Courtyard House: Jia Zhangshi! How dare you hit my sister?

Qin Huairu opened her mouth, unsure how to respond.

Qin Huai'an felt that Qin Huairu's job couldn't be hidden for long, and there was no need to hide it, so he spoke directly:

"No, that's not it. My sister also went to report for work today; she also works at the textile factory."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Er was completely stunned.

She nearly dropped the vegetable basket in her hand, her eyes wide with surprise:

"Wha...what? Huai Ru works too? In a textile factory?"

"Yes." Qin Huai'an nodded. "Apprentice."

The second aunt didn't react for a long time.

At this moment, people came out of the Intermediate Court one after another—Sha Zhu was carrying a lunchbox and was going to the steel rolling mill, Xu Damao was also pushing his bicycle out, and several middle-aged women were preparing to wash clothes by the sink.

Upon hearing this conversation, everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Sister Qin...you have a job?" Sha Zhu asked first, looking incredulous.

"A textile factory?" Xu Damao chimed in, "Qin Huairu, are you really going to work at a textile factory?"

Qin Huairu nodded and whispered, "Yes, I'll report for duty today."

These words were like a bomb, exploding in the Intermediate People's Court.

"My God! Qin Huairu has a job?!"

"A textile factory! That's a good place!"

"Her household registration hasn't been completed yet, so how can she have a job?"

"This is incredible! Qin Huairu has really turned her life around!"

Several middle-aged women started talking at once, and their voices grew louder and louder.

Jia Dongxu happened to come out of the house and heard these words; his face turned pale instantly.

He stood at the door, looking at Qin Huairu dressed in new clothes and looking energetic, and felt a pang of sadness.

Qin Huairu has a job?

In a textile factory?

Qin Huairu is from the countryside, what makes her so special?

Why should I?

However, nobody cared what he thought.

"..."

"Huai Ru, how was your work arranged?" Auntie Er asked cautiously, snapping out of her daze.

Qin Huairu glanced at her younger brother: "My brother helped me."

"Your younger brother?" The second aunt was even more surprised. "Huai'an, do you know some high-ranking official?"

"Auntie, it's not that exaggerated." Qin Huai'an simply brushed it off: "It's getting late, we have to go."

"Oh, right, right, you should go quickly, don't delay the important business," Auntie Er hurriedly said.

Qin Huai'an led his sister outside.

Behind them, the murmurs grew louder.

"Did you hear that? Qin Huai'an's background is anything but simple!"

"No wonder they dared to attack Yi Zhonghai; they have powerful backers!"

"The Jia family is really at a disadvantage now! Qin Huairu is so capable, and she even has a job now. A divorce would be a huge loss for them!"

"Exactly! How much money do these two siblings earn in a month!"

"With both parents working, life must be incredibly comfortable!"

As Jia Dongxu listened to these words, his fists clenched tightly.

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he started making plans in his mind—he had to curry favor with Qin Huai'an; if he followed the right person, he wouldn't be bullied in the courtyard anymore!

Sha Zhu scratched his head and muttered, "Sister Qin... having a job is a good thing..."

"..."

The siblings left the courtyard house and headed towards the textile factory.

The textile factory isn't far from here; it's about a 20-minute walk.

Upon arriving at the factory gate, Qin Huairu felt another surge of excitement as she looked at the imposing entrance.

The main gate consisted of two iron gates, with a sign next to it that read "Beijing No. 3 Textile Factory".

There are uniformed security guards standing guard at the entrance, and everyone entering or leaving must show their work ID.

Qin Huai'an walked over with his sister, but was stopped by a young soldier:

"Comrade, please show your work ID."

"Here you go!" Qin Huai'an said, pulling out his work ID from his pocket.

The soldier took it, looked at it, and then glanced at Qin Huai'an a few more times:

"Hey bro! From now on, we're brothers who'll be stirring the pot together!"

The soldier then pointed to Qin Huairu: "And who is this?"

"This is my older sister, Qin Huairu," Qin Huai'an said. "I took her to complete her onboarding procedures; this is her letter of introduction."

The soldier glanced at Qin Huairu's letter of introduction again before letting her in: "Go in. The personnel department is on the second floor of the office building."

"Thank you." Qin Huai'an nodded and led his sister into the factory.

The factory area is very large, with rows of factory buildings neatly arranged and machines making a rumbling noise.

The workers, dressed in uniform blue-gray work clothes, hurried back and forth.

Qin Huairu watched all of this with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

"Sister, don't be nervous," Qin Huai'an whispered. "Just follow me."

