Chapter 1 Letter
When Lin Qingqing returned home from work on Sunday, she ran into Chen Aiguo wiping the windows with a rag, while Yu Xiuhong was sitting by the door picking vegetables. Seeing her return, Yu Xiuhong smiled and asked, "Sister-in-law is back?"
Lin Qingqing hummed in agreement and asked her if she was going to cook.
“Isn’t this Jianbang’s dad home?” Yu Xiuhong pointed at Chen Aiguo and said with a smile, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him today, he’s been very diligent, sweeping the floor, wiping the windows, and cooking. I couldn’t stop him, so he didn’t go to the cafeteria for food.”
Lin Qingqing's cooking included preparing dishes, but Yu Xiuhong only mentioned cooking rice. Although Lin Qingqing found it strange, she didn't think much of it and said, "Battalion Commander Chen is really diligent."
Forced to work hard, Chen Aiguo smiled at Lin Qingqing, wiped his sweat, and said, "Not at all."
Yu Xiuhong was even happier than Chen Aiguo himself, who was being praised. She covered her mouth and laughed, "He's only diligent today. Maybe next time he'll just lie around doing nothing. How can he compare to Commander Xie!"
Upon hearing Yu Xiuhong mention Commander Xie, Chen Aiguo immediately said, "I'll come back just as often from now on."
Yu Xiuhong snorted lightly, "I'm watching." Then she smiled and asked Lin Qingqing if she wanted to eat at home.
"I had dinner in the cafeteria before I came back," Lin Qingqing said as she unlocked the door and pushed the car inside.
Yu Xiuhong looked disappointed and said, "Then forget it."
Because she had eaten dinner at the supply and marketing cooperative before returning home, Lin Qingqing didn't rush to light the stove after arriving. Instead, she took the letter in her hand, went into the main room, turned on the light, and sat down at her desk to read the letter.
The letter was sent by Li Juan.
When Lin Qingqing wrote to Li Juan last time, she told her about Wu Haiyuan's situation. This time, Li Juan wrote to her mainly about the same thing.
When Li Juan wrote to me before, she was a bit hesitant, bringing up the matter in a half-joking manner. This time, however, she was much more forthcoming, responding directly that she was willing to give Wu Haiyuan a try, and she enclosed a photo with her letter.
The photo was taken before Li Juan went to the countryside. Her eyebrows and eyes looked more childish than they do now, and her baby fat hadn't faded yet.
Lin Qingqing carefully put the photos away, planning to have Xie Wei show them to Wu Haiyuan when he returned next time, before continuing to read the letter.
In the letter, Li Juan mentioned Wang Fengxia, whose marriage to Chen Zhiqing had fallen through and the two had separated.
Lin Qingqing was stunned when she saw this. When she first settled in Xingfeng Brigade and moved into the educated youth settlement, Wang Fengxia and Chen, an educated youth, were dating. At that time, they had already met each other's parents and were considered to have officially entered into a relationship. Lin Qingqing always thought they would get married.
Before Lin Qingqing joined the army, the two had indeed begun discussing marriage and had even taken leave to go home for an engagement ceremony, agreeing to get married at the end of the year. At that time, Wang Fengxia had also said that if Lin Qingqing went back home for the Chinese New Year, she must attend her wedding, and Lin Qingqing agreed.
Who knew that the wedding would change in just one month?
Thinking of this, Lin Qingqing continued reading. Li Juan explained the reason in the letter, which was actually still about money.
When the engagement was first arranged, the Chen and Wang families agreed that the bride price would be 128 yuan, which would be taken back with Wang Fengxia's dowry. But after the engagement, Wang Fengxia's parents changed their tune, saying that including the 68 yuan dowry, their family was already being very generous, and that many families accepted the dowry but didn't give any bride price at all.
So the two families started arguing.
Not only did the two families start arguing, but the two parties involved also started arguing.
Wang Fengxia felt that her parents had worked hard to raise her, and that taking half of the bride price was not unreasonable. Chen, on the other hand, felt that Wang Fengxia's parents had broken their promise; they had clearly agreed to bring the whole dowry back, but then changed their minds.
Both men sided with their families, and the conversation quickly fell apart.
The day before writing the letter, Chen, a educated youth, filed a complaint with the brigade headquarters, demanding that Wang Fengxia's family return the betrothal gifts.
