To please others? It's better to please yourself.

Besides the money given to her by her mother, Xu Jing'an only had 4 cents of her own savings, or more precisely, 3 cents.

She could only eat lunch at school by taking the bus; eating out required tickets. Xu Jing'an had neither tickets nor money.

While the students were still in get out of class and the cafeteria was less crowded, I quickly got my meal ticket, ate, and then rushed back to the No. 1 State-owned Cotton Mill.

Through the car window, I could see a light snowfall outside. Even sitting in the car, I could hear the sparse sound of snow hitting the windowpane.

Xu Jing'an stretched her hand out the window; the whistling cold wind carried moisture. The snowflakes were the size of grains of salt, and at first they tickled her hand. But they were so small that they melted into water as soon as they landed, wetting the ground.

The already old bus is now being driven even slower by the driver! It's making a lot of whirring noises and is barely faster than an oxcart.

Before Xu Jing'an came to this era, she never knew that she would hate winter. Especially snowy winters.

Summer can be endured in a little while, but winter feels so long!

The wind seemed to penetrate her very bones, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Even when she tried her best to hunch her neck, the cold wind still managed to seep directly into her neck.

Xu Jing'an, who once memorized poems about snow and read articles describing the beauty of winter, can't remember anything now.

As soon as she arrived at the factory gate, she saw Hao Meimei standing by the wall outside the factory, stamping her feet incessantly.

"Comrade Hao, have you been waiting long?" Xu Jing'an asked hurriedly. She didn't have a watch and didn't know the exact time, and she was afraid of being late and making the other person wait.

"No, I'm just anxious." Hao Meimei asked anxiously, "What's your decision now? If you haven't changed your mind, come with me to find my uncle. The factory workers will be leaving soon, and there will be more people then."

"Okay, let's go. This isn't the place to talk." Xu Jing'an glanced at Hao Meimei, whose head was soaked, and nodded in agreement without saying anything more.

It was cold, and white steam billowed from their mouths as soon as they opened them.

The fact that she can appear in front of Hao Meimei now means that there won't be any further changes in this matter.

Hao Meimei pulled Xu Jing'an along, avoiding people, and hurried into Hao Weiguo's office.

As soon as Xu Jing'an entered, she saw a middle-aged couple. They both looked to be under fifty and were wearing dark blue work uniforms. They were also plump and clearly belonged to the same family as Hao Meimei.

Lunchtime is limited, and no one is idle.

Hao Meimei's parents asked directly, "Girl, since you've come, you must have made up your mind. We really do want this job."

"We won't say much else. Here's 500 yuan, plus a watch coupon, 30 industrial coupons, and 2 jin of cotton coupons. Is that alright?"

"These receipts have long maturities, expiring at the end of next year. This is a token of our family's sincerity!"

It goes without saying that the couple was taking care of her. After all, anyone with eyes could see that she was having a hard time. (She wore a thin, old cotton coat, a patched-up overcoat, had dry, yellow hair, and was quite small.)

Xu Jing'an was overjoyed. She gave Director Hao the price for the job and let them place the order. Even though she knew they wouldn't shortchange her, she hadn't expected them to give so much.

This price is more than it should be, based on current market prices! Xu Jing'an was about to nod in agreement.

"I'll give you an extra 20 feet of cloth coupons. When the list is announced, I'll just write Hao Meimei's name on it," Hao Weiguo said frankly.

"Don't mention what happened today again once you leave this door!" Do things cleanly; nobody wants to leave any evidence against them!

Xu Jing'an answered without the slightest hesitation: "Don't worry, I'll forget everything as soon as I leave this room. However, Director Hao, my exam paper today..."

The meaning behind her words was self-evident.

Hao Weiguo nodded in understanding. He got up, found the test paper that Xu Jing'an had done that morning, and burned it; he also tore off the household registration list originally registered by Wang Shunfeng, Chen Yuanyuan, and Xu Jing'an, burned it, and made a new copy.

However, Xu Jing'an is not on this new list.

Xu Jing'an finally felt relieved. After all, Duoduo was the female lead, and who could say for sure about the "female lead halo"? Erasing the traces cleanly would reduce a lot of trouble.

Moreover, she works in the same unit as Duoduo, which can be considered the female lead's home turf.

Xu Jing'an accepted the money and the transaction was completed.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she grabbed Hao Meimei, who was about to see her off, and said, "Meimei, I need to go to the restroom."

Hao Meimei thought for a moment and then led Xu Jing'an to the restroom in the government building. This restroom was for the leaders; it was clean and there were few people around at lunchtime.

Xu Jing'an went into the restroom and looked around; luckily, no one was there.

So she quickly took her underwear out of the bag she was carrying, then put the money and tickets into her inner pocket and sewed it up with a needle and thread.

Finally, take off the cotton-padded trousers, put the underwear containing the money over the underwear you are currently wearing, and then put the cotton-padded trousers back on.

The thread was also used up, so I stuck the needle into the corner of the cotton coat.

When she finished packing, she was shivering from the cold. Without lingering, she rushed out because Hao Meimei was still waiting for her outside.

Although Hao Meimei had been waiting outside for a while, she didn't say anything, but simply saw her out through the side door.

Most of the time, it's the leaders who pass through this gate, because it's closer to the staff quarters. It's not yet closing time, so nobody's walking through here.

There was a bus stop right outside the residential compound. She could take the bus directly to school without having to take a long detour.

This time, I spent my last penny. Just as I arrived at the classroom, the bell rang.

The teacher strode into the classroom, and Xu Jing'an took out the books she needed for class and listened attentively to the teacher's lecture.

As soon as I got home in the afternoon, I saw Xu's mother.

Xu Jing'an asked obediently, "Mom, why are you home so early today?"

"Don't even mention it. There was pork and seafood available this morning, but I sprained my ankle while we were squeezing through the crowds, which forced me to take a day off." Xu's mother was furious whenever she mentioned it, which was why Xu Jing'an didn't dare go home during the day.

"Did you buy the items?"

"I bought it," Xu Jing'an said. Before she could finish speaking, her mother had already picked up her schoolbag and started rummaging through it.

Upon opening it, I found that the navy blue fabric was very thick. Although it was described as a flawed fabric, it only had a few small white spots that did not affect its use. If you pay attention when cutting, you can't even tell.

Then he took out his household registration book, the receipt for the cloth, and the remaining money from his bag.

Xu Jing'an pursed her lips, remaining silent. What was she supposed to say? Was she going to tell parents to respect their children and their right to privacy?

What a joke! If you say that, Xu's mother will teach you a lesson with a slap!

Next came Xu's mother's monthly bookkeeping activity.

Xu Jing'an started preparing dinner again.