Chapter 33: First Day At Work
Lu Qiaoge, before going to sleep, still stood on the ladder and, as per the Swallow’s request, placed her hand on the three eggs for a few minutes.
The Naughty Swallow said it was the Old Turtle who told it that Lu Qiaoge’s hand was different from others’ hands, but it didn’t know exactly why it was different.
Lu Qiaoge guessed it might be related to her superpower.
A few minutes later, she was shooed down the ladder by her grandmother.
But the swallow’s nest seemed to quiet down as well.
Before going to sleep, Lu Qiaoge noticed the Swallow’s emotions had finally stabilized, and she quickly fell asleep.
The next day…
Lu Qiaoge spent the morning completing onboarding.
This recruitment quota came directly from above, and there was a probation period, but it was just a formality.
She first went to the Labor Bureau, nominally as a Neighborhood Committee cadre, but actually with worker status.
But this was already quite impressive.
The other person who came in with Lu Qiaoge was a young man named Shao Le, whose name fit him well—he came with a three-point smile for everyone and was very good at talking.
Lu Qiaoge was assigned to the general office and got a desk; she sat across from Ren Xiaocui.
On the other side was Shao Le.
Lu Qiaoge curiously looked at the desk—it was very old, full of cracks, with a stack of paper and a bottle of ink on it.
She opened the drawer; it was empty and dark inside. Should she clean it first?
Maybe she would use this desk for two years.
Director Hu walked in, and knowing the procedures were done, he welcomed the two new comrades on behalf of the Neighborhood Committee.
He spoke eloquently: “…Don’t underestimate our Neighborhood Committee. Our Neighborhood Committee is a dispatched agency of the superior People’s Government. We must promote the country’s various policies and guidelines from above, and guide all the work of the five residents’ committees from below… Without saying much else, I hope you two will strive for our great motherland and achieve the Four Modernizations as soon as possible, dedicating your lives to it!”
Lu Qiaoge’s eyes sparkled; she felt the burden on her shoulders was so heavy.
People of this era were truly full of passion and fighting spirit.
It was invigorating just to watch.
She was just about to express her determination to the director when a shout came from the courtyard: “Director Hu, something’s wrong! Master Zhou’s daughter is holding a bottle of dichlorvos and threatening to drink it to commit suicide.”
Director Hu seemed accustomed to all sorts of emergencies. He said, “Cadre Liu from the Public Security Office, you go check it out.”
The current Neighborhood Committee had restored its early functions, but because it was also affiliated with the military factory, it only had a Public Security Office and a Sanitation Office.
Shao Le, standing on the side, immediately said, “Do you need me to call the Staff Hospital?”
Old Hu glanced at Shao Le and directly named him and Lu Qiaoge: “You two both go take a look.”
Shao Le set off to catch up with Cadre Liu and shouted to Lu Qiaoge, “Little Lu, come on!”
Lu Qiaoge said, “You go first; I’ll learn about the situation at Master Zhou’s home.”
Old Hu’s face showed a bit of a smile.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.
Huang Juan said, “Master Zhou is from the Sixth Workshop. Five years ago, after his original wife passed away, he remarried. Then his daughter with his original wife went to the countryside to be sent down four years ago. Last year Master Zhou passed away. Now living in the Zhou home are Master Zhou’s second wife and her two children she brought, and additionally, Master Zhou’s daughter Zhou Li has gotten married.”
Yesterday Zhou Li had come; she wanted the organization to give her an explanation—why her mom and dad’s house was divided to her, but this biological daughter had no qualification to move in.
Before leaving, Huang Juan still lowered her voice to exhort: “You are now a public servant; this is work. Don’t let personal emotions affect you.”
Lu Qiaoge immediately guaranteed that she would maintain the right attitude, not bring personal emotions, and certainly hold steady this iron rice bowl.
Lu Qiaoge quickly caught up with Shao Le; Shao Le hurriedly asked what she knew.
So Lu Qiaoge told Shao Le what Huang Juan had said.
Shao Le said as he walked, “Reasonably speaking, a married daughter has no reason to return to her mother’s home for a house. Look at my family—we’re the same. I have two older sisters. My older brother and I can live with our parents after we get married, but my two sisters can’t. After they got married, the rooms at home were divided to my nephew…”
Lu Qiaoge gave Shao Le a cool stare.
Shao Le sneaked a glance at the frosty-faced Lu Qiaoge.
He had known Shen Yun since childhood and had heard her more than once say that Liang Aishu’s fiancée Lu Qiaoge was a useless good-for-nothing, both stupid and bad. But now, he didn’t know if she was bad, but she definitely had nothing to do with being a good-for-nothing or stupid.
Just that one look made him feel a chill down his back.
Shao Le hurriedly asked, “Am… am I wrong?”
Lu Qiaoge saw Cadre Liu not far away, his legs running happily, and deeply felt that having a bicycle would be great.
She didn’t answer Shao Le but only said, “I’m going to run; can you keep up?”
With that, Lu Qiaoge opened her long legs and started running.
She actually didn’t have many clothes, but most people were like that now.
Today Lu Qiaoge wore a faded plaid shirt, trousers made from labor cloth, black cloth shoes made by her grandmother, and two black braids—very much in the style of hardship and simplicity.
Dressed lightly, she ran fast and almost in the blink of an eye pulled ahead of Shao Le.
Shao Le hurriedly ran after her.
He absolutely could not let Lu Qiaoge surpass him.
In fact, all the way to the apartment building where Master Zhou’s home was, Shao Le didn’t catch up to Lu Qiaoge.
Master Zhou’s home was on the first floor. It was a workday today, but still quite a crowd had gathered.
Shao Le wiped the sweat from his forehead, hands on his knees, panting heavily. Looking at Lu Qiaoge, whose face wasn’t red and wasn’t panting, he truly felt inferior.
At this moment, Zhou Li stood alone against the wall, holding a medicine bottle with a skull on it in her hand. Not far away was a man holding a child, tall and upright-looking, but his face full of anxiety and embarrassment.
Cadre Liu quickly introduced them: “The one holding the child is Zhou Li’s husband; that one is Zhou Li’s stepmother Old Luo; the other two are the children Old Luo brought…”
At this time, Zhou Li was holding up the medicine bottle and complaining: “Surname Luo, you’re the one with bad intentions. Back then, you tricked me into going to the countryside in place of your daughter. You told me the countryside was full of grain, rice and white flour so abundant it was fed to pigs, and you also lied that as long as I went to the countryside, you’d mail me 20 yuan and 10 jin of grain ration tickets every month. But in the end, it wasn’t like that at all.”
Old Luo was a woman who looked very gentle. She said helplessly, “Little Li, what nonsense are you saying here? When did I ever say that to you? And also, put down the medicine bottle. If you don’t care about your dad’s reputation, you should at least consider your child and husband. If you drink the poison and die, what will happen to those two?”
Everyone looked at Zhou Li’s husband. He held the child, tears in his eyes, his other hand gesturing… he was actually a mute?
Cadre Liu hurriedly said, “Zhou Li, put down the bottle. We can talk things over properly. No matter what it is, it can be discussed, right?”
Zhou Li shrieked sharply, “How to talk properly? I went to your Neighborhood Committee, and you all said this woman surnamed Luo has inheritance right, she can live in my dad’s house, but I, as a married daughter, have no qualification to inherit parents’ real estate. Isn’t that what you told me?”
Updating one chapter today; back to double updates tomorrow. Thanks for the treasures’ support; keep asking for votes and convenient urge updates. Love you all!
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