He let out a snort. “How have I not taken apprentices? Which of these people in the factory who have run into problems hasn’t come to me? Which one of them have I refused to teach? I’ve never kept anything to myself.”
“Whether they can actually learn it depends on their own ability. You can’t expect me to turn every blockhead who comes along into a skilled worker, can you?”
He was about to say more when Zhu Changgeng, standing beside him, frantically gave him meaningful looks. The message was obvious: Old Gou, enough already. Hold it in. What if you finally get the job, only to lose it again?
Gou Deshun understood and toned himself down. “Fine, I’ll take one apprentice. That guy, Qiu Chaoyuan. I’ll take him. I’m not taking any more. With the way his brain works, even teaching him is exhausting.”
“Fine.” Seeing that he had finally agreed, Qiu Zhenghong did not say anything more. “I still have some things to deal with, so I’ll head back first.”
Once the factory director left, the others dispersed as well. Zhu Changgeng looked at Gou Deshun. “Old Gou, you really did find yourself a treasure?”
“Of course.” Gou Deshun wore an expression that clearly said, How dare you underestimate me?
Among the crowd, several people called out to one man, “Qiu Chaoyuan, did you hear that? Master Gou said he’s taking you as his apprentice. What are you waiting for?”
Qiu Chaoyuan looked at the people calling him and tightly tugged at his trousers.
They called it taking him as an apprentice, but anyone could tell from those words that he was merely an add-on.
Zhu Changgeng took Shu An and the others to complete the necessary paperwork. Along the way, he also said to Gou Deshun, “You really went too far today. How could you embarrass the factory director in front of everyone? What if he makes things difficult for you later?”
“Let him. Am I afraid of him?” Gou Deshun snorted. “Besides, do you think I don’t know who that Qiu Chaoyuan is? With brains like his, he actually had the nerve to bring him in front of me? If it weren’t for the fact that the factory director arranged a job for my apprentice, why would I bother with him?”
“Oh, Old Gou, you can say things like that among us, but that’s the factory director we’re talking about. Give him some face. Think before you speak.”
“Fine, fine, I know. Hurry up and get my apprentice’s job sorted out.”
After the employment paperwork had been stamped, Zhu Changgeng said to Shu An, “There’s still the matter of transferring your household registration and grain allocation, so there’s quite a bit left to deal with. Comrade Shu An, when do you think you can start work? Your grain ration and other things won’t be transferred that quickly, but I can calculate your working hours for you in the meantime.”
Shu An thought for a moment. “As for starting work, I’ll come the day after tomorrow. I need to get things organized tomorrow first.”
She calculated it in her mind. If she rode a bicycle from the village, it wasn’t actually very far. After all, the automobile factory was located near the countryside, so it would only take about thirty minutes by bicycle.
But walking would take an hour and a half. Riding from her parents’ home would also take about half an hour, so the distances were actually about the same.
Hearing this, Gou Deshun said, “Can’t you arrange a dormitory for my apprentice?”
“A dormitory too? Oh, my Master Gou, don’t you know how tight housing is these days? Where am I supposed to find a dormitory for her? If she wants to wait, she’ll have to wait two months.”
“Hmph, that’s all you know how to say. How did Qiu Chaoyuan get into the workers’ dormitory?”
“He’s a college graduate. He was assigned one.”
“Ah, forget it, forget it. Fine, fine. College graduate, college graduate.” Gou Deshun waved his hand repeatedly. “Come on, girl. Your master will treat you to a big meal today. We’ll celebrate.”
At the mention of food, Shu An glanced at her watch.
Oh no, it was already twelve-thirty.
She quickly said, “Master, let’s not eat together today. Once I’ve finished getting settled, I’ll treat you another day. Consider it my apprentice’s gift for becoming your disciple.”
“I already told my parents that I’d be going home for lunch today.”
After saying that, she walked seriously up to Gou Deshun and bowed deeply. “Master, thank you!”
Her solemn manner made Gou Deshun feel a little embarrassed. He waved his hand. “All right, go on, go on. Be careful on the way.”
