Chapter 41
"This is a place to eat. You don't need food coupons, just give a little more money." Tong Xiaolan whispered, "This is the home of my second brother's classmate. Her mother's family is in the countryside of our city. She grows a lot of things on her private plots, so she can bring food, vegetables, and mountain products here to sell some food to supplement her family. But this place only does business with acquaintances. I've been here several times and I know them. They let me in when they see me. You came with me today so you can get to know each other. It's okay for you to come alone next time. But you must be careful not to bring those kind of people with long mouths to eat. If they get out, there will be no place like this to eat anymore, what a pity."
At any time, no matter how strict the supervision is, there are always people doing small business secretly. There are actually quite a few snack shops like this opened at home. As long as you know the people there, you can come and eat.
Xia Qingtang also knew that the underground markets in the city appeared at two or three in the morning. Brave people from the nearby countryside would carry coarse grains, dried goods, wild fruits and other things to sell. In addition to collecting money, they also collected various cloth coupons, industrial coupons, meat coupons and so on.
There are some families in the city who have only two adults working but have to raise several children. Food is never enough, so they come to places like this to get coupons to exchange for coarse grains from farmers and go back to barely feed their children.
Wen Xiaoli suddenly realized: "I've heard of this kind of place, but never seen it. So this is what it's like... It's no different from our kitchen at home..."
Tong Xiaolan smiled: "It's just an ordinary family, what's the difference?"
"Yes, I was confused too. I kept thinking about the state-owned restaurant and couldn't get my head around it." Wen Xiaoli also laughed. "It's good today. We don't have to spend food coupons."
The young girl who opened the door earlier brought a few cups from the kitchen and placed them on the table. She then poured them some water and asked in a low voice, "What would you like to eat? Today we have mushroom and vegetable noodles, leek and shrimp skin pancakes, and boiled rice noodles. You can also add dried vegetables and eggs separately."
Tong Xiaolan said, "I want mushroom and vegetable noodles, what about you?"
The other two also wanted to eat noodles. Xia Qingtang had eaten two meals of noodles in a row, so he wanted to eat boiled rice noodles, and asked for an egg and green vegetables and mushrooms as toppings.
"Don't you want some fried dough cakes?" the girl asked again.
Xia Qingtang asked the price and said, "Give me four oil cakes. I'll treat you. One for each of you."
"How can that be embarrassing?" Wen Xiaoli refused first.
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Even if it's just to thank you for helping me so often before, and now that I'm in the union, my salary will increase in the future, so it's still okay for me to treat you to a fried cake."
Several people laughed, thanked Xia Qingtang, and ordered four more pancakes.
Soon, the sound of cooking could be heard from the kitchen and the aroma wafted over.
Although it was the kitchen at home, there seemed to be two stoves there, so the food ordered by the four people was served quickly.
Xia Qingtang's boiled rice noodles also have fried mushrooms and vegetables, the eggs are poached, and he adds a spoonful of homemade chili sauce and sour beans. The soup base is seasoned with soy sauce, and it tastes very smooth.
The fried pancakes are of fairly large size, with the leeks and shrimp fillings chopped finely and fried on both sides until golden brown, and are no worse than those in state-owned restaurants.
After walking around for the whole morning, the group was already hungry, so they all started eating. Because the place was small and they were all eating hot noodle soup, they soon started sweating and had to unbutton their cotton coats.
Seeing this, the young girl came over and poured them some water. Then she went out without saying a word and continued to stand guard by the wooden window.
This kind of treatment is not available in state-owned restaurants. It is not easy to ask the waiter for a glass of water.
Tong Xiaolan smiled and said, "I like the way people speak to you in a soft voice here, and even pour you water. It's not like the state-owned restaurants, where people act as if we owe them money even though we're going to eat."
Wen Xiaoli said: "Yes, sometimes if you don't order loudly enough, the people in the restaurant will scold you, asking why you dare to come to eat if you can't speak. It really makes me angry."
