At noon, in the No. 1 canteen of the steel mill, workers were lining up with their lunchboxes in front of the three windows.
At this time, Zheng Da Ma was eating in the back kitchen, also feeding some rice porridge to Zheng Ai Min.
As for serving food to the workers, that wasn't Zheng Da Ma's responsibility yet.
At least she needed some time, such as figuring out who she could serve the food to.
If she couldn't serve the food, how could she serve the workers with food?
At this moment, Sha Zhu was serving food to the workers at window number 2. Sometimes his hand holding the large iron ladle was steady, but sometimes it shook like he had Parkinson's.
Looking at the entire canteen, nobody was better than Sha Zhu at serving food.
If he didn't serve food, there wouldn't be enough for the workers, not to mention leftovers.
After all, it was a time of hunger.
Even the canteen manager couldn't eat to his heart's content.
Yi Zhong Hai was also lining up at window number 2. He looked into the back kitchen through the window and saw his ex-wife.
Seeing his ex-wife feeding an infant rice porridge, Yi Zhong Hai remained expressionless.
In Yi Zhong Hai's eyes, raising someone else's child was foolish.
However, everyone had their own choices.
Anyway, Yi Zhong Hai wouldn't raise someone else's child.
"Yi Da Ye, what do you want to eat?" Sha Zhu asked with a smile.
Yi Zhong Hai glanced at the day's dishes.
It was winter, vegetables were scarce, so there were only a few dishes in the factory canteen.
There were potatoes and radishes, as well as fennel leaves and mustard greens.
The staple foods were mainly steamed buns, flatbreads, and corn cakes.
"Give me one portion of potatoes, one portion of radishes, two steamed buns and one flatbread," Yi Zhong Hai said.
Of course, Sha Zhu wouldn't use the serving technique with Yi Zhong Hai, he gave him a full scoop, and also selected the larger buns and flatbread.
After buying his meal, Yi Zhong Hai didn't return to the workshop. He found an empty seat in the canteen and sat down.
Not long after, some workers in the canteen pointed at Yi Zhong Hai and then looked toward the back kitchen.
Many people in the factory already knew about Yi Zhong Hai's divorce.
With time, more and more people in the factory would find out.
And since Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife worked at the factory, she inevitably became a topic of discussion for some people.
In this era, divorce inevitably resulted in gossip.
This was still the better outcome, some people would spread malicious rumors.
Therefore, if they could avoid divorce, they would do so as much as possible.
Since Zheng Da Ma had chosen to divorce, she was mentally prepared.
In the courtyard, Zheng Da Ma had always kept a low profile, and after divorcing Yi Zhong Hai, she became even more low-key. When she came to work at the factory, she also maintained a low profile.
But with Sha Zhu's care in the canteen, and being Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife, it was difficult to stay unnoticed.
In the afternoon, the canteen wasn't as busy.
As evening approached, the workers started to leave work.
With the sound of the electric bell, Zheng Da Ma carried her child, took her lunchbox, and walked out of the factory gate with other workers.
Jia Dong Xu could be seen coming out of the workshop. Today he couldn't stay at the factory for overtime, while Yi Zhong Hai stayed at the factory to work overtime.
…
After working for a whole day, Yi Zhong Hai was tired.
Being a fitter wasn't easy, especially since he worked overtime today.
When he walked out of the factory gate, it was already dark.
Returning home in the dark, with a cold stove and a cold kitchen, he couldn't even eat a warm meal.
To fill his stomach, Yi Zhong Hai could only cook dinner himself.
In a blink of an eye, Zheng Da Ma had been working at the steel mill for several days and was used to it.
Actually, compared to odd jobs, the current salary wasn't much higher.
But it was less tiring than odd jobs.
Moreover, besides the salary, there were also some benefits.
This was before she became a permanent employee, if she became a permanent employee, her salary and benefits would be significantly better.
The factory had a limited number of permanent positions each month.
Zheng Da Ma had only been in the factory for a few days, and she was just a kitchen helper, so she had to wait to become a permanent employee.