At the end of the letter, Li Juan said that Wang Fengxia and Chen Zhiqing's years of relationship couldn't even compare to a few dozen yuan. Now she finally understood what it meant for poor couples to suffer all kinds of misfortunes, which was why she asked Lin Qingqing to help introduce her to a potential partner.
She no longer expects to find someone to share her life with; she only hopes not to argue endlessly about money.
After reading the letter, Lin Qingqing remained silent for a moment. She picked up her pen to write a reply, but couldn't write anything. In the end, she folded the letter and decided to wait for Xie Wei to return.
...
The next day was Monday.
Lin Qingqing remembered that Xie Baoshan was going to call, and she was a little restless all afternoon.
At 2:30 PM, Comrade Xu from the logistics department came downstairs and called for Lin Qingqing, saying he needed to speak with her. Lin Qingqing immediately recognized the call as coming from Xie Baoshan, and after saying goodbye to Miao Hui, she went upstairs.
Miao Hui watched her retreating figure, curled her lip, and said, "All you ever do is run upstairs! You bootlicker!"
That's a bit of a lie, actually. Lin Qingqing only went up to the third floor twice last week to discuss serious matters with Xie Baoshan after her rotation ended. Today, she was called up by Comrade Xu. On the other hand, Miao Hui, because of her good relationship with the director of the Women's Federation, would occasionally go to the office on the third floor.
But everyone knew that she was holding a grudge against Lin Qingqing, so although no one agreed with her, no one spoke up for Lin Qingqing either.
Lin Qingqing had already gone upstairs and naturally had no idea what Miao Hui had said behind her back.
Even if she heard it, Lin Qingqing wouldn't care too much. Miao Hui was all bark and no bite; she was just putting on a show of bravado.
After going upstairs, Comrade Xu took Lin Qingqing directly to Director Gao's office. When Director Gao saw her come in, he pointed to the telephone on his desk. Lin Qingqing quickly went over, answered the phone, and called out, "Captain?"
"It's me," came Xie Baoshan's voice from the other end of the phone.
Phone calls are expensive, so Xie Baoshan didn't hide anything and told Lin Qingqing the result directly: "I agree to cooperate with you through a consignment model, with payment due in half a month."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qingqing immediately asked Director Gao for a notebook and pen, and began taking notes as she listened.
At the end, Xie Baoshan said, "But we have one request."
"What are your requirements?" Lin Qingqing asked.
“I want you to set aside an entire counter to sell clothes from our garment factory.”
Lin Qingqing looked surprised upon hearing this, not expecting Xie Baoshan to make such a request. However, she didn't rush to refuse, saying, "I've noted down the conditions and price terms you proposed. I'll discuss it with our director, and later..." Lin Qingqing looked at Director Gao, "Can you give me an answer before six o'clock?"
"Okay," Xie Baoshan agreed.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingqing told Director Gao the contents of her two conversations with Xie Baoshan in detail.
At first, Director Gao's face didn't show any particular expression, but when Lin Qingqing explained the consignment model, her eyebrows twitched and she asked, "Do you think this model is suitable for other factories?"
"It applies, but..." Lin Qingqing left it as a mystery.
"But what?"
“When we become powerful, we can dictate the cooperation model. But now that we're weak, the factories willing to cooperate with us using this model…”
Lin Qingqing shrugged, not saying what she was going to say next, but Director Gao already understood.
Just like department stores, where factories typically ship goods first and the department store pays in installments, it's common for a single payment to be delayed for a year or more. But while department stores can delay payments, supply and marketing cooperatives cannot.
Thinking of this, Director Gao said, "You continue."
Lin Qingqing continued, saying that the terms were all negotiable, but when it came to the purchase price, Director Gao and Lin Qingqing discussed the pricing. However, pricing depends not only on the purchase price but also on freight and profit, so they could only determine a rough price for now, and the rest still needed to be discussed with the accountant.
After explaining the terms, Lin Qingqing finally revealed Xie Baoshan's conditions.
Because it's a consignment sales model, the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't need to spend a lot of money on purchasing goods; it only needs to provide a counter. Director Gao didn't immediately object and asked, "Do you think it's better to add more counters, or to free up half of the wardrobe counter?"
Lin Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "I think either is fine, but adding more counters will also increase expenses accordingly."
This matter is still in the planning stage, and its success is uncertain. Frankly, Director Gao didn't want to incur any additional expenses. However, she didn't immediately voice her opinion, but instead said, "Let me think about it some more." She glanced at her watch. "I'll give you an answer before five o'clock."
