn't stand the sight of him.
He tapped his finger on the lunchbox and gestured for him to look at the window in front of him. "What can you do if you come to the cafeteria and don't get food?"
As she took a step forward with the group, she keenly sensed that the person behind her was too close, and instinctively nudged him with her elbow.
Jia Zhidong let out a painful howl, his lunchbox crashed to the ground, and he clutched his stomach with both hands.
"Hey!" The workers in line all looked over.
Guan Yuehe's breath hitched. It was no wonder she was being blamed; who wouldn't fight back when they sensed danger?!
So she preemptively said, "It's not my fault, I didn't push you hard at all!"
Those around her, unsure if they had actually seen it clearly, chimed in to support Guan Yuehe, saying, "That's right, I saw it too. Comrade Guan just gave it a very light push."
"I saw it too!"
Jia Zhidong was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely. He didn't care about causing trouble for Guan Yuehe and gritted his teeth, saying, "Take me to the infirmary!"
Among the workers in line, some were willing to lend a hand and helped him up. One of them said with difficulty, "There are no other doctors in our factory clinic."
Another person said, "He is a doctor himself; he can find medicine to treat himself."
"That's true."
After Jia Zhidong was taken away, the canteen returned to normal. Many people exchanged glances with their close colleagues and covered their mouths to chuckle.
Someone else whispered, "Last time he made me take off my coat to get a shot, I've wanted to punch him for a long time."
But if you say something like that without evidence, he might turn around and accuse others of wronging him.
"He needs to be dealt with like Comrade Xiao Guan!"
After all, Comrade Xiao Guan is a good comrade who has been featured in the Daily News, been awarded the title of hero, and has impeccable revolutionary credentials!
It's clear that everyone is quite dissatisfied with the new Dr. Jia.
Comrade Xiao Guan felt perfectly justified and had no remorse for pushing the person. He took his lunchbox, stepped forward, tilted his head, and greeted the old lady at the window, "Auntie, I'm back to work!"
The cafeteria lady glanced up briefly and exclaimed, "Oh! Comrade Xiao Guan is back at work?!"
The spoon used to scoop the rice was pressed down further, filling the lunchbox to the brim.
Comrade Xiao Guan happily searched for empty seats everywhere.
Life at the factory has really improved; the canteen has been renovated to be so big. She wanted to find Xu Chengcai and Xie Dongxue, but after looking around twice, she still couldn't find them.
In the afternoon, everyone in the factory office knew what had happened in the canteen at noon. They all grinned at Guan Yuehe and reminded her, "If he makes a fuss, just insist that you pushed him by accident."
Guan Yuehe firmly stated, "It was an accidental push."
Who told him to get so close? Next time, she won't just give him a "gentle push".
In fact, Jia Zhidong didn't even have time to argue. He was in so much pain from being "pushed" that he had to ask for leave to go home and rest.
Just like when he "accidentally" touched the female comrade's body, Guan Yuehe "accidentally" pushed him lightly this time. He had no evidence to accuse Guan Yuehe of deliberately bumping into him.
Guan Yuehe had no time to care about irrelevant people, and the next day at work she was summoned to the factory director's office by Secretary Wang.
"Secretary Wang, Factory Director..."
"Just call me Sister Wang Zheng," Wang Zheng said with a smile. "I was originally planning to recruit you into the sales department after you graduated."
Guan Yuehe smiled and congratulated her, then nudged her shoulder and whispered, "Sister Wang Zheng, please take care of me in the future."
"Hey! Maybe I'll need your help in the future." Wang Zheng winked at her and whispered, "Don't worry, the factory manager just wants to talk to you guys. It's a good thing."
Guan Yuehe breathed a sigh of relief and sat up straight to wait. After a while, He Shuangshuang and Xie Dongxue also arrived.
The three of them hadn't seen each other for a while. After graduation, they were all busy with their own things, and when they returned to the factory, they were busy taking over their jobs. Especially He Shuangshuang and Xie Dongxue, whose original jobs were already quite busy.
When the factory manager returned from the meeting, he was followed by other leaders from the factory.
It's less that the factory manager wanted to have a chat with them and more that he was announcing their new work arrangements.
