Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

Around 3 p.m., the phone at the No. 2 Hardware Factory rang.

Just as the female accountant picked up the receiver, Zhou Guifen poked her head in from the workshop door.

"Whose?"

The female accountant covered the microphone and glared at her.

"You're here again."

"I was just asking."

"You've been asking this question since the beginning, have you even counted how many times you've asked it?"

Zhou Guifen had no guilty conscience at all.

"I don't know."

"I'm just waiting for the money."

The female accountant ignored her, answered the phone a few times, and then suddenly sat up straight.

"arrive?"

Zhou Guifen had already stepped through the door.

The other two people in the room also looked up.

"Are the numbers correct?"

"it is good."

"It's okay if the return order is delivered a little late."

The female accountant took two lines of notes and hung up the phone.

Zhou Guifen blocked the table.

"money?"

The female accountant deliberately closed the ledger.

"you guess."

I won't guess.

"Have they arrived yet?"

The female accountant couldn't help but laugh.

"arrive."

Zhou Guifen turned and ran.

The curtain flew up when she bumped it.

"arrive!"

"The money has arrived!"

That shout completely drowned out half the workshop.

The grinding wheel is still turning.

Old Han poked his head out from behind the machine first.

"What arrived?"

"salary!"

Zhou Guifen ran to the workshop entrance.

"The money has arrived!"

"Stop thinking about the grain store!"

Old Han almost dropped the wrench.

"Are we really here?"

Why would I lie to you?

"Don't do it today, only to have it in a couple of days."

The female accountant came out from behind, carrying the ledgers.

"The money has been deposited."

"Did you believe me this time?"

Old Han stood there, grinning.

The people next to them laughed first.

"Old Han, you won't have to go around the grain store tomorrow morning."

Zhou Guifen laughed the loudest.

"He didn't actually go around it."

"Every time he passed by the grain store, he would hug the wall opposite."

Old Han grabbed the hat and threw it at her.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Zhou Guifen laughed and dodged away.

The workshop suddenly became lively.

Xiao Xu ran over from the assembly table.

"Are you really getting paid?"

"Real hair."

"today?"

No one could answer this time.

A group of people turned to look at the female accountant.

The female accountant took a step back because she felt she was being stared at.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"The money has arrived, shouldn't the salary be checked?"

"Lists, amounts, signatures—all of these take time!"

Xiao Xu immediately asked:

"Then tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will definitely be it—"

"Send it today."

A sound suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

Factory Director Liang pushed his bicycle in.

His trouser legs were covered in dust, and his forehead was sunburned red.

He pulled the car against the wall.

"I'll be leaving later today."

"Pay the wages first."

Zhou Guifen was the first to applaud.

"Factory manager, what you said yesterday still stands."

"What did you say?"

"When the first sum of money comes in, put it in the paycheck bag first."

Factory Director Liang glanced at her.

"You remember these words better than you remember the procedures."

"Of course."

"I got scolded by Master Fang for remembering the wrong process."

"If I lose even one yuan in wages, I'll get scolded by my mother-in-law when I get home."

The courtyard burst into laughter.

Factory Director Liang smiled too.

"OK."

"Nobody should rush the accountant."

"Whatever the amount is, that's what it should be; don't make a single mistake."

The female accountant stood at the door holding the ledgers.

"Did you hear me?"

"Especially Zhou Guifen."

"If you keep peering through my window, I'll send you the last one."

"On what grounds?"

"Because you're the most annoying one."

"..."

Laughter broke out again.

After the get off work bell rang, unusually, no one at the No. 2 Hardware Factory was in a hurry to leave.

The machines gradually stopped.

Wash your hands if you need to.

Collect the lunch boxes that need to be collected.

The bicycles were all pushed into the yard, but the person was still there.

The lights in the accounting office were on.

The abacus beads clicked intermittently.

Zhou Guifen passed by the window for the third time.

The window was suddenly pushed open.

"Zhou Guifen!"

She paused in her steps.

The female accountant pointed at her from inside.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going too!"

Zhou Guifen got stuck on her own words and quickly changed her tune.

I'm taking a walk.

"Are you taking a walk around the accounting office?"

"The yard is only this big."

"Go to the workshop."

Zhou Guifen turned and ran.

The people next to him were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight.

Old Han squatted by the wall, smoking.

"You deserve it."

"Aren't you in a hurry?"

"Who's getting impatient?"

"So you've lit a cigarette three times since just now, and haven't finished a single one."

Old Han looked down.

The cigarette in my hand burned down to the butt again.

He quickly threw it on the ground and stomped it out.

"It's hot."

"It has nothing to do with salary."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Zhou Guifen stopped exposing him.

It slowly got dark.

The factory usually closes down by this time.

There was a group of people sitting in the courtyard today.

No one shouted to urge them on.

But every time a chair clatters in the accounting office, someone looks up in that direction.

Lin Xiuhe stood under the corridor.

She suddenly remembered yesterday.

It's the same people.

Zhou Guifen asked about the child's tuition fees.

Old Han said the grain store still owed money.

There was clearly more than a thousand yuan on the table, but not a single penny could fit into their paychecks.

Today, the day we've been waiting for has finally arrived.

The door to the accounting office opened.

The female accountant came out carrying a stack of brown paper bags.

The courtyard instantly became lively.

"Don't push!"

"Call them according to the list."

She moved the table to the doorway.

"Let's make it clear first, whoever receives it will sign it."

"Count them yourself when you get them."

"If you come back and ask me for less money after you've left this door, I won't accept it."

Someone laughed:

"I'm going too!"

The person next to him immediately stabbed him.

"When did you learn a northern accent?"

