"Director, I’ve been at the factory for almost ten years." Bai Xingguo hadn’t even realized himself that he’d been working here for nearly a decade. He wasn’t the only one; the director was surprised as well.
"Almost ten years," the director said, looking a little embarrassed. In a place like this, most employees were temps or women. Working here for ten years was virtually unheard of. He was indeed a rarity.
"Tell you what, Comrade Bai Xingguo. Our department happens to have an opening for a transfer. I’ll put your name in." The director didn’t specify where the transfer would be to.
Bai Xingguo didn’t mind. To him, one place was the same as another.
"Thank you, Director." Still, he was quite happy at the prospect of leaving his current post. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes his younger sister had given him and handed it over. "I’ll have to trouble you with the arrangements then."
The director’s eyes lit up at the offering. Cigarettes were good stuff, and this particular brand—costing fifty cents a pack—was usually reserved for officials.
"Haha, you’re too polite," the director said, accepting the pack without the slightest bit of actual reservation. "I have two positions available here. Take a look and see which one you prefer, and I’ll transfer you directly."
Taking a bribe softened the heart. He had initially planned to brush the man off with a token reassignment just to get the job done, but now, he was at least half-genuine in his offer.
Bai Xingguo hadn’t expected to be able to choose his own destination for the transfer. "Thank you for the trouble, Director," he said, not holding back either.
A moment later, the director pulled two documents from his drawer and handed them to Bai Xingguo. "Here, come take a seat. Sit down and read them over." He gestured to a chair nearby.
Bai Xingguo didn’t hesitate. He took the documents and sat down while the director even poured him a glass of water. It had to be said—reputation was incredibly important in this era. Ever since the Bai Family’s name was cleared, the whole family had reaped quite a few benefits.
Bai Xingguo read the documents carefully. There were two options. The first was in the production workshop. If he went there, he could immediately become a team leader. It was clearly an intentional compensation from the higher-ups. The other document detailed the true nature of this job transfer: the sales department.
That’s right. Although supplies were scarce in this era, township enterprises like theirs still had to rely on their own people to find channels to sell their goods. The sales department was a lucrative place, but most of the people who got in were trusted cronies of the leadership. He had heard rumors about the director’s relationship with the factory manager. He hadn’t paid attention to them before, but thinking about it now, he suspected they were likely true.
Seeing him put the documents down, the director’s eyes brightened. "Comrade Bai Xingguo, have you made your choice?" If possible, the director naturally wanted to pull this man into his own camp. He figured that after the man had suffered for ten years, a little sweet taste of reward now would surely make him work his heart out for them.
"Director, can I go back and discuss this with my family?" Bai Xingguo asked. He wanted to ask for Father Bai’s opinion, though he personally leaned toward the sales department.
The director naturally had no objections. "Of course. But Comrade Bai Xingguo, this is classified factory business. Please keep it to yourself." These reassignments were all handled privately and never made public, so discretion was key.
"I understand, Director. I guarantee on my honor that I won’t spread a word."
"Haha, you’re taking it too seriously! I trust Comrade Bai’s character. You can certainly discuss it with your family. As for outsiders, we’ll just keep our lips sealed." Looking at the excited Bai Xingguo, the director stood up with a smile, patted him on the shoulder, and looked completely satisfied. "Alright, I’m giving you half a day off today. Go back and think it over carefully. Just give me a definite answer by tomorrow."
After sending Bai Xingguo off, the director picked up the phone and dialed a number. The call quickly connected. "Hello..."
Compared to Bai Xingguo’s dilemma, things were much simpler for Mother Bai.
First thing in the morning when she arrived for work, she was notified of a job transfer. She didn’t think much of it at first, but once she arrived at her new post, she was completely dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe such a good thing had fallen into her lap, and she spent the entire morning feeling anxious and apprehensive.
Seeing her uneasy state, her superior called her into the office.
"Comrade Mu Shuyi, I see you’ve been distracted at work. Is something the matter?" Her superior was a woman who looked to be in her early forties. To sit in such a position, her family background was likely quite formidable.
Mother Bai opened her mouth, feeling a bit uncertain. She wondered if she could really ask about this. Ultimately, with her superior’s gentle coaxing, she explained the reason for her anxiety.
The superior was very satisfied with her honesty. "Don’t overthink it. You’ve been at our food factory for at least ten years now, right? It was our oversight not to transfer you sooner. But with the factory’s major reorganization this time, the leadership noticed your situation. You are careful and meticulous. In over a decade, you haven’t made a single mistake when distributing goods. Our logistics department definitely needs a good comrade like you."
A manager’s sweet words were nothing but deceitful lies. Mother Bai wasn’t truly naive. She originally came from a prominent family, but she had grown up in the wrong era. Otherwise, a single factory—even several of them—would be nothing more than toys in her hands.
She simply listened to whatever her superior said. To summarize it all, it meant she had performed outstandingly, her talents had been buried, and now the factory leadership had recognized her worth and given her a more suitable position.
She scoffed inwardly. This place was nothing but a retirement post, and all that talk about "outstanding work" was just nonsense to fool the gullible. They had only put her here because they were afraid of being held accountable. However, having reaped the benefits, she certainly wasn’t going to complain. It was perfect. She had previously felt that her old job was too grueling and worried that it would exhaust her daughter if she took over. Now, it couldn’t be better for her daughter to take over this new shift.
"Thank you so much, leaders," Mother Bai said, acting deeply moved.
When they returned home that evening, everyone in the Bai Family wore a smile. This gave Bai Jiu and Father Bai quite a fright. After asking and learning that they had received promotions at work, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That’s wonderful! It’s perfect timing—I made a lot of delicious food today, so we definitely need to celebrate properly." Bai Jiu had truly racked her brains to ensure her family could eat well.
Seeing her like this, everyone chuckled.
"Alright, you can do whatever you like. I won’t scold you anymore, okay?" Mother Bai said. She was in a good mood today, so she was willing to let her daughter be as extravagant as she pleased.
When the three brothers—Bai Xingguo, Bai Xingbang, and Bai Xinghua—returned, they had also picked up a handful of fruit candies on the way back for Xiuxiu and Zhengyang.
The two little ones were thrilled. Aside from their mother, only their uncles had ever given them treats. Back in the village, when other children ate candy, they couldn’t even catch a whiff of it.
"Thank you, Uncles!" The two little ones’ voices were incredibly loud and clear.
At the dinner table, starting with Mother Bai, everyone recounted their stroke of luck today. It truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, to everyone’s surprise, after Bai Xingbang shared his good news, he immediately dropped some bad news on the family.
"Why? Being a cashier is a great job. Going from a cultural worker to a cashier is such a rare opportunity!" Bai Xinghua asked in astonishment after hearing his second brother’s words.
Aside from Bai Xinghua, the rest of the family remained silent. After a long while, Father Bai finally spoke up. "You were right to turn it down. Considering the nature of a cashier’s role, any job dealing directly with money isn’t necessarily a good thing. Second Son, just make your own decisions."