Chapter 122 Office Area
Lin Yuanshu gave a disapproving look and said emphatically, "If that's how you put it, then I'll be embarrassed to accept the dumplings you brought. It's not that I'm being too polite, it's that you're being too polite. It's normal for neighbors to give and receive each other."
The plump woman's eyes darted around, and she immediately said, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu is right. I won't stand on ceremony with you. Your Xiangyang's cooking skills are superb. I'm in for a treat today."
"That's how it should be."
While answering the plump woman's question, Lin Yuanshu took out three jars of meat sauce from the kitchen and handed them to the three people.
The plump woman accepted one of the jars of meat sauce without hesitation, leaving Sister Xia and Sister Yao somewhat at a loss for what to do.
After all, Lin Yuanshu had already said so much, and if they continued to politely refuse, it would seem like they weren't giving Lin Yuanshu face.
They had no choice but to take it; they felt like they were on fire, and nothing felt right to them.
Seeing that Sister Xia and Sister Yao hadn't made a move, the plump woman simply took the remaining two jars of meat sauce from Lin Yuanshu's hands and stuffed them into Sister Xia and Sister Yao's hands, saying with a smile, "They're so happy they can't speak."
Hearing this, Sister Xia and Sister Yao's faces turned ugly. Looking at the "hot potato" in their hands, they resented the fat aunt for meddling. If the fat aunt hadn't interfered today, they would definitely have been able to get along well with Lin Yuanshu.
Sister Yao took a deep breath, quickly composed herself, and put on a smile again. She said in a friendly tone, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu, thank you for the meat sauce. We won't stand on ceremony then. If you ever encounter any trouble in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to lend a hand."
Sister Xia nodded, indicating her agreement with Sister Yao's words.
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow, not taking Sister Yao's words to heart. Compared to these two, she preferred spending time with the plump aunt. Although the plump aunt sometimes spoke without thinking, she didn't have many ulterior motives.
She smiled and said politely, "No need to thank me. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. We are destined to be neighbors, so let's get along well in the future."
Sister Xia and Sister Yao were originally planning to say a few words to Lin Yuanshu to get closer to him, but the fat aunt couldn't stand it anymore. This cultured man always dragged his feet when he talked, going back and forth without end.
She grabbed Sister Yao's arm and led her outside, saying, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu is so tired, let's not disturb her and let her rest."
Upon hearing this, Sister Xia showed a helpless expression on her face and reluctantly followed the fat woman out. After all, if they continued chatting, it would be seen as her being tactless, knowing that Comrade Lin Yuanshu was so tired, yet still bothering him.
After the three of them left, Lin Yuanshu decisively closed the door and sighed, "It's true that when you're popular, everyone fawns over you. Next time they come to give me something, I'll refuse if I can. If I can't refuse, I'll just give them a small gift in return. I can't let them leave empty-handed."
Zhou Xiangyang said confidently, "I can definitely refuse. I'm best at refusing people."
Lin Yuanshu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. What he said was true. Zhou Xiangyang was best at using directness to overcome indirectness, and his ideas would not change because of what others said.
She patted Zhou Xiangyang on the shoulder solemnly, "Then next time they come, this matter will be left to you to handle."
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission!" Zhou Xiangyang said confidently, delighted that he could help his wife.
Lin Yuanshu and Zhou Xiangyang were getting along very well, but the atmosphere between the chubby aunt, Sister Xia, and Sister Yao was not so pleasant.
Sister Xia looked at the plump woman with disdain and couldn't help but complain, "Some people are just like dogs catching mice, meddling in other people's business. Only country folk would do something so rude."
The plump woman glared angrily at Sister Xia and said sarcastically, "You're just getting angry because you're embarrassed. It's because I was there that your schemes didn't succeed. So what if I'm from the countryside? At least I'm not as mercenary as you. You only try to curry favor with Comrade Lin Yuanshu when there's something to gain, and then pretend you don't see him when there's nothing to gain. It's only because Comrade Lin Yuanshu is magnanimous and doesn't bother with you. If it were me, I wouldn't have the patience to tolerate you."