In fact, this is a requirement for service. When there are only state-owned restaurants, everyone has no choice but to eat in state-owned restaurants, so they can only suffer.
But once more people start doing business, if state-owned restaurants still have the attitude that customers owe them money, they will inevitably be gradually eliminated.
In the middle of the meal, they heard someone knocking on the window. Xia Qingtang looked back and saw that the girl seemed to have taken two more people to a small room next door.
Although this old house is very old, it seems to be quite large, so it is indeed suitable to separate it and run this kind of small business.
"Business is pretty good." Xia Qingtang said in a low voice.
Tong Xiaolan said: "We just got paid, so everyone is willing to go out for a meal. Compared to state-owned restaurants, who doesn't like to eat here if they know the connections?"
"Indeed, this atmosphere of eating secretly is particularly attractive. I think this bowl of noodles is much more delicious than the ones we have at home," said Luo Cuiju.
This is true, and Xia Qingtang also thinks that his cooked rice noodles are particularly delicious.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they paid their bills and sneaked out because they didn't dare to stay any longer.
When they reached the main road, Wen Xiaoli said, "There are often several strangers knocking on the windows here. Won't the neighbors get suspicious?"
"There will definitely be suspicions, but this family will secretly share some of the vegetables and mountain products brought from the countryside with their neighbors, and everyone will help keep the secret. We are all ordinary people, and life is not easy for everyone, so it is only right that we understand each other." Tong Xiaolan said: "By the way, do you want to come and eat again after you get your salary next month?"
"I will go home for the New Year after I get my salary next month, and my family will buy a lot of delicious food. Will you still come here to eat?" Luo Cuiju said.
"I almost forgot that the Chinese New Year is coming next month. Time flies so fast. After the Chinese New Year, I will be 22 years old." Tong Xiaolan sighed, "I have to find a partner and get married."
Wen Xiaoli said: "Twenty-two is not too old, we can afford to wait a few more years."
"I have an average look, and being young is a bit of an advantage. If I were older, it would be really hard to find someone. I've thought it through. After the New Year, I'll look for a partner and I must get married next year."
"Then I wish you success." The others all laughed.
After they parted on the road, Xia Qingtang walked slowly home in the sun alone.
When passing by a grocery store, she saw freshly made red bean cakes being sold there. She joined the queue and planned to take a pound of them home to eat.
Just as she started queuing, the woman standing in front of her turned around and immediately smiled at her: "Oh, what a coincidence, you're here to buy red bean cakes too?"
"Yes, what a coincidence. I passed by here and smelled the fragrance. Then I saw you guys queuing up, so I came over to take a look." Xia Qingtang nodded at her.
This is Kong Liangchao’s newlywed wife, the female comrade who jumped into the river.
She has changed a lot now. She is wearing a thick dark gray woolen coat and a blue scarf around her neck, which is pinned up with a beautiful hairpin. She looks more unique and fashionable. Her hair has been cut much shorter and her skin has become whiter. She looks younger and more energetic than before, and no longer as enchanting as she looked in her previous life.
She is not the most beautiful person, but when she smiles, her eyebrows and eyes are curved, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth, and she looks quite cheerful.
It seems that marrying into the Kong family has been very beneficial to her. Not only has her clothing become more elegant, but she has also become more beautiful.
"I live nearby now. The red bean cakes in this store are very delicious. Every time they make new ones, many people rush to buy them. You can buy some and try them and you will know. They are really delicious." said the female comrade.
A little ahead is the family quarters of the Municipal Party Committee compound. In his previous life, Xia Qingtang was very familiar with this area.
"Okay, then I must buy some more to try." Xia Qingtang smiled.
In fact, she stood in line here just because she knew that the red bean cake here was delicious.
She also liked to eat this in her previous life, but every time no matter whether she or the Kong family bought it and brought it back, Xia Qingtang always got the smallest portion.
