Chapter 153 The Party, January 1, 1981...
January 1, 1981.
Early on New Year's Day, Mingxi got up before the alarm clock rang, because she had something important to do today.
Mingxi is attending the Women's Federation's commendation meeting today.
A few days ago, Director Shen revealed to her that she was the candidate for this year's outstanding cadre, and told her to prepare in private so that she would have something to say when she went on stage to receive the award, instead of just staring blankly at the people below the stage.
The award selection process can be both a pleasant surprise and an unexpected one.
The office had discussed it long ago, and it was certain that Mingxi would be chosen as this year's outstanding member. If Mingxi herself were to say something fair without being arrogant, she genuinely felt she had done a great job this year, and choosing her as the outstanding member was the right decision.
However, as long as this matter remains unresolved, Mingxi herself is not certain.
It wasn't until a few days ago, when Director Shen hinted at it, that Mingxi finally felt relieved.
Today, Mingxi is going on stage to receive an award at the commendation ceremony, so she dressed up specially, wearing the light pink woolen coat that Zhao Sulan bought for her a while ago.
When Mingxi and Zhao Sulan were shopping, Zhao Sulan spotted this dress and said it would suit Mingxi, even though Mingxi hadn't originally planned to buy it. The color was too bright and hard to match with other clothes; it was also too light and would easily get dirty in winter—it wasn't practical at all.
When Zhao Sulan buys clothes for herself, she considers practicality, but when buying clothes for Mingxi, she never considers that; she only considers whether they look good.
Mingxi has fair skin, and this bright color will definitely look good on her.
Mingxi liked it too, so under Zhao Sulan's encouragement, she decided to try it on, and once she tried it on, she couldn't take it off.
This color really suits Mingxi; the delicate lotus root pink makes her skin look fair and her lips red, making her more beautiful than the flowers. Moreover, this color doesn't look frivolous on Mingxi at all; it only makes her look charming and cute.
Ming Xijin liked it very much, and Zhao Sulan also thought it suited her, so she immediately paid for it.
Today, Mingxi is wearing this light pink wool coat, with a beige turtleneck sweater underneath. Her hair has grown long recently, and she has combed it all back into a high ponytail, making her look extremely youthful and beautiful.
After tidying up, Mingxi came out of the house, and Zhao Sulan's eyes lit up when she saw her.
"Oh my, my eldest daughter is so beautiful!"
Mingxi curled up the corners of her mouth and revealed a bright smile: "No matter how beautiful the eldest daughter is, she is still born of you, Mom."
Zhao Sulan proudly straightened her back: "Of course, my eldest daughter is my daughter."
She patted Mingxi on the shoulder: "Let's eat. After we eat, you can go to work. Isn't today an awards ceremony? Don't be late."
"Okay!" Mingxi sat down.
Zhao Sulan didn't cook this morning. It was New Year's Day, so she took a break and bought breakfast at the entrance of the alley. The couple who sold breakfast there were also residents of the alley. They were honest in their business, and their big meat buns were filled with real meat filling. When you took a bite, the oil and broth burst out.
Mingxi quickly finished her breakfast in two bites, said goodbye to Zhao Sulan, and went out with her bag on her back. As soon as she reached the door, she saw Aunt He carrying a stool coming out of the house.
Mingxi called out, "Aunt He."
Aunt He: "Xiaoming, are you going to work?"
Mingxi nodded in response, her gaze falling on the stool in Aunt He's hand, and asked, "Are you going to the factory to watch a show?"
The Women's Federation held a New Year's Day party, and the steel rolling mill also had New Year's Day activities. The factory organized a cultural performance, with factory employees performing in the morning and a movie showing in the afternoon.
Aunt He: "Oh, I heard the publicity department is putting on a song and dance performance today. I have to go check it out. I have to hurry and grab a seat, or there won't be any left in front."
Aunt He waved her hand and left in a hurry, while Mingxi also rode her bike to work.
As soon as she arrived at her workplace, Yu Xiaomin pulled her upstairs to the auditorium.
The auditorium was bustling with activity, with balloons and colorful decorations hanging on the walls, and a large red banner hanging on the stage in front that read "1981 New Year's Day Commendation and Celebration Meeting".
Below the stage were rows of long tables and chairs, with snacks such as sunflower seeds, peanuts, and soda on the seats, looking quite professional.
When Mingxi arrived, there was still some time before the party started, but the auditorium was already packed with people. For a while, apart from the first two rows reserved for leaders, there were really no other seats to be found.
"Here it is!"
Sister Wang and Sister Zhang had already come over and reserved a good spot. When they saw Mingxi and Yu Xiaomin coming over, they immediately stood up and waved in Mingxi's direction.
Mingxi quickly pulled Yu Xiaomin to sit down. As soon as they sat down, Sister Wang gave each of them a sentence, saying, "Try it, the oranges that the logistics department bought this year are quite sweet."
Mingxi took it, peeled one open, and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up: "So sweet!"
Sister Wang: "This year's oranges are sweet, unlike last year's. The oranges our company gave out for Chinese New Year last year were so sour. What was even more infuriating was that, not only were they sour, but there were also a lot of them, a box weighing five pounds. We couldn't eat them, and throwing them away seemed wasteful. It was also difficult to give them away. In the end, we had no choice but to give a handful to each of our neighbors when they came to visit for the New Year."
