PCJ – Chapter 248 Refusing to Leave

“Jiaohua, you’ve really done a great service for the village. These guys were always idle, and although they hadn’t done anything particularly bad yet, it was only a matter of time before something happened. Now that you’ve disciplined them, they’re completely different,” Zhang Jiuwang said sincerely as he watched Zhang Wenrong walk away.

“Who would have thought? Even Wenrong could turn over a new leaf. It’s true that there’s always someone tougher for every tough guy,” Zhang Dechun sighed.

“Grandpa Dechun, that’s not fair. I’m not a tough guy,” Zhang Jiaohua said, displeased.

“Haha, right, right, Grandpa Dechun misspoke. Jiaohua isn’t a tough guy. Jiaohua is the one who deals with tough guys,” Zhang Dechun laughed heartily.

Chen Hongming’s family slinked away from the garden center, with Liu Fengying still muttering curses under her breath.

Chen Hongming, however, turned back to glare at the garden center with hatred in his eyes. “One day, I’ll make all of you regret what happened today.”

Chen Hongming’s father, Chen Maozhong, shot him a look, “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t been so reckless, we could’ve earned over a hundred yuan from this batch of tea leaves.”

“And you still dare to speak! You didn’t even dare to fart in front of outsiders, and now you’re talking back. Hmph!” Liu Fengying immediately gave Chen Maozhong a vicious glare, making him shut his mouth at once.

Jiaohua was the only one capable of processing black tea, and to make the best black tea, the finest tea leaves and the right timing were essential. Although the National Agricultural Expo hadn’t yet started and the tea evaluation hadn’t begun, just winning the Xiang Tea Cup gold medal had already brought in a large number of orders for bamboo tube black tea. But that was only the demand from others; Zhao Jinyuan believed that now was not the best time to sell black tea. It would be better to wait until the Expo’s evaluation was over before considering sales. Zhao Jinyuan was confident that Zhang Jiaohua’s black tea would easily win a gold medal at the Expo. But no matter when they decided to sell, they needed a sufficient stockpile to achieve the best results. So, Zhang Jiaohua had to continue processing black tea non-stop.

Now, Zhang Jiaohua had a set of tools that suited him well, which greatly improved his processing efficiency. Last time, he only managed to produce a few dozen pounds of black tea, but this time, he produced nearly three hundred pounds, almost ten times more, without any decrease in quality. This was an unexpected delight. Although three hundred pounds was still a bit on the low side, it was much better than the previous output of just a few dozen pounds.

A few days later, the tea harvest was finally complete. All the processed black tea and harvested leaves were taken away by Zijiang Tea Factory. The harvested tea leaves were processed at the sub-factory in Gezhuping Town, while the black tea was sent directly to Zijiang Tea Factory for proper storage. Otherwise, with the conditions at the Meizi’ao Hotriculture Center, such good tea would have been ruined.

The Hotriculture center returned to its usual calm. Zhang Jiaohua called Zhang Wenrong, Zhang Hanggou, and Zhang Jiagen over, and handed each of them a red envelope. “You guys worked hard during this time. You did a good job. Considering your attitude, you’re free to leave the garden whenever you want.”

To Zhang Jiaohua’s surprise, Zhang Wenrong and the others didn’t reach out to take the envelopes. Instead, they stood there, looking at each other, hesitant as if they had something to say.

“If you have something to say, say it. Don’t act like a bunch of women,” Zhang Jiaohua said impatiently.

“Jiaohua, it’s like this,” Zhang Wenrong quickly stepped forward. “Can we stay?”

“This doesn’t make sense. Haven’t you been trying to escape from me all this time? Why the sudden change of heart?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, a bit puzzled by this unexpected turn of events.

“We haven’t mastered our skills yet. With our half-baked abilities, we’re afraid we’d get bullied if we leave now. We want to stay a bit longer until our skills are fully developed,” Zhang Wenrong and the others looked at Zhang Jiaohua, worried that he might refuse.

“Why are you looking at me like that? If you’re willing to stay and work as laborers, do you think I’d refuse? Do you want the red envelopes or not? If not, I’ll just keep them… Hey, why are you snatching them? I didn’t say I wouldn’t give them to you,” Zhang Jiaohua said as he made a move to put the envelopes away, only to have Zhang Wenrong quickly snatch all three envelopes out of his hand.

“I’m not stupid enough to refuse a red envelope,” Zhang Wenrong said as he handed the other two envelopes to Zhang Hanggou and Zhang Jiagen.

Zhang Jiaohua had just received a payment for the tea leaves, so he was feeling generous. The money he gave these guys was no small amount—each of them received eighty yuan, even more than what Gong Ziyuan earned.

“Jiaohua, isn’t this a bit too much?” Zhang Wenrong asked.

“You think it’s too much? Fine, give half of it back,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“No way, once it’s in our hands, it’s ours. Oh, by the way, Jiaohua, we might need to take a day off in the next couple of days,” Zhang Wenrong suddenly remembered something.

“What for?” Zhang Jiaohua asked casually.

“I think I heard from my mom that my dad injured his back, and the rice fields need to be sprayed. I want to go back and help for a day. Don’t worry, I’ll be back right after I’m done. I promise not to delay the work at the garden center,” Zhang Wenrong said, concerned that Zhang Jiaohua might not agree.

“Alright, alright, go ahead. Take care of your family matters first and come back when you’re done. If you two also have things to deal with, you can go back for a while too. Just don’t spend all your money at once,” Zhang Jiaohua said, fully aware of their past habits.

“No, no, I’ve never earned this much money before. I’ll buy a few pounds of meat and some cigarettes for my dad when I go to the market,” Zhang Wenrong said, his eyes misting up.

Zhang Jiaohua also started thinking about his parents, wondering how they were doing in Guangdong.

The weather in Guangdong was gradually getting hotter. Zhang Youping and his wife had both gotten their temporary residence permits and would go out for walks in their free time. Zhang Youping was now quite familiar with the area around the factory. The factory mainly employed women, as their nimble hands were better suited for such delicate work, making it difficult for men to compete. No matter how hard Zhang Youping worked, he couldn’t match his wife’s skills.

“Youping, don’t always feel bad about earning less than me. We’re making several hundred yuan a month each now, nearly a thousand between the two of us. If we keep this up for a year, we’ll become ten-thousand-yuan households,” Liu Qiaoye said, feeling content.

Zhang Youping didn’t reply. He still felt that a man shouldn’t stay cooped up in a factory dominated by women. With so many opportunities in Guangdong, he believed that if he looked hard enough, he could find something more suitable for himself. He had no interest in the security job introduced by Zhao Hongbing, the husband of Xia Lihua. Though it was indeed easier, Zhang Youping couldn’t help but feel resistant to it. The area around the factory was full of construction sites, and it was clear that once these buildings were completed, the area would turn into a bustling city. The transformation of the city was so rapid that every time Zhang Youping stood on the dormitory rooftop and looked around, it seemed as if the city was changing before his very eyes.