Chapter 44: I started working with my mother at such a young age...
"Here we are, right here."
Section Chief You took Jiang Xueyi to an office on the second floor and said to her, "Our Children's Rights and Interests Section's office is right here. To the left and right are the offices of the Publicity Section and the General Office. You can stop by when you have time."
Jiang Xueyi glanced at the room where the Propaganda Department was located. Liu Lu was from the Propaganda Department, but she usually had to send Zhao Xiaorui to school before coming to work, so she didn't come so early.
Section Chief You led Jiang Xueyi in: "This is your workstation."
Jiang Xueyi took out the things in her backpack one by one and placed them on her workstation.
Section Chief You noticed her aluminum lunch box and said, "You brought a lunch box too!" He added, "This is my fault. I forgot to tell you that our Women's Federation has a cafeteria, which we share with the town committee. Meals are subsidized."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "That's a good feeling."
Section Chief You picked up the aluminum lunch box and said, "Put it on the radiator first to keep it warm so it won't get cold at noon."
She was so kind. Jiang Xueyi felt warm in her heart: "Thank you, Sister You."
"Well, you're so polite," Chief You continued. "There are four of us in our department, and besides the two of us..."
Just as he finished speaking, a girl about twenty years old with two shiny pigtails and bangs came in.
Section Chief You: "Xiao Xu, you're here pretty early today."
The girl stuck out her tongue: "It's okay."
Section Chief You introduced her, "This is Xu Shanshan. Like you, she's a staff member in our section."
Before she finished speaking, Xu Shanshan said, "Didn't they say there's a new member in our department, and she's a military wife."
Jiang Xueyi said, "It's me." She held out her hand. "Jiang Xueyi, you can call me Xiao Jiang. Please take care of me."
"Just call me Xiao Xu, just like Sister You." Xu Shanshan shook her hand and said in surprise, "They told me that a breastfeeding military wife had arrived. I thought you were at least in your twenties or almost thirty, but you look younger than me."
Most soldiers and their families live apart. If a military wife can come to join the army, the one at home must have a certain rank, and the rank is linked to the length of service in the army. What's more, Jiang Xueyi has given birth to a child, so Xu Shanshan is right to think so.
She looked at the little bun in Jiang Xueyi's arms curiously: "Is this your baby?"
The little bun woke up and looked at her with his big round eyes like black grapes. He was so cute.
Xu Shanshan's heart almost melted: "She's so cute."
The little bun smiled at Xu Shanshan in a very coquettish way, which immediately captured Xu Shanshan's heart. She started to make faces to tease him.
Section Chief You said apologetically, "Xiao Xu is young and a little childish."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and didn't respond.
Chief You can say this, but she can't respond, otherwise what will happen?
Section Chief You continued, "There's another staff member named Xia Ying. She's pregnant, which is why our section is short-staffed and we need to recruit externally."
Chief You: "She doesn't come to the office very often, you'll see her occasionally."
Jiang Xueyi heard some dissatisfaction in it, and it seemed that Chief You was not very satisfied with Xia Ying.
Chief You: "Let me help you find a connection."
"Okay." Jiang Xueyi picked up the little bun.
Xu Shanshan was having a great time and said, "I'll go with you guys."
Section Chief You: "We have to keep one person in our section."
Jiang Xueyi simply said, "Then please, Xiao Xu, look after the little bun for me. Sister You and I will be back soon."
This was exactly what Xu Shanshan wanted. She waved her hands repeatedly and said, "Go quickly."
Continue to tease the little bun: "So your name is little bun, little bun~ little bun~"
Chief You sighed helplessly: "Follow me."
She led Jiang Xueyi to the office and introduced, "The office is responsible for handling internal affairs. You have met their director, his surname is Han. He was the other interviewer besides me yesterday."
Jiang Xueyi nodded.
Seeing that she was listening attentively, Section Chief You was very satisfied.
Arriving at the office, Section Chief You knocked on the door and a voice came from inside: "Come in."
Section Chief You took Jiang Xueyi in and said, "Han Yan, I'm bringing a new person to transfer the relationship."
"I've been preparing for this for a long time." Han Yan said with a smile, "I really envy you for getting another capable subordinate."
Section Chief You smiled and said, "If someone who can work comes, I'll feel more relaxed."
