The library is a small courtyard house. The main house and the east wing house books, while the west wing and two rear rooms serve as offices and storage rooms.
The courtyard inside wasn't very big, and there were a few wintersweet trees planted there.
The snow on the roof hadn't completely melted; the black tiles, red plum blossoms, and white snow created a rather picturesque scene.
The main gate was also inconspicuous, and even the sign for the Dongcheng District Library was dusty and grime-covered, making it stand out as particularly shabby among the surrounding government offices.
There are only a few staff members in the library, besides a director and a deputy director, there are only four or five administrative staff.
Moreover, they all looked quite old, and they were either holding teacups or openly knitting sweaters with a ball of yarn in their hands.
Sun Zhou took Xu Ningyan to see the director first.
The director's surname was You. He was an old man who was about fifty years old. He was thin, wore glasses, and was engrossed in reading a book.
Hearing that Xu Ningyan had come to report for duty, he nodded, then gestured to find the deputy director, before burying himself back in his book.
It was the middle-aged woman knitting in the next office who heard the commotion and took the initiative to bring the person next door and introduce them to the deputy director.
The deputy director, surnamed Qiu, seemed quite amiable.
After receiving Xu Ningyan's letter of introduction, he quickly completed the onboarding procedures.
They also took the opportunity to introduce the basic information about the library.
The predecessor of Dongcheng District Library was originally a university library open to the public, and its address was not here, but in the two-story building next door.
However, the two-story building was later requisitioned by another unit, which then vacated this small courtyard for them.
The library wasn't much after the search, but it could still hold a few books.
On weekdays, other people work six days a week, or they don't get any rest at all.
Since no one comes to the library anyway, all they need to do is clean it every now and then, prevent the books from getting damp and infested with insects during the rainy season, and bring the books out to air them in the summer. That's about all they need to do.
I basically just come here to drink tea every day, sit for eight hours, and then go home.
Moreover, it's a three-day-off-three-days-on-four-days-on-work schedule.
Deputy Director Qiu's words were quite clear: the people who come to work here have no ambition and just want to coast along.
I come to get off work and leave on time every day. If I need to take leave or switch shifts, I can do it. As long as I don't cause trouble, life is very leisurely.
Upon hearing this, Sun Zhou glanced at Xu Ningyan with some concern, worried that she might find it offensive.
To her surprise, Xu Ningyan's eyes lit up! Good heavens! This is even more leisurely than she imagined! She could work this kind of job for a million years!
He immediately stated that he would definitely follow everyone's lead, advance and retreat together, and would absolutely not hold everyone back!
Deputy Director Qiu expressed great satisfaction, saying that this was exactly the kind of easygoing, non-controversial, and non-aggressive colleague they needed!
Sun Zhou's lips twitched. How could this unit possibly drag us down?
Seeing Xu Ningyan so happy and not at all disgusted, the middle-aged woman knitting next to her was also amused and took the initiative to pull Xu Ningyan aside to introduce her to other colleagues.
Xu Ningyan waved to Sun Zhou: "Brother Sun, you can go back now! You don't need to worry about me here! I'm sure I can get along with everyone!"
He happily followed the aunt.
Sun Zhou shook his head, realizing he had worried for nothing. He gave Deputy Director Qiu a few more instructions before leaving.
The woman knitting the sweater was surnamed Zhang, so Xu Ningyan called her Sister Zhang.
Sister Zhang is quick-witted and articulate; she introduced all her colleagues in just a few words.
Apart from the two directors (one chief and one deputy), the rest are all clerks.
Earning a salary of around thirty yuan and working three days on and four days off, I am quite content.
Besides Sister Zhang, there were four other people, two men and two women, all of whom looked to be quite old.
There were two men, one surnamed Wang and the other surnamed Hu, and two female colleagues, one surnamed Gao and the other surnamed Deng.
They were all polite and amiable people.
Xu Ningyan has a sweet tongue; she calls her two male colleagues "Big Brother" and her two female colleagues "Big Sister."
These colleagues were all a bit socially awkward, and they felt uneasy seeing Xu Ningyan being so enthusiastic.
I spent half a day with Sister Zhang, first getting to know all her colleagues, and then taking a tour of the library.
The library didn't look very big when you came in, but I didn't expect it to be such a hidden gem at the back.
Passing through the moon gate next to the main house, you enter a large, open courtyard, which must have been a corner of someone's back garden in the past.
There are a few trees and a few Taihu stones planted there, but nothing else.
According to Sister Zhang, this open space was specifically reserved for drying books every year. It's usually idle, and they don't dare to plant too many trees, so it looks bare.
Xu Ningyan was happy; having this big courtyard was great, at least it gave the lackeys a place to run wild.
After we finished walking around, it was noon.
By the time they came from the backyard to the front, everyone had already packed up their things and was about to lock up and leave work.
Sister Zhang put the yarn she had been working on back into her office and came out to greet Xu Ningyan: "It's time to go home for dinner! Just come back to work at 2 p.m. this afternoon! I'll make you two keys this afternoon, one for the main gate and one for the office. I'll also find you a set of tables and chairs from the storeroom, and you'll be all set."
Xu Ningyan already knew that Sister Zhang was essentially in charge of logistics at the library, and all of these things were under her management.
We politely thanked Sister Zhang, and then everyone left the library, locked the door, and went home—some rode bikes, some took the bus, and some walked.
Xu Ningyan ate lunch at noon and took a short nap before heading to work with her things.
I arrived at work at exactly two o'clock.
After waiting a short while, I saw Sister Zhang arrive on her bicycle to open the door.
Once the two entered the courtyard, Sister Zhang handed Xu Ningyan two keys, telling her which one was the key to the main gate and which one was the key to the office.
He also told her that the keys to the main house and the east wing were hanging on the office wall.
Everyone arrived at work one after another. Sister Zhang called out to them, and Brother Wang and Brother Hu went to the warehouse and rummaged around for a while before bringing out a set of desks and chairs, which they placed in the office.
Their offices were in the west wing, which consisted of three rooms.
The director has one room, the deputy director and two male colleagues have one room, and the remaining room is for Sister Zhang and her female colleague.
The side room was quite spacious, easily accommodating four tables.
The people there were probably all refined individuals, and they were all steeped in the culture of books, so the office was particularly elegant.
Everyone had their own spot, and each person had a green plant on their table: pothos, orchids, roses, daffodils, and asparagus ferns.
Especially in the middle office of the deputy director, presumably someone who likes to grow flowers, there was a wooden shelf against the wall filled with all kinds of plants.
After Xu Ningyan cleaned and arranged the tables and chairs, she also put away the large tea mug and tea leaves she had brought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
