She rummaged through her suitcase for a while and picked out the most decent dress—a goose-yellow corduroy dress with a bustle silhouette—and carefully hung it up.
Before going to sleep, she didn't forget to pull open the curtains, cross her arms, and look out at the snowy night cityscape.
After planning what to say tomorrow, she reluctantly drew the curtains and went to bed.
The next morning.
As the six o'clock bell chimed, Jenny stood before the mirror, fastening the last button on her chest.
Having washed up thoroughly the night before and enjoyed a full night's rest, she felt very refreshed.
She checked her luggage at the front desk and hailed a rental carriage directly to Dawling Printing Factory.
After signing in at the door and entering the factory, Jenny looked a bit out of place.
Today she wore the goose-yellow dress she hadn't dared to take out before, different from the plain dresses she wore for factory work. Her face was rosy, showing no sign of tiredness, and she wasn't wearing her usual old scarf.
Jenny didn't take a single step toward the binding room; she went straight to the foreman's office.
When she pushed open the door, the foreman inside was talking to Mr. Yangge. Seeing Jenny suddenly appear at the door, both were startled.
Jenny's foreman frowned. He had just heard from Mr. Yangge about her ingratitude, and now she showed up right in front of him.
"Jenny, it's this late, and you're not starting work? What are you doing here? Don't want the job anymore?"
The foreman thought that today he would find a way to wake her up.
It was common for young girls to have lofty ambitions, but they could be scared easily. Give them a slap and then a carrot, and they'd eventually be tamed.
Jenny looked at the foreman, then at Mr. Yangge's unnatural expression. She knew things were pretty much as she had guessed. There was no point in tangling with them.
"That's right. Since Mr. Yangge is here, I've come to resign today. You helped me get this job, so I should inform you."
"What?"
Both Mr. Yangge and the foreman were stunned. They hadn't expected her to say that.
"You want to resign? Now? Well... I won't give you the extra two days' pay."
The foreman said this, exchanging a look with Mr. Yangge, who immediately stepped in to mediate.
"I heard from John that you were doing fine recently. Why are you leaving? Does your uncle know? If you find it too tiring, the coloring room still needs people. That work is lighter..."
"No need. I've already found a place to go. My uncle knows. As for the pay for the past two days, I don't want it either."
Jenny was actually a bit pained, but she knew that facing these old hands, she had to stay steady and appear indifferent, or they'd manipulate her more.
Seeing her attitude so free and easy, not like she was here to discuss but to inform, and recalling John's complaints that she had rejected him outright, thinking she was trying to climb up to the office superiors, the two old men were at a loss. Seeing her so certain, they feared she might have already succeeded. The foreman, afraid of offending someone, tentatively asked if someone had helped her find a better job.
Jenny's eyes darted around. She understood the foreman was worried about whether she had backing, so she quickly put on a shy, flustered expression.
"In any case, you don't need to worry about this."
Seeing her radiant face, the foreman was convinced she had someone in the office.
He was just a small factory foreman; he couldn't offend anyone from the upper floors.
Better to offend Yangge. He simply opened the drawer and pulled out Jenny's attendance record.
"Alright, you haven't missed any days. I'll still count your perfect attendance, and I'll give you the pay for the last two days. How about that?"
Jenny nodded, ignoring Mr. Yangge's pale face.
"That would be very kind."
She took the pay slip the foreman handed her and left. Soon she collected three dollars and forty-five cents from the accountant next door.
Holding the money, her palms were a bit sweaty. Putting on a show was more nerve-wracking than running away from home.
But things weren't over yet. She again walked along the internal corridor toward the back door of Dawling Building.
If she went through the front door, she'd only reach the first floor. Without an interview appointment or a secretary's business card, she couldn't even get near the editorial offices.
At most, she could wait in the reception room on the first floor like those minor authors.
There, she'd only meet the lowest-level clerks and might sit all day without seeing the person she wanted.
She calmly walked to the back door, pouting reluctantly.
Lying under the doorman's nose, she said she was running an errand and wrote down the collator number she had used before.
Seeing her annoyed expression like she was tired of being bossed around, the doorman opened the door for her. Jenny slipped into the second floor of the building again and climbed the stairs floor by floor.
Dawling Building had eleven floors. The content departments occupied floors two through eight.
The second floor was the telegraph department, the third was the textbook editorial and illustration department, and the fifth was the literature editorial department.
The fourth floor housed the magazine department and the translation department.
Century Weekly was one of the important publications under the magazine department, with an office on the sunny side in a good location.
Jenny asked for directions and soon arrived outside the Century Weekly editorial office.
The office was a large, light-filled open space where people were already typing away furiously at piles of manuscripts, oblivious to Jenny's arrival.
She passed their desks and walked toward the offices in the back. There were several offices of different sizes, each with a nameplate on the door. The third small one had 'Frank' engraved on it.
Jenny knocked. It sounded like someone was talking inside, but Frank answered and told her to come in.
"Frank, I have to see Mr. Alpha. Trust me, he'll love this story!"
A young, agitated writer was sitting across from Frank's desk.
"If you don't let me see him, I'll just sit here. Once he reads my story, he'll be moved!"
The man said, then chuckled foolishly.
Frank was holding his head in silence, clearly wishing someone would come rescue him.
...