Sister Yao's expression was extremely ugly. She rebuked, "What nonsense are you spouting? We want to get along well with Comrade Lin Yuanshu simply because we are neighbors, there's no other reason. People with heart disease see everything as dirty."
The plump woman rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay attention to these two stubborn people, and went home on her own. Anyway, she had achieved her goal for today and successfully prevented the two from getting close to Lin Yuanshu.
Sister Xia and Sister Yao were both seething with anger and went home with grim expressions. It was the first time they had been called mercenary and shrewish, which made them not want to see the fat aunt or Lin Yuanshu anymore.
As night fell, Sister Yao's husband came home from get off work, sat down and sighed, and told Sister Yao about how he had failed to join the penicillin improvement project team.
Sister Yao asked instinctively, "Did Sister Xia's husband join?"
Sister Yao's husband shook his head and said softly, "None of us were able to join. Comrade Lin Yuanshu usually seems quite amiable with a smile, but when she gets to work, it's like she's a completely different person. She's very imposing, and I don't even dare to joke around in front of her."
Sister Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Sister Xia's husband couldn't join them either, otherwise she would have been even more upset.
On second thought, since her husband hadn't been able to join Lin Yuanshu's project team, there was no need for her to continue cultivating a good relationship with Lin Yuanshu.
She smiled and comforted him, "It's not a big deal if you couldn't join. There will definitely be other opportunities in the future, so there's no need to be too discouraged."
Sister Yao's husband agreed with her words, saying, "I just feel it's a pity that we couldn't seize this opportunity. We finally got to go for the interview, but we still weren't selected. When you're free, don't always go to Sister Xia's place. Go chat with Comrade Lin Yuanshu more often and build a relationship. That way, she'll speak up for me when there's an opportunity in the future. Don't wait until the opportunity comes before you go to build a relationship."
He personally has high hopes for Lin Yuanshu's future. If Lin Yuanshu can really complete the task of improving the penicillin production process, promotion will be a piece of cake.
Sister Yao was a little unhappy. She muttered under her breath, "You have no idea what happened today. The fat auntie treated us like thieves. If I went near Comrade Lin Yuanshu, it would be like I was asking to be ignored and to offer my face to the fat auntie for humiliation."
Sister Yao's husband couldn't help but frown, his expression serious, and asked, "Is it that Comrade Lin Yuanshu is ignoring you?"
Sister Yao subconsciously shook her head and said truthfully, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu didn't say anything unpleasant and was quite hospitable to us, but when the fat aunt said those things, she didn't speak up for us. It was obvious that she was biased towards the fat aunt..."
Sister Yao's husband retorted softly, "Comrade Lin Yuanshu and Auntie Pang are on better terms. It's like if Auntie Pang and Sister Xia had a disagreement, would you side with Auntie Pang? As long as Comrade Lin Yuanshu doesn't dislike you, it's not a big problem. If Comrade Lin Yuanshu weren't a young woman, I would have already invited her to drink with me. I wouldn't need your help!"
Sister Yao: "..."
If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to help with this.
If it weren't for the fat auntie, she would have been happy to deal with Lin Yuanshu, since Lin Yuanshu was much easier to get along with than the fat auntie.
"Well, considering we're all family, I'll try my best to get along well with Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
Sister Yao ultimately chose to give in, after all, her husband's chance to get a promotion and a raise was more important than her suffering a little.
Sister Xia's situation is similar. Her husband has instructed her to find a way to get along well with Lin Yuanshu, and that this matter cannot be abandoned halfway.
Both of them felt a little regretful. If they had known things would turn out this way, they should have cultivated a good relationship with Lin Yuanshu from the beginning.
Even if we weren't that close, we were at least neighbors who could talk to each other! It wouldn't be like this now, where I have to find a way to get close to Lin Yuanshu.
The next day, after Lin Yuanshu went to work, Director Huang's assistant took him to the building next to the microbial fermentation laboratory.
