Title: Su Yu’s Promotion Record in the ‘60s
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 22 - I want to be a brick and go where I'm needed (2)
The comrades of the trade union beamed after hearing that Su Yu came here to thank them. People in their positions wanted the acknowledgement of workers. Only in this way can they see the value of their work.
The committee member for the production department was a woman in her 40's. After knowing that Su Yu was from the production department, Committee Member Zhang was the first to smile. "You're too polite. Why write a thank you letter? It's the duty of the trade union to help the workers. It's what we should do. We're all brothers and sisters of the working class. We're all in this together."
Su Yu was immediately moved to tears. She handed the thank you letter to Committee Member Zhang. Committee Member Zhang was the one usually responsible for the production department, so Su Yu recognized this strong and straightforward person from the original owner's memory.
She gratefully said, "Our department's duty is production. When we do well, the factory will praise us. When the comrades from the trade union have done well, we have to express our appreciation too. This time, it's all thanks to Comrade Yan Xiaofang. She took care of me and consoled me when I was in the hospital. Her consoling words enlightened and encouraged me. In the future, I must be a useful person to the work unit and actively progress like the comrades in the trade union."
Her words praised the people in the trade union to the skies. Committee Member Zhang couldn't stop the growing smile on her face. When she opened Su Yu's letter, she saw the excellent and powerful handwriting.
"Oh, did you write this yourself?" Committee Member Zhang asked in surprise.
It wasn't easy for women to write so well. Moreover, this handwriting looked even stronger than her male coworkers'.
Seeing Committee Member Zhang's reaction, Su Yu knew that her hard work in writing this letter hadn't been in vain. In a slightly shy voice, she said, "I wrote out each stroke. I haven't read many books and can't write well."
"What's wrong with it? It's simply too good." Committee Member Zhang showed the thank you letter to the others.
Publicity Committee Member Hu pushed up her glasses and praised, "It's written well. Her handwriting is better than mine." She was usually responsible for the trade union's publicity work, and the first thing she would take notice of was handwriting.
Su Yu quickly waved her hand. "You're too kind."
Yan Xiaofang enviously asked, "How did you practice?" She had thought her handwriting was delicate, but after seeing Su Yu's handwriting, she would feel embarrassed to put their handwriting side by side.
Su Yu shyly said, "I didn't have the chance to stay in school, but I didn't want to give up on learning. When I have free time, I copy what's written in copybooks. After a long time of doing this, my handwriting naturally became like this."
That was nonsense of course. She had strict requirements of herself. Even though she used a computer to type everything out, as the boss of a company, she had to write corrections and criticisms. She was a strong person and wasn't willing to be worse than others. She persisted in spending half an hour every day practicing her handwriting. She had put in a lot of effort in her handwriting when writing this letter.
As for the difference between her handwriting and the original owner, Su Yu wasn't worried that someone would expose her. Anyways, the original owner had been busy at home and at her job with textile work these past years. She hadn't left behind any handwriting in front of outsiders. Even when she was receiving her salary, she only left her fingerprint instead of her name.
Hearing Su Yu's words, everyone else looked at her too. The old veterans in the factory knew about the Su's family affairs. They knew that Su Yu had dropped out of school for her family.
In the past years, she hadn't shown any special performance, so no one thought her dropping out was a pity. But now, they saw that she had been delayed. With such a mind and such good handwriting, she would have definitely been an excellent student.
Yan Xiaofang couldn't admire Su Yu more. Comrade Su Yu was a front-line worker and was able to practice good handwriting. She sat in an office all day, but her handwriting was just a bit delicate.
Committee Member Zhang took another look at Su Yu's thank you letter. Su Yu's writing was orderly and clear, and she would use current inspirational language from time to time. Even she felt fired up after reading Su Yu's thank you letter.
"Comrade Su Yu, your thank you letter involves other departments. I suggest that we publish it," Publicity Committee Member Hu said.
Su Yu asked with embarrassment, "Is that okay?"
Translator Ramblings: I like the details that the author gives us of Su Yu. We're not told that she naturally has good handwriting or an aesthetic appreciation for good handwriting. Instead, it's her desire to be the best that pushes her to practice handwriting 30 minutes a day.