Han Yan looked at Jiang Xueyi and asked, "Did you bring the grain certificate?"
Jiang Xueyi quickly took out the food allowance from her bag and said, "I brought it."
Han Yan took it and scribbled on the notebook: "You just got here, the salary is 20.80 yuan per month..."
Jiang Xueyi was slightly surprised. She didn't expect that in this day and age people would talk about their salary so casually without any sense of confidentiality.
On second thought, the salaries in that era were basically fixed, unlike in later generations where they were paid based on basic salary and performance.
Even if you don't say it, others can figure it out immediately by asking about your position and salary level.
Han Yan continued, "Every month I receive two kilograms of meat coupons and two ounces of sugar coupons..."
With every word she spoke, the corners of Jiang Xueyi's mouth curled up a little.
The treatment provided by the Women's Federation was much better than she had imagined!
Back in the office of the Children's Rights Section, Section Chief You finally clarified the work details with Jiang Xueyi: "Our main job is to mediate family disputes and provide assistance to vulnerable groups."
Xu Shanshan interjected, "We're just playing the role of 'family members'. If someone comes to complain, we just help them."
Chief You paused and said, "Almost." He then said, "If no one comes, we will do our own thing."
Xu Shanshan continued to interrupt: "Actually, it's nothing."
Section Chief You glared and said, "You're the only one who talks too much." He added, "Another thing is that everyone in our office and two departments needs to be on duty."
Jiang Xueyi thought of the receptionist she saw when she passed by the first floor: "Is she on duty at the front desk?"
Section Chief You: "Yes, I'll send you the shift roster later. Each person will take turns on duty for one day. When someone comes to the door, we'll register them and then sort them out... We'll take them to the second floor and see which department they need to go to. It's a bit complicated, so we'll analyze each case individually. I'll tell you the details when you're on duty."
Xu Shanshan looked up to the sky and sighed: "Being on duty is the most tiring thing."
Section Chief You was too lazy to pay attention to her. He looked at Jiang Xueyi and asked, "Do you understand?"
"I understand." Jiang Xueyi said decisively.
"By the way, the usual working hours are from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Those on duty at the front desk are advised to come half an hour early." Section Chief You blinked and lowered his voice. "If you have anything else to do, you can come a little later or leave early."
Section Chief You sat back at his workstation and began knitting. "That's about it for the introduction. Xiao Jiang, if you have any questions, please ask me."
"Okay." Jiang Xueyi sat down at her workstation and couldn't help but sigh, it was simply a god's job.
She looked at the miscellaneous items on Xu Shanshan's desk and the pile of wool balls on Chief You's desk, and felt even more satisfied.
Jiang Xueyi took the little boy from Xu Shanshan's arms. Although the little boy liked playing with the pretty little sister, he still liked his mother's arms more. He lay in Jiang Xueyi's arms, feeling very comfortable.
Jiang Xueyi tapped the little bun's face and suddenly thought of an embarrassing question.
He has started working with his mother at such a young age. Could it be that the little boy is the kind of talent that HR in the future wants, who is 25 years old and has 20 years of work experience?
Shake your head and get rid of the ridiculous thoughts.
Jiang Xueyi began to tidy up her desk.
No one had used her table before, so there was still a lot of miscellaneous stuff piled on it.
First move all the debris away, then wet a towel with water and wipe the inside and outside.
And then... then there was nothing to do.
No wonder Section Chief You brought wool to knit a sweater. To put it bluntly, their job is to wait for people to come to them. If no one comes, it means they have no work to do and are very idle.
No wonder Xu Shanshan was so excited when she saw the little buns. In her eyes, the little buns were much more interesting.
Jiang Xueyi began to think, should she bring some books and tea from home and start living the life of a retired old man in advance?
At noon, just after eleven fifteen, Section Chief You and Xu Shanshan got up and prepared to go to the cafeteria.
Xu Shanshan asked Jiang Xueyi if she wanted to go with them.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "I brought my own lunch today. I'll go to the cafeteria with you guys tomorrow."
"Okay." Xu Shanshan pointed to an empty cubicle in the office. "There's a bed inside. If you feel sleepy at noon, you can take your little one in there to rest for a while."
She and Chief Yu both live in town, so they don't go back to the office at noon.
