Chapter 67: Why does the cake come from a wealthy family and the couple are both working...
After dinner, Dong Xinghua took out the cake and said, "Come on, let's cut the cake." Dong Xinghua opened the cake box, revealing the cream cake that she had bought for eighteen yuan.
Xu Heye's eyes warmed up when she looked at the familiar cake.
Judging by her later aesthetic, this cream cake was truly old-fashioned. It looked ordinary, adorned with a riot of color. The cream, a mixture of pigments, red and green, was incredibly vibrant, giving the impression of poison.
But in this era, it is a symbol of fashion.
Xu Heye didn't expect that in a different time and space, her aunt would still buy her the same cake.
Pang Qiao took out the candles the cake shop had given her, picked out fifteen, stuck them into the cake, and lit them one by one with a lighter. "Cousin He Ye, come and make a wish. I heard that people abroad eat cake, light candles, and make wishes on their birthdays."
"Make a wish on a candle and your dreams will come true."
"Okay." Xu Heye closed her eyes and began to make a wish to the candle.
"Dear Cake God, if there really is one, I hope my parents are healthy and have good jobs. I hope my aunt and uncle can successfully navigate the wave of layoffs and live a happy and fulfilling life. I hope I can earn enough money before the policy of giving blue-stamped hukou (household registration) to buy a house ends, so I can buy a house and transfer my parents' hukou back to China."
Returning to Hucheng was her parents' greatest wish, and Xu Heye had never forgotten it for a moment.
She opened her eyes and saw everyone at the table looking at her with a smile.
"Cousin, what wish did you make?" Cousin Pang Wei looked at her eagerly.
Celebrating birthdays, eating cakes, lighting candles and making wishes is a really cool thing.
It’s a pity that the cake shop was not open on his birthday this year. It would be great if his mother could buy him a small cake on his birthday next spring.
As soon as Xu Heye saw Pang Wei's expression, she knew what he was thinking.
Xu Heye sighed inwardly. Pang Wei's birthday was in March, and it just so happened that in the early spring of the following year, probably a few days after the Lantern Festival, a fire broke out in the warehouse of the textile factory where her aunt worked...
The factory suffered such a huge loss, so my aunt, who works at the textile factory, naturally had no mood to celebrate her youngest son's birthday.
Later, when my uncle and aunt lost their jobs one after another and were struggling to make ends meet, who would spend dozens of dollars on a birthday cake that was not worth eating or drinking?
All the so-called romance and sense of ritual are things that people can only enjoy when they have affluent life.
There is no need to worry about my parents' jobs. My mother works in the Women's Federation, a public institution, and my father is a high school math teacher. He is a teacher and will not be laid off easily.
Of course, for a period of time, the salaries of government agencies and teachers will be very low, and there will even be delays in salary payments, but they will not be laid off. Once they have survived the trough, their future salary prospects will be very good.
Especially after retirement.
But my aunt and uncle are different.
With the booming development of foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises, state-owned enterprises have suffered the greatest impact.
With the rapid development of the automobile industry, bicycle factories have become a sunset industry. And my aunt's textile factory, even if the warehouse fire next year can be prevented, will only survive for a few years and will inevitably end in bankruptcy.
If she wants to avoid being laid off, the best way is to find those promising companies that will continue to thrive for the next 20 to 30 years while she is still alive, and find a way to transfer there to work, pay social security, and then retire and receive a pension.
Seeing that Xu Heye hadn't replied to him yet, Pang Wei became anxious: "Cousin, you haven't answered me yet!"
Xu Heye came back to her senses, blinked at Pang Wei, and uttered a few words in his expectant eyes - "I won't tell you!"
Pang Wei: “…”
Pang Wei puffed up his chubby face.
They are so mean! These adults are really mean. They just like to tease these little kids.
"Xiao Pangwei, don't you know that vows won't work if you say them out loud? Remember, next time you have a birthday and make a wish in front of the candle cake, do it quietly, in your heart, and don't say it out loud."
Pang Wei's originally chubby little face suddenly deflated and turned into a smiling little clown face!
"Cousin, do you mean to buy me a cake next time it's my birthday?"
Xu Heye nodded.