It’s different now. The Xie family always gives her priority when it comes to delicious food. Even Xiaoyun has to queue behind her.
"You can't buy more than one kilogram per person. Otherwise, some people with more money will buy several kilograms at once, and the people behind will not be able to buy anything." The female comrade smiled brightly, "Look at these people, they should be from their compound, they are much more wealthy than the people in our printing factory."
Xia Qingtang nodded: "Thank you for reminding me."
"What are you thanking me for? I was just chatting casually. You are such a polite person. I heard that you and I both grew up in factories, but why are you so gentle? We rarely see such gentle girls in our factory family quarters." The female comrade said, "I don't mean anything else. I just think you are very gentle and beautiful. I don't know how Kong Liangchao dared to mess with you?"
Xia Qingtang said calmly: "His family is well off."
"What's good about that? He was fired, wasn't he? He also lost a lot of money, draining all his parents' private savings. Luckily, I had deposited the money I was given into my mom's passbook before that. Their family lost money, and it has nothing to do with me anyway. By the way, did you know that he lost his job?"
Xia Qingtang smiled but said nothing. The female comrade said, "Then I know. If I were you, I would definitely scold him and say he deserved it. Tell me how unreasonable the people in his family are. Obviously, the whole family has no shortage of food and drink, and each of them has such a high salary and lives in such a good house, but he still wants money. How bad is he? Now that he has lost his job, I am very happy anyway. He deserves it. Oh, and his sister, she is mean to me all day long. I think she has a big problem too. Maybe after checking, both the brother and sister will lose their jobs."
"Has your work been affected?" Xia Qingtang asked casually, because Xie Jinxuan had said before that Kong Liangchao's entire family was under investigation and no one could escape.
"I haven't done anything bad. The only problem is that I went through the back door to the office. But after I was transferred to the factory office, I worked diligently. Besides, I have been working in the printing factory since I was a child, and the factory still supports me. I am still working in the office. As long as I don't make any mistakes in the future, there should be no problem."
"So you are the one supporting the family now?"
"Of course not. The useless guy's family still has some money. How can I support him? I will ask his parents for money and food coupons every month. If they don't give me any, I will make trouble and make their family live in unrest."
Xia Qingtang couldn't help but applaud her in her heart. Grandma was right. To deal with a family like the Kong family, it took a comrade like this.
"You are so awesome!" Xia Qingtang said sincerely.
Look at others, they can be so good without having to start over again. The difference between people is really huge.
The female comrade was amused: "What's the connection? Their family doesn't even know how powerful I am! I won't let Kong Liangchao off easily. If he treats me badly, I will make him pay! By then, not to mention that there will be no peace in our family, I will make his life worse than death!"
Listening to the meaning of these words, it seems full of hatred, which makes Xia Qingtang very puzzled. If she hates Kong Liangchao so much, why did this person become his mistress for several years in her previous life? What was she trying to achieve?
Xia Qingtang asked with a little curiosity: "From your tone, it seems that you have a conflict with Kong Liangchao. If you have a conflict, why do you want to marry him?"
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by an honest person like you, because I... can only marry him. He lied to me at first, saying that he wanted to be with me sincerely, and tricked me into giving him my body. Then he coaxed me with sweet words, saying that my family would not allow him to find a partner on his own, and I must obey my parents' arrangements. I really thought that what he said was true, and I was really thinking about him sincerely. He said he would give me money as a dowry to marry, and I didn't take his money. I really wanted to do it for his own good. Later, a kind-hearted person told me that Kong Liangchao's parents had always spoiled him, and he didn't want to marry anyone. I will obey him in marriage, and he also told me that I went to your house to propose marriage but was fooled. After I inquired about it, I was sure that I was really deceived. I hate people deceiving me the most. Didn’t he not want to marry me because I was not pretty enough and my family was poor? I must marry him and then kill him! Anyway, other men will not want me. I will spend my whole life with Kong Liangchao to see who can cheat who to death! I will get all their family’s money into my hands. If he dares to let me down, I will beat him to death!" The female comrade gritted her teeth, but her eyes were always smiling.
