Chapter 65 Jinjiang's Exclusive Canteen
Su Ruyi has been very busy lately, more so than she has in her two lifetimes. One thing after another has been happening, but thankfully she has experience with these things and is not overwhelmed.
However, various minor oversights were still unavoidable; for example, she completely forgot about something as important as the signboard.
From the beginning, she wanted to set up a small workshop, just like those small workshops in urban villages, which often don't have signs and just gather a few workers to start working.
Unexpectedly, I ended up with a factory, and then I forgot all about it.
"Director Su, what kind do you need? There are people in our village who know how to make it; it's an old craft."
"Then I'll leave this to you. Make sure the lettering is large and clear, and that it can be hung at our main entrance."
Looking at the rudimentary factory, with its gate and guardhouse constructed of sheet metal and asbestos tiles, Su Ruyi had no ideas whatsoever.
Zhu Gui was very happy and took on the task.
He found work himself and hopes that other villagers can also find jobs.
"Director Su, I heard the factory is hiring? What kind of workers are they looking for?"
"A meticulous, skillful, and responsible female worker will post the job advertisement soon. If you have any suitable candidates, you can ask them to apply. If you have any cooks who are good at cooking and can prepare large batches of food, you can also recommend them."
Su Ruyi wants to build a canteen, not only as a benefit for employees, but also to help workers work better.
This place is quite remote, and it would take too much time to go home to cook and eat, so we will include one meal in the middle of the trip.
Zhu Gui was even happier when he heard this.
"What a coincidence! My fifth uncle specializes in catering. He has a daughter who is exceptionally talented. She learned excellent cooking skills from helping out at work since she was little. Her skills are no less than her father's or brother's, but she is, after all, a daughter, and as you know, in the countryside, the family business is meant to be inherited by the son. Although my fifth uncle taught her the skills, he doesn't allow her to compete with her brother for the head chef position, so she can only help out and can't be the head chef. If you think she's suitable, I'll bring her over for you to see tomorrow?"
"Sure, bring her over and let us see what you've got to do. She lives nearby, right?"
“She married into our village. My fifth uncle’s family lives in another village, but when it comes to hosting banquets in our area, everyone prefers to hire him.”
Su Ruyi felt even more reassured. She wanted to be on good terms with the nearby villagers, as this would make her future work easier.
If this person is fine, hiring another female worker to help out, plus Grandma Sun, should be enough.
The female workers to assist her could be chosen from those who had come to work before; Su Ruyi already had someone in mind.
Although hiring acquaintances has many drawbacks, in small places the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
"By the way, she's a widow... Is that alright?" Zhu Gui said, his voice weak.
Su Ruyi didn't react for a moment: "What about the widow again?"
“Some people think it’s unlucky, so… I’m so glad you don’t mind.”
Su Ruyi was speechless. What era is this? They're still so feudal and superstitious.
"Anyone who is of good character and meets the job requirements is qualified to work in our factory."
As soon as Su Ruyi returned home, she saw the police coming out of the house. When she entered the house, she saw Grandma Sun wiping away tears.
"Uncle Li, what are the police doing here? Do they have any news about Sister Yunyao?"
Old Li shook his head: "Zhao Zhigang has already admitted that it was his family that abducted Niannian, but Yunyao was not abducted by them."
The Zhao family did indeed abduct Li Niannian because they wanted the house.
They had this idea because when Zhao Zhigang's eldest son was on a business trip, he saw Li Yunyao get off a car with someone, and later learned that she had disappeared.
Actually, Zhao Zhigang's eldest son noticed something was wrong at the time, but he didn't say anything.
When their family was evicted from the main house, Zhao Zhigang's eldest son harbored resentment, feeling that they had been robbed of their house.
Although it's rented, I've lived here for so many years that I've long considered it my own.
So when he saw Li Yunyao in trouble, he was happy to watch the show and even shared it with his family when he got back, thinking that this was retribution for the family's unkindness.
