Chapter 52, Our Family
The next day, after Xie Wei returned to the team, Lin Qingqing went back to the guesthouse to wash the lunchbox, tidy up the room, find the documents needed for the household registration transfer, and then went out.
Buses from the city center to the family compound run every half hour. One bus had just left before she came out, so she waited a while at the starting station. But every cloud has a silver lining; the bus that came was the one she had taken the day she first arrived at the army base, and the ticket seller was still Li Chunying.
Li Chunying recognized Lin Qingqing and smiled when she saw her: "Little sister, are you going out? Where's Commander Xie? Didn't he come with you?"
There was no one else on the bus. Lin Qingqing sat in the same seat she had come from and said with a smile, "He's back in his unit. I need to go to the police station to take care of some business, so I'll go alone."
"What does the police station do?" Li Chunying asked, puzzled.
"Transfer household registration".
Li Chunying slapped her forehead and said, "Look at me, right, you just arrived with the army, you need to transfer your household registration, otherwise you won't even be able to buy food in this city." She then asked Lin Qingqing if she knew where the police station was.
"I don't know. Before I left home, my husband told me to tell the ticket seller when I got on the bus and to remind me when we arrived at my stop."
"Don't worry, I know this route well. I'll definitely remind you when we get there." Li Chunying readily agreed, and then asked Lin Qingqing if the house had been delivered yet.
They said it would come down today.
Li Chunying said "Oh," since the house hadn't been allocated yet, it was uncertain where she would stay. Thinking there was still some time before departure, she started chatting with Lin Qingqing: "Are you going to work with the military?"
Lin Qingqing also wanted to know about the employment situation of military dependents, so she nodded and said, "I want to work, but I heard that it's not so quick to arrange jobs. It's common to wait three to five months, and some people even wait six months to a year to be assigned a job."
"Hey, it's not that exaggerated!" Li Chunying waved her hand and said, "If you're not picky, you're willing to do any job and can find one in three to five days. But if you're picky, you might not be able to find a job for one or two years."
Her words were different from what Lin Qingqing remembered. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "What kind of jobs are available if you're not picky?"
Although Xie Wei and Li Chunying were not in the same regiment, he was of a higher rank, and Li Chunying had a good impression of Lin Qingqing, so she didn't hide anything and said directly: "The jobs I find are not good ones. They are like doing odd jobs in the kitchen of our family compound canteen, doing chores such as washing and sweeping, or doing physical labor such as loading and unloading in various units. Women generally can't do them."
Lin Qingqing didn't care where she went, but the kitchen was the place where seniority was the most important factor; even apprentices could work for years without getting promoted.
She was confident in her culinary skills, but if she were to take on menial tasks, she might not even get a chance to touch a knife, let alone get promoted or receive a raise. As for manual labor like loading and unloading, although she was stronger in this life than in her previous one, she certainly wouldn't stand out compared to men who did manual labor.
She thought that Li Chunying's job as a ticket seller was arranged by the army, so she said, "Look at my thin arms and legs, even if I wanted to do manual labor, they might not need me. Is there any other place for me?"
“The better option is to be a factory worker. Hardware factories have a lot of men, but some positions also hire women. Then there are textile factories, which are good places to go, and many people want to get in. Then there are jobs like mine, such as working as a ticket seller in the public transportation system, or as a waitress in a state-run restaurant, or as a sales clerk in a supply and marketing cooperative. These are all in high demand.” Li Chunying listed the jobs she knew one by one.
Lin Qingqing thought for a moment and asked, "How long did it take for you to secure the job?"
"It's been three to five months, almost half a year now." Li Chunying recalled the days she spent waiting for a job. She couldn't eat or sleep well, and sometimes she even thought about going to do manual labor herself. But her husband was in the army and only came home once or twice a week, so she couldn't rely on him. If she didn't find an easier job, there would be no one to take care of her children at home, so she gritted her teeth and waited for this job.
Lin Qingqing thought three to five months would be fine, but she was also a little curious and asked, "What kind of job takes one or two years to be finalized?"
“Those are all in-demand jobs,” Li Chunying said, snapping out of her reverie at Lin Qingqing’s words. “Like being a teacher in a primary or secondary school, or working in various units, factories, trade unions, women’s federations, or government agencies. But these places have high requirements; I heard you need at least a vocational high school diploma, and many places even require an exam to get in. By the way, did you have a job before you joined the army?”
Li Chunying talked a lot, so Lin Qingqing didn't hide anything and told her about her previous work experience: "Before I joined the army, I was the director of the women's federation of our brigade. In addition, our brigade also ran a clothing factory, and I served as the deputy director of the factory for a period of time."
"Oh my, so you're a cadre?" Li Chunying exclaimed in surprise.
"She was just the head of the brigade's women's federation. At most, she would be a minor official in the commune, not a cadre."
Li Chunying then asked, "Aren't you still the deputy factory director?"
“It’s a collective enterprise run by the brigade. It’s small and doesn’t have a rank yet,” Lin Qingqing explained. “I heard that you have to be assigned a job here, and it’s common for it to take a year or two to get a job. I thought the army would arrange a job for me, so I came directly here.”
Li Chunying didn't quite understand Lin Qingqing's meaning, but she knew that this was a young couple who had just gotten married and were reluctant to separate, so they acted impulsively.
Re gave up her job back home and came with the army. She thought that since Lin Qingqing could be the director of the Women's Federation and the deputy factory director, she must have been educated, so she said, "Since you have been to school, this job will be easy to arrange."
"...I never went to school."
"Never been to school?" Li Chunying exclaimed in surprise. "But aren't you the director of the Women's Federation?"