It can be seen that she was serious about her hatred for Kong Liangchao, but as for the matter of marrying into the Kong family, she actually had a somewhat playful attitude and did not take it seriously.
Xia Qingtang guessed that if Xu Jianming hadn't intervened in her previous life, this female comrade must have believed Kong Liangchao's lies, thinking that Kong's parents forced him to marry Xia Qingtang. She might have made up a lot of lies to destroy Xia Qingtang's image, and finally deceived this person into willingly becoming his mistress...
All of this now is indeed what Kong Liangchao deserves, or rather, it is far from enough.
This female comrade is very different from Xia Qingtang. She is obviously a person who has given up and is only interested in playing with the world. She has no weaknesses and is very aggressive. If Kong Liangchao dares to behave improperly outside again, she will definitely make him regret being a human being.
Thinking of this, Xia Qingtang said, "I wish you success."
The female comrade laughed and said, "Thank you, thank you. I wish you a happy life too. Kong Liangchao scolded you at home, saying that you and your husband were in cahoots, but I think you two are a good match and look happy."
"Thanks."
As they were talking, it was their turn. The female comrade bought a pound of red bean cake and some other snacks, filling a big bag, and then left in style.
Thinking of the snacks like peach cakes she had at home, Xia Qingtang bought just a pound of the most delicious red bean cake and took it back.
Grandpa Xie went out to work today, but everyone else was at home. When Aunt Liu saw that she brought back freshly made red bean cake, she immediately made some hot tea and the whole family gathered together to share it.
Looking at the whole family eating and chatting happily, Xia Qingtang couldn't help but think of that person's words and felt that he was indeed living a happy life.
Before dinner, Xia Qingtang went to the bathhouse in the compound with her sixth aunt and grandmother to take a hot bath. She had a big meal and a good sleep in the evening. The next morning, she was full of energy and radiant. She put on a new cotton-padded jacket, carried her newly bought cross-body bag, and rode Xie Jinxuan's bicycle to go to work at the factory.
"I wish you all the best in your new job." Xie Jinxuan whispered her blessings to her at the factory gate.
There were people coming and going at the factory gate, so Xie Jinxuan didn't dare to do anything too intimate. She just gently held her little hand without putting on her gloves.
Xia Qingtang smiled sweetly at him, drew two circles on his palm with her fingers, and then strode into the factory.
This was her first day at work at the union, so she came early and was even the first one to arrive.
She didn't have the key to the office, so she stood at the door and waited for a while, but only a few minutes later, the youngest secretary of the union hurried over, biting a white steamed bun.
"Hey, Xiaoxia, you're here so early?" Li Yue said with a smile, "Young people are the best. They are really active on their first day at work."
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Yes, it's my first day here. I was very excited, so I got up very early. I hope I won't be late."
She had worked here in her previous life and knew everyone's personality. She also knew that this Secretary Li was actually the laziest and most scheming person in the entire office, so Xia Qingtang would be more careful when speaking to her.
Li Yue is almost thirty years old and has a child in daycare, so her life is always busy. But the union emphasizes seniority, and the youngest one has to come every morning to open the door, turn on the water, and clean the place. So Li Yue is always the first one to send her child to the daycare, and then run to the office to open the door while holding a steamed bun or something to eat.
Now that Xia Qingtang was here, Li Yue could legitimately hand over the job of opening the door to the newcomer, so she was in a good mood today and was willing to say a few words to Xia Qingtang.
After opening the door and walking in, Li Yue said, "Those two tables are empty. Just pick one and sit down. No one is using it anyway."
The union's large office is similar in size to the factory office, with six desks inside. But there are actually only four people working here, so two desks are left empty and unused.
Chairman Qin has a small single office next to the big office. She usually works in the small office most of the time, but there are also a few days a week when she comes here to hold meetings, assign work, etc. At this time, Chairman Qin likes to sit behind the empty desk by the window because she likes places with good light.