Xie Dongxue was transferred to the Publicity Department to do publicity work, He Shuangshuang was transferred to the Personnel Department, and Guan Yuehe was transferred to the Planning Department.
The planning department is arguably the core department of every state-owned factory, responsible for developing plans for the entire process, including production, procurement, and sales.
Guan Yuehe looked up in surprise at Section Chief Xiao, who was announcing the job transfer. She thought she would be transferred to the sales department or the personnel department, but she didn't expect it to be the planning department!
Their ranks remained unchanged, but everyone knew that as long as they didn't cause trouble in the new department and worked diligently, their seniority would increase, and the vacant management positions would most likely fall to them.
As Guan Yuehe left the factory director's office, she still felt that the transfer had come suddenly.
However, everything must be done in accordance with the organization's arrangements!
When Section Chief Lin from the Planning Department came to take her away, Guan Yuehe immediately packed her things and moved from the factory office to the Planning Department.
The older folks in the factory office stood at the door to see him off, saying, "Xiao Guan, come back to the factory office for a visit sometime."
Guan Yuehe glanced at the distance between the factory office and the planning department. They were on the same floor, separated only by a flight of stairs, just a few steps away.
"Xiao Guan, let me introduce you to my colleagues in the planning department..." After pointing out her new workstation, Section Chief Lin led her to meet the other people in the office one by one.
There's an awkward feeling, like having to reintroduce someone you know.
She used to work in the factory office and frequently visited various departments and workshops, so there were very few people she didn't know, unless they were new.
There are no new people in the planning department yet; everyone is someone Guan Yuehe knows.
That noon, the factory issued a document regarding the reassignment of the three women and posted it on the bulletin board.
From now on, we can no longer say "Comrade Xiao Guan from the factory office," but rather "Comrade Xiao Guan from the planning department!"
Gu Mannian specially brought over a stir-fry dish, pushed it in front of Guan Yuehe, and joked, "Officer Guan, please take good care of our purchasing department in the future."
Guan Yuehe unceremoniously shoveled half of the meat into her lunchbox, saying, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
People nearby looked over in surprise, "Is Secretary Gu your brother-in-law?"
"yes!"
"Brother-in-law?"
"My eldest sister is my biological sister."
Once everyone else was around, Gu Mannian reminded her, "Jia Zhidong from the infirmary isn't a good person. If he comes looking for you, just ignore him."
Guan Yuehe put down her chopsticks. "He wouldn't have taken a liking to me, would he? Does he want to date me?"
Seeing Gu Mannian nod, Guan Yuehe regretted, "I pushed too gently!"
“Your sister specifically told me that if you start dating any of the men in the factory, I should find out all their ancestors.”
He didn't dare say it all. Yuehua's original words also included: Guan Yuehe is a blockhead. What if she falls for someone who is good-looking but useless?
He thought Yuehua was overthinking it; someone useless would definitely have been knocked away by Guan Yuehe with one punch, so there was no way they could even talk about it.
Guan Yuehe gave a perfunctory "oh" twice. She had just been transferred to a new department and was eager to make a big splash, so she didn't plan to think about personal matters for the time being.
If you count on your fingers, she's not even 22 yet!
But she wasn't in a hurry; someone was already eyeing her.
Guan Yuehe was studying before, so she couldn't date. Now that she's graduated and back to work, can she start dating now?
As a result, many people went to No. 3 Ginkgo Hutong, saying they wanted to introduce Guan Yuehe to potential partners.
Jiang Guiying was very annoyed. She said countless times, "My daughter is still young, there's no rush," but people still came to her door. So she simply went fishing with her neighbors from Courtyard No. 3 during the day.
When she returned home that day, she heard the good news that her daughter had been transferred to the planning department.
"The Planning Department is great; it's easier to get promoted there." After confirming with her youngest daughter, Jiang Guiying's smile never faded.
She's currently worried about why her eldest daughter's acceptance letter hasn't arrived yet.
"It should be soon," Guan Yuehe comforted her. Her sister had applied to a school in Beijing, so the mail should arrive quickly.
really!
This Sunday, Gu Mannian and Guan Yuehua returned to Ginkgo Hutong with good news.
The room was packed with people, so crowded that there wasn't even room to sit. Everyone was there to see the freshly issued university acceptance letters.
