Chapter 13: Mother Sheng’s Combat Strength, Official Entry
“Oh my goodness! Did the Sheng family’s daughter really secure a job?”
“Does this mean she doesn’t have to go to the countryside anymore?”
“Heavens, now every single person in the Sheng family is an official state employee!”
“Whoever marries that girl is going to hit the jackpot.”
Mother Sheng glared at the gossiping crowd, effectively shutting them up, before turning her fierce gaze back to the woman.
“You keep running your mouth, claiming my daughter stole your son’s job,” Mother Sheng sneered. “Let me ask you: how exactly was it his job? Did it have his name on it? Had you already completed the employment formalities?”
Mother Sheng had zero tolerance for unreasonable people; she had dealt with plenty of them in her time.
“I was the one negotiating for it first!” the woman shrieked defensively. “You people swooped in and snatched it away the second we weren’t looking! Does your family have any shame at all?!”
The woman jabbed a finger at Mother Sheng, cursing loudly, and even raised her hand as if to strike. Mother Sheng’s face darkened with pure fury.
Seeing his wife’s expression, Father Sheng wisely took a half-step back. Sure enough, in the very next second, Mother Sheng launched into action.
When the other woman’s son tried to lunge forward to help his mother, Father Sheng immediately stepped in to physically block his path. What right did a grown man have interfering in a women’s brawl?
Hearing the scuffle from inside the apartment, Sheng Wanyan threw open the door and rushed out. Seeing her mother fully engaged in a fight, she immediately dove in to “help.” The mother and daughter operated with seamless, unspoken teamwork. While Sheng Wanyan appeared to be frantically trying to break up the fight, she was actually pinning the woman’s arms down, ensuring she couldn’t land a single scratch on Mother Sheng.
Taking full advantage, Mother Sheng grabbed a handful of the woman’s hair and yanked without holding back.
“Mom!” Sheng Wanyan called out, shooting her a pointed look. She was silently warning her mother to make her point but not take things too far; if the situation escalated to a severe injury, it wouldn’t end well for anyone.
Mother Sheng understood the silent cue. She knew that going overboard could negatively impact her daughter’s new job. After delivering a few more sharp pinches to the woman’s arms, she finally let go and stepped back, exhaling heavily.
The battered woman stumbled back, still screeching curses. “You bitch! And your daughter is a bitch too! Shame on you for stealing my son’s livelihood!”
Hearing her daughter insulted, Mother Sheng flew into a renewed rage. She stepped right back in and delivered two resounding slaps across the woman’s face. Smack! Smack!
“You curse my daughter one more time, and I won’t just slap you—I’ll call the police!” Mother Sheng roared. “I’ll tell the authorities that your son is trying to dodge his rural assignment! I’ll tell them he came here to harass and assault a state worker’s family! Let’s see what happens to him then. I promise you, it won’t be as simple as just sending him down to the countryside; he’ll be thrown in a labor camp!”
Mother Sheng ruthlessly targeted their exact weakness. Hearing those threats, neither the mother nor the son dared to make another move. The Sheng family had acquired the job completely legally; they had a clear conscience. Why would they be afraid of a few empty threats?
“You… you wouldn’t dare call the police!” the woman stammered, though her voice shook.
Without missing a beat, Mother Sheng turned and began marching toward the stairwell, looking fully prepared to head straight to the public security bureau. The mother and son paled, realizing she was dead serious.
“Mom! Stop talking!” The young man grabbed his mother’s arm, his face ashen. If the police really investigated, any attempt to dodge the countryside mandate would be exposed, and his life would be completely ruined.
The woman finally grasped the gravity of the situation. If her son simply went to the countryside as ordered, they could eventually find a way to transfer him back to the city. But if he was officially labeled a criminal or a draft dodger, their entire family would be implicated and blacklisted forever.
Mother Sheng stopped and spun around, pointing fiercely down the hall. “Get out of here! Don’t ever let me see your faces again! If you dare come looking for trouble with my family again, I won’t be nearly this polite! Look around at all these witnesses—do you honestly think I’m afraid of you?”
Sheng Wanyan listened in awe. Her mother was absolutely formidable. With just a few sentences, she had systematically cut off all the other party’s routes of attack and retreat.
No matter how furious the mother and son were, they knew they had lost. They had no choice but to swallow their grievances. As Sheng Wanyan stepped back to let them pass, the pair shot venomous glares at the Sheng family.
“Are you still glaring at me?” Mother Sheng barked, rolling up her sleeves and lunging forward again.
Sheng Wanyan quickly grabbed her waist to hold her back.
Terrified, the mother and son scrambled down the stairs and ran for their lives. This woman was simply unhinged—far more aggressive and arrogant than they could ever hope to be!
