Chapter 49: A Complete Turnaround in Attitude
Lin Wan said, “I’ll talk to my mom when I get home. Once she gets familiar with the place, I’ll have her ask around at the department store for you.”
Section Leader Qi tugged at her sleeve. “Little Lin, help me keep an eye out for any flawed fabric or flawed yarn… It would be even better if you can find a tin thermos flask!”
Lin Wan nodded quickly. “You got it! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely look out for you!”
When Section Leader Zhang returned after finishing his mail route, he noticed the atmosphere in the office had completely changed. When he left, everyone had been whispering about Lin Wan behind her back, so how had their attitudes done a total flip the moment he stepped inside?
“What’s going on?” he asked Deputy Director Sun after parking his green bicycle and locking it up.
Deputy Director Sun asked, “Do you know what Little Lin went to do when she requested leave?”
Section Leader Zhang shook his head and asked gossipingly, “What did she do?”
Deputy Director Sun said, “She accompanied her mom to process her onboarding paperwork!”
Section Leader Zhang snorted, “Huh? Which street is she working on as a temporary street cleaner? What kind of spectacular job is that to make her request leave just to tag along?” He was thoroughly dismissive and looked down his nose at it.
Deputy Director Sun wore a look that said I knew you’d think that. He lifted the lid of his enamel mug, took a sip of tea, and spat the loose tea leaves back into the cup. “You’re underestimating her, aren’t you?”
“Her mom went to the supply and marketing cooperative to be a salesclerk. A permanent one!”
Section Leader Zhang: “!!!!”
“Holy crap!”
“Is her family really that capable?”
“Her mom is already at that age, yet she can still get a job as a salesclerk at the supply and marketing cooperative?”
“Is this real or fake?”
“She isn’t pulling our legs, is she?”
Deputy Director Sun set down his tea mug and gave him a light slap. “Why can’t you bear to see others do well! Would anyone dare lie about something like this? She even mentioned the exact work location. If you want to know if it’s true, won’t you know just by walking over to take a look?!”
Section Leader Zhang felt a bit dazed.
Deputy Director Sun added, “Now you understand why everyone is being so enthusiastic toward her, right?”
Say no more. Section Leader Zhang immediately went over to cozy up to Lin Wan. His son had beaten his daughter-in-law again a few days ago, and he was currently thinking of buying something to apologize to her. Unfortunately, his family was completely out of coupons. If he had an acquaintance at the supply and marketing cooperative, he could secure some coupon-free flawed goods.
After clocking off.
Lin Wan and Luo Jiahui walked out together. They shared a portion of their commute, so Lin Wan could give her a lift on the back of her bicycle for a stretch.
Sitting behind her, Luo Jiahui patted her chest and said, “Oh my, that burst of enthusiasm from them nearly scared me to death! I’ve truly witnessed what it means to change faces faster than turning the pages of a book.”
Lin Wan smiled radiantly. “It’s just human nature! You’re very enthusiastic toward me too!”
Luo Jiahui thought about it and realized she was right. She said, “Wanwan, you must absolutely help me ask around about a pair of leather shoes! I wear a size 36! My mom originally promised to buy me a pair, but because the exam opportunity was given to me, my sister-in-law threw a fit, so my mom took the cash and coupons to buy leather shoes for her instead! But my sister-in-law is still displeased and keeps making sarcastic remarks.”
Lin Wan suggested, “Then why don’t you apply to stay in the dormitory?”
Luo Jiahui shook her head. “I just started working, so it’s not guaranteed that my turn will come! Besides, staying at home means sleeping behind a pulled curtain, but the single dorms aren’t much better—there are eight people to a room. I still want to find someone to marry. To have a small home of my own.”
Lin Wan: “…”
“But will you really be able to live alone once you get married? Isn’t getting married just moving from a cramped environment you’re familiar with to a cramped environment you’re unfamiliar with? Just look at your brother and sister-in-law—even after getting married, aren’t they still squeezing into the same space with you all?”