In her previous life, Xia Qingtang listened to Li Yue and thought she could pick any empty desk, so she picked the desk by the window. However, when Chairman Qin saw it, he was a little unhappy. In addition, Xia Qingtang was a relative who came in through the back door, so Chairman Qin disliked Xia Qingtang even more.
For several years afterwards, Xia Qingtang was a marginal figure in the union. Chairman Qin would assign her the most trivial tasks that no one else was willing to do, but she would never get a chance to do any of the work that could really create work value and that could earn her awards for advancement and promotion in the future.
Later, as he grew older, Xia Qingtang finally understood many things and understood the people in the office, but it was too late.
So after hearing what Li Yue said, Xia Qingtang said with a simple face: "Thank you, Director Li, you are so kind. But I am a little timid. Today is my first day here. I'd better wait until everyone arrives and listen to Chairman Qin's arrangements. When we were in the workshop, we had to listen to the leader's arrangements for everything, and we had to get the approval of the team leader before we could use any cabinet."
"Oh, you are... quite obedient! You have to wait for Chairman Qin for such a small thing as choosing a table? Aren't you afraid that she will say that you don't even have this much autonomy?" Li Yue said.
"I'm a newcomer. If I do something wrong, it's only right for the leader to criticize me." Xia Qingtang changed the subject. "Secretary Li, don't worry about me. Eat breakfast first. Oh, I'll go get some water. You'll be thirsty after eating the steamed buns."
After saying that, Xia Qingtang walked to the back where the thermos and a row of water cups were placed, picked up two thermos and went out to boil some water.
When the people in the boiler room saw her, they also smiled and greeted her: "Good morning, Director Xia."
It has been a long time since I last heard the word "Xia Ganshi". For the first time, Xia Qingtang felt that these three words were particularly nice.
"Good morning, Master Liao. Thank you for your hard work." Xia Qingtang nodded with a smile and returned to the office carrying a full thermos.
Li Yue had finished eating the steamed buns. She took an enamel basin, filled it with water, and was wiping her desk.
Xia Qingtang put down the thermos and said, "Secretary Li, the water is back."
"Oh, I see." Li Yue only wiped her own desk and the vice chairman's desk, and ignored others.
This is normal. After all, except for the vice chairman, everyone else is at the same level, and there is no obligation to wipe the tables for people of the same level.
Xia Qingtang didn't say anything, but just took out the cup of water he brought and placed it next to the thermos, then poured himself a glass of water.
Ten minutes before eight o'clock, the remaining few people arrived one after another.
First is Zhang Ning, the vice chairman of the trade union. He is a middle-aged man in his forties with a calm personality and a conservative and cautious work style. He is not as tough as Chairman Qin. But when it comes to mediating conflicts among employees, he is a good hand at it and can resolve any conflict no matter how big it is.
He is not very ambitious and is very satisfied with his current situation. Therefore, he is not very motivated at work. He likes to read books and newspapers in the office, and sometimes he just muddles through the whole day.
Another male colleague, Wu Feng, is also in his forties. He is the most educated person here. He attended a technical secondary school a long time ago and has a formal diploma.
However, this person has a rather strange personality and has a bad relationship with both colleagues and leaders. After many years, he can only be a clerk.
Wu Feng is not young anymore and knows there is no hope, so he just hopes to do his job well and go home with his salary every month. As a result, this guy is easier to get along with and he will agree to help with any work.
There is also a middle-aged female secretary in her thirties named Feng Xinhui, who is Chairman Qin's right-hand man. She is the most capable and the one who contributes the most in the entire union. Chairman Qin is very optimistic about her and hopes that she can be his successor.
After Chairman Qin retired, Feng Xinhui did become the union chairman. Her personality was a bit similar to Chairman Qin's. They both liked capable subordinates, so she didn't like Xia Qingtang very much in her previous life.
