The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

The old Party Secretary couldn't help but nod in approval after seeing how Bao Ya handled the situation. No wonder she was so assertive; look at how she handled it, it's no wonder the members of Nanshan Brigade were willing to listen to her.

The situation here is almost resolved, and the monkey is starting to get anxious. He hasn't even had a chance to show his skills yet, and it's already over. Wouldn't that make him seem useless?

So, the monkey started giving Bao Ya frequent winks. Bao Ya received his signals and turned to talk to the brigade leader and the old Party secretary.

"Uncle, since the leaders are here, let them explain the policies to the commune members. After all, you're all busy with work, and there are bound to be things you don't see, don't you think?"

"Don't bother all the members. Just bring those men who beat their wives and those mothers-in-law who like to mistreat their daughters-in-law, especially your brigade's women's director; I think she has the biggest problem."

"You cannot..."

When the women's director heard that she was going to be dragged out and criticized as well, she was immediately stopped by the old Party Secretary.

"Shut up, you have no right to speak. It's your fault for not doing your job properly, and if this happens, who will take responsibility?"

He thought Bao Ya was right; it was all these people's fault. Why couldn't they just live a peaceful life instead of tormenting his wife?

Finally, the old Party Secretary made the final decision, calling all the women in the village who had daughters-in-law or were about to have daughters-in-law to come and listen, as well as the men who had recently beaten their wives, who were all in this room.

It's much better to keep the impact to a minimum than to take the place out and hold a big meeting in the threshing ground.

The monkey felt incredibly depressed as it looked at the aunties and older women sitting inside the house.

It was supposed to be his chance to show off his skills, but he was rendered speechless by the teasing of these aunties and grandmas, and was even harassed.

Finally, the aunties and grandmas warmly saw them off out of the village. Sitting on the donkey cart, Monkey was sullen, like a wronged little wife, and didn't even glance at Bao Ya.

After returning home, Bao Ya handed the money to the brigade accountant, gave Lin Lao Er a receipt, and specifically instructed Su Da Qiang that the money belonged to Er Ya and no one else could withdraw it.

This action dispelled Lin Lao Er's idea of ​​keeping the money for himself.

He asked Lin Lao Er for fifty yuan and gave one yuan to each of the people who helped him.

He bought two more chickens in the village, planning to cook a feast for the five children that evening, and gave the rest of the money to Grandma Su as pocket money.

Bao Ya helped cook at home for two days. The summer harvest was basically over, and she was just waiting to go to the commune to collect the grain.

Jiang Yuan arrived just in time to pick up Bao Ya and take her home. Monkey and the others wanted to go back with them, but Su Daqiang warmly invited them to stay.

Early the next morning, Su Daqiang took them to the high platform at the brigade headquarters, held an awards ceremony for them, pinned a big red flower on each of their chests, and handed them certificates of merit.

The monkeys were brought back by the large group of donkey carts, accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums. Each of them wore a big red flower on their chest and stood on the donkey carts. The roadside was crowded with onlookers, and the scene was extremely lively.

The atmosphere was so lively that even the donkeys pulling the cart were braying loudly. Bao Ya almost burst out laughing at the scene; thankfully, she hadn't come back with them.

Bao Ya rested at home for a day before reporting to the factory. Jiang Yuan had already taken care of her household registration yesterday, and today she went directly to the factory office to complete the onboarding procedures. After everything was done, he took her to the sales department.

There are four people in the sales department office. The director, surnamed Wang, is a fat man with a big belly. His eyes lit up when he saw Bao Ya.

I knew Jiang Yuan had gone to great lengths to marry a beautiful young wife, but I never expected her to be this beautiful.

When Director Wang saw Bao Ya come in, he quickly went to greet her and even extended his fat, greasy hand.

"This must be Comrade Kobayashi. I've heard so much about you! Welcome, welcome!"

"Hello, Director Wang."

"Okay, okay, let me introduce you to the people in our office. This is Sun Bin, the head of the East District, who is also the deputy director of our department."

Sun Bin was probably in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and looked very composed.

"Hello, Director Sun."

Bao Ya quickly greeted Sun Bing, not caring about whether he was a vice or not. Of course, he was also very happy to hear that.

"Hello, Comrade Kobayashi."

"This is Liu Xingguo, who is in charge of sales in the eastern part of our city..."

Director Wang continued his introduction, completely ignoring Bao Ya's earlier address to Sun Bin.

Liu Xingguo was in his twenties and came to the meat processing plant two years ago. Before Bao Ya came, he was the least senior person in this office.

The last one is Zhao Yufen, who is in charge of processing orders in the sales department, doing the same job as Bao Ya.

Zhao Yufen is also in her thirties, with fine lines around her eyes, but her eyes are exceptionally bright.

From the moment Bao Ya entered the room, she looked her up and down several times.

After getting to know everyone in the office, Zhao Yufen began to explain the job to Bao Ya.

The so-called sales at this meeting simply involved compiling the required quantities from below. Liu Xingguo was in charge of the eastern half of the city, while Sun Bin was in charge of the western half.

The factory's production is roughly based on their statistics. If there's any surplus, Director Wang allocates it at his discretion. Generally, it goes to those units with strong connections.

Bao Ya and Zhao Yufen are in charge of issuing sales orders. Each unit brings their purchase vouchers here to exchange them for sales orders, which they then take to the warehouse to pick up their goods.

The work is very easy, and there's no need to work overtime. Usually, you come to fill out sales orders one day and pick up the goods the next morning.

"You can bring some work over this afternoon. It's hot now, so they mostly come to process orders in the cooler morning hours. There's basically no one coming in the afternoon, so we can do our own thing."

Zhao Yufen talked to Bao Ya while knitting her own sweater.

The procurement volume of each unit is basically constant and does not vary much, so the daily work of each position is about the same.

"Okay, I'll bring some over this afternoon too."

Bao Ya readily agreed, saying that everyone does it this way, so you can't be an exception.

"It's okay to come a little later at noon. Unless the boss gives specific instructions, there's no need to come so early."

Zhao Yufen lowered her voice again and spoke to Bao Ya.

Normally, the three male colleagues in the office will just show up in the afternoon or not come at all. If the boss asks, they'll say they're visiting clients.

They regularly check with each unit to see if there have been any changes in their procurement volumes, which is why they don't have to work regular office hours.

Bao Ya was envious and wondered if she should try to get a sales position for herself, since she didn't like working in an office.

At noon, Jiang Yuan had already prepared the lunch and was waiting at the office door on his bicycle.

Bao Ya greeted her colleagues and then got on Jiang Yuan's bicycle to go home.

There's a lunch break at noon, and we don't start work again until 2 PM, so we bring our lunch home to eat.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Sitting on the bicycle, the hair on my head is so hot from the sun that it's burning to the touch.