Fang Qiaoqiao, who was standing in front of the bulletin board, saw them running over, glanced at Wan Xiaozhen, and whispered, "Yu Yao, Wan Xiaozhen was reported for cheating on the exam, and her cheat sheets have been posted."
Fang Qiaoqiao's voice rose at the end, and although it was soft, it carried a hint of schadenfreude. She didn't try to hide it from others, so Wan Xiaozhen naturally heard it too.
At first, she looked incredulous, then panicked and rushed forward to push aside the workers who were watching.
Seeing the excitement, Yu Yao and the others joined in.
However, they didn't need to push their way through. Some of the onlookers recognized Yu Yao and said that she was Yu Yao. The people around them actually made way for her.
Everyone looked at the bulletin board.
At the top of the huge bulletin board were two exam papers and a cheat sheet.
At the top is Yu Yao's exam paper, written in neat, clear regular script, covered in red checkmarks.
Below is Wan Xiaozhen's test paper. It has many blank spaces, little writing, and is messy with many corrections.
The densely packed cheat sheets next to them were the same, hastily and perfunctorily written.
The comparison between the two exam papers is no less severe than a public execution.
Aunt Liu and the others glanced at Wan Xiaozhen with utter disdain.
It turns out that some people secretly took the exam and then cried wolf.
Those around her said enviously, "Comrade Yu Yao, I never expected you to be so amazing. You actually got first place. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
"Exactly, not only did he get good grades on the exam, but his handwriting is also so beautiful, it's like it was printed. No wonder he got first place."
"One should be like Comrade Yu Yao, possessing genuine skills, rather than being like some people who only know how to take crooked paths. The key is that they can't even copy properly and make mistakes, which would be a huge joke."
Wan Xiaozhen's face burned with embarrassment; she wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground.
She never expected that the cheat sheet she secretly threw away after the exam would be found by someone and reported to Director Li.
The words spoken about Yu Yao just now, and the contemptuous looks from everyone now, were like a resounding slap in the face to Wan Xiaozhen.
In the 1970s, there were few entertainment options, so any gossip could be talked about for a long time.
For several days in a row, whenever there was a break, you could hear the female workers gossiping about this.
Wan Xiaozhen's punishment has also been announced. Not only does she have to write a self-criticism, but she is also required to take the pre-processing workshop apprentice exam a month later. If she fails the exam, she will be assigned to an even worse position.
Fortunately, there was no such thing as dismissal for permanent employees at that time; otherwise, no matter who Wan Xiaozhen's aunt was, she would have been dismissed.
Wang Chuntao pinched the bridge of her nose and earnestly advised, "Xiao Zhen, you have to do well in the exam in a month, otherwise you'll only be able to clean houses. Your mother spent five hundred yuan to buy this job, and if you go to clean houses, that money will be wasted."
A cleaning job isn't worth that price.
Wan Xiaozhen said, "Auntie, I've made up my mind. Now that things have come to this, I'm too ashamed to stay any longer. I might as well sell my job before I'm sent away. There's absolutely no way I'll go back to cleaning."
In her eyes, sweeping the streets and cleaning toilets were jobs for bad elements and capitalists, and she would never do them, even if it meant death.
Hearing her say that, Wang Chuntao paused for a moment, then hesitated and said, "You're still young, what will you do if you don't work?"
Wan Xiaozhen blushed slightly. "Auntie, a woman's life doesn't necessarily have to be about working. Compared to work, marrying a good man and having children are the most important things."
"You're right. What about that battalion commander you mentioned last time, Song Yiming? Any news?"
Wan Xiaozhen nodded, "My mother has already asked a matchmaker to arrange things, so I believe we'll be able to meet soon."
During their conversation, the two made no mention of the arranged marriage village girl that Song Yingdi had mentioned, as if that person did not exist.
It was past closing time, and only Yu Yao, Wan Xiaozhen, and Aunt Liu remained in the entire pre-processing workshop.
Wan Xiaozhen was rushing to finish her production tasks because she hadn't completed them, and Aunt Liu was implicated because of her.
As for Yu Yao, she stayed behind to tidy up the cabinet.
Today is her last day working in the pretreatment workshop. After the weekend, she will go to work in the saccharin workshop.
She didn't spend much time in the pre-processing workshop, and she didn't have much stuff to do, so she packed it up quickly. She didn't need to take the packed items home; she just put them directly into the cabinets assigned to the workers in the saccharin workshop.
She had only been in the sugar water workshop for a short time when a female worker from another workshop went to the public restroom and saw Lu Ze waiting for someone outside the pretreatment workshop. She passed by the pretreatment workshop and casually mentioned it to him.
"Aunt Liu, is that PLA comrade outside waiting for the female workers in your workshop? I've seen him standing outside for quite a while."
Aunt Liu glanced out the window. "I just heard Yu Yao say that her lover was coming to pick her up. Could it be him?"
Wan Xiaozhen was absentmindedly peeling a pineapple when she heard that Yu Yao, that ordinary soldier from the countryside, had come to pick her up, so she stood on tiptoe to watch the excitement.
When Wan Xiaozhen saw the face she had been longing for day and night, her heart was filled with joy.
Could it be that the matchmaker told him she worked in a food factory, and he came here specifically to find her?
“Aunt Liu, is this Comrade Yu’s husband? Although I can’t tell his rank, his demeanor is so imposing that he’s no ordinary person.”
Wan Xiaozhen frowned upon hearing this and said unhappily, "You've all got it wrong. Comrade Song came to see me."
The woman and Aunt Liu both looked at Wan Xiaozhen in surprise, "They came to see you?"
Wan Xiaozhen smoothed her hair and said with a hint of pride, "Of course. You don't know, do you? He actually came to meet me."
The woman raised a question: "If you were really looking for a partner, how could you not know he was waiting for you outside?"
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