RYEY -Chapter 436 The Dormitory Building

“That’s wonderful! This is exactly my old line of work.”

Uncle Niu grinned from ear to ear. Yang Jun, standing nearby, felt amused—this Uncle Niu really did have a good temperament. No wonder Yang Liu also had such a good nature.

“Brother Niu, why don’t you ask Miss Cheng how much your salary will be?”

“What ‘miss’? Qiao girl is already the mother of four—no, five—children. Xuhui has grown into a tall, strapping lad, even taller than Qiao girl.”

“Brother Niu, that form of address isn’t right either. Since Qiao girl is already a mother of five, shouldn’t you be calling her Aunt Qiao?”

“But she looks so young! How could I call her ‘aunt’? Wouldn’t that make her sound old?”

“Exactly. So what’s wrong with calling her ‘miss’?”

Uncle Niu was momentarily at a loss for words. He felt something wasn’t quite right, but being clumsy with words, he couldn’t explain it clearly.

“Uncle Niu, according to the benefits of the Beijing Engineering Department, if you lead the entire carpentry technical team, you’ll be in a technical position. Your base salary will be thirty-six yuan a month, plus a ten-yuan position allowance. I’m not entirely sure about the details—you’ll need to ask the finance office.”

“What? Thirty-six plus ten? My goodness! This old man is getting rich! Forty-six yuan a month! No wonder everyone wants to go to the city—city wages really are high.”

“That’s not quite how it works, Uncle Niu. You still have to eat and sleep here. We’ll deduct ten yuan a month for meals—three meals a day—and another two yuan for accommodation. For now, we’re using the military’s dormitories.”

“My goodness, ten yuan a month just for food? That’s too expensive. Qiao girl, can I cook for myself?”

“Of course you can, but you’d need to buy a coal stove, coal, and pots and pans. There’s a lot to buy.”

Hearing this, Uncle Niu began to think it over. Staying in the dorm meant no need to buy bedding—he’d brought his own. As for kitchenware, all he had was a mug, a mess tin, and a pair of chopsticks.

“Forget it. Just eat at the cafeteria. Once you get busy, you won’t have time to cook anyway.”

Yang Jun spoke from experience and made the decision for him. Uncle Niu sighed softly. He had felt guilty toward his son all these years and wanted to save as much money as possible to leave for him.

“By the way, does Yang Liu have any children?”

Uncle Niu suddenly remembered something important. This concerned whether the Chen family line had been carried on—how could he have forgotten such a thing? He felt he had let his ancestors down.

“Brother Niu, Yang Liu has only one daughter. She’s fifteen this year and is already being matched for marriage.”

Hearing this question, Yang Jun felt a little uneasy. His biological sons—aside from the youngest troublemaker who wasn’t married yet—had already given him five grandsons.

He used to think his family was flourishing, but standing in front of Uncle Niu, it felt as though he had done something terribly wrong. He didn’t even dare meet Uncle Niu’s eyes.

“Do you have any grandsons?”

“I… I do.”

“How many?”

“Uh… not many.”

“Not many—exactly how many?”

Seeing Yang Jun avert his gaze, Uncle Niu didn’t understand at first. Then it dawned on him—could it be that there were too many grandsons, and he was embarrassed to say so?

Uncle Niu guessed correctly. Cheng Qiao directly told him that the Yang family was thriving—whether daughters or sons, they were all the type to produce sons. As a result, Yang Liu’s daughter was actually the cherished one in the family.

“I like daughters too. Look at a girl like Qiao girl—who wouldn’t like her? When can I meet the little girl? As her grandfather, I should add something to her dowry.”

Seeing that Uncle Niu didn’t mind at all how many sons or grandsons he had, the tension in Yang Jun’s heart finally eased. Heaven—why did he feel like a thief, when those children had all been born perfectly legitimately?

Soon, another recruitment notice was posted at the entrance of Liangzhou College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This time, they were hiring strong laborers: loggers and bricklayers, as well as tile workers, carpenters, and masons.

Wages were paid daily—one yuan a day, with two meals provided. As soon as the notice went up, nearby villagers quickly got the news.

Within just a few hours, a long line had formed at the school gate. Able-bodied men from every village stood in line, tools in hand, orderly and obedient.

When Uncle Niu saw the snake-like queue, his jaw nearly dropped. Good heavens—he had underestimated this place. There were so many people!

Yang Jun also went back to call for more workers. Cheng Qiao was very satisfied with the strong laborers from their village—everyone worked diligently, with not a single person slacking off.

In no time at all, the academy, which had been quiet through the entire winter break, became lively again. The bustle of the construction site melted the thick snow into water. Snowmelt, mud, and dust mixed together, turning the ground into a stretch of muck.

Qin Daqiang also sent manpower and materials to provide unconditional support, but Shen Sanleng was unwilling to owe him too many favors. The higher authorities strongly supported their construction efforts, so funding was sufficient.

After only a few days, both soldiers and villagers noticed that the cafeteria food had improved greatly. Even a simple stir-fried napa cabbage glistened with oil—it was obvious that much more oil was being used.

Rare treats like big meat buns, braised pork, and minced meat stir-fried with pickled vegetables had become daily offerings in the cafeteria.

Shen Sanleng greatly admired Cheng Qiao’s procurement skills. In such a short time, she had secured large quantities of pork and mutton—and even a small amount of beef—at prices lower than the market rate.

Sometimes, baskets of fish would also appear. Even in such bitter cold, they were able to eat green vegetables. It gave Shen Sanleng the strange impression that Cheng Qiao wasn’t here to be a doctor at all—but a procurement officer.

“Cheng Qiao, just where did you find these connections? Haven’t you noticed that all of us have put on weight?”

Cheng Qiao smiled as she looked at Shen Sanleng. This was a matter of heavenly secrets—secrets that could not be divulged.

Since Cheng Qiao was unwilling to explain, Shen Sanleng did not press further. Everyone had their own secrets and connections, and Cheng Qiao was clearly someone with very strong networks.

Before they knew it, the gentle spring breeze had chased away the biting winter winds. The poplar trees by the sports field had already sprouted tender green shoots, and behind the academy now stood a three-story building. Built of red bricks and tiles, it was especially eye-catching.

The building had only one main entrance, but once inside, it split into two staircases—left for men, right for women. This was the dormitory building of the Liangzhou College of Traditional Chinese Medicine branch campus. Each floor had thirty rooms: fifteen for male students and fifteen for female students.

Each room could accommodate eight people. That meant the building could house around seven or eight hundred people. However, since teachers also needed accommodations, the entire first floor of the men’s dormitory was converted into teachers’ quarters.

Naturally, the teachers’ living conditions were much better than the students’. Basically, it was four people per room. Locals were not assigned dormitories, and with only fifteen rooms in total, demand far exceeded supply.

When Ni Lulu and Hong Fen received the keys to the dormitory building, they were so excited that they hugged each other. Finally, they no longer had to walk such a long distance to the military garrison dorms.