With her job settled, Shu An practically felt like she was flying as she rode her bicycle home.
By the time she got home, her family had already finished eating. Seeing her daughter rush in breathlessly, Chen Yuzhen asked, “Where have you been? You weren’t even home by lunchtime. Look at you, you’re covered in sweat.”
“Mom, let me catch my breath first. Just let me catch my breath. I have good news.”
“What good news? Come here, wipe your face first.” Seeing her younger sister like this, Shu Jing quickly handed her a handkerchief, while her eldest brother, Shu Ping, handed her a glass of water.
Shu An happily enjoyed her siblings’ attention, wiped the sweat from her face, took a sip of water, and then looked at the whole family.
“I’m going to have a job!”
“What?” Shu Huaiyuan jumped to his feet. “Daughter, what did you say? You have a job?”
“Mm!”
“What kind of job? Where did you get a job?” Chen Yuzhen was equally shocked.
It was a long story. Shu An told them everything, from when she went to find Zhao Ming and what happened there, to everything that had happened today.
“You mean that master’s name is Gou Deshun?” The moment Shu Huaiyuan heard the name, he exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, Gou Deshun, Master Gou.”
“My goodness! I never knew my daughter had such talent! You should know that quite a few people from the major factories around here want to become Master Gou’s apprentices. He really has some serious skills.”
“I never thought my girl would catch his eye. Oh, Yuzhen, hurry, take out some money and ration coupons. Tomorrow, let’s take a day off, buy some meat, a jar of liquor, and a pack of cigarettes. We’ll accompany our daughter to thank Master Gou.”
“Dad, Dad, no, no. That’s too much. Even if you gave all that to Master Gou, he wouldn’t dare accept it. If someone saw it, it wouldn’t look good.”
“Besides, I’m not starting work tomorrow. I start the day after tomorrow. I can just take my master out to a restaurant and treat him to a meal.”
“There’s still plenty of time. We can slowly give him things later, can’t we? If you give him so much all at once, the moment you leave, people will start saying that her master is taking bribes.”
“Oh, that’s true, that’s true.” Shu Huaiyuan finally calmed down.
Chen Yuzhen rolled her eyes at her husband. “Why are you getting so excited? You’re not nearly as steady as our daughter.”
Then she turned to Shu An. “An’an, did the factory say anything about assigning you a dormitory?”
“No. The factory doesn’t have a dormitory available for me right now, so I’ll have to ride a bicycle to work. Mom and Dad, could you help me ask around? A second-hand bicycle would be fine too.”
Originally, she hadn’t thought a bicycle was particularly urgent. Who could have expected her employment to be arranged so smoothly? Now it had suddenly become necessary.
“Second-hand bicycles? Unless someone’s family is genuinely struggling, people generally won’t sell theirs these days.” Chen Yuzhen calculated the distance from her daughter’s parents’ home to the automobile factory, then the distance from her daughter’s in-laws’ home to the factory. They seemed to be about the same.
Her gaze shifted around and finally landed on Shu Ping.
“Eldest, how about this? Let your sister use your bicycle for now. You’re not married yet anyway. In a few months, your father and I will find a way to buy your sister a new one, and then she can return yours.”
“You and Jingjing will just have to work a little harder getting to work. You two live close by anyway. It’s only about twenty minutes on foot.”
“Sure, Mom. I’ll let my little sister use my bicycle for now.” Shu Ping had no objection whatsoever to his mother’s suggestion.
Shu An let out a sigh of relief.
Now that she had a bicycle, she wouldn’t have to borrow the village brigade leader’s bicycle. Otherwise, she had been considering asking the brigade leader if she could rent one for a few months.
But since her mother had offered and her eldest brother was willing to lend her his bicycle, she couldn’t very well ask about renting one anymore. She didn’t want to hurt the bond between siblings.
Instead, she began thinking about what she should give her eldest brother when he eventually got married.
Speaking of marriage reminded her of something. She quickly looked at Chen Yuzhen and asked, “Mom, wasn’t Big Brother seeing that Comrade Jiang before? How come it didn’t work out?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the lively atmosphere in the family suddenly became awkward.