Chapter 40: Work Stoppage and Screaming in the Middle of the Night
"Well... my relatives from my mother's side called to borrow money to buy fertilizer." Niu Cuihua said with a guilty conscience, "You've been to the countryside before, and you know how hard it is for people there to farm. They want to buy some fertilizer, hoping for a good harvest. They'll pay me back after they've harvested the crops."
“…” Zhao Guodong believed that the Niu family would pay back the money, but it was not certain about the others.
Some relatives had borrowed money from them years ago and still hadn't paid it back. Zhao Guodong didn't press them for repayment, not even when he returned to the city. Zhao Guodong knew some people were truly poor, and some, even with spare cash, were unwilling to repay. They assumed they'd borrowed the money on their own merits, so why should they pay it back? They simply wanted to keep the money in their own hands and refused to pay it back, so Zhao Guodong couldn't press them; doing so would easily hurt feelings.
The Niu family treated Zhao Guodong very well, and those relatives were also relatives of the Niu family, so Zhao Guodong naturally didn't push for more. When he returned to the city, Zhao Guodong thought about the money those people owed him and just let it go. If they could pay it back, they would pay it back. If they couldn't, then just pretend they didn't have the money.
Zhao Guodong hadn't expected those people to call Niu Cuihua to borrow money after he returned to the city. They probably assumed that since Zhao Guodong had returned to the city to take over Jiang's mother's job, Zhao Guodong and his wife must have plenty of money, so they approached Niu Cuihua for the money. They knew that Zhao Guodong had always entrusted Niu Cuihua with his money. Niu Cuihua had managed it well in the countryside, but after returning to the city, she'd become somewhat extravagant. Relatives would ask her for money and, with a little flattery, she'd lend it.
"Now... can I get an advance on my salary?" Niu Cuihua asked cautiously.
"You've already received your salary in advance, so are you going to lend it to those people?" Zhao Guodong asked, "It's not that I don't allow you to lend them money, but we have to make a living, not that we don't. If you lend them the money, all the money for Da Niu's tuition will be gone."
"They've already spoken, and their words are so pitiful, how can I not lend them money?" Niu Cuihua said, "If I don't lend them money, they will say that I came to the city and I don't intend to recognize them anymore, they..."
"It's not that we don't recognize these relatives, it's that we don't have the money." Zhao Guodong said, "You spent all the money my mother gave you in a flash."
"I didn't spend it all by myself. I also bought things for you." Niu Cuihua bought a lot of things for her parents' home and mailed them back. When her parents' home told her not to spend more money on those things, Niu Cuihua said that those things were not worth much.
Niu Cuihua wanted to appear impressive and lucrative in front of her family. But the reality was far from perfect. She didn't have a job, and she didn't do odd jobs. She relied primarily on Zhao Guodong's salary. They had to rent an apartment and eat, and having just arrived in Nancheng, they still had a lot to do.
The Zhao family had been quiet for a while; they hadn't come to Zhao Guodong and his wife to ask for money. But there was no telling when they might come again. Third Aunt Zhao had wanted to come, but was stopped by Third Uncle Zhao.
Uncle Zhao San knew full well that the Zhao family wanted Aunt Zhao San to take the lead, while those people hid behind the scenes. Uncle Zhao San was worried that if Aunt Zhao San went there a few more times, Jiang's mother would come looking for them. They knew Jiang's mother's temper well; she was a very stubborn person.
Aunt Zhao San didn't come to see Zhao Guodong now. She had a big move in mind. If something really happened to Old Lady Zhao and the others, Aunt Zhao San would still have to come to see Zhao Guodong.
"Now we're not talking about buying things for anyone, but about our daughter's tuition," Zhao Guodong said. "She has to go to school, and we don't always get an advance on our wages. If we spend the rest of the money now, what will we do during the Lunar New Year?"
"If that doesn't work, ask your mom if you can get some more money," Niu Cuihua said quickly. "Just ask for Da Niu's tuition, nothing else. At worst, we can pay your mom back later."
