Chapter 2

Sigung County is located in the eastern part of Jiang Province, bordering the Yellow Sea to the east. It is the northernmost of the nine districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Nangang City. Although it is on the eastern coast, its economy is not well-developed, and it is a true agricultural county. The population of over 900,000 mainly lives by growing rice, wheat, and cotton, or raising silkworms.

Sihetown is 26 kilometers away from the county seat and is also located in the northernmost part of the county.

The gravel road is lined with sycamore trees. The wind is strong on the motorcycle, and it is early morning, with a cool breeze making the ride particularly pleasant.

The scenery along the way is as familiar yet distant as when he first woke up, giving a sense of temporal dislocation. For example, the bridge he just crossed should be lower and wider. The row of low houses ahead should have turned into steel-structured factories typical of big cities.

As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

Perhaps because he has been thinking about work all this time, about the classmates who gave up state assignments to seek their dreams in the south, his mind has become a mess, leading to some inexplicable dreams and the current indescribable feeling.

Han Bo took several deep breaths, trying to clear his head.

Since leaving, he had been silent, and Li Taipeng, thinking he was nervous, asked curiously, "Xiao Bo, what are you thinking about?"

"Ah... Oh, I'm thinking about things from my childhood. Back then, our family was poor, and we could only go to the county seat a few times a year. There wasn't much to do there, and we didn't have any relatives, but we still wanted to go. My sister and I wanted to go, so Dad would ride a bicycle to take us. My sister sat in the back, and I sat on the front bar."

"Why didn't you switch places with your sister?"

"She's taller, and sitting in the front would block Dad's view."

Li Taipeng had also sat on the front bar of a bicycle and experienced the numbness in his legs, so he couldn't help but laugh heartily.

The road was empty, and they hardly saw any motor vehicles or even bicycles. The two cousins chatted and laughed loudly, and before they knew it, they had entered the city. They followed Renmin Road all the way to the entrance of the state-owned silk factory.

The grand gate was more impressive than the county government building. It was almost eight o'clock, and the sound of bicycle bells filled the air as female workers either rode their bicycles or walked to work in groups of three or four.

The two young men on the new motorcycle had a 99%回头率 in this world of women. People pointed and whispered, and from time to time, there were bursts of laughter like silver bells.

Han Bo felt a bit embarrassed by all the attention. He took out his assignment certificate and the introduction letter from the Personnel Bureau. The security guard, who already knew a college graduate was coming, was extremely热情, escorting the two of them to the office building.

Though small, the county enterprise had all the necessary departments, just like a state-owned enterprise.

The Party Secretary, Deputy Party Secretary, Office Director, Propaganda Department Head, Trade Union Chairman, Youth League Secretary, Security Department Head, and Family Planning Office Director all had offices on the third floor. However, reforms had been implemented, and the factory adopted a system of factory manager responsibility. The factory manager also served as the Party Secretary, the deputy factory manager as the deputy secretary, and the office director as the Party office director.

Deputy Secretary Ding, who was also the deputy factory manager, was in his forties, wearing a white shirt and a tie, with a black suitcase in the corner and a bulging briefcase on the desk, clearly about to go on a business trip.

All the workers depended on these leaders, and Han Bo didn't want to waste his precious time. At his brother-in-law's reminder, he offered cigarettes to Deputy Secretary Ding and the newly arrived Office Director Qian, then smiled and introduced himself.

A bachelor's degree, a bachelor's degree, a student party member, and the deputy sports minister of the student union, with excellent character and academic performance. If it were a few years earlier, he would have been directly assigned to the county government, not a textile factory.

His档案 and relationships had already arrived before he did.

Deputy Secretary Ding was not unaware of these details and genuinely felt sorry for Han Bo.

"Comrade Xiao Han, we welcome you to our factory. However, your major is not very relevant, and the work arrangement may not be entirely satisfactory. I assume you are mentally prepared for this."

"I will follow the leadership's arrangements. I will do whatever the leadership assigns me to do, and I can learn if I don't understand." It was a great honor to meet the deputy factory manager on his first day, and Han Bo was sincere in his attitude.

"Old Qian, look, college graduates are different. Their political awareness is high, unlike the few vocational school graduates we had last year who were picky."

"Comrade Xiao Han is a student party member and a student union cadre, so his awareness is naturally high." Director Qian gave a thumbs up and nodded to emphasize the point.

Since he was assigned to the silk factory, the work would not be relevant to his major. How bad could it get? They couldn't fire him, so Han Bo didn't feel particularly affected, showing a look of anticipation.

Deputy Secretary Ding tapped the ash off his cigarette and gestured for him to sit on the sofa, saying slowly, "Comrade Xiao Han, considering you are a student party member with high political awareness, the factory has decided to assign you as the deputy head of the security department and concurrently as the captain of the economic police squad."

