Wen Xi’s household registration book was in her own hands. She needed a job first in order to settle her hukou.
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“Factory Director Ji, I’m very grateful for your appreciation and trust. I do indeed need a job right now. However, I also need to explain my situation to you first. After hearing it, you can decide whether to proceed.”
Rather than letting others find out through other channels and assume she was deliberately hiding it, it was better to speak honestly herself.
Sincerity was always the best strategy.
“Alright, go ahead,” Factory Director Ji said.
His expression was anxious. He urgently wanted to hire the talented young woman in front of him who understood mechanical engineering and spoke English. As long as she hadn’t committed serious crimes like betrayal or treason, he would not let her slip away.
“My family went through a major incident three years ago…”
Wen Xi briefly explained how her parents had been falsely accused and sent down, and how she had been deceived into marrying into the Song family and coming to the military district.
When she spoke about her life in the Song household, her voice trembled slightly. Her fingers gripping the cup tightened unconsciously, and a fire burned in her eyes—an intense rage that made her want to reduce Song Mingyuan and his entire family to ashes.
It was clear how much humiliation and anger the original owner had suffered upon learning the truth.
Factory Director Ji’s expression kept changing as he listened—most of all to anger.
He was furious at those who harmed national talent, and even more furious at Song Mingyuan and his family’s greed, shameless calculations, and cruelty. At the same time, he felt deep sympathy for Wen Xi’s experience.
Over the years, he had seen too many people suffer injustice and false accusations. With his experience in judging people, he could tell from her eyes and expression that she was not lying.
After a moment of thought, Factory Director Ji made his decision.
“Comrade Wen, here’s what we’ll do. Your household registration can be temporarily placed under our factory’s collective hukou. You can transfer it out whenever you want.
As for the job, I’ll hire you as a special technical consultant for our machinery factory. You don’t need to come to work every day. Your salary will be half of an eighth-grade worker’s wage—54 yuan per month.
You can come to the factory according to your schedule, guide workers or repair machines. Is that acceptable?”
Factory Director Ji was very sincere. He truly wanted to secure this rare talent.
In his eyes, the girl in front of him was a pearl temporarily covered in dust. Given the right opportunity, she would surely shine brilliantly.
Helping someone in need was far more memorable and respectable than adding icing on the cake.
Faced with such an opportunity, he chose to be the one to offer timely help.
Concerns about her background affecting the factory were outweighed by his value for talent.
Wen Xi was surprised. She had thought he might withdraw the job offer after hearing her situation.
It seemed she had underestimated his vision.
“Factory Director Ji, thank you for your kindness. Then I will respectfully accept your arrangement.”
She remained calm on the surface, but inside she was celebrating. A small voice in her heart was already beating drums of joy.
This deal was excellent.
54 yuan a month was higher than many full-time workers, and most importantly, she didn’t need to report to work every day.
Anyone who refused this deal would be foolish.
Not only would she solve her household registration problem, she would also gain more time for other matters.
To be honest, if not for needing quick hukou registration, she would not have wanted a tiring full-time job.
She had died in her previous life from overwork.
Who would willingly become an exhausted laborer if they could earn money comfortably?
“Good! Excellent!” Factory Director Ji was overjoyed. “From now on, we won’t have to worry about machines breaking down without anyone to fix them!”
He smiled so widely that his face almost bloomed, the boil at the corner of his mouth seemingly improving as well.
“Go this afternoon—no, right now, I’ll handle your work certificate myself.”
He was so anxious it seemed he feared she might change her mind.
During the paperwork process, Wen Xi presented her household registration documents, and the rest of the procedures required nothing more from her.
With both work and hukou resolved, she felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders. Even the northwest sky seemed bluer and clearer than before.
By 3 p.m., she left the machinery factory. It was a bit late to go to the department store, so she asked for directions to the nearby post office.
It was three stops away, so she jogged there.
The building was a gray brick structure with a faded “Post and Telecommunications Office” wooden sign. Inside, a worn cement counter gleamed from use, and yellowed propaganda posters hung on the walls.
A few wooden shelves for parcels occupied half the room, and an old rotary telephone sat by the counter.
“Comrade, I want to make a call!”
The woman in a green uniform glanced at her lazily. “Give me the number.”
Communication technology was still backward at the time. People could not dial directly; staff had to connect the call manually through operators.
After checking the note, the clerk saw it was a long-distance call to Bin City.
“Long-distance calls cost 0.5 yuan for the first three minutes. Under one minute still counts as one minute. Each additional minute is 0.2 yuan.”
This was extremely expensive at the time.
Half a yuan could buy pork, eggs, or dozens of pounds of vegetables—enough for a family for several days.
Most people only made calls for urgent matters.
“I understand. Please dial it for me.”
The person she was calling was her childhood friend, Hao Meili, who grew up with her in Bin City.
When the original owner left, Hao Meili had come to see her off and even gave her her savings and ration coupons.
The call was made to Hao Meili’s school, where she worked as a primary school teacher.
Wen Xi waited nervously, unsure whether her friend was still teaching there or whether she would even receive the call.
After about ten seconds, a voice finally came through.
“Hello? Who is this?”
It was a bright, loud female voice.
That was exactly how Hao Meili sounded in her memory. It was her.
Overjoyed, Wen Xi said softly, “Meili, it’s me.”
“Xixi?” The voice paused, then rose sharply. “You heartless girl, why haven’t you called me in so long?”
Then came a sobbing sound.
“Xixi, how could you not contact me for three years? Don’t you still consider me your friend? How have you been? Did your in-laws bully you? You didn’t even write me a letter!”
Hearing the concern in her voice, Wen Xi felt her eyes sting slightly.
“Meili, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’ve now come to the Northwest Military District.”
“You went to join the military? That’s great!” Hao Meili’s voice rose again.
Her dramatic personality was exactly the same as before, making Wen Xi feel both amused and helpless.
“Meili, I came here to settle accounts with Song Mingyuan. He climbed the social ladder and married someone else in the army. His family deceived and exploited me for three years. After I learned the truth a few days ago, I came here to demand justice.”
She briefly summarized her situation. On the other end, Hao Meili immediately burst into furious curses.
Even the female operator looked at Wen Xi with sympathy.
“Meili, can you help me with something? I want to inquire about my parents.”