Chapter 15 Going to Huangniba Commune
Chen Yun performed exceptionally well in treating Master Niu, and the factory leadership decided to promote her to the position of Director of the Internal Medicine Department at the Machinery Factory Staff Hospital.
The specific appointment will take effect immediately upon the hospital's official name change.
During this time, Liu Baoguo also announced a decision that made everyone want to curse.
Starting in September, the hospital will implement a rotating night shift system in accordance with the county hospital's work schedule.
In a daze, Chen Yun recalled the feeling of staying up all night when she was reincarnated as an emergency room worker in her previous life.
Chen Yun couldn't hear what the others were thinking, but she could guess that some of them must harbor deep resentment towards her.
Just because I saved a pneumonia patient, my peaceful and leisurely job was turned upside down in an instant.
If Liu Baoguo hadn't announced at the end that everyone would receive a bonus this month, the resentful gazes would probably have pierced through the back of Chen Yun's head.
Fortunately, if you count on your fingers, even if the four doctors are on duty for a week, it will only be one day at most.
If you look at it from another angle, your salary has also increased, hasn't it?
Chen Yun tried to find a bit of humor in his bitterness.
***
July has passed, and the sweltering heat of August continues.
The air was thick with the smell of the earth being scorched by the sun, and only the occasional breeze could bring a touch of coolness.
Just standing there, Chen Yun felt sweat dripping down her neck.
He quickly walked a few steps and found a shady spot under a tree to stand in. He took out the palm-leaf fan he always carried and fanned his face repeatedly.
A month and a half has passed in the blink of an eye, and I wonder when this summer will finally end.
"I'm all packed, let's go."
Ruanqiu went upstairs, took two straw hats, handed one to Chen Yun, and then ran to the water room on the first floor to fill a full kettle with tap water.
"Looks like I'll have to sleep in the corridor again tonight." Chen Yun took the straw hat and put it on.
She finally managed to buy a mosquito net, but the weather seemed to be playing a cruel joke on her; it was so hot inside that it was impossible to sleep.
"We really have to thank Gao Ming for this," Ruanqiu said.
Chen Yun nodded in strong agreement.
Chen Yun wasn't the only one suffering from the heat; Ruan Qiu and her husband were also complaining endlessly, practically ready to move their bed and mosquito net down to the open space to sleep.
Just when the group was on the verge of collapse, Gao Ming brought them life-saving mosquito coils.
In his past life, people disliked mosquito coils because they were unhealthy; in this life, he can't even buy them even if he wants to.
Even the county supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have these things; they can only be found in the provincial capital's department stores, and I heard they're not cheap.
If Ruanqiu hadn't mentioned it, Chen Yun would have had no idea that it was Gao Ming who sent it.
A perfect example of doing good deeds anonymously...
And this wasn't the first time Gao Ming had given something away anonymously.
The things that have appeared at the door in the past month or so include, but are not limited to, a few crabs hanging on the doorknob with their claws outstretched, two red apples that suddenly appeared on the shelf in the hallway, and a tin box of face cream with a fashionable woman printed on it.
Gao Ming is very tactful; he never gives particularly expensive gifts, but they are always enough to make people happy.
After mosquito coils were available, Chen Yun laid out a mat and made a makeshift bed at the door. Seeing this, Ruan Qiu followed suit, and the two of them slept together in the corridor every day.
"It's so hot this morning, do you think we shouldn't have hot pot tonight?"
Chen Yun looked up at the cloudless sky and felt a little worried.
The meal that should have been treated to after moving into the dormitory was repeatedly postponed due to everyone's busy work schedule. Chen Yun finally got to wait until Gao Ming had a day off, while the others also had a Saturday off.
Chen Yun and Ruan Qiu were planning to go to the supply and marketing cooperative of Huangniba Brigade to buy beef. The original menu for their dinner party was hot pot, but looking at the weather, they were worried that the hot pot would cause them to suffer from heatstroke before they even finished eating.
"Let's have hot pot." Ruanqiu wiped the sweat from her chin and tossed it to the side of the road. "We've only ever seen hot pot in books. We finally have the chance, so even if it's hot, I have to have some."
"Does the supply and marketing cooperative really sell butter?"
"Yes!" Ruanqiu said with certainty, "Nobody eats beef tallow because of its fishy smell. Last time I heard the salesperson say that it couldn't be sold even without a coupon."
The factory's vegetable market sells beef only once a month. The better cuts are bought up by the state-run restaurants long before the other employees get their turn.
The situation was completely the opposite at the Huangniba Brigade Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Beef is mostly lean meat with little fat, so people who have painstakingly saved up meat coupons want to exchange them for fatty meat, making beef less popular.
"Then let's hurry up, or we'll miss the bus."
A bus passes through Huangniba Commune once a day, departing at nine in the morning and returning at two in the afternoon. If you miss it, you'll have to wait until tomorrow.
The station was right at the factory gate, with a wooden sign listing the stops along the route.
The bus's final destination is the county's long-distance bus station.
However, a letter of introduction is required to stay in the county town, so most of the people waiting here are probably going to the market in Huangniba Commune.
"There are quite a few people."
"Get on the bus early to grab a seat at the front, it's so bumpy in the back." Seeing this, Ruanqiu quickly tugged at Chen Yun's sleeve and whispered her advice.
Chen Yun turned the bag to her chest and nodded to indicate that she had heard.
Although it was the first time the car had left the factory, Chen Yun could already see the muddy road in the distance, and he could imagine how bumpy the ride would be.
Beep beep beep—
The driver honked the horn three times to remind everyone that the bus was about to depart, and then the ticket seller manually opened the bus door.
Everyone rushed forward...
Ruanqiu was petite, so even if she hit someone hard, it wouldn't be of any use at this moment. She had just lifted her leg when she was blocked by three women holding hands.
