Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Stand Up Straight

After Liu Hongxia finished eating the meat, Jiang Xi asked, "What kind of job do you want to find?"

Liu Hongxia quickly said, "I'm not picky. As long as I can get two meals, no, one meal, just one meal is fine. I don't eat much. A steamed bun is enough for me. I'm willing to do this even if there's no pay."

Liu Hongxia tried her best to promote herself. She didn't want to go to Liu Quan again and didn't want to be beaten and scolded every day. Her requirements were very low. As long as she could fill her stomach with a little food so that she wouldn't starve to death, she would be willing to do it.

Jiang Xi observed Liu Hongxia. She was wearing thin, worn clothes and only had a small bundle with nothing else. "Where have you been sleeping these days?"

Liu Hongxia said embarrassedly, "I haven't found a job and I don't have any money, so I've been sleeping under a bridge these past few days."

Jiang Xi frowned: "There are a lot of homeless people in that place. It's not safe for a little girl like you to sleep there."

Liu Hongxia lowered her head and explained, like a child who had done something wrong: "I, I don't know. I just had nowhere else to go. It was warmer under the bridge, much better than under the eaves, so I went there. I didn't talk to those people. I just walked quietly."

Jiang Xi sighed inwardly, lowering his eyes in thought. The store was still short of a handyman, and Liu Hongxia was just the right person for the job. It was too unsafe for a young girl like her to wander around outside for a long time.

Jiang Xi asked: "Would you like to work in our store? The work might be a bit tedious. You'll need to help prepare food and clean up."

Liu Hongxia was pleasantly surprised that Jiang Xi could actually offer her a job: "I'm willing, of course I am willing, I will do my best, I know a lot, I can cook, wash clothes, sweep the floor, mop the floor, and even do dusting! I can do it all!"

Jiang Xi nodded. "As for salary and benefits, you'll be provided with two meals a day at first, and your monthly salary is currently set at eight yuan. If you do well during the probation period, you can increase it."

Liu Hongxia couldn't imagine that her monthly salary was only eight yuan. Her first reaction was disbelief: "Really? How can I get so much money?"

Jiang Xi: "Of course, and this is the salary for the probation period. When you pass the probation period, I can increase your salary."

Liu Hongxia had never heard of the term "use period" before, and didn't quite understand what it meant, but she could guess that this was a test given to her by Jiang Xi, and if she failed the test, she might not be able to stay here.

Before Liu Hongxia came to Jiang Xi, she just wanted to ask for a job and didn't even think about the salary.

Liu Hongxia really wanted this job and wanted to stay here so badly: "I don't need money, I don't want a salary, just two meals a day, and I will work hard. Really, please don't kick me out, I will definitely work hard!"

Liu Hongxia was a little panicked and put all her chips on the table. Jiang Xi knew that Liu Hongxia was thinking wrongly: "Every one of our employees has a probation period, and you are no exception. Besides, I run a serious business and I will sign formal contracts when I recruit employees, so I won't make any exceptions. You come here to work in exchange for labor and compensation. Ours is an equal exchange, so you don't need this."

Jiang Xi looked straight at Liu Hongxia and spoke word by word, "Liu Hongxia, you are now a glorious worker. Don't act like that. You are using your labor to create a beautiful new life. Stand up straight!"

Glorious workers, stand up straight. Liu Hongxia had never heard these words before.

When her parents were alive, people in the village gossiped about her because she was a girl, saying that the Liu family's incense had been cut off and that the girl was of no use at all.

When she went to Liu Quan and was with him, Liu Quan always said that she was a waste and was born to be lowly.

Gradually, even Liu Hongxia herself began to think so. She was a girl, so she was born useless and shameful. But now Jiang Xi told her seriously that she was a glorious worker and she had to hold her head high.

Tears welled up in Liu Hongxia's eyes. The things that had been bothering her in the past seemed to be shattered in an instant. "I understand. I will be obedient. I will go to work now. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Liu Hongxia couldn't wait to do something, not only to fight for the job, but also to repay Jiang Xi for being so kind to her.

