Chapter 33: First Day of Work

Before going to sleep, Lu Qiaoge stood on the ladder as the swallow had requested, placing her hands on the three eggs for a few minutes.

The mischievous swallow said that the old turtle had told it that Lu Qiaoge's hands were different from everyone else's, though it didn't know exactly why.

Lu Qiaoge guessed it might have something to do with her strength superpower.

A few minutes later, her grandmother chased her down from the ladder.

However, the swallow's nest seemed to have quieted down as well.

Before falling asleep, Lu Qiaoge sensed that the swallow's emotions had finally stabilized, and she soon drifted off.

The next day...

Lu Qiaoge spent the entire morning completing her onboarding process.

This recruitment quota had come directly from above; there was a probationary period, but it was merely a formality.

First, she went to the Labor Bureau. Nominally, she was a street office cadre, but in reality, she was on a worker's permanent establishment.

But this was already quite an achievement.

The other person who joined with Lu Qiaoge was a young man named Shao Le. His name suited him—he carried a natural smile and was quite a smooth talker.

Lu Qiaoge was assigned to a large office and given a desk, sitting opposite Ren Xiaocui.

On the other side was Shao Le.

Lu Qiaoge looked at the desk with curiosity; it was very, very old, covered in cracks, with a stack of papers and a bottle of ink on top.

Opening the drawer, she found it empty and dark. Should she clean it first?

Perhaps she would be using this desk for two years.

Director Hu walked in. Knowing that the formalities were complete, he welcomed the two new comrades to the street office.

He spoke eloquently: "...Do not underestimate our street office. We are the dispatched agency of the higher-level People's Government. Above, we must properly promote the various policies and guidelines of the state; below, we must guide all the work of the five residential committees... I won't say much more, but I hope you two will strive for the sake of our great motherland to realize the Four Modernizations as soon as possible!"

Lu Qiaoge's eyes sparkled; she felt the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders was quite heavy.

People of this era were truly full of passion and fighting spirit.

It was inspiring to watch.

Just as she was about to express her determination to the Director, a shout came from the courtyard: "Director Hu, something bad has happened! Master Zhou's daughter is holding a bottle of DDD and is threatening to commit suicide by drinking poison!"

Director Hu seemed accustomed to all sorts of emergencies. He said, "Officer Liu from the Security Station, go and take a look."

The street office had already restored its early functions, but because it was subordinate to the military factory, it only established a Security Station and a Sanitation Station.

Standing to the side, Shao Le immediately said, "Do you need me to call the workers' hospital?"

Old Hu glanced at Shao Le and directly named him and Lu Qiaoge: "Both of you, go along and see."

Shao Le set off to chase after Officer Liu, shouting back to Lu Qiaoge, "Xiao Lu, let's go!"

Lu Qiaoge said, "You go first. I'll find out the situation regarding Master Zhou's family."

A hint of a smile appeared on Old Hu's face.

One must know both oneself and the enemy to emerge victorious.

Huang Juan said, "Master Zhou worked in Workshop Six. After his original wife passed away five years ago, he remarried. His daughter from his first marriage went to the countryside to join the production teams four years ago. Master Zhou passed away last year. Currently, the people living in the Zhou house are Master Zhou's second wife and the two children she brought with her. Additionally, Master Zhou's daughter, Zhou Li, is already married."

Zhou Li had come by yesterday. She wanted to organize a way to demand an explanation—why, given the house her mother and father had divided, did she, the biological daughter, have no right to live there?

Before leaving, Huang Juan lowered her voice to remind her, "You are a public official now. This is work; do not let personal emotions affect you."

Lu Qiaoge immediately promised that she would maintain a proper attitude, remain unbiased, and firmly hold onto this "iron rice bowl."

Lu Qiaoge caught up to Shao Le very quickly. Shao Le hurriedly asked what she knew.

So, Lu Qiaoge told Shao Le what Huang Juan had said.

As they walked, Shao Le said, "Logically speaking, a married daughter has no right to come back to her parental home to demand a house. Look at my family—I have two older sisters. My eldest brother and I can live with my parents after marriage, but my two sisters cannot. After they married and moved out, the rooms in the house were given to my nephews..."

Lu Qiaoge gave Shao Le a cold stare.

Shao Le stole a glance at Lu Qiaoge's frost-covered face.

He had known Shen Yun since childhood and had heard Shen Yun say more than once that Liang Aishu's fiancée, Lu Qiaoge, was a useless fool—both stupid and wicked. But looking at her now, he didn't know if she was wicked, but she certainly didn't seem to be a fool or stupid.

That single look just now made his back feel cold.

Shao Le hurriedly asked, "Did... did I say something wrong?"

Lu Qiaoge saw Officer Liu running briskly in the distance and felt that having a bicycle would have been much better.

She didn't answer Shao Le, only saying, "I'm going to run. Can you keep up?"

With that, Lu Qiaoge set off with her long strides.

She didn't actually have many clothes, but most people were like this now.

Today, Lu Qiaoge was wearing a faded checkered shirt, trousers made from labor cloth, black cloth shoes made by her grandmother, and her hair was in two black braids—a very hardworking and simple style.

The outfit was light, making her fast; she pulled away from Shao Le in almost the blink of an eye.

Shao Le hurriedly started running after her.

He absolutely could not let Lu Qiaoge overtake him.

In fact, even when they reached the dormitory building where Master Zhou lived, Shao Le had not caught up to Lu Qiaoge.

Master Zhou's family lived on the first floor. Even though it was a workday, a crowd had gathered.

Shao Le wiped the sweat from his forehead, hands on his knees, gasping for breath. Looking at Lu Qiaoge, whose face was not red and whose breathing was steady, he truly felt inferior.

At this moment, Zhou Li stood alone against a wall, holding a medicine bottle with a skull printed on it. Not far away was a man holding a child; he was tall and had decent features, but his face was filled with anxiety and embarrassment.

Officer Liu quickly introduced them to the two: "The man holding the child is Zhou Li's husband. That is Zhou Li's stepmother, Old Luo. The other two are the children Old Luo brought with her..."

At this moment, Zhou Li was crying and complaining while holding the medicine bottle: "You, surnamed Luo! You have malicious intentions! Back then, you tricked me into going to the countryside in place of your daughter. You told me the countryside was full of food, that there was so much rice and flour that even the pigs couldn't eat it all. You even lied and said that if I went to the countryside, you would mail me twenty yuan and ten catties of food coupons every month. But in the end, it wasn't like that at all!"

Old Luo was a woman who looked very gentle. She said helplessly, "Xiao Li, what nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever say such things to you? And besides, put down that medicine bottle. Even if you don't consider your father's reputation, you must consider your child and your husband. If you drink this and die, what will happen to the two of them?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Li's husband. He held the child, his eyes filled with tears, while his other hand gestured... he was actually mute?

Officer Liu said hurriedly, "Zhou Li, put the bottle down. Let's talk this through. No matter what happened, everything can be negotiated, right?"

Zhou Li let out a piercing scream, "How can we talk this through? I went to your street office, and you all said this woman surnamed Luo has inheritance rights and can live in my father's house. You told me that as a married daughter, I have no right to inherit my parents' property!"