"Will Mom let us pay back the money?" This matter can be understood after a little thought. Zhao Guodong thought that they were not asking their mother to borrow money, but directly asking someone to give them the money.
"Well... what do you think we should do?" Niu Cuihua said, "You can't ask me to borrow money from my parents. How can that be justified? We've already returned to the city, and we're still asking them for money..."
"No need to borrow money from them. I'll think of a way." Zhao Guodong said, "You don't have to eat so well recently."
"It's not like the food is particularly good," Niu Cuihua said. "Other people's food is better. I always smell meat."
Niu Cuihua wanted to say that Jiang's parents ate better at home, but she didn't say it because she was afraid Zhao Guodong would be upset. Niu Cuihua had previously thought that Zhao Guodong had a job and that they could eat more meat. After managing the family's finances for so long, Niu Cuihua had come to understand that it was difficult to support four mouths on one person's salary.
"I didn't pay attention when I first came here, and I didn't feel it when it bloomed." Niu Cuihua said, "I started to feel it later, and I've been able to save it a little."
Jiang's mother soon discovered that Niu Cuihua and her husband had no money. She could tell from the vegetables Niu Cuihua bought. She used to buy meat frequently, but now she rarely buys it.
Jiang's mother did not ask Niu Cuihua and her husband if they had no money. Niu Cuihua and her husband did not say anything, so Jiang's mother pretended not to know.
Niu Cuihua and her husband did not go to find Jiang's mother, but Zhao Guodong went to find Jiang Moli.
"Little sister, do you have any money?" Zhao Guodong pulled Jiang Moli to the corner and asked cautiously.
"How much do you want to borrow?" Jiang Moli asked.
"If there is... twenty yuan, ten yuan, ten yuan would be enough." Zhao Guodong said, "But I may not be able to pay it back in a short time. It will take one or two years before I can pay it back."
"Wait a minute, I'll go get the money." Jiang Moli said. She didn't have that much money on her, and she left the money at home.
Jiang Moli went to the house to get the money. When she left, Jiang's mother asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Go buy some food and be back soon." Jiang Moli said.
"It's time to eat, why buy food?" Jiang's mother muttered.
Jiang Moli took out twenty yuan and gave it to Zhao Guodong, then asked, "Is this enough?"
"That's enough, that's enough," Zhao Guodong said embarrassedly. "The kindergarten has confirmed that she can enroll, but they said we need to pay the tuition first. We haven't bought the child a schoolbag or anything else yet. When we just returned to the city, we bought too many things and spent all our money without realizing it."
"You've spent all the money Mom gave you," Jiang Moli said. "You're really spending too much. When you just returned to the city, you needed to buy some things, so that's fine. But in the future, you still have to plan more. You have two children, and they need to go to school, which is a huge expense. If possible, you also have to save money to buy a house. You have to save more money on your own. When you have enough, you can ask Mom for some, and I will give it to you."
Jiang Moli said these words, not afraid that Zhao Guodong would go to Jiang's mother to ask for money. This matter was clear to everyone. As long as Zhao Guodong needed help, Jiang's mother would still help him when he was just a little bit short.
"You and your sister-in-law should take care of these trivial matters." Jiang Moli said, "The clothes I wear are not particularly expensive. They are just okay as long as they are wearable. There is no need to be so particular. Cheap clothes are not necessarily bad."
Niu Cuihua bought several expensive clothes and told others about it while hanging them out to dry. Jiang Moli heard about this and thought it was okay for a woman to buy a few expensive, nice clothes. The important thing was whether Niu Cuihua had the money. If she didn't have enough, she shouldn't have bought such nice clothes.
"Mom just asked me what I was doing out, and I said I was out to buy food." Jiang Moli said, "Brother, you go back first, I'll go buy something."
"Okay." Zhao Guodong said.
Zhao Guodong took the money back home. He looked at his wife and was a little hesitant to give the money to her, but he also wanted to trust his wife again.
