Chapter 39: Showing Off

Hou San stared at him with his triangular, hooded eyes, his gaze filled with disbelief.

"You reek of tobacco, yet you tell me you don't smoke?!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Li Xiangdong's right hand, pointing at his nicotine-stained index and middle fingers. "If you aren't a chain-smoker, how did your fingers get so yellow? Do you think I'm stupid? Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?"

Hou San gestured to himself as he spoke.

*Oh, brother.*

Li Xiangdong hadn't expected this. Hou San might look a bit simple-minded, but he had a spark of cunning in that head of his.

He shook off Hou San’s hand and said, "If you want a smoke, go ask your father and your second uncle. They already cleaned me out."

"Hehehehe."

Hou San grinned broadly. "Dongzi, you’re something else. It’s your first day on the job, and you’ve already struck up a rapport with my second uncle."

Li Xiangdong didn't overthink it. He nodded and said, "Yeah, met them this morning."

"Dongzi, you’d better keep your distance from those two." Hou San looked aggrieved, his expression indignant. "My dad and my second uncle love to swipe other people's cigarettes. Every time I get home, my dad goes straight for my pockets."

"That’s none of your concern. Since you want a smoke, my friend has some on him. I'll get you one."

Li Xiangdong could empathize with Hou San regarding the issue of having cigarettes stolen, but he wasn't about to heed the warning. Hou Jianshe asking him for things was a sign that he viewed him as one of their own. Li was eager to nurture that relationship. To secure his path to advancement, what were a few packs of cigarettes? He’d gladly give more!

He called A-Zhe over and introduced the two.

Hou San took the "Da Qianmen" cigarette A-Zhe handed him and said with disdain, "We're smoking this?"

Both Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe felt an immediate urge to slap him. He was picky while begging for a smoke! If he was so good, why reach out his hand?

"Whoa, it’s already ten-thirty."

Hou San pulled a box of matches from his pocket. After lighting up, he deliberately raised his arm to show off the all-steel Shanghai-brand watch on his wrist.

"Oh, really?"

"Then let’s hurry up. Hou San, stop dragging your feet. The two of us still have a lot to get done."

Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe remained completely unimpressed. A-Zhe’s father was a university professor with a monthly salary of over a hundred yuan, and his mother was even more impressive—back in the day, she was the daughter of a wealthy capitalist. Plus, after A-Zhe and his father returned from the Southwest, the school where his father had previously worked had issued a back-pay settlement for all his missed wages—that amounted to several thousand yuan!

As for Li Xiangdong, he was entirely unimpressed. Never mind a wristwatch—having come from a future era, he was already bored with smartphones.

Seeing that his display had no effect, Hou San lost interest. "I'll take you to collect your wages first, then we’ll head to Logistics to get the paperwork signed and pick up your supplies. Once we finish that, it’ll be time to eat. When we start work this afternoon, I’ll take you both to report to the Labor Union."

"Oh, right, are you two Party members or Youth League members?"

Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe would have liked to nod, but the organization hadn't given them the opportunity.

Hou San puffed on his cigarette, and seeing them shake their heads, he said, "Heh, if you aren't, then you don't need to report to the Party branch or the Youth League committee. That works too—saves time!"

Hou San led the way as they headed downstairs. The finance office was just around the corner on the first floor. With Hou San leading the way, they weren't given a hard time at any department. Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe successfully collected their monthly wages and some welfare vouchers.

After leaving, Li Xiangdong counted the money twice before tucking it safely into his shoulder bag. Although it wasn't much, it was his starting capital; he couldn't be too careful!

A-Zhe was much the same, as this was the first salary he had ever earned in his life.

Hou San stood to the side, picking his nose as he watched them count. "I say, is all this necessary? You’re this happy over 18 yuan? How pathetic!"

Li Xiangdong retorted, "Hou San, what’s your monthly salary?"

Seeing their eyes on him, Hou San scratched his head with the hand he had been using to pick his nose and chuckled, "We're all the same. I just started recently too."

"Pfft, then what are you acting so high and mighty for?"

Li Xiangdong rolled his eyes at him and urged, "Hurry up and take us to Logistics to get the slips."

The logistics department was in the hallway on the left side of the first floor, just a few steps away. Under Hou San’s prodding, the clerk worked efficiently. Soon, two slips were prepared and stamped.

Li Xiangdong and A-Zhe also bought three yuan worth of meal tickets. These could be used in the canteen, and they would also need them to pay for meals on the train once they started their shifts.

"Dongzi, let me see yours."

After they stepped out of the logistics office, A-Zhe took the slip from Li Xiangdong to look at it. "We’re getting the same things. I thought since our positions were different, the supplies might be different too."

"Are they the same? Let me see."

Li Xiangdong looked curiously. Sure enough, they were identical. He suddenly realized he hadn't asked Hou San what his position was. "Hou San, what’s your role?"

Hou San crossed his arms and jiggled his leg. "Same as you, water supply attendant. This is a great position—you two really hit the jackpot!"

"We’re both water supply attendants, and only I am a train attendant. Hou San, tell me, what does a water supply attendant actually do? Why is it considered such a good position?" A-Zhe asked, full of curiosity.

Li Xiangdong was curious too. The clerk at the Labor and Personnel Department had assumed he was a relative of Hou Jianshe and hadn't bothered to explain the job duties.

The logistics warehouse was at the far end of the compound.

As they walked, Hou San said, "I’ll give you a quick rundown. Under the Ministry of Railways are the various bureaus; under the bureaus are the sections—Passenger Transport, Locomotive, Electrical, and so on. Under the sections are the stations. Of course, there are exceptions, like the Beijing Railway Station, which is a special-class station under the direct jurisdiction of the Beijing Railway Bureau."

"Another thing—keep in mind that although we work at the Beijing Railway Station, we are under the jurisdiction of the Passenger Transport Section. Don't forget that."

His flighty mind shifted gears. "By the way, Dongzi, I forgot to tell you—we’ve been assigned to the same train. A-Zhe, do you want to join us? If you do, I can go find someone to coordinate it and try to get you on our crew."

Hearing this, A-Zhe cut him off immediately. "Are you blowing smoke? You think personnel allocation is up to you?"

Hou San boasted, "That’s where you’re wrong. I have the connections. If my dad can't handle it, I have my uncle. My uncle is the Deputy Station Master of Beijing Railway Station, and he’s very close with the head and deputy heads of our Passenger Transport Section."

Li Xiangdong exclaimed in surprise, "Old Man Hou’s son?"

So that was it. He had wondered how the nephew of a section chief could have a television just for watching the gate!