Office 130
Xu Cheng and Qin Zilan were quite busy this Sunday. They visited Guan Yuehe in the morning and then decided to visit Ding Xuewen in the afternoon.
They figured that Guan Yuehe worked in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, while Ding Xuewen had been doing "business" outside for three years, so it would be most appropriate to ask them for their opinions.
After a long day of running around, we went back to the Qin family home for dinner. We discussed it with Master Qin and decided that after this year, once Master Qin retires, we'll apply for an individual business license from the Industry and Commerce Bureau so he can open a tailor shop from home.
In Courtyard No. 3, Guan Yuehe and Lin Yiku went home for dinner, and Guan Canghai announced his plan to open a barber stall after retirement.
Guan Aiguo interjected, "Try converting the small room in your house into a barbershop. You can even learn how to perm hair from me. You could put up a sign at the door that says 'Ginkgo Alley Barbershop,' wouldn't that be great?"
Before he could finish speaking, Guan Canghai tapped him on the head with his pipe, "You're always coming up with terrible ideas!"
Who doesn't know that perms are popular these days? But don't they realize that not every hair salon has a perm machine? These things are in short supply, and individuals can't buy them.
While the room was quiet, Guan Yuehe pointed at Lin Yiku and said, "We have no ideas. If Dad wants to set up a stall, let him. He's retired and can set up a haircut stall at the entrance of the alley. It's better than going out fishing and looking for bargains every day."
Lin Yiku looked down at her hand resting on his knee and secretly smiled.
Jiang Guiying agreed wholeheartedly, "That's what I think too! Setting up a stall and earning a few yuan a month is good enough."
It's better than spending money to buy junk.
Guan Canghai: "..." My unlucky daughter, she always brings up the most awkward things.
"Then that's settled, no need for discussion." Guan Yuehe only reminded her father, "Once it's decided, get it done as soon as possible, apply early, maybe it will be approved sooner."
“If even the Guaziwang store can get the license, it shouldn’t be difficult for us either,” Guan Aiguo said.
If it weren't for the fact that Guaziwang (a famous snack vendor) obtained a license and became a legal business, the people who set up stalls in the alley probably wouldn't have thought of getting a license themselves.
However, not everyone can get the certificate. As far as Guan Yuehe knows, Liu the matchmaker didn't get the certificate, probably because too many people had diarrhea before, and the food safety issue was not met.
As Guan Yuehe got up to go home and passed by the Xu family's house, she saw that the Xu family's door was open. Guan Yuehe happened to hear Grandpa Xu and Grandma Xu cursing Xu Chengcai and Qin Zilan, saying that the two of them were heartless and never came home when they returned to Ginkgo Alley. They only knew how to run to the Qin family's house every day.
Guan Yuehe rolled her eyes and whispered to Lin Yiku, "Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu must have thought that Xu Chengcai and Zilan were bringing things to deliver to their home, but they didn't even see them. Humph, they're so angry."
This might have been said intentionally to her.
Guan Yuehe walked over, then took two steps back and shouted loudly into the Xu family's house, "I received a new coat today! Oh my, the workmanship, the style, the fabric—it could definitely sell for thirty or forty yuan outside!"
"The canned fish we bought inside the garment factory smells amazing! You can't buy it anywhere else. I heard it's shipped from a food factory in the south, and it's especially delicious!"
The Xu family's house fell silent instantly.
Zhang Ersao and Hongmei, who lived in the west wing, both lifted the curtain and came out. "Yuehe, can we still buy that canned fish? We'd like to buy some too."
Guan Yuehe continued speaking towards the Xu family's direction: "I don't know, they were all delivered by friends from the garment factory. You should ask the workers at the garment factory."
After saying that, Guan Yuehe saw Lin Sitian running out and giving her a thumbs up. Satisfied, she pulled Lin Yiku home.
The first thing I did when I got home was to find the canned fish that Xu Cheng and Qin Zilan had brought.
She had never eaten this canned fish before; she had heard it was a particularly sought-after delicacy in the south.
She praised the canned fish for its aroma, so she had to try it. Otherwise, if someone asked her what it tasted like and she couldn't answer, wouldn't she be exposed?
