Chapter 48 Muddy the Waters
After a while, perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps for some other reason.
Zheng Haiyang gently comforted Jiang Qiubai, "Qiubai, we've all seen what you've done for Haicheng. As the eldest sister-in-law, you're like a mother to them. If that kid Haicheng ever dares to be disrespectful to you, I'll be the first to not let him off the hook."
"Don't overthink it. Next time the factory recruits, we'll give Director Wang some gifts, and you'll definitely be able to get in."
He said sincerely, "At the latest, if the factory doesn't hire anyone in two years, we'll spend more money to buy a job. Qiu Bai, I won't let your efforts for Haicheng go to waste."
It has to be said that Zheng Haiyang is quite skilled at manipulation. After these "heartfelt words," Jiang Qiubai's initial reluctance vanished instantly.
Not only was she no longer reluctant, but she was also deeply moved. "Brother Haiyang, I know how good you are to me. Don't worry, I will definitely work hard and solve Haicheng's job problem."
Haiyang really cares about her. Although she might have to put up with some sacrifices for the time being, it's all for the good of their family. She can't let Haiyang down.
"I started memorizing the questions right away, memorizing them as hard as I could, and memorizing all the questions in this booklet so that I could help Haicheng pass the exam."
Jiang Qiubai didn't care whether he understood it or not. He started memorizing it while muttering to himself, his eyes wide open, trying his best to memorize all the questions.
Cheng Jiajia, who overheard everything from outside: ...
Cheng Jiajia's dead fish eyes: "..."
It was within Cheng Jiajia's expectations that the two of them would cheat during the exam.
What truly blew her away was Zheng Haiyang. Judging from the implication in his words, was he suggesting that Jiang Qiubai transfer her job to Zheng Haicheng after the exam?
Jiang Qiubai didn't seem to have any objections?
Are you out of your mind?
Given this opportunity, wouldn't it be better to take the exam and get a job yourself?
How could someone be so easily fooled into agreeing to such an outrageous request? What kind of love-struck person is this?
What do you mean, "I'll apply again next time"? Who knows when the machine factory will be recruiting again?
Let alone buying a job with money. Does the Zheng family seem like the kind of family that can afford to spend four or five hundred yuan to buy a job for their daughter-in-law? Even if they had that money, there's still Zheng Haiyan waiting for them, so they won't spend it on Jiang Qiubai.
After all, when they were set up on blind dates, Zheng Haiyang had said that he would arrange jobs for his younger siblings and help them get married.
If you calculate it like that, the Zheng family's entire fortune probably wouldn't be enough for them to build this up. As for the daughter-in-law, who is an "outsider," there's even less hope.
In Cheng Jiajia's view, this was just a pie in the sky that Zheng Haiyang was painting for Jiang Qiubai.
But she didn't believe it; plenty of others did.
Jiang Qiubai was like a man possessed, clutching the booklet tightly and reciting it fluently.
She would occasionally glance sweetly at Zheng Haiyang, and then the two would exchange a tender smile.
Cheng Jiajia: "..."
Help! What should I do if I get grease from eavesdropping?
No, no, she had to hurry back to check on her husband, Yu Junsheng, and wash her eyes!
To avoid seeing anything more offensive, Cheng Jiajia quickly left.
On a late winter night, the moon hung high in the sky, and a north wind blew, rustling the withered yellow leaves.
Suddenly, a dead branch fell to the ground with a "crack" sound, which sounded somewhat eerie.
Yu Junsheng, shivering from the cold outside the door, suddenly shuddered. If he hadn't been able to see the dark figure across the street, he would have run back inside in terror.
Another rustling sound came.
Yu Junsheng shuddered, repeatedly chanting in his mind: No ghosts, no ghosts! My wife is here, my wife is here! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid!
So when Cheng Jiajia came back, she saw her husband standing in the moonlight, his eyes closed, muttering something like, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, my wife is here, my wife is stronger than a ghost..."
Cheng Jiajia: "..." Thank you so much, you actually think so highly of me!
She called out with a forced smile, "Brother Junsheng, so you think I'm that amazing?"
"A ghost, a ghost..." Yu Junsheng's heart skipped a beat, and he almost cried out.
Fortunately, when she opened her eyes and saw that it was Cheng Jiajia, she covered her mouth and swallowed the sound.
Thank goodness, it wasn't a ghost.
Yu Junsheng breathed a sigh of relief, then realized something and his heart skipped a beat. He chuckled awkwardly, "Wife, you're back. Come on, let's go inside and talk."
Cheng Jiajia gave him a half-smile.
Yu Junsheng rubbed his hands together with a fawning expression: "Hehe, wife, you're really amazing. With you on the job, everything is a piece of cake."
"Alright, I'll barely pass you." Cheng Jiajia glanced at him.
