Chapter 1515

Ding-ling-ling, the bell for the end of work rang. Xu Shanshan cleaned up her workstation and followed the crowd out of the workshop. When she reached the workshop door, she was called back by Team Leader Yan.

"These are the labor protection supplies I requested for you. We happen to have some in stock, so take them back." After saying that, Team Leader Yan glanced at Xu Shanshan's fashionable outfit and continued, "You'll need to wear the factory uniform starting tomorrow."

"Okay." To be honest, Xu Shanshan was quite looking forward to it.

Blue-collar workers and factory uniforms are something that many people cannot even dream of.

She happily left the factory and saw Fang Zhiwen jumping and waving at her. Xu Shanshan lowered her head, ran over, and pulled Fang Zhiwen home.

How come this person has no shame at all?

With so many people watching, why was he still so ostentatious? She could hear everyone's jokes.

As luck would have it, Factory Director Fang had just returned from a meeting. Through the car window, he caught a glimpse of his son's cheerful demeanor. Secretary Chang, standing beside him, chuckled, "The young couple have a wonderful relationship. But, Mr. Fang, are you really going to let Zhiwen start her own business? I think you should have listened to me and gotten your daughter-in-law a job at the textile factory."

"How can we let a child do whatever he wants?"

"It just so happens that I have a good relationship with the secretary of the textile factory, and his son also wants to join our factory. If we can get some wiggle room between the two sides, things will be much easier."

"Are you talking about Secretary Ge's youngest son?"

"It's his house."

"I heard his son was just released from prison. Our factory wouldn't dare hire someone like that."

"Old Fang, that's all in the past. His son didn't do anything serious; he just wasn't very tactful in his pursuit of a woman. He's married to that woman now, and the matter is settled. It's not a big deal." Ever since Old Fang became the factory director, there have been too many rules. For example, when it comes to hiring, no one with a prison sentence is accepted. With this rule in his way, he couldn't use his connections in the personnel department.

Fang Yuanzhou smiled and said, "It seems that Lao Ge's Maotai was not given away in vain."

Secretary Chang was shocked. He hadn't imagined that Director Fang even knew such a thing. He quickly laughed it off, but his mind was spinning, wondering who had betrayed him.

Fang Yuanzhou stopped talking at that point and didn't continue the topic. Instead, he thought about the topic of today's meeting, the employment of unemployed youth. This was also an issue that had been put on the table for discussion every year since 1979.

This year the central government issued another notice encouraging individual workers in cities and towns to engage in individual economic activities that do not exploit others. According to the report of a comrade from the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office who attended the meeting today, the number of individual businesses in □□ has more than doubled compared with last year. However, when compared with the number of unemployed people, such data is obviously not enough.

Fang Yuanzhou did not object to his son's decision to become a self-employed person. He also wanted to see from his son whether being a self-employed person was really feasible.

Fang Zhiwen had no idea he was the subject of his father's research. He was taking a photo of Xu Shanshan. Xu Shanshan, with two pigtails tied across her chest, wore a sky-blue uniform emblazoned with the TV factory's name and a matching hat. Her eyes shone brightly, her teeth biting her lower lip, then parting it slightly. A mixture of a smile and shyness made Fang Zhiwen look like a fool in front of the camera.

The silly goose swallowed quietly, then stood, stood with legs apart, squatted, knelt, and lay on the ground, clicking the shutter frantically. Peng Shuya came out of the kitchen and saw this scene. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she retreated quietly.

Fang Zhiwen shouted towards the kitchen, "Mom, Mom, come out for a moment. Take a couple of pictures of Shanshan and me. Mom, make me look handsome."

Through the camera, Peng Shuya looked at the happy smile on her son's face and couldn't help but smile too.

"Hey, sister-in-law, are you busy taking pictures?" Sun Yuemei's voice came from the door. She took off her shoes and walked in barefoot.

"I have slippers."

"No, it's cool to go barefoot. Sister-in-law, my brother hasn't come back yet?" Just as he finished speaking, Fang Jinghe, who had parked his car downstairs, also came up carrying a watermelon.

