Title: How to Thrive in the Sixties
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 71 - Gaining glory by association (3)
Her female co-workers specially came over to discuss her published article.
"You spend all day weaving cloth with us. When did you have the time to learn how to write articles and even get it published? Why don't we have that ability?" There was admiration and envy in her voice.
Su Yu said with a smile, "It's nothing unusual. You might be able to do it too if you give it a try. I was just giving it a try too. It's also because society is good now. Otherwise, how could people like us have the chance to have our articles be published in newspapers? Back then, even if you wrote a beautiful article, no one would look at it. I don't have any other ideas. I just want to honestly work. My work won't finish itself just because my article got published."
These people originally had an estrangement towards Su Yu because of her publication, but they now felt she was a worker just like them and that they were in the same social circle. And so, they started sharing gossip and laughing together. No one brought up Su Yu's matter as a topic.
Nonetheless, there were people that planned to talk to their children about learning to write articles and get them published. If Su Yu could get her article published, then surely their children, who were in school, could do the same.
Seeing that everyone's attitude had returned to normal, Su Yu was in a better mood. As a good comrade, how could she break away from the common people and be estranged from her dear working class brothers and sisters? Even after she changed jobs, she still had to keep her foundation with these front-line workers.
Sigh. She didn't know if this was enough. If this didn't work, she could only wait until after November when she got her certificate of completion to participate in the factory recruitment.
—
At the moment, Publicity Committee Member Hu was applying with Chairman Sun to get Su Yu a position in the trade union as her assistant. There were a lot of publicity activities to do for the factory newspaper and outside the factory as well. There were only two officers in the trade union, and they weren't much help to her in this regard. She was quite satisfied with Su Yu's newspaper article.
"Her handwriting is good, and she can write articles. Most importantly, she grasps the important points. I saw her article, and her main idea was very accurate. The goal of the publicity department is to capture ideas. Su Yu is very suitable."
Chairman Sun was a man in his late 50's. He seldom paid attention to the affairs of female workers. His job was to mainly communicate with the upper level of the trade union, so he wasn't familiar with Su Yu.
After hearing Publicity Committee Member Hu's request, he read the articles written by Su Yu.
"She…" Chairman Sun trailed off.
Publicity Committee Member Hu asked, "Chairman Sun, what do you think of her?"
"She either has a natural gift for this, or she's clever."
As a person well-acquainted with the ways of the world, Chairman Sun quickly saw how Su Yu was able to get her articles published. Her first article got published in the factory newspaper because she praised the factory. The second time, it got published in the provincial newspapers because she effusively praised the motherland, society, and the Chairman.
These articles hit just the right spot.
"I've met her. She's an honest person," Publicity Committee Member Hu said with certainty, "If she's clever, she wouldn't have been a textile worker for over ten years. If it wasn't because she was helped by the trade union when she fainted last time and felt the warmth of her fellow comrades, her ideological level wouldn't have made such a qualitative leap."
Chairman Sun carefully read the article, "Then she has a natural gift for this, but her education isn't high enough. The factory has rules."
"I asked Administrative Assistant Gao. He said that she's doing well on tests, even Su Yu's teacher said it won't be a problem for Su Yu to graduate early. She'll fulfill the education requirement sooner or later, Publicity Committee Member Hu resolutely said.
Anyways, they had to fill this position. It was better to find someone that she was familiar with. At the very least, she knew Su Yu's bottom line, character, and ability. Su Yu's excellent handwriting alone was enough to save her a lot of effort.
Chairman Sun had nothing left to say. "Alright then, you can go through the procedures with the HR department in the factory committee and have an interview with her."
Translator Ramblings: "She either has a natural gift for this, or she's clever." I translated the author's words, but I think the wording lacks clarity. Or maybe, it's intentional because the director doesn't want to be too explicit. He's questioning if these are her genuine thoughts or if she's clever enough to write disingenuous praises in order to get her articles published.
Either way, I like the idea that not everyone falls for Su Yu's rhetoric. We'll see more of Chairman Sun in later chapters.