Upon hearing this, everyone was indeed gloating, showing no sympathy whatsoever.
Liu Xiuzhi said at the time, "This family is now either old or young, it's a waste for them to live in such a big house."
"There's one sickly one among them, I don't know if he'll even survive. When the time comes, the house and everything will definitely go to the youngest one. They're all the youngest in the family, why don't I get anything?" Zhao Yucheng said with great envy at the time.
Li Xiaobao is frail and looks like he won't live long. Besides, he's not a grandson of the Li family, but only a grandson by marriage.
Although he changed his surname, everyone felt that he was still different from a legitimate grandson.
Zhao Zhigang immediately harbored evil intentions. If Li Niannian were gone, wouldn't there be no one to inherit the house?
Once such an idea takes hold, it becomes uncontrollable.
Coincidentally, Zhao Zhigang had a distant relative who had five daughters in a row without a son. He was constantly being chased by family planning officials, and his family was fined until they had nothing left. His wife was forced to have an IUD inserted and could no longer have children, so he wanted to buy himself a son.
So Zhao Zhigang set his sights on Li Niannian and devised a plan to abduct and sell her.
Because they were familiar with the surrounding area, they didn't leave a single clue.
"Peng Zhiyong and the others were all found by Zhao Zhigang, just to deliberately drive down the price and prevent us from contacting people who genuinely want to buy a house," Old Li said bitterly.
Zhao Zhigang went to great lengths, certainly not to spend money legitimately on buying a house.
They knew Old Li's temperament, so they deliberately set a trap, hoping to take over the house at a low price.
At first, it was a rental, but later it became much easier to operate.
They just didn't expect Li Xiaobao to be so resilient; he survived such a shock. The elderly couple wanted to sell their house to pay for his medical treatment, but they were unwilling to rent it out or sell it at a low price.
What they didn't expect was that Su Ruyi would intervene in the middle, and that she was so good at fighting that they couldn't touch her at all, so their plan to seize the house was aborted.
In fact, the whole plan was rough, and it wouldn't be easy to get the house this way.
But the Zhao family didn't care. How would they know it wouldn't work if they didn't try? Anyway, they could make a profit by selling Li Niannian.
Su Ruyi: "This family is disgusting! It's a good thing they caught them, otherwise they would definitely harm people again in the future."
Old Li felt heavy-hearted, but at least one thing was finally settled.
The police officers came over earlier because they knew their family situation made it inconvenient for them to go to the police station, so they came over to explain the investigation results. They also told them that the mastermind, Zhao Zhigang, will definitely be imprisoned for several years, and the sentence will depend on the court's decision.
The others are also accomplices and will be punished by law.
Old Li: "But we still don't know where Yun Yao is."
According to the Zhao family's confession, Li Yunyao was definitely abducted by human traffickers, and all her last bit of luck was gone.
Old Li would rather his daughter have forgotten her family and started a new life than have her encounter something like this.
"At least we have another lead, and Niannian has returned, so everything is moving in a positive direction," Su Ruyi sighed.
As for Lu Ting receiving the message from Li Yunyao, she still chose to keep it a secret for the time being.
Old Li knew this principle, but he couldn't control his worry about his daughter's situation.
Grandma Sun wiped away her tears, looked at the room where Li Niannian and Li Xiaobao were, and said:
"I am already content that God has allowed us to find Niannian again."
It wasn't that she didn't love her daughter or didn't want to find her; rather, she felt that she only had so much good fortune and didn't dare to ask for too much.
Su Ruyi didn't know how to comfort her, so she changed the subject:
"The factory will officially start operating tomorrow, and our canteen will also be set up. Grandma Sun, we agreed beforehand that you would come and help out tomorrow."
Grandma Sun was very happy to hear this, but then hesitated: "But Niannian can't live without me."
"Why don't we take both kids with us? It's spacious there, and they can play inside. It's not good for them to stay at home all the time."