With an hour to go before five o'clock, Lin Qingqing didn't linger in Director Gao's office. She said, "Call me when you've decided," and then left.
...
When they returned to the second floor, there were two customers at the wardrobe counter. Miao Hui was casually serving them. She frowned and pointed at Lin Qingqing, saying, "Ask her."
The customers appeared to be a mother and daughter. The mother, who looked to be in her forties, seemed somewhat embarrassed. The daughter, who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen, with childlike eyes, angrily questioned Miao Hui's words, "What kind of attitude is this? You're just a sales clerk! What's so great about you!"
"Being a sales clerk is nothing special; I'm afraid you can't even be a sales clerk!" Miao Hui said with a sneer.
The little girl's face flushed with anger. She grabbed her mother's hand and said, "Mom, let's go. It's not like they're the only supply and marketing cooperative. If I had known I'd come here to be humiliated, I would have gone to the department store!" With that, she pulled the middle-aged woman away.
Seeing them leave, Miao Hui showed no concern whatsoever. Instead, she mimicked the little girl's tone in a sarcastic manner, then sneered, "They said they were going to the department store. Let's see what they can buy!"
"She's just a young girl!" Sister He said awkwardly, not wanting to argue with Miao Hui about the matter, so she asked Lin Qingqing, "What does Comrade Xu want with you?"
"It's nothing, just something to talk about," Lin Qingqing said calmly.
Sister He wondered what could possibly take more than an hour to talk about. But seeing that Lin Qingqing didn't want to answer, she simply said "oh" and didn't press the matter further.
Miao Hui, being rather naive, didn't think Lin Qingqing could discuss anything important, and didn't say anything more.
Less than an hour after Lin Qingqing came down, Comrade Xu came down again, still looking for Lin Qingqing. This time, not only Sister He, but also the sales clerks at the other two counters became curious. Miao Hui also felt that something was wrong and said to Sister He, "Sister, could you watch the counter for me? I need to talk to the director of the Women's Federation about something."
What could Miao Hui and the director of the Women's Federation possibly have to say?
Sister He knew this was a clumsy excuse; she actually just wanted to go upstairs and find out what Comrade Xu wanted to see Lin Qingqing about. Sister He was also curious, so she didn't expose her and readily agreed, "Okay, go ahead."
Miao Hui came out from behind the counter and went up to the third floor. Instead of going directly to the Women's Federation office, she walked to the door of the large office and looked inside.
As soon as she poked her head in, Comrade Xu noticed her and asked in confusion, "Comrade Miao, who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Director Wang from the Women's Federation," Miao Hui said.
Comrade Xu asked curiously, "Director Wang is in the next office?"
"Yes, yes, I went to the wrong office." Miao Hui said as she left the main office and went into the office next door.
The title of the women's federation director in a small unit like the supply and marketing cooperative is just as good as that of the brigade women's federation director; in reality, they are just junior staff members in the women's federation office. Therefore, Director Wang was assigned to the supply and marketing cooperative less than half a year after joining the women's federation and before she had even become familiar with the work. She is only in her early twenties now.
Because of her young age, she was usually quite close to Miao Hui. Seeing her enter the office, she smiled and asked, "Why did you come up here?"
Miao Hui had used Director Wang as an excuse when she came up, but now she genuinely had something to say to her. However, mindful of the union members still in the office, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have something I'd like to talk to you about. Could you come out for a moment?"
Seeing her stammering, Director Wang assumed she was on her period. He followed her out of the office and walked to the restroom at the end of the corridor, then asked in a low voice, "Are you on your period?"
"What?" Miao Hui didn't react for a moment.
"Menstruation."
Miao Hui then realized what she was talking about and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, I didn't come to you for that."
"Then what do you want to talk to me about?" Director Wang asked, puzzled.
“Xu Fangfang went downstairs to call Lin Qingqing, saying she needed to talk to her, but when I came up to her office I didn’t see her,” Miao Hui asked. “Do you know where she went?”
Although Director Wang didn't quite understand why she asked Lin Qingqing, she still recalled for a moment and said, "I saw Xu Fangfang take Lin Qingqing to Director Gao's office earlier, but I was working just now and didn't notice whether she went into Director Gao's office or not."
