Chapter 2 Sending a Telegram: Li Jianzhi, I want a divorce!
The female workers in the workshop work in three shifts: the morning shift is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the evening shift is from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., and the night shift is from midnight to 8 a.m. There are workers in the workshop at all times, and the factory machines run 24 hours a day.
The female workers' responsibility is to keep the machines running normally and efficiently 24 hours a day.
Currently, Qin Xiangxiang's workshop actually has four shifts of female workers. The four shifts of female workers work three shifts in rotation. Each shift of female workers works three days of early shift, one day of rest; then three days of late shift, one day of rest; then three days of night shift, one day of rest... and so on, in a continuous cycle.
Female workers can switch or swap shifts if needed.
Qin Xiangxiang works the early shift. After finishing her shift at four o'clock in the afternoon, she talks to her mother and rides her bicycle home. Her family lives in an old apartment building in Shanghai dating back to the 1950s, housing 20,000 people.
She didn't rush home. Even though she knew she had died horribly in her dream, she remained calm and leisurely prepared to buy a pancake. That was the advantage of working the early shift; she would return in the afternoon, perhaps just in time for the state-run pancake vendor to close up shop.
Thinking about eating flatbread, the usually slow-moving little devil suddenly sped up her bicycle pedaling.
Qin Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief as she finally saw the pancake maker's small oven.
"Master, two sugar cakes, please!"
Flatbread is a popular breakfast choice for many Shanghainese. It comes in both sweet and savory varieties. The sweet ones are sprinkled with sesame seeds and filled with sugar, while the savory ones have scallions added.
Qin Xiangxiang prefers afternoon flatbread to morning flatbread because fewer people buy it in the afternoon, so it stays in the oven longer and the baker rolls it thinner and sprinkles more sesame seeds on it, making it fragrant and crispy.
Take a bite, and it breaks with a crunch, crumbling into pieces.
When they're fresh out of the oven, you have to be extra careful when eating them to avoid getting burned by the syrup inside.
Of course, many people wouldn't let a single sesame seed slip by; they'd pick it up and eat it even if it fell on the table. Qin Xiangxiang, however, was rather fussy and wouldn't do such an "unrefined" thing, so she could only carefully avoid dropping sesame seeds while eating.
To achieve this, she even mastered the amazing skill of "not dropping sesame seeds".
If you want to keep the sesame seeds from falling off, you have to eat them flat.
Do you want the tiger's paw?
"don't want."
Tiger's paw pastry is usually served in the afternoon. It is a steamed bun-shaped pastry with three cuts on it, brushed with sugar syrup, and baked in the oven until it is golden brown, resembling a tiger's paw.
Qin Xiangxiang didn't like this, she thought it was too thick. She preferred freshly baked, thin and crispy sesame sugar cakes.
"Think about it, you even ate sugar cakes? Did you buy them for your son?"
Aunt Wu, who was passing by, saw Qin Xiangxiang buying pancakes and struck up a conversation with her.
Qin Xiangxiang didn't answer, and instead took a bite of the freshly baked sesame flatbread. It smelled delicious!
She wanted to eat alone before going home; how could she possibly give food to her debt-collecting son?
"My son is six years old, but he still acts like a little girl."
Qin Xiangxiang mumbled, "Six years ago I was only sixteen, how could I have had such a big son?"
She is actually 23 years old this year, and her son is four years old.
She took bite after bite of the sugar cake, and the sugar syrup inside, exposed to the air through the cracks, released a sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of sesame seeds and the slightly burnt crust of the cake, making it irresistibly delicious.
Aunt Wu swallowed hard, then left without saying a word.
Qin Xiangxiang finished one and folded the other into an oil paper bag to eat at home. She had to finish it before her son came back, or she could secretly hide it in her room and make it into a snack when she got hungry at night.
She tucked her sideburns behind her ears; she now had chin-length short hair. Ever since a female worker's hair got caught in a machine, almost tearing her scalp off, the factory had a blanket ban on long hair for female workers. Qin Xiangxiang was forced to cut her long hair, which was also why she didn't want to be a textile worker.