Yu Junsheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly pulled the person into the house, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then carefully closed the door.
He wasn't in a hurry to ask, but first poured Cheng Jiajia a cup of hot water to warm her hands. "Here, drink some hot water to warm yourself up." His wife had been squatting outside for so long, he didn't want her to get cold.
Cheng Jiajia didn't refuse. After taking a sip, she felt better and handed the cup to Yu Junsheng, saying, "You should drink a few sips too." He had been standing outside for quite a while and was probably quite cold.
Yu Junsheng didn't stand on ceremony and took a few sips, which gradually warmed him up.
"Honey, how is it?"
Cheng Jiajia took off her coat and lay down on the bed. "Do you know Director Wang from the personnel department?" They needed to find out about this person before deciding on their next move.
Yu Junsheng grew up in the factory's residential compound, and his mother was the factory's accountant before she passed away, so she might know this person.
As expected, Yu Junsheng's face showed a complex expression. "I know him."
How could he not know Wang Sanqiang?
It was he who colluded with the deputy head of the finance department who replaced him to send him to the forging workshop.
No wonder Zheng Haiyang was so sure that Zheng Haicheng could get into the factory. This man was the director of the personnel department, who was in charge of recruitment, and he was also greedy.
Yu Junsheng wasn't surprised at all that this person could be bribed to leak the exam questions.
Knowing who it is makes things much easier.
Such a large factory isn't just managed by Wang Sanqiang alone.
Almost instantly, a mischievous grin spread across Yu Junsheng's face. "Wife, let's do this... and then this..."
The couple whispered and discussed for a long time, and finally, like villains, they both revealed wicked smiles.
“Hey, do you know what happened? Zheng Haiyang got Jiang Qiubai to sign up, and then…” Cheng Jiajia still found it unbelievable when she talked about it.
Yu Junsheng's lips twitched. "This woman, she's lost her mind!"
Cheng Jiajia agreed, "Where we're from, there's a word that suits her perfectly."
Yu Junsheng asked curiously, "What words?" He was very interested in the new century that his wife described, but unfortunately, some scenes in his dream were like a fleeting glimpse, and his perspective was always confined to Zheng Haiyang's side, so he didn't know much about the outside world.
"Love-obsessed!"
Yu Junsheng pondered it carefully. Although the wording was a bit strange, it was strangely fitting. He nodded, "It's especially suitable for someone like Jiang Qiubai."
I never realized before that this woman was such a love-struck person.
In the dream, Jiang Qiubai didn't treat her so well. She looked down on her job, so she mostly looked at her with an air of superiority and spoke with a hint of disdain.
Unexpectedly, he acted so servilely in front of Zheng Haiyang.
He really wanted to ask himself sincerely, "Where am I inferior to Zheng Haiyang?"
But he quickly realized it wasn't necessary, since the situation in the dream had changed, and what mattered was the present, for him and his wife to live their own little life.
"These two are willing to hit and willing to be hit, so we don't need to worry about them. Anyway, with us here, their crooked ways won't work. Go to sleep."
This time, he and his wife are determined to live to see the prosperous new century that his wife speaks of.
Yu Junsheng pulled Cheng Jiajia into his arms, then covered them both tightly with the blankets, and they quickly drifted off to sleep.
...
These days, finding a job is difficult, not just for rural people, but even for those with urban residency. Urban jobs can't accommodate so many unemployed youths, which is why the "sent-down youth" program was later implemented.
Although most of the families in the No. 35 compound are employees of the machinery factory, each family has several children, and there are quite a few young people looking for work.
Those who couldn't find jobs after graduating from junior high or high school either ended up like Zheng Haicheng, spending their days aimlessly hanging around with others, or they took odd jobs at the neighborhood office to supplement their family income.
However, the kids in the courtyard who take odd jobs at home get along quite well. They usually keep an eye out for job postings and share information with each other.
That morning, it was just getting light.
The group of young men who had invited each other to use the restroom had just entered the men's room and were taking off their pants to relieve themselves.
Suddenly, a soft, middle-aged woman's voice could be heard whispering from the women's restroom:
"Hey, have you heard? The machine factory is hiring!"
Another female voice, slightly surprised, exclaimed, "What?! A job opening?!"
The young people held their breath instantly, even stopping the act of relieving themselves, and quietly waited for the sounds from next door.
The same furtive voice smugly replied, "That's right, I heard they're hiring a lot of people—in the workshop, factory office, finance, and HR. All you need is a high school diploma!"
“I’m thinking of having my second child sign up and try. Who knows, he might pass the exam, and then we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
Another female voice stammered excitedly, "Really? I... I want to enroll my daughter too!"
"Shh~ Just keep this to ourselves, don't tell anyone else, this hasn't been made public yet."
