Chapter 62
In the evening, when Yan Lei returned, Qiao Wei told him about her socializing that afternoon: “…Regimental Commander Ma’s wife, Battalion Commander Xue’s wife, and Battalion Commander Wang’s wife were all there… We were just chatting, shooting the breeze… Everyone plans to paint their walls. It’s quite good.”
As she spoke, she observed him. Sure enough, Yan Lei’s eyes brightened, and he was openly happy: “That is good. You should interact with them more often in the future.”
Qiao Wei then asked: “Are you all Division Commander Pan’s people?”
“Yes.”
“Does that mean you are all under Division Commander Pan?”
Yan Lei, however, said: “Just because someone is under you doesn’t necessarily mean they are your people.”
Qiao Wei asked: “Are the factions in the Military Unit divided severely?”
Yan Lei glanced at her. In Qiao Wei’s eyes, there wasn’t the idle curiosity of some family members wanting to pry; she was asking very earnestly.
Yan Lei nodded.
“It’s the same everywhere. Wherever there are people, there will be cliques,” he said. “Even in the same village, some people listen to the Secretary, some listen to the Village Head, and others listen to the Team Leader.”
Qiao Wei sighed with a smile: “Human beings are just like that.”
Yan Lei didn’t stop, though, and told Qiao Wei more information.
“Division Commander Pan has a connection with my old leader. They are fellow apprentices from the same school.”
“Which old leader?”
“The one who sacrificed himself.”
“The one who told you that people must be educated?”
“Yes.”
“Currently, my old leader’s siblings are all in Beijing and have always been in contact with Division Commander Pan.”
“Division Commander Pan’s wife is in poor health and is recuperating in Beijing. Are the two families, what do you call it, close family friends?”
Qiao Wei nodded, indicating he used the term correctly.
“I heard the Division Commander use that term,” Yan Lei said. “My old leader’s youngest brother was a comrade-in-arms with us; we carried guns together. But he was injured and transferred back to Beijing.”
Division Commander Pan himself is famously known for having abandoned the pen for the sword. His fellow apprentice is also from The Capital.
Qiao Wei vaguely glimpsed a small circle in The Capital.
The original text she read focused on sweet romance; this type of story didn’t emphasize the ensemble cast, and the writing was used to depict the male and female leads and the insufferable villainous extras meant to get slapped in the face. Other characters were relatively blurry.
She remembered it mentioning a few times that Yan Lei had someone above him, and later, when the person above him rose in rank, he also rose. Looking at it now, that person must be Division Commander Pan.
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Yan Lei announced good news to her: “You have a job position.”
Qiao Wei was slightly surprised: “So fast?”
She had been transmigrated for twenty-two days now, and she had originally thought that finding a job would take at least a few months.
“What position is it? Where is the workplace?”
“It’s right here in the town, a broadcaster at the Town Committee Broadcasting Station,” Yan Lei said.
Qiao Wei asked: “Is it that big loudspeaker on the street?”
“Yes,” Yan Lei said. “You don’t need to work in the office; you just broadcast twice a day.”
“I know, once in the morning and once in the afternoon,” Qiao Wei said. She could hear it every day.
Yan Lei said: “The best part about this position is that you can bring Xiangxiang with you, so you don’t have to send Xiangxiang to the nursery.”
Everyone knew that sending children to the nursery meant they would suffer many grievances.
Qiao Wei’s eyes lit up: “This is great.”
She had brought up the idea of finding a job to Yan Lei as soon as she arrived. At that time, she was considering sending Yan Xiang to the nursery.
Although she carried the original owner’s memories and emotions at the time, she was a transmigrator after all, and her bonds with everyone here weren’t that deep.
But now, after more than half a month of getting along, the little things between her and Yan Xiang had built up over time; it was different now.
And because of the incident with Xia Hehua, her negative impression of the nursery had increased. How could she bear to put Yan Xiang in the nursery? The way they took care of children in the nursery was too crude and rough.
Having a position where she could bring her child to work was just too good.
“Of course,” Yan Lei said. “Stethoscopes, steering wheels, shop assistants that you wouldn’t trade for gold; grain management offices, Broadcasting Stations, movie projectionists, postal workers; food supply stations, cotton stations, the three-foot podium, and military factory cadres.”
Qiao Wei let out an exclamation: “What is this? A nursery rhyme?”
Yan Lei told her: “It refers to the best job positions.”
For example, Driver Zhang; his rank is low, but because he is “holding the steering wheel,” he can go on blind dates with a bunch of company commanders and battalion commanders.
