Chapter Sixty-Eight: Two Part-Time Jobs
Lin Baozhu felt something was off, but she couldn't refuse. So she walked to the stone mill in the corner of the courtyard, and to everyone's astonishment, she bent down, hugged it, and with a slight dip of her legs—she steadily lifted the several-hundred-pound millstone off the ground, then easily raised it as if it were a cotton ball, even hefting it slightly! Her strength was greater than when she first arrived, and she didn't know her limits yet; she'd find something in her spatial storage to test them another day.
The bureau chief stared wide-eyed, and even rubbed his eyes hard!
"My God!"
The captain swallowed hard. He knew Baozhu was strong, but he hadn't expected her to be this strong! With that kind of strength, it would be a waste if she didn't become a beast of burden.
The bureau chief was stunned for a while before he regained his composure, his voice trembling with excitement: "This...this...yesterday someone said that in a moment of desperation you could smash a hole through a brick wall with a small hammer, and at first I didn't believe it! Today I've witnessed it for myself!"
At this point, he couldn't help but rub his hands together: "Comrade Baozhu, with your strength and alertness, it would be a huge waste of the country's valuable human resources if you didn't become a police officer!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu instinctively looked at her mother. She saw her mother sitting to the side, her face filled with worry and resistance, but when she met her daughter's gaze, she simply sighed softly and remained silent.
Lin Baozhu understood her thoughts, turned to the bureau chief, and said apologetically, "Thank you so much for valuing me so much. But... I just accepted a job offer from the county machinery factory today..."
"What?! With your skills, how come you're working in a machine factory?!"
"So... what's so good about that machine factory?"
The police chief grew anxious, his voice now filled with earnest persuasion, "Being a police officer is so prestigious! You're protected from all harm! When there are no assignments, you can sit in your office, drink tea, read the newspaper, and chat about work! How comfortable! You, a pretty young woman, would be stuck in a machine factory, rolling around in black machine oil every day, getting covered in filth and smelling like you can't wash it off—how...how disgusting! Take my advice, come to our police station! I'll make an exception and give you the highest salary level! I guarantee you won't be treated unfairly!"
Lin Baozhu coughed lightly, her posture relaxed, yet she precisely dropped the first "bombshell": "Comrade Director, I'm not going to the machine factory to be a worker. I'm leading the latest classified machine tool research and development project, and I'm the chief engineer of the project."
"...!!!" The police chief gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets! Chief Engineer?! She's only seventeen or eighteen?!
Before the bureau chief could process this shocking news, Lin Baozhu casually took a sip of water (imagine her holding a teacup), and then effortlessly dropped a second, even more devastating bombshell: "The reporters from the city came this morning to interview me about my previous major technical submission. Oh, by the way," she seemed to just remember, "Shao Hongyi, an expert from the city's machinery factory, even specially invited me today to join Academician Wang Zhengyuan's core research team." She paused, and as the bureau chief suddenly held his breath, she casually added the last sentence: "But I declined."
"...Wang, Wang Zhengyuan?!"
The bureau chief felt his throat tighten, his heart pounding! Old Wang?! That's…! Is this girl out of her mind? Why wouldn't she climb the ladder to heaven?! He slapped his thigh in anguish, his eyes filled with utter incomprehension as he looked at Lin Baozhu.
Seeing the bureau chief's expression, as if she had lost billions, Lin Baozhu chuckled inwardly. This was exactly the effect she wanted! Deliberately revealing this explosive information was to enhance her own prestige and elevate her status! To make these powerful figures understand—that Lin Baozhu had a bright future! In the future, they would have to give her some face when dealing with her.
At that moment, a glint of light flashed in the director's eyes...
Full-time work isn't an option? There's always another way to think about it, like...
"Comrade Baozhu!" He leaned closer eagerly. "How about this? Our bureau is currently short of a temporary staff member! It won't interfere with your work on big projects at the machine factory! We'll only invite you for special cases that require your expertise, and we'll absolutely respect your schedule! What do you think?"
After saying that, he seemed to think that wasn't enough, so he lowered his voice and said with a mysterious "sincerity": "Besides! Our bureau is full of talented young men! I heard you don't have a girlfriend yet? As long as you nod your head, I'm a professional matchmaker! I guarantee I'll introduce you to a good young man with impeccable character and a bright future!"
In any case, we must first bring people into the "our own" circle!
Lin Baozhu was overjoyed—she was just worried about how to get a name on the police system and open up more avenues of opportunity! This bureau chief was like a godsend!
Although she thought this way, she pretended to be hesitant, frowning and thinking for a moment before "reluctantly" gritting her teeth and saying, "Comrade Director... you've already put it this way, it would seem too ungrateful of me to refuse... Fine! I'll accept the title of consultant! However," she changed the subject, revealing her shrewdness, "even though it's just a nominal consultant, the compensation for my hard work... can't be less, right?"
"Give it! We must give it! We absolutely have to give it!"
The director breathed a sigh of relief and immediately made the decision, "Your salary will be set at 23.5 yuan a month for now! If you need to handle any difficult or urgent tasks, there will be an extra generous bonus! Comrade Lin, do you think this is appropriate?"
"Perfect!" Lin Baozhu nodded readily. An extra twenty yuan a month was a significant surprise for an ordinary farming family! The key was that she could also get extra bonuses for participating in the task!
More importantly, she's guaranteed a high salary of 125 yuan at the machine factory, which will give her more leverage in negotiations once "Baozhu No. 1" is actually built!
Dual roles, two high salaries!
The chief engineer of the machine factory earns 125 yuan a month + 23.5 yuan as a consultant at the Public Security Bureau = a solid 148.5 yuan per month! That's half a year's salary for an ordinary worker in the city!
With this "legitimate" income as a cover, she no longer needed to worry about others suspecting the origin of the goods when she brought good things home. With money, what couldn't she buy?
"Okay, it's settled then!"
The bureau chief beamed, "Comrade Lin, please take some time to come to the bureau tomorrow to complete some simple procedures. Starting the day after tomorrow, you will be our Public Security Bureau's 'special consultant'!"
"No problem! I'll go over tomorrow morning to complete the onboarding process!"
"Okay! It's a deal. Well, I have something to do at the bureau, so I won't bother you any longer."
The bureau chief, beaming with joy, rose to take his leave. The Lin family and the captain, seeing this, rose to see him off. The captain, still reeling from the shock, blindly followed the Lin family as they saw him off…
The Lin family's front door creaked open. Zhao Xiaoyu, who had been eavesdropping through the crack, immediately squeezed forward, her voice shrill and loud: "Officer! Officer! Baozhu is young and doesn't know any better. What did she do wrong? We're all from the same village, we can talk this over! My name is Zhao Xiaoyu, and I apologize on her behalf! Please be lenient with her..."
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