But these are all things from the previous life. In this life, Xia Qingtang is no longer the same.
Of course, her ideal is not in this cotton mill. As soon as she has the chance, Xia Qingtang will leave here and start her own career.
But no matter how long he would work here, Xia Qingtang hoped that he was not a useless person.
Seeing everyone coming to work one after another, Xia Qingtang also stood there and greeted a few of them seriously.
Coincidentally, she heard the noise outside and knew that Chairman Qin had also arrived. Feng Xinhui said, "Xiao Xia, go to Chairman Qin's office and report to her first."
"Yes, I'll go now." Xia Qingtang immediately went to the next office, "Good morning, Chairman Qin, I'm here to report to the union."
"What time did you come?" Chairman Qin asked with a smile.
"Half past seven."
"You're here pretty early. Where do you live now? What time do you leave home?"
"Not that early. We work the early shift in the workshop and start work at seven o'clock. I live in the area of Central Road now. My husband is used to getting up early in the morning. He rides his bike to take me here, so it doesn't take too long." Xia Qingtang only said that he lived in the area of Central Road and did not specify the specific location.
Chairman Qin said, "Your wife is very kind. It's so cold in winter now. It would be very hard for her to send you home every day."
"I told him the same thing. If he is too tired later, I will come to work myself."
Chairman Qin said, "Are you familiar with everyone in the office?"
"I've said hello, and we all knew each other before."
After all, we are from the same factory, so even if I am not familiar with them, I know their names.
Chairman Qin said, "Oh, it's time to go to work. It's just right. I'll go with you. Today is the first day of January. Let's have a meeting first."
Xia Qingtang followed Chairman Qin back to the big office. She sat down at the empty desk by the window with a familiar look, then pointed to another empty desk and said, "Xiao Xia, you can use this desk from now on."
"Okay, thank you, Chairman." Xia Qingtang walked over and sat down, then put his bag on the corner of the table, took out the notebook, pencil and pen inside, and prepared to take minutes of the meeting.
It was Xie Jinxuan who taught her how to take minutes of meetings. Since she came to the union to be a writer, it should be her responsibility for all the writing work in the future. Mining meetings is of course an integral part of writing work.
Xia Qingtang recalled that in his previous life, it seemed that no one in their union had ever taken minutes of any meetings.
However, Xie Jinxuan said that no matter whether it is a large or small meeting, as long as the leader says there will be a meeting, minutes should be taken and copied neatly, then handed to the leader for review, and then organized and archived on a monthly basis.
In this way, there will be a clear and definite record of the content of each meeting, which can then be checked in the archive by everyone in the office. Once you develop this habit, it will not only facilitate your work, but also provide records to check when your boss asks you questions.
Xie Jinxuan believed that if Xia Qingtang took the initiative to do this, he would definitely be appreciated by his leaders. Even if the leaders did not appreciate the value of this work, they would definitely not think that this work was unnecessary.
Chairman Qin first introduced Xia Qingtang, saying that she was a new colleague. Although she was young, she was also a high school graduate and could write articles. From now on, the office's writing-related work would be handed over to her.
Several colleagues breathed a sigh of relief. Previously, the union had assigned the writing work to them in turn, but their writing skills were not good. Sometimes they couldn't even write a good speech, and Chairman Qin had to revise it himself.
After assigning the work content, Chairman Qin began to enter the formal meeting content.
Now we have entered the twelfth lunar month, and the trade union has a lot of work to do, such as distributing benefits to workers at the end of the year, caring for the families of employees in need, and providing warmth to retired employees... The miscellaneous tasks sound simple, but the workload is actually very heavy.
Chairman Qin is a capable and respectful person, so everything the union does to benefit employees must be written in the form of a large poster and posted on the bulletin board so that all employees in the factory can see their efforts.
In addition, because it is the end of the year, Chairman Qin needs to go to the city to attend many meetings. Especially this year, there are many new policies from above, and they also need to keep up with the learning in a timely manner.