Sister Zhang: "Are you silly? If it's sour, just add some sugar yourself. I bought two pounds of white sugar and made all those oranges into orange jam and canned oranges. They taste pretty good, and my kids really like them."
Sister Wang slapped her forehead in regret: "Oh dear, it really is! I didn't even remember until you mentioned it!"
Last year, when we were distributing New Year's goods, Mingxi hadn't come to work yet, so she couldn't participate in this topic.
However, she was quite curious and quietly pulled Yu Xiaomin aside to ask, "Sister Xiaomin, what kind of New Year's gifts does our company usually give out?"
Yu Xiaomin: "Our company gives out quite a lot of New Year's gifts. Compared to other companies, our benefits are relatively good. We get a can of oil, a bag of flour, and a box of fruit. But it's not certain. The year before last, we got a box of apples, and last year we got oranges. I don't know what we'll get this year. In addition, we also get a box of ribbonfish. Last year we also got meat coupons and non-staple food coupons. I don't know if we'll get those this year."
That makes a lot of sense.
Mingxi felt a surge of anticipation for the New Year's goods.
To be honest, it's still early for the New Year's goods to be distributed. In previous years, they were distributed two days before the Spring Festival, around the 25th or 26th of the twelfth lunar month.
There's still more than a month until Chinese New Year!
Yu Xiaomin: "Hey, Xiaoming, I remember your mom works at a steel rolling mill, right? What kind of New Year's gifts do they give out there?"
Mingxi: "The steel rolling mill's New Year's goods are pretty much the same, like fruit or food coupons."
The steel rolling mill was considered one of the larger factories in the northern part of the city. However, compared to the machinery factory, food factory, and garment factory, the steel rolling mill's profits were only average, and the employee benefits were not good. In previous years, they would only receive some fruit and non-staple food coupons, which was definitely not comparable to the Women's Federation.
Mingxi was talking to Yu Xiaomin when she felt the lights in the auditorium dim, followed by music and the stage lights coming on. A male and a female host walked onto the stage with microphones to the music.
Both hosts were dressed in festive red sweaters and wore light makeup. They stood in the middle of the stage, and the noisy chatter below the stage immediately quieted down as everyone looked expectantly at the stage.
The female host on stage began, "Celebrating New Year's Day and welcoming the new year, esteemed leaders and comrades, good morning! Today is January 1st, 1981, New Year's Day. In the past year, we..."
The host on stage had a big smile and a passionate voice. After he finished speaking, the audience erupted in cheers. Mingxi clapped and cheered along with him.
The opening remarks were quite lengthy, but the female host spoke very quickly and finished in a short time. After the opening remarks were finished, the host began the first segment of the New Year's Day commendation meeting, announcing the outstanding staff members of the year.
They called out the names alphabetically, and the third person called out was Mingxi. Upon hearing the name Mingxi, everyone in the Women's Federation office sitting around her applauded.
Amidst applause, Mingxi walked onto the stage.
She didn't realize it when she was offstage, but once she got on stage and saw the densely packed heads below, Mingxi belatedly became nervous. She took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.
The people in the audience aren't human, they're all cabbages.
Mingxi quietly hypnotized herself in her mind.
At this moment, the leader in charge of presenting the award to Mingxi also came up on stage. This leader was none other than Director Shen's husband, who is also the current top leader of the district.
Seeing such a high-ranking leader standing in front of her, Mingxi didn't know where to put her hands for a moment.
District Chief Yang seemed to notice Mingxi's nervousness, so he handed her the certificate and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous, Comrade Mingxi. I've heard Director Shen praise you a lot at home."
I've heard Director Shen praise her quite a bit, haven't I?
Mingxi felt as if her soul had broken free of its shackles and floated up into the sky, not even noticing when District Chief Yang stepped down.
After giving out certificates to all the outstanding staff members, District Chief Yang took a group photo with a few people on stage before stepping down, leaving a few people on stage to give their acceptance speeches.
Although Mingxi was a little smug at the moment, she hadn't forgotten a single word of her prepared acceptance speech. When she delivered her speech, she was very professional and didn't falter at all.
After stepping off the stage, Yu Xiaomin and Sister Wang praised Mingxi for her good performance.
Mingxi chuckled but didn't say anything.
The commendation ceremony was short and ended quickly. Next was the party, which featured performances that everyone enjoyed watching. The first performance was a chorus by the Youth League Committee office. A dozen or so young men and women dressed in matching white shirts and black pants walked onto the stage, and they looked quite pleasing to the eye.
Seeing this, Sister Wang exclaimed, "We lost! It's so much more interesting to have so many people on stage. I should have organized a big chorus in our office too!"
Mingxi: "Sister Wang, don't be discouraged so soon. I think our office's entertainment program is pretty good too."
Sister Wang: "Our program is quite good, but it just doesn't have this kind of grandeur."
Mingxi didn't think so.
The program their office submitted this year was a song and dance drama, specifically the part from "The Red Detachment of Women" that included the theme song of the Red Detachment of Women.
Mingxi watched Sister Zhang, Sister Wang, Liu Wenhong, and Xiao Li rehearse in the office. Although there were few people and the atmosphere wasn't very strong, as a non-professional, Mingxi felt that their performance was still very good.
The Women's Federation's party was in full swing, and the steel mill's cultural performance was also in full swing, but a small incident occurred at this cultural performance...
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Author's note: Today's post is a bit short; I'll make up for it later this week.
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