“Have you ever worn a suit before?” Yang Xiaojin asked Ren Xiaosu from the room across his during the night.
Both Ren Xiaosu and she lived on the second floor of the house constructed from brick and wood. Only a few wooden planks separated the two rooms, so they could hear each other very clearly.
Ren Xiaosu lay on the bed with his arm acting as a pillow. “When would I have had the chance to wear something like that? It’s actually quite interesting. Back when I was living in town, Wang Fugui was constantly reminding me not to provoke those who came out of the stronghold dressed in suits, because they were definitely big shots.”
At that time, Ren Xiaosu made up his mind that he would get himself a suit to wear someday. But it was just a thought. After all, suits were not exactly suitable for the activities like hunting that he did.
As time passed, he met many people who wore suits. But the so-called big shots had gradually become insignificant in his eyes.
Yang Xiaojin laughed and said, “Then you’re going to become a big shot as well. Earlier this evening, Mrs. Hu reminded me that you’ll be starting work next week. At that time, her husband will bring you to your workplace. She did not make any requests other than saying that you’d have to get yourself a set of formal wear. You have to look presentable when you go to work there.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered, “There’s a rule like that in the administrative center?”
“It’s not a rule.” Yang Xiaojin explained with a laugh, “It’s just that Mrs. Hu feels that if you don’t dress formally, you might get looked down upon at that place.”
Yang Xiaojin mimicked Hu Xiaobai’s tone and said, “You don’t even know that the people working at that place are all smart people. If you don’t go there in formal attire, who knows how they’ll talk about you behind your back!”
Ren Xiaosu laughed and said, “I’m not afraid of them ostracizing me.”
“That won’t do.” Yang Xiaojin said, “Although I don’t care about the rules, I won’t allow them to belittle you.”
“Alright, then let’s go and tailor me a set of formal wear.” Ren Xiaosu chuckled, pleased by Yang Xiaojin’s sweetness for him.
“No, you’ll need two sets,” Yang Xiaojin said. “So that you can alternate between them.”
The next morning, the two of them did not go out to the market to sell their potatoes but took Streetcar 48 to the center of the stronghold instead.
When the streetcar started moving, it would make a rattling sound as it drove shakily through the city. Pedestrians on the street were reading newspapers as they walked, and students were chewing on buns as they ran to school.
As they were running too fast, the students’ backpacks fell off their shoulders and remained slung from one arm.
As the two of them boarded from the first departure station, they got to choose the best seats in the middle of the streetcar as soon as they got on.
After a few stops, a middle-aged man boarded as well. Seeing that there were no more seats in the carriage, he aimed his gaze at Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin, thinking the young couple looked quite friendly.
He walked up to Ren Xiaosu and coughed twice. “Ahem, ahem.”
However, Ren Xiaosu looked up in surprise. “Are you sick? Please stand away and don’t infect us.”
Yang Xiaojin giggled. She whispered, “When taking the streetcar in the stronghold, the younger people should give up their seats to their elders. This is a traditional virtue.”
Ren Xiaosu said unhappily, “He’s only in his forties, so why should I make way for him?”
When the man saw Ren Xiaosu did not have any virtue, he gave up his moral coercion and went off to look for other young people who might give up their seats to him.
“By the way, where are we going to tailor the suits?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“I’ve asked around. There’s an extremely famous tailor in the city center. Apparently, all the important people in the stronghold go there to tailor their suits,” Yang Xiaojin said.
“I don’t need something that good, right?” Ren Xiaosu muttered.
“Of course you do. It’s going to be my gift to you, so it has to be of good quality,” Yang Xiaojin said with a smile as she looked out of the window.
The tailor at the suit store said it would take two weeks to process the order, but Yang Xiaojin could not wait that long. She offered more money and got them to rush the suits out within three days. Truly, the power of money was exceptionally great. It managed to shorten the workload that required two weeks to complete to just three days.
On the third day, after Yang Xiaojin went to collect the suits and came back, she pushed Ren Xiaosu into the house to try them on. Then she personally helped him tie his tie. “You look quite good.”
Ren Xiaosu felt a little awkward. “Really?”
“It’s quite nice.” Yang Xiaojin took a close look at Ren Xiaosu and helped flatten the wrinkles on his clothes. “But don’t wear this at home. I still find you nicer to look at in your normal clothes.”
On Monday, Hu Xiaobai was shouting outside the door early in the morning, “Xiaojin, urge your partner to follow my husband and head to work!”
When Yang Xiaojin and Ren Xiaosu stepped out, the sharp-eyed Hu Xiaobai immediately noticed the suit Ren Xiaosu was wearing. “Eh, isn’t this suit from Golden Links? Look at those cufflinks, that’s their trademark.”
Yang Xiaojin explained with a smile, “You said he should go to work in formal wear, so I tailored two suits for him.”
Hu Xiaobai raised her voice and said, “You even ordered two sets?!”
She knew the suits from Golden Link were extremely expensive. Why was Ms. Xiaojin so good to Lü Xiaomi?
This Lü Xiaomi was way too much. To say nothing of him always lazing around at home, he even made Ms. Xiaojin spend so much money to buy him such expensive suits!
These young people really did not know the seriousness of their situation. How were they going to survive in the future if they kept being so extravagant?
Ever since Wang Yuexi started working at the administrative center, their family was considered to be above average, financially speaking. However, Hu Xiaobai still could not bear to buy such expensive clothes for Wang Yuexi.
She felt it was more important to save up some money and quickly upgrade to a better house.
Wang Yuexi looked at Ren Xiaosu and felt a little awkward. This kid was so much better dressed than him for work.
However, Wang Yuexi and Hu Xiaobai were not mean people, so they let the matter slide.
On the way to work, Wang Yuexi instructed Ren Xiaosu, “I’ve arranged for you to work at the Civil Affairs Division this time. You’ll have a direct supervisor, so listen to your boss when you get there. Do whatever you’re told to do and don’t be stubborn.”
“Mhm, alright. Thank you, Mr. Wang,” Ren Xiaosu answered with a smile.
At this moment, Wang Yuexi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Um… if there’s any trouble, you can find me at the Policy Research Office.”
Although Wang Yuexi did not want to interact too much with Ren Xiaosu, he was still his neighbor, after all, so he felt he should still watch out for him.
People were already lining up outside the administrative center to get their paperwork done. However, they could not go inside as it was not office hours yet.
Wang Yuexi led Ren Xiaosu in. “In the early years, the Revenue Agency had its own office building, while the Marriage and Divorce Registries were in a different office building together with the Civil Affairs Division. As for the Title Deeds Registry, that was at yet another place. It was very troublesome for the residents to get their administrative errands done. But it’s good that they’re all housed together now, as it’s very convenient for everyone. The motto of the administrative center is to be a one-stop service center for all the people so they won’t have to run all over the stronghold to do their paperwork. We don’t want them to have to make a second trip either. This is one of my main civic achievements that has gained wide support from the people.” There was a hint of pride in his tone.