Jiang Xueyi took the aluminum lunch box off the radiator; it was still warm.
Open the lid of the box and inside is the loving lunch made by He Chengze.
The scrambled eggs with tomatoes are sweet and sour, the garlic chicken wings are fragrant, and the seaweed egg drop soup warms the stomach in one sip.
After a delicious meal, Jiang Xueyi washed the lunch box and placed it on the windowsill to drain.
I looked at my watch and it was only twelve o'clock noon.
She doesn't start work until 2:30 in the afternoon, which means she has a two and a half hour lunch break.
Jiang Xueyi held the little bun and walked to the small compartment that Xu Shanshan mentioned.
Although it is called a small compartment, it is about seven square meters in size and there is only a single bed and a cabinet inside.
Although it is a single bed, it is big enough for her and the little one to sleep in.
Jiang Xueyi rummaged through the cabinet and unexpectedly found some pillows and blankets that no one had used.
She spread out her things and let the little boy sleep against the wall while she slept outside. The mother and son slept soundly with their heads touching.
I slept very soundly that night and woke up too early in the morning.
Jiang Xueyi looked at her watch. It was exactly half past two.
She carried the little bun back to her workstation and put the drained aluminum lunch box back into her bag.
It was almost three o'clock when Section Chief You arrived with two new balls of wool in his hands.
Xu Shanshan was even more exaggerated. She was not seen until 3:30.
While yawning, he grumbled that he didn't get enough sleep during his nap.
Jiang Xueyi, who witnessed all this, was sweating.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Xu Shanshan said goodbye to Jiang Xueyi and Section Chief You on time.
Section Chief You said goodbye to her, then slowly gathered up the yarn and said, "See you tomorrow, Xiao Jiang."
"Okay." Jiang Xueyi said, "Sister You."
As soon as Section Chief You left, Liu Lu came over and asked happily, "Xueyi, how do you feel about your first day on the job?"
Jiang Xueyi thought for a moment and said, "Very...free?"
Liu Lu laughed: "Our Women's Federation is like this. Not to mention your Rights and Interests Section, even our Propaganda Section can't write a single manuscript in a month. And the entire section takes turns writing. If you calculate it, I can't even lift a pen once in a quarter. All the writing skills I learned in school have been wasted."
Jiang Xueyi glanced at Liu Lu's belly: "Is the baby okay?"
Liu Lu touched her belly, her face full of maternal radiance: "I'm fine, I'm eating everything with relish now."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "I didn't know we had a cafeteria here, and I brought my own food. Tomorrow I plan to go to the cafeteria with Sister You and Xiao Xu to eat."
Liu Lu smiled and said, "There's a surprise for you in the cafeteria."
Jiang Xueyi blinked: "Then I'll look forward to it."
She lowered her voice and said, "By the way, I have something to ask you."
"You say." Liu Lu said.
Jiang Xueyi: "Let's talk outside."
She nodded and motioned Liu Lu to look around.
Liu Lu also knew that walls have ears: "Okay."
The two of them left the Women's Federation office building and rode their bicycles.
After riding for a while, Jiang Xueyi finally spoke: "Sister You told me that there is a girl named Xia Ying in our department who just got pregnant. She also said that she rarely comes to the office."
Liu Lu understood: "You mean to ask, since we're both pregnant, why Xia Ying doesn't have to come to the office, but I have to, right?"
Jiang Xueyi nodded.
Liu Lu smiled and said, "It depends on the individual. Xia Ying from your department reported to her superiors that she was pregnant and asked for a long leave."
"Is it really a bad omen?" Jiang Xueyi asked.
Liu Lu scoffed, "How could she be pregnant? I saw her the other day, and her complexion was even rosier than mine. She just didn't want to come to work and collect a salary."
The two of them chatted about some gossip about the Women's Federation and then went home.
When she got home, He Chengze asked her, "How did you feel about your first day at work?"
"Very good." Jiang Xueyi said with emotion.
It's simply a class of gods.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "I ate all the food you cooked. It tasted very good." She added, "By the way, our section chief told me that there is a cafeteria in the Women's Federation. I don't have to bring my own food anymore."
"That's great." He Chengze said, "I was thinking it would be troublesome for you to bring your lunch every day, so I wanted to ask if you would like to come back to the compound cafeteria for lunch. It would be best if you have a cafeteria there."
