She led Wang Ying around the small cafeteria. “See? This one only has a single service window facing outward. There’s nowhere to sit and eat—you take your food and find a place yourself. Originally, the factory opened this window for people working overtime, and it’s open at night too. It’s not busy now, but next month you’ll understand. That’ll be peak season. The factory runs nonstop—people stop, machines don’t. Night shift workers who miss the main cafeteria come here to grab a couple of buns to fill their stomachs.”
Wang Ying peered through the service window. “Is the food here good?”
Zhang Na thought for a moment. “Sometimes good, sometimes not. I’ve eaten here a few times—it was average. But some colleagues say you occasionally get something tasty. The fried rice cakes in winter are good though—sweet and best eaten hot.”
Wang Ying swallowed. “I hope winter comes soon.”
“Right? I love winter too. In winter, we eat hot tofu soup and roasted sweet potatoes. My mom puts the sweet potatoes on the stove. Last year we bought a stove with a little door compartment—you put the sweet potatoes inside, and when they’re done, the outside isn’t blackened. The best part is the firm layer just under the skin. For tofu soup, we use a copper basin heated underneath, add some vegetables, and my aunt mails us mushroom oil—we drizzle a bit in and dip freshly made hot tofu in it. It’s so good…”
Wang Ying listened to Zhang Na chatter away, occasionally adding a comment. Without even talking about family gossip, the two still managed to chat enthusiastically.
By the time they saw the infirmary building ahead, Zhang Na was still reluctant to stop.
Wang Ying suddenly remembered something. “Oh right—how did you buy your stove?”
After hearing about the stove with the little door compartment, she wanted one too.
It would be convenient for roasting corn and sweet potatoes in winter.
“You need a ration ticket to buy a stove. You can ask around the office later to see if anyone has extra. If you can’t trade for one, wait until next month and apply through logistics. That kind of ticket isn’t tight; you should be able to get it.”
Wang Ying nodded, about to say something else—when she noticed a crowd gathered at the infirmary entrance.
Seeing Wang Ying and Zhang Na approach, everyone looked relieved.
“Zhang Na, you’re finally back! Did you bring the key?”
They didn’t ask Wang Ying. Obviously, it was her first day—she wouldn’t have a key yet.
Zhang Na shook her head. “I didn’t bring it.”
When she heard the music at noon, she had grabbed Wang Ying and run off—no time to think about keys.
It was already late October. Normally everyone wore thick coats, only taking them off at lunch. Especially those who went out to eat—most had removed their outer layers and were only in shirts or thin sweaters.
After standing outside for a while, they were all freezing.
Xiao Fei, the acne-faced one, grumbled, “Who left without bringing the key but still locked the door?”
He kicked the door angrily. He was dressed lightly—just a short-sleeved shirt. It hadn’t felt cold when he left, but now he was shivering like a quail.
The short, delicate-looking Xiao Zhou bristled. He and Xiao Fei had left one after the other—he had been the last one in the office. Who was Xiao Fei insinuating?
“I left right after you. The office was empty. It wasn’t me who locked the door.”
Wang Ying observed coolly. Because of Doctor Jiang’s prickly personality, it had seemed like the women were the troublesome ones. But now she saw that these two young men were also sharp-tongued, every sentence barbed.
Doctor Yang said calmly, “If no one brought the key, then go to logistics and get the spare.”
Wang Ying silently praised Doctor Yang. No wonder she was the head—the composure alone put her miles ahead.
Everyone was freezing like grandsons; what was the point of arguing about who locked the door? Get inside first.
Doctor Yang sent Zhang Na to logistics. Zhang Na trotted off cheerfully.
Only then did Wang Ying remember that Zhang Na had mentioned her mother worked in logistics. Tsk—if someone else had gone, it might not have been so easy to get the spare key.
Just then, Doctor Jiang returned.
She frowned at the cluster of shivering people. “Why are you blocking the way?”
