Yang Lixin brushed off Su Meilan’s hand, a bit annoyed. “Mom, what are you doing? What’s the matter with her family? She’s going to marry me—does her family really need me to worry about them?”
He wasn’t about to judge her because she was the eldest or because she had younger siblings. After all, many girls were eldest in their families, and they still married off.
Seeing Yang Lixin so unconcerned, Su Meilan’s tone hardened. “Just so you know, you’ll be the one dealing with it later. With her family situation, she’ll probably need financial support. Once you marry her, make sure to manage your salary properly. Don’t let it all go to outsiders before you even use it yourself.”
“All right, all right. I’ll manage it,” Yang Lixin said casually.
Meanwhile, Yang Lihua finished dinner, noticing the family was preoccupied with their own thoughts. She needed to return to the dormitory; it was getting late.
“Mom, Dad, you take your time eating. I need to head back to the factory,” she said, grabbing her cloth bag and preparing to leave.
“Lixin, ride your bicycle and take your sister back to the factory. It’s dark—she shouldn’t walk alone,” Su Meilan instructed directly.
Back at the 208 dormitory, as soon as the door opened, Zhu Yuanyuan shot up immediately.
Her face lacked the cheerful and amiable expression she had shown during the day. Instead, there was a trace of urgency and resentment, and she was holding that forcibly bought old wooden box.
“Yang Lihua, you’re finally back,” Zhu Yuanyuan rushed over and shoved the box into Lihua’s hands. “I don’t want this box anymore. Take it back and give me my two yuan back.”
Yang Lihua raised an eyebrow, inwardly smirking. This “heroine” wasn’t as pure and kind as the book described.
She caught the wooden box steadily, feigning mild surprise. “Yuanyuan, what’s going on? Didn’t we agree before? You insisted on buying this box for two yuan.”
“I… I didn’t think it through at the time,” Zhu Yuanyuan said, flustered. She had examined the box over and over and found nothing special—it was just an old wooden box.
The earlier strong feeling of “this object is fated for me” had inexplicably faded. Now, all that remained was the frustration of having been deceived. “This box isn’t worth two yuan. You deliberately tricked me!”
Li Hongying standing nearby scoffed. “Yuanyuan, that’s ridiculous. Lihua didn’t want to sell it. You forced her to sell it to you. Now that your mind is clear and you’ve spent time inspecting it, you think it’s not worth it and want a refund? Life doesn’t work that way.”
You were the one who insisted on buying. Now that you regret it, that’s on you. Why not return the clothes you’ve been wearing for several days at the department store too?
“What’s it to you? I think you and Yang Lihua teamed up to bully me. This box isn’t worth anything.”
“Yuanyuan, don’t speak like that,” Yang Lihua said calmly, placing the box on the shelf beside Yuanyuan’s bed, her tone firm.
“This was your choice. You set the price, and you forced it from me. Now you regret it—how can that be reasonable?
If this spreads, others might think Chef Zhu at the canteen can’t be trusted. And you’re making false accusations—tsk tsk tsk…”
Yang Lihua carefully framed words like “untrustworthy” and “spreading rumors.” In a time that valued collective reputation, these were weighty accusations.
Zhu Yuanyuan’s face flushed red. She pointed at the box. “But it really isn’t worth two yuan…”
“It is worth two yuan,” Yang Lihua interrupted, eyes clear. “At least to me, it is. You insisted on buying it for two yuan, I yielded. That’s all.”
Staring at the ordinary old wooden box, Zhu Yuanyuan felt her chest tighten, glaring at Yang Lihua, but ultimately dared not make a fuss.
She couldn’t even go home now. Her two sisters-in-law didn’t welcome her back. All she had done was accidentally bump into two little nephews—children naturally bumped into things.
Yet because of this, she was chased from home. Her parents claimed to adore her, yet clearly preferred their sons. All for such a trivial matter, she wasn’t allowed home.
Li Hongying, stunned, whispered after Zhu Yuanyuan left, “My goodness, Lihua, you… that was amazing.”
She had thought Yang Lihua was just a little sister needing protection, yet a few words had completely quelled Zhu Yuanyuan.
Before sunrise, Yang Lihua had already dressed and, with Li Hongying, headed to the canteen for a quick breakfast of porridge and buns before hurrying to Workshop Three.
Inside the workshop, loud machines roared. Rows of fine spinning machines rotated at high speed, the spinning spindles humming incessantly.
Li Hongying, familiar with the routine, led Yang Lihua to the workshop supervisor. “Supervisor Sun, this is our new worker, Yang Lihua.”
Sun Weixing examined her and nodded. “You lead her for the first two days. Teach her how to join threads, replace yarn, and handle broken threads.”
“Got it!” Li Hongying responded, taking Yang Lihua to her assigned machines.
Being a spinning machine operator wasn’t as simple as it looked. She had to manage several machines at once, constantly watching for thread breaks. If a break occurred, she had to reconnect it as quickly as possible, with precise, fast, and steady movements. The quality of the thread join directly affected the fabric.
She needed to patrol between machines continuously, keeping her eyes sharp, ears alert, and hands and feet quick.
An eight-hour shift, with only a lunch break, meant near-constant activity. By afternoon, her legs felt like lead, and her waist ached from standing and walking so much.
Li Hongying, being experienced, seemed composed and could still give occasional guidance. Yang Lihua’s learning ability and focus were strong, so she quickly mastered the basic operations.
By the end of the day, her only feeling was exhaustion—truly, utterly exhausted.
This purely physical, high-intensity, repetitive labor was nothing like the work she wanted.
No, she needed a way to transfer to another position—one where she could leverage her strengths, have room for growth, and a position that was… more respectable and easier.
The administration office? Publicity? Or technical department?
As long as she could leave this floor, even the canteen would be better. But she knew, asking for a transfer right after joining was a fool’s dream.
Unless… she made an outstanding, irreplaceable contribution!