"This money is for the registration of the eldest girl. I borrowed it from my younger sister," Zhao Guodong said. "As soon as I asked, my younger sister immediately gave me the money. But we can't always ask my younger sister for money. This money must be paid back. I can't not pay it back. My younger sister earns money too easily."
It doesn't cost that much to register for the girl, mainly because there are other expenses, and if you add up the bits and pieces, you might have to spend some money later. If Zhao Guodong doesn't lend this money, he will still have to borrow money from Jiang Moli later.
"I thought you were asking your mother to borrow it." Niu Cuihua said.
"Mom has remarried. Don't borrow money from her unless it's necessary. It wouldn't be good if uncle found out," Zhao Guodong said. "When Mom was working, her salary wasn't high, and she had to send us money and buy things for us, which all cost money. This time, when we came back, Mom gave us some money. If you give too much, uncle will have a problem."
This is also the reason why Zhao Guodong asked Jiang Moli to borrow money. Jiang's father couldn't say much to Jiang Moli. Jiang's father felt guilty about Jiang Moli. Jiang Moli could spend the money she earned on her own and didn't need to spend it at home. Jiang's father would arrange everything properly.
"Yes." Niu Cuihua took the money.
"Don't lend money to your relatives," Zhao Guodong said. "We don't have any money, so who can we borrow from? Many of my friends have gone to the countryside, and some have returned without any money. Some still don't have a proper job, and their families still criticize them for eating at home."
Zhao Guodong's friends were particularly envious of him. They thought Jiang's mother had been very kind to him, giving him the job before he even reached retirement age. If Jiang's mother had been more ruthless, she could have waited a few more years and not given the job to Zhao Guodong so soon. Zhao Guodong didn't force Jiang's mother to give up the job, so she gave it up on her own initiative.
"No, I won't lend it to them." Niu Cuihua said.
"Seriously, don't just send the money to them," Zhao Guodong said. "Don't even think about paying the children's tuition and then sending the rest back. The children still need food and clothes..."
"The clothes have been bought." Niu Cuihua said.
"You have to spend money to buy food. You can't just go to the mountains and dig some wild vegetables." Zhao Guodong reminded Niu Cuihua again to prevent her from thinking of digging wild vegetables when she has no money. "Don't pick up those rotten vegetable leaves if you can."
"I see they've built a horizontal strip next to it to raise chickens and ducks. Let's raise a few too," Niu Cuihua said. "We'll be able to eat them during the Chinese New Year."
"What do we use to feed the chickens and ducks?" asked Zhao Guodong.
"Didn't you just say you were picking up rotten vegetable leaves? We humans don't eat them, but chickens and ducks can still eat them." Niu Cuihua said, "I see a lot of rotten vegetable leaves when I go to buy vegetables. Some people don't buy vegetables themselves, but just pick up the rotten leaves and cook them at home."
Niu Cuihua wanted to pick up the rotten vegetable leaves to eat, but she was afraid of what others would say about her. Niu Cuihua wanted to save face, and she spent so much money before because she wanted others to think she was living a good life.
Jiang Moli bought some braised pig ears and took them home. "The ones from another store are too fragrant. I don't dare buy them. The ones we make at home aren't as fragrant."
"Is there something wrong with it smelling good?" Jiang's mother poured the cut braised pig ears into the plate.
"There might be a problem." Jiang Moli said, "But I don't know. I'm just a little afraid to buy it. After buying it once, I want to buy it again. If I buy it a few more times, I won't feel at ease."
In her previous life, Jiang Moli saw on the news that someone was selling braised food that contained addictive ingredients that would also make it fragrant when other things were added. Without any evidence, Jiang Moli was afraid, so she would buy less and eat it occasionally. She didn't eat it often, so she didn't have to buy from the same store every time.
"I don't buy it often, it's nothing." Jiang's mother said, "Don't buy it another day, I'll make it. I don't have to work now, so I have time to cook. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll make it."
"Okay." Jiang Moli said, "I want to eat braised pork, with more lean meat. I don't like fatty meat."
