"Auntie, how many years have you been working as a nanny?"
Gu Lingxiao began asking the same questions in a formulaic way; he had asked many nannies the same questions before.
He was already quite adept at it. In fact, he wasn't a very sociable person, but he was forced to become someone who could communicate and negotiate with them.
Grandma Yao thought the young man was quite articulate, so she began to introduce herself.
"It's been about 10 years. I can do everything, from laundry to cooking. How many people are in your family? What kind of work do you do every day? I'm getting old, so to be honest, I can't do too much work."
"I only need to take care of one child, an 8-year-old boy. I do his laundry, cook for him, and take him to school every day."
"Is it really that simple? Don't you need to take care of both of you?" Old Mrs. Yao was a little skeptical. This man had hired a nanny when he only needed to care for one child, so she pressed him for more information.
"You're really only taking care of one child? You're a soldier, and you don't live at home. What about your wife?"
Gu Lingxiao felt that the old lady was overly enthusiastic and the kind of person who was naturally friendly, but such people were easier to get along with.
“I will be living and working in the military long-term, so if you want to take this job, you will have to work as a live-in nanny and you will be able to take leave when I am not at home.”
"You can bring your child home, as long as you take good care of them. I'm very tolerant of that."
Grandma Yao's eyes lit up instantly. This kind of job is hard to find even with a lantern. Taking care of children is much better than taking care of adults.
So he said with a grin,
“Then let’s settle on it! I can start work next month. Don’t worry, I have experience in taking care of children. I’ve raised all the children in this employer’s family.”
She became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke, "I can also tutor you a little on things like writing and arithmetic. Most importantly, I know the teachers at the school. I don't know which school your child is in now."
“At the Third Primary School,” Gu Lingxiao said.
Grandma Yao became even more excited after hearing this, "What a coincidence! My employer's child attended the Third Primary School, and I even know the principal of that school! She's a woman about my age, and she has a very good temper!"
Gu Lingxiao thought this person was quite nice, so he continued to ask.
"How much money would be appropriate for you per month?"
After thinking for a moment, Grandma Yao said, "My current employer pays me 25 yuan a month! I need to take care of the whole family's food, drink, toileting, and sleeping. There are so many things to manage. If you only take care of one child, like you, picking him up from school, cooking, and doing laundry, you can just give me 15 yuan."
Gu Lingxiao thought the price was good, three yuan cheaper than Ma Suzhen's, which showed the old lady was an honest person, so he spoke up.
"Then let's settle on this. Leave your address, and I'll come to your place later."
"Okay, I'll leave you my contact information."
Grandma Yao took out paper and pen from her bag, leaned the paper against the wall, and then wrote down the address.
Gu Lingxiao looked at the old lady and saw that she had beautiful handwriting and a high level of education. It was perfect to have someone like her looking after the children.
After writing, Grandma Yao handed over the paper. "My contract expires on the 2nd of next month. You can come find me on the 1st. Help me pack my things and bring some luggage to your house first."
Gu Lingxiao nodded, "Then let's settle on this for now."
Seeing how readily the young man agreed, Old Lady Yao was a little worried. It would be a waste if he lost such a good job, so she said…
"We'll see how things go. If the workload is light, I can actually lower the wage even further."
"We'll go with the price you asked for. We'll provide plenty of food and meat. You just need to take good care of the children."
"Sure! If you're generous, I'll be generous too. I'll definitely take good care of the child!"
They chatted for a few more minutes, then someone came looking for the old lady, and they parted ways.
Gu Lingxiao left the labor market and boarded the bus back home. He was in a very good mood, having finished all the things he needed to do today.
I just don't know how things are going with Lu Zhixia.
————
Lu Zhixia waited outside until dark, parked her bicycle downstairs in the residential area, and went to the black market to buy some meat and egg coupons.
There were still several days before the heavy rain, so she could still do business, hoping to earn as much as she could!
The black market was in an abandoned factory in the north of the city; she had been there in her past life.
When you go in, there are people who shine a flashlight on your face to confirm if you are a stranger.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar face appeared. The old gatekeeper immediately ran out and stopped the person.
"Comrade, who introduced you?"
"He was introduced by Hei Xiazi!"
"Um?"
"I'm here to buy meat and egg coupons, not to sell anything."
"oh!"
The old man thought for a moment and figured the girl in front of him looked young and thin, so he figured she should be alright and waved for her to go inside.
Lu Zhixia walked confidently through the doorway. The further she went in, the more people there were, probably around a hundred.
She covered most of her face with a headscarf to conceal her identity.
There were many people setting up stalls on the ground, selling exotic goods brought back from the south, such as radios and bicycles. In the middle, I even saw a sewing machine. There was nothing they didn't have.
After wandering around without finding his target, a woman approached him, wearing a red scarf on her head and a white mask on her face.
"Hey girl, are you buying tickets?" Wang Huifang asked in a low voice.
How did you know?
“I can tell you’re not interested in those things, so you must be here to find tickets. I have all kinds of tickets. Do you want to come with me to take a look?”
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