Li Taipeng had always worked in the countryside and continued to work after moving to the East Sea with his father-in-law. He had never been to such a large unit and never imagined a college graduate would be assigned to guard the gate.

To be appointed as a deputy head and captain of the police squad on the first day was impressive, and Han Bo's image in his mind grew even more.

Vocational school graduates and college graduates had to be arranged, and veterans who were resettled could not be turned away. Relatives and connections had to be accepted, and the building was already overcrowded.

What good was a college graduate? What use was high political awareness? Since he couldn't do anything, he had to be assigned this way.

Office Director Qian smiled and watched him, but it turned out his concerns were unnecessary. Han Bo didn't show even a hint of dissatisfaction.

Deputy Factory Manager Ding cleared his throat and continued, "Comrade Xiao Han, security work is very important. There is a Canada abroad, and we have a 'take what you can get' mentality. Many workers have a weak sense of law and always try to take advantage of the factory. The factory loses a lot of fabric every year, causing significant losses.

They don't take much at a time, but it adds up like ants moving a house. They say they take it home to make small clothes. Since they see each other every day, and some are related, the older workers can't bring themselves to stop them. The factory also can't take decisive action against them.

You are new to the job and have fewer reservations. After the economic police squad is officially established, you will wear a police uniform, which will have a deterrent effect. In short, the factory has high hopes for you and hopes you can overcome difficulties and put a stop to this bad trend."

Han Bo thought it was quite amusing and said with a worried look, "Secretary Ding, Director Qian, as a party member, I will certainly follow the organization's and leadership's arrangements and am willing to do some practical work. The key is that the factory is all female workers. If they hide the fabric in their clothes, what can I, a male, do? Should I search them?"

"You don't need to worry about that. This year, we have a family member of a transferred military officer. Her name is Yang, she is in her thirties, has high political awareness, and is also a party member. She is hardworking and has just obtained a correspondence college degree. If necessary, she can take action and set some examples."

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

Working in a brick factory, you don't need to buy bricks; working in a transportation company, you don't need to buy tickets. Taking some fabric home to make clothes is normal in a silk factory. Isn't this asking Xiao Bo to make enemies?

Women can be unreasonable, especially in a place like a silk factory. If things go wrong, they might accuse you of misconduct or even sexual harassment.

If a cadre has a problem with conduct, and if his reputation is ruined, his future is over. Li Taipeng was very anxious and kept giving Han Bo signals.

Brother-in-law didn't catch the hidden meaning, but Han Bo did.

It was just a work assignment, and they didn't really expect him to stop the bad trend. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said that he could set some examples if necessary.

Since he was here, he might as well settle in and deal with the future when it comes.

Han Bo nodded and continued, "Secretary Ding, Director Qian, since there are female workers in the security department, I don't have to worry. I want to know when I will start work officially and if the factory has dormitories. As you know, my family is in the countryside, and it's far from the unit, making it inconvenient to commute."

He didn't pick and choose, didn't feel underappreciated, and didn't insist on better work arrangements.

Such a college graduate was rare, and Secretary Ding was very satisfied. He took the second cigarette offered and smiled, "Reporting for duty counts as attendance, so you start work today. The dormitory is ready, and Director Qian will arrange for someone to take you there. Additionally, the factory is building a housing complex, which is already topped off and will be ready in two to three months.

The complex is on Renmin Road, with two-bedroom, one-living room units. All employees and cadres are treated equally, at 260 yuan per square meter, about 20,000 yuan for a unit. At the time, we planned for the long term, and there are a dozen units still available. If you want one, go to the infrastructure department on the second floor."

Sigung County is a small county without the kind of commercial housing found in big cities. Even if developers built houses, no one would buy them.

Renmin Road is the most prosperous area.

Putting aside the quality of the work, the ability to buy a house on the first day of work was very appealing. After ten years of hard study, the goal was to move to the city. Having a house in the county would make his parents very happy.

"Thank you, leaders. About 20,000 yuan, I should be able to gather the money."

The family had once been very troubled by the house.

In the past, the Han family lived in a village about six or seven kilometers from the town, with poor transportation. When they had money, they naturally wanted a better living environment, so they begged and pleaded to buy a plot of land in the town.

After much effort, they finally got the approval, but the villagers in Sihetown, where the town government was located, wouldn't let them build. They had to give gifts, invite them to meals, and speak nicely to them, and it took a year of effort to start construction and build a two-story villa in the town.

He was happy, and Li Taipeng was even happier.

Spending over 20,000 yuan on a house was not cheap, but this would mean they could separate from the family. His father-in-law had said many times that once his son was settled in the city with his own house, the villa in the town would belong to his daughter and son-in-law.