"No problem." Jiang's mother chuckled. Then she thought of something, "Did your brother ask you to borrow money?"
"Mom..." Jiang Moli was puzzled, "Did you just follow me out?"
"I didn't go out with you," Jiang's mother said. "I thought if they didn't ask me for money, they must have borrowed it from you. If the child needs to enroll in kindergarten, then they have to pay directly and can't owe money. If the child needs to go to kindergarten for daycare, then they have to pay more for meals. Cuihua doesn't have a job, so she can pick up the child from school, and the child doesn't have to eat at the kindergarten, which saves a bit of money. Even if you save money, you still have to pay, right?"
"You know everything." Jiang Moli said, "I thought..."
"You think I don't know?" Jiang's mother asked. "You, who go to work regularly, know all this, so how could I not know? Your sister-in-law's family called her several times, all asking for money. They thought she'd come to the city and made a fortune, so they asked her for money. And she foolishly lent the money without even considering her own little family. Did she really think that money was easy to earn and save?"
Jiang's mother hesitated to make a move. She didn't give the Zhao Guodong couple any more money. She just wanted to see how they would handle it. Jiang's mother thought that Zhao Guodong might have taken an advance on his salary, or that he might have borrowed money from a friend. But when she thought about Zhao Guodong borrowing money from Jiang Moli, she felt that it was normal and not unexpected.
"When they really need money and can't save it anymore, they know to borrow it," Jiang's mother said. "You lend them money, and there's no telling when they'll pay it back. They need money for so many things. The younger one is about to start school, and time flies. How much can your brother save if he works alone? Your sister-in-law's family will definitely need her help in the future."
"Brother, will you always help your sister-in-law's family?" Jiang Moli asked, "Is brother that stupid? Is it your sister-in-law's family or your relatives who are borrowing money?"
"I don't know." Jiang's mother said, "Your brother has been in the countryside for so many years. Your sister-in-law's family has helped them. If someone asks them to borrow money, they probably won't refuse."
"..." Jiang Moli tilted her head, she didn't know.
"Don't lend money to your brother every time," Jiang's mother said. "If he asks, lend him money. You'll get used to it. Your brother has his own family, and you'll have your own family in the future. Let your brother take care of things on his own. A brother can't always rely on his sister to pay."
"I don't lend money to brother every time. This is the first time he asked me to borrow money after he returned to the city, so of course I had to agree." Jiang Moli was embarrassed to disagree. She couldn't stop her niece from going to school. Girls had to go to school more. Only by studying more could they change their destiny.
If Jiang Moli hadn't studied opera, she would have studied even harder, striving to get into high school and then go to college. If Jiang Moli had really gotten into high school, her junior high school grades would have been among the best, not bad at all. If Jiang Moli hadn't loved opera and wanted to pursue a career in it, she would have continued to attend high school.
"My sister-in-law doesn't like girls very much. She doesn't treat the eldest daughter as well as her son." Jiang Moli said, "If they really don't have the money and can't borrow it, they might not let the child go to kindergarten. Some people think that not having a child go to kindergarten doesn't matter. It still makes a difference if the child spends one more year in kindergarten. They can learn some knowledge in advance, and when they enter first grade, the workload will be less and it will be easier."
"Your brother will take care of his children himself, so you don't need to worry too much." Jiang's mother said, "Mom is not asking you to care about them, nor am I asking you to intervene in their affairs. You have your own life, and you can't take care of them so much."
"Don't worry, Mom. Three times is the limit." Jiang Moli said, "If my brother asks me to borrow money three times, I won't lend him money. Let him go find someone else to borrow money."
Jiang's mother loves her son, and she also loves her daughter. She tries her best to treat them equally. She doesn't care when others say she doesn't treat them equally. She only thinks about what she should do. Jiang Moli brings a lot of warmth to Jiang's mother. With Jiang Moli's presence, Jiang's mother's life in the Jiang family is much better, and Jiang's father treats her better too.
Back then, if Jiang Moli hadn't been around, Jiang Yuqin would have gone even further. With Jiang Moli around, Jiang's father would have taken her into consideration.