He Chengze missed the little bun so much after not seeing him for a day. He kissed the little bun and asked, "Do you miss your daddy?"
The fine stubble tickled the little boy and made him giggle.
He Chengze saw that half of the things in Jiang Xueyi's backpack were gone: "You don't need to bring so many things tomorrow, right?"
Jiang Xueyi shook her head: "I need to bring more things tomorrow."
She counted on her fingers, "I need to bring a cup. I won't need the military canteen. We have a kettle for boiling water. Drinking clean hot water is the best. Also, I want to bring a few books to read."
"By the way, you also need to bring some pillows and blankets." Jiang Xueyi said.
Although there were some prepared things in the small compartment, it was still cleaner and warmer to use the things at home. The blanket she used for sleeping at noon today was still a little thin. If she hadn't gotten up early in the morning and slept deeply at noon, she would probably have been woken up by the cold several times.
"Okay." He Chengze replied, "I happen to have some unused cashmere quilts and pillows at home. I'll pack them up for you and put them in the back seat of the car. You can bring them over tomorrow."
"When summer comes, we'll switch to cool mats and buckwheat pillows."
Jiang Xueyi was embarrassed. What was going on? She felt like going to stay in the dormitory.
"What about the people in your office? Are they easy to get along with?" He Chengze asked again.
Jiang Xueyi: "There are only four people in our department, including me. One of us is pregnant and is on leave. The rest are the department head and a younger girl. They are all easy to get along with. Seeing me bring my little one to work, they all take good care of me."
"That's great." He Chengze nodded.
There is nothing better than simple interpersonal relationships.
He Chengze: "Did I tell you about the salary?"
"Yes," Jiang Xueyi said, "The monthly salary is 20.80 yuan, and I get two kilograms of meat coupons..."
"Sure." He Chengze said with a smile, "I can make money."
"That's it." Jiang Xueyi said proudly.
She lifted He Chengze's chin and said, "Call Secretary Jiang. I'll buy you some meat tomorrow when I get my salary."
This little guy is very seductive.
He Chengze couldn't help but hugged her and gave her a deep kiss.
After dinner, the two of them digested their food.
Lying on the bed after taking a shower, He Chengze's eyes sparkled as he said, "You've been riding your bike all day, let me give you a calf massage."
Jiang Xueyi glared at him, as if she didn't know what he was planning.
"Don't give me that. It only takes me 40 minutes to ride my bike there and back."
"Don't underestimate these forty minutes. If you don't massage the accumulated pain in your calf now, you'll be in great pain tomorrow."
As he said this, he was about to reach out his hand.
Jiang Xueyi rolled half a circle on the bed to avoid his hand.
She didn't want to do that today. Once He Chengze started doing that, it would never stop. She didn't want to go to work with shaking legs tomorrow.
She said, "I have to go to work tomorrow." She coaxed him, "It's Saturday in two days, I'll give it to you on Saturday."
"Okay." He Chengze withdrew his hand regretfully, and touched her smooth and slender waist unwillingly.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Don't just focus on giving me a massage. I can also give you a massage."
He Chengze was immediately distracted: "Will you give me a massage?"
Jiang Xueyi: "It's not me, it's him."
She held the little bun under his arms with both hands and lifted him up.
The little bun blinked his big innocent eyes and looked at He Chengze.
He Chengze: ...
Jiang Xueyi continued to smile: "You are usually much more tired than me during training. Do you want to feel the massage skills of your own son?"
He Chengze glanced at the little bun's chubby little paws: ...
"Hey, don't disbelieve me." Jiang Xueyi patted the bed, "Try lying on your stomach."
He Chengze lay down on the bed, exposing his back.
Jiang Xueyi picked up the little bun and put it on He Chengze's back: "Little bun, be good, give daddy a massage, okay?"
The little boy was wearing yellow and white socks, and he couldn't help giggling as soon as his soft little feet stepped on He Chengze's strong back.
He Chengze was also amused. So this was what Jiang Xueyi meant by letting the little bun give him a massage.
The little bun's chubby legs kicked up and down like a little rabbit that had just learned to jump.
He Chengze smiled and said, "Oh, my dear son, you are quite energetic."