Although she said she hadn't noticed, Miao Hui felt that Lin Qingqing had most likely gone into Director Gao's office.
But what did Lin Qingqing want with Director Gao? And why did Director Gao talk to her for so long?
The more Miao Hui thought about it, the more she felt that Lin Qingqing was scheming and secretly trying to please Director Gao, yet she was afraid that everyone would find out! Miao Hui became angrier and angrier as she thought about it. She thanked Director Wang and then went downstairs.
As soon as they came downstairs, Miao Hui asked, "Do you know who Lin Qingqing went upstairs to see?"
The uncle who manages the watch counter said, "Didn't Comrade Xu ask her to go up there?"
"Yes, that's right," Sister He agreed.
"You've all been fooled by her! It wasn't Comrade Xu who looked for her; she went to Director Gao's office!" After saying this, Miao Hui felt a surge of vengeful pleasure!
Lin Qingqing was kind and got along well with her colleagues at the supply and marketing cooperative, and Sister He also preferred to associate with her. Miao Hui saw this and was not without anger. She had said behind Lin Qingqing's back more than once that Lin Qingqing was scheming, but Sister He would always find a way to change the subject.
Adding to the conflict last week, Miao Hui has been thinking about how to expose Lin Qingqing's true colors these past few days.
In just a few days, without her having to put in much effort, Lin Qingqing revealed her true colors.
Seeing everyone's expressions change, Miao Hui felt smug, but pretended to be puzzled: "She just joined the supply and marketing cooperative, what could she possibly need Director Gao for?"
What important matter could Lin Qingqing, a saleswoman in a store, possibly have to discuss with Director Gao? Moreover, rather than feeling heavy-hearted because Lin Qingqing sought out Director Gao, people were more concerned because Director Gao met with Lin Qingqing and talked for an hour.
What can they talk about?
Will Director Gao transfer Lin Qingqing to the office?
...
In the office on the third floor, Lin Qingqing was on the phone with Xie Baoshan.
Director Gao agreed to the idea of setting up a separate counter, but he also raised his own opinions, so Lin Qingqing needed to communicate with Xie Baoshan again.
During the call, Xie Baoshan, who could make the decision, readily agreed; those who couldn't, said they needed to go back for a meeting to discuss. After the call ended, Xie Baoshan asked Lin Qingqing if she had any other opinions. Lin Qingqing repeated his words to Director Gao, who shook his head and said, "No."
Lin Qingqing replied, "Nothing else for now." She then brought up the contract with Xie Baoshan.
Her suggestion was that they prepare a contract and send it over, have Xingfeng Garment Factory sign and stamp it, and then send it back. Xie Baoshan agreed that they would prepare the contract. As for mailing the contract... Xie Baoshan said, "I will go back and hold a meeting to discuss your proposed revisions. Once everything is settled, I will come over in person to discuss the contract with you."
"Of course, it would be faster to send it by mail if he came in person," Lin Qingqing said with a smile. "Okay, I'll treat you to a welcome dinner then."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingqing told Director Gao about Xie Baoshan's upcoming visit.
Director Gao was naturally pleased that the garment factory was sending people over: "When are they coming?"
"They said it would be in the next few days."
Director Gao nodded: "Then I'll leave this to you. If you succeed, I'll give you the credit."
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Gao."
After finishing her business with Director Gao, Lin Qingqing went downstairs again. When she returned to the counter, she noticed everyone was looking at her. She touched her cheek and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Seeing that she looked relaxed, Sister He wondered if Director Gao had promised her something, and she felt a little annoyed.
Outsiders say things like "stethoscope, steering wheel, personnel cadre, salesperson," but they don't know that the salesperson is incomparable to the other positions, and the biggest difference is the salary.
Like Xu Fangfang, who manages logistics in the office upstairs. She seems to have little to do, but her monthly salary is at least thirty-four yuan. She's only twenty-five this year and hasn't even worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for four years. But what about her? Ten years ago, she was earning twenty-something yuan at the cooperative, and now her salary is still twenty-something yuan. How can she be content with that?
What can be done about the imbalance?
Xu Fangfang graduated from a vocational school, but she got the job by taking over her mother-in-law's position and hadn't even attended school for long. Even if she wanted to be transferred to the office, she wouldn't have the opportunity.
Not only her, but everyone else in the store was in the same boat, destined to work as sales clerks until they died.