The small meeting lasted for about an hour. After the meeting, Chairman Qin said, "Xiao Feng, I have a meeting in the city on Wednesday. Tell Xiao Xia the theme of the meeting, and then show her some of my previous speeches. Let her study them first, and then ask her to write a speech. After she finishes it, you can review it and revise it first."
"Okay, I understand." Feng Xinhui said.
After Chairman Qin left, Li Yue ran out to the toilet. Zhang Ning brought the newspaper over and read it while drinking tea. Only Wu Feng and Feng Xinhui were working seriously.
Following Chairman Qin's instructions, Feng Xinhui found some past speeches and asked Xia Qingtang to study them first, and then went to do her own work.
Xia Qingtang looked at the previous speech and found that it was a normal one. It started with the topic and outline, then a few key points, and finally a summary, plus some fixed slogans that Chairman Qin liked. Even if it was completed, the difficulty was not as great as submitting to a newspaper.
Xia Qingtang had an idea in mind, so he took his cup of water, took a sip of hot water, and then began to write.
In the morning, she finished writing the speech and handed it to Feng Xinhui before lunch: "Secretary Feng, the first draft is ready, please take a look."
Feng Xinhui looked at her watch and said, "Okay, leave it here and I'll take a look this afternoon. This speech is due the day after tomorrow, so it would be best if we can finish revising it this afternoon. Chairman Qin will need to give her revision comments tomorrow, so we just need to finish the final draft tomorrow afternoon. You'll know later, it's pretty much a similar process."
"Yes, I will remember it. Thank you, Secretary Feng." Xia Qingtang smiled, returned to his table to continue drinking water, and then went to the toilet again.
After coming back from the toilet, it was almost lunch time. Li Yue was the first to go out with her lunch box, followed by the two male colleagues. Only Feng Xinhui was still working hard at the table.
"Secretary Feng, aren't you going to the cafeteria to eat?" Xia Qingtang asked.
Feng Xinhui smiled and said, "Xiao Xia, you go first. I'll go later. Don't worry. I don't like the cafeteria to be crowded, so I always go later."
Feng Xinhui was like this in her previous life. She was always the last person in the office to go to the cafeteria to get food, but Xia Qingtang never asked her such a question in her previous life.
"Okay, then I'll go first." Xia Qingtang took her empty lunch box and went to the cafeteria. Sure enough, she saw Wen Xiaoli waiting for her at the cafeteria door.
Wen Xiaoli was on the early shift today, so the two of them made an appointment to have lunch together.
"How do you feel about your first day working in the office? Are you used to it?" Wen Xiaoli asked excitedly while pulling her to line up.
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "How can you get used to it so quickly? It's your first day, and you're still learning."
"It's okay. You're so capable, you'll definitely get used to it soon. But, is there anything different about you today? Why do you look more energetic?"
Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Did you see that? I cut my hair a little shorter."
Her two braids previously reached just below her chest, which wasn't too long, but that length made her look more like a schoolgirl, so she cut her hair a little shorter, so that she would look more capable and more like a female executive.
Wen Xiaoli exclaimed, "Your hair is so shiny, you should have long braids. It would be a pity to cut it. Do you have to have short hair to work in an office? That's not right. Director Wang in the factory office has two long braids."
Speak of the devil, and here he comes. Just as Wen Xiaoli finished her words, she saw Secretary Wang leading Wu Jinfeng to the cafeteria entrance.
"Qingtang Qingtang, the new officer from the factory office is here too, at the canteen entrance." Wen Xiaoli poked her arm with her finger.
Xia Qingtang turned around and happened to meet Secretary Wang's eyes. The two smiled at each other, and then Secretary Wang pointed at Xia Qingtang and said something to Wu Jinfeng next door. Soon Wu Jinfeng's eyes widened, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"What are they talking about? Why are they pointing at you?" Wen Xiaoli asked with a frown.
