Although the young girl is honest, she has a high level of political awareness; otherwise, she wouldn't have been recommended by the production team to take the exam and get this sought-after job.
The usually docile and obedient young girl suddenly erupted, denouncing Xu Zhenzhu as a capitalist hedonist who actually expected working-class people, both politically reliable and professionally competent, to serve her and even pay for it? Wasn't this the behavior of a bourgeois rich girl?
Xu Zhenzhu dared not accept this accusation.
Instead of crying first, she turned the tables and accused the girl of disliking her, thus slandering her! Her family had been poor peasants for three generations, and her brother was a worker; their family background was perfectly innocent!
The two had a falling out and were both criticized by their superiors. They had to write self-criticisms before the matter was finally brought to a head.
However, they moved the girl to another dormitory, separating her from Xu Zhenzhu.
Xu Zhenzhu became famous overnight, and everyone avoided her like the plague.
Instead of restraining herself, she felt that everyone was afraid of her and knew how powerful she was.
She decided to have Xu Erya and Xu Sanya take turns coming to wash her clothes and tidy up her house every few days, and bring her some good food along the way.
Everyone secretly gossiped about Xu Zhenzhu's behavior, but it was ultimately a family matter, and outsiders couldn't say anything.
Anyway, I keep my distance from them during my daily work hours.
Everyone tries to stay as far away as possible from anything related to Xu Zhenzhu.
The people of the Unity Brigade were unaware of all this and happily rushed to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Perhaps because everyone had some free time, the supply and marketing cooperative was exceptionally crowded these past two days, packed with people. It was difficult for people outside to squeeze in, and it wasn't easy for people inside to get out either.
Several impatient aunties from the Unity Brigade squeezed in using their own strength, by using their buttocks and elbows.
All I could see were heads, so I unconsciously followed the flow of people and walked along the counter where it was set up, until I finally saw Xu Zhenzhu at the very back.
While the other sales clerks were all busy, Xu Zhenzhu sat behind the counter, knitting a sweater. Judging from the color of the yarn, it was probably for Lu Kai.
After finally squeezing their way to Xu Zhenzhu, several aunties wiped their sweat and waved to her, calling out, "Zhenzhu, Zhenzhu—".
A few days ago, Xu Zhenzhu had a batch of wool yarn at the supply and marketing cooperative. She grabbed six and a half ounces and planned to knit a sweater for Lu Kai as a token of her affection, since she had nothing to do at work anyway.
I've only just started, the hem is only an inch long, and I'm about to start the main body. I was counting the stitches and planning to add more when someone called out to me. I jumped, and the knitting needles in my hand came loose. I forgot how many stitches I counted.
She immediately got annoyed, raised her head with a stern face, and when she saw that it was a few women from the Tuanjie Brigade, her expression didn't change: "What are you shouting for? I'm not deaf! What's the matter?"
As she spoke, she bent down and carefully hooked the loose needles back into place.
The women looked at each other, surprised that Xu Zhenzhu would have such an attitude.
I realized that I must have scared them, which is why they looked so unwell.
They comforted each other, and the first person looked around cautiously before asking, "Pearl, we were just thinking of buying some good stuff at the supply and marketing cooperative after the double harvest. Well, Pearl, could you do us a favor? Everything else is easy to do, but your sister Yanzi is getting married soon, and she's almost done with everything else except for a bright red quilt cover. Could you help us find a way to spare one?"
"When your sister Yanzi gets married, please go and accompany the bride, and sit at the head table in her parents' home!"
"Pearl, do you have any of those Liberation Shoes? Your brother Daqing is going on a blind date, and he wants to buy a pair of those!"
...
The other women behind them also chimed in with their own requests, which were quite varied.
Sewing kits, soaps, and fabrics were all in high demand.
Xu Zhenzhu rolled her eyes, put the knitting needles aside, and said impatiently, "You didn't even give me a heads-up. Where am I supposed to get these for you now?"
Several aunties smiled ingratiatingly: "Pearl, isn't it because your aunties know you're capable? If others can't do it, why can't you? Your future husband's family are high-ranking officials in the county; who would dare not give you face?"
These words struck a chord with Xu Zhenzhu, and a smile finally appeared on her face: "Just you wait!"
He then swaggered over to the next counter, said a few words to the sales clerk there, and the clerk's expression changed, and she waved her hands and shook her head repeatedly.
Xu Zhenzhu's face darkened, and she said something else before walking to another counter.
The sales clerk was already extremely busy, so she pretended not to see her and focused on attending to the customers at the counter.
Xu Zhenzhu's face turned pale and then red. She never expected that all she asked for was for everyone to leave her a few things, but these people pretended to be confused and refused to give them to her.
Wasn't this kind of thing commonplace within the supply and marketing cooperatives in the past?
Why can't she do it when it's her turn?
She suppressed her rage, knowing that she couldn't afford to have a conflict with her colleague at this moment, or she would have to write another self-criticism.
She wasn't afraid to write a self-criticism, but it wouldn't be good if the news got to the Lu family.
He was about to give up and ignore it, but when he looked back, he saw those aunties from the production team still staring at him expectantly.
If this matter doesn't go through, these aunties who just said so many nice things will probably go back to the brigade and tell everyone.
Wouldn't that mean the entire production team would know she'd embarrassed herself?
No way! She'll swallow this anger for now! After she marries Lu Kai, all these people will be begging her for mercy!
After convincing herself, Xu Zhenzhu gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes, walked over to one of the people, and muttered a few words.
The man's face lit up with joy, and after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
Not long after, the man came forward and gave Xu Zhenzhu the receipts for everything she had requested.
Xu Zhenzhu collected money and tickets from several aunties in the production team, clipped them to the ticket rack, and tossed them down the wire above her head to the accounting area.
After they received the money, stamped the receipt, and sent it back, she carried all the items to the counter.
Seeing that things were going smoothly, the aunties were all beaming with joy and kept praising Xu Zhenzhu for a long time, wishing they could lift her up to the heavens.
Customers outside the counter were displeased by what they saw.
However, they didn't dare to cause trouble, for fear of offending the supply and marketing cooperative. If that happened, the cooperative wouldn't sell them anything, which would be terrible.
However, everyone looked at Xu Zhenzhu with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Xu Zhenzhu felt increasingly unhappy, feeling that she had not only lost face today because of these few people, but also owed a favor and was resented, which was a huge loss.
His expression wasn't pleasant, and he waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, take your things and leave! Don't come looking for me again!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the women who had been happy suddenly froze. Their joy and pride vanished instantly, replaced by embarrassment.
Putting everything else aside, these women are all members of the Xu family, and are considered Xu Zhenzhu's elders. How could anyone feel comfortable being humiliated in public by a junior like this?
However, considering what they had already gotten, the group forced smiles and said, "Alright, alright, Pearl, you go ahead and do your thing! We won't hold you up any longer!"
After saying that, he picked up his things and squeezed out of the supply and marketing cooperative.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, the group looked at each other and sighed.
The excitement of buying things vanished completely; everyone buried themselves in their journey, not daring to utter a single word.
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