Chapter 45: Not Allowed to Be Liked
What did that even mean?
He understood.
Understood what?
The black market traders were truly omnipotent. Hearing that he needed meat for his wedding banquet, they had actually written a letter directly to him?
Zhang Jun, who was currently at his wits’ end over this precise matter, instinctively asked for time off and ran to the post office. He remitted the money for the required supplies based on black market prices, feeling as if it was exactly what he was supposed to do.
Doing this felt perfectly normal.
Along the way, he also penned a letter to send over, explicitly stating his checklist of needed items: “Three grass carps of three jin each, three hens, three ducks, ten jin of pork belly…”
His bride’s family wanted things to look grand and respectable, so the dishes couldn’t be half-hearted.
The regular price for pork was 0.78 yuan per jin, while the black market price was 2.1 yuan per jin. Ten jin amounted to 21 yuan.
Hens and ducks normally cost fifty to sixty cents per jin, but the black market price was also around two yuan per jin. A single chicken or duck would easily weigh three to four jin; calculating at four jin, that was eight yuan per bird, which added another 48 yuan.
Fish was slightly cheaper, costing one yuan per jin on the black market. A single fish cost three yuan, so three fish totaled 9 yuan.
For all these supplies, Zhang Jun remitted a total of 78 yuan. The remittance made his very heart tremble.
The moment he stepped out of the post office, a gust of wind blew past, and he immediately felt a wave of deep regret. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, despite the regret, he didn’t turn back to cancel the remittance.
Zhang Jun went to work in pure trepidation. He was completely absent-minded during his duties and even managed to cut his hand.
His master frowned and questioned him, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Have you still not managed to buy meat?”
“Have you not gathered enough meat coupons yet?”
“Why don’t you just go check out the black market instead?”
Zhang Jun shook his head. “I’m not going. The auntie living next door to my house was caught precisely for buying things on the black market. Right now, she’s working at a labor farm!”
“I am about to get married. If I happen to get caught, my bride will run away.”
Zhang Jun wanted to mention PO Box 88 to his master, but the moment he opened his mouth, his mind went completely blank, leaving him unable to utter a single word. He found it increasingly bizarre, but the emotion vanished in a flash, as if it were all a matter of course.
He muttered vaguely, “I asked someone for help, but I don’t know if they are reliable or not.”
Who could have guessed that the moment his voice fell, a counter sister walked into the kitchen holding a package slip. “Little Zhang, a mail carrier just delivered this.”
“Who sent you a package?”
Zhang Jun accepted it and took a look; the sender’s address wrote PO Box 88. His heart instantly leapt to life.
“Aren’t I about to get married? I asked a classmate who was sent down to the countryside to help me secure some goods.” With that, he quickly asked for time off: “Master, I’m heading to the post office.”
The plump chef waved his hand. “Go quickly!”
Zhang Jun rode his bicycle frantically to the post office and collected a massive bundle of goods. He had only remitted the money and sent the letter this morning, yet the other party had dispatched the goods to him so incredibly fast! This speed… The black market gang must definitely possess an insider within the post office!
He hauled the goods home in pure excitement. Only his mother was home. “Junzi, why are you back?”
Zhang Jun said, “I managed to get someone to secure the meat, so I rushed to bring it back.”
Hearing that he had secured the meat, a smile surfaced on Mother Zhang’s face as well. She quickly fetched scissors to help Zhang Jun cut open the gunny sack.
Seeing the items Zhang Jun pulled out of the sack one by one, she was utterly dumbfounded.
“Junzi, where on earth did you get this from?”
“How much money did it cost?”
Zhang Jun: “I asked a friend for help. It cost 78 yuan.”
The chicken, duck, fish, and pork were all frozen rock-hard. Mother Zhang fetched a scale to weigh them; the weight was exceptionally generous. But crucially, the chickens and ducks were all clean weight—lacking feathers and internal organs—meaning they had ultimately made a profit.
“I heard the meat processing plant has a cold storage, so these must have come from there,” Mother Zhang sighed. “Freezing is excellent; we can keep them in a bucket preserved with cold water, and they’ll easily last until the banquet the day after tomorrow.” Mother Zhang was ecstatic. She had originally been prepared to make a trip to the black market if all else failed, but now she didn’t have to take the risk.
Zhang Jun thought to himself that this gang was truly formidable—possessing insiders at both the post office and the meat processing plant. He had to keep this connection solid; he could continue to ride this line to make some money in the future.
Finally, he pulled a block of pork lard and two bars of scented soap out of the gunny sack. Written on the packaging of the soap was: “A gift for you. Wishing you a happy wedding!”
