Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 4: gossip

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Shang Jianyao held the can and did not respond or put it down.

After a few seconds, he asked:

"Can it sing?"

"Huh?" Chen Xianyu had lived for so many years, and for the first time suspected that something was wrong with his ears.

At this time, Long Yuehong took two yellow plastic lunch boxes, rushed in from outside the "activity center", and saw Shang Jianyao.

He greeted with a smile on his face:

"Wait for dinner together!"

"Will you invite me?" Shang Jianyao put down the can and stood up.

Long Yuehong shook her head without thinking about it and said:

"Won't.

"Don't you still have a lot of subsidies?"

Although Shang Jianyao's parents did not leave any legacy, the company gave him a certain pension. When he went to college, there would be an extra 1,200 points per month - every college student has it.

This made Shang Jianyao barely able to maintain food and clothing.

The subsidy deadline is one month after college students are assigned to work and officially go to work.

There was no embarrassment of being rejected on Shang Jianyao's face, and he said with a smile:

"Shouldn't there be happy things to share with friends?"

"Do you want to say that having a meal is the best way to share?" Long Yuehong has become more and more accustomed to the jumping thinking in the past two months.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Chen Xianyu laughed and interjected:

"Yeah, Xiaoyue, you are still so depressed in the afternoon and become so happy at night. Something good must have happened."

"Don't call me my nickname..." Long Yuehong mumbled first, then said with a smile on her face, "My mother said that there is no need to wait until next year for a unified marriage. She and my father have several colleagues' daughters who have not been admitted to college and have just started working. , she is going to introduce us to know each other and see if we can develop a romantic relationship."

Company employees only have one chance to take the university entrance exam. If they fail, they will be assigned jobs uniformly (after the job, if they perform well, they will be recommended for university places), and at this time, they are often only 18 years old, and they are not forced to participate in the unified university. age of marriage.

Young people at this stage are all yearning for free love. After all, this is definitely better than random assignment. It is not purely luck, and has an emotional foundation.

Of course, there are not many people who can truly love freely, because after starting work, they go out at 7:30 in the morning and get off work at 6:00 in the evening. , the "activity center" is closed, the street lights are off, and everyone has to go home and prepare to rest. Therefore, there are very few suitable opposite sex that young people can contact, and the time they can contact is limited.

Relatively speaking, no matter in ordinary schools or universities, free love appears more frequently.

Long Yuehong was talking, suddenly a little melancholy:

"I don't know if they will take a fancy to me. I'm only 1.75 meters after genetic modification, and I look average. My grades are not that good, and I haven't been booked by any department..."

"There seems to be something over there..." Shang Jianyao interrupted Long Yuehong's self-pity and pointed to an old table a few meters away.

There were a lot of employees around there, as if they were discussing something.

Long Yuehong was curious for a while, and followed Shang Jianyao and walked over.

He scanned around, saw an acquaintance, and blurted out:

"Auntie Ren, what are you talking about?"

Aunt Ren was a middle-aged woman in her forties, wearing a polyester shirt, with good eyebrows, and her hair in a simple bun.

Her name is Ren Jie, and she lives next door to Long Yuehong's house. She is an employee of the subordinate department of the company's "Strategy Committee" and only has a D3 level.

Ren Jie glanced at Long Yuehong and sighed:

"We're talking about a recent rumor."

"What rumors?" Long Yuehong asked curiously.

At this time, Chen Xianyu Chen old man withdrew his gaze, looked at the pile of military cans placed in front of him, couldn't help but touched his stomach and swallowed his saliva.

He seemed to recall the feeling of opening a military can when he was extremely hungry.

"It can really sing... No, it makes my stomach and soul sing." Chen Xianyu had an association and sighed sincerely.

On the other side, Ren Jie looked around and lowered her voice:

"It is said that the company wants to deprive everyone of their reproductive rights."

"Ah?" This topic was a little unexpected to Long Yuehong, he couldn't understand what it meant for a short time.

Ren Jie glanced at Shang Jianyao, who kept a smile, and continued:

"Companies may ask couples who want to have children to turn in biological materials with the guidance and help of a doctor.

"Then, set up a large 'fertility center' in the study area, which will carry out in vitro culture, artificial womb conception, baby growth assistance and intervention, in short, by the time you take your children back, they may be several years old.

"Hey, it is said to liberate women from pregnancy and childbirth and alleviate the shortage of labor in the company."

When Ren Jie said this, a woman in her twenties who was watching couldn't help but said:

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"How can this be called a good thing?" Ren Jie said with a sullen face, "It is a god to nurture life, er, God, how can we hand over the sacred right to us? At that time, how will you establish a relationship with your children? "

"Yes, yes." A man sitting diagonally across from her touched his hair and said worriedly, "It is said that the old world was finally destroyed because of a series of taboo experiments that did not follow ethics."

Ren Jie nodded frequently and turned to look at Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong:

"Xiao Shang, Xiao Yue, what do you think? Do you also think that nurturing life is the key to why people are called people, and it is a divine right bestowed by God?"

