When Yan Jin’er entered the office, Sister Wang had already arrived. After greeting them, she sat down and began handling today’s work.
Unlike usual, today was worth looking forward to because it was payday. Although she had not worked a full month yet and her salary would be relatively small, it did not affect her anticipation at all.
This was her first salary here after all.
In the morning, perhaps because everyone was looking forward to payday, they worked with great motivation, which resulted in all tasks being completed earlier than usual.
When Minister Feng appeared, she immediately felt four pairs of eyes staring at her. The corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Alright, come in and collect your salary according to seniority.”
Their salaries were collected from the finance department by the department head, then distributed by the minister. As for the exact amount, it was tied to one’s level, so there would be no issues of underpaying or overpaying.
Sister Wang went into Minister Feng’s office first and quickly came out with a smile on her face.
Cheng Yu and Yan Jin’er had joined at the same time, so there was no difference in seniority. Yan Jin’er let Cheng Yu go in first and stayed behind.
“You are a Level Six worker. Your monthly salary is 30.5 yuan. Each month you get 40 jin of grain coupons, one jin of meat coupons, 20 jin of vegetable coupons, two industrial coupons, and one one-foot cloth coupon. The cloth coupon is a special welfare from the factory.” Cloth coupons were quite rare, so the factory was rather generous.
“You haven’t worked a full month last month, so this month’s salary is only ten yuan. All other coupons are halved. No problem, right?”
“Yes, no problem.” Yan Jin’er smiled widely upon hearing she still had so much salary.
“Alright, take your salary and leave quickly.” Minister Feng really could not stand a good little girl smiling so foolishly.
“Thank you, Minister Feng. I will work hard.” Yan Jin’er said seriously while holding her salary, then quickly turned and walked out.
Yan Jin’er sat at her desk, thinking about what to buy with her salary.
“Sister Cheng, Sister Xiaohong, what are you planning to buy after getting paid?”
“I want to buy a pretty hair tie. Winter is coming soon, and I also need some skincare products. The weather is too dry. My clam oil, snow cream, and those things are almost used up,” Chen Xiaohong said excitedly.
Even in this poor era, a woman’s love for beauty did not disappear.
“I also want to buy more yarn, and some skincare products too. I wonder if I’ll have enough money?” Yan Jin’er had too many things she wanted to buy. Her previous savings were almost gone, and she only had today’s salary left.
The main reason was that Yan Jin’er had been eating very well at the canteen recently. Almost every meal included some meat, and sometimes there were rare big meat dishes. She would even pack a portion to take back for Father Song and Song mother to eat.
So recently, her complexion had become a bit more rosy, and she had even grown one centimeter taller. Truly something worth celebrating.
The only problem was that as she ate, her money disappeared. If she did not get paid soon, she would have to ask her parents for money. She still cared about saving face since she was already working.
At noon, she still ate with Cheng Yu and Zhao Jing, and the main topic of conversation was what they would buy with their salaries.
In the afternoon, the idle “slacking off” time ended quickly.
Yan Jin’er, as always, was the last one to slowly leave, this time also bringing the bicycle she had left at the factory two days ago.
Yan Jin’er saw Wen Qingyu waiting at their usual spot and worried that he might get tired from waiting too long.
“You’ve been waiting a long time, right? Next time you should come a bit later.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t wait long, you came out quickly. And I’m willing to wait for you.”
Yan Jin’er giggled, feeling a bit sweetened by his words. It just sounded a bit like cheesy pickup lines—she wondered where he learned them from.
“Where are we going? How about we go to the department store? I’ve never been there before.” She had heard that the department store was much bigger than the Supply and Marketing Cooperative building, with a wider variety of goods, though slightly more expensive.
“Okay.” Hearing that Yan Jin’er wanted to go to the department store, Wen Qingyu immediately abandoned his original date plan. He had planned to take her to eat first, then walk by the riverside nearby.
He thought going to the department store was also good—it would allow her to buy what she wanted.
However, the department store was quite far from the factory. It took over half an hour by bicycle. So after deciding the destination, they rode their bicycles there.
Two brand-new bicycles rode one after the other on the road, attracting almost 100% attention. They were the most eye-catching people on the street.
When they arrived at the department store, they locked their bicycles and stepped into the tall building.
The department store indeed looked much more grand than the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Yan Jin’er decided to go to the second floor first to buy some essential women’s items. “Wait for me here for a bit, okay? I need to buy something.” That place was not suitable for men like Wen Qingyu to enter together.
“Take this. Don’t refuse. It was originally meant for you.”
Wen Qingyu quickly pulled a stack of money and coupons from his inner pocket and shoved them into her hands.
Yan Jin’er briefly looked at them—there were about four or five large ten-yuan notes, plus a pile of coupons.
“Alright then, I’ll take them.” Seeing his unmistakably firm expression, Yan Jin’er nodded and accepted them.
Of course, whether she used them or not was up to her. She could treat it as him depositing money with her and return it to him later.
Yan Jin’er tucked the money and coupons away and walked toward the women’s goods counter.
“Big sister, do you sell underwear here?” Yan Jin’er asked sweetly.
The salesperson was a woman in her forties. Hearing a young girl call her “big sister,” she was instantly delighted and looked at Yan Jin’er kindly. “Yes, little girl. What size do you want? We have small, medium, and large.”
After some comparison, Yan Jin’er froze for a moment, then forced a smile and said a few words.
“Small size is fine. Three pieces.”
“……”
The woman quickly took out three small camisole-style undergarments with slight front padding.
“Miss, do you also want underpants?” Very few people bought these undergarments; most people bought cloth to make their own, so there was a lot of stock left.
“Yes, please also give me three pairs, also small size.”
After paying, the woman looked at Yan Jin’er like she was a walking fortune and happily sent her off.
Yan Jin’er returned to Wen Qingyu’s side. He did not ask anything, only took the cloth bag in her arms and carried it for her.