The holiday and Chinese New Year were about a month and a half away.
Zheng Da Ma definitely wouldn't be able to become a permanent employee before the New Year.
She might be able to become a permanent employee in the middle of next year!
Zheng Da Ma was already satisfied with her current life.
After washing a basket of vegetables, Zheng Da Ma could take a break.
Now, Zheng Da Ma was considering moving out of the 95th courtyard.
If she continued to live with the old lady, the old lady would dislike her more and more.
It was better to move out than be disliked.
It wasn't difficult to rent a house in Nanluoguxiang.
Besides, Zheng Da Ma thought about how she had 'bumped into' Ma Chenggong several times recently. First they just greeted each other, and now they could chat for a while.
Director Wang hadn't given up on trying to match her with Ma Chenggong.
As for Ma Chenggong, he had already decided to pursue her.
This added some trouble for her.
Actually, for the sake of the child, she had considered remarrying.
Through several interactions with Ma Chenggong, she felt that he was a good man.
Besides, her child also liked Ma Chenggong.
Zheng Ai Min sighed in his heart. Did he like Ma Chenggong? No, he wanted Zheng Da Ma to be with Ma Chenggong.
Because of Zheng Ai Min, Zheng Da Ma and Yi Zhong Hai divorced, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Through his observations, Zheng Ai Min believed that Ma Chenggong was a good man. If Zheng Da Ma married Ma Chenggong, she should be happy.
…
"Yi Gong, what's wrong?"
At the workshop entrance, Yi Zhong Hai was squatting and smoking. A worker saw him and walked over, also took out a cigarette and offered one to Yi Zhong Hai.
Yi Zhong Hai didn't decline. He took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.
"Nothing much." Yi Zhong Hai said.
Actually, Yi Zhong Hai felt a little green with envy.
His ex-wife's job was secured through someone else's connections. Besides, she was becoming increasingly familiar with someone else, and they would laugh and chat whenever they met.
Of course, this made Yi Zhong Hai feel a little uncomfortable.
Although they were divorced, Yi Zhong Hai still felt like he had been cheated on.
But it was none of his business who his ex-wife wanted to be with.
Right, someone also wanted to introduce Yi Zhong Hai to a partner, but he said he didn't want to get married for the time being.
Yi Zhong Hai had already made up his mind. He would start looking for a partner at least in the winter of next year, and get married the year after.
Or, maybe he'd look for a partner the year after.
Waiting a year or two would be better for his reputation.
After finishing his cigarette, Yi Zhong Hai stood up and returned to the workshop to continue working.
As soon as he returned to the workshop, Yi Zhong Hai saw Jia Dong Xu slacking off.
"This boy is impossible to teach." Yi Zhong Hai shook his head and thought.
Jia Dong Xu's talent for fitting wasn't good, and he didn't work hard. When Yi Zhong Hai taught him, he didn't study seriously.
If only Jia Dong Xu worked hard, he wouldn't be a first-class fitter, maybe he would have become a second-class fitter.
Moreover, Jia Dong Xu didn't like the fitting profession.
If someone didn't like their job, how could they achieve much?
Although he was disappointed with him, Yi Zhong Hai didn't give up on Jia Dong Xu.
Yi Zhong Hai was more patient with Jia Dong Xu.
Jia Dong Xu, who was slacking off, saw Yi Zhong Hai and immediately began to pretend to work hard.
"Dong Xu, how many times have I taught you? This part needs to be processed first..." Yi Zhong Hai started to point out the steps as he walked to Jia Dong Xu's side.
Jia Dong Xu pretended to listen, but he didn't actually learn anything.
Jia Dong Xu's performance was decent when Yi Zhong Hai was present, but when Yi Zhong Hai left, his performance became unwatchable.
But Yi Zhong Hai had his own work to do.
Because he was one of the factory's skilled fitters, the parts that passed through his hands were all high-precision components.
When he worked, Yi Zhong Hai was fully immersed in it.
After all, if he was distracted, he wouldn't be able to fully utilize his skills.