Chen Yun gripped the strap of her schoolbag tightly, and as soon as the car door opened, she bent down and slipped under someone's arm.
Although the smell of armpits was really pungent in the summer, Chen Yun finally found a shortcut and quickly climbed onto the car by weaving around.
While Ruanqiu was still struggling to squeeze forward, Chen Yun had already successfully grabbed a seat in the first row on the left, and took off her backpack to occupy the seat further inside.
Outside the car window, a pair of eyes were watching silently.
"Ruanqiu, over here!" Chen Yun waved to Ruanqiu, who had finally managed to squeeze onto the bus, but paused when he caught sight of the bus door out of the corner of his eye.
"Cao Qin".
A deep male voice was calling out from behind Chen Yun, and Chen Yun took the opportunity to glance at the man in the back seat.
A new face, indeed not the Cao Qin's partner that Chen Yun knew.
"You got on the bus in the blink of an eye, you're really quick." Ruanqiu took two steps to the seat and reached for the water bottle, but her elbow seemed to bump into someone as she bent it. She quickly turned around and apologized, "Comrade... I'm so sorry!"
"It's nothing." Cao Qin turned her face away and hurriedly walked to the back row to sit down.
Ruanqiu reached out and poked Chen Yun, then raised an eyebrow at the back row of seats as she reached for the water bottle.
Chen Yun simply nodded.
The bus started amidst a cacophony of noise. The ticket seller, long accustomed to the bus's jolting, gripped the handrail with one hand and took out a ticket from her bag with the other.
"Buy a ticket, buy a ticket, a corner of Huangniba Commune, two yuan at the county long-distance bus station."
After Chen Yun bought the ticket for two cents, he heard the man in the back row say, "Two tickets to the county town."
The saleswoman glanced at Cao Qin and her boyfriend's clothes and immediately smiled: "Are you going to the county town to take your wedding photos?"
The carriage fell silent for a moment, then immediately became noisy.
The more outgoing ones started by saying auspicious words, and the older women even smiled and asked the men to distribute melon seeds and peanuts to everyone.
The man actually brought candy and peanuts, and stood up from his seat to distribute them to everyone with a smile.
When the cards were handed out to the first row, Chen Yun glanced at the man's appearance.
"..."
Her voice is pleasant... only her voice is pleasant.
His garlic-shaped nose was shiny with oil, and the pimples on the sides of his nose were pitted and uneven from being pinched by his fingernails. The most eye-catching thing was his uneven, yellow teeth, and when he smiled, there were still vegetable leaves stuck to his front teeth.
Compared to Cao Qin's original boyfriend in her memory, his appearance was vastly different.
Chen Yun had seen that person downstairs in the dormitory building. He wasn't tall, but he was quite good-looking and very polite.
"Everyone, have some candy, have some candy!" the man said enthusiastically, handing out candy to everyone.
Chen Yun received two candies, five cents each, and handed them out to her fellow passengers without batting an eye, suggesting that her family must be well-off.
Ruanqiu nudged Chen Yun with her elbow and whispered, "Luo Youmao's younger brother."
"Deputy factory director?"
Ruanqiu pouted and nodded emphatically.
Luo Youmao is about the same age as Zhao Feng, and his younger brother must be in his forties, so Cao Qin, who is only twenty-one, actually chose to marry him.
The intricacies of the situation make it hard not to overthink things.
But Chen Yun was not among the curious people. After a couple of sentences, they stopped the discussion and started talking about what vegetables they would buy later.
"The dried mushrooms that Sister Zhang gave you are really good; they're so delicious when stewed with pig's feet."
As they chatted, a casual remark from Ruanqiu drifted into the ears of Cao Qin, who had been paying attention to the people in the front row.
She rested her arms on her knees and tried to get closer to the back of the front seat, wanting to hear Chen Yun and the other person's next words.
After the car drove out of the factory area, the cement road turned into a dirt road.
The driver focused on driving, and the ticket seller didn't have time to chat either. After finishing her conversation, she hurriedly continued collecting money from the back of the line.
If we don't collect the money soon, we'll be at the Yellow Mud Commune.
After a bumpy ride of more than ten minutes, the car arrived at its first stop.
The overall construction level of Huangniba Commune was good, but its sanitary conditions were still much worse than those of the machinery factory.
Today was market day again, and the production teams were driving their livestock to the commune to hand over their livestock. The ground was covered with pig manure and chicken and duck droppings.
"It would be great if we could eat meat every day, preferably without needing tickets."
Ruanqiu stared at the flock of chickens and ducks, her mouth watering.
Chen Yun carefully avoided the pile of chicken droppings, not daring to look away from the ground for even a moment: "I believe that day will come. At that time, it won't be that we won't have meat to eat, it will be that we won't want to eat it!"
In the summer of 1976, there was still a year left before the end of the revolution, and two years before Chen Yun could go home at will, as he longed for.
After walking through streets teeming with chickens and ducks, and buying a cup of fermented rice water from a roadside vendor to fill my kettle, the supply and marketing cooperative finally appeared before me.
The green door panels were removed and casually placed on both sides, and the 50-centimeter-high threshold was covered with mud and chicken and duck droppings.
Two women, a few steps ahead of Chen Yun and the others, skillfully scraped the soles of their shoes off the threshold, leaving a thick layer of mud before happily walking inside.
"Buy pork here, beef over there... Buy with your ticket, don't waste your time here if you don't have one."
The most crowded place in the supply and marketing cooperative was undoubtedly the pork counter, which was packed with people, with layers upon layers of people blocking the way.
Meanwhile, the beef counter opposite was completely empty, with the sales clerk idly waving a towel to shoo away flies.
Chen Yun took out the meat coupons he had saved for two months and handed them over.
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