Jiang Xi: "Don't rush to work, take a shower first."

Liu Hongxia had no conditions to take a shower at Liu Quan's house, and she had been wandering outside for the past few days and had a smell on her body. Hearing this, Liu Hongxia blushed and looked down to see that her cuffs were covered with stains. Liu Hongxia hurriedly covered her cuffs, fearing that Jiang Xi would think she was dirty.

Jiang Xi said gently, "Go upstairs and take a shower first. We always have hot water in our store, so don't be afraid of wasting water. Besides, we are in the food business, so you have to pay more attention to hygiene when working in the store. Otherwise, customers will not want to buy things when they see the dirty employees in the store."

Jiang Xi seemed to know what Liu Hongxia was thinking. With just a few words, he made Liu Hongxia decide that no matter how economical or embarrassing it was, she had to use more water to wash herself clean and not affect the business of the store.

Xie Xiaoju: "I'll get you some hot water and a change of clothes. Coincidentally, we have work clothes in our store. You can put them on first."

Jiang Xi then arranged: "There are two rooms upstairs now. You and Xiaoju can sleep in one first." She can sleep in the same room with Wu Yaqin. Jiang Xi sighed that the house was still a little too small. She would look for a bigger house in the county when she had enough money in the future.

Wu Yaqin and Chen Xiulian from the kitchen had already come out when they heard the noise. They also felt sorry for Xie Xiaoju. Wu Yaqin said gently, "I'll boil some water for you. There's soap upstairs. Take a good bath."

Liu Hongxia's eyes reddened again as she watched Wu Yaqin smiling gently at her. Wu Yaqin had a motherly aura, a aura she had long missed. "Thank you, Auntie."

Liu Hongxia said gratefully, "I will wash it thoroughly and will never bring shame to the store!"

Liu Hongxia said this as if she was taking an oath, Jiang Xi...this honest child should not be humiliated.

Everything went smoothly for Jiang Xi, but Liu Daqiang encountered difficulties in preparing for the chicken farm.

Liu Daqiang followed Jiang Xi's advice and moved with Xiufen and Xiaodouzi. On the day of the move, the group of gossips were still pointing and talking at the door, but Liu Daqiang had learned to ignore them. He wanted to learn from Jiang Xi and not waste his time arguing with these people.

Liu Daqiang used to have the wrong idea. He always wanted to argue with these people. But now he thinks, what’s the use of arguing with them even if he wins? Even if he wins once, these people will come to cause trouble again next time. Does he have to argue with these people every day in the future?

Liu Daqiang didn't have the time to spare, so he quickly found a house. It was a two-story building with a small yard. The landlord happened to be in a hurry to sell the house because of something.

These days basically no one is willing to sell their house, and those who do sell their house do so due to special circumstances. Liu Daqiang just happened to have found a bargain. His family had saved some money over the years, plus the money he had earned from doing business during this period. Although the house was a bit old, a bit dilapidated, and the location was a bit remote, Liu Daqiang felt quite refreshed after spending 500 yuan to buy the house.

Even Xiufen changed her usual melancholy attitude and was busy all day thinking about how to decorate the new house. Xiaodouzi was also very happy.

Seeing his wife and children like this, Liu Daqiang felt a little regretful. He wished he had moved earlier.

However, buying a house is easy, but running a chicken farm and choosing a location for the chicken farm are not so easy.

The piece of land that Liu Daqiang took a fancy to was located at the junction of Changfeng County and Dalui Village, on the edge of Changfeng County. No one lived there, no one cultivated the land, and it was an unattended vacant lot.

Liu Daqiang originally thought it would be easy to buy the land, but he was told that land cannot be bought and sold, and that the ownership of the land is in the hands of the government.

Liu Daqiang can do business with ordinary people, but he is inevitably a little timid when dealing with government officials. After thinking for a long time, he had to come to Jiang Xi.

When Liu Daqiang came to find Jiang Xi, Jiang Xi was reading a book during his free time.

During this period, Jiang Xi would review whenever she had free time. With Qi Yu'an's guidance, she could gradually speak a few words of her poor English.

