Chapter 64 Temporary
Gu Xiao accompanied Nan Zhiyi to the stairwell.
When no one was around, he helped her take off her straw hat and wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.
"Go in, don't be nervous."
Nan Zhiyi took a deep breath, "I...I'm not nervous at all..."
She quickly climbed two steps, glanced back at him, and said, "Go ahead and get busy."
Gu Xiao nodded, but didn't move. He stood there, watching her slender figure disappear around the corner of the stairs.
He had nothing else to do; he just came to accompany her.
He turned around, walked to the shade of the sycamore tree on the side of the building, and waited silently and patiently.
Nan Zhiyi went to the publicity department office, and Zhao Yaqin waved and smiled as soon as she saw Nan Zhiyi.
"You're here! Come on, I'll take you to see our section chief."
Zhao Yaqin led her to the small office inside and knocked on the door. "Section Chief Li? Comrade Nan Zhiyi is here."
Section Chief Li Mei was in her forties, with short hair and a faded military uniform.
She was writing something at her desk when she heard the sound. She looked up and gave Nan Zhiyi a sharp look, but her expression was not very clear.
"sit."
"Hello, Section Chief Li." Nan Zhiyi sat down, her back straight.
"Yaqin said you have beautiful handwriting and can also draw?"
Li Mei got straight to the point, taking out a piece of white paper and several pencils and crayons from the drawer.
"The propaganda poster's theme was 'Grasp Revolution, Promote Production'."
"good."
Nan Zhiyi took the paper and pen, pondered for a while, and then quickly sketched on the paper with the pencil.
The pencil scratches, the colors spread out, workers and farmers stand side by side, the background is a factory and wheat fields, the strokes are clean and powerful.
Section Chief Li scrutinized the situation for a moment: "Come to work tomorrow. Temporary worker, paid by the piece. One yuan per article, one to three yuan per poster, settled at the end of the month. Grain coupons are separate: five jin of fine grains and five jin of coarse grains."
She spoke quickly and explained clearly, "The main job is to help with writing bulletin boards and articles, and drawing promotional posters. Any objections?"
"No objection, thank you Section Chief Li." Nan Zhiyi felt relieved.
"Okay, be here at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to report to Yaqin." Section Chief Li put the painting into the drawer, which meant it was settled.
Nan Zhiyi thanked him again before leaving.
In the outer office area, Zhao Yaqin saw her come out and asked, "Did it work?"
She smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll come to work at eight tomorrow. Sister Yaqin, thank you so much."
Zhao Yaqin laughed heartily: "I knew you could do it! Tomorrow I'll take you to get paper and pens and familiarize you with the place."
"Yes! Sister Yaqin, thank you."
"Don't mention it!" Zhao Yaqin patted her shoulder. "Go back quickly, it's hot outside."
Nan Zhiyi walked briskly down the stairs and immediately saw Gu Xiao under the tree.
He stood there quietly, his gaze piercing through the sunlight and gently falling on her.
Nan Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickened her pace, running towards him.
"Why haven't you left? Have you finished your business?"
He didn't answer, but instead took her wrist.
"Passed?"
"Yes!" Nan Zhiyi nodded vigorously, her face beaming with undisguised joy. "Going to work tomorrow!"
Gu Xiao had previously asked around about vacancies for teachers and administrative staff, but there had been no response; all positions were in high demand.
Unexpectedly, she managed to get into the publicity department on her own, with Zhao Yaqin's help.
He was happy for her.
"Let's go."
Nan Zhiyi then realized that the two of them were holding hands, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
She forcefully pulled her hand away, glancing around, "There are people here!"
Gu Xiao's hands were empty, and he smiled helplessly.
"Okay, let's go." He put the hat on her head and gestured for her to follow.
The two walked side by side, a little distance apart, back along the path under the shade of the trees.
Nan Zhiyi lowered her eyes, watching the shadows of the two people, whose steps were almost synchronized, overlap and then separate on the ground.
Gu Xiao escorted her all the way to the outskirts of the family quarters before squeezing her fingertips. "I'm going to the regimental headquarters now."
Nan Zhiyi stood there, watching him walk away before turning around and going home, her steps becoming lighter and lighter.
She got a job, and he... was happy for her, wasn't he?
Let's cook something delicious tonight to celebrate.
I didn't eat a proper dinner that night.
Gu Xiao knew her period was over, so he pressed her down on the bed and tossed her over.
Her breath was hot, and she coaxed him in a low voice.
Unable to bear it any longer, she sobbed and pleaded, "Brother..."
He stopped, still wanting more, because he knew she would have to get up early the next day.
As dawn broke and Nan Zhiyi was still not fully conscious, a series of soft, warm kisses came from her neck.
She tried to escape, but he pressed her down so hard she had nowhere to run.
"Gu Xiao...you're so bad..."
He chuckled softly, "Awake? Breakfast is keeping warm in the pot."
He gave her a deep kiss on the lips before getting up. "Sleep a little longer, it's still early."
Nan Zhiyi sat up, wrapped in a thin blanket, her cheeks flushed: "You bad guy!"
Gu Xiao, buttoning his top button, said seriously, "I still prefer you calling me 'brother'..."
...
"You!" Nan Zhiyi grabbed a pillow from beside her and threw it at him.
Gu Xiao easily caught the pillow, put it back on the bed, leaned down, and quickly kissed her puffed-up cheek before she could react.
"They're gone."
He straightened up, a triumphant smile on his lips, and strode out the door.
It took Nan Zhiyi a while to slowly lift the covers and get out of bed to wash up.
When she entered the publicity department office, she glanced at her watch; it was exactly 7:50.
Inside the outer office, six old desks were neatly arranged, and several filing cabinets were placed against the wall.
Zhao Yaqin had already arrived and was wiping the table.
"Zhiyi's here!" she greeted with a smile. "Come on, let me take you to the logistics department to get your office supplies."
The two returned with new notebooks, drawing tools, fountain pens, ink, and a stack of manuscript paper.
Zhao Yaqin pointed to the clean, empty table by the window: "Look, you'll sit here from now on. This seat used to belong to Sister Chen, but she retired, so it's now empty. The table next to it belongs to Zhang, who's on leave visiting his family."
Nan Zhiyi put the things down.
Two other people from the office also arrived.
One of them was a male staff member in his forties named Wu Jianguo, who was responsible for text review and proofreading.
The other was a young man in his early twenties named Sun Xiaobing, who handled fieldwork and contacted the printing factory.
"Officer Wu, Officer Sun, this is the new temporary worker, Comrade Nan Zhiyi, who will be in charge of bulletin boards and propaganda posters from now on," Zhao Yaqin introduced.
"Hello, Officer Wu. Hello, Officer Sun," Nan Zhiyi greeted politely.
Wu Jianguo looked up from the thick stack of documents, nodded in response, and then buried himself in his work again.
Sun Xiaobing was more enthusiastic: "Hello, Comrade Nan Zhiyi! From now on, we'll be counting on you for the painting work!"
"Officer Sun, I will do my best."
Nan Zhiyi smiled and replied.
Zhao Yaqin clapped her hands: "Alright, Zhiyi, get familiar with the environment first. In our department, Section Chief Li will mainly assign tasks directly, or if Officer Wu or I need any drawing or calligraphy work, we'll ask you. If you have any questions, just ask me."
Nan Zhiyi nodded, sat down in her assigned spot, tidied her stationery, and opened her new notebook.
The morning was spent copying documents and brainstorming drafts for the bulletin board.
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