Li Niannian has just returned home, and she is still affected by this experience. She has become very timid and clings to her grandparents and brother all day long. In this state, she is unable to go to kindergarten.
"Will this cause any delays?"
Su Ruyi said with a smile, "The kitchen isn't always busy, and both children are very well-behaved."
Although they are both boys, both children are obedient and sensible.
Li Xiaobao is not in good health and cannot cause trouble.
Because of that experience, Li Niannian doesn't like to play and jump like other children his age. His favorite thing is to stick in his grandparents' and brother's arms.
He was always wary whenever Su Ruyi approached.
If they were the naughty type, Su Ruyi definitely wouldn't let them into the factory; they weren't worth the trouble.
Grandma Sun exclaimed, "I never thought I'd be able to work in a factory when I'm so old."
"Things will get better and better."
The next morning, the cook that Zhu Gui had introduced arrived at the factory. The woman was called Zhu Xiaodao. Although she was of the same generation as Zhu Gui, she was only in her thirties. She looked like a very capable and neat older sister-in-law with a smile on her face. She seemed very kind and likable.
Losing her husband at a young age makes life in the countryside extremely difficult.
Many rural women choose to remarry, but Zhu Xiaodao is unwilling. She worries that if she remarries, the family she marries next time will mistreat her children.
Fortunately, Zhu Xiaodao's family is nice. They don't force her to get married even though she doesn't want to, and they always ask her to help out at banquets.
If they're too busy, they'll share some work with her. Her family is doing a good job for her in the village. And with her cousin Zhu Gui helping out, always lending a hand, life isn't too difficult.
“I have nothing here, everything needs to be bought from scratch, and the kitchen is very basic. You have to take care of everything,” Su Ruyi said.
Currently, the canteen is just a shed made of sheet metal and asbestos tiles, surrounded by plastic sheeting, and it's drafty everywhere.
Zhu Xiaodao was prepared for this; her cousin had already told her.
"This is already very good. We often don't even have a tent when we hold banquets for people. I know where to buy a big iron pot. If you don't have one in stock, just use ours. Anyway, there aren't any banquets lately."
Zhu Xiaodao put down the basket on his back, which contained a small pot, a spatula, and some ingredients.
"Let me make you a side dish first so you can taste my cooking. I know there's nothing here, so I brought my own."
The ingredients are all prepared; all we need to do is start the stove and fire.
There were plenty of bricks in the factory, so Zhu Xiaodao used them to build a makeshift stove, collected some firewood, and started cooking.
Su Ruyi was stunned; she hadn't expected Zhu Xiaodao to be so well-prepared.
"Actually, there's no need to go to so much trouble. I trust Captain Zhu's judgment."
Zhu Xiaodao: "It's the rule in our industry to let the new employers try our skills."
Zhu Xiaodao also brought out the steamed buns he made at home. They were still warm because they had just come out of the steamer and the place was close to his home.
Looking at the plump, white steamed buns, Su Ruyi knew they would taste absolutely delicious.
Zhu Xiaodao was quite quick and efficient; a dish was ready in no time. Su Ruyi tasted it and found it to be quite delicious.
So she ate all the steamed buns that Zhu Xiaodao had brought along with the dishes, and then asked Xu Xiaonan to pay the bill.
"Okay, you're the one. Try to get the kitchen running normally as soon as possible. Just let me know if you need anything, Assistant Xu. Is three days enough time?"
Zhu Xiaodao: "There's no need for three days. Tomorrow noon will be enough. We can add more as needed later."
If she really needed to rush, she could whip up a meal for lunch. But the cafeteria is a continuous service; it's not like she just cooks one meal and leaves. So she still needs to do the preliminary preparations, which will reduce the amount of work she needs to do later, allowing her to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
"Okay, you handle it."
Because the place was spacious and the aroma of the food filled the air, the workers could smell it as soon as they entered the factory.
"Why does it smell like food here?" someone asked curiously.
Zhao Fangfang: "Didn't I say yesterday that one meal is included here, so we have a cafeteria? You didn't all forget to bring your lunchboxes, did you?"
