“Girl, what are you here at the Textile Factory for?” the gatekeeper uncle asked loudly as he looked at the tiny girl standing at the entrance.
“Uncle, I’m here to register for the worker recruitment exam. May I ask where the Human Resources Department is?” Yan Jin’er replied with a smile.
Father Song had already told her to register at the Human Resources Department. Originally, he had planned to accompany her, but he was too busy and couldn’t spare the time, so he could only instruct her to come by herself.
“Oh, the building on the right side of the main gate, the one on the second floor right by the stairs. There are quite a lot of people registering there today. You’ll see it once you go.” the uncle replied instinctively.
After thanking the uncle, Yan Jin’er walked into the factory.
“Such a small girl, she isn’t even as strong as my ten-year-old child.” the uncle muttered quietly as he watched Yan Jin’er’s back.
Yan Jin’er had no idea she had just been compared—against her will—to someone else’s ten-year-old child.
Holding her graduation certificate in her arms, Yan Jin’er arrived at the entrance of the Human Resources Department. There really were quite a lot of people. It seemed that many had received insider information about the worker recruitment exam.
Yan Jin’er quickly walked to the end of the line and joined the queue. There were already about eighteen or nineteen people ahead.
“Hey, comrade, are you here to register too?” a tall girl with a long braid in front turned around and looked at Yan Jin’er.
Yan Jin’er instinctively looked up and realized the girl really was speaking to her. She pressed her lips together and said, “Yes.”
“What a coincidence. Let’s go together then.”
Yan Jin’er’s eyes carried a hint of amusement. Of course it was a coincidence—everyone here was clearly lining up to register.
However, after the following conversation, Yan Jin’er could no longer really smile.
According to the tall girl, who said her name was Zhao Jing, she had thought at first glance that Yan Jin’er was registering on behalf of her family. In her exact words: “You’re so small, and so fair and chubby. You don’t look like a high school graduate. But you’re really tiny and cute.”
Yan Jin’er’s smile immediately froze. She forced out a response that was not quite a smile and said, “Thank you for the compliment, but where is this ‘fair and chubby’? That’s just baby fat. I’m just growing a bit later.” Although Yan Jin’er was only about 1.5 meters tall now, it was because she had been born prematurely. She firmly believed she would still grow taller later.
“Hahaha, you’re really so cute.” Zhao Jing laughed for a long time while holding her stomach.
However, Zhao Jing was already eighteen years old and about 1.7 meters tall, well-developed compared to others her age. She did have the qualification to call Yan Jin’er small.
Zhao Jing had a delicate appearance, an oval face, and big eyes, though her skin tone was slightly yellowish, giving her a gentle and generous look.
Zhao Jing’s mother was a Team Leader in the Textile Factory workshop, which was how she knew about the internal recruitment.
“I heard this time they’re hiring for seven positions. Three are in the workshop, and the Public Relations Department, Human Resources Department, and Finance Department are all recruiting people,” Zhao Jing moved closer to Yan Jin’er and whispered.
“I wonder how many people will apply?” Yan Jin’er looked at the long queue behind her.
“Yeah.” Zhao Jing sighed. “I also heard that the Factory Director’s daughter applied too. She’s definitely going to pass.”
Yan Jin’er raised her eyebrows. It seemed that everywhere, connections made things easier.
After waiting for more than half an hour, it was finally their turn. They handed in their graduation certificates and received application forms. Besides personal information, they also had to fill in their preferred department. After filling it out, they submitted it to the Human Resources Department and could then leave. The exam would be held next Friday.
After saying goodbye at the factory gate, Yan Jin’er felt quite happy. She had made a new friend, and she was now slowly wandering around the streets.
Unlike modern times, there were not many shops along the road. Most pedestrians were wearing clothes patched with repairs. Although life looked poor, their mental outlook was good.
It seemed that living in such an era had its own unique charm.
Yan Jin’er roughly thought about her goals. She did not have the ability to accomplish anything extraordinary in this era, so she could only aim to live an ordinary life well within her means.
She had always been someone easily satisfied. She only wanted a relaxed job that she liked, and then to live a lazy, carefree life.
However, to “lie flat” and slack off, she probably needed not only an easy job but also money.
But when Yan Jin’er checked her savings at home, she found she only had sixteen yuan, along with a few scattered coupons. Out of that, ten yuan had been a red envelope from Father Song at their wedding, and six yuan was pocket money from Mother Song.
With the five yuan Mother Song had given her before she left, she only had twenty yuan in total. Yan Jin’er had never possessed such a “huge sum” of twenty yuan before, but thinking about it, in this era, a worker’s monthly salary was only around twenty to thirty yuan. Having twenty yuan in savings was already quite a lot.
However, this little money was definitely not enough for a carefree life. As Yan Jin’er walked, she thought about earning a lot of money. But going to the Black Market to resell goods herself was not possible—first, she had no supply sources; second, private trading was strictly cracked down on at this time. She was still quite afraid of it. She wanted money, but she also wanted to keep her life.
When she used to read novels, many protagonists found valuable items at the Scrap Collection Station and became rich. She could go there and take a look first. Maybe she would also come across some treasure.