Xie Chunmei and Wang Cuihua successfully registered for the exams at the soap factory and the food factory, respectively.
By the time others saw the notice and came, the registration quota was full, and the recruiters at the factory gate had already moved their tables and chairs away.
"How lucky we are! If we had come any later, we would have missed it."
Wang Cuihua was in a good mood at the moment and had forgotten the soreness in her body that morning, her legs feeling like they were filled with lead, and the scene of the two of them walking to the commune with the help of the tree branches they had picked up. They walked that road for two hours!
Qu Lixin's legs are really strong; he was able to get to the county yesterday. The two of them don't even dare to dream of working in the county now. Heaven knows how painful it is to walk every day from the county to their village home.
Qu Lixin was lying on his small bed in the dormitory, groaning in pain. His legs felt like they didn't belong to him anymore, and he couldn't get out of bed at all. If it weren't for the bus from the county to the town, he didn't even dare to think whether he would have been able to return yesterday.
Looking at the bustling state-run store, Wang Cuihua looked on with envy, saying, "I wish I could work here."
"What are you thinking? Jobs at state-run stores are in high demand. There's no way they'll hire from outside."
As Xie Chunmei spoke, she observed the crowd, trying to squeeze in to see what was happening inside the state-run store.
"Oh dear, Chunmei, my shoe fell off!"
Xie Chunmei squeezed her way through the crowd until she could see Wang Cuihua through the throng. She could only raise her voice, "Wang Cuihua, wait for me outside!"
The crowd included elderly women, middle-aged people, and young people. There were contestants, but most of them were NPCs (non-player characters).
After finally squeezing myself into a meat patty, I arrived at a counter.
The sales clerk, looking rather displeased, tapped a stick beside her. "Quiet down, don't push!! What do you want to buy?"
Xie Chunmei then realized that her counter was selling fabric, but she didn't want to buy fabric. "Sorry, I don't want fabric."
The sales clerk rolled her eyes, secretly pleased with herself for playing the role so well! President Lin was still watching from behind the monitor; to maintain Feiyang Entertainment's reputation, the contestants' experience had to be maximized.
"What are you standing here for if you're not going to buy anything?"
Xie Chunmei was completely innocent; she couldn't move at all.
Fortunately, the NPC lady next to him reached out and handed over the ticket and money, "Comrade, how much red cloth is left?"
"One zhang remains."
"I want them all."
The sales clerk took the money and coupons from the woman, counted them, and said, "Not enough cloth coupons."
The old woman exclaimed, "Comrade, could you please save this for me? I'll go back and get it. I didn't expect there to be a supply of red cloth today, so I didn't bring many cloth coupons."
The sales clerk handed the money and receipts to the elderly woman, saying, "Everyone wants me to keep these, so why should I? Go back and get them now. If they're gone when you come back, just wait for the next shipment."
Xie Chunmei was jostled around by the crowd, but she did manage to spot other counters. When she finally reached the candy counter, there were far fewer people there.
When she asked about the price, she realized why there were so few people.
Ni Hongying handed Xie Chunmei a mirror, "Fix your hair, your braids are all undone."
Xie Chunmei thanked her, then noticed that the other person was different from the other sales clerks. Remembering that one of the contestants had drawn the sales clerk role, she lowered her voice and whispered while returning the mirror, "Are you also a contestant?"
Ni Hongying nodded, also somewhat excited. Yesterday, she was busy learning to organize the counter and use a scale and abacus, and hadn't paid much attention to the contestants. She didn't expect to run into them so early this morning.
What identity did you draw?
"Farmers. The food in the village communal pot is quite delicious, but there's not much money involved."
"The meals at the commune were very basic, with no meat at all. I heard that the food at the state-run restaurants was better."
Xie Chunmei looked at Ni Hongying, who longed for a state-run restaurant. Ni Hongying already had a good job as a sales clerk and was still thinking about making it even better. Xie Chunmei also wanted to work hard to earn money.
"Comrade, weigh out half a pound of fruit candy for me."
Ni Hongying quickly weighed half a jin and sent the receipt flying over her head.
Xie Chunmei didn't have a ticket and couldn't buy anything, so she said goodbye to Ni Hongying and left.
Xie Chunmei and Wang Cuihua didn't have any food coupons, so they couldn't afford the steamed buns at the state-run restaurant. Xie Chunmei looked at Wang Cuihua with a pang of sadness in her own stomach, and told Wang Cuihua to wait there.
After a while, Xie Chunmei returned with two grain coupons.
When Wang Cuihua saw the grain coupons, her eyes widened, and she asked in a low voice, "Where did you get these?"
"There are NPCs around here who you can secretly exchange money for. Meat dishes here don't require meat coupons, but they're expensive. Steamed buns, noodles, dumplings, and other dishes all require grain coupons."
Xie Chunmei pointed to the menu on the small blackboard, "Take a look and see what you want to eat."
Wang Cuihua was so focused on the delicious-looking food that when she saw the prices on the blackboard, she immediately wanted to leave.
"A steamed bun costs three cents and requires a grain coupon, and a bowl of plain noodles costs twelve cents and also requires a grain coupon."
Wang Cuihua lowered her head, looking like a dried-out eggplant. "I worked so hard yesterday and only earned a little over 30 cents. This bowl of noodles costs 12 cents. It's too expensive."
Xie Chunmei was also shocked by the price. She remembered that some young people online had calculated that cooking at home was much more expensive than eating out, and she didn't understand why the older generation said that cooking at home was cheaper. Now she understood: it was because eating out was much more expensive than cooking at home.
"Young comrades, are you hungry?"
A woman in her forties approached the two of them and said, "I know a place where you don't need food coupons to eat, and the prices are reasonable."
Having just experienced exchanging grain coupons, Xie Chunmei figured this older sister must also be an NPC. So, after asking around, the two followed this slightly plump older sister.
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