He gave one pair of chopsticks to Lin Yiku, then took a small piece for himself and kept nodding, urging him to start eating too.
Lin Yiku wasn't surprised by her behavior at all. He had heard her mention "what does this canned food taste like?" several times during the day. If they hadn't gone to the No. 3 courtyard for dinner that night, this canned food would definitely have been on the menu. In the end, she couldn't resist her craving and opened the can before tomorrow.
"It smells so good! I'll have another bite."
After finishing her meal, Guan Yuehe couldn't help but pout and say sourly, "The factory's benefits are really good."
He sighed and said, "Why haven't the supply and marketing cooperatives in Beijing stocked this canned fish yet?!"
Two days later, Lin Yiku had just returned home when Guan Yuehe pounced on him, almost knocking him over with her sweet words.
Guan Yuehe's tone was excited, as if she wanted to drag Lin Yiku into a ballroom dance on the spot, "When I go to Guangzhou next year, I'll bring back a big bag of canned fish, and I can eat it every day!"
Lin Yiku followed her around the small living room, carefully avoiding tripping. Seeing her happy, her mood brightened as well. "Are you going to the Canton Fair next year too?"
"Yes, yes!" Guan Yuehe nodded happily, and even couldn't help but laugh twice. "The leader told me today that I'm going to Haishi on a business trip in early March to assist with the negotiations for the automobile joint venture project there. After the business trip in Haishi, I'll go directly to Guangzhou for the Canton Fair."
Lin Yiku recalled the times she went to the Canton Fair; she went almost every three or four years. Each time she went, her role as a participant changed.
I'm so happy for her.
"What about your job now?" She's been working a lot of overtime in the past six months, and has muttered to herself several times at home about the shortage of staff in the office. "Are we getting new colleagues?"
"Yes! Two new colleagues are coming to our office after New Year's Day, and I'll have my own office too!"
"Congratulations, Director Guan." Good news keeps coming one after another. No wonder he's so happy today. I've been spinning him around more than a dozen times, and he still doesn't seem to want to stop.
Guan Yuehe chuckled, "I can't show too much pride at work, so I've been holding back all day, just waiting for you to come back and tell me the good news! I'm really happy!"
She received several pieces of good news from her supervisor, and at the time, she had no idea she had an office. Before leaving work, she took a look, and although it wasn't ready yet, it didn't stop her from being so happy she wanted to burst out laughing.
Guan Yuehe felt like she had found a windfall. Suppressing the urge to burst out laughing, she whispered to Lin Yiku, "I never even dreamed that I would have an office."
Before being recommended to attend the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University, she felt it didn't matter whether she became a cadre or not. After graduating and returning home, she became a deputy section chief, thinking that becoming a section chief before retirement would be quite good. Section chiefs at the Zhuoyue Garment Factory didn't have their own offices, something she had never even considered.
"My dad says I'm like a donkey pulling a millstone, needing a carrot to keep me going. Humph! I have ambitions too, and I want to improve!"
Lin Yiku was amused by her words and nodded in agreement, "Of course!"
"Oh my! I'm so happy!" Guan Yuehe pulled him around twice more, her head spinning with joy.
It's also possible that you got dizzy from turning around.
So, Guan Yuehe pulled Lin Yikui to sit on the sofa. Her upturned lips never faded, and her eyes sparkled; even without a word, he could feel her joy.
"Also, Shuangshuang got a job in the municipal government office."
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "She didn't get into the foreign trade department?" She had heard her mention it a long time ago, saying that He Shuangshuang might still be her colleague in the future. She had also been paying close attention to the company's recruitment list, but there had been no final news.
Today, Guan Yuehe obtained the information of two new colleagues from Director An. Afterwards, she went to inquire about the final list of recruits from the unit and found that He Shuangshuang's name was not on it.
I had to ask around to find out that the municipal government office had gone to the school to ask for the person beforehand.
Guan Yuehe guessed that He Shuangshuang might prefer working in a government office rather than the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
We can no longer be colleagues.
However, this is nothing to regret. No matter where they work, it won't affect their continued friendship.
