Chapter 34 - She could go on and on for three days about her misfortunes. (1)
Tong Xuelu massaged her sore shoulders. She did not want to carry on with this job anymore.
Within a textile factory, the weaver and the stevedore were the two toughest positions. Stevedores would still have breaks in between but not so much weavers. They had to work from the start of their shift all the way to the end of their shift and sometimes even working overtime afterward.
She couldn’t do this.
She needed to switch herself to a different position!
When Tong Xuelu was so tired that she was about to collapse, the bell signifying the end of the workday went off.
Her eyes beamed and, like sheep that were let out of their gates, hurried over to the cafeteria with the other workers.
“Give me a wowotou.”
Tong Xuelu walked over to the familiar window and handed over the meal ticket and her bowl.
Chef Huang, while putting the wowotou into her bowl, asked, “Comrade Xiao Tong, all you have is a wowotou every day. Is that enough? How about some meat or vegetables?”
Tong Xuelu put on a smile with just the right amount of embarrassment and said, “No, it’s fine. Maybe when I get paid.”
Chef Huang and the others all gave her sympathetic looks when they heard her.
With Mother Xu and Officer Qiu advocating for her, almost everyone at the compound and the textile factory knew that not only had her parents passed away, her grandmother had also gone insane.
Poor girl. She was just 18 years old and had to be responsible for her entire family.
Manager Ma from the sewing department came over and said, “Chef Huang, gave her an order of green onion pancake and a stir fry cabbage and meat. Put that on my meal and meat tickets!”
Tong Xuelu waved her hands quickly. “No, no, I will be fine with the wowotou, Manager.”
Manager Ma wasn’t going to listen to her. She grabbed Tong Xuelu’s lunch box from her and said, “What are you worried about? You don’t think I can afford that or something?”
Her youngest daughter would be getting married next month and her future husband was the son of the Director of Education. They were well off and he was a lively one. He valued her daughter a lot. Not only had he given them 180 yuan for bribe money, he had also, later on, sent over a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio.
They had discussed among themselves and would have their daughter brought all of them with her. In addition, they would also be buying her a bicycle to make her look good.
The ticket for a bicycle was very difficult to come by. Sometimes they wouldn’t even see one for a year. They could use regular tickets for a bicycle, but that would take 50 of them.
That quantity was so huge that the entire family had been saving up for 2~3 months and was still short 7. Tong Xuelu had somehow found out about that and brought with her 7 tickets on her second day of work. She handed them to the manager but asked for nothing in return!
How could a kind and nice girl like that not be loved?
Never mind about one meal. Manager Ma would be more than happy to treat her to 10 meals.
Tong Xuelu, failed to stop Manager Ma, thanked her. When she saw that Chef Huang had given her a bigger portion than the others, she thanked him too before she was pulled to a table to one side by Manager Ma.
Manager Ma took a bit of the green onion pancake, looked to their left and right, and said in a low voice, “The Plant Manager will be back today. I’ll go ask about your parent’s death benefits for you.”
Tong Xuelu’s eyes was moist. She said appreciatively. “Thank you, Manager. I have always been told since I was a child that I am a very lucky person and will always run into people who will help me. I didn’t really believe in that before but now I do. Look, I came to the factory and run into you.”
Her words made Manager Ma smiled such a big smile that her eyes were gone and only her teeth could be seen. “Oh, listen to you, child. Regardless, you can always come to me if you need anything in the future!”
“Thank you, Manager Ma. I am so lucky to have run into Manager Ma!”
Tong Xuelu looked at Manager Ma with appreciative and respect with her reddened eyes.
Manager Ma felt very fulfilled and was also filled by a sense of responsibility.
What a pitiful child. She would need to look after her more in the future. Treating her to lunch was one thing. She would also decrease Tong Xuelu’s night shifts in the future……