Qi Yu'an told her that if she wanted to learn English, she should not be afraid of embarrassment, and she should practice reading English aloud so that she could master it more quickly.

When Liu Daqiang came to find Jiang Xi, Jiang Xi was whispering English. Liu Daqiang was very impressed. Jiang Xi was so motivated. Not only did he do so well in business, he was also studying so hard.

Liu Daqiang felt so ashamed of himself, and he felt even more ashamed when he thought about what he would say to Jiang Xi later.

Jiang Xi finished reading a paragraph of English and raised his head to stretch his neck when he saw Liu Daqiang: "Brother Liu, you're here?"

Liu Daqiang was embarrassed: "I have something to ask you."

"What's going on? Is it about the chicken farm?"

Liu Daqiang moved into his new house a few days ago, and Jiang Xi specially brought Xie Xiaoju, Liu Hongxia and others to congratulate him.

Liu Daqiang and Xiufen have no relatives or friends, but there is a rule in Changfeng County that when you move into a new house, someone must come to warm up the house. The more people who come, the better off the family will be.

Jiang Xi led a group of people to help Liu Daqiang move. During the move, Mrs. Liu, the one who had led the previous riot, looked at them askance. She ate melon seeds and spat the shells on the ground, saying, "Oh, he knows he's in the wrong and wants to move. It's good he's gone. Now the streets won't be filled with the smell of chicken shit."

Liu Daqiang glared at Granny Liu and ignored her. Xie Xiaoju, having heard the whole story from Jiang Xi, decided not to indulge Granny Liu. She put her hands on her hips and cursed, "Which fly is buzzing and polluting the air? It's so smelly and unpleasant."

Xie Xiaoju glanced at Mrs. Liu and said, "It's still ugly!"

Mrs. Liu immediately became excited and said angrily, "Who are you calling a liar, you little girl?"

Xie Xiaoju wasn't afraid: "Who are you talking about, you old witch?"

Granny Liu was so angry that her veins popped out. "You, you wait, what good can come of you, a bunch of bad people, getting together? Humph, leave here and stay with this jinx, you'll all be in trouble!"

Jiang Xi said coldly, "You don't need to worry about our affairs. Besides, Brother Liu and his family are moving to an apartment building. They won't be living in this messy environment anymore, and naturally they won't see messy people anymore. We are all here to congratulate Brother Liu. We will start cleaning soon. Please leave quickly, otherwise I won't be able to stop you if the broom hits you."

Granny Liu glared at Jiang Xi. It was because of this little girl that she suffered a setback last time. This time, this little girl even lost face in public. Granny Liu was so angry that her teeth itched: "I don't believe you ghosts. You are a group of poor people who move and live in a building. Humph, this land does not belong to your family! I am standing here, what can you do to me?"

Liu Hongxia took the broom and hit Liu Pozi. She had been helping out in the store these days and had eaten well. She didn't look as pale as when she first came, and she was bolder than before. Now she was Jiang Xi's loyal follower and would not allow anyone to scold Jiang Xi.

Mrs. Liu was worried that she would really be caught, and there were so many people in the group that she could only hide in the house cursing and cursing.

Hiding in the house, she was still thinking, Liu Daqiang lives in an apartment building, huh, how can they live in an apartment building? Mrs. Liu's eyes turned red, she had never lived in an apartment building in her life, why did that jinx live in an apartment building.

It was not until the neighbors told Liu Pozi that Liu Daqiang had really moved into the building that Liu Pozi became more and more angry. She became so angry that she fell ill and lay in bed crying for three days.

Jiang Xi didn't know or care about these things. What Liu Daqiang was talking about was the next focus.

"Are you coming to me about the chicken farm?"

Liu Daqiang was a little embarrassed. "Yes, I've found a piece of land that's very suitable for a chicken farm, but that land belongs to the government. I'm a rough guy, and I can run a small business, but I really don't know how to deal with the people above me."

Liu Daqiang's voice became lower and lower as he spoke. Jiang Xi had finally asked him to do something, but he messed it up.