"Me, her, and Dongxue all came from the garment factory, but I never expected that none of us would go back to the factory in the end."
It's fair to say that without the support of the Zhuoyue Garment Factory, they might not have been able to reach where they are today, even in a lifetime.
Lin Yiku turned her head to look at her, and the next second, sure enough, she heard her praising Director Zheng: "Our director is really too good!"
Lin Yiku quickly followed suit, "Learning from Director Zheng!"
Guan Yuehe laughed, "Lin Yiku, you sound like you're being forced to shout slogans."
"What slogans are you shouting?" Lin Sitian's voice came in along with the knocking on the door.
After the knocking stopped, Lin Sitian entered the house a dozen seconds later. She saw the two people sitting upright on the sofa, and the TV was off. She was relieved that she hadn't rushed in rashly, or she would have seen something she shouldn't have!
Guan Yuehe ignored her question and directly announced the good news that she would be going on a business trip next March and would soon have a private office.
Lin Sitian exclaimed excitedly several times, pulling her older brother away while praising, "Yuehe, you're amazing!"
Lin Yiku was squeezed so much that she had to get up to give up her seat. She saw the two of them sitting next to each other, with almost the same expression and movements, laughing endlessly.
He suspected that if Sitian had gotten off work earlier than him, he might have said to Sitian: "I've been holding back at work all day, just waiting for you to come back and tell me the good news!"
"Brother, you go ahead and do your work, we need to have a private chat." Lin Sitian took the initiative, starting to feel annoyed that her big brother's presence in the room was too strong, making them too embarrassed to say anything else.
Guan Yuehe immediately said, "Mom helped us exchange the bath tickets, and I went to get a scrub after get off work."
He understood her unspoken meaning: You should also go to the bathhouse; it will give us a room to talk.
Comrade Guan Yuehe's sugar-coated bullets always come and go quickly.
No sooner had Lin Yiku left than the television in the house was turned on. Lin Sitian and Guan Yuehe were whispering to each other in the room, occasionally laughing out loud.
Yuanbao ran back from outside, glanced at Guan Yuehe's house, and the first thing he did when he entered the house was to tell his parents, "Auntie's family raises geese."
Jin Junwei chuckled. Nobody raises geese, not even Guan Yuehe's family across the street; those two are incredibly clean. If only all the neighbors were like them...
After enjoying her "goose-raising" business, Guan Yuehe remembered to ask Lin Sitian, "When do you plan to mention Chen Lizhong to your parents?"
Lin Sitian scratched her head. "Let's wait a while, until he gets his graduation certificate and goes to report to the TV factory."
“However, my parents probably guessed it too,” Lin Sitian said. “They used to mention who wanted to introduce me to someone, but they haven’t mentioned it since. Every time I come back from eating with you guys, they ask me how that pig-farming expert, Comrade Chen, is doing lately.”
When the topic turned to "pig farming experts," she and Guan Yuehe couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
She probably mentioned Chen Lizhong unintentionally several times at home. After hearing it so often, her parents guessed that something was amiss.
Although neither she nor Yuehe had ever mentioned to their families which schools Chen Lizhong and Ding Xuewen had been admitted to, the elders all knew without saying that the two of them must be studying at universities in Beijing. Whenever she and Yuehe went out to eat with friends, the elders could guess who the "friends" were.
“Then let’s take it slow.” Guan Yuehe rarely took the initiative to hug Lin Sitian’s arm, and sighed, “We’ve always lived in Ginkgo Hutong, and we’re used to it. If you move to another place after you get married, I’ll be the only one left of the four of us.”
Lin Sitian couldn't lie to comfort her. The TV factory and the Five Star Automobile Factory weren't close, so whether she lived at her house or Chen Lizhong's, one of them would have trouble getting to work. Chen Lizhong had already been thinking about finding a house somewhere between the TV factory and the Five Star Automobile Factory, planning to use the money he had earned over the past three years to buy a small courtyard house.
When Lin Yiku returned from the bathhouse, she saw that the two of them had red eyes. What could they have been whispering about that could make them so heartbroken?
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