The next morning, Wu Yu finished her breakfast early and made her way to the textile factory's Director Wu's office, where she quietly waited outside for the leadership to arrive.
She knew the importance of showing initiative in the workplace—if she didn't have that much sense, her time in the workforce would've been for nothing.
While she waited, the rest of the newly hired workers began to arrive as well. Everyone gave each other polite nods before settling into silent, awkward stillness. No one really spoke much since they didn't know each other yet.
This year, the textile factory had hired ten people in total: seven men and three women. Six of them were general laborers, two were assigned to the publicity department, and Wu Yu, along with a girl with short, ear-length hair, were placed in the accounting department.
As the newcomers stared at one another in silence, Director Wu arrived with a folder under his arm. He greeted the new recruits warmly.
Inside the folder were all their personal files. Director Wu was a meticulous and responsible man—he carefully cross-checked their information to verify everyone's identity.
Once the verification was complete, each department head came over to collect their new employees.
The person who came to fetch Wu Yu and the other accounting recruit was Sister Zhang from the accounting office. From her neat appearance and efficient manner, she seemed like someone easy to get along with.
When the three of them reached the office, Wu Yu realized that their department only had four people in total: Sister Zhang, the girl with short hair who came in with her, and another woman named Li Fang who had joined the previous year.
After some friendly introductions, Sister Zhang assigned Wu Yu and the new girl to review last month's price and salary sheets.
Since it was their first day, Sister Zhang didn't give them any real tasks—just asked them to take time to get used to the workflow.
Actually, the workload in the accounting department was quite light. The busiest time came at the end of the month, when they had to review and tally the wages for all factory employees.
Right now, being the start of the month, was the calmest period. Wu Yu sneaked a glance at the others and saw that one of them was knitting a sweater while the other sipped tea and read the newspaper—totally relaxed.
Clearly, what Sister Zhang said earlier was true: their department was indeed laid-back. As long as you handled your work on time and didn't get caught slacking off by upper management, you could spend the rest of your day doing your own thing.
Working while slacking off—this was practically Wu Yu's dream job, and she was very satisfied.
After spacing out for a moment, she dove back into the sea of documents. Accounting in this era was relatively simple. As long as you clearly understood each project's income and expenditure, you were fine. It lacked the convoluted complexity of modern accounting.
The only downside was that everything was recorded by hand—no convenient computer systems here.
The morning passed quickly, and the group headed to the factory cafeteria for lunch. During work hours, staff could eat there for free.
When they arrived, there weren't many people around—turns out office staff were allowed to go early for meals. That made Wu Yu very happy. She really hated lining up for food.
Probably because of childhood trauma—back in her original world, growing up in an orphanage, she was tall and always made to stand at the end of the lunch line. By the time it was her turn, there was rarely any food left. Since then, she had come to detest waiting in line to eat.
The factory cafeteria meals were plain. According to veteran employees, they only served meat mid-month and at month's end. The rest of the time it was all vegetables.
What's more, the food was cooked until it was extremely soft—almost mushy, perfect for people with no teeth.
It was also very low in oil and salt, practically a diet meal by modern standards. No wonder fat people were so rare in this era. Even Marshal Zhu Bajie would lose weight on this food.
Still, Wu Yu licked her plate clean. After all, the last two worlds she'd lived through had been harsh. Now, having warm food to eat already felt like a luxury.
During lunch, everyone chatted while eating and gradually got to know each other.
Here was the basic breakdown of the accounting department:
Zhang Lan: In her forties, married.
Wu Tingting: Nineteen, a relative of Director Wu.
Xu Yangzhu: The short-haired girl, eighteen years old.
Wu Yu: Seventeen, the youngest in the group.
Because she was the youngest, the others naturally gave Wu Yu a little extra care and attention.
Wu Yu was perfectly fine with that. If this gentle drizzle of kindness could turn into a rainstorm, all the better. She didn't mind others being friendly or considerate—those were perks she gladly welcomed.
Among them, Wu Yu felt the most comfortable around Xu Yangzhu. The girl was energetic, straightforward, and had no hidden motives.
Later, after they got to know each other better, Wu Yu learned that Xu Yangzhu had originally wanted to join the army. Unfortunately, she didn't meet the physical requirements and ended up applying for factory work instead.
Wu Tingting, though simple and sweet, still carried the air of a pampered girl. It showed in the way she spoke and behaved. But Wu Yu couldn't fault her for that—some people were born with easier lives.
As for Sister Zhang, the age gap was a bit too wide for much personal connection. Her conversations mostly revolved around family matters, which the younger girls couldn't really join in on, so they just listened politely.
Overall, their department had a harmonious vibe. There were no conflicts of interest, and everyone got along.
That was mainly because salaries in the textile factory were tied to job roles and seniority. Apart from Sister Zhang, who had been there the longest and earned slightly more, everyone else's wages were more or less the same.
So the daily work environment was peaceful and pleasant—none of the backstabbing or toxic politics common in modern workplaces.
Over the next few days, Sister Zhang and the other senior employee gradually guided Wu Yu in her tasks. Honestly, Wu Yu had already understood most of it on her own during the initial review.
But she had no intention of standing out. The nail that sticks out gets hammered first. She just wanted to lie low and coast for the next few years.
Think about it—if a newcomer constantly showed off how competent they were, what would the others think?
Besides, working harder didn't mean getting a raise. So Wu Yu wisely chose the relaxed route—don't draw attention to herself.
As a result, her performance was on par with Xu Yangzhu's. Neither was better or worse—exactly the outcome Wu Yu had intentionally engineered.