RYEY – Chapter 159 Work Troubles

Li Huan, anxious, went straight to Chen Weidang’s house. Life was good for Chen Weidang these days — on the table sat a plate of peanuts, some pickled radishes, and a scallion-and-egg stir-fry. He was leisurely drinking little cups of homemade liquor by himself.

“Huan Boy, what brings you here?”

Cuihua heard the knock, asked who it was, and quickly opened the door once she knew. Li Huan grinned mischievously and said he had earth-shattering news — did they want to hear it?

Cuihua gave him a light smack. This rascal was still a rascal — even as village head, he hadn’t shaken off his rogue-like ways.

“Huan Boy, don’t tell me our village is going to be named an ‘Advanced Collective’ again?”

When Chen Weidang heard Li Huan’s voice, he hurried out, eyes shining as he asked. Li Huan rolled his eyes — why was the old village head so hung up on that title?

“It’s not about ‘Advanced Collective.’ It’s about personal work. Do you want a permanent job at the supply and marketing cooperative?”

“What? The supply and marketing co-op? And a permanent position? Are you serious?”

Cuihua’s excitement spiked. Their eldest daughter had married into the Xu family in the county more than three years ago, had given birth to a girl and a boy, yet had no income of her own. If it weren’t for the son, the in-laws would likely have cast her aside long ago.

Her only wish now was to earn her own money. With money in hand, she wouldn’t have to toil endlessly in that household while being mistreated every day.

But jobs were impossible to get. Forget permanent positions — even a temporary textile factory job cost 200 yuan in bribes, and still a dozen people competed for it.

“Huan Boy, tell me honestly — is this really a permanent position at the co-op? Why would anyone sell such a good job?”

“You know Skinny Monkey, right? His wife’s pregnant, so he wants to sell the job. You two were the first people I thought of.”

“How much?”

When they heard it was Skinny Monkey’s wife, both Chen Weidang and Cuihua were relieved. An old acquaintance wouldn’t lie to them.

“Six hundred yuan. Remember, outside it’s already going for eight hundred.”

“We want it! But I can only scrape together three hundred right now. I’ll give the rest as an IOU to Qiu Min, with interest at the bank’s rate.”

“I’ll have to ask Qiu Min. She’s just gotten pregnant, so waiting a few months is fine.”

“Wait here, I’ll get the money right now. Don’t leave!”

Cuihua hurried inside, pulled a stack of bills from the cupboard. She still had 200 more hidden away, but with their sons Damao and Ermao grown, ready to start their own families, she needed to keep some savings aside.

Li Huan took the money and started toward the door, but then turned back — scaring Cuihua half to death. Was he regretting it? But what he said next set her mind at ease.

“Auntie, just so you know — Qiu Min’s sister-in-law has her eye on this job too. She wants it for free. If Sister Daniu takes it, she’ll need to be ready for a fight.”

“A fight? Ha! My Daniu may not have other talents, but strength she has plenty of. Besides, this is a job bought with real money. Why would we be afraid of her sister-in-law making a fuss? You tell Qiu Min to rest easy.”

Li Huan returned home with the 300 yuan and the IOU, and handed them to Skinny Monkey. When Skinny Monkey saw that he actually had the full 600, his heart warmed.

“Brother Huan, here, take 100 yuan as a middleman fee.”

“What middleman fee needs to be that high? Get out of here. Qiu Min, if your body can take it, work a few more months. It’ll take them three or four months to gather the rest anyway.”

Qiu Min nodded quickly. Though the co-op work was busy and required some heavy lifting, if she was careful, she could manage.

—

By mid-August, Qian Longxin rushed to Cheng Qiao’s house. When Li Huan and Cheng Qiao first thought of selling the job, they had considered Qian Longkun.

But Qian Longkun didn’t trust Zhao Xiaobao, and he couldn’t bear to see his little sister bent over in the fields all her life. She was a high school graduate, after all — she couldn’t really remain a farmer forever.

So he had Qian Longxin bribe the village head of Xiangqian village, scraped together 500 yuan, and prepared to take over Cheng Qiao’s school position.

Cheng Qiao accepted the 500 yuan without hesitation, then arranged with Longxin to meet at the school on August 25th for the handover. In the meantime, she and Li Huan went ahead to the school.

The old principal was very unhappy when he learned Cheng Qiao was transferring her job. Did this girl not understand how she got this position in the first place?

But when he saw little Cheng Li in her arms, those big round eyes staring up at him while babbling, his heart softened.

Such a cute child — no wonder she didn’t feel safe leaving him with someone else. Still, he was displeased that Cheng Qiao would sell her job.

“Principal, here’s 200 yuan. I’m donating it to the school. In the future, whenever a child gets first place on exams, or shows other outstanding performance, prizes can come from this fund.”

The principal froze, staring at the money in his hand in disbelief. If she sold her job, she would have no income, and still had a child to raise — how could she spare this money?

“This…”

“Principal, thank you for taking care of me these days. It’s only right I give this. Also, my husband and I have decided that every September, we’ll donate 50 yuan to the First Elementary School, until the day we leave here.”

“This… you… sigh…”

The principal was deeply moved by her sincerity, but he was still uneasy about Qian Longxin’s academic ability. He warned that if she failed the assessment, the school wouldn’t accept her.

Cheng Qiao had no doubts. The test questions were so simple that even Li Le could answer them fluently. How could a high school graduate, the daughter of a professor no less, not pass?

By the end of August, Qian Longxin smoothly entered County First Elementary as a teacher. Because the matter was kept so secret, when she left with her bedding and luggage, not only did Xiangqian village’s educated youths explode, but even those in Xiangyang village were in an uproar.

The Xiangqian village head, however, was prepared. He announced loudly through a loudspeaker: “If you can find a job in the county, I’ll approve it without question!”

With that, the educated youths all deflated. If county jobs were that easy to find, would they still be suffering out here?

Once it was confirmed Qian Longxin had gotten the position through her own ability, everyone quieted down. But Zhao Xiaobei bore the brunt of resentment — people had endless things to say behind her back.

Zhao Xiaobei faced it all with cold defiance. Her parents were still locked up in Xiangyang village’s cowshed, surviving only thanks to Qian Longkun, Qian Longxin, and Cheng Qiao’s help. Seeing Qian Longxin secure a county job, she was the happiest of all.

The same dissatisfaction arose in Xiangyang village. Xiaofang, Xiaoqin, and several new female educated youths felt bitter — Cheng Qiao had such a good opportunity and didn’t give it to them?

Zhao Xiaobao snorted coldly: “Can you even come up with 500 yuan?”