Pang Wei looked at his mother Dong Xinghua again: "Mom, will you buy it for me?"
"Yes, yes, I'll buy it for you," Dong Xinghua said casually. Pang Wei's birthday was in March of next year, eight months away. By then, he'd probably forgotten about it. Whether she bought it or not depended on her mood.
Xu Heye saw that her aunt was being perfunctory, but she had already made up her mind. If her aunt and uncle didn't buy one next year, she would buy one for Pang Wei herself.
And Pang Qiao, my cousin’s birthday can’t be complete without cake.
To be honest, during those two years, my aunt treated her no worse than she treated Pang Qiaopang. Sometimes, she even treated her better because she had no mother.
But Pang Qiao and Pang Wei never argued.
It was only later, when they all grew up and could earn their own money, that Pang Qiao casually mentioned that when she was a child she actually envied those who could go to KFC or eat birthday cakes on their birthdays.
However, her family conditions did not allow it, so she never mentioned it.
After hearing this, Xu Heye felt so distressed that she immediately ordered a large KFC bucket for her and bought the most expensive animal cream cake in the cake shop. However, the regrets left by adolescence cannot be made up in adulthood.
Now, she also has the opportunity to make up for Pang Qiao's little vanity.
Xu Heye gave everyone a piece of cake and secretly made up her mind to find a way to help her aunt and uncle change their fate of being laid off.
Uncle Pang Li and Lian's father Lian Dacheng were both wine lovers. They happened to sit together again. They only needed to look at each other to smell the same scent on each other.
The people around were eating and chatting.
The two of them were drinking, one glass after another, and before long, they were hugging each other and calling each other "brother".
My aunt was so disgusted when she saw it.
Just as he was about to bring the person into the house, he saw Pang Li holding Lian Dacheng and muttering loudly: "Brother, I'm in a really difficult situation now."
She was stunned.
Pang Li continued, "Our factory used to be so prosperous. But in the past two years... it's been failing. We haven't had any orders for several months. Without orders, there's no income.
The factory keeps talking about restructuring, what a bunch of bastards! Aren’t they just trying to fire us old employees?
After scolding his boss and colleagues, he couldn't help sobbing.
"Why? Why should employees with good family conditions and dual-income families be laid off first?
Yes, Xinghua is employed. We have two children, one in school and one still very young. If she were laid off, wouldn't the burden of the family fall solely on her?
What good is the little compensation the factory gives me? The more I spend, the less money I have. How can it compare to a regular monthly income?
Pang Li felt really uncomfortable.
The factory leaders have contacted him twice, and their words and deeds have all said that his family is a dual-income family, and his wife Dong Xinghua's work in the textile factory is performing well, so there is no risk of being laid off in the short term.
Compared with those employees who work alone and support a whole family, his layoff will not have that much impact on his family.
Not—that big?
There really is no impact. Why don’t those leaders take the initiative to resign?
It’s not like Pang Li doesn’t work!
Compared with some of the idlers in the workshop, he has won several labor model awards in the past 17 or 18 years of work!
Just because both of them are working, does that mean he should give up his position to employees who are not as hardworking, diligent and conscientious as him?
When Xu Heye heard this, she realized that the signs of her uncle being laid off had already appeared.
The boss wanted him to be laid off, but my uncle refused to leave until the factory went bankrupt and was sold. During the two years between then and now, how much disdain and contempt did he endure at the factory from his bosses and colleagues?
Xu Heye couldn't help but think of her previous life. She seemed to have never heard her uncle talk about this.
Maybe there was, but considering his sister's wife who had lost her and his mother's niece who had lost her, he could only bury his frustration deep in his heart and not show it.
However, Xu Heye, who came from later generations, knew that it was best for his uncle to be laid off at this time.
Although the factory was struggling at that time, it still had some money, and the compensation it offered to laid-off workers was the most generous. As time went on, the factory became less financially stable, and the compensation it offered became less.
In the end, those who were laid off received no compensation, but were given a bunch of bicycle parts.
But what do the employees do with these parts?
Can't put together a good car.
If I take it home, it's useless and just takes up space. If I sell it as scrap metal, it's a shame.
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