In the evening, news of Zheng Da Ma getting a job spread throughout the courtyard.
First, the old lady knew, then Second Aunt happened to hear about it. When Yi Zhong Hai returned to the courtyard from work, the old lady secretly told him...
This courtyard wasn't big, just a three-section courtyard.
With over a dozen families living here, it was hard to keep things secret from the neighbors.
Many people were envious.
The Jia family, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were both feeling out of balance.
After all, having a job meant having a secure future.
If a family had two working members, they were truly enviable, the kind people would be jealous of.
If He Da Qing hadn't run away last year, Sha Zhu's family would have been a double-income family.
Yi Zhong Hai added a coal briquette to the coal stove and sat on a small stool beside it.
He didn't feel cold now.
Looking at his face, his mood didn't seem good.
It was because he had heard that his ex-wife had found a job.
After the divorce, for Yi Zhong Hai, if his ex-wife was doing well, it was like a bolt from the blue...
He was a little bit dark inside, hoping that his ex-wife would have a hard time, come to him begging to remarry, and then he would harshly refuse.
He was waiting for her to regret divorcing him, Yi Zhong Hai.
However, things were different from what he thought.
...
Sha Zhu was happy for Zheng Da Ma when he heard that she had found a job at the Rolling Mill Factory's canteen.
In this courtyard, Sha Zhu was one of the few who genuinely hoped Zheng Da Ma would have a good life.
People like Second Aunt and Third Aunt were green with envy that Zheng Da Ma had found a job.
In fact, it was also thanks to Zheng Da Ma being a city resident. If she were from the countryside, finding a job would be much harder.
In the backyard, Xu Fu Gui invited Second Uncle and Third Uncle to drink tonight.
Xu Fu Gui didn't invite Yi Zhong Hai, the third of the three uncles in the courtyard.
This was because Xu Fu Gui and Yi Zhong Hai didn't have a good relationship.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle didn't come empty-handed to Xu Fu Gui's for the drinking session.
Second Uncle carried a plate of scrambled eggs, while Third Uncle brought half a bottle of wine from home.
Only Third Uncle knew how much water was in his half bottle of wine.
Looking at the food prepared at Xu Fu Gui's, it was truly sumptuous, even braised pork.
Xu Da Mao was very perceptive and took out two bottles of loose white wine from home and placed them on the table.
Xu Fu Gui and Second Uncle didn't want to drink the wine brought by Third Uncle.
They had drunk Third Uncle's wine before, and it gave them diarrhea.
“Old Yi really knows how to put on airs, since he's divorced, why doesn’t he just marry someone who can bear children?” Liu Hai Zhong said disdainfully about Yi Zhong Hai.
“It’s better to be slow than hasty, Old Yi will take a few months at least, maybe even a year or two,” Third Uncle said with a smile.
“Old Yi’s ex-wife was actually a very good person, it’s just a pity she can’t give birth,” Xu Fu Gui said with a sigh.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle nodded, both agreeing that Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife was a good person.
But it was understandable that a woman who couldn't have children would be divorced.
Besides, of the three uncles in the courtyard, only Yi Zhong Hai didn't have children, how could he not be in a hurry?
He didn't have children and refused to adopt one, it was obvious he wanted to marry someone who could bear children.
Yi Zhong Hai was still under 40, with good conditions, finding a woman under 30 wouldn't be difficult.
“Old Yi’s ex-wife actually has a job now, and it’s at the Rolling Mill Factory,” Third Uncle said.
“Could it be that the old lady arranged it?” Liu Hai Zhong guessed.
The old lady was the highest in the courtyard's hierarchy, she was the 'Grandmother'.
Also, the old lady wasn't simple.
The street office took good care of her.
It wouldn't be impossible for the old lady to use her connections to arrange a job at the Rolling Mill Factory for Zheng Da Ma, right?
Moreover, Old Yi also worked at the Rolling Mill Factory.
Working at the same factory, wouldn't it help with remarriage?
