Chapter 29: A Splitting Headache, Exhausting and Draining

Jiang Qin smiled at the three of them after finishing her remarks and walked away. As a chairman known for her integrity and composure, her decision to treat everyone equally despite knowing she was being targeted was truly a model of leadership. Tian Xiang couldn't help but admire her silently.

Once Jiang Qin left, Li Huai cleared his throat and began to speak as well, primarily to arrange their upcoming work. The Internal Affairs Department originally had two staff members. One was Feng Rui, a man in his fifties with black-rimmed glasses, whom everyone called "Teacher Feng" because he had been a teacher in his youth. The other was Qu Yingchun, a woman in her forties wearing a blue pointed-collar jacket, whom the younger staff in various departments addressed as "Auntie Qu."

The initial plan had been for the veterans to mentor the newcomers, one-on-one. However, since there were now three new recruits, Li Huai thought for a moment and assigned the two women to work with Auntie Qu, while Chen Yong was assigned to work with Teacher Feng.

Tian Xiang was ready to follow any work arrangements without complaint. Chen Yong, however, spoke up: "Director Li, a mix of men and women makes the work less tiring. Teacher Feng and I are both grown men, and we might have trouble handling certain issues that arise between women. Why don't you let Tian Xiang come over to our group instead?"

So her name was Tian Xiang! What a lovely name. Tian Xiang—sweet and fragrant. As he spoke, Chen Yong’s expression was filled with anticipation and a touch of shyness.

Li Huai chuckled. "According to your logic, your group would have a balance of men and women, but then the other group would be left with only women. How do you propose we handle that?" Li Huai had been young once too, and he could see through Chen Yong’s intentions at a glance. He did not want Chen Yong hitting on the female staff during work hours and had no intention of entertaining his unreasonable request.

To everyone's surprise, Tao Huilan chimed in: "Director, just do as Chen Yong suggests. We’re in a trial period, and we’re all competitors. I don’t want to use my own resources to mentor someone from the outside."

Well, that was a blatant display of disdain. Tian Xiang also had something to say: "Director Li, while I would very much like to follow the organization's arrangements, since someone is engaging in regional discrimination and questioning my professional ability, I have no choice. I hope the director can assign me to a separate group so that my contributions aren't claimed by others."

Li Huai felt a headache coming on. What was wrong with this batch of recruits? One was a lovesick fool only interested in a pretty face, and another was a conceited factory brat who looked down on everyone. Even the only one who seemed decent had a fiery temper!

Li Huai rubbed his temples and said to Tian Xiang, "You're new and unfamiliar with the work; you need someone to guide you. Why don't you work with Teacher Feng for a couple of days, and I’ll find a way to bring you into the fold later."

Li Huai was a busy director who had to attend meetings and coordinate with the factory management from time to time. But he had no other choice now. *Sigh, how troublesome!*

Tian Xiang nodded and went over to Chen Yong's group, though she stood a bit further away, clearly wanting to keep her distance from him. Chen Yong didn't seem to mind at all; in fact, he was secretly pleased.

With the three newcomers assigned, Li Huai laid out the specific implementation methods and criteria for the evaluation to ensure fairness and impartiality.

"Internal employee voting?" Tian Xiang asked.

Li Huai nodded. "After two months, we will hold a performance review. Whether you stay or go will be decided by a vote of the entire factory union. Therefore, you should all keep detailed records of your work during these two months so that you have achievements to present during the review and can secure more votes for yourselves."

This sounded fair and beyond reproach. Yet, Tian Xiang felt this method worked against her. While voting appeared democratic, it was also heavily influenced by personal interests and social connections. People always have their own biases when deciding whether to vote for a stranger or someone they know well, provided their own interests aren't at stake. Tao Huilan and Chen Yong were both "factory kids"—children of current employees—and their advantage was obvious.

Therefore, she realized she couldn't just do her job well; she also had to cultivate good relationships with her colleagues over the next two months to ensure they wouldn't be biased due to her outsider status. Tian Xiang made a silent resolution: she was going to have a very busy time ahead.

Once the work was settled, Li Huai dismissed them. The Internal Affairs Department spent most of its time running errands outside, with very little time for sitting in the office drinking tea or reading newspapers.

Feng Rui instructed the two newcomers to bring their work notebooks and led them around the factory committee and the factory floor to introduce them to people. Afterward, they went to the residential compound to help a retired grandmother fix her front gate.

Both Chen Yong and Tian Xiang were confused—was this part of their job too?

Feng Rui adjusted his glasses. "Internal affairs involve both work and life. The old woman's door is broken, so that's part of her life." Of course, the main reason was that the grandmother lived alone and her children and grandchildren were not around, leaving her with no choice but to turn to them.

Tian Xiang and Chen Yong fixed the door together. Later, Feng Rui was cornered by an older woman who asked if he had found a match for her son, her eyes darting toward Tian Xiang the whole time. Tian Xiang thought to herself, *So we even have to play matchmaker?*

Feng Rui explained that resolving the personal matters of the factory’s older unmarried employees was indeed one of their duties. However, the situation with the woman’s son was rather unique, so Feng Rui gave polite, noncommittal answers, essentially brushing her off without taking it seriously.

Tian Xiang felt a spark of interest. She took out her notebook, asked for details about the woman’s son, and promised to keep an eye out for him. With the prospect of a daughter-in-law finally in sight, the woman thanked Tian Xiang profusely. "New little clerk, you must remember, okay?"

Tian Xiang nodded. After wrapping up there, the three of them went to handle a dispute involving a dog stealing food. The neighborhood committee had already tried to mediate but failed, so they had called in the factory union. After all, the neighborhood committee was a grassroots organization, while the factory union was a formal institution. In these times, people had a strong sense of organizational discipline, and the words of a formal unit carried significant weight.

Throughout the morning, Feng Rui led them around, but other than fixing the door, there was little tangible work to record. Yet, these tasks—stagnant and unproductive as they were—left the three of them exhausted. Tian Xiang finally understood why Teacher Feng was so bald at only fifty.

Returning to the office at noon, Feng Rui took the two newcomers to the cafeteria. He mainly brought Tian Xiang, as Chen Yong, being a factory kid, was already a regular there. To eat, one had to exchange money at the window for meal tickets in denominations of one jiao or five fen. These were personal expenses, and meal subsidies would be issued with their salaries later.

The factory cafeteria was significantly cheaper than outside restaurants. A monthly food budget of six to eight yuan was enough to eat well, including meat twice a week. Aside from the standard communal dishes, there was a restaurant on the second floor where one could order dishes à la carte for an extra cost.

When Tian Xiang left home in the morning, Hu Honglian had given her five yuan, telling her to eat whatever she wanted and not to skimp, as she was still growing. Tian Xiang exchanged three yuan worth of tickets at once. For her first meal, she ordered braised eggplant with green beans to go with the hard-boiled egg Hu Honglian had packed for her.

Just as she finished getting her food, she saw Chen Yong waving at her from nearby. He had already saved two seats. Tian Xiang had no desire to sit with that lovesick fool. She scanned the cafeteria, which could hold five or six hundred people, and spotted Meng Cheng'an.