When Jiang's father returned home, Jiang Moli didn't tell her mother about Zhao Guodong borrowing money. As long as it was within Jiang Moli's ability, she would just lend it.
Others don’t know that Zhao Guodong asked Jiang Moli to borrow money, but Miao Guifeng knows.
In their previous life, Zhao Guodong and his wife also asked Jiang Moli to borrow money, and Jiang Moli lent them money. Jiang Moli was willing to lend money to Zhao Guodong and his wife, but not to Jiang Yuqin. Jiang Yuqin got upset, thinking that Jiang Moli looked down on her and bullied her as her elder sister.
At night, Miao Guifeng and Yang Bingrong were lying on the bed, and Miao Guifeng thought about the fact that Da Niu was going to register for school.
"Cuihua and her husband should ask Jiang Moli to borrow money." Miao Guifeng said.
"Huh?" Yang Bingrong was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Miao Guifeng to suddenly talk about Zhao Guodong and his wife.
"Cuihua spent money lavishly, buying so many things, new clothes, new quilts, and even buying things to send back to her parents' home, and then lending money out," Miao Guifeng said. "The couple only had so little money, it's impossible that they didn't spend it all."
"It's not our family's business." Yang Bingrong said.
"They..." Miao Guifeng was wondering if those people would make a fuss, but she guessed that wouldn't happen. Jiang Yuqin was not the daughter of the Jiang family, so she didn't dare to come over and make trouble.
During this time, Jiang Yuqin neglected her work and made mistakes due to her need to care for her adopted son. This displeased the workshop director. The factory was already short on orders, and some employees were slacking off and not doing their jobs properly. The factory leadership considered letting some employees rest and then bringing them back to work when orders came in. However, while they were staying home, they would not receive any salary.
If those people want to find other jobs, that's fine; the factory won't stop them. If the other jobs are temporary, they don't have to resign; as long as they can come back when the factory wants them, that's fine.
Jiang Yuqin didn't want to look for another job, she just wanted to stay working in the factory.
Wang Chunfen and Jiang Yuqin worked in the same factory and faced the same situation. Unlike Jiang Yuqin, Wang Chunfen didn't work hard; she worked hard, but the prevailing environment affected her work.
"How can this be?" Jiang Yuqin was very angry. "Why don't you let others go home and wait first? Why do you want us to go home and wait first?"
"Didn't the factory say it would be based on the degree of financial hardship for the family? Those whose families are struggling will stay at the factory first, and when there are orders, they'll be the first to go," Wang Chunfen said. "We're married, and we have a partner at home who's working and earning a salary, so they'll let us go back home and wait. They'll let us come back when the factory has more orders. In the meantime, we'll find some odd jobs."
"How are those odd jobs easy to do? They take a long time and don't pay much." Jiang Yuqin said, "Other people are having difficulties? I said I'm having difficulties. We have a child at home. His biological father is gone, and Ding Chao and I are raising him. Raising a child is expensive, so we should be working here."
"..." Wang Chunfen looked at Jiang Yuqin. She had already told her that raising a child was not an easy task. It cost money, a lot of money. If Jiang Yuqin was unwilling to spend the money, then she should not marry Ding Chao and should marry someone else sooner rather than later.
It would have been much better if Jiang Yuqin had married someone else and had her own children, rather than raising someone else's. She could have chosen a man from a better family, who would have taken better care of them. But Jiang Yuqin insisted on marrying Ding Chao and raising someone else's children, and no one could stop her.
"They ask us to back down whenever something happens," Jiang Yuqin said. "We've been working at the factory for several years. How can they treat us like this? They even say we're young and it'll be easy for us to find work. They know how hard it is to find work outside."
The factory has not closed down yet, but it lacks orders. The leaders have no other choice but to let the employees go back home and wait for a while, and suspend the payment of wages.
With reform and opening up and market regulation, many factories, not just Jiang Yuqin's, are facing a shortage of orders. Some factories have taken advantage of this opportunity and developed even better, while others have fallen on hard times.
