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墨書 Inktalez
Hongqing truly lives up to its reputation as a large conglomerate, having developed and expanded to own multiple subsidiaries in the same industry in less than twenty years.
Moreover, these subsidiaries are not only located in the county; there is even a Hongqing branch factory in the Provincial Capital. The efficiency of the large group is also quite high, as everyone's assignments were arranged by the afternoon.
Wang Xingxing and Wang Jinlong were assigned to the branch factory in Provincial Capital, while the village chief's son and Daughter-in-law were assigned to the cafeteria of the General Affairs and Logistics Department. Village Chief's Daughter was assigned to the group's publicity department. Everyone's names were called one by one, with work locations ranging from Workshop One to Workshop Ten, as well as various branch factories. Some were detailed down to specific workshops and job types, while others were simply assigned to a certain factory.
For example, when Song Pearl's name was called, it was just for the Han Zhuang Machinery Manufacturing Plant, with no further details provided.
Song Pearl listened carefully and realized she was the only one assigned to Han Zhuang Machinery Manufacturing Plant. She blinked in confusion; was she expected to be the Factory Director? Of course, she knew that such good fortune was unlikely.
After the person in charge finished reading out the assignments, they handed each of them a registration certificate, which served as proof for their work unit. The registration certificate was printed, with names filled in later. It contained two simple lines: "Hereby assigning [Name] to report to your location; please accept. Date. Stamp."
Holding the registration certificate, Song Pearl felt a bit dazed; she didn't know where Han Village was and had no choice but to raise her hand to ask. The person responsible for arranging them looked at her with a hint of sympathy and smiled, "It's not very hard to find; you should be able to get there by taking a bus from the station."
"Should be? Hasn't anyone been there before?" Song Pearl felt a bit awkward. She wasn't afraid of hard work but was scared of walking because she had no sense of direction. If she didn't have transportation, it was quite normal for her to wander around without finding her destination.
"There are people working there; the company has shuttle buses back and forth. However, I haven't been there myself. You can arrive early and take the company's shuttle bus; it leaves at 6:50 AM," the staff member explained in detail. Just after finishing explaining to Song Pearl, they were pulled away by someone else for further inquiries.
Wang Xingxing comforted Song Pearl, "Don't worry; I've been to Han Village. I have classmates from there. It only takes about an hour by bicycle from our village; it's even closer than going to County Town!"
"But I haven't been there before. Is it a straight road?"
"There are dirt roads and paved roads; it's not very straight," Wang Xingxing recalled. "I went there many years ago; I didn't expect there would be factories there."
"Is it prosperous?"
Wang Xingxing shook his head, "It's not as good as our village! It's on the outskirts of County Town, and people can be quite rough, but it's close to the highway."
"Rough?" Song Pearl tried to understand what this term meant.
"Don't worry; nothing will happen. You're going there for work, and you won't have any interactions with those locals. You'll just come back after work," Wang Xingxing felt he might have scared Song Pearl, so he stopped talking and turned back to his own work.
He felt as if he was bragging when he mentioned that he had been assigned to the maintenance department at the Provincial Capital branch. Although it was hard work, it was a technical job that not just anyone without experience could do. His instinct told him that his father, Wang Baoguo, had pulled some strings.
"Congratulations! You don't like being cooped up in our County Town, and now you've been assigned to the Provincial Capital in Hongqing. What great luck!" Song Pearl sincerely congratulated Wang Xingxing.
Wang Xingxing rubbed his hands together awkwardly and coughed twice, saying, "Actually, no matter where I go, I'm still stuck in the factory with little time for free activities. The factories are all located in remote suburban areas with inconvenient transportation and no supermarkets. I have to carefully plan my bus schedule to get to the city; it's really inconvenient."
He had been working outside for two years and had seen quite a bit of the world. Many people gathered around him to listen. Some of them had been assigned to factories in County Town, which shared a large compound with the group headquarters. Although it felt fresh and exciting, there was always a sense of unease. However, this unease was overshadowed by the joy of having a stable job.
Everyone smiled brightly and asked each other which workshop they were assigned to. After chatting for a while, they regrouped because the village chief wanted to gather them all back to the village.
The registration certificate required them to report to their work location with it. Most people reporting at the Hongqing Headquarters chose to stay after checking in before heading back.
Song Pearl, Wang Xingxing, and several others assigned to the Branch Office took the bus back to the village.
When Song Pearl arrived home, her family was waiting for news. When Song Shiting heard she was going to Han Village Machinery Factory, he wasn't sure where that factory was located but knew where Han Village was and planned to take her there.
"No need for that," Song Pearl quickly refused. "Dad, it's cold, and you haven't fully recovered yet; you shouldn't be out in this weather. Besides, I'm old enough now; I won't get lost in such a big village."
Song Shiting wanted to insist, but Liu Cuiying stopped him, saying, "It's no big deal! She's just going to check in. Pearl can take the bus from County Town; there's no need for you to send her off. You're not some important person; stop acting like a shivering villager!" Liu Cuiying seemed oblivious to Song Pearl's warning glance and continued, "I'll get up early tomorrow morning and take Pearl to catch her bus; you don’t need to worry about it."
"Fine, we'll do it your way. I look embarrassing; you look fine," Song Shiting replied without anger but with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
"Who cares if I look good or not? No one knows me anyway!" Liu Cuiying retorted playfully while keeping her hands busy. A large pile of peanut shells had accumulated beside her as she dropped one plump peanut after another into a basket at her feet.
Song Pearl decided to go along with Liu Cuiying's plan. Liu Cuiying pulled out two fifty-yuan bills from under her pillow and gave one to Song Pearl. After thinking for a moment, she also handed her several one-yuan bills and some five-yuan coins, reminding her to keep safe on the way.
Song Pearl nodded in agreement and tucked the money into her pocket. Liu Cuiying wasn't reassured and found a handkerchief for her to wrap the money in before putting it back into her pocket.
Although Song Pearl felt that Liu Cuiying's concern was unnecessary, she didn't refuse it. She understood that this was Liu Cuiying's way of showing care. However, this method made her feel as if there were many thieves watching her wallet after leaving home.
Every time she had to pay for something, Song Pearl was always cautious, looking left and right, making herself feel somewhat like a thief.
Before it was even light out, Liu Cuiying woke her up. Even so, she still missed the bus from Hongqing Group. She waited under the bus stop for a long time, and just when she was about to freeze, she finally saw a bus heading to Han Village.
It seemed that Han Village was not a good place; there were so few buses. Song Pearl grumbled as she got on the bus. There weren't many people on the bus, and it made two loops in County Town before finally gathering enough passengers to proceed on the normal route. When it was time for the Ticket Seller to collect fares, Song Pearl handed her three yuan and said, "Please let me know when we arrive at Han Village."
"We will announce it when we get there," the Ticket Seller replied expressionlessly as she continued to collect fares while gripping a thick stack of one-yuan bills.
When they reached the front seats, the Ticket Seller stopped and spoke harshly to a girl sitting there: "Do you have money or not? If you don't have money, you can't stay on this bus. Get off now if that's the case."
The previously noisy atmosphere suddenly fell silent as all the passengers turned their complex gazes toward the girl sitting next to the Ticket Seller.
Song Pearl had a clear view of her; she was a very graceful girl wearing a grass-green down jacket and sunglasses. Her long hair was styled in large waves, casually draping over her shoulders, looking relaxed and natural.
However, the girl herself did not seem very at ease; she appeared somewhat embarrassed as she clutched her handbag tightly. Under the scrutinizing gaze of the Ticket Seller, she slowly pulled out a steamed bun from her bag...
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