Fang Zhiwen poured them some cold tea, then put the big watermelon in the sink to soak, and then dragged Xu Shanshan to the study.

Sun Yuemei leaned over and asked softly, "Sister-in-law, has Xu Shanshan been living in your house?"

"Since we're married, we must be living at home. By the way, how did you find time to come? Are your parents okay?"

"Same as always, everything is fine. Zhiwen is having a wedding in a couple of days, so I came to see if I can help you."

"No need, I've already found the right person. The canteen chefs are all on summer vacation, so they're free."

Sun Yuemei couldn't sell herself well, so she could only boast, "Sister-in-law is definitely well-connected. I heard from Jinghe that my eldest brother went to a meeting in the province today. Are there any new policies regarding the educated youth issue?"

"What a coincidence! Your eldest brother is back. You can just ask him directly. Haven't you eaten yet? I'll go make some noodles."

Fang Yuanzhou changed into a white shirt. Seeing Fang Jinghe's overalls were a mess, especially with most of his chest exposed, he said unhappily, "Dress nicer next time you go out. You're a grown man, but you're so unrefined."

Fang Jinghe straightened his clothes and quickly asked questions about the educated youth. After all, his youngest son was still working in the countryside.

Inside the house, Fang Zhiwen said to Xu Shanshan, "No matter how much my uncle says, it's useless. My cousin refuses to come back."

"Ah? Is there anyone else who refuses to return to the city?"

"My second cousin Fang Yuan liked his female classmate, but her family background was not good, and my aunt would never agree. My cousin simply followed his female classmate to the countryside to become an educated youth. Anyway, I don't know how it happened, but they didn't end up together. Two years ago, my cousin married the daughter of the local team leader and never mentioned returning to the city again."

Thinking of his second cousin's messy love life in his previous life, Fang Zhiwen felt that it was better if he didn't come back.

Xu Shanshan sighed after hearing this and said, "Your cousin likes his female classmate so much, will he really be happy if he marries someone else?"

Fang Zhiwen spread his hands to indicate that it had nothing to do with him.

In the living room, Fang Yuanzhou said, "The province has always been concerned about the issue of educated youth, and returning to the city is the overall goal. However, to achieve this goal, all conditions must be ripe. Otherwise, if everyone rushes back to the city, where will they live? What will they eat? What will they use?"

"Hey, brother, that's someone else. Fang Yuan is your nephew. Are you willing to let him work outside tilling the fields for the rest of his life? Hasn't the province discussed adding more jobs this year?"

"You're a key provincial unit, so the number of job openings must be at least dozens, if not hundreds."

Fang Yuanzhou didn't respond directly, but just asked, "Is Fang Yuan willing to come back?"

"Liu Qingqing has already passed the exam and returned to the city, so why is he still staying in the countryside?"

"What about Zhu Zhu and the child?"

Fang Jinghe fell silent, while Sun Yuemei said, "Isn't it fine for Wang Gang in your family building? We're not from the same world to begin with, so it's fine for each of us to be in our own place. If it doesn't work out, our family can still offer some compensation."

"You two have no say. I'll wait for Fang Yuan to write me a letter," Fang Yuanzhou replied sullenly. Sun Yuemei, however, assumed he had agreed and said happily, "Okay, I'll have Fang Yuan write to you later."

Now that things were settled, Sun Yuemei was in the mood for some idle chatter. At the dinner table, she asked, "Shanshan, I heard you're leaving the workshop? Why don't you get an office job? Work in the workshop is so tiring!"

Xu Shanshan said softly, "So many people are watching Dad. As a family, we can't let him down. Uncle, aunt, what do you think?"

Sun Yuemei, who was about to open the back door, gave a few awkward laughs, but inside she was filled with anger. A village girl, did she really think marrying into the Fang family was enough to make her rich? She was being sarcastic to her elders. Ugh, what a toady.

Fang Yuanzhou smiled. He had thought his daughter-in-law was a pushover, but he hadn't expected her to be so stubborn. Okay, having a temper is fine.