Jiang Xueyi carefully held the little bun and said, "Don't underestimate the little bun. He is very strong now. Sometimes I can't catch him."
"Really?" He Chengze turned over and sat up, tickling the little boy's toes. "I want to see how strong he is."
The little boy giggled and lay in Jiang Xueyi's arms, his warm, milky breath covering her face.
After working as usual for a few days, she finally received a notice from Section Chief You that she was on duty.
Jiang Xueyi was cheered up, as it was her first time on duty.
On the day of her shift, she arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time of 8:30.
Little Baozi didn't come to work with her today. He Chengze was responsible for taking care of him. I heard that he would also take Little Baozi to play with his comrades.
Jiang Xueyi was shocked. They were just a bunch of grown men, so just don’t cause any trouble.
She was wearing a blue floral blouse today, the hem of which reached her knees. She still had her hair in a side ponytail, looking clean and fresh.
Section Chief You also arrived early. She told Jiang Xueyi, "The duty seems troublesome, but it's actually quite simple. It mainly involves receiving visitors and registering their information."
As she spoke, she tapped the thick registration book.
"If they're here to deliver documents, take them to the office on the second floor. If they're from a newspaper or magazine, take them to the Propaganda Department..."
Section Chief You smiled and said, "If you don't understand anything, you can come up and ask me right away." He added, "Young people, we shouldn't be afraid of having too many questions, but we should be afraid of slow progress."
Jiang Xueyi nodded: "I understand."
Chief You: "Okay, then you go ahead and get busy."
At nine o'clock, people started arriving one after another.
If she meets someone she knows, Jiang Xueyi will say hello.
If you don’t know someone, just smile and nod.
Everyone likes polite people, and everyone is much more friendly towards Jiang Xueyi.
Only when she was actually on duty did Jiang Xueyi understand why Xu Shanshan said that being on duty was the most tiring.
Because she is responsible for receiving not only people who come to the Women's Federation, but also some people who want to go to the town committee building behind but can't find the way, who also come to consult.
After being busy this morning, she felt very thirsty and even drank two extra glasses of water.
At exactly twelve o'clock, Xu Shanshan came skipping over and knocked on the table: "Xiao Jiang, let's go eat."
"It's your first day on duty. It's busy, isn't it?" she kindly said. "But it's okay. It only happens once every two weeks. Just bear with it and it will pass."
Jiang Xueyi looked behind her: "Where's Sister You?"
Xu Shanshan: "Sister You went home. She said that she has guests coming to her house for lunch today, so she won't be eating in the cafeteria with us."
Arriving at the cafeteria, Xu Shanshan took Jiang Xueyi to a desk and said, "We don't use food stamps to eat in the cafeteria, but meal tickets. Meal tickets are purchased with money."
As she spoke, she took out two dollars from her pocket and said, "Give me a two-dollar meal ticket."
Jiang Xueyi replied, "I want a two-dollar meal ticket, too."
After they bought their meal tickets, Xu Shanshan took Jiang Xueyi to the stall to get some food: "Auntie, I want two taels of rice, one serving of twice-cooked pork, and one serving of stir-fried pork liver with spinach."
After she finished her meal, she took the tray and said, "I'll wait for you over there."
Jiang Xueyi responded and looked towards the stall. There was a wide variety of dishes, including scrambled eggs with tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, mapo tofu, spicy chicken, and braised spareribs...
Like Xu Shanshan, she also ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish, braised pork ribs and stir-fried cabbage, plus two taels of rice.
The auntie in charge of serving the food put her order on the plate: "Rice is two cents, stir-fried cabbage is two cents, and braised spareribs is ten cents. The total is fourteen cents."
Jiang Xueyi widened her eyes. She didn't expect it to be so cheap.
After she was given the meal ticket, she realized that it was not only cheap but also did not require food coupons, which was simply great.
Xu Shanshan smiled and said, "We eat in the cafeteria, which is subsidized by the government, so the average price of a meal is half of what it would be outside." She added, "The best part is that we don't need food coupons. Sister You has four children at home, and she often tells me that if we didn't eat in our cafeteria, where the prices are cheaper and we don't need food coupons, she wouldn't have been able to raise her children."
Jiang Xueyi glanced at the cafeteria hall and saw that many people were dining with their children.
She was even more satisfied after having the meal.
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