He led his sister toward the office building.

The office building is a three-story building with signs for each department hanging at the entrance.

I went up to the second floor and found the personnel department. The door was open, and inside sat a middle-aged man in his forties, looking at documents.

Qin Huai'an knocked on the door: "Comrade, hello, we're here to complete the onboarding process."

The middle-aged man looked up: "New here? What's your name?"

"Qin Huairu, an apprentice."

The middle-aged man took two forms out of the drawer: "Fill out these forms first."

Qin Huai'an helped Qin Huairu take the form and found a table to sit down and fill it out.

The form contains a lot of information—name, age, place of origin, family situation, political affiliation, etc.

Qin Huairu filled out the form very carefully, stroke by stroke. When she got to the "family members" section, she hesitated for a moment and looked at her younger brother.

Qin Huai'an knew what she was thinking and whispered:

"Just write my name. You don't need to write anything else."

Qin Huairu nodded and wrote in that column, "Younger brother: Qin Huai'an, security officer of the textile factory."

After filling out the form, I handed it to the middle-aged man.

The man looked at it carefully, then took out a file folder from the cabinet and put the form inside.

"Alright, the file is done." He said, then took out another piece of paper:

"Qin Huairu, an apprentice, earns eighteen yuan per month in the first year and twenty-two yuan after becoming a full-time employee in the second year."

He filled in the numbers on the form and stamped it.

"Take this and go to the administration department to collect your work protection supplies."

Qin Huai'an thanked her and then took his sister to the administrative department.

The administrative staff member was a woman in her thirties, and she was very enthusiastic.

After looking at their watches, I took out two sets of work protective equipment from the cabinet—two pairs of gloves, two towels, and a bar of soap.

"This is work insurance," she said. "I'll receive it every month from now on."

Qin Huairu felt a warm glow inside as she accepted the gifts—this factory is really nice, they even give out things.

"Thank you, comrade," she said softly.

"You're welcome." The woman smiled. "Are you new here? Don't be nervous, everyone in our factory is very nice."

After leaving the administrative office, Qin Huai'an took his sister to the finance office.

The finance department is on the second floor at the very back, and the door is closed.

Qin Huai'an knocked on the door, and a woman's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw an elderly accountant in his fifties, wearing reading glasses, and calculating on an abacus.

"Comrade, we've come to collect our resettlement allowance." Qin Huai'an handed over the form.

The old accountant took the watch, glanced at it, and adjusted his reading glasses:

"You're new here. According to regulations, new employees can receive an advance of one month's salary as a settling-in allowance."

She opened the ledger, found the two names, and took out money from the drawer.

"Qin Huairu, eighteen yuan."

She counted the money and had Qin Huairu sign the receipt.

Qin Huairu took the eighteen yuan, her hands trembling.

A thick stack of bills—one ten-yuan note, one five-yuan note, and three one-yuan notes.

She had never received so much money in her entire life.

In all the years she's been with the Jia family, she's never held any of her own money.

Every month, all the small amount of money he earned was handed over to Jia Zhangshi.

She had to beg for money from Jia Zhangshi whenever she needed it, just like begging for food.

Now, she has her own job and her own salary.

She earned those eighteen yuan with her own hands.

"Sister, keep the money safe," Qin Huai'an whispered.

Qin Huairu then came to her senses, carefully folded the money, put it in her inner pocket, and pressed it down with her hand, as if afraid of losing it.

"Thank you, comrade." She bowed to the old accountant.

The old accountant smiled: "You're welcome, keep up the good work."

After leaving the finance department, all the formalities were completed.

Qin Huai'an checked the time: "Sister, I'll take you to the workshop."

"Don't you need to report to the security department?" Qin Huairu asked.

"There's still time," Qin Huai'an said. "Let's get you settled first."

He led his sister toward the workshop. The textile factory's workshop was huge, and the noise of the machines was deafening.

The female workers stood in front of the machines, operating them nimbly.

Qin Huairu watched all of this with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"Sister, this is it." Qin Huai'an stopped at the entrance of a workshop:

"Go in and find Director Wang. Tell him you are a new apprentice and he will assign you a mentor."

"Hmm." Qin Huairu nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Huai'an, then you..."

"I'm going to report to the security department," Qin Huai'an said. "I'll come find you during lunchtime."

"Okay." Qin Huairu nodded vigorously. "Go ahead, don't delay."

Qin Huai'an gave a few more instructions before turning and leaving.