Thinking this way, Liu Hai Zhong felt that it was normal to think that the old lady had arranged it.
Third Uncle and Xu Fu Gui exchanged glances, nodding in agreement with Liu Hai Zhong's opinion.
Then, the three continued to drink their small wine and eat their food.
Third Uncle picked up his chopsticks and went straight for the fattest piece of braised pork.
Liu Hai Zhong was one step slower.
When the fattest piece of braised pork landed in Third Uncle's mouth, he was overjoyed.
He hadn't eaten meat for more than half a year.
Even when he occasionally caught fish, he would sell it or exchange it for some coarse grains.
Third Uncle hadn't expected to eat braised pork when he came to drink at Xu Fu Gui's.
There weren't many pieces of braised pork, Liu Hai Zhong had only eaten two pieces before his bowl was empty.
Third Uncle ate a little more, while Xu Fu Gui and Liu Hai Zhong ate about the same.
Xu Mu, Xu Da Mao, and Xu Da Mao's sister, Xu Ling Yue, didn't get to eat any.
Xu Da Mao was drooling, his mouth almost watering.
It wasn’t a holiday or festival, but inviting neighbors to drink and having braised pork, it was indeed generous.
...
The night passed without incident.
As the sky began to lighten, Zheng Da Ma got up and prepared breakfast first.
After breakfast, Zheng Da Ma took Zheng Ai Min to the Rolling Mill Factory.
Zheng Da Ma put a few diapers in her pocket.
She walked to the factory from the courtyard.
She could see bicycles and people riding them on the road.
However, there weren't many vehicles.
Sha Zhu and Zheng Da Ma left the courtyard together and went to the factory. Zheng Da Ma followed Sha Zhu to the first canteen.
“The factory canteen always has some leftover food..." Sha Zhu said to Zheng Da Ma.
Although Sha Zhu wasn't the head of this canteen, he still had some status because of his good cooking skills.
Every day, Sha Zhu would take some leftover food home.
Today, when he arrived at the canteen, Sha Zhu told the head that he wouldn't be taking any leftover food anymore and asked Zheng Da Ma to take it instead.
Knowing Zheng Da Ma's difficulties, Huang Gui Xi, the canteen head, agreed.
Then, Huang Gui Xi assigned Zheng Da Ma a job, mainly washing vegetables.
Besides washing vegetables, she also had to wash chickens, ducks, and geese.
This was the first time Zheng Da Ma had come to the factory canteen.
It must be said that there was truly a lot of food.
Eggs were piled up in baskets.
There were also fish, but they were all dead fish, after all, it was so cold that it was difficult to get live fish.
When someone brought a few fish, they gutted them, removed the scales, and gave them to Zheng Da Ma to wash.
The fish roe and fish maw were also washed briefly.
It's worth mentioning that they almost always washed vegetables in cold water, there wasn't much hot water.
If you paid attention, you could see that most of the people in the canteen had chilblains on their hands.
In fact, Zheng Da Ma already had some chilblains.
Now that she was washing vegetables with cold water, she didn't think much of it.
Zheng Da Ma was very efficient at her work.
Sha Zhu could also help out a bit.
If Sha Zhu was the head of this canteen, he could help out even more.
However, Sha Zhu would probably have to wait a few more years to become head.
Compared to the other kitchen helpers, Zheng Da Ma was no worse.
She just had to feed Zheng Ai Min some rice porridge or change his diaper from time to time.
To Zheng Da Ma's surprise, the canteen head actually gave her a piece of candy.
Dissolving the candy in water was much better than rice porridge.
Seeing the canteen head give Zheng Da Ma a piece of candy, Sha Zhu said that the head was being generous today.
After all, candy was a good thing in this era.
The candy Huang Gui Xi took out wasn't domestic, it was imported.
...
In the workshop, besides Yi Zhong Hai and Jia Dong Xu, not many people knew that Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife had joined the factory, working in the canteen.