Chen Xihua and three others were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, while Chen Lao Er and Li Yumei were also going to the pastry shop. Chen Xiao Liu, on the other hand, had a bitter face as he came to see his fifth sister off.
"Li Yumei, all five of your daughters are very good at studying. Now the two older ones are in university and the three younger ones are in high school. You are such a good mother."
Unlike me, my daughter Shuiqin works at Fanghua Garment Factory, which just opened in June, and she's already earned over 500 yuan this month.
But then again, in the residential area, you have the most daughters. If they all went to work in the garment factory, they would earn 2,500 yuan a month. Wouldn't you be able to just sit back and collect the money?
But now, you still have to pay for their education. Sigh, don't you feel bad? Besides, what's the use of girls going to school? Even if they graduate from university, they'll just get married and have children. You're just wasting your time and effort." Li Juan's voice was truly sharp and sarcastic.
Li Juan knew that Li Yumei disliked her daughters and still had to support their education, so she was bound to be unhappy. Therefore, she wanted to take advantage of Li Yumei's unhappiness.
"Yes, I heard that the former daughter-in-law of the Lü family has also started working at Fanghua Garment Factory." Several women nearby joined in the conversation.
"I heard that you can make 1.5 yuan for each piece of clothing. You can make about 14 pieces a day. If you are quick, you can make 16 or 17 pieces. You can earn more than 500 yuan a month."
"We can also get five days off every month."
"However, I heard that there is a one-month probationary period. If you can't do 12 items a day or you're not quick and dexterous, you might be asked to leave the company."
"That's even better, there are still many people waiting to go to work."
"I think I can definitely do it. It's just that I found out too late. They're not hiring now. Maybe I'll have to wait. There will definitely be some people who get eliminated from Fanghua. I'll go then."
"..."
Chen Xihua and her three siblings could faintly hear the conversation of those people. Although they were very happy, they did not show it on their faces.
As my younger sister said, it feels so good to do things quietly and make money in silence.
The four were still waiting for the bus. Since the fourth sister, Chen Xiuhua, was in her second year of high school in Jiang City, Chen Xihua did not ask Chen Lao Er to take her to register.
Chen Lao Er and his wife changed direction and headed towards the pastry shop. Li Yumei was indeed holding her breath; after listening to what those women were saying, she even wanted to go work at Fanghua Garment Factory.
"Chen Lao Er, what do you think? How about I go work at Fanghua Garment Factory? I can make pastries in the morning and then go to work?" Li Yumei was genuinely interested.
"Forget about it. Many of the laid-off workers in the family quarters have already asked around. Although it's piece-rate pay, if you can't average 12 pieces a day, you fail and have to leave after a one-month probation period."
"If you make the pastries first, it'll be eleven o'clock already. Even though the factory is privately owned, it's still a legitimate company. Do you think you can just go whenever you want? Can you set the time as you please?" Chen Lao Er directly dismissed his wife's wishful thinking.
Moreover, he no longer has much desire to make money. Although he doesn't know what kind of business Xiao Wu is in, he must be very rich.
Chen Lao Er felt that as long as he kept the pastry shop in good condition and had a stable job, instead of being idle and aimless all day, which Xiao Wu couldn't stand, he could take his motorcycle for a spin from time to time. What a pleasant life! Why bother with all this fuss?
And the house is already bought, and the income from the pastry shop is enough to cover the family's daily expenses. Isn't this a pretty good life?
Chen Xihua waited for about ten minutes; the county bus was almost here. The three sisters were going to take bus number 103 to the county's east bus station, and then take a passenger bus to Jiang City.
"Fifth sister, will you not be used to living at school? Fifth sister, why don't you come back to the county to stay every night?" At this moment, seeing the bus getting closer and closer, Chen Baohua's eyes filled with tears. He couldn't bear to part with his fifth sister, and suddenly he thought of this good idea.
"Don't talk nonsense, Xiao Liu. Go home. I'll be back during the National Day holiday. Whether you're at home or at school, take good care of yourself, okay?" Chen Xihua looked at Chen Baohua, who was reluctant to part with her, and gently persuaded him with a smile. She knew it would be like this, and she still cried.
Chen Xiaoliu didn't want to talk, so he lowered his head and said, "Mm."
Chen Xiuhua jokingly said, "Xiao Bao, I was in high school last year, why didn't you act like this? I remember you were very happy then, saying that it was just you and Xiao Wu at home, and no one would compete with you for your fifth sister."
"That's right, Chen Xiaoliu, you've gone too far. You only care about Xiaowu, your older sister. Don't you see me and Xiaosi?" Chen Meihua said in a coquettish tone.
"No, I saw you off when you went to Jiang City for high school for the first time. Besides, I just couldn't bear to part with my fifth sister, so what? Humph, you're just jealous that I'm close to my fifth sister." Chen Baohua forgot her sadness all at once and glared angrily at her third and fourth sisters.
"Alright, stop teasing Xiao Liu. The bus is here, let's get on." Chen Xihua patted Chen Xiao Liu's head and then stepped onto the bus.
The bus had been gone for quite some time, and Chen Baohua was completely listless. He had originally planned to play basketball with some friends, but he didn't want to go anymore. He walked back slowly and somewhat lonely by himself.
They set off at around 7 a.m., and by the time the three Chen sisters arrived in Jiang City, it was already past 10 a.m.
Chen Xihua didn't have much luggage. A wooden box contained her odds and ends, and a backpack held her clothes. She would buy the rest after registering.
Now that new students are starting school, my fourth sister said that there are places to buy daily necessities for students near the high school gate.
However, they still brought their own wooden boxes. The wooden box that Chen Xihua brought was used by her second sister, Chen Jinhua. The wooden box that her fourth sister, Chen Xiuhua, used was the one that her eldest sister had used before. The wooden box that her third sister brought was newly bought at the time.
Chen Xihua calculated that there were a total of three wooden boxes for students at home. When Chen Xiaoliu went to high school, he could use them as he pleased. One was for smelly socks, one for smelly clothes, and the other for other things.
At this moment, her thoughts drifted back to her previous life. She remembered hearing about how some male students hid smelly socks in their dormitories when she was in college.
Some boys would hide their smelly clothes and socks from the past month, only to take them home for their mothers to wash during the holidays. Thinking of that case with the smelly socks, Chen Xihua suddenly felt a chill, as if the surrounding air was filled with a sour, pungent odor.
Fortunately, Chen Xiaoliu probably won't do that. He can already wash his own clothes skillfully and can also cook and do housework.
Half an hour later, Chen Xihua and Chen Xiuhua arrived at Jiangshi Middle School on bus route 202 in Jiangshi. Their third sister, Chen Meihua, took a different bus to Yucai High School.
Jiangshi Middle School is one of the key middle schools in Nan Province. It was founded in 1959.
As soon as Chen Xihua entered the school gate, she immediately saw two buildings from different eras. The buildings on the left and right were somewhat old and were probably faculty and staff offices, while right in front of the entrance, in the center, was a very new teaching building called the "Hope Building." This teaching building was nine stories high, with four classrooms on each floor and a large staircase in the middle.
"Xiao Wu, the senior students have their classes in this building," Chen Xiuhua began introducing the school.
Chen Xihua looked around and said, "Hmm."
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