Because the position is special, it has a competitive advantage.
And the job found for Qiao Wei this time is as a broadcaster at the Broadcasting Station, which is recognized by everyone as one of the best job positions.
Qiao Wei said: “How is my luck so good?”
She had only transmigrated here for twenty days, and not only was she assigned a real position so quickly, but it was also a good job with such flexible working hours. She felt it was truly good luck.
Could this be Yan Lei’s male lead halo?
Who would have known that Yan Lei would say: “This isn’t luck; it’s because Division Commander Pan specifically looked after you.”
“Ah?”
“Division Commander Pan told me that as soon as he saw this position, he thought of you. There are so many people waiting for job assignments, but he felt you were the most suitable, so he arranged it for you.”
Qiao Wei said: “Then how should we thank Division Commander Pan?”
This was her first reaction, and Yan Lei felt deeply gratified, his eyes smiling: “Don’t you worry about that. You go to the Town Committee tomorrow to report and take the exam.”
“There’s an exam?”
“Broadcasters are different from other jobs; there has to be an exam,” Yan Lei said. “Division Commander Pan and I both feel you will definitely have no problem.”
Qiao Wei was a high school dropout, but in their hearts, that counted as having attended high school and being an educated person.
What kind of exam could screen out someone who had attended high school? That would be unreasonable.
Yan Lei’s filter for high school was so strong that Qiao Wei broke into a slight sweat.
She made some preparations and got up bright and early the next day. She took Yan Xiang to the market to buy groceries early, and upon returning, she entrusted Yan Xiang to Sister Yang: “I’m really sorry to trouble you.”
Sister Yang was pleasantly surprised: “A broadcaster?”
Qiao Wei said: “I have to pass an exam.”
“What kind of exam could stump a high school student!”
Good heavens, Sister Yang’s tone was exactly the same as Yan Lei’s.
“This is great,” Sister Yang clapped her hands. “A broadcaster is one of the ‘Eight Major Personnel’.”
The broadcaster, along with the projectionist, agricultural technician, forestry worker, mediator, water conservancy worker, agricultural machinery operator, and security officer, make up the Eight Major Personnel. They are all good jobs in people’s eyes.
Especially broadcasters and projectionists, who are considered cultural workers. Who wouldn’t look at them with high regard?
“Don’t worry about Xiangxiang. Just leave her at my place. You go and take your exam properly; you must bring honor to our military families,” Sister Yang patted her chest and promised.
“If I pass, I’ll treat your whole family to a meal at a restaurant,” Qiao Wei promised.
“I’ll be waiting,” Sister Yang beamed. “When the time comes, you’ll treat us with your own salary.”
“Alright!”
Qiao Wei had washed her hair last night. Today, she wore a white shirt, green military trousers, and liberation shoes, with a wide brown leather belt cinching her waist. She was full of youthful vitality and high spirits.
She also carried her army-green satchel.
All the way to the Town Committee Residential Compound, people turned their heads to look at her.
Upon arrival, she took the introduction letter Yan Lei gave her and went to the reception room first to register: “I am here to report to the Broadcasting Station.”
She was led into a room similar to a meeting room. After waiting for a while, someone pushed the door open and came in: “You’re the comrade from the Military Unit, right?”
Qiao Wei stood up: “Yes.”
Two men came in, both middle-aged, and they were stunned when they saw Qiao Wei.
The Military Unit had arranged for a new broadcaster to be sent to the Town Committee, saying it was a military wife. Their psychological expectation was to receive a rural military wife.
Who would have known that what came was a young woman full of youth and vitality.
Persistent exercise and increased metabolism really do improve a person’s complexion.
In less than a month, Qiao Wei’s complexion was already much healthier than when she first transmigrated. Her cheeks were pinkish-white, her lips were rosy, and her eyes were bright and clear.
The hair she had washed last night was smooth and sleek after a night’s sleep, shining with luster.
The white shirt could interpret an era of innocence.
Both middle-aged uncles were stunned for a moment.
Because they knew the person coming was a military wife, a married woman.
Based on these two men’s life experience, it was common to see this kind of youthful clarity when one was a girl, but it was rare for a female comrade to still present this state after marriage.
Most female comrades either gradually withered like flowers after marriage or were worn down into tough vines that hurt whoever they struck.
They almost thought they had the wrong person.
But Qiao Wei handed over the introduction letter.
The two men put their heads together to look at it, then raised their heads to look at Qiao Wei: “Comrade Qiao Weiwei?”
“It’s me.”
“You are… a military family member?”
“Yes, my husband is an active-duty soldier.”
