“Um, what’s your name?” The short-haired girl introduced herself openly: “I’m Zhou Xue, also a high school graduate! Which department are you in?”
“I’m Tang Ximian, from the News Department!” Tang Ximian smiled.
“I’m Li Feifeng, a college graduate!” Li Feifeng’s voice was full of pride, her eyes even more disdainful.
Another long-haired girl was quite gentle: “Hello everyone, I’m Liu Mengjia, a university graduate.” She glanced at Li Feifeng: “We’ll be sisters in the same dorm from now on. No matter what qualifications we have, working hard is what matters most!”
“Who are you lecturing! What attitude is that!” Li Feifeng slammed the table: “What’s so great about being a university graduate!”
“Nothing great, just that I found a job faster than you and earn more.” Liu Mengjia smiled appropriately, yet icily.
Tang Ximian thought to herself, this Liu Mengjia seems to have quite a background—her presence is formidable!
The group fell silent and began attending to their own matters.
That night, none of them slept very well.
Fortunately, they all had to get up early for work, so there was no issue of disturbing anyone’s sleep.
Tang Ximian arrived at the News Department while eating a steamed bun.
It was only 5:30 AM, with half an hour left before work started.
“Xiao Tang, here’s your script. Take a look!” Someone had already arranged everything. Tang Ximian nodded and glanced at the other person’s name tag: “Thank you, Sister Lin.”
Lin Ru smiled gently: “You’re someone Director Song thinks highly of. Keep up the good work!”
“Yes!” Tang Ximian gave a mock salute, took a sip of water, and prepared to begin.
From 6 to 7 AM, she had to sit there for an hour.
“Dear listeners, good morning. Welcome to today’s morning news…”
Tang Ximian was in excellent form, making the hour pass smoothly and effortlessly.
After the broadcast, she returned to the office to organize the next day’s scripts and handle whatever tasks she could.
Suddenly—
“This is way too much!”
“Just say if you can translate it or not! Who in news only covers domestic stories? Our radio station is already small enough!”
The argument made everyone stop what they were doing.
Soon, the International News Department’s door was pulled open, and a man with a crew cut stormed off: “I don’t even want to do this anymore! I’m a translator, and you’re only paying seventy yuan!”
The International News Director slammed the door in anger: “You’re fired!”
The crew-cut man’s footsteps froze instantly.
Li Feifeng cautiously asked: “Director… may I take a look?”
Although she wasn’t proficient in English, this could be a way to get the director’s attention!
The International News Director didn’t take his frustration out on her, handing her the crumpled newspaper: “Can you understand it?”
Li Feifeng nearly fainted after one glance: “Fr-French…”
“It’s about France—of course it’s in French.” The director immediately knew she couldn’t understand it and reached to take it back.
“Wait!” Tang Ximian stood up: “May I take a look?”
“A high school graduate like you can understand this?” Li Feifeng looked down on her education and didn’t hold back.
But she still handed it over.
If someone wanted to embarrass themselves, she was happy to watch the show!
Everyone crowded around.
They could manage English, but French was truly difficult!
Even the buzz-cut man who had threatened to quit came back, crossing his arms as he looked at Tang Ximian: “You can understand this?”
The newspaper already had some translations written on it, but many were incorrect, making the text sound strange when read aloud.
“This…” Tang Ximian glanced at the buzz-cut man’s chest: “Mr. Zhao, your translation has issues. This sentence should be ‘How to avoid throwing medicine into the trash bin’.”
Mr. Zhao’s face instantly changed color.
In this place, someone actually understood French?
Why?
It shouldn’t be possible!
Did she really only graduate from high school?
Tang Ximian’s mind raced with thoughts. In her previous life, she had studied everything frantically, absorbing knowledge voraciously. She was basically proficient in several major countries’ languages. So… why not become a translator?
“Can you translate the rest?” The department head perked up: “Would you like to join our International News Department!”
“No, no!” Tang Ximian laughed, waving her hands repeatedly: “I can help with this though!”
She quickly completed the translation, shoving the paper into Mr. Zhao’s hands: “Just read more books! You can hand this to the department head!”
Mr. Zhao looked at her with shining eyes and smiled: “Well… Mianmian, thank you!”
“You’d better call me Xiao Tang!” Tang Ximian smiled gracefully before turning to sit down.
Nearby, Li Feifeng had already buried her head in her arms on the desk, pretending to be asleep.
Meanwhile, Liu Mengjia’s eyes lit up as she leaned over and whispered: “Mianmian! You’re amazing! You even know French!”
Tang Ximian’s eyes curved into smiles: “I just studied casually with other teachers in my free time. Actually, I just admired how some translators get to meet foreigners! But now it’s finally useful!”
“Would you do translation work?” Liu Mengjia whispered: “My uncle has connections. We could split earnings 70-30?”
Tang Ximian’s eyes shone even brighter: “Sure! How much per thousand characters?”
“Translating some materials pays ten yuan per thousand characters!” Liu Mengjia began explaining: “My uncle has these connections, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten in either! There were voiceover opportunities before, but I didn’t go since I couldn’t do it! That pays well too, but it’s really difficult!”
Tang Ximian nodded understandingly. Liu Mengjia had a crisp, sweet voice and worked in the Children’s Broadcasting Department, though her workstation was still here.
“If they need voice actors, you can contact me too. I have a sick family member at home, so I want to save more money!” Tang Ximian extended her hand: “Thanks, Jiajia!”
Liu Mengjia shook her hand: “I’m just taking advantage of the situation!”
Tang Ximian nodded: “You provide the channels, I share the profits – that’s only fair!”
When Liu Mengjia’s work shift arrived, she left. Only then did Li Feifeng lift her head, unexpectedly meeting Tang Ximian’s gaze.
“You… what are you doing! You scared me!”
“Feeling guilty, aren’t you?” Tang Ximian turned to fetch water.
She had no time to deal with such people – focusing on earning money was what really mattered!
Since Liu Mengjia lived in the county town, she moved quite quickly. By Wednesday, she had brought Tang Ximian a trial manuscript.
Not daring to be careless, Tang Ximian worked tirelessly on the translation for over an hour, revising some inappropriate parts. She calculated it totaled over 2,700 characters.
The dormitory was completely quiet. Having gained recognition from superiors, Tang Ximian had enjoyed two straight days of flawless work without any need for re-recording. No one dared to look down on her anymore.
“Finally finished!” Tang Ximian glanced at the nervous Liu Mengjia beside her and burst out laughing: “Why are you so tense! I’m the one doing the translation, not you!”
“Worried you might make mistakes and not get paid!” Liu Mengjia said truthfully.
This was a trial piece. If Liu Mengjia’s uncle found it suitable, not only would they get paid, but they would also receive more assignments.
Not just Liu Mengjia, even Tang Ximian herself felt somewhat expectant.