He has no control over outsiders, but he will not help the family of the evildoer to abandon their wives and daughters. If Fang Yuan dares to write a letter, he will definitely scold him.

The men of the Fang family can be poor and useless, but they cannot be irresponsible.

At the same time, Qiangjiapo

Si Ya chased after her eldest sister's sister-in-law, Sun Xiaohua, with a sickle, and hacked at her. Wu Ya, with a long bamboo stick, chased the chickens and ducks everywhere and released the pigs from the pen. This time, the old aunt of the Qiang family had no time to intervene. Wu Ya scurried forward and stopped Sun Xiaohua. The two sisters beat her up and tore at her, causing her to scream and wail.

Inside the house, Xu Erya was packing a bag for her elder sister and holding the crying Hongxia in her arms. She said, "Sister, let's go back."

"But Erya, a married daughter..."

"Sister, shut up. You're such a coward, don't lead my Hongxia astray." Xu Erya said loudly with a stern face, and then coaxed Hongxia, "Be good, Hongxia, I'm not mean to you."

"Auntie, please don't be mean to my mom."

Xu Daya was instantly filled with sorrow and tears. She said uncomfortably, "I never thought your brother-in-law would be like this. He, he's just like Dad. No, he's not even as good as our Dad. At least Aunt doesn't dare to hit Mom openly. I'm a sister-in-law after all, and I do my best for this family. It's just that one time I didn't satisfy them. And Sun Xiaohua actually slapped me in the face."

"It doesn't hurt, but it's very insulting."

It turned out that last time Fang Zhiwen bought chestnut mushrooms in the village, Xu Daya and her husband earned a combined 15 yuan. To support Hongxia's education, Xu Daya gave the money to her younger sister Erya for safekeeping. But yesterday, her mother-in-law found out and forced her to use it to pay for her nephew Qiang Guodong's tuition.

Xu Daya was not happy about it, but Sun Xiaohua actually took action. Qiang Zhijie, besides offering a few words of advice, acted like a dead man.

It just so happened that Xu Erya's sister-in-law also married in Qiangjiapo, and she went back to tell her sister-in-law about the matter. Then Xu Erya brought her fourth and fifth sisters to visit.

The three of them assigned tasks while on the way.

One protects his elder sister and children, one beats people, and one causes trouble.

"Sister, ever since my fourth sister married and moved to the neighboring city, I've figured it out. People in the area within a ten-mile radius are laughing at us for not having a son, so the five of us sisters have to make a name for ourselves."

"The more others laugh at Hongxia, the more you must cultivate her for me. Even if we have to sell everything we have, we sisters will help you."

While people were talking inside the house and fighting outside, the postman at the door rang the bell and shouted, "Excuse me, who is Xu Daya? There is a letter for you."

Xu Daya wiped her tears, went to receive the letter, and then called Ruyi Meili to come over and read it. The two sisters spat at Sun Xiaohua, "Do you really think there is no one left in my Xu family? If you dare to bully my sister again, I will beat you to death."

Sun Xiaohua covered her face and cried, then stood at the door and yelled.

"Big sister, this is a letter from Third Sister. Oh, Third Sister wants us to do the same as last time and get some more mushrooms and chestnuts. Once we're done, go to the Qinglin train and find a conductor named Zhang Lina. She will help us take the things to Lin City."

"By the way, this is the remittance slip. Sister said I'll refund if there's more money, and I'll pay you back if there's less."

"Oh my god, why did Shanshan send me so much money?"

One hundred yuan. Xu Daya had never seen so much money in her life. She was so nervous that she couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't have time to be angry or sad. She dragged Xu Erya to get the money and said she would be in charge of it.

Xu Erya shook her head and refused. She said seriously, "Big sister, you should handle your own affairs. Just don't let my sister down."

The eldest sister had to stand on her own feet, and the things Shanshan had told her were a good opportunity for her to exercise herself. At the same time, it also showed the Qiang family that they were not without people.

After that, Xu Erya said, "Ruyi, Meili, don't tell your third sister about these messed up things at home, so as to save her from worrying."

"Sister, you know we are not stupid."