Jiang Xi did not blame Liu Daqiang. These days, ordinary people dared not deal with the government. In their eyes, they were all officials. Some people even jumped when they mentioned the police.

"Where is the land? Can you take me to see it?"

Liu Daqiang: "Okay, I'll take you there right away. The land is near Daliushan Village."

Liu Daqiang took Jiang Xi to see the land. The land was flat and large in area. No one cultivated the land and it was overgrown with weeds. It was on the edge of Changfeng County and there was a small river next to the land. The land was located downstream of the river. Even if a chicken farm was built here, it would not affect the lives of nearby residents. It was indeed very suitable for building a chicken farm.

The most important thing is that this piece of land is close to the highway. If you go south along the highway, you can reach Shanghai. And from here you can reach the train station. The transportation is very convenient. Jiang Xi built a factory here and will ship the products to various places in the future. Transportation is also her top priority consideration.

Jiang Xi also liked this piece of land: "Don't worry, I'll go ask."

Liu Daqiang quickly agreed. Jiang Xi was younger than him, but much more capable than him. Liu Daqiang was always humble and obedient in front of Jiang Xi.

Of course Jiang Xi didn't know anyone in the county government, but she knew someone in the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, who was connected to her workplace after all. Jiang Xi decided to go to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to ask first.

Jiang Xi arrived at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau as if he was familiar with the place. Ma Shunli had been successfully transferred to a regular employee. He felt more relaxed at work every day than before. His family praised him for finally making progress. Ma Shunli was in high spirits.

Seeing Jiang Xi, Ma Shunli smiled broadly: "Comrade Jiang, you're here. What are you here for today?"

Jiang Xi smiled and said, "Director Ma, can I ask you something?"

Ma Shunli was very enthusiastic: "What's the matter? You've helped me a lot. Just ask. As long as I know, I will tell you!"

Jiang Xi said, "I want to start a chicken farm. I've set my sights on that piece of land on the edge of our county, but it's government-owned. I have no experience in this area. If I want to contract it, what should I do?"

Ma Shunli raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Didn't you just open a braised pork restaurant?"

Ma Shunli had also been there. The braised pork was indeed delicious and the business was pretty good. It was a small shop, but I heard that they could easily sell hundreds of kilograms of braised pork a day.

"Isn't the store doing well? Why are you opening a chicken farm now?"

Jiang Xi explained: "We use chicken from the same family for our stewed chicken. Now that we have a shop, we need more raw materials, so I thought I'd just open a chicken farm. I'm collaborating with someone else on this farm, and I only own a small portion of the shares, in order to ensure the quality of our stewed chicken."

Ma Shunli was amazed. He had set up a chicken farm just to supply his shop. Wow, how much must he sell in a day to support such a big stall? "Your speed is quite good."

Jiang Xi smiled and said, "No, no, it's just a small fight. I don't know anyone else. The only person I know who works in the government is Director Ma. You definitely know more than me, so after thinking about it, I decided to ask you shamelessly."

Jiang Xi was generous with his praise. It was only natural to say some nice words when asking someone to do something for you. Ma Shunli immediately smiled when he heard it. Haha, he was so awesome.

The reason why Ma Shunli was able to enter the Industrial and Commercial Bureau as soon as he graduated was inseparable from the help of his family. Although there were no high-ranking officials in his family, there were several people working in government departments, so they were very familiar with these matters.

Ma Shunli said cheerfully, "You've asked the right person."

Jiang Xi was pleasantly surprised: "Well, I knew Director Ma knew a lot."

Ma Shunli was a little proud: "I know the piece of land you are talking about. It is classified as "Four Wastelands". If you apply to the county government, they should be able to agree easily. There is a policy now that encourages everyone to contract "Four Wastelands".

The so-called four wastelands refer to barren mountains, barren hills, barren beaches, and barren ditches. This type of land is not cultivated by anyone. Nowadays, few people build houses, so they cannot farm and not many people need to build houses. The land is left empty, so the policy for the land belonging to the county government will encourage individuals or collectives to contract it.

Ma Shunli whispered, "This is also for the purpose of generating income. After all, who would complain about having too much money?"