The older one said: “Sit.”
All three sat down; the two of them sat on one side, and Qiao Wei sat opposite them.
The older one sized her up and asked: “Comrade Xiao Qiao, are you newly married and following your husband to the base?”
Qiao Wei smiled: “My child is almost four years old.”
The other person asked: “Is your husband a battalion-level cadre?”
Under normal circumstances, lower-level cadres are younger than higher-level cadres. Battalion Commander Xue and Battalion Commander Wang were younger than Regimental Commander Zhao.
But Yan Lei did not belong to the normal situation; he was the youngest regimental commander in the Military District.
He was younger than Battalion Commander Xue and Battalion Commander Wang. And Qiao Wei was younger than Yan Lei.
Qiao Wei replied: “No, he is a regimental-level cadre.”
Hearing that he was a regimental-level cadre, the two middle-aged men immediately pictured a face similar to Regimental Commander Zhao’s in their minds.
What a waste, they sighed inwardly.
A young woman like a flower, married to that kind of middle-aged rough man. Who wouldn’t feel regret looking at that?
But cadres have high salaries and good benefits, which could indeed give her a better life.
Perhaps that was why she could still be kept looking so fresh and vibrant after being married for several years.
In a combination of an old man and a young, delicate wife, there is no old man who doesn’t dote on his young, delicate wife.
The two men introduced themselves, and the older one said: “I am Section Chief Xie of the Propaganda Section, and this is Station Chief Lu of the Broadcasting Station.”
“Comrade Qiao, please introduce yourself.”
Qiao Wei’s back was naturally straight, not stiff, showing that she was not nervous or ill-at-ease.
“My name is Qiao Weiwei, 22 years old, a military family member, a high school dropout, and I specialize in text-based work. It is quite a good match for the scope of the broadcaster’s work. However, I lack experience and still need to continuously learn and enrich myself under the guidance of the leaders in order to make progress.”
The two middle-aged men nodded.
Station Chief Lu opened the folder in his hand and took out a piece of paper: “Read this aloud.”
There were two paragraphs of text on the paper. Qiao Wei quickly browsed through them, cleared her throat, and began to read.
The first paragraph was very simple; it was the opening and closing remarks of the broadcast:
“Xiahekou Town People’s Commune Broadcasting Station, broadcasting now begins. At 10:05, we will relay the program from the Yongming County People’s Broadcasting Station.”
“Xiahekou Town People’s Commune Broadcasting Station, this broadcast session has ended. Goodbye.”
After a pause, she began to read the second paragraph, which was a piece of news. Judging by the time, it was news from last year:
“Peoples Daily Extra: A major achievement in strengthening national defense, a major contribution to safeguarding world peace—our country’s first atomic bomb explosion was a success! Our government has issued a statement, solemnly proposing to convene a summit of world leaders to discuss the issue of completely banning and thoroughly destroying nuclear weapons.
On October 16, 196X, China exploded an atomic bomb in the western region of our country, successfully conducting its first nuclear test. The success of China’s nuclear test is the Chinese people’s strengthening of national defense…”
“Alright, stop,” Section Chief Xie called a halt.
He and Station Chief Lu were both a bit stunned: “Comrade Qiao, are you from Beijing?”
“No, I am from Lin City. After I got married, I followed my husband to the town.”
The two men felt they couldn’t believe it: “Lin City isn’t far away. Can a person from Lin City speak Mandarin so well?”
The body had memories; usually, if Qiao Wei didn’t deliberately correct her accent, although she spoke Mandarin, she naturally carried the original owner Qiao Weiwei’s Lin City accent.
But just now, when the leaders asked her to read, and she was reading a news script, Qiao Wei articulated clearly, with perfect enunciation, in the most standard Mandarin.
The two leaders listened and felt it was no different from the tone of the announcers from the Central Peoples Broadcasting Station relayed by the county Broadcasting Station.
Having been worn down in the workplace, corporate slaves all have thick skin. Qiao Wei shamelessly said with a cheeky face: “By hard practice.”
This really struck a chord with the leaders.
The two leaders looked at each other and sighed: “This time the Military District has finally…”
Finally sent someone decent.
You must know that the last person sent by the Military District to the Broadcasting Station was nicknamed “Can’t Control It.”
Because her “Mandarin” broadcasting was like this:
“Xiahekou Town People’s Commune Can’t Control It, broadcasting now begins. At 10:05, we will relay the program from the Yongming County People’s Can’t Control It.”
“Xiahekou Town People’s Commune Can’t Control It, this broadcast session has ended. Goodbye.”
