Reborn during the early days of China’s reform and opening, the narrator finds himself in the 1980s countryside. In this setting, the past is still a cold reference, yet it is also a fresh start....
Zhang Guangpu was a little confused: "Go to your team to work?"
"How is your business going?" Wan Feng asked another question.
Zhang Guangpu shook his head: "No, no, I've never done that."
This didn't seem to be a problem, as there were so many people who had never done business at that time.
"If you've never done it before, you can learn. Practice and you'll get the hang of it. If you really can't do it, go work at the Wahou Brick and Tile Factory. Your Pingshan Brigade isn't much stronger than ours. Our two brigades are the poorest in Yongshi Commune. You in Liutun don't make more than fifty yuan a year, but you can definitely make two or three hundred yuan a year at our brick and tile factory."
"Is this possible? We belong to two different brigades. How can I work for you?"
"We are now a pilot unit for reform. We can hire people. If you go there, it's like we're hiring you."
The word "employment" was a little unfamiliar to Zhang Guangpu. Not only him, but most people in the 1980s were not familiar with the word "employment".
Silly Guazi Nian Guangjiu even alarmed Yang Yang because he hired more than eight people to roast melon seeds. This shows how big a problem hiring people was at that time.
If Wan Feng was not a reborn person, he would not dare to hire anyone at this time. It was because he knew what policies would be in the future that he encouraged Zhang Hai, who was short of manpower, to hire people since the summer.
It's just that there's no one to hire.
Although he seized every opportunity to recruit people to the back of the depression, he only managed to recruit three people in all these days: his second uncle, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Xian.
No one came anymore.
"If I go to your team, what will happen to Liutun?"
"Just quit. It's not against the law. Can they still arrest you and parade you through the streets? This is not the same as a few years ago. You earn a few dozen yuan a year working in Liutun. That's not a job for a human being. In the future, you can make three or four hundred yuan a year in Wahou, and your wife can take some work at Luanfeng Clothing Store and make a few hundred yuan a year. Wouldn't that be a good life? In a few days, I may take you to open up a new market, and then you can lead those who have opened up the market."
Zhang Guangpu was still hesitant: "Let me think about it."
"What's there to consider? It's settled. After August 15th, come find me in the back of the valley and I'll make arrangements for you."
It’s a pity that security companies were not yet popular in 1980, otherwise it would be perfect for him to be the security team leader.
Zhang Guangpu was hesitating, but his wife did not hesitate. Seeing Zhang Guangpu's hesitation, she got angry.
"A few days ago, Xiao Wan asked me to go to Luan Feng's place to take on some work. I worked for a few days but couldn't stick with it because the distance was too far and it wouldn't interfere with my work at home. If you don't go, I'll leave the housework to you and I'll go to Luan Feng's house to work and earn money."
Wan Feng quickly changed the subject, telling the couple to stop fighting.
If he wanted to do it, he had to wait until he left. He had no confidence that he could hold Zhang Guangpu back if he did it now.
"Master, can you do bricklaying work?"
Zhang Guangpu nodded: "It's okay, I've done it before, why are you asking this?"
"Luan Feng wants to build a house next spring. It's over a hundred square meters. I'll leave this job to you. Find a few people to pour the foundation over the winter and then start working in the spring. Even though the house is quite large, it won't take more than a few days and won't interfere with farming. How can you not make thirty or twenty bucks each after it's done?"
"That's fine." Zhang Guangpu agreed.
"I'll let you know once the permit is approved, and then you can go and plan it."
Wan Feng believed that Zhang Guangpu would say he didn't like Wahou after working there for a few days. After all, Wahou was the only place with hope now.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Wan Feng said goodbye to Zhang Guangpu and went home for dinner. After dinner, he still had something to do.
Wan Feng thinks he is as busy as the president now.
Grandpa bought a few No. 5 batteries today. He started eating with one hand, and holding the radio with the other hand not far from his ear, looking very proud.
The radio was blaring, and I didn't know if he could hear it clearly.
This made Wan Feng very contemptuous. Drinking corn porridge with one hand, isn't that ridiculous?
But because he was his grandfather, he dared to despise him in his heart but did not dare to express it in words.
"Grandpa, Zhang Hai and I have agreed on your matter. After the holidays, you will go to the brick and tile factory to work. The work point standard is among the lowest, but the work is not tiring and is very light."
The brick and tile factory has the strongest work points, and the orchard has the highest work points.
Grandpa just hummed and continued to hold his treasure box and shook his head.
While eating, Zhu Yan intentionally or unintentionally showed the electronic device on her wrist, looking like a nouveau riche.
Wan Feng didn't understand why she was showing off in front of him. He was the one who gave her the watch.
"Many people in the team asked you how much your electronic watch cost?" Seeing Wan Feng looking at her unpleasantly, Zhu Yan quickly changed the subject.
"They can't afford it at the moment, no matter how much it's worth. Let them consider it after the team divides the money at the end of the year. I'll give them the best price then."
They really can't afford it now because the money for the brick and tile factory is all in public accumulation and will only be distributed to them at the end of the year.
So even if Wan Feng gives them the wholesale price now, they still can't afford it.
Wan Feng glanced at Zhu Ping's wrist. There was no electronic watch on his wrist, so it was certain that he did not dare to embezzle the watch and gave it to Jiang Xue.
After dinner, Zhu Ping hurriedly ran away from home. He had been obsessed with basketball recently and went to the brick factory to play basketball every afternoon and evening. He even stopped going to Liang Wan's house.
Judging from the resentful expression on Jiang Xue’s face, she probably hasn’t had a date recently.
Zhu Ping is definitely not the only one who loves to play basketball in Wahou. He is not fighting alone, there are many people who share the same aspirations as him.
Every evening, a bunch of people of different ages gathered at the basketball court, causing the old accountant to worry about the electricity bill.
As the captain, Zhang Hai is even more addicted. He is definitely the first one to arrive at the stadium after dinner. This time he finally has something to play with.
Because these people were obsessed with basketball, Liang Wan's family became deserted, the gambling games were over, and even Liang Wan went to the stadium to watch the fun in the evening.
This group does not include Wan Feng, who did not go to the stadium. He still believes that these bad players in the wahou team are not qualified to let him go.
So after Zhu Ping ran to the playground, he and Zhu Yan and Jiang Xue turned into Luan Feng's house.
As soon as I walked into the yard, I heard dance music coming from Luan Feng's room.
As soon as he entered the room, Wan Feng found that Luan Feng's little mouth was greasy. There was no need to ask because this greedy girl must have eaten meat. Similarly, Jiang Min's little mouth seemed to be shining.
This spendthrift, greedy woman can't wait for the beans to rot.
However, Wan Feng's attention quickly shifted to the tone of the recorder.
Because of the loud volume, he could hear the noise coming from the tape recorder, and the buzzing noise seriously affected the sound quality.
This won’t work, the noise will affect his future sales.