In a blink of an eye, the end of the year approached, and by the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the atmosphere of the New Year began to rise.
These years, people lived frugally, and the more so, the more they valued the Spring Festival.
After toiling for a year, regardless of family circumstances, everyone made an effort to ensure good food, drink, and clothing during these few days.
A happy and prosperous Spring Festival implied a year of good days ahead.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that saving money for the New Year was a tradition for many families at the time, with some even borrowing money when unable to save, just to buy several pounds of meat.
Even state-owned enterprises and institutions had longer holidays for the New Year compared to later generations.
After the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Chuxia’s cooked food business began to pick up, and many customers were willing to spend more just to taste Qin’s Cooked Food.
Of course, more people sought cheaper options at the food factory’s stores, but you couldn’t deny the sheer number of people buying cooked food at year’s end.
In the northern winter, the outdoors was a natural giant freezer, and nearly every household would prepare in advance, ready to serve visiting friends and relatives at any time.
This time, Lin Chuxia didn’t manage the Bun Shop or the affairs of the small courtyard, leaving them to Qin Han and Su Wensong, while she took advantage of the time before units went on holiday to make her rounds.
Now that their cooked food had proper packaging, Lin Chuxia had also customized a batch of gift boxes, which were perfect for gifting.
At this moment, Lin Chuxia once again missed the small cars of the later eras.
With a car trunk, you could fit as much as you wanted, easily accessible for deliveries to several places in a day.
Now, she could only sadly cycle, delivering one order at a time.
Fortunately, at this time of the year, the compounds and residential yards were close together, and the entire Ancity County was just a few kilometers in diameter.
When Lin Chuxia left Xu Changping’s house, it was already getting dark.
The snow that had fallen earlier had partially melted in the middle of the road, but in some places, it was still icy and snowy.
It wasn’t too bad when the sun was out in the afternoon, but come evening, the temperature dropped and the roads froze hard, making cycling dangerous, at risk of a fall.
Pushing her bike out of the machinery factory’s residential compound, Lin Chuxia saw Su Wenmao walking out from the alley.
Already not very tall, he looked utterly dejected now, holding something in his hand, like a bereft dog.
Just now in Xu Changping’s house, they had discussed him; at the year’s end staff appraisal, those who should be promoted were promoted, the only one not becoming a permanent worker was Su Wenmao.
According to Xu Changping, his work capacity was mediocre and his conduct objectionable. Even if the machinery factory didn’t dismiss him, they certainly wouldn’t put him in a key position.
Lin Chuxia knew this was Xu Changping currying favor with her, after all, she had mentioned Su Wenmao to Xu Changping before.
In such state-owned factories, once you’re hired, you usually have a secure job. No matter how poor the work performance, at worst, you just don’t get promoted and remain a Level 1 worker for life.
Someone like Su Wenmao, who didn’t even pass for a permanent position, certainly had Xu Changping’s influence to blame.
Su Wenmao’s presence in the machinery factory’s residential yard at this time was likely an attempt to network and improve his situation, but the outcome seemed to be less than ideal.
Lin Chuxia felt secretly pleased and returned to the Bun Shop by the train station.
Just in time, she saw Su Wensong also returning from outside, and she passed this news on to him.
Su Wensong sneered coldly, viciously spitting out the word “deserved.”
Su Wenmao’s downfall was truly sweet vindication for him.
“Mr. Lin, you have no idea what they did to me, how they pressured me to admit that it was my voluntary choice to let Su Wenmao take over my job. When I refused to sign, they conspired with the local office to forge documents and forced Su Wenmao to replace me. Back then, I couldn’t even protest or seek redress.”
That period could be described as the darkest time for Su Wensong, even more tormenting than hard labor in the countryside.
Lin Chuxia patted his shoulder, “It’s all in the past now. Luckily, you didn’t go to work at the machinery factory, otherwise, I couldn’t have found such a qualified employee. Back then, as an individual business owner, I couldn’t compete with the iron rice bowl of the machinery factory.”
With her words, Su Wensong also started to smile, “Meeting Mr. Lin is my good fortune, let Su Wenmao remain an apprentice in the machinery factory for life.”
“Right, let him be an apprentice there for life, and see if he can endure it.”
…
Indeed, Su Wenmao couldn’t endure anymore. There was no need for him to be an apprentice for life; the moment the evaluation results came out, he was the only apprentice worker not to be regularized. The peculiar gazes of his colleagues around him made him wish he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
He knew that he was not proactive at work and his colleagues had reservations about him.
But what does that matter? As long as one gets into the machinery factory, one secures an iron rice bowl.
By then, he thought, mingling along with everyone else, I’ll become a regular employee too, and they can be uncomfortable all they want.
He never expected that when the time came, his name was not on the list of those stipulated for regularization.
The mocking and derisive looks from his colleagues made him wish, even more, to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
These past few days, he took leave and walked around trying to pull strings to achieve regularization, but he was met with obstacles everywhere.
He was baffled; not regularizing an apprentice worker was unprecedented in the machinery factory, and yet it had happened to him.
Back home, Mrs. Su was still waiting for good news, and hurried over when she saw him coming back.
“How did it go, did they agree to make you a regular employee?”
Su Wenmao pushed what he was holding directly into Mrs. Su’s arms.
The gifts had not been delivered; was there even a need to ask about the results?
Su Dazhuang has also been distressed these days, chain-smoking in the house.
Mrs. Su still chased after him to ask, “What’s the actual reason for not regularizing you? Not regularizing you must have a reason, right? You’ve been an intern for so long, who doesn’t get regularized by the end of the year?”
Su Wenmao pursed his lips, “They said I haven’t done well even as an apprentice, but how have I not done well? I do as others do. I think they’re just targeting me.”
Had there been no targeting before, Mrs. Su might have believed it, but now with the gifts rejected…
“Don’t worry about this for now. Perhaps you just lack some weight; let your father go and visit them. We’ll bring more stuff, it might just be that we didn’t offer enough, our sincerity was lacking.”
After saying this, she went to discuss with her husband.
Su Dazhuang also couldn’t understand it. They took over the job originally meant for Su Wensong. Besides, Su Wensong was a sent-down youth; the job quota was supposed to be a nailed-on iron rice bowl.
But to say that his son lacked the capability to get regularized, he didn’t believe it. There were so many slackers in all those factories, and his son was no worse than any of them.
Crushing the cigarette butt, he frowned and said, “Buy a couple more bottles of liquor tomorrow, I’ll go and ask about it.”
Listening to his father deciding to step in, Su Wenmao instantly perked up.
“Dad, you must talk to them properly, tell them to make me a Level 1 worker. Cuicui said, once I become a Level 1 worker, she’ll ask her parents to agree to our marriage. Cuicui is still waiting for my reply.”
Su Dazhuang’s frown deepened, and his frustration was evident.
“Cuicui, Cuicui, you only care about Cuicui. If you cared that much, you should have been serious about your work from the beginning. The job was already in your hands, what more do you expect from me?”
He was no longer the Su Dazhuang of years past. As powerful as he was during the Revolutionary Committee era, he is now just as down and out.
Most of his well-connected friends had been settled after inquiring into their pasts, and it was only by staking his life that he managed to keep his current job.
In his workplace, not a word he says is heeded, and others don’t even bother to look him in the eye.
Now nearly fifty, he really doesn’t want to beg and see others kick him when he’s down.