But precisely because of this, everyone got used to it over time and stopped hoping for a job transfer. If things continued to stay the same, no one would say anything, but if Lin Qingqing really got a job transfer... Sister He felt resentful.
Sister He remained silent, and so did everyone else.
Lin Qingqing also felt strange, but she kept her composure and didn't show it on her face. Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, she picked up her notebook and started taking stock.
Finally, Miao Hui couldn't hold back any longer: "What did you go upstairs to see Director Gao for?"
Lin Qingqing paused: "How did you know I went upstairs to see Director Gao?"
"You still want to deny it? Director Wang told me everything!" Miao Hui said smugly. "You definitely want to ask Director Gao to transfer you, right?"
The atmosphere on the second floor of the store changed immediately after those words were spoken.
"What are you saying, Comrade Xiao Miao? Jobs aren't so easily transferred." Although Sister He was smiling, there was a hint of probing in her words.
Lin Qingqing found it somewhat amusing, but her expression remained unchanged as she calmly said, "Yes, jobs aren't so easily transferred, are they? It would require tripling the revenue!"
Hearing Lin Qingqing's words, not only Sister He, but everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.
Miao Hui was unwilling to accept this and asked, "If it weren't for work, why would you be looking for Director Gao?"
"It wasn't me looking for Director Gao, it was Director Gao looking for me." Seeing everyone's expressions change, Lin Qingqing continued without changing her expression, "Director Gao wants to divide the wardrobe counter into two."
"Why split the wardrobe into two when it was perfectly fine?" Miao Hui asked, frowning.
"How would I know?" Lin Qingqing said casually. "If you want to know, ask Director Gao."
Miao Hui certainly didn't dare to ask Director Gao, but after thinking about it, she decided that if they were to split up the counters, then so be it. At most, it would just mean one more inventory task than the current one, so she kept quiet.
Miao Hui didn't ask, and no one else would press her for details about why there were separate counters. After all, it was a matter for the clothing counters, and it had nothing to do with them.
...
When Xie Wei returned on Wednesday, Lin Qingqing mentioned to him that Xie Baoshan was coming over.
"Is it about cooperating with your supply and marketing cooperative?" Xie Wei knew that Lin Qingqing was promoting the work between Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative and Xingfeng Garment Factory.
"It's about this. I just don't know if he came alone or with someone else." Lin Qingqing didn't hide anything from him, and then asked, "Do you think Mother will come with us?"
They had discussed having Li Xingfang come and stay with them before, and even mentioned it in a letter home after settling her in. However, they didn't know whether Li Xingfang hadn't written a reply or hadn't sent one, and they had no idea what her plans were.
Xie Wei said, "You'll know when you get here."
Lin Qingqing thought about it and agreed, so she stopped guessing. After applying the face cream, she prepared to go to bed, but after putting her hands on the bed, she remembered Li Juan's letter. She sat back down, found the photo Li Juan had sent from her desk drawer, and handed it to Xie Wei, saying, "This is the photo Li Juan sent with the letter. She said she's willing to talk to Wu Haiyuan first."
"Just put it on the desk for now, I'll take it to Wu Haiyuan tomorrow." Xie Wei said, then asked, "You also need to ask him for a photo, right?"
“We definitely need photos,” Lin Qingqing said. “You should ask Wu Haiyuan for his opinion first. If he’s willing to make contact after seeing the photos, ask him for his contact information, and I’ll write to Li Juan.”
Xie Wei could actually provide the communication method right now, but considering that things weren't settled yet, he said, "Okay, I'll go see him tomorrow."
As he spoke, Xie Wei stretched out his arm, pulled Lin Qingqing into his embrace, and lowered his head to kiss her cheek.
As he pressed down on her, Lin Qingqing quickly pushed him away, saying, "I'm not feeling well these days."
Xie Wei then remembered that her period was around these few days. His face gradually stiffened, and finally, he leaned down next to her and gritted his teeth, saying, "Okay."
His tone was tense, and he sounded very unwilling.
Lin Qingqing couldn't help but laugh. She turned her head and her lips were right next to his ear. She deliberately lowered her voice and whispered something.
Xie Wei froze, his voice low and menacing: "What?"
"Never mind if you didn't hear me." Lin Qingqing grinned mischievously and turned over to go to sleep.
But before she could turn around, Xie Wei pressed her hand down, turning his head to the side and saying in a low, husky voice, "I heard you."
Author's Note: First update
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