Chapter 58: Accidentally Overachieving the Mission
The next morning, Su He went to the bus station to see off Director Luo and his group.
“Director Luo, the textile factory still needs to purchase some accessories for the hair clips, like elastic bands and black hairpins, so work probably won’t start for a few more days. Once the schedule is set, I’ll give you a call to report.”
Director Luo nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
Clerk Liu smiled and said to Su He, “Xiao Su, this order really came just in time! With this, we finally have something to show the commune members. Otherwise, the labor allocation for the dam project would be hard to manage.”
Su He, always sharp, instantly understood that Clerk Liu was intentionally bringing up the dam labor issue—he was likely about to ask her for help.
She put on a curious look. “Labor for the dam? There’s a dam being built?”
“Yeah, the embankment at Liu River has some damage. We need to fix it properly before the rainy season hits.
The Xiangyang Commune is using their connections with the transportation company, so they’re only providing one small truck—we have to supply all the manual labor.
There’s nothing we can do; after all, Bai Lili’s older brother works at the transportation company…”
Su He immediately caught the implication.
She raised an eyebrow. “So, if we could get a small truck, the Xiangyang Commune would have to provide the labor?”
Clerk Liu nodded. “Exactly, that’s what Director Shen meant! Xiao Su, you’ve got great connections—do you think you could get us a truck?”
“How many days would it be needed?”
Clerk Liu thought for a moment. “At least two days.”
“And what if there were two trucks?”
Clerk Liu’s eyes widened. “…Two? Two trucks? Then the whole thing could be done in just one day.”
He looked at Su He in disbelief. What was she implying—could she really get two trucks?
Su He then asked Director Luo, “How much subsidy can our commune offer per truck?”
Director Luo, being the more composed leader, tried to play it cool—though he pulled out a cigarette from the pack upside down and kept trying to light the filter end with a match.
Su He tried not to laugh, while Clerk Liu quickly helped him fix it.
Director Luo cleared his throat awkwardly. “Xiao Su, how much do you think would be a fair subsidy?”
“Let’s avoid cash—it can be sensitive. How about: ten catties of eggs per driver, twenty catties of ration coupons, and a basket of wild vegetables. If that works, I can get you two trucks.”
Director Luo didn’t hesitate. “Deal! Let’s go with that!”
It was an incredibly good bargain.
The commune would have to provide subsidies for labor anyway—what Su He proposed was actually cheaper, and more importantly, it would be a major point of pride!
Director Luo might be easy-going, but he had been really frustrated by Director Shen the day before. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Shen’s face when he got outmatched.
…
After seeing the bus off, Su He headed to the machinery factory to find Qian Huifang.
After a few pleasantries, Su He said, “Aunt Qian, our Huaihua Commune is planning to repair the embankment, and the textile factory voluntarily offered a truck to support us. Do you know why?”
Qian Huifang looked puzzled. “Maybe because of your previous cooperation on the scrap-fabric cushions? So they’re offering it out of goodwill?”
Su He shook her head and said mysteriously, “The broadcasting station really liked my last news article. They plan to play more reports like that periodically.
Now, getting reports from factories selected is quite difficult. But if it’s submitted under the commune’s name, the chances go up—especially with high-level themes like supporting national water conservation efforts.
So the textile factory offered a truck with the condition that we write a news piece about it.
I figured—you’re with the union at the machinery factory. If the textile factory gets all the credit, it might not look good for you. So I came here to give you a heads-up.
Since one truck will be used anyway, why not provide one from the machinery factory too? That way, both factories can be included in the article…”
Qian Huifang nodded repeatedly and finally said with emotion, “Xiao He, it’s so thoughtful of you. If you hadn’t told me, and the textile factory stole the spotlight, our union would’ve definitely been criticized. When does construction start? I’ll coordinate and send over a truck.”
Su He then turned to the textile factory to speak with Director Gao.
“Director Gao, our Huaihua Commune is planning to repair the embankment, and the machinery factory has already agreed to support us with a truck…
I felt it was only right to let you know. After all, your textile factory has worked more closely with our commune. A good deed like this shouldn’t leave the textile factory out.”
In the county town, the machinery factory had always been the top dog. The textile factory was somewhat competitive and constantly comparing itself.
So, when Director Gao heard this, he immediately said, “They’re giving one? Then we’ll give two!”
Su He: “…Alright then.”
She hadn’t meant to one-up them, but she’d accidentally overachieved the mission!
After telling Qian Huifang, she found that the machinery factory insisted on matching the textile factory—now they were giving two trucks too, and Su He couldn’t even stop them.
Once she had the machinery and textile factories settled, Su He went to find Tian Xiaotao.
As soon as she saw Su He, Tian Xiaotao enthusiastically grabbed her hand. “Su He! I was just about to find you after work! Our broadcast station gave out two movie tickets—I wanted to invite you to go with me!”
Tian Xiaotao felt a kindred spirit in Su He, both having been hurt by scumbags. And Su He was beautiful and eloquent, making her even more likable.
Sometimes, friendships between girls just spark like that.
Su He laughed, “We really are on the same wavelength!
But actually, I came for something work-related.
How was the response to my last broadcast report? Were the station leaders satisfied?”
“Of course! We used to only broadcast national news—there wasn’t much public interest. Now, everyone on the streets is talking about your article.”
In fact, people mostly talked about Su He’s commentary, but Tian Xiaotao didn’t want to bring that up.
Su He smiled. “Then how about I write another one for you? It’ll be about the textile and machinery factories supporting Huaihua Commune’s water conservation project.”
Tian Xiaotao hesitated a bit. “That’s not really up to me. It depends on whether our station chief agrees.”
“No problem. Just tell him this—these two reports can be submitted to the provincial station under the name of the county broadcasting station.
Also, now that we’ve opened up this ‘special report’ section, all the institutions, factories, and communes will be scrambling to get reports published…”
Tian Xiaotao wasn’t dumb—she instantly understood what Su He was hinting at.
This was a valuable networking opportunity. As long as their station chief wasn’t brain-dead, he’d definitely agree.
“I’ll talk to him right away! Wait here for good news!”
A short while later, Tian Xiaotao came back excitedly.
“It’s done! Our station chief even wants to appoint you as a special correspondent for the broadcast station. Would you be willing?”
Of course Su He was willing!
With this title, she could now approach any organization under the pretense of conducting an interview.