"Xiao Li, it's your turn. Come and get your meal." Xia Qingtang gently patted Wen Xiaoli's shoulder.
Wen Xiaoli turned around quickly and said, "Aunt, I want fried bean curd sheets with pickled mustard greens and two steamed buns."
After she finished calling, she quickly went to find a seat. Xia Qingtang looked at today's meal and ordered stir-fried cabbage with vermicelli and spicy tofu, which she ate with rice.
A few workers who had just finished their meal had just left the seat Wen Xiaoli found. Xia Qingtang sat down opposite her, scooped a spoonful of fried cabbage and vermicelli for her, and then started eating.
She has now switched from physical work to mental work, but she still feels hungry just as quickly.
Wen Xiaoli was chattering about an interesting thing that happened in the family quarters when she saw Wu Jinfeng holding her lunch box and pulling Secretary Wang to the table, and then sitting down diagonally opposite Xia Qingtang.
Secretary Wang quickly sat down next to Xia Qingtang. Wen Xiaoli looked up at them and said nothing.
Xia Qingtang greeted Secretary Wang very naturally: "Secretary Wang, you eat so well today."
Secretary Wang and Wu Jinfeng's lunch boxes were filled with today's meat dishes: braised pork with white radish and stir-fried vegetables. The large chunks of pork were fat and lean, and looked greasy and particularly tempting.
Secretary Wang smiled and said, "My new colleague invited me to dinner. By the way, this is Xiao Wu, the new secretary of our factory office."
"Oh, hello, Secretary Wu." Xia Qingtang greeted him naturally.
Wu Jinfeng squinted at her and said, "Don't you know me?"
Wen Xiaoli was surprised at first: "Do you know each other?"
Xia Qingtang said, "No, didn't Secretary Wu just come today? How could I know Secretary Wu?"
"You..." Wu Jinfeng squinted her eyes and looked at her, trying to see whether she was telling the truth or not.
"Oh, I remember!" Xia Qingtang suddenly laughed. Wu Jinfeng trembled a little, obviously afraid that she would say something wrong.
But what Xia Qingtang said was: "Didn't we meet at the department store yesterday?"
Wen Xiaoli also said, "Yes, yes, yes. We met at the department store yesterday. Secretary Wu was with a female comrade. Is she your mother?"
Wu Jinfeng didn't know whether she was relieved or even more unhappy. She said with a strange expression: "Yes, we met yesterday. My mother and I went shopping. I didn't expect that you could afford to go to the department store."
When these words came out, everyone at the table was stunned.
Secretary Wang felt a little embarrassed and said, "What do you mean? The employees in our cotton mill have good incomes and benefits. It's normal for female employees to like shopping in department stores. We all have salaries and tickets. Hahahaha, hahahahaha..."
Wen Xiaoli said angrily, "Yes, although we may not be able to afford braised pork, but if I save enough tickets, I will buy soap, vanishing cream, and shoes. My family members don't know how to make shoes, so we buy shoes and wear them."
Wu Jinfeng snorted and lowered her head to eat the braised pork with white radish.
Wen Xiaoli's face turned a little ugly. She winked at Xia Qingtang, signaling her to eat quickly.
So, the two of them ate faster and quickly finished their food. Then Wen Xiaoli said, "We're done. Let's go first."
After saying that, she pulled Xia Qingtang and ran out.
She ran all the way to the pool outside the cafeteria, and then she whispered, "That Director Wu is so weird. She speaks so rudely and looks down on people. Who is she? Why does she come to our cotton mill when she looks down on people like that?"
Xia Qingtang also felt that this person was a bit weird. She had gone through so much trouble to be transferred to work in the cotton mill just to create trouble for Xia Qingtang. But with her personality and the way she spoke, Wu Jinfeng would have been reorganized by some employees before Xia Qingtang got into trouble.
Never underestimate these workers in the factory. Sometimes, if they want to target someone, even if you are the factory director, they can make you suffer in silence.
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