A Cannon Fodder, Yet Bound to the Great Nation Craftsman System [The 1970S]

My new novel, Delivering Takeout by Horse-Drawn Carriage in the Nineteenth Century, is now underway. Come give it a read! Zhao Luxue opened her eyes and realized she had transmigrated into a period novel. The original owner was currently on a blind date with a director more than ten years her senior, who had three sons, because she wanted to avoid being sent to the countryside. Director Wang had scrutinized the original owner and insinuated that she was too skinny to bear children. But since he already had three sons, he magnanimously said he would let her marry into his family without a dowry. Zhao Luxue thought about what happened in the original story. After marrying Director Wang, her three stepsons and mother-in-law treated her like a thorn in their side. From dawn to dusk, she would do nothing but sweep, mop, wash clothes, and cook, while they gossiped behind her back about how easy her life was and how she had married into luxury. Whoever wants that kind of life can have it! Zhao Luxue got straight to her feet, cutting off Director Wang's incessant chatter. She told him to go home and look in a mirror, and that if he was bald and full of himself, he ought to get his head checked. There was always a way forward. When Zhao Luxue had been scolded by her mother and was so hungry she could hardly stand it, she bound herself to the Great Nation Craftsman System. [Beginner Mission: Memorize Chapter One of Basic Electrical Engineering. Reward: Four pork buns!] The moment Zhao Luxue heard about the pork buns, she got excited. Study? She could study until the end of time! Biscuits, milk, ham... She wanted it all. And she was going to get her job at the electric motor factory back, too! The residents of the apartment block were all stunned: “I heard there are all kinds of ways to wind coils. Does she know them all? Why go out of your way to make things difficult for yourself?” “She’s a girl, and she’s fighting for a job? She’ll get married sooner or later, and the job will end up belonging to someone else’s family!” “Director Wang said she’ll come crying back to beg for marriage sooner or later. Being a stepmother is a cushy job!” But nobody could have expected what happened next... A week later, Zhao Luxue had the highest coil-winding pass rate on the workshop bulletin board. The veteran workers who had refused to train her were dumbfounded. A month later, even the veteran workers hesitated before handling the finest enameled wire, while Zhao Luxue's team took first place in productivity. Five years later, at the Great Hall of the People, Zhao Luxue accepted a certificate from a leader. Wearing her work uniform, she smiled brightly. A short extra scene: “Engineer Zhao, what is your next goal?” a reporter asked, notebook in hand. “My next goal? I want every woman at the factory to be able to earn more than men through her skills. Who says only male masters can do a good job in technical positions?” Theme: We must stand tall, strive, and work hard.