Some unit leaders are so used to receiving orders from above that when they're asked to find them themselves, they're completely bewildered. Where to find them? Who needs the products? Where do they need them? Who will pay the price? There are so many problems these people have to solve, and they can only find solutions, even if they can't think of any.
The leaders were troubled and held meeting after meeting.
No matter how many meetings her boss held or how difficult the decision was, Jiang Yuqin only knew that the job she had paid for in the first place could no longer force her to go home and wait.
"Older people can retire early, in a few years. But what about us?" Jiang Yuqin said, "It's even harder for us. We need to get married and raise children, and we don't have any money saved yet."
"Go back first." Wang Chunfen said.
"No, I have to go find the leader." Jiang Yuqin rolled up her sleeves and was about to go find the leader.
Wang Chunfen quickly pulled Jiang Yuqin away and said, "Don't go."
"Why not go?" Jiang Yuqin frowned.
"Are you stupid?" Wang Chunfen whispered, "Have you forgotten how you got your job?"
Jiang Yuqin bought her job, which is not allowed. However, when she bought the job, others would say she was a relative of the previous employer, and the leaders would turn a blind eye, and the matter would be forgotten. It wasn't just one person who bought the job; those who did usually knew someone at the company and had some connections, so no one would say anything. Buying a job costs a lot of money, and it takes time to recoup the investment.
"If you really want to make a fuss about it, your result will be even worse than it is now." Wang Chunfen pulled Jiang Yuqin, not allowing her to go to the leader.
If Jiang Yuqin really provoked those people, I'm afraid they would dig up the past.
"I..." Jiang Yuqin was discouraged, "This is not a reason for them to bully us."
"It's come to this point, and it's not just you, there are others as well," Wang Chunfen said. "There are so many people causing trouble, and with so many people here, it's impossible for the leaders to arrange for everyone to go."
"If they make a fuss, maybe we can arrange for them to come back first." Jiang Yuqin said, "The crying child gets the milk."
Jiang Yuqin memorized the saying, "The crying child gets the milk," from a very young age. The Jin family constantly taught her to let her make noises, to not let her suffer any loss, and to not let her stepmother take all the benefits. When Jiang Yuqin was out, she was also quite assertive, not wanting others to think she was easy to bully.
"Let them make a fuss," Wang Chunfen said. "I heard that some private factories now pay even better."
"How good can it be?" Jiang Yuqin asked, "Are there any benefits during the holidays? Can we get a share of housing?"
"Housing... basically forget it. Private factories don't give out housing for free," Wang Chunfen said. "It's just about earning a high salary. You have a child at home, so take care of him first. The child is still so young, and asking a neighbor to help take care of the child is bothering them and they'll have to pay them some money. You can take care of the child yourself instead of letting a neighbor do it. Just think of it as earning money from childcare."
"But..." But Jiang Yuqin didn't want to face that situation all the time. She said that she treated the child as her own, but the child would cry and make a fuss. It would be fine for her to go back and coax the child at night, but if she had to take care of the child all day, Jiang Yuqin didn't want to.
Jiang Yuqin couldn't say this, not even to Wang Chunfen. Wang Chunfen had repeatedly asked Jiang Yuqin not to raise the child, but Jiang Yuqin had said she would take good care of the child. If Jiang Yuqin said she didn't want to take care of the child all day, wouldn't that make Wang Chunfen laugh?
There was indeed some rift between Jiang Yuqin and Wang Chunfen. Jiang Yuqin said in front of Ding Chao that Wang Chunfen would not let her raise the child. Ding Chao was not happy about this, and Jiang Yuqin felt it. When Aunt Jin came to ask about Jiang Yuqin's life experience, Jiang Yuqin first suspected Wang Chunfen.
Although Jiang Yuqin and Wang Chunfen have a good relationship now, they both have some thoughts in their minds.
"Let's go back first." Wang Chunfen said, "We'll have to think about this matter in the long run."
