I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 213: Those Items Are Not Circulating in the Market

At around three in the afternoon, when a bus she was responsible for broke down, they switched to another one. There was no need for her to sell tickets; passengers were simply brought directly to the Provincial City, and they paid upon disembarkation with their tickets in hand. Shen Meng was overjoyed, growing even more appreciative of her job. It wasn’t just easy, but it also allowed her to get off work early from time to time.

Such positions, if popularized in modern times, would surely attract throngs and throngs of civil service exam candidates.

Finding a secluded spot, she entered her dimension and sorted out a bag full of gifts, then rode her bicycle to the food processing factory. The food processing factory wasn’t doing so well this year. Not to mention earning foreign currency, they even struggled to sell their products to the local Cooperative Society, and it often took a long time to sell out. The best-selling item was the egg sponge cake, and sometimes, when people bought it, they would even find eggshells in it!

This was an issue that couldn’t be helped. With grains being hard to come by, they had a shortage of fine grains, which meant they couldn’t make tasty products even if they wanted to. Although the food processing factory had limited ingredients, she had plenty, and not just that—she had an abundance.

The elderly gatekeeper burst into a smile upon seeing Shen Meng, greeting her warmly. After all, she was wearing her public transportation company uniform, a fellow holder of an "iron rice bowl" job, so naturally, he was very polite.

"Which young lady are you looking for?"

"Grandpa, I’m looking for Director Kong from the procurement department. You must be tired, so have an apple to refresh yourself."

The apple was big and red, and it looked incredibly fresh, nothing like the small, green ones he got at home. Without any customary hesitation, he took it eagerly.

"Oh my, thank you, miss! Young ladies with kind hearts like yours are really rare nowadays. So, Director Kong’s office is on the second floor of the office building, the third room. Go ahead and look for her. Come back more often in the future, I find you very likable."

Shen Meng: "..."

She was used to initiating conversations with this level of shamelessness, but you, Grandpa, are truly shameless, not afraid to go all out.

Finally, encountering a kindred spirit, Shen Meng pulled out two cigarettes from her pocket and gave them to the old man.

"Grandpa, I’ll come by often. Take these to smoke, and if you like them, I’ll bring you a couple more next time!"

"That’s great to hear. It’s chilly out, hurry inside, miss. If you can’t find the place, come back to me, and I’ll show you the way for sure."

Shen Meng nodded, murmuring, "You could lead the way now; no one’s stopping you."

It was unclear if the old man heard her or not, he didn’t say a word but just smiled kindly at Shen Meng, who suddenly felt like she had met her match.

Kong Wenhui slumped in her chair, somewhat dumbfounded. The factory was planning to develop new products, which would consume oil, sugar, and fine grains. Oil and sugar they could eventually procure, but fine grains—where was she supposed to find those? To hell with new products, even the existing ones needed improvement. And they still dreamed of developing something new—it was pure fantasy, wishful thinking, a pipe dream, like playing the lute to a cow...

There were only so many idioms she could think of, and Kong Wenhui no longer aspired to appear cultured, beginning to curse the factory director’s mother under her breath.

"Knock, knock, knock... Knock, knock, knock..." freēnovelkiss.com

"Who is it? The door isn’t locked, just come in. Knock, knock, knock, rushing me to my death... Xiao Meng, Xiao Meng, why are you here?"

Kong Wenhui was a bit flushed; she hadn’t expected the visitor to be Shen Meng. She had just lost her temper at her, which really wasn’t right.

"Xiao Meng, please don’t take it to heart. I wasn’t angry at you just now. Have a seat. Are you cold? Let me get you some hot water."

Shen Meng rubbed her hands together, placed the bag she was carrying on the floor, and stomped her feet, saying, "It is quite cold, thank you, sister. I rode my bike here and forgot to bring gloves, so my hands are a bit frozen. It’s just right to warm them up."

Kong Wenhui looked at Shen Meng’s slightly red hands with a touch of concern on her face.

"Oh dear, be careful when you go out. It’s not spring yet, and it’s really cold in the morning and evening. By the way, Xiao Meng, why did you come to see me?"

"This is the situation, Sister Kong. Today, Comrade Hu Biao happened to go to the bus company to find me and mentioned something to me. He thinks Shihao is a promising young man and suggests that he should try to get a driving license. That way he could drive a truck in the textile factory in the future. But since he has just started working, it might take some time before he can move over. Ultimately, it’s up to his own wishes."

Upon hearing this, Kong Wenhui leapt to her feet. A driver was in high demand. With a driving license, one would never be out of a job. She looked at Shen Meng, almost wanting to rush over and hug her, full of excitement. She knew that her son’s smooth sailing at the textile factory was all thanks to Shen Meng. If she hadn’t brought her son to the factory manager’s house, how could he have caught their favorable attention?

"Sis, if Shihao ends up with a bright future, it’s all thanks to your help. Our whole family doesn’t know how to thank you."

"Sister Kong, you call me ’sis’, so of course, I’ll look out for Shihao. It was Xiao Bin who first mentioned it, and I thought to pass the idea to Comrade Hu Biao. He happened to see the two young men working hard and diligently at the factory, and that impressed him."

"There’s no need to say anything more, sis. If there’s ever anything you need that I can help with, just say the word. I won’t hesitate to assist."

Shen Meng smiled and placed the water cup on the table, then picked up the bag from the floor and began taking things out.

"Sister Kong, these are homemade snacks made by my sister-in-law. She made too many and I can’t finish them all, so I brought some for you to try. There’s also some fruit; Qianqian gave them to me. I’ve been accumulating quite a bit these past few days, all gifts from Qianqian’s friends from the north. You know, the north is really better; they have more fruits and grains. The grains we use for making snacks, they’re all from Qianqian providing them... Ah, why am I even talking about this? Sister Kong, keep them to eat. Remember to ask Shihao tonight whether he wants to learn to drive, okay?"

Shen Meng placed the items on the table and tidied up her bag, ready to leave. Just as she turned around, Kong Wenhui grabbed her hand.

"Xiao Meng, Xiao Meng, you just mentioned Qianqian has friends in the north, grains, and fruits, what do you mean by that? Explain it clearly to me, sis. Aww, don’t be scared. It’s a matter of life and death. The reason I was in a bad mood just now is that the subsidiary food factory is lacking materials. We are short of fine grains and coarse grains; we’re only given a fixed monthly quota, and the factory’s goods aren’t selling for good prices. With the Lantern Festival coming up soon, and there are quite a few festivals after that, that’s when the subsidiary food factories make most of their money. We are lacking grains, sis."

Shen Meng hesitated for a moment and then said, "It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, sis, but these grains aren’t circulating in the market. Would your factory dare to take them?"

Kong Wenhui’s breath caught, and she paced around the office twice, her gaze inadvertently falling on the snacks and fruits on the table. The snacks looked exquisite, and the fruit was very fresh; she could even smell the fragrance of the fruits and the scent of the earth.

"Here’s the thing, Xiao Meng, wait here for me a moment. I’m going to pay a visit to the factory manager, make sure to wait for me, okay!"