A calendar hanging on the wall was covered in scribbles, sometimes featuring a smiley face and sometimes a rain cloud.
These two were easy to interpret as moods, but there were also circles.
Although they didn't appear frequently, they still showed up three or four times every month.
What did this represent?
Every daily square on the calendar bore traces of use. According to the markings, today was April 2, 1982, a Sunday and a day off.
No wonder no one was at work.
Nan Yue flipped through the calendar, wondering where Xiang Guang had gone.
Suddenly, Nan Yue's movements stiffened because she discovered a bright red X drawn in the square for March 30th.
Nan Yue stared at that X. The strokes were very heavy, and the ink was slightly smudged, showing that the person had been under significant emotional distress when writing it.
"Huihui!"
Nan Yue turned around as a woman wearing a white-patterned red shirt and a white long skirt pushed open her screen door, then hurriedly closed it again.
"Are you ready?"
Nan Yue offered a smile and went to meet her. "Coming, coming. Look at my memory; I forgot what I came back for the moment I turned around."
The woman had her hair down and wore a white hair clip. "Hahaha, you really are a scatterbrain. I bet it's because Brother Guang spoils you too much."
A faint blush touched Nan Yue's face, and she looked away without speaking.
"Let's go. Didn't we say we were going to buy a fan? I brought the money, and the ticket..."
Nan Yue understood. It seemed Li Hui and this woman were going to buy an electric fan together, with one providing the money and the other the coupon.
In this era, buying anything required a coupon in addition to money. There were food coupons and vegetable coupons for meals, and cloth coupons for buying clothes.
Nan Yue remembered the stack of coupons she had seen tied with a rubber band in the biscuit tin, with a purchase certificate placed separately beside them.
Nan Yue retrieved it, and it was indeed a purchase certificate for a desk fan.
"'Dongzhu' brand desk fan purchase certificate, 300mm metal desk fan, four-position three-speed oscillating fan, price 120 yuan, one fan per certificate, one-year warranty."
Nan Yue put the biscuit tin away and turned around, waving the document. "Here."
A look of surprise erupted on the woman's face. "Brother Guang is truly amazing! He actually managed to get one for you!"
The woman chattered as she pulled Nan Yue along. When Nan Yue stepped out, she looked left and right and saw that no one had locked their doors; they only closed the screen doors to keep out insects.
So, she didn't lock her door either and hurriedly followed the woman outside.
People greeted them along the way, and through these interactions, Nan Yue learned the woman's name: Huang Ya Nan.
"Ya Nan, slow down. You're exhausting me."
Huang Ya Nan offered an apologetic smile. "The Dongzhu factory only sent two fans this time. I heard that besides the factory director, that Zhao Mingming also managed to get a ticket."
As Nan Yue listened to Huang Ya Nan's nagging, she observed their surroundings.
The Dawn Rubber Factory covered a vast area. The residential area was on a slope, while the factory itself was at the bottom. Going down from the residential area, one first passed the cafeteria and then the playground.
At this time, there were still men playing ball on the playground, but more people were gathered in a corner where two men in hats had set up a table with two electric fans on it.
Most of those watching were just there for the spectacle, as they had neither the money nor the coupons.
The factory had good greenery with trees everywhere. Nan Yue realized after a moment that there was a mountain behind them; they were essentially living on a mountain.
Naturally, the greenery was lush.
Under a tree, Nan Yue spotted Jiang Siyan wearing a blue worker's cap.
Jiang Siyan wore a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, blue overalls, and black leather shoes.
He was pushing a bicycle and chatting with other coworkers.
Jiang Siyan noticed Nan Yue immediately. His eyes brightened slightly, and he gave her an imperceptible nod.
Huang Ya Nan had been watching Nan Yue and followed her gaze to Jiang Siyan.
"Oh, isn't that Tang Yu?"
Huang Ya Nan nudged Nan Yue's arm. "I have to say, being a college graduate really does make one handsome."
Nan Yue didn't know what being a college graduate had to do with being handsome, but she learned that Jiang Siyan's identity was Tang Yu, a newly recruited college graduate at the factory.
He was educated, had seen the world, was handsome, and dressed fashionably. Word was his family was quite well-off.
Currently, he was a hot commodity in the factory.
By the time Nan Yue and her companion reached the playground, only one electric fan remained on the table.
A young man was holding the other one.
"Zhong Guochao is already here."
Huang Ya Nan seemed a bit discouraged because they weren't the first to buy, but she quickly cheered up.
"It's fine. His father is the factory director anyway; we can't compete with him."
Nan Yue's lip twitched as she looked at the factory director's son. The other party also saw her and looked over with a smile.
How was it him again?
Chi He looked at Nan Yue with a grin. He was already in a good mood because of the roleplay, and now he felt even better.
"Comrade, here are the ticket and the money. We'll take this fan."
"Wait!"
Nan Yue heard a familiar voice and leaned aside to let the person squeeze in next to her.
"I want it too."
The worker from the Dongzhu factory looked from one to the other. "Um... Comrade, there's only one left. How about you two discuss who gets it?"
Huang Ya Nan glared at Zhao Mingming. "We arrived first, so naturally, I should have it."
Zhu Xi Ning's long black hair was gone, replaced by a neat short cut. Carrying a military-green crossbody bag, she looked unwilling to back down.
"Who says? I was here before you even arrived."
Seeing that the two were about to start an argument, Nan Yue pulled on Huang Ya Nan's sleeve. "Ya Nan, forget it."
Based on their conversation along the way, Li Hui's personality was gentle and she didn't like to argue with anyone.
In contrast, her friend Huang Ya Nan was competitive and always stood in front of Li Hui.
"Why should we! Brother Guang went through so much trouble to get that ticket for you."
Zhu Xi Ning sneered. "Relying on a man for everything."
Huang Ya Nan didn't back down. "I think you're just jealous because no one wants you."
The conflict escalated, and the onlookers finally stepped in to break them up. In the end, because Huang Ya Nan's words were a bit excessive and involved a personal attack, she lost the moral high ground, and the electric fan was taken by Zhao Mingming.
Huang Ya Nan's eyes turned red with anger. Nan Yue comforted her for a long while before glancing at the distant Zhu Xi Ning and patting Huang Ya Nan's hand.
"I'll go have a few words with her."
Huang Ya Nan felt wronged. "Don't go. She's unreasonable."
"You shouldn't have said what you did. I don't want her to go and file a complaint."
Huang Ya Nan deflated at the thought. In her anger, she had spoken without thinking, wanting to poke at Zhao Mingming's sore spots, without considering that such words in public undermined unity.
"It's the truth. She has a bad temper and she's ugly. No one in the factory likes her. She only gets special treatment because her father retired due to a work injury."
"Ya Nan!"
Nan Yue's face hardened, and Huang Ya Nan stopped talking.
In fact, Nan Yue had noticed along the way that although Huang Ya Nan seemed competitive, she appeared to be somewhat people-pleasing toward Li Hui in their friendship.
Nan Yue walked toward Zhu Xi Ning. Zhu Xi Ning was holding the fan, but no one was around her. Just as Huang Ya Nan said, she was unpopular.
"Zhao Mingming, Ya Nan shouldn't have spoken like that just now. I apologize to you on her behalf."
Rate on N.U.
