Midway through the journey, the old lady got off the bus with her grandson. Before leaving, the old lady glared fiercely at Xia Liang, who rolled her eyes and ignored her.
Later, a young couple sat down opposite them. They were quiet and didn't speak. Xia Liang put down her book, leaned back in her chair, and dozed off. It was past 5 PM when Xia Liang arrived at the provincial capital's train station. Just as she exited, she saw a young woman with double braids, wearing a floral shirt, army green trousers, and black leather shoes, holding a sign that read "Xia Liang." Xia Liang went straight to her and asked, "Hello, are you from the provincial garment factory?" The young woman nodded and said, "Are you Comrade Xia Liang?" Xia Liang nodded again. The woman exclaimed in surprise, "You're so young!" Xia Liang smiled but didn't speak. The woman continued, "My name is Zhao Weiting, I'm twenty-two years old." She extended her right hand, and Xia Liang quickly shook her hand, saying, "My name is Xia Liang, I'm eighteen years old." Zhao Weiting helped her carry a bundle and led the way, saying, "Come on, I'll take you to the factory." With that, Zhao Weiting led Xia Liang towards the provincial garment factory dormitory.
The dormitory was in a large courtyard, where the provincial garment factory's staff quarters were also located. The garment factory was right behind it, and it was less than a three-minute walk to work. Zhao Weiting led Xia Liang to a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor, about thirty square meters in size. There were two single beds inside. One bed was already made up with luggage and some personal belongings, indicating that someone had been living there for some time. The other bed was empty and covered in dust; this was probably hers. When Zhao Weiting saw Xia Liang's gaze fall on the empty bed, her face flushed slightly. She said, "I've been staying at home recently and haven't been in the dormitory, so I haven't cleaned it. I picked you up from the train station today, and after get off work, I went straight to the train station gate. I haven't had time to go back to the dormitory yet." Xia Liang smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll just clean it up quickly." Saying this, she put down her luggage. Zhao Weiting quickly grabbed a basin to fetch water and a rag to wipe the bed, but Xia Liang quickly took it and did it herself. She couldn't let someone else help her. After cleaning the bed, Zhao Weiting took Xia Liang to prepare daily necessities. They bought mattresses and blankets to make the bed, and then bought toothpaste, toothbrushes, cups, towels, and basins. That was pretty much everything; they could get the rest later. Zhao Weiting then showed Xia Liang around the yard to familiarize her with the area. The toilet was at the end of the corridor, with the faucet at the toilet entrance. There were eight toilets on one side, and the toilet was on the far left. Xia Liang's dormitory was on the far right, and the stairs were in the middle. Although using the toilet wasn't convenient, it wasn't a nightmare. Being near the toilet was okay in winter, but the smell was unbearable in summer. After Xia Liang got used to her new living environment, the two returned to their dormitory.
Xia Liang noticed that besides the two beds, there were two tables placed in front of the window, with basic quotes on them. Xia Liang thought that she could also put a small stove in there later so she could cook in the dormitory. Xia Liang slept very comfortably on her first night in the new dormitory, probably because she was exhausted from sitting on the train all day. She fell asleep soon after lying down on the bed.
The next morning, Zhao Weiting shook Xia Liang awake. Seeing that Xia Liang had opened her eyes, she said, "Xia Liang, get up quickly, wash up and get ready for work." Xia Liang raised her left hand to look at her side. It was already 7:30. There was still half an hour left. Xia Liang got up, went to the toilet, and then took her toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, and basin to the end of the corridor to wash up.
Upon arriving at the factory, Xia Liang reported to the factory leader. After completing the formalities, the leader led her to her workstation, showed her around her daily tasks, and then returned to his office. Actually, the consultants had very little to do these days, since the factories were all state-owned and sales were never a problem. So Xia Liang had nothing much to do all day, spending her time in her office drinking tea and reading the newspaper. It was much more leisurely than her previous job at the county garment factory, where she had to supervise the workshops.
And so Xia Liang drifted along in the factory, spending her days drinking tea and reading in the office. She brought her high school textbooks, which she had bought earlier, to the office. If she didn't understand something, she would go back to the dormitory to ask her roommate. Zhao Weiting was also a high school graduate, and a top student at that. There was nothing Xia Liang couldn't answer. After Zhao Weiting's explanation, Xia Liang, who had only a vague understanding before, suddenly understood and found it much easier to learn.
That day, Xia Liang was reading in her office as usual when she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, she saw Zhang Taiwei, the foreman of the workshop below. Xia Liang said, "Come in." Zhang Taiwei entered and said, "Consultant Xia, come with me to the workshop quickly. One of the machines isn't working." The sewing machines at the provincial garment factory were different from those below; they were modern industrial sewing machines, outdated models imported and purchased by the provincial garment factory at a high price. Upon arriving at the workshop, Zhang Taiwei led Xia Liang to a machine and said, "This is it." Xia Liang tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. She squatted down to check the motor arm and found that it wasn't returning to its normal position. Because it had been used for a long time, a spring was missing at the back, so it needed to be manually returned to its original position. Without it returning, it wouldn't start. The workers in the workshop had never seen such an advanced machine before, so they didn't know how to fix it and were very anxious, thinking they had broken it themselves. Xia Liang asked Zhang Taiwei to find a spring and a screw. Zhang Taiwei returned quickly, and Xia Liang adjusted the return spring... Finding a suitable position that allowed for easy return to its original position and gentle footing, Xia Liang started the machine after setting it up. Sure enough, it worked normally. He even called the person at that workstation to try sewing some fabric. It was indeed much better than before. Zhang Taiwei quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Comrade Xia. We wouldn't know what to do without you. This machine always breaks down; the factory almost replaced it." Xia Liang waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me, it's my duty." He then went to check the other machines, most of which had minor problems. After Xia Liang fixed them, they all said they worked much better than before. Seeing that everything was fine, Xia Liang returned to his office. After today's events, everyone witnessed Xia Liang's abilities. Those who had previously held strong opinions about this newly arrived young woman now had nothing to say. Before, everyone speculated whether she was related to the factory leaders, as she had become a consultant at such a young age. Some even said, "What does an eighteen-year-old girl know? She's just here to get qualifications and enhance her resume." There were all sorts of speculations, which is why Xia Liang had been able to drink tea and read books in the office with nothing to do. If it weren't for the fact that there was no other way this time, and the factory had heavy tasks, delaying one machine would delay the progress, they wouldn't have found her by sheer luck.
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