Shang Jianyao nodded without hesitation and said:

"yes."

Seeing Aunt Ren's eyes wide open and bloodshot looking at herself, Long Yuehong whispered:

"Yeah yeah."

"You guys are still very reasonable." Ren Jie smiled.

At this time, an employee smiled and said:

"Are you taking it too seriously? This is just a rumor. My uncle works in a subordinate organization of the board of directors, and I have never heard of it!"

Ren Jie responded seriously:

"Just to remind everyone. If someone comes to ask for opinions, they must object."

Some were silent, some nodded, and some asked with rich associations:

"If this rule is true, will it cancel the marriage and cancel the unified marriage?"

The man who mentioned the old world rumors before said in a tone:

"Won't.

"Director Ji said that a harmonious and healthy marriage is the key to maintaining the mental stability of employees in the current environment."

Ji Ze is called Ji Ze, a member of the company's board of directors, a vice president, and an M3-level senior executive. He often gives speeches on the radio, and at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, he will greet everyone through the display screen of the "activity center".

During the discussion, a bell suddenly came from next door to the "Activity Center":

"Jingle Bell!"

Except for a few, most of them seemed to hear the horn of the charge and stood up at the same time.

This time the bell came from the "Material Supply Market" to remind everyone that there are only three minutes left to open the cafeteria.

Seeing that the neighbors started to move to the "staff canteen", Long Yuehong glanced at Shang Jianyao around him:

"You actually agree with Aunt Ren's words."

Shang Jianyao looked ahead and said:

"You can ask another way."

Long Yuehong frowned slightly, and thought for a while in confusion:

"What do you think of the 'fertility center' system that liberates women from pregnancy and childbirth?"

Shang Jianyao replied without hesitation:

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"..." Long Yuehong was speechless.

While speaking, the two had already arrived outside the "Material Supply Market".

There is no door here, so people can see the situation inside at a glance:

On the left is a market with long counters and counters. Many employees who do not want to eat in the canteen are picking and choosing and calculating silently. On the right is the "employee canteen", with doors and windows, overflowing with fragrance.

It didn't take long for the cafeteria door to open, and the employees on the 495th floor walked in in an orderly manner with their own cutlery or empty hands.

Shang Jianyao didn't bring a lunch box. After entering, he separated from Long Yuehong, turned to the right, and took two large wooden bowls and a dinner plate.

Then, holding the cutlery, he followed the people in front and walked to different windows according to a fixed route.

"Half a catty of sweet potato rice."

"A cabbage stew."

"Two multigrain buns."

"One serving of boiled potatoes."

After walking through the four windows, Shang Jianyao's two bowls were filled to the brim - the braised cabbage topped with boiled potatoes and two yellow steamed buns, and the sweet potato rice held up the other bowl so much that it seemed to crack.

And this has already cost Shang Jianyao 14 contribution points: 5 points for half a catty of sweet potato rice, 2 points for one multi-grain steamed bun, 2 points for one portion of boiled potatoes, and 3 points for one portion of braised cabbage with oil.

Finally, Shang Jianyao came to the window with the strongest fragrance.

This is the meat window.

He looked at it from left to right, and again from right to left, hesitatingly said:

"Give me a serving of braised pork with more juice."

The aunt wearing a gray-blue uniform at the window held a spoon, made three finger-length, fat and thin, and attractively colored braised pork, and poured it into the bowl of Shang Jian Yao's sweet potato rice.

The soy sauce-colored gravy in the spoon quickly spread out, moisturizing the small half bowl of rice.

"Fortunately, you came early, and you will be gone later." Auntie Window and Shang Jianyao's house are in the same "block" and are very kind to him, "32 o'clock."

Shang Jianyao glanced at the three heavy pieces of braised pork, took out his electronic card, and swiped it on the machine.

He immediately said thank you, brought a free clear soup, walked in the cafeteria for a while, found Long Yuehong, and sat opposite.

"Wow, extravagant." Seeing his dinner, Long Yuehong exclaimed from the bottom of her heart.

Shang Jianyao ignored him, first set aside some of the sweet potato rice mixed with gravy, then picked up a piece of braised pork, and took a light bite.

Feeling the aroma of meat erupting in his mouth, Shang Jianyao hurriedly lowered his head, and plucked a mouthful of sweet potato rice that was not stained with gravy.

He ate faster and faster. When the three pieces of braised pork were eaten, only half of the sweet potato rice and braised cabbage were left, while the boiled potatoes and multigrain steamed buns were not left at all.

Finally, Shang Jianyao poured the braised cabbage into the rice bowl, mixed it with the remaining sweet potato rice with gravy, and ate it all in one go.

"Satisfied." Shang Jianyao and the opposite Long Yuehong put down the bowls and chopsticks at the same time and sighed.

After drinking the clear soup, Long Yuehong asked casually:

"Going to the 'Activity Center'?"

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"Go back to listen to the radio and rest early."