Chapter 150 Listening to the sermon
An Zhixia could stay up late, but that was when she was playing games online or taking night photos. In this age when the only lights in the house were overhead light bulbs and flashlights, she could finally get the luxury of a beauty sleep.
However, as the elder brother and the only male in the family, An Zhiqiu had to get up from time to time to check the fire and ventilate his sister's room. The house layout of No. 56 Courtyard is small, but the main house and the east and west wing rooms have small compartments for entertaining guests, which can also be converted into small study rooms, making it more convenient and comfortable to live in.
Because her brother had been slowly baking her on the kang all night, An Zhixia felt very dry when she got up in the morning, and gulped down a full cup of water. After eating the soybean milk and fried dough sticks her brother bought from the canteen of the compound, she changed into a standard blue cotton four-piece suit, combed her hair into two pigtails, stepped on the wine red corduroy cotton shoes sewn by her sister-in-law, and carried a military green canvas bag. Her face was clean and plain, but it still couldn't hide the exquisiteness of her facial features and the youthfulness of her body. She was a sweet, beautiful and lovable girl.
An Zhiqiu was also dressed properly, like all the other workers, with nothing to suggest otherwise, but his handsome face still stood out, making him stand out from the crowd. To be on the safe side, the brother and sister both carried a red book, ready to hold the book in their hands once they had parked the car at the destination, to ensure a smooth report.
Kyoto is very large, with ancient buildings as the center. Their house is in Dongcheng District, close to the city center, which is not far from the second ring road in later generations. The An family lives in the suburbs of Xicheng District. An's father is an old employee of the paint factory, and Kang Xiaohua replaced An's mother as a female worker in the garment factory. Therefore, if the brother and sister did not show up deliberately, they would have almost no chance to meet.
The place where the An brothers and sisters were going to work was a supply and marketing cooperative and a state-owned restaurant in Dongcheng District, which was a little remote and not very prosperous, near the Third Ring Road.
Come to think of it, the purpose of the job that Brother Hong asked someone to find for them was to transfer their household registration here. The jobs in Kyoto that were easy and had good benefits had already been taken up, and it was not easy to find such an apprenticeship job nearby. Besides, people's wages were not closely related to their benefits now, so there was not much to gain.
The state-owned restaurant and the supply and marketing cooperative were on the same street, separated only by a barber shop. Because the street was not in a good location, it only served the employees of the nearby flour mills and paper mills who had low salaries and their families. Two streets away was the main road of Dongcheng District, where there were shops with similar products and new styles competing with it, so the business was extremely bad and almost on the verge of bankruptcy.
The shop assistants were not paying attention here. They were all thinking about transferring to other places through their connections. The turnover rate was high, so two apprentice positions were vacated in time.
Brother Hong secretly asked people for this information, hoping that they could adapt to the unfamiliar working environment as quickly as possible and know how to maintain relationships with their colleagues.
After exhorting and encouraging each other with her brother, the two separated in front of the barber shop. An Zhixia entered the supply and marketing cooperative from the back door, showed the documents to the old man at the door, parked the car in the carport, and walked to the office.
She arrived at the working time, but the door of the supply and marketing cooperative was closed and there was no one in the office. She waited for almost an hour before a few older women came in from the back pushing carts or carrying bags.
"A new apprentice?" After they parked the bike, they saw the pretty girl standing there obediently, and forced a smile at the corners of their lips.
An Zhixia smiled and nodded to greet them politely. She had taken the spot that everyone was keeping an eye on for their relatives. She took out a handful of beautiful fruit candies from her bag and stuffed a few into each of them. "My name is An Zhixia. I'm an educated youth who just returned to the city. I'll be a colleague with you sisters in the future. I hope you guys will take good care of me."
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to treat this young educated youth who returned to the city. If they looked down on her, she must have some background since she was so pretty and capable of returning to the city to work early. After a year, she would be promoted to a regular employee and be on par with them. If they paid attention to her, she must have some background. If they paid attention to her, she must have a good background. She had to share food with them in this corner, so they would inevitably feel resentful.
They took the candy with a smile, said a few polite words, and then opened the door to go to work. We could only get along with each other in a plain and modest manner.
The director arrived not long after. He was a middle-aged man with a bald head and a beer belly. He smiled casually, with a series of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He took out the key from his briefcase and asked as he opened the door, "Is this Xiao An?"
"Hello, Director Huang, I'm An Zhixia," she replied with a smile and a nod.
"I know. Old Yuan has informed me." Director Huang put down his things and went to wash his hands first. "Please sit down. Sit wherever you want. I'll go get some water." Then he went out with two bamboo thermoses.
An Zhixia looked around the office, a particularly ordinary, old-fashioned office space with a mottled paint desk, two sets of identical wooden cabinets for storing documents, a set of wooden sofas, porcelain teacups for entertaining guests on the coffee table, and a washbasin rack and clothes hanger.
Director Huang made her a glass of water, sat opposite her and said with a smile: "I know everything about your work in Wuqi Commune. There are not many young people like you who are dedicated to doing practical things for the people. They are all children who follow orders and do nothing but work hard without any flexibility."
An Zhixia held the tea to warm her hands and asked in surprise, "Do you know our president?"
"Yes, people of our age have had passionate and angry times just like you. But you went to the countryside to teach, while we took up arms and traveled north and south for the sake of national peace. We traveled a lot and got to know a lot of old friends. We usually communicated with each other every now and then." Director Huang said with nostalgia, "Alas, Lao Yuan is about to make it. I thought this life would be over, but Comrade Xiao An came. I think I can still fight for another ten years!"
"Director, what the audience said is not credible. I am a 19-year-old female comrade. I just came to the supply and marketing cooperative today to report as an apprentice," An Zhixia said with pressure. Is it not okay for me to just be a low-key landlady? It is very risky to stand out in Kyoto.
"Why not? Old Yuan is a down-to-earth man, and a clean-handed president. This year, he asked someone to bring me a large box of meat for the first time. If the commune wasn't doing well, would he have the money? Besides," Director Huang said with a smile, "someone above me has also told me to do your job well and keep my colleagues busy so they can have something to look forward to, instead of just waiting for retirement every day."
"Who?" An Zhixia was shocked. Why was there someone paying attention to her?
(End of this chapter)
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