Ma Shunli explained the process in detail to Jiang Xi: "If you want to contract this piece of land, you need to apply to the county government. This application must clearly state the purpose and plan. After these materials are submitted, they need to be reviewed by the government. Once the review is passed, the contract period and fee can be negotiated. After that, it's a regular contract signing. If you want to run a chicken farm, you may also need to apply for construction land approval. That's all the details. The relevant person in charge will tell you when you actually go to the farm."

Jiang Xi was very grateful: "Thank you, if it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know this."

Ma Shunli was so flattered by the compliment that he said, "It's okay, it's okay. We're friends. If you have any questions in the future, you can come to me. I will tell you everything I know."

"Thank you, Secretary Ma!" Ma Shunli was a public official, so Jiang Xi couldn't give him a gift directly, so he could only say, "Thank you, Secretary Ma. I'll treat you to a meal when I have time."

Ma Shunli said cheerfully, "Okay, okay. If the chicken farm opens, I'll definitely go and see it."

Jiang Xi also smiled: "When the chicken farm opens smoothly in the future, there will be plenty of eggs."

Eggs are hard currency nowadays. Ma Shunli said, "That's generous!"

With Ma Shunli's guidance, Jiang Xi went back and began to prepare to write the application. However, Jiang Xi had no experience in applying to government departments. Jiang Xi was unsure, so he went to find Qi Yu'an.

When Jiang Xi went to find Qi Yu'an, Qi Yu'an had just finished work and his trouser legs were covered with mud. Although the village gave the green light to the educated youth who were going to take the college entrance examination, reducing their working hours so that they could concentrate on preparing for the exam, the educated youth could not do nothing. There were not enough people during the spring plowing, and everyone had to help.

Qi Yu'an rolled up his trouser legs and scooped a basin of cold water to rinse his feet. His feet were sticky and sweaty, which made him feel very uncomfortable. A scoop of cold water made him feel refreshed instantly.

Jiang Xi saw this scene as soon as he entered the yard. Although the weather was a little warmer in spring, the temperature was still a little low, and the well water was very cool when it was first drawn.

"Why don't you boil some hot water to wash your feet?"

Qi Yu'an looked up and saw that it was Jiang Xi, with a look of surprise: "You're here." He put the basin aside, simply put on a pair of slippers and greeted Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi: "It's still very cold now. Don't wash with cold water in the future. Be careful of catching a cold."

Qi Yu'an was not at all annoyed by being controlled. Instead, he felt very happy inside. This was because Comrade Jiang cared about him.

Qi Yu'an looked at Jiang Xi with eyes that were like honey. Jiang Xi felt uncomfortable with this burning gaze and raised the bag in his hand: "I brought you some braised pork, a new flavor, try it."

Qi Yu'an took the bag and continued to look at Jiang Xi. It took more than an hour to get from the county to the village. Qi Yu'an felt a little distressed: "Are you tired? If you want to give me something in the future, tell me and I will go to the county to get it myself."

Jiang Xi has moved to the city with Wu Yaqin, and Wu Youli has also moved to the city with his daughter. Only Wu Yaoguo and Chen Xiulian still live in the village.

Since Wu Yaoguo is in charge of purchasing vegetables, it is more convenient for him to live in the village than in the county town. When he is busy, Chen Xiu Lian will also go to the county to stay for a few days.

Jiang Xi used to live in the village and although he was busy, the two of them could still meet occasionally.

But now that Jiang Xi has gone to the county, the two have fewer opportunities to meet. Although Qi Yu'an is reluctant to let him go, he cannot delay Comrade Jiang's career development. After finally meeting him once, Qi Yu'an can't take his eyes off him. Jiang Xi has grown a little taller, and his complexion has become more rosy. He looks even better than the first time they met.

Jiang Xi shook his head: "I'm not tired, I came here by bicycle."

Qi Yu'an said "oh" and continued to look at Jiang Xi. Liu Zhiqiang couldn't bear it anymore. Hadn't they just met the day before yesterday? Now he looked like he hadn't seen her for a long time. It was unbearable to look at him!