Luo Jiahui was completely struck silent by Lin Wan’s words.
Lin Wan wasn’t trying to overstep her bounds with a new friend; she was merely offering a slight reminder. She said, “I still suggest you apply for the single dorms. I can apply with you. No matter what, you’ll have an alternative place to stay. If you’re unhappy at home, you’ll at least have a place to escape to!”
Luo Jiahui felt that Lin Wan made a lot of sense.
“Oh, wait, I’m married, so I can apply for a family apartment!” Lin Wan added.
Luo Jiahui: “…” I feel thoroughly attacked! Getting married still sounds better then!
Lin Wan said, “But we just joined the staff, so who knows when our turn will come to get an apartment allocated. The probability for a single dorm is much higher.”
Luo Jiahui agreed. She said, “Then we’ll go look for Director Yang when we go to work tomorrow.”
Lin Wan dropped her off at the bus stop, pedaled forward a bit, and pulled over by the roadside. She covertly pulled a chicken out from her space, making it look as though she had fetched it from her canvas satchel. Hanging it from the bicycle handlebars, she rode home in a thoroughly grandiose manner.
The moment she arrived at the machinery factory family compound, the neighbors spotted the chicken hanging from her bike and asked one after another, “Oh my, Lin Wan! Having a job is truly different, isn’t it? You’re bringing meat home every single day!”
“You’re living far too luxuriously!”
“That chicken looks pretty plump, it must have cost a fortune in cash and coupons, right?”
“This auntie must tell you, you can’t run a household like this. Who spends half their monthly wages the moment they start working!”
“If your partner finds out about this, I’m afraid you’re going to get a beating.”
“If your mother-in-law finds out, she’ll loathe you to death!”
Lin Wan replied with a smile, “Thank you for the reminder, Old Auntie You! Did you summarize this valuable experience precisely because you’ve taken too many beatings and scoldings yourself?”
The moment her words fell, the surrounding crowd burst into a roar of laughter.
Old Auntie You flew into a raging fit of humiliation, pointing a finger sharply at Lin Wan as she barked, “You young girl are truly ungrateful! Zhang Qin is a hundred times more virtuous and obedient than you! I advise you out of a good heart, yet you show no appreciation…”
“What an uneducated piece of trash!”
“A person like Huang Guixiang could never raise a decent human being!”
Lin Wan said with a beaming smile, “Oh my, no matter what, my mom is currently a salesclerk at the supply and marketing cooperative—a permanent employee! I bought this chicken today precisely to celebrate my mom securing a job!”
“By the way, my mom is stationed right at our Waixi Street Supply and Marketing Cooperative. If anyone wants to buy anything in the future, just look for my mom! There’s no need for you to go push and shove in the queues; how convenient it will be to have my mom bring it back for you!”
Boom, boom, boom—
Lin Wan’s words were like a sudden clap of thunder, exploding right over the heads of the neighbors.
What the hell? Huang Guixiang had gotten a job? And she was a salesclerk at the supply and marketing cooperative at that? Good lord! How could a woman like her possess such incredible luck? It wasn’t fair!!!
Just then, Huang Guixiang also clocked off and returned, carrying a mesh shopping bag full of items in her hand.
The crowd instantly swarmed around her. “Guixiang, we heard you went to work at the supply and marketing cooperative? Is it real or fake?”
“Your daughter said you’re a permanent employee.”
“How did you find this job?”
“A salesclerk, good lord…”
Huang Guixiang was piled with a massive smile. She was beautiful to begin with, and she looked even more radiant when she smiled.
“Oh, I got to know a big sister, and she arranged it for me! I didn’t expect it either!”
“She knew my household had been split, so she helped me find this job, saying that having a job gives a person confidence, and I’ll never have to fear being kicked out of the house by anyone ever again!”
The neighbors: “…”
Old Woman You: “…”
Old Woman Su: “…”
Zhang Hongqi, Zhang Hongjun, and their wives, who had just returned from work and entered the compound: “…”