Back inside the apartment, Sheng Wanyan immediately poured a glass of warm water and handed it to her mother. Mother Sheng took several long sips before her heavy breathing finally slowed.
“If that shrew dares to show her face here again, I’ll beat her so badly she’ll regret ever being born,” Mother Sheng huffed.
The rest of the Sheng family nodded in rapid, synchronized agreement. “Yes, yes. You have the final say in this house,” they chorused.
“Calm down, wife, calm down,” Father Sheng murmured, gently patting her back. “It’s not worth ruining your health over people like that.”
Sheng Wanyan headed to the kitchen to bring out the dinner, calling everyone to the table. Mother Sheng was still clearly running on adrenaline. The way she viciously bit into her steamed bun made it look as though she were trying to snap her enemy’s neck.
No one in the family dared to breathe too loudly. When Mother Sheng went to war, she didn’t play around. Sheng Wanyan and her brother Sheng Wanze had grown up under this exact same fierce discipline; they knew firsthand that their mother showed absolutely zero mercy when angered.
That night, Father Sheng gave his wife a dedicated shoulder massage and whispered countless sweet words to soothe her until her temper finally dissipated completely.
“Our daughter starts work tomorrow,” Mother Sheng suddenly said. “Give her some money for meals.”
“Right away!” Father Sheng quickly retrieved the family’s small iron lockbox. He pulled out ten yuan and a stack of grain coupons, sneaking a cautious glance at his wife’s expression to gauge her reaction.
“Hmph,” Mother Sheng scoffed, catching his look. “Don’t act as if I don’t love my own daughter.”
Father Sheng chuckled in relief. Ten yuan was a massive sum for pocket money in this era, and he had been worried his wife would think he was spoiling the girl too much.
Taking the cash and coupons, Mother Sheng walked over and knocked on Sheng Wanyan’s bedroom door. When Wanyan opened it, her mother shoved the money into her hands.
“Take this. Use it to buy meat dishes in the factory cafeteria,” she ordered. “You’re a working girl now. Don’t you dare mistreat yourself.”
“Mom, I have money…” Sheng Wanyan replied, her voice meek, half-expecting her mother to slap her just for talking back.
Sure enough, Mother Sheng shot her a lethal glare. “Shut up and take it!”
Sheng Wanyan snapped her mouth shut instantly. Mother Sheng was clearly still in combat mode today, and she was not to be messed with.
Mother Sheng pressed the money firmly into her palm, commanded her to go to bed early, and then marched back to her own room.
Left alone, Sheng Wanyan looked down at the money and coupons, a warm smile spreading across her face. Her mother truly cared for her deeply; she had just grown accustomed to expressing it through a fiery temper. She wasn’t good at soft words or gentle displays of affection, but her actions always spoke volumes louder than her words.
Sheng Wanyan safely tucked the money into her space and went to bed early to ensure she was well-rested for the big day.
The next morning, Sheng Wanyan woke up bright and early and sat down to a hot breakfast prepared by her mother.
In this era, most workers brought their own lunches to the factory. Today, Mother Sheng had specially packed her an aluminum lunchbox containing a fried egg and two fluffy white steamed buns—a genuinely luxurious meal during a time of such severe shortages.
Slipping the lunchbox into her army-green canvas satchel, Sheng Wanyan set off for her first day of work.
She caught the city tram, a nostalgic relic of the time. The ride was short and cost only a single cent to drop her near the cotton mill. The tram was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with commuters from all walks of life. Yet, despite the cramped conditions and patched clothing, almost every face shone with a genuine, earnest enthusiasm. Working hard and contributing to the motherland’s construction was the unifying belief that drove everyone forward.
When Sheng Wanyan arrived at the massive gates of the cotton mill, the elderly gatekeeper immediately noticed her unfamiliar face and struck up a conversation, asking her a barrage of questions.
Sheng Wanyan answered politely, knowing full well how crucial it was to establish a good relationship with the security guard. Gatekeepers were never just ordinary old men; they were the ultimate hubs of factory gossip and insider information.
“Ah, so you’re the new recruit for the Propaganda Department!” the old man said, nodding approvingly.
“That’s right, Uncle.”
“Just head straight down this main path. The Propaganda Department is the building right at the very end. You can’t miss it.”
He pointed out the direction just as Sheng Wanyan was wondering who she should ask.
“Thank you so much, Uncle!”
The old man waved her off with a smile, and Sheng Wanyan hurried toward her new department to report for duty.
The Propaganda Department was relatively small, consisting of only six people in total, including herself. When the department director saw her arrive with her paperwork, he gave her a brief nod of welcome and pointed her toward the single empty desk in the room.
