Chapter 145 Construction Site Workaholic
"Aunt Chen, I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely remember what you told me."
Zhao Xiaojing wiped her tears silently, took a deep breath and answered.
Too many things go awry in this world, and it's common to hold onto lifelong regrets because of obsession. It might seem like just a few words, a story, but the pain and suffering endured by those who experienced it, and the immense destruction and reconstruction of their minds that followed, are something only one can truly understand if they've experienced it themselves.
Zhao Xiaojing felt depressed and uncomfortable. After Chen Huiping left, she was still immersed in the story of Chen Huiping and Mei Zi and was deeply saddened.
Knowing that the next day was the tenth anniversary of Mei Zi's death, and that Chen Huiping and her family would go up the mountain to pay their respects in the morning, Zhao Xiaojing went to the flower shop that night and picked out a bouquet of white flowers. She was watching from the kitchen early the next morning, and when she saw Chen Huiping leaving, she quickly went out and handed the bouquet to her.
"Auntie, this is just a token of my appreciation. I hope everything is going well for Sister Meizi over there."
Chen Huiping accepted the bouquet, and her expression, which had been so calm when she recounted the story yesterday, finally showed a touch of emotion. "Mei Zi used to always like buying chamomiles and putting them in vases. Xiao Zhao, that's so thoughtful. Thank you."
"It's nothing. Auntie, you said I look like Sister Mei Zi, so don't be polite." Zhao Xiaojing waved her hand. She didn't know the name of this small flower, she just felt that it had a faint scent, and when gathered together, it was beautiful and pure, and the color was suitable too.
After delivering the flowers, Zhao Xiaojing went back to the kitchen. It was still early today, so she took advantage of the morning to finish what she needed to do. In the afternoon, she could just use the quick function to cut up the fruit. She still had time to go out and look for shops.
She did the math yesterday. Adding the sweet soup and pork trotter rice together, she and Su Yuchen have earned a total of 80,000 yuan so far. Excluding the salary to be paid to Lu Hongwen in the middle and late part of the month and their daily expenses, plus the money she already had and the cash awarded by the system during this period, as well as Suozi's own money, the total is nearly 170,000 yuan.
If I open a shop near the school, the funds are a bit limited. It is no problem to open a small shop like the braised meat shop I consulted for the first time, but the environment is not very good, and the shop is too small, so I will have to move to another location later.
Zhao Xiaojing was interested in the store that had the intention deposit issue last time, but the cheapest transfer fee was 150,000 yuan, and the funds were obviously not enough.
But it’s okay to just run the dessert stall and deliver meals to students online. I can save enough money in just one more month.
But after all, when you are free, the store will open eventually. It is always a good idea to go out and see the business of the stores on other streets and learn more about them.
At half past ten, Zhao Xiaojing had finished making all the sweet condiments except the fruits, and was about to clean up and make lunch when Chen Huiping came again and asked Zhao Xiaojing to have lunch together.
She said that her son's family went out to travel during the National Day holiday after visiting the grave, leaving only the two old people. It was neither noon nor lunchtime, and Zhao Xiaojing's pork trotter rice was not sold. The two of them didn't know what to eat. It happened that Zhao Xiaojing was also alone, so they went out to eat together, and the three of them could eat more comfortably.
Zhao Xiaojing thought about it and agreed readily. Seeing that it was still early, Chen Huiping called her to sit upstairs.
The three of them entered the house while Chen Huiping kept pushing and shoving and complaining that Zhao Xiaojing had to bring fruit just because she came.
Zhao Xiaojing had been here with Chen Huiping before. I remember that this was the place where I signed the contract with her for the first time. It was a small room filled with many notebooks and keys, as well as a mess of light bulbs, hardware, repair tools and contract samples.
When Zhao Xiaojing came again this time, she found that the room was just an office and storage room where Chen Huiping received tenants, and it was separated for separate use.
Chen Huiping's house is next to the utility room. Three rooms on one floor of the old residential building were connected. The space is very spacious. Although the decoration is a bit old, it can be seen that a lot of money was spent on it back then. The house is kept in tidiness.
"Xiao Zhao, have some water." Chen Huiping's husband quickly boiled a pot of water and poured it for Zhao Xiaojing. "I've heard your aunt talk about you for a long time, and I've eaten your pork knuckle rice several times, but this is the first time I've met you in person. You're truly young and promising!"
"Xiao Zhao, you don't know that your uncle is usually a workaholic. As long as he has something to do, he won't come home no matter how hard you try. Ever since he ate your pork trotter rice, he will definitely come home on time for dinner every day as long as he says he bought pork trotter rice!" Chen Huiping complained with a smile.
Chen Huiping's husband, Wang Jiandang, also retired early, but neither of them had a primary source of income in their youth. After retirement, Chen Huiping completely let go, living a leisurely life at home collecting rent. However, Wang Jiandang was reluctant to give up the resources and connections he had worked so hard to build throughout his life, and since he couldn't find anyone to take over, he continued to maintain his original private business.
"Uncle and aunt look so young. If you like it, I'll cut more next time. We'll open for business as usual when the comb comes back," said Zhao Xiaojing.
"No, no, your portion is really big enough. After eating it, I can go out for a walk around the construction site and still be full when I come back!"
"That's right. Your uncle sometimes comes home in the early morning, and he often has to eat a biscuit or some fruit. But now, after eating a serving of pork knuckle rice, you can't eat anything else! You'd better not cut more."
The couple both curled their lips and smiled, waving their hands to refuse.
"Uncle, why is he working at the construction site at night? Uncle shouldn't be a safety officer at a special construction site, right?" Zhao Xiaojing asked doubtfully.
Although she knew that some construction sites had their own special features and required overtime work at night, those who worked overtime were basically front-line workers, with at most a safety officer. It was not the case for someone like Wang Jiandang.
"Oh, it seems that Xiao Zhao knows something about this!" Wang Jiandang looked up in surprise when he heard it.
"I worked on a construction site for two months as a canteen assistant chef, and I often heard people talking about this. I also have a relative who works in the same industry, and I often hear them talk about it too."
The relative Zhao Xiaojing was talking about was her third uncle Zhou Jianye, Dong Mei's husband. He worked as a project manager at the Mingcheng construction site in neighboring Henan Province. He was away from home for most of the year due to his work. Sometimes Dong Mei would talk to her about some of the things, and Zhao Xiaojing knew a little bit about them after listening to them a lot.
"Impressive! You even worked as a sous chef on a construction site! This job is very hard, even more tiring than being a head chef. How many people worked on the construction site you worked for?"
Wang Jiandang became interested when he heard this and asked questions enthusiastically.
"You get excited when I talk about the construction site! Look at you, Xiao Zhao, are you a workaholic?" Chen Huiping gave Wang Jiandang a look of disdain and scolded him with a smile.
Zhao Xiaojing also chuckled, "There are 300 people on the entire construction site. It's not hard work, the working hours are not long."
"300 people, that's not a small scale, Xiao Zhao can do it!
The work I do isn't part of the construction process. Usually, people come to us after the project is finished, and we go there to take on-site measurements, do the settlement, and revise the contract."
When Wang Jiandang talked about his work, he completely shook off the gloomy mood he had just had after visiting the graves, and talked enthusiastically with Zhao Xiaojing about the things going on at the construction site.
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