Zhang Jun was thrilled beyond measure. This boss was truly generous! And did this mean that PO Box 88 could secure not only meat but also other highly sought-after supplies?
Adopting a trial attitude, Zhang Jun penned a letter, asking Lin Wan if she could secure a ladies’ Shanghai-brand wristwatch and what the price would be.
Lin Wan officially reported for duty.
The Tuanjie Office featured only seven people: one director, one deputy director, one counter section leader, and two operational section leaders. Between the operational section leaders, one managed sorting while the other managed delivery. However, the roles weren’t strictly locked in; usually, whichever post was busy, the staff from the lighter posts would go over to lend a hand, maining a focus on being all-around capable.
Both she and Luo Jiahui had been allocated here. Aside from the two of them, everyone else was a leading cadre.
Lin Wan resolutely insisted on being a mail carrier. The director and the section leader in charge of delivery, Li Shengli, were highly displeased.
“Director Yang, hurry up and call the bureau. What our office lacks is a mail carrier—someone who needs to go out rain or shine.”
“We need a man!”
“How could they allocate two young girls to us!” They looked soft and delicate, clearly incapable of hard labor.
Director Yang said, “Train them well. Comrade Lin Wan will be following you from now on. Her post was finalized by the Personnel Section, and she will serve as a mail carrier in our office.”
“Section Chief Tang dropped multiple hints to ask us to look after this female comrade.”
“Delivering mail isn’t that difficult anyway; it’s just riding a bicycle.”
“If you run into heavy wind or rain, you men just shouldn’t let them go out to deliver.”
She had already rejected the idea initially. But since the matter was finalized by the Personnel Section and carried a hint from Section Chief Tang, what could she possibly do?
Section Leader Li was practically driven mad with rage. Another relation case! Everyone was treating his place like a total stepping stone, wasn’t that right? Could they seriously not allocate a single worker who could just buckle down and labor reliably?
Stepping out of Director Yang’s office, Li Shengli carried a thoroughly black expression. Lin Wan gave him a smiling greeting, but he merely let out a cold snort and turned his face away.
Luo Jiahui was startled by his expression. She tugged at Lin Wan’s clothes. “Wanwan, Section Leader Li is so fierce.”
“You have to follow him to work in the future… what are you going to do?” Luo Jiahui was extremely worried for Lin Wan. She had been allocated to the counter operational section, and Section Leader Qu was a kind-looking female comrade. But Lin Wan…
Lin Wan patted her hand. “Rest assured. I came here to work, not to watch his expressions. As long as I perform my job well, no one can find a single fault with me!”
Though she said this, Luo Jiahui still couldn’t set her heart at ease. But she lacked any solution either.
Director Yang and Deputy Director Sun walked out, speaking to Lin Wan and Luo Jiahui: “Although your specific posts have been settled, you must understand how to execute every single operational business in this office.”
“In the future, whichever post is temporarily short-staffed, you must be able to step up at any moment and be fully competent.”
“This afternoon, you will learn sorting from Section Leader Qi.”
“The postal codes for various regions must absolutely be memorized thoroughly. Only by memorizing them can you improve work efficiency.”
“Learning sorting doesn’t take much time; it mainly relies on you spending the effort to memorize and recite them on your own time.”
“Tomorrow, the two of you will follow Section Leader Qu to learn the counter operations.”
“I expect you to familiarize yourselves with the counter operations within a week. After that, you will follow Section Leader Li to navigate the sectors managed by our office…”
Both Lin Wan and Luo Jiahui held notebooks, recording everything diligently.
“Our office does not feature a cafeteria, but we have honeycomb coal stoves. You can bring your own lunchboxes in the future and use the stoves to heat them up.”
“If you face any difficulties in your work or life, feel free to voice them.”
“If the organization can help resolve them, we will do our best; if we can’t, we will also help you figure out a way…”
“That is all from me. Deputy Director Sun, step up to deliver a few words to the newcomers.”
Deputy Director Sun cleared his throat twice. “Then I will briefly state two points.”
Well, those brief two points remained brief all the way until it was time to clock off.
Lin Wan: “…”
Luo Jiahui wanted to treat her to lunch to express her gratitude. Lin Wan waved her hand. “I have business with my mom. Let’s make it another day!”
She went to ask Director Yang for time off: “Director Yang, I have an issue this afternoon and need to request two hours of leave.”
Director Yang’s opinion of her grew even worse. Requesting leave the very moment she arrived.
Li Shengli just happened to witness this scene. He let out a cold snort, directing a highly sarcastic smile toward Director Yang, as if saying: See? An absolute loafer has arrived. Hurry up and find a way to get rid of her!