Wang Ying thought: 666. Look at that—immediately complaining that others were in her way.
Wang Ying decided to give Doctor Jiang a nickname: Lighter.
Just a tiny spark and she’d flare up. When she couldn’t ignite, she’d just make that annoying clicking sound like a faulty lighter.
Doctor Yang said, “Xiao Jiang, good timing. Were you the last one to leave at noon?”
Lighter Jiang became even more displeased. “Hah. Everyone in our infirmary rushes off to eat the moment the broadcast plays. The most punctual things every day are lunch and clocking out, right? If I hadn’t stayed a while before leaving, would we have left the infirmary unattended at noon? What if a patient came? Were you planning to let them treat themselves?”
Doctor Yang’s expression darkened. She shot a glance at Doctor Zhao, who had just returned from lunch.
When Doctor Yang had arrived earlier, she had already asked about it. Today, it was clearly Doctor Zhao’s turn to be on duty at noon—he was supposed to eat half an hour later than everyone else. So how could Doctor Zhao have forgotten to bring the key? Doctor Zhao explained that he had only stepped out to use the restroom, which was why he forgot.
And now Doctor Jiang had exposed it in front of everyone.
Doctor Zhao had nothing to say, and Doctor Yang also lost the moral ground to criticize Doctor Jiang.
The door had indeed been locked by Doctor Jiang—but that was also because Doctor Zhao had neglected his duty.
Doctor Yang fell silent, yet Doctor Jiang continued, going on and on about how the infirmary staff lacked self-discipline and were overly eager to get off work.
As Wang Ying listened, she finally interjected.
“If you’re not eager to get off work, then there’s something wrong with your thinking.”
Discussing the issue was one thing—why criticize people for being eager to clock out?
Wang Ying thought to herself: If I wanted to grind myself to exhaustion, wouldn’t I go to a big hospital? I came here to take it easy.
Besides, there had been no patients at noon today. What was wrong with going to eat on time?
Doctor “Lighter” Jiang choked on Wang Ying’s remark. When she processed it, she exploded.
“What did you say?!”
Wang Ying looked at the top of her head and mused that if she really were a lighter, the flame would be shooting three feet high by now.
“I said, if you’re not eager to get off work, then there’s something wrong with your thinking.”
Lighter Jiang sputtered, “You—you—you, what nonsense are you talking about! We’re all factory workers. We should be thinking about how to dedicate everything to the factory! How can we fear hardship or fatigue? We should be diligent and conscientious, working seriously! Doctor Wang, since you just arrived today, let me make something clear. This is a factory, not the countryside where you used to be! What do you mean ‘not eager to get off work, there’s something wrong with your thinking’? That’s sophistry! That’s what’s truly wrong thinking!”
After she finished, Wang Ying clapped her hands lightly before replying, “Doctor Jiang, you’re absolutely right in principle. But let me correct a few points. You mentioned fearing hardship and fatigue. Is leaving work on time the same as fearing hardship? We treat and save lives. Isn’t our only standard doing our job well? It’s inappropriate to tie punctual lunch breaks to professional ability. By your logic, if we never clock out and never eat, just exhaust ourselves to the brink, that counts as being capable? As dedication to the factory? If you push yourself for a few days like that, forget treating patients—you probably won’t even be able to function yourself. As doctors, if we can’t maintain our own health, how can we shine when it’s needed?”
Doctor Jiang snapped, “You’re talking nonsense! Twisting concepts! You—you—you—you—you’re advocating restorationist thinking! Feudal dregs—”
Wang Ying cut in, “Doctor Jiang, stop slapping labels on people out of thin air. I haven’t even said anything about you yet. You think leaving work on time is wrong—doesn’t that mean you expect us to keep working endlessly? You accuse me of twisting concepts? I could just as well say you have capitalist thinking! Only capitalists would want to work laborers to death—wishing they’d live in the workshop and toil day and night without rest. Our factory has always claimed to put people first, hasn’t it? So why are you trying to go beyond the factory and enslave us?”