"Can't we wait until after the New Year to discuss those things?" Jiang Yuqin asked, "We haven't saved any money in advance, so what are we going to do during the New Year?"
"Maybe it will be ready by the New Year," Wang Chunfen said. "Maybe it will be ready next month? We just have to wait for the boss to find the order, and the boss is under a lot of pressure. Come on, don't you want to go back and take care of the kids?"
Jiang Yuqin had no choice but to go back home.
When Ding Chao learned that Jiang Yuqin's work had been affected and she had to stay home temporarily, awaiting further notice from the factory, he was upset. Ding Chao had originally thought that since they both had salaries, it would be easier for them to raise a child together. He simply hoped that Jiang Yuqin could take care of the child while still working. If Jiang Yuqin could do more, he could relax a little.
Now, Jiang Yuqin has to stay home for the time being. It's not certain when she'll be able to return to work, and she's worried she'll never be able to. If she can't return to work, she'll have no money, and she'll just have the title of a factory employee.
"Your factory ran out of orders so quickly?" Ding Chao asked. "Didn't your leaders try to find orders before?"
"I guess they did, but they just didn't find that many." Jiang Yuqin said, "Before, when we were working on orders, sometimes we only worked for the whole morning, and they wouldn't let us come back early. We stayed in the factory, not doing anything, just chatting there."
At that time, Jiang Yuqin was still thinking that it would be better to rest more and have less things to do. She didn't expect that the factory would let them go back home and not pay them first.
"You get a full day's pay for half a day's work," Jiang Yuqin said. "Now you don't even get a half-day's pay."
Jiang Yuqin thought it would be fine to work half a day and get paid half a day, but they said her family wasn't that needy and put her on the list. Jiang Yuqin didn't know about this beforehand and only found out when the list was released.
"Our workshop director has never really liked me," Jiang Yuqin said. "Other families are struggling, but ours isn't too. You and I have only been married for a short time, and what they did is too much. I wanted to talk to her, but Chunfen said I bought my job, so we better not make a big deal about it."
"It's really not appropriate to make a big fuss about a job you bought," Ding Chao said. "You have to be careful about the consequences, so you don't end up losing your job."
"That's why I didn't go and make a scene." Jiang Yuqin said, "I just couldn't accept it. Why did they ask me to stay home?"
"Where is Wang Chunfen?" Ding Chao asked.
"Since I'm back, of course she'll go back home too," Jiang Yuqin said. "She also said that her children are still young, and it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to come back and take care of them. She'll also go back and take care of the children and spend more time with them. If there's still no work after a while, she'll have to find something to do."
"Look at what she finds to do." Ding Chao hoped Jiang Yuqin would find something to do quickly. "Other people find some odd jobs around the house, like pasting matchboxes or sewing things. It's all fine."
Ding Chao didn't say that Jiang Yuqin should find something to do quickly, but the meaning of his words was very clear.
Jiang Moli and the others didn't pay much attention to Jiang Yuqin's situation, but the factory asked some employees to go home and wait for orders, which was a big deal. Some people in the neighborhood also worked in that factory, and some of them had to go home and wait for notification.
Someone suddenly screamed in the middle of the night, which prevented everyone from sleeping and scared everyone.
When others tried to find the person, he would just scream once or twice and then stop, and this happened for two or three nights in a row. It was unbearable for everyone, so they just had to try to find this person.
The screaming voice was from a woman in her forties. She worked at the same unit as Jiang Yuqin and had also been asked to go home and wait for orders. This was too much for her, as she had elderly parents and young children to support, and her children were about to get married. She reported her family's financial difficulties to the factory, but the factory manager explained that other family members worked and that the factory had already investigated the situation.
There are many people like this woman, and the factory thinks it's better for them to go home early. These women can return home and continue to be housewives, doing more for the family and spending more time with them. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to have jobs outside the home to support their families.
Looking at the number of male and female employees who stopped working, more female employees did so. Some people accused me of gender discrimination, but my boss explained that this was based on my family's circumstances. He said that they were the breadwinners of the family and that they couldn't just kick them over. They needed to have someone else do the work to support the family.
