After saying these two sentences, Jiang Shiyue heard a familiar whistle coming from the receiver.

"Yueyue, be sure to stay safe! I miss you."

Jiang Shiyue listened to the beeping sound coming from the receiver and swallowed back the words "I miss you too".

Long-distance relationships are hard.

Being in a long-distance relationship with a soldier is hardship upon hardship.

Just like this, after much difficulty making a phone call, it’s time-limited, and if something happens, you can hang up the phone.

Jiang Shiyue handed the phone back through the small window and thanked him, "Uncle Song, thank you!"

"Oh! You are so polite!" Uncle Song put the phone back to its place, and the wall clock began to make a sound similar to ringing a bell.

Nine o'clock, exactly nine o'clock.

Uncle Song exclaimed, "It's only nine o'clock? Your wife kept calling over and over, looking very worried about you. Why did she hang up after just a few words?"

"Well, he has something urgent to do over there."

"Oh! I was just wondering! Your husband is such a nice guy. He called and didn't even get you, but he kept asking me about you. He really cares about you! I told him you've been unlucky these past couple of days. One day you ran into some hooligans looking for trouble, and the next day there was a fight between classmates in the dormitory..."

Jiang Shiyue: “…”

Finally I know where the problem lies.

The key is that after being sold, you still have to help others count the money.

Jiang Shiyue sincerely thanked Uncle Song: "Uncle Song, thank you!"

Uncle Song waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.

***

Jiang Shiyue had no classes that morning, so someone from Dongsheng drove over to pick her up.

Jiang Shiyue opened the car door and saw Duan Kunze was also in the car.

"What an honor! Mr. Duan came to pick me up personally."

Duan Kunze held up the opening event plan in his hand and asked her, "Do we need to rearrange the shelves?"

Jiang Shiyue nodded.

Duan Kunze frowned, "With less than a week left, I'm afraid we don't have that many people."

Jiang Shiyue had thought of this a long time ago. "I have an idea. We usually don't have classes in the evening. Look, there are several thousand students in our school. From 5pm to 9pm, we can work for about four hours. I estimate that we can finish it in two days."

Duan Kunze asked, "Are you helping out on a voluntary basis?"

Jiang Shiyue said with a wry smile, "Do you think it's appropriate to exploit poor college students? How about paying them by the hour?"

Duan Kunze didn't say whether it was okay or not, but only asked Jiang Shiyue: "Then how much do you think is a reasonable amount to pay per hour?"

"Don't worry, we college students are different from capitalists. You capitalists are dedicated to squeezing every last drop of blood out of the working people. We college students only take what we're owed. Look, the average worker's salary in Huacheng is between thirty-six and forty yuan. Let's take the average and make it thirty-eight. Isn't that too much?"

Duan Kunze glanced at Jiang Shiyue with a half-smile, "A monthly salary of 38 yuan isn't excessive, but isn't it a bit rude of you to pull one up and step on the other?"

Jiang Shiyue pretended not to hear Duan Kunze's condemnation and continued, "Generally speaking, the daily working hours are six to eight hours. We calculate it as seven hours. We count the two to four days of rest each month as three days. The equivalent of one day's salary is..."

She closed her eyes and did some quick mental calculations.

Duan Kunze has already given the answer, "A little over one yuan and forty cents."

Jiang Shiyue's figure was about the same, so he nodded. "Based on one dollar and forty cents, that's twenty cents an hour. Doesn't that qualify as cheap labor?"

Duan Kunze nodded in agreement, "Okay. That's settled then!"

Two cents an hour is indeed not expensive.

"I haven't finished yet!" Jiang Shiyue continued, counting on her fingers. "Look, you usually hire a worker and are responsible for his retirement and medical care. We college students are temporary workers and don't need your support. Shouldn't we save you some money? Can you give us a little extra as appropriate?"

She pinched her thumb and index finger into a slit, indicating that just a little would be enough.

Duan Kunze didn't say anything, mainly because he knew Jiang Shiyue hadn't finished speaking.

Sure enough, Jiang Shiyue continued, "Also, normal people's working hours are from morning to night, which is the day shift. The wages of workers working the night shift in the workshop are higher than those working the day shift."

Duan Kunze smiled.

"Also, does the company have to provide benefits during major holidays? Does it have to pay for heating in winter and cooling in summer? And..."

Duan Kunze waved his hand, "Come on, just tell me how much you're paying per hour."

"Fifty cents." Jiang Shiyue blurted out.

"You answered so quickly! You came prepared, didn't you?!"

Jiang Shiyue said confidently, "As a qualified operator, I must consider all aspects. I need to change the merchandise display, which will definitely require time and manpower. If time is insufficient, I can only add more people."

"Fifty cents is not enough, it's a bit expensive." Duan Kunze bargained, "Three cents!"

Jiang Shiyue immediately extended her hand, "Deal."

It seemed that he was afraid that Duan Kunze would regret it if he was even a second late.

Duan Kunze: “…”

Got fooled.

All the nonsense and the high price of 50 cents mentioned above are psychological tactics.

I'm afraid even Sanmao exceeded Jiang Shiyue's psychological expectations.

Little fox!

He shook Jiang Shiyue's hand lightly and calculated silently in his mind.

It costs 30 cents per person per hour, and four hours a night, which is 1.2 yuan.

Ten people cost twelve yuan, and one thousand people cost one thousand two hundred yuan.

It's not a small amount, but it's acceptable.

He said, "We don't need the entire school to mobilize. A thousand will be enough. Pick those with good character and clean hands and feet."

The company hasn't even opened yet, and the goods have been taken away. It will be a bad thing.

Jiang Shiyue simply said, "I'll try my best. At worst, I can arrange for your people to watch nearby, or our people won't wear clothes with pockets."

The school has only been open for half a month, and not only Jiang Shiyue, but also the class counselors cannot guarantee that every student in the class is excellent and flawless.

Being greedy for small profits is also a shortcoming.

Duan Kunze nodded.

It's not a big deal, the assistant will arrange it, he just said it casually.

Halfway through the journey, Duan Kunze couldn't help but ask, "What was your original target price?"

"What?"

"I was wondering what hourly wage you originally wanted to get for your classmates?"

"Twenty-five cents." Jiang Shiyue said frankly, "Four hours a night, one dollar, just right."

One dollar in 1978 is not the same as one dollar decades later, it has much stronger purchasing power!

One dollar is enough to buy groceries for a family for a week.

Adding it to students' living expenses can play a big role.

Duan Kunze: “…”

One student costs two cents more, ten students cost two dollars more, and one thousand students cost two hundred dollars more!

It hurts.

***

The door of Dongsheng Department Store was closed, and some employees inside had already arrived at their posts and were familiarizing themselves with their own counter groups.

Jiang Shiyue was curious, "We need coupons to buy things at the state-owned department store. Does Dongsheng need them?"

"We are a private enterprise, what do we need tickets for?" Duan Kunze said. Those tickets are just waste paper to them.