Chapter 203: Friendship Price
As soon as Su He came out of night school, she heard someone shouting:
“Little Su, Little Su! You’re so hard to find! I got off the bus and went first to the textile factory, then to the machinery factory, and even the food factory before finally tracking you down!”
Su He looked up and saw it was Director Shen from Xiangyang Commune.
“Director Shen, what brings you here?”
“Little Su, this isn’t the place to talk. You haven’t had lunch yet, right? Come on, I’ll treat you to a restaurant!”
Su He laughed. “I’ve already eaten, but judging by the look of you, I bet you haven’t. Let’s go, I’ll treat you instead!”
Director Shen thought to himself: Little Su really knows how to handle things!
So Su He led him… straight to the night school canteen.
Director Shen: “…”
Su He smiled. “Director Shen, you donated a pig and five hens to the night school. It’s only right for you to have a meal here!”
Director Shen: “…”
After eating a bowl of noodles, Director Shen finally saw his chance to speak.
“Little Su, have you forgotten about our Xiangyang Commune? You’re supposed to be our liaison officer!”
Su He blinked innocently. “That was the idea, but didn’t you say you’d think about it back then?”
Director Shen: “…”
Only then did he realize his mistake—he had bragged to the big leaders and to Director Luo that Su He was Xiangyang Commune’s liaison, but he had never actually talked it over with her!
He regretted it so much his guts turned green. Smart all his life, muddled for one moment!
“Little Su, it’s my fault, my oversight. But it’s not too late to mend the fold after losing the sheep. From now on, you’re our Xiangyang Commune liaison! Don’t worry, your pay and benefits will be better than Hua Hua Commune’s. Look, I even brought your work pass.”
He handed her a work pass from his briefcase—along with an envelope.
Su He opened it. Money.
“This is your salary, starting from May.”
Before she could ask, Director Shen continued:
“Back when you helped rescue Comrade Su Yufen from domestic violence, you had already begun women’s work. So from then on, you were officially employed.”
Su He: …Wow, you’re good at this!
Director Shen cleared his throat. “Little Su, I heard the textile factory is building a branch in Hua Hua Commune. Is that true?”
Su He nodded. “It’s true. Construction starts in a few days.”
Director Shen felt his heart twist with envy.
Back then he laughed at Director Luo for raising a troublemaker. But now? Turns out he was the shortsighted one!
If he had treated Su He differently back then, maybe the textile branch would’ve been built in Xiangyang Commune instead!
When he first heard the news, his heart was so sour everything tasted like pickled vegetables.
“Little Su, you can’t play favorites! Hua Hua Commune gets the meat, at least let our Xiangyang Commune sip some soup!”
Su He smiled. “When the branch is finished, they’ll definitely need workers. I’ll talk to the factory so they only recruit from Xiangyang and Hua Hua Communes. How about that?”
Director Shen was still sour, but he knew he couldn’t compare with Director Luo. Luo was family; he was at best a foster relation.
“Fine, let’s do as you say. Little Su, ever since you helped repair the dam, our villagers have sung your praises. Many said they’d slaughter a pig at New Year just to treat you! Lots of old ladies even want to introduce you to suitors. Whatever good comes your way, don’t forget about Xiangyang Commune…”
Su He was already tired, and with him rambling on, her eyelids drooped. By the time he finished, her head was bobbing—almost asleep on the table.
Director Shen: “…”
So all that I said was wasted on her?
Still, it wasn’t a wasted trip. He felt smug—among the county’s eighteen communes, aside from Hua Hua’s natural advantage, Xiangyang had gotten in first.
He gently woke Su He. “Little Su, I’ve got to say this: work matters, but so does your health. Find a place to nap, I’ll head off.”
Su He was indeed exhausted. After sending him off, she found an empty classroom at the night school and took a nap.
She slept soundly, half-dreaming, half-awake, when she felt a cool breeze.
When she opened her eyes, the Exchange popped out.
“Host, I just rented you an electric fan! I even kept watch so no one saw you. Aren’t I thoughtful?”
Su He suddenly realized and nodded. “Doggy, not bad.”
The Exchange hesitated:
[Host, could you pay up? Fan rental, 10 yuan! Standing guard, 10 yuan! All at friendship price!]
Su He: “…”
So now you’re fleecing me?
This thing really is getting smarter. Has its brainpower increased?
She stretched. “I’ll pay if you want, but if you take it, from now on we’ll just be host and system. No more answering your questions, no more free skins, no more helping you train your brain. Are you sure?”
[No, no, I won’t take it! Never again! It was all voluntary, selfless contribution. A good system always thinks of its host.]
Su He nodded. “All right then, since you put it that way, I won’t hold back.”
The Exchange’s screen twisted like a pretzel. Making money off this host was impossible!
Maybe it should test its tricks on other systems? Use the same scams Su He usually used on others? After all, most systems hoarded their energy and seemed dumb—easy to fool.
Su He was just about to ask about instant noodle production lines when she realized the Exchange had gone silent again.
Strange. Why shut down again? Wasn’t its resilience improving lately?
Too lazy to summon it again, Su He left night school and went straight to the textile factory.
She checked the warehouse for raw materials, inspected the prototypes at the tech department, and strolled through the workshops.
At every department she visited, she had a quiet word with the leaders:
I see your problems. I won’t report them to Director Feng, but you’d better fix them.
If they corrected themselves, she gained leverage. If not, she’d let Director Feng deal with them.
Either way, she was set on being the thorn in everyone’s side!
When the branch factory finally opened, many would be eager to send her off to run it.
And with such enthusiastic public demand, she’d have no choice but to take the position.