"It's the middle of the night, why are you still yelling over there?" Jiang Moli was woken up. She walked out of the room and saw her mother. "Mom, you were woken up too?"
"It's not just our house, the lights in other houses are on too." Jiang's mother said.
Jiang Moli wanted to walk out the door, but was stopped by her mother.
"Don't go out so late at night." Jiang's mother said.
"Go and see." Jiang Moli said, "Who is yelling in the middle of the night?"
"Someone has found it." Jiang's mother said, "You don't need to go. By the time you go, the daylily will be cold."
The people from the sub-district office were waiting nearby today, and some neighbors were also looking to see which family it was. At this moment, the people from the sub-district office had already gone over to persuade them.
Jiang's mother didn't go. She vaguely heard some noises: no job, no work... Jiang's mother gave her job to Zhao Guodong, and still had a job with her husband and daughter. Jiang's mother waited until her daughter was about to graduate from school before letting Zhao Guodong come back.
Others wondered why Jiang's mother hadn't given up her job to Zhao Guodong sooner, perhaps when Jiang Moli was attending Nancheng Art College. Jiang's mother didn't, figuring her son wouldn't need her for a few more years. If she had, she and her daughter might have had a tough time. Women can't always rely on men for money; that's unrealistic. Men know the family needs money, but they'll ask, "Why do we need so much? Why are you spending so much all at once?"
Jiang's mother was used to working and didn't want to ask a man for money. Her daughter was still studying and didn't earn much, so Jiang's mother had to consider her daughter's expenses. Girls shouldn't be too frugal. They should spend more money and enjoy themselves more, so that they wouldn't be easily deceived by men.
The people from the street office tried to persuade the man, but he still wanted to scream a few more times. Fortunately, someone covered his mouth.
"Stop yelling. Your family doesn't need to rest. Others do."
"There are children at other people's homes. If you yell like that, you'll scare them."
"Since we've stopped working, we can find something else to do. We can always make some money."
"We have to live on. There's always a way."
"This situation is not just happening in your family, it's happening in other families too."
…
The people in the subdistrict office couldn't just offer to give them a bigger red envelope; if they did, others would follow suit. All they could do was persuade them to find odd jobs.
Many unemployed people find odd jobs. These odd jobs aren't bad; they're not particularly strenuous, can be done from home, and allow you to take care of your family while still earning a little money. While that little money is certainly much lower than a salary, any money earned is better than nothing.
This is the general environment. Reform and opening up presented a great opportunity, and some factories persisted. That's not the fault of reform and opening up; those factories already had significant problems. Factory workers were constantly waiting for assignments from above, and they weren't very dedicated, hoping the factory would keep them company forever.
"There will be a way. There are many ways. If you think about it more, you will find one. Life is much better now than before," said a staff member from the neighborhood office. "Life was really hard before."
After a while, the sound became smaller and it became much quieter.
"Go back and rest." Jiang's mother pushed Jiang Moli back to her room. "Don't listen anymore. You can't hear anything."
When people talk in the room, they naturally can't speak loudly, especially at night. They have to speak softly. They don't want others to hear what they say, and others may not be able to hear clearly even if they lean against the wall.
"Mom, you should go to bed early too." Jiang Moli said, "Now that we've found the person, he shouldn't scream anymore."
"Go, go and have a rest." Jiang's mother said.
Jiang Moli went back to her room to rest. In the second half of the night, the man stopped screaming, and Jiang Moli slept very comfortably. She didn't wake up in the middle of the night and slept until dawn.
At noon of a new day, Sheng Jiahao asked Jiang Moli to go out for lunch together. During lunch, Jiang Moli mentioned that someone screamed in the middle of the night, and she shook her head repeatedly.
"One night is fine, but two or three nights like that is enough to make people curse." Jiang Moli said, "Quite a few people stopped working this time. When you start your own company, are you going to open a new factory or buy a state-owned one?"
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