"Oh, I forgot about that!" someone lamented.
Such forgetful people are a minority; most people remember this and prepare their lunchboxes in advance.
"But where is our cafeteria?"
Everyone looked toward the direction from which the aroma was wafting. Could it be that dilapidated shed?
Although the colorful plastic sheeting surrounding the area is new, it still looks quite shabby, not even as decent as the canteen at the construction site.
"Well... it's good to get a free meal anyway. We can always bring some pickled vegetables over later."
People don't have high expectations for the cafeteria. They might be happy to skip a meal. They don't care about the taste; they just want to be able to eat their fill.
Su Ruyi gave everyone a pair of pants yesterday, so everyone felt that the basic requirement of being full should be met.
After yesterday's incident involving the pants as a reward, everyone was quite motivated at work, and everyone was present.
Those who used to make sarcastic remarks about them after they found out they were working here are now quieter.
Because everyone started working yesterday, they had experience today and were able to get things running normally.
Those who didn't stay yesterday quickly learned what to do with the help of others and got up to speed in no time.
Su Ruyi took a look and found that there was nothing seriously wrong, so she handed the workshop over to Zhou Xiang for supervision.
Yesterday, the job posting was put up, and Li Guangqian and others were asked to promote it. Not long after we officially started working, people began to come over.
Su Ruyi didn't organize any collective recruitment. She would let each person who came go go for a trial period, and if they passed, they would go directly to work in the factory until the quota was filled.
The current number of workers is actually sufficient, but these people are not actual factory workers, so we need to find some more workers just in case.
Su Ruyi is not hiring many workers at the moment, only fifteen.
Therefore, it wasn't publicized much; it was mostly introduced by acquaintances.
Eight people came to Zhu Gui Village, representing all age groups. However, three were eliminated immediately upon arrival, as those three had never attended school and were illiterate.
Of the remaining five people, three were left. One of them was eliminated because she was careless and stubborn. When asked to cut vertically, she insisted on cutting horizontally. She was very stubborn and insisted on doing things her way, saying that she always did things this way at home. No matter how much we explained it to her, she didn't understand.
Another bad hygiene habit is that his fingernails are always full of dirt, and his clothes are always greasy and he doesn't seem to wash them properly. When he blows his nose, he just uses his hand and wipes it on his clothes, leaving him with an unpleasant odor.
Su Ruyi never imagined that she would eliminate someone for these reasons.
Su Ruyi thought the elimination rate was quite high, but Zhu Gui didn't think so. He thought that having three people from the village plus Zhu Xiaodao, making four people, was already pretty good.
In the past, I wouldn't have dared to even think about it.
There are still private factories in Liulin County, but people still prefer to hire acquaintances and rarely recruit from outside.
On the first day, Su Ruyi recruited twelve people, and she was three short of the quota.
This is still a small-scale promotion, which shows how many people are in dire need of work right now.
At noon, Li Mei brought lunch over as usual. By then, Zhu Xiaodao and Xu Xiaonan had already returned with their first batch of purchases, including large plates.
Anyone who doesn't have their own bowls and chopsticks can borrow a plate to eat on, but they must wash it clean when they return it.
"Wow, the food is so good! There are even meat dishes!" Zhao Fangfang exclaimed.
One meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a free tomato and egg drop soup. Although the egg drop was barely visible, it still had all the essential flavors.
The meat dishes also ensure that everyone can eat meat, and each piece is quite large.
The current food standards are lower than before, but they are still good, and the food tastes great.
This was an unexpected bonus for the workers, but they didn't know if this standard would continue to be in place.
"Director Su, are you eating with us too?" Zhao Fangfang asked curiously when she saw Su Ruyi holding a bowl as well.
Su Ruyi laughed and said, "That's right. If I work at the factory in the future, I'll eat the same food as you guys."
Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately relieved. Su Ruyi would also be eating with them, so the food would definitely not be too bad.
