Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 350 - 337: First Day at the New Workplace

The woman’s face immediately fell upon hearing it, before she could say anything, the office door opened and a fifty-year-old man emerged, wearing a big and baggy white dacron short-sleeved shirt. He came out with an angry look on his face, clearly having heard Li Xianglu’s words just now. He furrowed his brows and glared at the girl, then turned politely to Li Xianglu and asked, "Comrade, who are you looking for?" Li Xianglu politely smiled and replied, "My name is Li Xianglu, I’m here to report for duty." The elder gentleman appeared startled for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. He extended his hand, and Li Xianglu quickly stepped forward to shake it. After the handshake, the elderly man smiled and said, "So, it’s Comrade Li. I’m Xu Yongjian. I heard you were going to report for duty soon, but didn’t expect you to come today. Please come in quickly." Li Xianglu smiled faintly and was about to follow when the man in front addressed the girl still standing in shock, "Xiao Wang, go pour a cup of water for Director Li." Li Xianglu raised an eyebrow at the girl who seemed about to say something, then turned and followed him inside. Wang Yanan, standing by the door, stamped her foot in frustration before turning to fetch the water. Then she saw her colleague Han Xuemei, smiled slightly, and took out a porcelain pot, put some tea leaves in it, and then stood behind Han Xuemei. While Han Xuemei was pouring water, she noticed Wang Yanan’s odd expression and curiously asked, "What’s wrong, Wang Yanan? You look odd." Wang Yanan sighed and said, "Guess who I ran into outside?" Han Xuemei, already thirty-seven, was well past the age of curiosity for everything, so she laughed instead, "What, did you see a ghost?" Wang Yanan, finding Han Xuemei unresponsive, had no choice but to say, "I saw the new director." Han Xuemei then also paused, frowning. At this moment, Zhang Dahu, who had also entered after changing clothes, heard Wang Yanan’s words, his eyes widened and he rushed forward, gossipingly asking, "Yanan, who did you see? Where? What do they look like? Are they pretty?" When Wang Yanan heard this, her face immediately darkened, and she retorted, "Zhang Dahu, you lecher, this is a bank, how can you even say that, don’t you have any decency?" Zhang Dahu, seeing Wang Yanan angry, cautiously put on a smile, "Oh, I just thought they couldn’t be prettier than you, that’s why I asked." Upon hearing this, Wang Yanan’s face slightly reddened, to claim she was prettier felt somewhat false, the woman had very fair skin and was dressed beautifully, clearly from Provincial City, especially her hair, which was curled, probably what her aunt mentioned about permed hair, hmph, if she permed her hair she would definitely be prettier than that woman. Seeing Wang Yanan’s expression, Zhang Dahu immediately knew that the woman must be prettier but did not expose it, instead continuing to ask, "What, you know her?" Wang Yanan hesitated, unable to disclose that Li Xianglu was Secretary Qin’s wife, she couldn’t spread it around. However, Wang Yanan still couldn’t believe that Li Xianglu could be a director; they had originally promoted Han Xuemei, but the appointment wasn’t approved, and someone was directly sent from above, which made Han Xuemei quite unhappy for a long time. So, after pouring the water, Wang Yanan deliberately said, "That woman’s quite young, looks just over twenty, who knows if it’s family connections that got her the director position." Saying this, she glanced at Han Xuemei whose expression subtly changed, her lips curling into a smirk as she left. Over there, Wang Yanan knocked on the door, then heard the president saying ’come in.’ When Wang Yanan entered, she saw Li Xianglu sitting opposite the president filling out some documents. She set down the cup and saw Li Xianglu writing down the marriage date, and momentarily paused, "Married for over five years, this woman is already 24, wow, really doesn’t look it." Seeing the president looking over at her, Wang Yanan stood straight and quietly exited. Just as she got outside, it was about time, and she went to the counter. The bank security opened the gate, and then about a dozen people who had been queuing outside came in. Everyone lined up orderly, and then began their transactions. An hour later, when the deposits and withdrawals were almost done, a man with a big beard came in. He wore a flashy green and colorful short-sleeved shirt, carried a camera, and held a bill and a small book in his hand. This man’s light coffee-colored hair, although wearing sunglasses, his body hair and odor immediately revealed he wasn’t from this country. He babbled a bunch to the security guard who, seeing he had a remittance slip, promptly pointed towards the counter. The foreign man’s eyes lit up and he quickly reached the counter, glanced at Han Xuemei and thought she looked a bit old, probably didn’t speak foreign languages, so he chose the youngest, Wang Yanan, but it was tough for Wang Yanan. The foreign man babbled on, and Wang Yanan stood up, the two gesturing back and forth, almost completely talking past each other. After about seven or eight minutes of talking, Wang Yanan still hadn’t understood, while the foreigner grew increasingly frustrated given he was completely out of money and urgently needed to withdraw some, his voice grew louder, clearly upset. Just then Li Xianglu and the president came out and heard the foreigner loudly complaining, "This is China Bank, and there’s no one who speaks English, how can you serve customers, I’ve had enough!" Saying so, he slapped the counter with some anger. The security guard moved to step forward, while Wang Yanan, unaware of the situation, thinking the foreigner might strike, instinctively backed away. Li Xianglu frowned and stepped forward to say, "Sir, may I ask how can I assist you?" The foreigner was about to give up but then heard a heavenly voice, his face immediately brightened with an excited smile, and he made a praying gesture with his right hand across his chest and forehead, gratefully saying, "God bless, finally someone who understands English." Li Xianglu’s face didn’t ease up as she calmly said, "I believe before thanking God, sir, you ought to apologize to our staff; your actions were too abrupt, our security personnel almost thought you were robbing the bank." The foreigner, hearing this, his expression startled, immediately politely apologized to the security guard and Wang Yanan. Wang Yanan, although not understanding the full sentence, still recognized the word sorry, clearly Li Xianglu had said something in gibberish, and that’s why the foreigner apologized, her face then showing a complex expression. The bank manager knew a bit of English, seeing this also smiled, it seemed the new girl was patriotic and protective of her colleagues. Quickly, under Li Xianglu’s guidance, the transaction was completed, the foreigner withdrew his money, happily thanking everyone extensively before leaving, even blowing a kiss towards Li Xianglu.