Although the title of "Women's Federation Director" in rural areas is just a fancy one with little real power, it still requires a certain level of education. Besides, Lin Qingqing claimed to have been a deputy factory director; surely she couldn't be illiterate?
“I have studied the textbooks from elementary school to high school myself,” Lin Qingqing said, without mentioning the Lin family’s affairs. “The head of the Women’s Federation in our brigade thought my writing was decent, so she asked me to help write articles. The results were quite good. After she was promoted to commune, she recommended me to be the head of the Women’s Federation.”
Li Chunying understood; this person was a hard worker.
Although Li Chunying admired Lin Qingqing, she also knew that Lin Qingqing hadn't gone to school and couldn't overcome the educational hurdle, meaning that sought-after jobs were basically out of her reach. However, she felt that Lin Qingqing had also had a tough time, so she asked, "You were the director of the Women's Federation and the deputy factory director back in your hometown. Do you have any official documentation from your work unit?"
"I had them give me a certificate before I came."
“When you go to the Women’s Federation to arrange a job, show them the certificate your work unit gave you, explain your situation clearly, and see if they can arrange a better job for you.” Li Chunying paused after speaking, “If there are no good ones, you can work as a waitress in a state-run restaurant or as a sales clerk in a supply and marketing cooperative. You can do that first and see if you can be transferred later.”
Lin Qingqing thought the same thing, so she smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Li. After talking with you, I feel much more at ease."
"Hey, we're all family members, let's help each other out."
...
When they got off the bus, Li Chunying explained the route to Lin Qingqing. Since the police station wasn't on the main road, it wasn't a maze either, so Lin Qingqing found it very easily after getting off the bus.
Perhaps it was because the police station was different from other units, or perhaps it was because there were few people coming to the unit at this time, but when Lin Qingqing arrived, there were hardly any people in the household registration office. She simply found a staff member, explained her situation, and got the form to fill out.
There was a problem during the filling process; she misspelled the address, so Lin Qingqing had to ask someone for another form to fill out again.
After filling out the form, Lin Qingqing handed it and the required documents to the police officer in charge of household registration. The officer reviewed the documents, asked her to add some information, and then asked a few questions. He then said, "Please wait a moment." She took the documents to the office next door.
Office photocopying.
About ten minutes later, the police officer in charge of household registration returned with the documents, put the form she filled out and the photocopy into the file basket on the side of the desk, and then returned the original documents that Lin Qingqing had brought to her, telling her to come back in ten days.
Lin Qingqing thanked them, took the documents, and got into the car to return to the family compound.
The trip went smoothly. She left home at around 8 a.m. and finished the business before 9 a.m. When she returned to the guesthouse, she still had some time, so she took out her notebook and pen to write down the important points she had discussed with Li Chunying. She planned to go to the Women's Federation after the house was ready to finalize the arrangements.
After finishing her work-related notes, Lin Qingqing started listing the things she needed to buy for moving to her new home. While listing, she also had to check her receipts to see which items she could buy and which she couldn't for the time being. It wasn't complicated, but there were some things she hadn't used and couldn't remember, so after listing the frequently used items, Lin Qingqing's speed gradually slowed down.
It's okay if it's slow, Xie Wei hasn't come back yet anyway, she has plenty of time and isn't in a hurry. So when she couldn't think of anything for the moment, she went to do other things, and whenever she thought of something while doing them, she would come back and write it down in her notebook.
Taking her time to write it down, Xie Wei saw a long list when he returned that evening.
He picked up the notebook and asked, "Are all of these things to be bought?"
Because Xie Wei was coming back, Lin Qingqing got some food and ate at the guesthouse. While eating, she nodded and said, "Those with ticks have tickets and can be bought now. Those without ticks don't have tickets. I'm thinking of waiting until my household registration is transferred, then I'll check which ones are available and which ones aren't, and then decide whether to buy or not."
"If you need it urgently, just tell me, and I'll see if I can exchange tickets with someone." Xie Wei said, then remembered to ask, "How's your household registration transfer going today?"
"It went smoothly. I've submitted the documents, and the police officer in charge of household registration told me to pick up the results in ten days." Lin Qingqing smiled as she spoke, then remembered the house and asked, "By the way, has the house been approved yet?"
“I’m down, Building 16.” Xie Wei said, getting up and walking to the bedside. He picked up the military jacket he had casually draped over the bed after returning, took out the key from the pocket and handed it to Lin Qingqing. “It’s the leftmost building. I gave you two keys, one for each of us.”
Lin Qingqing slowly swallowed the food in her mouth, reached out and took the key from Xie Wei's hand, held it up in front of her for a long time, and suddenly said, "That's great."
"Hmm?" Xie Wei was eating with his head down when he heard her speak and looked up.
“These are the keys to our house,” Lin Qingqing said without explaining, simply holding the keys in her palm, spreading her hands out, and smiling. “Our home.”
Our home.
Xie Wei repeated those four words in his mind, his previously calm heart suddenly stirred as if something had gently bumped into it. He smiled, took Lin Qingqing's outstretched left hand, and said, "After dinner, let's go see our new home."
"Um?"
Lin Qingqing looked at him in surprise, then nodded in response to his affirmative gaze, "Okay."
The author has something to say: After checking the data, I found that China designed and manufactured its first automatic electrostatic copier in 1966. Later, due to environmental reasons, the industry almost came to a standstill. In 1973, due to market demand, research and development of copying-related technologies resumed, but by the 1980s, there were already more than 20 copier manufacturers.
Although it's uncertain whether photocopiers were widely used in 1974, the story needs to be written this way.
Hmm... the answer is fictional.
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