Thinking about it this way, I felt more hopeful.
Although the environment is bad now, especially the toilet, I really don't want to go there again after using it once.
Workers and vehicles could be seen coming and going, and new toilets were being built, which shows that the factory cares about its employees and fills everyone with anticipation.
However, everyone couldn't help but complain that working here was much busier than working in the textile factory before, with no free time at all.
Because it's an assembly line operation, if the people above you are slow, the people below you will have nothing to do. So everyone needs to concentrate. If you make a mistake, your name will be written down, and it will all be reflected in your salary.
Although everyone has seen how salaries are calculated, they still don't really understand it and can only bury themselves in their work.
It wasn't until the afternoon when Zhou Xiang was signing the forms for everyone that she clearly realized how much she had accomplished.
There are points on everything, and these points can be converted into money.
Zhou Xiang: "One point is roughly one yuan. This is just a preliminary estimate and will be revised later, but it should be close to the mark. There are explanations for adding and deducting points. You can check them against the table. If there are no problems, you can sign it. Your monthly salary will be calculated according to this table."
"According to this calculation, I earned six yuan and seventy cents today?" Zhao Fangfang asked incredulously.
Zhou Xiang: "Yes, that's about right."
"Wow, if you calculate it like that, wouldn't that be more than two hundred a month?"
Zhao Fangfang was extremely excited: "I'm not even proficient yet. If I do, earning three hundred a month isn't impossible!"
Nowadays, people don't have the idea that their wages can't be disclosed. After all, in textile factories, there are clear regulations on how wages are calculated, so they are basically transparent.
So I didn't think about hiding it and announced it openly.
Three hundred a month is more than the wages in a textile factory for many people present. After all, those who can earn high wages are usually at a high level, and they don't need to come here.
Su Ruyi put a lot of thought into this, so that everyone would know how much they could earn from the beginning, which would motivate them to work harder.
Otherwise, if everyone continues to work here with the same old mindset, they will definitely be dissatisfied under the high intensity. But things will be different when they see money.
Textile factory workers don't have a base salary; they earn only what they produce, unlike garment factory workers, which makes them even more in need of such incentives.
Sure enough, some people were annoyed. She could have been faster, but she thought that it didn't matter how much she did, so why make things so difficult for herself?
So he deliberately slowed down and dawdled from time to time.
Although I know that the distribution method here is based on more work, more pay, it's not like each person makes a pair of pants and the calculation is based on the quantity. It's just one person doing one step, so it's not easy to calculate.
Ultimately, it's the old mindset that's influencing us. Even though we know things are different now, we still do things the old way.
"I should have been faster!"
Everyone had the same thought in their minds: knowing there was a carrot in front of them before was completely different from actually seeing the carrot now.
Hu Xiaojuan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had been working very hard and had finished all the tasks that came her way.
But the people in front of her were slow, otherwise she could have done even more.
Tomorrow I need to urge the people ahead of me to speed things up.
She used to think it had nothing to do with her, but now she doesn't think so anymore.
Now that Su Ruyi didn't need to cheer them on, the people in each group started looking for their superiors and telling them to hurry up.
The pressure from those who were slow suddenly came. Not only did they want to earn more money, but they also wanted to avoid being the one who dragged the team down. So they had to find ways to improve their methods and speed up.
When the female workers returned to the textile factory, many of them told everyone about it.
Many people are curious about the situation in garment factories, and most are pessimistic, thinking that working for a private business must be a miserable and unprofitable job.
Therefore, some people are dissatisfied and want to prove that they did not make the wrong choice, so they actively promote it.
Many people were envious and tempted after hearing this, especially since they knew that they were still hiring there, so they thought about asking their relatives and friends to go and take a look.
However, many people scoffed: "You guys are really stupid. Anyone can say nice things. When it comes time to get paid, you'll know it's all a lie."
The Tong family also received the news that Su Ruyi had opened a factory! And the wages she paid to the workers were not low!
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