The few who were there looked down on him, a grown man, for working in the textile factory...
Wang Jingjiang was extremely frustrated, but fortunately there was someone of his own age there, so he became "friends" with Chen Ke without thinking.
Chen Ke thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but the moment he stood at his workstation and started operating, his hands almost had muscle memory. He not only knew how to do it, but he was also quite fast.
"Hey, I'm asking you, don't keep it from me too. Is the union going to give you a different job?" Wang Jingjiang said, feeling a little panicked. He didn't want to be left here alone.
"Do you think jobs are like cabbages, something you can just switch from whenever you want?" Although Chen Ke didn't know Wang Jingjiang well, he could tell from their usual chat messages that Wang Jingjiang's family was probably well-off.
Wang Jingjiang curled his lip, "How could I dare to treat it like a cabbage? This lousy job was arranged by my dad after I begged him for a long time."
"Sigh, I don't know how much longer I'll have to work here. I wish I hadn't come. It's all my childhood friend's fault. He said the textile factory had the most beautiful girls. I'll give him a good beating when I get the chance..."
Chen Ke spent the morning listening to Wang Jingjiang's rambling. On the contrary, he felt that this job was very suitable for Wang Jingjiang. Otherwise, no other position would allow employees to talk so much.
At noon, Wang Jingjiang dragged Chen Ke to lunch. When they got their food, Wang Jingjiang's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw that Chen Ke had surprisingly ordered a dish of cabbage, pork, and vermicelli.
"You actually bought meat and vegetables? Did the sun rise in the west today? No, you're not thinking of taking the vegetables back for your younger siblings, are you? Let me tell you, they'll spoil if left out in this weather all afternoon."
Chen Ke handed over the food coupons and took his lunchbox, saying calmly, "No, I'll eat by myself."
Wang Jingjiang was even more surprised, but then he gave Chen Ke a thumbs up, "Congratulations on finally realizing that you are a human being and not a god."
Wang Jingjiang had also prepared his own food, but his meal was much more substantial than Chen Ke's: plain rice, cabbage, pork, vermicelli, and stir-fried potato shreds, unlike Chen Ke, who rarely served meat dishes but only porridge.
It wasn't that Chen Ke was reluctant to part with it; he was simply short of money.
“I’m telling you, you should have done this a long time ago. Your younger siblings are important, but aren’t you important too? Besides, you’re still growing. Who can stand eating porridge and cornbread every day?”
Chen Ke nodded in agreement. Besides overwork, the original owner's sudden death was also due to long-term malnutrition.
A 20-year-old is only 175 cm tall. Chen Ke from the last century, who was weak and sickly since childhood, was still 177 cm tall.
The two found an empty seat and sat down to eat. Wang Jingjiang looked at the food in his bowl and sighed, "Sigh, the canteen's food is getting worse and worse. Before, there was braised pork, a pure meat dish. Now, the pork in the cabbage, pork, and vermicelli dish is just minced pork."
"It's good enough to have something to eat, why are you complaining? I heard the supply will be even tighter next month, and I don't know if we'll even be able to get minced pork then," a young man next to me interjected.
As Chen Ke ate, he listened, thinking that a great famine was coming. If he continued to do this job, they would probably be among those who had ration coupons but couldn't get food.
"Then hurry up and eat, lest you have no food to eat next." Wang Jingjiang had a fiery temper and couldn't stand being talked back to.
Seeing Wang Jingjiang's imposing presence, the man awkwardly shut his mouth and buried his head in his food.
"Do you want to go back to the rest room for a nap later?" The rest room that Wang Jingjiang mentioned was actually the workshop's storage room, but it was usually used by female comrades and a few very old men. Chen Ke had never been there.
"No, I have something to do later."
Wang Jingjiang looked regretful as he listened, "I really wanted to rest for a while at noon, but it was full of middle-aged and elderly women, and I felt embarrassed to go alone."
"Let's find some shade under a tree and take a nap."
"Forget it, I don't want to be mosquito food."
The two finished their meal while talking, and as they parted ways, Wang Jingjiang frowned at Chen Ke and said, "What do you need in the middle of the day?"
"I'll tell you when I get back." Chen Ke rinsed the lunchbox, put the lid on, and left.
Wang Jingjiang watched Chen Ke's departing figure thoughtfully.
Chen Ke shook the water off the lunchbox and put it into a cloth bag. Nowadays, you can just rinse the dishes with water; there's no oil involved.
Chen Ke, carrying the bag, knocked on Feng Liangchen's office door.
Feng Liangchen had just finished eating and returned. As soon as he opened the door and saw Chen Ke, he immediately smiled and said, "Come in quickly. I was just wondering when you would come over. Should I ask Xiao Zhou to come and call you?"
Chen Ke smiled and said, "I've been keeping such an important matter in mind."
"Young man, it's good to be ambitious. Here, this is a form. Fill it out and see which major you should choose."
Chen Ke picked up the watch and glanced at it. The selection of majors was pitifully small. But this wasn't a proper university after all, so it was good enough to have something to study at.
Accounting, textiles, beekeeping... No wonder it's an adult university, it's very practical. There's even a pig farming major. By then, everyone will have a book on postpartum care for sows.
Chen Ke glanced over the area, his gaze finally settling on the mechanical manufacturing.
Seeing this, Feng Liangchen spoke up, "This major is actually set up specifically for comrades in steel mills and machinery factories. Some apprentices learn the skills well from their masters, but their theoretical knowledge is a mess. They only care about passing on the skills but don't know how to innovate. So the school specially set up this course to supplement their theoretical knowledge."
The implication is that these courses are for people with a certain foundation; if you don't have a foundation, you should choose carefully.
"Actually, I think you should choose accounting—"
Before Feng Liangchen could finish speaking, Chen Ke checked the box in the Mechanical Manufacturing column.
"This has been my hobby since I was a child, and I want to learn it whenever I have the chance."
Seeing the hope and longing in Chen Ke's eyes, Feng Liangchen swallowed the words he was about to say.
Well, they say interest is the best teacher. What if Chen Ke really has a talent for this? After all, he's the one who fixed such a professional broadcasting system.
After Chen Ke chose his major, he started filling in his personal information. Just as he was filling it in, the office door rang.
Feng Liangchen gestured for Chen Ke to stop writing and then said, "Come in."
The junior clerk who came in was covered in sweat and looked indignant. "Director, the technician from Steel Plant No. 1 said he couldn't come today because of something. I think it was just an excuse for him not to come. When I went there, he was still drinking tea in his office! What should we do?"
"Xiao Gao, don't worry, our factory workers have already fixed our broadcast system."
Gao Jin looked surprised. "We have such a talent in our factory? Who is it? Is it one of the factory's veteran maintenance workers?"
Feng Liangchen was in a very good mood and smiled smugly, "I'm not some master craftsman, but a junior craftsman. Here, take this."
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