Even though short hair didn't affect her beauty, she still regretted having her hair cut off and therefore complained about her mother forcibly cutting her braids.
In her dream, she went to the island with the army. Her hair had grown a bit longer then, almost reaching her shoulders. She could only tie it into a small bun, but it looked beautiful when it was loose, somewhere between short and long hair. So Qin Xiangxiang didn't tie her hair up and just let it hang loose, thinking she looked very pretty.
But those bratty kids on the island said she was a crazy woman with disheveled hair.
Qin Xiangxiang could only complain angrily that the country folk were ignorant, and they said that she, being from the city, looked down on country folk.
She couldn't even stand having her hair down. Back in the 1950s, when she was in elementary school, Shanghai was so bustling. There were beautiful aunties wearing cheongsams, with painted eyebrows, powdered face, and lipstick, and with a head of charming curls, speaking in soft Wu dialect. It was enough to make your bones melt.
Her maternal grandmother's wedding photos show her wearing a Western-style lace umbrella and a large, puffy Western-style skirt. Her mother also wore a Western-style skirt when she was young.
When she turned twenty, in the prime of her youth, all she had was her blue work clothes. Even if she were to wear pretty clothes, they couldn't be elaborate or exaggerated.
On the island, Qin Xiangxiang refused to wear clothes with patches, and people said she was being pretentious and affected.
Her mother worked in a textile factory for over twenty years and only had her as her daughter, so she always had enough clothes to wear. Others always picked up her old clothes, and she never had to wear patched clothes.
"Think about it!"
At the alley entrance, a young woman in a floral dress called out to Qin Xiangxiang. Qin Xiangxiang was quite surprised to see her, thinking it was a perfect coincidence. She handed the contents of her cloth bag to Xiaomai, who then gave her a stack of grain coupons and five jin of meat coupons, as well as four one-liang oil coupons.
This one-ounce oil coupon was no ordinary coupon. At that time, oil coupons were divided into two specifications: four ounces and one ounce. Nowadays, the monthly oil ration of half a catty per person in Shanghai is exactly four ounce oil coupons plus two one-ounce oil coupons. One-ounce oil coupons can be used to buy sesame oil, which is sesame fragrant oil.
Even if the citizens live a hard life, they still have to buy some sesame oil to add flavor to noodles and eggs on ordinary days.
These things were all wrapped in lotus leaf paper by wheat.
Wheat praised her: "Think about it, you have such skillful hands, so beautiful."
"Here, take it or leave it. Whatever you like."
Qin Xiangxiang handed her several pretty "false collars," with only the collar section suitable for spring and autumn.
Qin Xiangxiang's reluctance to wear patched clothes was a matter of taste, but there were plenty of poor but particular people in Shanghai. Even if they couldn't afford new clothes, they would wear tattered and patched clothes underneath, and wear a pretty false collar around their necks.
With this coat wrapped around your neck and a brand-new shirt collar, people will think you're wearing a new outfit!
"False collars" are very popular in Shanghai in private, which is a testament to the wisdom of ordinary citizens.
"Think about it, your cooking is so good, your taste is amazing, and you always dress with such style. My friend wants a few more..."
Qin Xiangxiang nodded: "Okay, but I'm slow, so it will take a while."
Xiaomai sighed. She knew that slow and steady wins the race, but Qin Xiangxiang's detachable collars were highly sought after. It was just that Qin Xiangxiang was too lazy and didn't put much effort into making them.
"Think about it, then try to do it as quickly as possible, my friend can't wait."
Qin Xiangxiang raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, "What kind of friends are they? They're just using my money to sell." However, Qin Xiangxiang didn't bring this up. She was a full-time factory worker; if she were to go and buy and sell handicrafts, she would be punished and it would also implicate her own mother.
Xiaomai doesn't have a proper job; she's just a temporary worker, a relative of electrician Li. Even if she gets caught, she'll only get a lecture.