Some people made sarcastic remarks, but Guan Yuehua, unusually, didn't retaliate.
"I can understand Chinese literature majors, but what kind of major is philosophy?" Many people were puzzled by the name of their major on their admission notices.
As the saying goes, "every profession has its own secrets," and even Guan Yuehe, who had attended university, couldn't explain it clearly.
At this moment, Xie Zhenhua, who was standing at the back of the crowd, spoke up and explained a few words. Everyone was confused and couldn't understand, but that didn't stop them from thinking it was impressive.
Xie Zhenhua said that graduates of this major are suited to be leaders.
Everyone exclaimed, "Being a leader is great! This major is really good!"
Guan Canghai and Jiang Guiying were so happy that their eyes narrowed into slits. Their younger daughter had just graduated and entered the planning department, and their older daughter had received her admission notice the moment she turned around.
Good things kept coming his way, one after another.
Who would have thought that our family could produce two college graduates? And now, two of them are doing it!
While Guan Yuehe was happy for her eldest sister, she was also worried about Ding Xuewen. She had promised him to send a telegram as soon as he had any news, but there was still no news.
"It's far away, so it probably hasn't arrived yet," Lin Sitian said. "Ding Xuewen is a good student, he'll definitely pass the exam."
“That’s true.” Guan Yuehe turned to Lin Sitian and said, “Zilan said she wants to take leave to go to the car factory workers’ hospital for a check-up and asked if you have any reliable obstetricians and gynecologists to recommend.”
Qin Zilan had been feeling unwell lately and suspected she might be pregnant. Distrustful of Jia Zhidong's medical skills, she decided to go to the factory's workers' hospital for a checkup to confirm.
"Pregnancy check-up? Tell her to come without worry. There are no unreliable doctors in the obstetrics and gynecology department of our Workers' Hospital."
Lin Sitian said disdainfully, "Jia Zhidong, who was assigned to your factory, took a training course with me. Others went to the course to learn, but he went to find a partner. Your factory is really unlucky to have such a quack doctor assigned there. Has he caused any trouble lately?"
"Not these past few days." Jia Zhidong even took leave to rest at home, saying that he was in so much pain that he couldn't straighten his back and couldn't go to work.
Before July was over, the recruitment notice from Zhuoyue Garment Factory had not yet been officially issued. However, many workers in the factory had already sent telegrams to their children who had been sent to the countryside for three years, asking them to immediately go to the local brigade leader to get a certificate to return to the city to take the exam.
He Shuangshuang was so busy that she barely had time to breathe. She ran into Guan Yuehe in the canteen and said with a headache, "Section Chief Xiao's desk was smashed by a lot of people who came to ask for recruitment positions."
Some were dissatisfied that only educated youth who had spent three years in the countryside could apply; some felt that ten spots shouldn't be allocated to outsiders; and some felt that their seniority in the factory should have earned them a spot. Others questioned why only workers' children could apply, and why workers' siblings weren't eligible...
Guan Yuehe felt a headache just hearing about it.
Whenever it comes to major issues like housing allocation and recruitment, Director Mo of the Housing Management Section and Director Xiao of the Personnel Section inevitably get blocked by workers in their offices and have them banging on the table.
When He Shuangshuang saw some workers coming towards her, she quickly grabbed her lunchbox and slipped away.
Just as Guan Yuehe was secretly pleased that her work wasn't too busy, she received an assignment from Section Chief Lin: to accompany Section Chief Lin to a meeting in the city.
The meeting lasted all day, and the notebook was full of notes. The meeting content had to be conveyed to all departments in the factory without any omissions.
Guan Yuehe sat on a bench at the back of the conference room all day, hearing nothing but "production plan" and "production targets".
Those who fail to meet planned targets on time should be criticized, and efforts should be made to catch up in the second half of the year. Those who significantly exceed their targets should also be criticized, as this can easily lead to waste...
After the meeting, Section Chief Lin still needed to go to the leaders to submit the new production plan for the second half of the year for Zhuoyue Garment Factory.
Guan Yuehe was waiting outside when she heard her boss's voice suddenly rise in the office: "Your factory director Zheng! Can't you just shut up for a second..."
