"Sis, don’t be too optimistic. This job isn’t easy."
"I know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch."
Seeing the excitement from her friend, Jiang Xinyu felt a bit infected too. Yes, where in the world is there such an easy thing as getting something for nothing?
The two of them waited at the entrance of the textile factory for Wang Jianqiang. Ten minutes later, he returned. It was already almost noon.
"Let’s go, I’ll take you both for lunch."
"Uncle, Director Wei invites us to the cafeteria for lunch."
"Xinyu, that’s okay, I’ll treat Director Wei to lunch."
"Uncle, no need to be so formal. Director Wei refused when I offered to treat, he wants to treat us instead."
"Alright, I’ll ask around and see how we can repay Director Wei."
The three of them greeted the guard and went back inside.
Wei Kaiyun led the three of them straight to the cafeteria.
This was the workers’ lunchtime, and seeing the bustling workers, Wang Ailing became even more excited.
The cafeteria lunch was cornmeal steamed buns and cabbage stewed with tofu. Though it was plain water soup, for people from the countryside who’d been eating vegetable porridge for months, this was a feast.
There were too many people in the cafeteria, which made it inconvenient to talk, so the four of them just focused on eating.
The workers were quite curious about the three people dining with the director, so they remembered the two young girls.
This was a big advantage for Wang Ailing in the future, and it was the reason Jiang Xinyu agreed to eat in the cafeteria.
After the meal, the three of them followed Wei Kaiyun back to his office.
"Director Wei, thank you so much for giving Ailing this opportunity."
"Haha, it’s nothing. If it weren’t for Jiang Xinyu asking me, I wouldn’t have helped."
"Still, thank you, Director Wei. I have a hundred yuan here, originally intended to buy you some gifts, but since I don’t know what you like, you can buy something yourself."
"Fellow, take your money back. I won’t accept it. If you want to thank someone, thank Jiang Xinyu. Let her owe me one."
Jiang Xinyu understood what Wei Kaiyun meant. "Alright, Uncle, we’ll talk about this later.
Director Wei, we’ll be heading out first. I’m handling my residency paperwork in the next couple of days."
"Residency? Xinyu, are you planning to transfer your residency here?"
"Yes, it can be transferred here."
"That’s okay, but I think you should wait until after the new year or until the work points are calculated."
"Uncle, I don’t have any work points. It’s only my parents’."
"Right, you don’t have work points." Wang Jianqiang sighed. This child used to be like a piece of paper, the only one at home, inevitably spoiled a bit.
"Director Wei, I’d like to start working in a week." Wang Ailing carefully asked.
Wei Kaiyun nodded. "Sure."
The three of them said goodbye and left. Walking on the road, Wang Ailing talked even more. Everyone could see her joy.
Nearing the township, Wang Jianqiang suddenly stopped. "Xinyu."
"Hey, Uncle, what’s up?"
"Xinyu, go back and say a good friend of mine helped Ailing find a temporary job. You happened to catch a good opportunity and passed the secretary exam."
Jiang Xinyu immediately understood what Wang Jianqiang meant.
"Uncle, this could cause you a lot of trouble later."
"No worries, it just means a bit of trouble for me. If it’s you, it probably won’t be peaceful. Kong Zhongyou, that person..."
"No need to thank me. It’s thanks to you that Ailing has this job. Knowing that you two are together puts my mind at ease."
"Uncle, won’t this offend the village head?"
"It’s okay, he wouldn’t dare do anything to me. I’ll handle it. You, being a young girl, shouldn’t have to deal with them."
"Uncle, my house and residency permit, are they easy to handle?"
"The residency is no problem. Go find Kong Zhongyou in a few days. He’s a sensible person. With your high position at the textile factory, for his daughter’s sake, he won’t make things difficult for you.
As for the house, someone in the Jiang family will be thinking about it, but you should be able to handle it, right?"
"Yes, I’m just worried about issues from the village head."
"He won’t. Give him a few days, let him think it through."
Jiang Xinyu had her concerns resolved. Truly, the ginger gets spicier as it gets older. Wang Jianqiang’s solution could be said to have removed himself from the situation.
"We don’t need to thank each other anymore. Let’s go."
Wang Jianqiang walked ahead again. Suddenly, Wang Ailing grabbed Jiang Xinyu’s hand. "Xinyu, try not to go up the mountain alone from now on. When you had a job before, there were already many people in the village who had their eyes on you. Now with a better job, even more people will be interested."
Jiang Xinyu nodded. "I know, sis. I don’t really have anything else to do now, we have enough firewood, and there’s enough food at home. Why should I go out? I’m really just focusing on getting healthy these two months."
"Why don’t you come stay at my house?"
Jiang Xinyu smiled and shook her head. "That’s not appropriate. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine on my own. Besides, I won’t be staying at the dormitory anymore. I’ve asked Director Wei to help find a place in the county."
"You’re going to live alone outside? It’s not safe."
"It’s fine. I don’t want to squeeze in with others."
Wang Ailing also knew she couldn’t persuade Jiang Xinyu, so she didn’t say anything further.
The silly girl’s smile never left her face, which made Jiang Xinyu feel especially good. Happiness can indeed infect those around you.
The three of them arrived at the village at three in the afternoon. Many people greeted Wang Jianqiang, as he was the captain and well-liked in the village.
"Jianqiang, where have you been?" A helpful spectator chimed in.
"Laixi, I took Ailing to the county to find a temporary job."
"Really? You’ve got some connections, huh? How did it go? Successful?"
"It went well. She’ll start working next week." Wang Jianqiang stopped for small talk. Jiang Xinyu and Wang Ailing said goodbye and left.
"Where’s the temporary job?"
"At the textile factory."
"Jianqiang, you’re really something."
"It was my friend who had to work hard to get it."
"Your family’s Ailing is really blessed."
"That’s nothing. The one truly blessed is Xinyu, this girl. Today there was an exam at the textile factory. This girl went with them and, unexpectedly, she passed. This girl is a full-time employee now, the director’s secretary."
"What did you say? Jiang Xinyu from the Old Jiang Family?"
"Exactly, she’s starting after the new year as a full-time employee. You know, I had to pull strings to get my daughter a temporary job, and yet this girl went and passed the exam for a full-time position. That’s why education matters."
"Jianqiang, you’re basically making a bridal gown for someone else."
"No, it’s because the girl is capable. I wasn’t aware of it at all until I took Ailing to register and found out that the Jiang family’s little girl took the exam and passed."
"Ah! Didn’t expect this girl to have such luck."
"Who would’ve thought?"