Chen Chunhua’s first visit to Xiyang Food Factory left her astonished by the cleanliness and neatness of the workshop and the orderly conduct of the workers.
She had never set foot in a factory before, despite frequently visiting food processing points. She had thought a food factory would only be slightly larger than the usual cooked food courtyards and have a few more people.
But the reality…
“Director Ma, someone’s looking for you.”
The voice of the young man leading the way cut through Chen Chunhua’s thoughts, and she saw Ma Yingzi in the distance, dressed in a pristine white lab coat and wearing a sanitary cap, talking to two workers.
Where was the newcomer from the countryside in her demeanor now?
Certainly not the one who used to kneel at the processing point and clean pig intestines by hand.
When Ma Yingzi noticed her visitor, she gave further instructions to the two employees before approaching.
“Why have you come over?”
Since arriving at the food factory, the two of them had less time to meet.
Chen Chunhua looked at her with envy, “I just haven’t seen you for a long time and missed you. My dear Yingzi, you’re a big deal now, a head honcho.”
Despite being a city dweller, she wasn’t doing as well as Ma Yingzi, a country girl.
Ma Yingzi took her under a big tree. They worked in food processing, where miscellaneous individuals are not allowed in the processing workshop.
“What do you do now? Do you not need to do anything since you became a boss? I’m really envious of you.”
“Not really, my work is similar to before, except there are more new employees now, and Factory Director Su appointed me as a workshop director because of my experience.”
Several people who came over from the small courtyard had become heads, big and small, and both she and her husband had been valued and utilized.
Ma Yingzi and her husband were very content with their current life.
They were introduced by Su Wensong and still worked under him. Only by doing their job well could they live up to the care of Su Wensong and Mr. Lin.
“Workshop director?” How high-ranking was that?
Chen Chunhua had heard of workshop directors. There was one in her alley, and his wife would strut around arrogantly, very proud of herself.
“Yingzi, you’re a boss now, why don’t you talk to Factory Director Su and get me transferred over too? I still want to work under you.”
Ma Yingzi found this a bit troublesome. Chen Chunhua had mentioned this before, and it was hard to believe that she really wanted to work with her just for companionship.
“I can’t make that decision myself, I can only ask for you.”
Hearing that she wasn’t outright rejected, Chen Chunhua immediately became happy, “I knew you were the best to me.”
After finishing saying this, she looked around, and seeing no one nearby, continued, “Honestly, I’ve had enough of working at the bun shop, always under the watchful eyes of those few ’big Buddhas’. I can’t even slack off for a moment. Oh, have you heard about Qin Lihua and Cai Jun? There’s no denying that they are family. As well as Mr. Lin usually treats Manager Sun, when it comes to the Qin Family, he still sides with his own. What can Mr. Lin do, no matter how capable he is? She’s a daughter-in-law of the Qin Family; would she dare to offend her in-laws? And about that Lihua girl, I knew from the start she wasn’t reliable. Hurry up and talk to Factory Director Su; get me transferred to the food factory. I really don’t want to work with that girl anymore…”
“Chunlan, all I can do is mention it, but whether you can be transferred is up to the factory director, and I can’t make promises to you.”
Ma Yingzi didn’t want to discuss such private matters any longer and apologized, “I still have things to take care of, I won’t be able to chat with you now, but when we both have a break, I’ll come to find you.”
“Ah, you always say you’ll find me, but you never have time to rest…”
“Mr. Lin!”
Chen Chunhua hadn’t finished speaking when Ma Yingzi suddenly called out.
Startled, Chunhua followed her gaze and saw Lin Chuxia approaching from the distance. She felt a chill down her spine and her face went pale, thinking if Lin Chuxia might have overheard what she just said.
Lin Chuxia hadn’t noticed Chen Chunhua and went straight to Ma Yingzi, handing her a bag.
Just from the scent, Ma Yingzi knew what was inside and said with a smile, “Mr. Lin, you didn’t need to deliver it personally, next time I can simply pick it up from the office.”
This was a seasoning mix for their prepared food, always delivered in this packaging. Even back in the small courtyard, Lin Chuxia used to provide it regularly and in set amounts. Now with the food factory, while these workers could be involved in other processes, the seasoning packets remained solely managed by Lin Chuxia.
This was understandable; the secret recipe for their prepared food was coveted even by the Old Food Factory, which they wouldn’t trade even for three permanent worker positions.
“I was coming to see Factory Director Su anyway, so I brought it along.”
Only after she finished did Lin Chuxia notice Chen Chunhua and also greeted her with a warm smile.
Once Lin Chuxia left, Chen Chunhua couldn’t help but feel even more bitter, watching Ma Yingzi carry the bag.
Such an important thing, the secret recipe, was under Ma Yingzi’s control, which showed her importance in the food factory.
She was so impressive, yet she was being repeatedly rejected by Ma Yingzi when all she wanted was to work together.
“Chunlan, I still have things to do, I can’t accompany you any longer.”
This time Ma Yingzi didn’t say much more, greeted her, took the bag, and left.
Chen Chunhua stood still for a while, then quietly left the food factory.
Lin Chuxia went straight to Su Wensong’s office, which, nowadays, was even better than her own conditions.
Sitting on the couch and patting the armrest, Chuxia commented, “Ah, this is befitting of a factory director. In the future, our business dealings will also take place here in Xiyang, so you need to look the part.”
Su Wensong was still not used to such treatment, especially compared to Lin Chuxia’s more modest setup.
“Shall I set up another office for you inside the factory?”
“Don’t bother, you run the food factory, and my place is good enough. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
Lin Chuxia rejected the idea once more and changed the subject, “I heard that the county’s Animal Husbandry Bureau is rushing to send personnel to vaccinate poultry soon, remind our chicken suppliers to be alert, even though they should already know about poultry care. Just in case, you know.”
“Okay, I got it,” Su Wensong agreed, understanding the importance.
“Also, mention to Sun Bingnan that he might want to send someone to the Animal Husbandry Bureau to learn techniques for vaccine administration. If he doesn’t have anyone, you pick someone, so that we can vaccinate the chickens on our own farms later on.”
After finishing her instructions, Su Wensong had something he wanted to discuss with her as well.
He had found the car they had discussed earlier, a second-hand Charade 121.
The mention of a car made Lin Chuxia instantly energized, “A 121? Second-hand? How much?”
The Charade 121 was a new, domestically produced model at the beginning of the 1980s. Finding a second-hand one meant it was probably still quite new.
“The price isn’t cheap, they asked for 4000, but I brought it down to 3600. What do you think…”
“I’ll take it,” Lin Chuxia didn’t hesitate, “We’ll go check out the car together tomorrow.”
In those days, car production was low, and even if few people could afford one, it wasn’t easy to buy. Stumbling upon a suitable second-hand car was even rarer.