The assistant walked to the door of the storage room at the end of the first-floor corridor, stopped, pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and explained in a low voice, "Please tidy up this room and use it as your temporary office area. I'm sorry to trouble you for now, but it's just extra space in the office area near the laboratory building. I will definitely arrange for you to move there when there is space available."
Lin Yuanshu pushed open the door and went in, and immediately smelled a strong dusty odor. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and nose, glanced around the storage room, and quickly left. The smell was really unbearable.
She stood at the door and whispered to her assistant, "I won't make things difficult for you. I can use this as my office. But I'll need you to put in some effort with the desks, chairs, and filing cabinets. I don't require them to be new; old ones are fine too. Oh, and we need to install a fan on the roof, otherwise it will be too hot in the summer."
After listening to Lin Yuanshu's words, the assistant couldn't help but sigh, "Thank you for understanding my predicament. But then again, with your renovation, this storage room feels much better than the other people's work areas. It can be called a 'private work area.' It's spacious, and we don't have to share a desk with others. I can't make the decision about the fan. You have to write an application according to the regulations and submit it, and wait for the director's approval."
To be honest, Lin Yuanshu was quite satisfied with this storage room. At least it was a semi-enclosed space, so she didn't have to worry about strangers coming over and touching her experimental records, and her data wouldn't be mixed up with other people's data.
"I'll take care of the fan. You can handle the tables and chairs. If you have a metal cabinet, that would be great. If not, a filing cabinet will do," Lin Yuanshu instructed earnestly.
The assistant agreed without hesitation. After discussing the next steps with Lin Yuanshu, he left.
Lin Yuanshu went to the microbial fermentation laboratory. She planned to meet with the team members first and then help them tidy up the storage room, as she couldn't manage it by herself.
Before long, a man and a woman cautiously entered the laboratory. The woman approached Lin Yuanshu somewhat reservedly and tentatively asked, "Professor, are you a member of the penicillin improvement project team?"
Lin Yuanshu nodded decisively in acknowledgment and said with a smile, "You two must be newly assigned interns!"
She had met most of the team members, but she hadn't met the assistant researcher and two interns transferred from the First Research Institute yet. Since the two interns didn't seem to have any work experience, they must be interns.
The reasoning is so simple it's boring.
The woman was taken aback, not expecting that her identity would be so accurately identified by the woman in front of her. She replied softly, "Yes, because of the school, we were assigned a few months later than other college students."
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of the laboratory door being pushed open came from the outside. Hong Shuang'er walked into the laboratory and, upon seeing Lin Yuanshu, excitedly said, "Team Leader Lin, it's been such a long time! It's great that we can work together again. I'm really looking forward to this day. I feel full of energy right now, just waiting for you to assign me a task."
Lin Yuanshu looked at Hong Shuang'er and teased her with a smile, "Your energy came at just the right time. Once everyone's here, we'll go tidy up the storage room; that'll be our future office area."
Upon hearing this, Hong Shuang'er deflated. She hated cleaning the most and would rather work all day than spend half a day cleaning. "We are responsible for such an important project, but Director Huang has not arranged an office area for us! He is just using a storage room to fob us off."
Lin Yuanshu explained in a serious tone, "There's nothing we can do about it. The office areas near the lab building are highly sought after. It's fine to put one or two people in there, but there's simply no room for our whole group. The storage room is also quite good; at least it's quiet, and we can take a nap at our workstations at noon."
Hong Shuang'er only complained verbally. After all, it was the leader's arrangement, and no matter how dissatisfied she was, she could only accept it. She had no right to bargain with the leader.
She agreed, saying, "You're right."
The woman looked at Lin Yuanshu with admiration. She hadn't expected that the leader of the penicillin improvement project team would be a woman, and she was even more surprised that this woman was so young.
She had only recently returned to Beijing. Before that, she had attended a worker-peasant-soldier university in another city, so she didn't know much about the Dongfanghong Research Institute, and naturally, she didn't know Lin Yuanshu either.
After chatting for a while, the project team members entered the laboratory one after another. Lin Yuanshu first had everyone introduce themselves and get to know each other, then led everyone to clean the storage room.
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