"Mommy," An'an didn't see Song Qing come back until she fell asleep last night. As soon as she opened her eyes this morning, she rolled over and jumped into her arms. "Mommy, where did you go yesterday?"
As she spoke, her eyes began to redden. She reached out and grabbed Song Qing's clothes, burying her face in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Mom had to go on a business trip yesterday and didn't have time to tell you."
Last night, Lu Yang did a lot of talking to his daughter. An'an understood the implications of the situation. If her mother didn't work, their family wouldn't have any money. But no matter what, she was only less than 4 years old, so naturally she was very clingy.
Song Qing thought she had a lot to say to her, but to her surprise, her daughter stopped being sad after a while.
"Mom, I know you have to earn money. Sigh, our family depends on you." Not only that, she also secretly glanced at her dad, with an expression that said, "My dad and I both depend on Mom to support us. I can't be a liar and ask Mom to accompany me anymore."
"When Mom gets her salary, let her take us to the zoo." She hadn't been able to sleep all night, so Lu Yang simply told her that if Song Qing didn't go out to earn money, there would be no rice to eat, let alone go to the department store or anything like that.
What can An'an do? She's so young and doesn't know how to earn money yet, so she can only try her best not to hold her mother back.
"Auntie!" Lu Ronghui starts work earlier than them, and since it takes time to get to work, she is usually the first one up in the family, and she makes breakfast on her way.
"Go wash your face quickly." She even picked elm leaves after work yesterday. If she had known her sister-in-law had something to do, she would have come back earlier to pick up An'an.
Elm seeds are coated in flour and steamed in a pot. They have a delicate elm seed aroma. Millet porridge is also cooked in the pot.
Since moving into their home, Lu Ronghui has often helped them with various chores. She has also neatly dug up the crooked and uneven plots of land that Song Qing had previously cultivated. Now, she has planted small vegetable seedlings in the plots, and they will be ready to eat in a few days.
"Auntie, you're amazing." An'an especially loves elm seed noodles. She couldn't stop thinking about them after eating them last time, so Lu Ronghui picked a lot more.
"Eat slowly, don't choke. Drink some porridge to help you swallow." Lu Yang quickly stopped her when he saw her eating too fast.
They were still eating when Lu Ronghui pushed her bicycle to leave, but just before she went out, she remembered the textile factory.
"Sister-in-law, does the textile factory offer quotas for educated youth?"
"Probably, but there are very few openings, and the standards are very high." In the commune, a junior high school diploma might be enough to recruit, but among the educated youth, a high school diploma is required to take the exam, and very few people are recruited.
"Recruiting is handled by the factory manager and those people in the city. I don't know much about it. You can read more of the old books."
Song Qing also hoped that Lu Ronghui could pass the exam to become a textile factory worker. She had been working in the fields for so long that her hands had become rough, and it pained her to see that.
"I understand." Not long after Lu Ronghui moved in, she heard from Song Qing that the textile factory might be hiring. She quickly picked up her old books and started preparing, regardless of whether it was confirmed or not.
She even took over the technical books that Song Qing was reading. She heard that the family compound had issued a notice, but their brigade did not have any definite news yet, so Lu Ronghui asked Song Qing.
"I hope Xiaohui can get into university."
It was almost time to start work, and Lu Ronghui hurriedly pushed her bicycle out. Lu Yang watched her back and remained silent.
Although his sister never complained to them, Lu Yang felt quite uneasy seeing her increasingly rough hands, sunburned skin, and her extremely skilled farm work.
"My aunt said that if she were a factory worker, she would take An'an to the zoo."
Lu Ronghui had been studying lately and hadn't had time to play with An'an, so she told her that she was going to take the exam to become a textile factory worker. If she passed, she would have money to take An'an to the city.
That's great. Her mother earns money, and her aunt earns money too. That way, she can go twice a month from now on.
"A zoo again? Look at the things you keep at home, you might as well just open a zoo at home."
An'an raised a gosling. Later, they dug up a lot of earthworms while turning over the soil in the yard. She put them in a box and kept them. She also caught a few snails outside.
"No, Mom, Dad said we can't keep a tiger at home."
"...Tigers? Why don't you just fly to the sky?"
The warm morning between mother and daughter was gone. With it almost time for work, Song Qing slammed her hand on the table, and An'an quickly picked up her porridge and drank it.
"hurry up."
Finally, after delivering the person to the nursing class, Song Qing rushed into the office. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered, Zhao Qin mysteriously pulled her aside.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone just came looking for Director Zhang; they're in the Women's Federation office now."
Song Qing craned her neck to look into the Women's Federation office. Yang Caiyun and a few others were gathered together, talking non-stop. She noticed Song Qing roll her eyes and then turned her head away, leaving Song Qing looking completely bewildered.
She had barely spoken to Yang Caiyun, so when did she offend her?
"That's just how she is, she often rolls her eyes at us." Zhao Qin is not a social person but is also exceptionally sensitive, and she had long noticed that Yang Caiyun seemed to have a problem with them.
"Forget about her. Once the factory is built, our office won't be here anymore."
We'll be working in two different places, and the family compound is quite large, so we might not see each other for ten days or half a month at a time.
"Do you know that person?" Zhao Qin asked, somewhat puzzled. After Song Qing finished speaking, she stared wide-eyed at the other side, then smiled after a while.
“It’s an acquaintance. The people at the Women’s Federation will probably be quite busy.” But it wasn’t an acquaintance. Song Qing hadn’t seen Zhou Lian for over a month, and she never expected to see her again in the Women’s Federation office.
“Director Zhang, as you know, I have many children. My sixth child was just born and we’re constantly going to the hospital. Our family situation isn’t good…” Zhou Lian arrived at the Women’s Federation office early in the morning and came in crying as soon as they opened the door.
As soon as Director Zhang saw her, he was reminded of that incident, and felt disgusted and repulsed, as if he had swallowed a fly.
The circumstances didn't allow it back then. She didn't think that by making a scene again, she could get the same result as last time.
Director Zhang didn't respond, his hands folded on the table, staring intently at her.
"Comrade Zhou Lian, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Zhou Lian stopped crying and cautiously looked around at everyone's expressions. She suddenly realized that playing the victim was no longer effective and might even make them more disgusted.
"Director Zhang, I heard that our military region is going to build a textile factory. Could you consider my family's situation and arrange for me to be included?"
"Pfft!" Someone couldn't help but sneer. She really dared to dream. If she were assigned there, the other family members would be running to the Women's Federation every day.
Zhou Lian looked somewhat embarrassed. Director Zhang stood up and said, "The textile factory requires an exam to recruit workers. No one can put people in there."
Director Zhang left as soon as she finished speaking, and the others in the office ignored her. Zhou Lian could only leave awkwardly. As she walked out of the Women's Federation office, she glanced around and saw Song Qing talking to Zhao Qin next door, looking radiant.
If they couldn't assign anyone, how did Song Qing get in?
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