I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 214: Then I’ll Make the Effort to Make a Trip

Kong Wenhui came back without the items she had taken with her. Her face could barely conceal her excitement, and her hands were trembling. When Shen Meng looked up at her, she could see the muscles around her mouth twitching.

"Xiao Meng, our factory manager said he could specifically seek out... seek out that friend of yours to buy from. When could your friend have the goods ready?"

"Sister Kong, what are you talking about? Your factory manager, it’s not okay, I’m not familiar with that person. That person only knew through someone else that Qianqian was having her confinement period and wanted to send a gift to build a relationship, people from the Li family don’t even know him, all I did was hear it."

Kong Wenhui had just been preoccupied with settling her internal affairs and had forgotten to ask Shen Meng about the specifics. Now she had already mentioned it to the factory manager; if she couldn’t sort this out properly, how would she ever stay in the factory.

"Xiao Meng, you must help me out. If you manage to secure a batch of fine grains and ingredients, I’ll apply for a bonus for you, okay? Our subsidiary food factory didn’t perform well last year, and if this year turns out well, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to pay salaries."

Things are different now compared to before. Before, everyone was working their own small plot of land, but now goods circulate quickly and products produced in our county aren’t rare at all, even dirt clumps from outside are considered rare commodities.

Shen Meng gritted her teeth, "Sister, then I’ll go and ask around, but we must keep this a secret, especially from the Li family, and I won’t get involved in this, I don’t care about any bonus, just pretend I wasn’t here today, okay?"

"Okay, okay, you’re right. If Mr. Li’s family are all upright people, not only can they not know, but my family and my elder brother’s family can’t know either, otherwise they would definitely speak ill of me. Xiao Meng, I await your news, we can discuss the price."

"Okay, Sister Kong you go ahead and be busy. I’ll leave now and if I have any news, I’ll come directly to find you, but the price might be higher, you should be prepared for that."

Kong Wenhui nodded; it was obvious that if the grain was really good, the price would definitely be high.

As Shen Meng was about to leave, Kong Wenhui called out to her again.

"Xiao Meng, you said the pastries were made by your sister-in-law, could the formula be... Our factory manager thinks these pastries are well made and is thinking if they could be mass-produced, wouldn’t that allow more people to enjoy them?"

"Okay, I’ll ask my elder sister-in-law when I get back!"

Kong Wenhui escorted Shen Meng to the main door, waving vigorously at her back even after she was out of sight. The watchman at the gate immediately took the cigarette pinned to his ear down and quietly hid it in his pocket.

Soon it was time to leave work, and Shen Meng hurried to the intersection. Uncle Guai was tending to the ox cart, resting crouched on one side, and upon seeing Shen Meng, he quickly took out a water flask from a box under his seat.

"Xiao Meng, your Aunt made you some brown sugar ginger tea for dispelling cold. I’ve kept it wrapped in thick clothing in this box, it’s still warm!"

"Ah, thank you Uncle Guai, hehehe, Aunt is so kind. But my mother and I seem to have telepathy. With the Lantern Festival approaching, a friend from town brought me some stuff. We can’t finish it all at home, so I’ve packed up a bag in advance. Uncle, you put it in the box and share it with my Aunt and Xiangxiang later."

Uncle Guai hurriedly took it and looked around left and right.

"We can’t, you can’t finish it so let Xiao Bin take it back to your parents’ place, we don’t need it."

"Definitely needed, definitely needed, take these to eat. Look how much I have in this bag, I still need to give some to Jinghao. These things can’t be kept for too long, otherwise, they’ll go bad."

Uncle Guai still wanted to refuse, but Shen Meng quickly coughed twice, and as Uncle Guai turned his head, he saw Wu Xianglan running over with a cheerful smile, waving at them both.

He hurriedly put a bag of stuff into the box.

"Elder sister-in-law, Uncle Guai, have you been waiting long? It’s quite cold today, let’s get going!"

"Why rush? Mrs. Daya hasn’t arrived yet, let’s wait a bit!"

Wu Xianglan awkwardly smiled, and after hesitating for a moment, she took two apples out of the bag she was carrying.

"Elder sister-in-law, I just went to the Cooperative Society and bought a bag of apples. Take them home and cut them up for Mingyang and the others!"

Shen Meng smiled and took them directly, putting them in her bag. When Wu Xianglan opened her bag just now, she clearly saw brown sugar and shortbread inside, but only two slightly greenish-yellow apples were taken out.

"Xiang Lan, how’s work going for you? Are your colleagues treating you well?"

Wu Xianglan brightened up when this was mentioned; perhaps because Hu Biao had given her a heads up, or maybe it was because of the big handful of candies Shen Meng had left her, which made her exceptionally happy at the textile factory today. Working there was indeed different from earning work points by farming; it didn’t feel tiring at all.

"It couldn’t be bad. I used to think people in the city were very particular, but now I realize everyone is actually nice!"

"That’s good to hear. Get along well with everyone, work hard, and in a year or so, I’ll be able to speak to the management about making you a permanent employee. Being a permanent worker is different from a temporary one with benefits not to mention during festivals, and the salary alone is nearly half more than what temporary workers get. You really need to work hard as all these rely on connections and favors."

"Ah yes, elder sister-in-law, you see my memory... Oh, when I was at the Cooperative Society, I bought a pound of milk candies. Grab a handful and take them back for Mingyang and the others!"

As Shen Meng was told, she grabbed a handful but didn’t put them in her pocket. Instead, she gave a few to Uncle Guai and handed a few more in another direction. As Wu Xianglan turned around, she saw Shirley, who she didn’t realize had approached, standing behind her.

"My family doesn’t lack candies, but you ride with Uncle Guai’s vehicle every day and Mrs. Daya also works in the county. If I’m not around someday, or if I have to go out, you all need to support each other. Otherwise, if you run into any trouble in the county, it’d be tough to find someone to help."

Wu Xianglan’s heart skipped a beat, realizing her own foolishness; elder sister-in-law sure thought things through more comprehensively, wasn’t she right?

After all, Shirley works at the county hospital and knows a lot of capable people. Just mentioning she knows someone in the county hospital makes her co-workers envious. Everyone eats and may fall ill; if there’s any minor illness or issue, she could ask Shirley for help. If she could curry favor with her leaders, maybe she wouldn’t even need elder sister-in-law’s help to become permanent.

"Yes, elder sister-in-law is right. Shirley, you take these, we’re all from the same village and must support each other when needed. I’m easy to talk to; just call on me if there’s anything I can help with. Uncle Guai, when Xiangxiang gets married, I’ll add something nice to her dowry. Our relationship should be closer than with others!"

After Wu Xianglan finished speaking, she was very pleased with her performance, feeling more and more that she was truly grasping the essence of what her elder sister-in-law taught; her words were smooth and carried an air of authority.