She didn't hear anything after that. Guan Yuehe pouted in disapproval. What a great factory director Zheng was!
But when Section Chief Lin came out, he had a smile on his face, "It wasn't for nothing that I got scolded."
The planning department came up with a new production plan, and all departments in the factory had to make adjustments accordingly.
The sales and purchasing departments are under increasing pressure, and the workshop director is also preparing to mobilize efforts to increase production speed and strive to complete the factory's production tasks ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, the personnel department is preparing for the factory's recruitment exams.
"Yuehe, your garment factory is hiring?!"
When Guan Yuehe returned to the alley, she was blocked at the entrance by the elderly men and women.
"Why wasn't this recruitment announced to the public? If I weren't well-informed, I wouldn't have known!"
Guan Yuehe explained the factory's recruitment requirements and concluded, "Actually, the factory only has ten openings this time."
It is still open to students who have graduated from junior or senior high school this year.
"How could your factory do this? Most of the spots have been given to the children of factory workers, leaving no room for others to apply!"
Guan Yuehe scoffed, "Then why don't you go and talk to the leaders of the car factory, the daily chemical factory, and the machinery factory? Why do they all only hire the children of their own factory workers?"
The old man who had just spoken was suddenly speechless.
The elderly folks were just cheering because the Zhuoyue Garment Factory was hiring, thinking their children had a better chance of staying in the city, but now they're disappointed again.
You can't say that Zhuoyue Garment Factory did something wrong; which state-owned factory doesn't do it this way now?
With no one blocking her way anymore, Guan Yuehe was able to return home without any hindrance.
There was also an uneaten watermelon in the wooden bucket, which the factory had given out a couple of days ago.
Guan Yuehe took the fish out, cut it open, sent half of it home, and ate the other half with a spoon.
"Guan Yuehe! Is Guan Yuehe home?" the postman called from outside the yard.
Aunt Er came to the backyard carrying Shunshun and called out, "Yuehe, there's a letter for you!"
"Here it comes!" He ran out before he even put his shoes on properly, took the two letters from the postman, and knew what was going on as soon as he saw the address.
One letter came from Sichuan Province, sent by the male classmate who had a camera. Inside were a class photo taken at graduation, a group photo of her dormitory, and a solo photo of her.
In addition to the photos, a letter was also attached. The male classmate was being transferred to another military region and had written to leave his address, specifically emphasizing that if Shenghua asked her for his address, she should make sure to pass it on.
Guan Yuehe carefully put away her classmate's letter and then opened the envelope from Northeast China.
In his letter, Ding Xuewen said that he and Chen Lizhong had both received their admission notices. They were not admitted to their preferred schools, but the good news was that the schools they were admitted to were also in Beijing.
"Li Zhong and I will return to Beijing at the end of August."
Guan Yuehe saw this sentence immediately, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Yuehe, what's the good news?" Aunt Er came over to take a look, but she didn't recognize many characters and could only see a bunch of dark words. She was eager for Guan Yuehe to tell her.
"Ding Xuewen got into university and will be back next month!"
Ginkgo Alley became lively again as everyone rushed to Aunt Ding's house to offer their congratulations.
Some neighbors genuinely wanted to offer their congratulations, while others just wanted to see Aunt Ding make a fool of herself: "Look, the son you dislike the most is actually the most successful one. Let's see if you're not angry now."
Aunt Ding was so angry that she kicked everyone out and stayed home sulking.
Guan Yuehe walked around the room, unable to decide where to put the photos. She was afraid they would be torn if she stuck them on the wall, but if she put them away, she couldn't show them off to others, especially her classmates who were like little white poplars.
It really worried her a lot.
Turning her head, Guan Yuehe was overjoyed again after receiving her salary and ration coupons.
I didn't work a full month last month, so I didn't receive a full month's salary. But I was given enough tickets for the whole month.
Keep half of the meat ration coupon; treat Ding Xuewen to dinner when he returns. The rest...
"Wow! This meat is really fatty! Yuehe, you're in luck!"
Guan Yuehe hummed a cheerful tune as she wielded her spatula in the kitchen, occasionally leaning in to smell the aroma of meat, and happily exclaimed, "With my cooking skills, I could be a head chef at a state-run restaurant!"
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