The man himself was amused.

"I misspoke, is that alright?"

The courtyard erupted in laughter.

The female accountant opened the list.

"Han Youfu".

Old Han sighed.

He answered louder than usual.

When people walk to the table, they slow down.

The female accountant handed over the paper bag.

"number."

Old Han took it.

His name was written on the brown paper bag.

Han Youfu.

Below are the salary figures.

He broke the seal.

One.

Two.

Count them again from the beginning.

Zhou Guifen urged him on from behind.

"Are you afraid of giving me too much?"

"What do you know?"

Old Han put the money back in.

Someone asked:

Where to go first tomorrow morning?

"Grain store."

This time he answered very quickly.

Someone nearby was laughing.

"At least we don't have to walk along the opposite wall anymore."

Old Han didn't retaliate.

He stuffed his pay bag into his inner pocket.

I pressed it through the clothes.

"What you owe others, you have to repay."

"Have you finished paying it off?"

"Buy rice."

"We're almost out of cooking oil at home."

He then moved aside after he finished speaking.

"Little Xu!"

Xiao Xu went over immediately.

After receiving the paycheck, I didn't even open it; I just stuffed it into my undershirt.

Zhou Guifen was amused.

"Aren't you going to count?"

"Go home to my mother."

"Not keeping a single penny for yourself?"

Xiao Xu thought about it.

"Leave two cents."

"What are you doing?"

"I'll buy an ice pop tomorrow."

The young workers behind them started making a fuss.

"Promising!"

"All I think about after payday is popsicles!"

Xiao Xu blushed and retorted.

"Then I'll go too—"

He quickly shut up.

Everyone laughed again.

"You learned it too?"

"What's wrong with you today!"

The laughter echoed all the way to the factory gate.

Zhou Guifen was the last to speak.

She stood over and stretched her hand out onto the table.

"You finally remembered me."

The female accountant deliberately asked:

Who is it?

"Come on."

"salary."

The paper bag was handed over.

The first thing Zhou Guifen did was to knead.

Then look at the name under the light.

The female accountant was so angry that she slammed her pen on the table.

"You're really afraid I'll skimp on you?"

"They're waiting at home."

She opened the bag and counted the items carefully.

He stopped joking.

After counting the money, put it back in.

Fold it twice.

Stuff it inside your clothes.

I pressed it again through the clothes.

The female accountant asked:

"Is that enough?"

"enough."

"Pay the tuition fee tomorrow morning."

After she finished speaking, the smile returned to her face.

"So that the kid won't come home every day telling me the teacher asked again."

After taking the money, she pushed her bicycle out.

He walked up to Director Liang and then stopped.

"Factory manager."

Factory Director Liang looked up.

"Still not enough?"

"no."

Zhou Guifen held onto the handlebars.

"This time you weren't lying to us."

These words made the smile on Director Liang's face fade a little.

He watched the workers walking out of the factory gate.

"The wages were earned by you anyway."

"The factory owes me money, I'll go too—"

He paused, then repeated:

"I feel bad that the factory owes me money."

Zhou Guifen didn't say anything nice.

He simply nodded.

Don't owe any more next month.

Factory Director Liang laughed and scolded:

"Go on, hurry up and leave."

Are you going to work tomorrow?

"superior."

"They've already paid our salaries, how dare we not go?"

She rode her bike out the door.

Old Han followed closely behind.

"Guifen, wake me up tomorrow morning."

"To the grain store?"

"nonsense."

"Then you should go early."

Two bicycles turned out of the alleyway, one after the other.

The courtyard gradually emptied out.

Master Fang locked the workshop one last time.

Du put the day's logbook into the drawer.

The new arrangement chart is still posted on the wall.

No one is standing around arguing about how much can be done in a day anymore.

Factory Director Liang watched for a while.

"Forest worker."

Lin Xiuhe turned around.

"Thank you so much this time."

"Should we continue with this method from now on?"

"run."

Director Liang answered quickly.

"I've looked at the statistics Du gave us today, and things have stabilized."

"I'll go with the next batch of goods too—"

He paused for a moment, a self-deprecating remark.

"Why am I starting to imitate this weird accent too?"

Master Fang was smiling beside him.

"Let them bring it just now."

Factory Director Liang waved his hand.

"We'll handle the next batch ourselves."

"We can't just go to Beijing to find you every time something happens at the factory."

Lin Xiuhe liked hearing this.

"That's how it should be."

Factory Director Liang looked into the workshop.

"If this batch of orders continues as it is now..."

"Maybe when we get paid next month, we won't have to let them keep bothering us with these questions."

Lin Xiuhe did not continue the calculation for him.

This is now a matter for the No. 2 Hardware Factory itself.

She has done all she could.

The office phone suddenly rang.

The female accountant had just finished collecting the list when she ran back.

After a while, she peeked out the window.

"Forest worker!"

"Beijing phone number!"

"They're looking for you!"

Lin Xiuhe went in and took the receiver.

"Feed?"

A familiar voice from the research institute came from the other end.

"Lin Xiuhe?"

"it's me."

"Come back tomorrow morning."

"Three new documents have been sent from Linzhou."

Lin Xiuhe held the receiver.

"Three portions?"

"Um."

"We only have enough people to handle one at a time."

The person on the other end of the phone flipped through a few pages.

"The director wants you to attend the meeting tomorrow morning as well."

"What project?"

"It can't be explained in just a few words."

"Come back and see for yourself."

The other party paused for a moment.

And said:

"However, one company has already called twice."

"It happened again just now."

Lin Xiuhe asked:

"What did they say?"

There was a brief silence over there.

"They said—"

"If we wait any longer, they'll give up."