Zhao Panlai’s chest heaved violently. Looking at Yang Lihua’s slightly smug expression and recalling how flawless her performance had been over the past month, a suffocating anger rose in her chest, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Hmph! That stubborn girl, we’ll see about this. Zhao Panlai glared at Yang Lihua, lifted the enamel mug in her hands, and turned to leave.
The other masters in the workshop exchanged glances, then looked at Yang Lihua with a newfound respect. This girl looked delicate and quiet, but she had backbone, sharp wits, and certainly wasn’t a pushover.
Li Hongying excitedly leaned over and whispered, “Lihua, you were so brave! What you said was perfect. Let’s see if she thinks before she speaks next time.”
Yang Lihua simply pressed her lips together and let out a gentle smile. She wasn’t just showing off with clever words—she was making her stance clear. She could endure hardships, but she would never remain passive when someone slandered or maliciously oppressed her.
If she didn’t respond appropriately, others would bully her without limits. A measured counteraction was necessary to protect her bottom line and dignity.
See? Even a small, proper pushback works.
Sure enough, Zhao Panlai restrained herself a lot today. While her assigned tasks were still demanding, her words were noticeably cleaner; the indirect insults and sarcastic remarks were fewer, and she didn’t dare flaunt them openly in front of Yang Lihua.
Supervisor Sun Weixing learned the whole incident that afternoon, but it hadn’t affected the workshop’s operations or delayed work, so there was no need for him to make a comment.
Yet in his mind, his assessment of Yang Lihua rose another level—she could endure hardship, learned quickly, had tenacity, and, importantly, was smart and knew how to read situations: when to endure, when to stand her ground.
A promising talent.
“Lihua, come on! It’s payday, let’s go line up…” Li Hongying cheerfully tugged at Yang Lihua, heading toward the finance office.
“Wait for me, I’m coming!” Yang Lihua quickly set down her work and dashed out.
Finally, it was payday! After a month of hard work, she would get her own money.
The last day of the month injected a boost into the otherwise dull workshop life. By the time Yang Lihua and Li Hongying arrived at the finance office, a long line had already formed.
“Wow, we weren’t even that slow, how did so many people get here already?” Yang Lihua looked at the snaking line that stretched beyond view of the office door.
“It’s because our workshop is the farthest from the finance office. We always end up at the back of the line,” Li Hongying pouted, whispering the explanation.
“Oh, but we’re closer to the cafeteria. We only get paid once a month, but eat three times a day. Thinking about it that way, I guess we come out ahead,” Yang Lihua whispered back.
“Hehe, when you put it that way, our workshop isn’t so bad after all.”
The two of them were cheerful and expectant. It wasn’t long before it was their turn.
Yang Lihua held thirty yuan in her hand—her reward for a month of hard work. Base pay was 28 yuan, plus 2 yuan night shift allowance, totaling 30 yuan.
She counted the money carefully, set aside 15 yuan separately, and secretly moved the rest into her space. Living in the dormitory without privacy, she only felt secure storing money in her space.
Tomorrow was her day off, and she planned to go home. It was her first paycheck, and she wanted to bring something back for her family.
Sitting on the dorm bed, Yang Lihua thought about what she could bring home. With such a small salary, she had to support herself, save for emergencies, and still choose a meaningful gift.
What should she buy?
Her eyes lit up—of course! They worked at a textile factory; there must be flawed fabrics available…
“Hongying, I want to buy some flawed fabric. Where can I get it?” Yang Lihua whispered to Li Hongying.
“Flawed fabric? Hmm… you can ask Wu Yuehe in logistics. But each person can only buy one bolt per month,” Li Hongying pointed out. “Tomorrow we’ll go together. I’ll buy one too.”
“Ah, you’re just in time! These just came from the workshop today. The dyeing isn’t perfectly even, but the colors are beautiful,” Wu Yuehe said, pointing at several bolts of blue fabric on the rack.
“Wow! This is beautiful. I’ll take this batch,” Li Hongying immediately picked up a bolt. The color would make an amazing skirt.
Beautiful indeed—even though it was flawed fabric, it didn’t affect use at all. And the blue was stunning.
“I’ll take a blue one too,” Yang Lihua said, selecting her fabric.
This hidden perk of working at the textile factory was amazing. This flawed fabric would sell for around 20 yuan at the supply store, and even then it was hard to find. But as a factory worker, she got it for just 8 yuan per bolt. If she resold it, she’d earn at least 15 yuan profit.
Fabric in hand, Yang Lihua headed straight to the department store. She had promised to buy Yang Lijun a table tennis set and couldn’t forget.
Hmph! Otherwise, her parents would nag her endlessly. She wasn’t ready to defy them yet.
Once at the department store, she spent three yuan on a medium-quality table tennis paddle and two balls, carefully wrapping them in old newspaper.
All set—time to go home.
Pushing open the front door, her family was home. Yang Lijuan was cooking in the kitchen, and Yang Lijun was playing with a tin frog on the table.
“Dad, Mom, I’m home!” Yang Lihua called from outside.
“Lihua’s home!” Su Meilan responded first, delighted. Seeing what Yang Lihua carried, she hurried to meet her. “Oh, you bought so many things! You must be tired from the walk. Come in, come in! Have you eaten yet?”
Su Meilan took the items from Yang Lihua and guided her to sit on a wooden chair, continuously stroking the fabric in her hands.
Yang Daqiang put down the newspaper he was holding, smiling. “Good that you’re back. Sit down and rest for a bit.”
Yang Lihua took a sip of cool water from Yang Lijuan, set down the cup, and nudged Yang Lijun with a smile. “Here, what you wanted. Go get it yourself.”
“Wow! Thank you, Third Sister!” Yang Lijun hurried to unwrap the newspaper, revealing the long-awaited table tennis paddle and two balls.
“Third Sister, thank you! I love it!”
Wow! So cool—he finally had his own table tennis paddle.
Swish! Whoosh!
Good shot!