On July 18, 1998, it was pouring rain. I took my registration card to the County Personnel Bureau to report, but I ran up and down the stairs several times but still couldn't get it done.
The person in charge said that the flood situation this year is serious. The Yangtze River Basin has experienced a once-in-a-century flood. The situation in the Northeast is not optimistic either. Most people have been transferred to do flood prevention drills. I am afraid I will not be able to finish my work today.
While I was communicating with the clerk, a middle-aged, overweight man looked at the registration card on the desk from behind me and said in surprise: "Hey, man, you are assigned to our factory."
The staff introduced me to Chief Xin, the Personnel Department of the auto parts factory, and joked, "Student, you have finally found an organization. When you get to the factory, you can arrange a job with Chief Xin."
I was at a loss for what to do for a moment and politely greeted Section Chief Xin.
Section Chief Xin seemed very enthusiastic. He chatted with me for a few words and finally said to me, "Guan Hongjun, you can't finish your work at the Personnel Bureau today anyway, so come with me to the factory and get familiar with the environment first."
That was the first time I stepped into an auto parts factory. This was also my first workplace after graduation.
He took me to the machining workshop, introduced me to the basic situation of the workshop, and boasted about the new CNC lathe purchased by the factory. However, his description of the lathe's performance was completely irrelevant, and to me, a professional, it seemed like he was showing off his skills in front of an expert.
It seemed like a simple and familiar situation, but it gave me a sense of foreboding.
According to the situation of county-owned enterprises at that time, a college graduate should at least be assigned to a technical department, and the possibility of being assigned to a front-line position is very small. Why did Section Chief Xin only take me to the machine shop?
Soon my premonition came true, and after entering the factory, I was assigned to the machine shop as an ordinary worker.
During the break and casual chat, my friends expressed sympathy for my situation, but they also felt angry.
Some people asked me if I didn't give any gifts. Some people said that I didn't give any gifts, because two college students came to our company this year, and there was only one vacancy in the technical department, so whoever had connections could go.
Someone who knew the inside story told me that the other college student was the nephew of the deputy director.
Everything has settled down and there is nothing that can be done.
I accept my fate.
The workshop manager wanted me to work on the CNC lathe, but I disagreed because it was too boring to repeatedly load the blanks onto the machine and then unload and process the finished parts.
The workshop manager looked at me like I was a fool and said, "Don't you really understand? CNC lathes are easy, but ordinary lathes are hard work."
I still insist on my opinion, not for others, but because I am not a fish on the chopping board, allowing others to cut it as they please.
More importantly, I don't want to leave myself too much free time to think about what happened in college.
Labor punishes humanity, and it is also an important attribute of the nature of labor.
So I was assigned to an ordinary lathe, and my master was a man in his thirties.
He joined the Red Army, and by chance, the last two characters of his name and I have the same pronunciation.
When he heard my name, he grinned and gave me a warning: "Guan Hongjun, you have to put on airs as a college student when you learn from me. There is still a gap between theory and practice. Don't be too ambitious. Working on a lathe is hard and dangerous. You have to be fully alert all the time."
Being robbed by him for no reason made me depressed for a long time.
He also took an apprentice, a girl named Zhang Fangfang, who was a graduate of the county technical school.
The first impression she gave was that she was not pretty, but very simple and hardworking. When she had nothing to do, she would use a rag to wipe the lathe until it was shiny.
When we were alone together, the admiration and respect in her eyes was the most caring and comforting thing to me during the time when I first joined the factory.
Once, she whispered to me, "My master is also a college student and started out as an apprentice. The people in the technical department have to ask him for help when they encounter problems."
From then on, I had great respect for my master Fu Hongjun and never dared to contradict him again because of my status as a college student.
After that, Fu Hongjun started working in a workshop and later became a famous entrepreneur in the county. Whenever he had free time, he would invite me to his factory for tea and would say to me from time to time: "Hongjun, I did a bad thing back then."
What is the good thing? It is matchmaking.
He introduced me to Zhang Fangfang.
Half a year after I joined the factory, he pulled me aside one day and asked me, "How about I introduce you to someone?"
My mental state at that time was: I was deeply hurt by love, there is no greater sorrow than death, and it didn't matter which woman I married and had children, as long as I could live a simple and ordinary life, I would be satisfied.
So without hesitation, I asked, "Who is it?"
He said, "Zhang Fangfang."
Amid the noise of the workshop, I thought I had heard wrongly, so I asked again, "Who?"
He leaned over to my ear and shouted, "Your Senior Sister!"
I wasn't surprised, nor did I feel out of place; everything just happened so naturally.
That night I went to the cinema with Zhang Fangfang to watch the movie "Stealing Joy" starring Feng Gong.
I originally insisted on not going to the movies because I was afraid of being reminded of the past when I watched a movie with Zhou Xintong.
But she didn't know that I still had a scar inside that hadn't scabbed off yet and had to be removed.
I accommodated her, and seeing her happiness and satisfaction when watching the movie, I mistakenly thought that she should be a woman who was easily contented.
After the movie, I treated her to a midnight snack at a street stall.
I wanted to order some delicious food for her, but she refused to let me.
She also told me in a convincing manner not to spend money recklessly in the future, saying that money is needed everywhere in life and I must be thrifty. She has become my housekeeper.
Seeing her eat the cheapest food with gusto, I suddenly felt very ashamed. Maybe this is what it means to live a life with fireworks. I used to be suspended in the air, neither high nor low.
Since then, I often remind myself to be more realistic and down-to-earth, because I no longer have anything to be proud of.
During the holiday, my roommates all went home to celebrate the holiday, and I was left alone in the dormitory.
In the evening, she came to see me and brought me some delicious food.
After she washed the dishes for me, she blushed and said to me, "I'm not leaving tonight."
I didn't refuse.
I don't want to refuse. When a girl takes the initiative to ask for her body, any refusal will be hurtful.
I was reluctant to refuse, after all, a man in his prime had needs that were appropriate for his age.
My friend made a simple curtain out of a mattress sheet and covered the window tightly.
Then I turned off the lights, and in the darkness I heard her heavy breathing and the rustling sound of her undressing.
I wiped them with a wet towel, and she exclaimed in the dark: "What? Why is it so cold?"
Her words wiped out the emotions that had just been brewing in me.