"I know, I know, don't you trust me to handle things?"
The young people's hearts were pounding, and their cheeks were flushed red.
They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief: They were really hiring?!
...
Early in the morning, a scream shattered the quiet courtyard.
"Good news! Good news! The factory is hiring! Hiring!" Wang Xiaowu, who was in the backyard, rushed in through the gate like a gust of wind, shouting excitedly.
Wang Xiaowu is nineteen years old this year. He just graduated from high school last year and hasn't found a job yet. He can only take odd jobs at the neighborhood office to supplement his family's income. So when he suddenly learned that the factory was recruiting, he jumped for joy.
"My God! Is this for real?!"
Liu Xiaohong from the front yard rushed out excitedly.
Her daughter, Eryan, is in her third year of junior high school. She was worried about what would happen to her after graduation. If there were any job openings, she would let her drop out of school and start working if she could pass the exam.
Anyway, isn't the point of studying to find a job? Now that such a good job opportunity is right in front of us, why bother studying? It's better to go to work and earn some money to help support the family.
Wang Xiaowu's face flushed with excitement. "It's true, Aunt Liu! I heard it from Zhang Sanzi in the next courtyard, it's absolutely true!"
"Eryan, hurry up and sign up!" Liu Xiaohong shouted to Bao Eryan.
At that moment, people from the Second and Third Hospitals also rushed over after hearing the news.
"Wow! They're hiring! They're really hiring?"
"Quickly, I'll have my Junzi sign up!"
In the east wing, Yu Junsheng gave Cheng Jiajia, who had just climbed in through the back window, a thumbs up. "Wife, you're amazing!"
Cheng Jiajia gave a haughty snort, "That's right, don't you know who I am!"
That's right, what happened in the public restroom just now was done by Cheng Jiajia.
She knew before that there were several unemployed young people in the neighborhood who took odd jobs at home. She figured that these young people would be eager to take the job postings seriously, like cats smelling fish.
After observing them for a few days, perhaps out of a desire to stick together for warmth, I noticed that they often made plans to go to the toilet together or something.
Cheng Jiajia targeted the time when they went to the toilet in the morning, squatted in front of them behind the women's toilet, and said those words in a high-pitched voice.
Luckily, she had done voice acting when she was bored in her previous life, so pretending to be a middle-aged woman in a fake voice was no challenge for her.
Besides, it's not necessary to imitate it perfectly. As long as the message is spread, everyone will be so excited about the recruitment that they won't care about what the voice sounded like.
After Cheng Jiajia finished showing off, she said something, "It's just that those kids are still young and can't handle things. If it were an older, more experienced person, they would have kept the news tightly under wraps, and there wouldn't be any noise about it all over the yard."
Yu Junsheng tidied Cheng Jiajia's messy hair and said firmly, "Wife, you've worked hard. Leave the rest to me!"
Cheng Jiajia refused to admit it, "Hmph, I'm just doing this for my job, what's so hard about it?"
Yu Junsheng smiled but didn't say anything; he understood.
He straightened Cheng Jiajia's hair and collar, then took her hand and walked out.
They couldn't possibly be absent from such an exciting moment; otherwise, anyone with eyes could see that there was something wrong with them.
As soon as they stepped outside, they both spontaneously adopted excited expressions and declared in unison that they were going to register for the exam, which seemed perfectly natural.
...
In the west wing, Zheng Haiyang was still dreaming of his second brother Meimei getting a job at the factory when he suddenly heard this shocking bad news, and his face froze for a moment.
What happened?
As far as he knew, this recruitment drive was only known to a small group of people because the number of people being recruited was small and the requirements were high, so the factory had no intention of making it public.
How did this happen?
Jiang Qiubai was terrified and panicked. "Brother Haiyang, what should we do?"
"How come so many people know this?"
"With so many people signing up, do we still have a chance of winning?" Jiang Qiubai knew her own situation well; she didn't quite understand the questions, and even if she tried to memorize them, she couldn't.
Now that there are so many more competitors, she's not very confident about the exam.
Zheng Haiyang said firmly, "No, nothing will happen. We have questions. What do those people know? They're just there to make up the numbers."
He was comforting Jiang Qiubai, and also comforting himself.
Director Wang has already told them the scope of the exam. So what if there are many applicants? They definitely can't beat Jiang Qiubai. Their family is determined to get this job.
"Besides, Director Wang will give us face when it comes to admissions, so he definitely won't let you fail the exam."
Jiang Qiubai's eyes lit up. That's right, no matter how he did on the exam, Director Wang would always be there to back him up! He certainly couldn't just accept the gift and not do anything in return!
Thinking this way, Jiang Qiubai's anxious heart gradually calmed down.
On the same day, Yang, the deputy director of the machinery factory, found a note on his desk before starting work.
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