Qin Xiangxiang used the fake collar she made to exchange wheat for grain coupons and meat coupons. It was a private exchange, which was considered normal because people often bartered and exchanged grain coupons. Even if others found out, she wouldn't have done anything wrong.
"Please send the fabric over sometime next time."
After parting ways with Xiaomai, Qin Xiangxiang counted the tickets in her hand and thought to herself, "I'm so tired, I need to treat myself to a meal."
Even knowing that she was a character in a novel and would die a tragic death in the future, Qin Xiangxiang cherished the present moment. As for the basic necessities of life, she was determined to eat well, dress well, and live well. As for transportation, she had her own bicycle now, and if her mother became the director of a state-owned textile factory and got a Santana, she could also enjoy the limelight.
Thinking this way, Qin Xiangxiang smiled again; no one could stop her from living a good life.
"I almost forgot, I need to send a telegram to Li Jianzhi to divorce him!"
Qin Xiangxiang hadn't seen her military officer husband, Li Jianzhi, for over four years. Even in her dreams, they rarely met. He would only come back three or four times a week, and sometimes he had to go out to sea. She had a vague feeling about her husband in her dreams. Their relationship wasn't very good. Li Jianzhi was aloof, only had work on his mind, didn't talk much, didn't care about her, and complained that she was fussy and troublesome.
In her dream, she wanted to have a daughter, but the man was unwilling to do *that* with her… After giving birth to three sons in a row, Qin Xiangxiang became angrier and angrier, thinking about this stinky man who couldn't give birth to a daughter!
She wanted to divorce Li Jianzhi as soon as she woke up, but she forgot about it while working at the textile factory during the day because she often forgot that she had a husband.
Moreover, she was praised by the factory today, and her mother was not criticized. If she can avoid being reported next year, her mother will not be demoted, and she can continue to live like this.
If she stayed in Shanghai, she wouldn't have to go with the army and wouldn't run into the original female lead, Lin Xiuqin.
There's no rush to divorce Li Jianzhi.
But the thought that he can't have a daughter is too distressing! This marriage should be divorced as soon as possible; her beauty cannot be left without a daughter to inherit it.
Her maternal grandmother, her mother, and she herself are all beautiful and charming, and this tradition cannot be broken in her generation. She must have a daughter.
"Hello, I need to send a telegram."
Sending telegrams costs one cent per word. Qin Xiangxiang was reluctant to spend money on a man, so she went straight to the point: Li Jianzhi, I want a divorce!
Nine words in total, nine cents, that's the price of a pound of pork! Thinking of pork, Qin Xiangxiang felt a pang of heartache.
"These nine characters?"
Qin Xiangxiang nodded. She had actually thought of many phrases, such as "I want a divorce," "Li Jianzhi, divorce me," "Jianzhi, I want a divorce," "Divorce!!!"...
If these messages were actually sent over there, and the recipient didn't understand their meaning, it would be a laughing stock.
It's heartbreaking to have to spend a dollar even after a divorce. Qin Xiang thought about the days and realized that only half a month had passed since the other party sent the money. She would have to wait another half a month before they would send her the money again. She couldn't wait any longer.
However, divorcing him would still be a financial loss for her. Naval officers have high salaries and allowances for going to sea and working on remote islands. Without most of the salary he sends, her life would become difficult.
If he remarries, he certainly won't give her and their son much money anymore.
Thinking about it this way, Qin Xiangxiang became conflicted. It was only because Li Jianzhi gave her money every month that she was willing to switch jobs with her aunt's niece. If she only had a temporary job income of twenty-odd yuan, how could she survive?
"Divorce! We still have to get a divorce!"
Qin Xiangxiang bit her little handkerchief. She needed to find a regular job that paid at least fifty or sixty yuan a month, then beg her parents for money, and then cut back on her son's food rations, so that she could live comfortably.
In short, when conditions become tougher in the future, we'll have to be more careful with our money.
As for working hard to sell fake collars to make money—forget it, Qin Xiangxiang felt that she wasn't such a diligent person.
She's lazy.
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