Jiang Lin’s chest ached from being cornered, especially at the phrase “capitalist thinking,” which pressed down on her hard.
She had never imagined that a rural doctor would not only fail to be intimidated by her rhetoric but would argue back so forcefully!
Forced into retreat, Jiang Lin threw out, “I’m not arguing with you anymore!” and stormed off.
Wang Ying shrugged. With that level of skill, and she dared to label others?
Just a flashy but useless little lighter.
With that exchange, Wang Ying stunned the entire infirmary.
Doctor Yang was shouting inwardly, What did I say? What did I say! Another formidable one!
Even Jiang Lin had been scared off after only a few sentences—just how capable was this girl?
When Zhang Na returned, she found everyone treating Wang Ying with newfound politeness.
“Wang Ying, the auntie in my mom’s office gave me some fried peanuts. Here, try some.”
Zhang Na sidled up to Wang Ying. Although she’d known Nurse Xiao Yang longer, she felt more in tune with Wang Ying.
Wang Ying could practically see the little wagging tail behind the girl and accepted them with a smile.
“So fragrant.”
Zhang Na beamed. “I tried one and thought it was delicious, though they’re a bit too dry. It would be even better with some dried chili peppers.”
Wang Ying added, “And the star anise flavor isn’t strong enough. A couple more pieces would make it better.”
Zhang Na nodded enthusiastically. “Mm! When I return the key later, I’ll tell the auntie to add more chili and star anise next time.”
The office staff looked at Wang Ying, who had just been firing off words like a machine gun, and now was speaking gently with Zhang Na.
Hmm…
Hard to read her.
Wang Ying spent a pleasant day at the infirmary. Until the end of the workday, Doctor Lighter didn’t return.
Before leaving, Doctor Yang hesitated before speaking to Wang Ying.
“Jiang Lin is the niece of our factory’s deputy director…”
Wang Ying looked puzzled. Just a niece—was that enough to act so arrogantly?
Doctor Yang added, “She was raised in the deputy director’s household.”
Wang Ying: …Got it. Treated like a daughter, right? The deputy director’s daughter—well, that did give her grounds for pride.
Wang Ying asked, “What department does the deputy director oversee?”
“Production.”
“Oh. So he doesn’t oversee the infirmary, right?”
Doctor Yang: ???
Wang Ying smiled. “Then that settles it.”
Even on her way home, Doctor Yang couldn’t quite figure it out. She had meant to subtly warn Wang Ying that Jiang Lin had a bad temper but solid backing. Yet in the end, Wang Ying’s firm reasoning made her see things differently.
Indeed—the infirmary didn’t fall under Deputy Director Jiang’s authority. He could arrange for his niece to be placed there, but that didn’t mean Jiang Lin could truly act like she ran the infirmary.
Doctor Yang decided to adjust the way she treated Jiang Lin.
Wang Ying packed up her things and prepared to leave work. She pushed her bicycle along with the flow of people heading out.
When she hadn’t been working, she hadn’t noticed it—but once she started, she realized that as soon as it was time to get off work, she felt hungry.
Her lunch had long since been digested. At this moment, Wang Ying felt so hungry her stomach was practically sticking to her back.
Zhang Na didn’t leave with Wang Ying. She lived in the sugar factory’s family housing compound. On the other side of the factory stood several six-story corridor-style apartment buildings. When housing was first distributed, there had still been existing private homes outside to assign. In recent years, however, the allocated housing had all been corridor buildings.
As soon as the workday ended, the crowd split into two streams—one heading out of the factory, the other toward the family housing compound.
Wang Ying walked out of the factory gates and was just about to mount her bicycle when—
Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
She rubbed her eyes, hardly believing it.
Wasn’t that person over there, wearing the security department uniform—
Zhao Jun?
