Chapter 8
On the day of the meeting, the conference room of the street office was filled with many educated youth inside and outside.
One after another, faces in their prime were whispering to each other.
Just as Lao Guo finished talking about how the street was going to work with enthusiastic people to help unemployed educated youth set up stalls, a male educated youth's voice exploded in the conference room: "Wow - a street vendor! Is this what you're going to get me? Not even a temporary worker!"
Then there was a buzzing sound.
"Set up a stall? What stall?"
"I heard that Ahong and his friends really made money, one big unity per day, my uncle saw it with his own eyes."
"What's so special about earning in one day? Can you guarantee that you can earn this much every month?"
"You have to invest your own money."
The conference room suddenly became a mess.
This situation was beyond Lao Guo's expectation. He was stunned for a moment, trying to distinguish what these people were worried about from the mixed voices.
Zhao Hong, who was sitting in the first row, was also getting a little impatient. He looked back frequently and complained quietly, "It's a good thing, why are they arguing?"
Amidst the hustle and bustle, Chen Lanjun sat upright and had the leisure to blow away the tea stems floating in the teacup.
"Silence—silence—"
Old Guo frowned and slapped his palms on the table again and again.
The sound became slightly quieter, but still noisy.
Lao Guo almost shouted: "As for this matter, our street will definitely do its best to provide assistance to everyone..."
Before he finished speaking, a long-faced boy sneered, "It would be more reliable if you could find us a temporary worker!"
"Yes, that's it!"
Some clever ones took the opportunity to bargain: "Will the street vendors pay for the cost of setting up the stall? If we lose money, will it be yours?"
Lao Guo was so angry that he laughed. How could someone say such a thing? It was totally incomprehensible!
He blew his beard and glared: "What you said is really funny! If you lose money, it belongs to the street, and if you make money, it's yours. Can I just give you my salary?"
"Okay." The educated youth replied in a good-natured way.
There was a burst of laughter.
Lao Guo was so embarrassed that he looked towards Chen Lanjun who was sitting in the first row for help.
Chen Lanjun took a sip of tea, tilted her head, and said to Zhao Hong, "You tell me what I said before."
"Really?"
"Are you scared?"
"No way!" Zhao Hong took a deep breath, stood up, came to his senses, glanced at everyone, and spoke.
"Give me two minutes and I'll explain it to you all."
He was already somewhat famous among the educated youth, although not necessarily in a good way. This little fame, plus the good voice he had developed from setting up the stall over the past few days, made his words sound like a loud bell, and actually drowned out the noise.
A group of unemployed educated youth looked at him sideways, watching what he would say.
Being stared at by so many people, Zhao Hong couldn't help but feel a little scared. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Chen Lanjun smiling and giving him a thumbs-up. He calmed down a little and spoke out his prepared speech like pouring beans: "We have set up a stall these days, and everyone has seen it. We make an average of 7 or 8 yuan every day. Even if we can only make this much money half of the time in a month, it's still 100 yuan!"
"But setting up a stall requires investment, and you need to buy raw materials. You have to pay for all this yourself. We spent a lot of effort to get all the raw materials. But now the street is actively helping unemployed young people. Director Guo and other leaders are actively coordinating and communicating with comrades from the Grain and Oil Bureau to ensure that everyone can buy raw materials."
At this point, Chen Lanjun took the lead in applauding.
Nowadays, clapping is like a conditioned reflex for people. Although they don’t know why, they all start clapping subconsciously.
When the applause died down, Zhao Hong continued, "In addition to the streets, we also want to help everyone. If there are people who are willing to start a business, we promise to share our experience with everyone in all aspects and help them develop a business plan one-on-one. However, due to our limited manpower and energy, the first batch is limited to 3 people. Please come to me to sign up after the meeting. It will start at 12 o'clock tomorrow, first come first served."
"This is just a sharing and exchange meeting. If you are not interested, you can choose not to participate. It will not affect the subsequent work of the street. While waiting for the official work to be implemented, it is not bad to earn a few big unity cards. Everyone can think about this carefully. My speech ends."
Lao Guo continued with his topic, explained it in more detail, and then adjourned the meeting.
It was almost dusk.
After returning home, Zhao Hong was somewhat emotional: "We shared our experience for free, but these people didn't appreciate it. Aqiang almost got angry with us because of this."
"It's normal," Chen Lanjun didn't think much of it. "If you think from their perspective, it's understandable."
We were all waiting to be assigned a job, but there was no news for months and years. When we finally got some news, we were encouraged to set up stalls and be responsible for our own profits and losses.
In a situation like this, it is understandable to be angry.
Another reason is that many people, like Zhao Hong, are somewhat pessimistic about the future situation. What if the wind direction changes suddenly? Then the money invested will be completely wasted.
Before the situation becomes completely clear, most people choose to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances.
Chen Lanjun thought it was normal. She said to Zhao Hong: "This matter is risky in the first place. Not to mention that we don't dare to start now, even if we start setting up a stall, there are many people who give up when they encounter a little difficulty."
Zhao Hong thought for a moment and asked, "How about I go and persuade some friends in private and make things clear?"
Chen Lanjun just shook her head.
"That's enough. I've already pointed out where the food is. Are you still waiting for me to feed it? Eat it if you want."
"Risks and opportunities coexist, and everyone has their own destiny."
She is indeed willing to help others, but this kind of "help" is limited, and she only helps those who are destined to help.
Chen Lanjun yawned and said, "Okay, don't think about it anymore. Go to bed early. We have to get up in the middle of the night to set up the stall."
She fell asleep quickly, while some people were struggling.
For example, Pang Xiaopeng.
Pang Xiaopeng was an unemployed educated youth. After returning to the city, she failed the college entrance examination and could not find a job. Her family's attitude towards her also changed from joy and care for her at the beginning to impatience.
She had heard her brother and sister-in-law express their dissatisfaction to her parents: "It's not that we don't love Xiao Peng, but the house is so small. It's already inconvenient for her to live in the living room. Xiao Bao is also growing up. Where will she sleep in the future? It's not like she can't even sleep in the living room, right?"
Two days later, during dinner, her parents looked at her with apologetic eyes and said that they had asked someone to find a husband for her.
She acted very calmly.
At night, when the family returned to their rooms to sleep, the camp bed was dragged out from the corner and unfolded.
In the darkness of the night, Pang Xiaopeng lay quietly facing the wall, crying silently.
When she cried, she had to control her breathing, not too heavy, so as not to reveal any traces. In such a small house, if she cried, the whole family could hear it clearly.
She didn't want her family to see her cry.
But she was unwilling to get married like this.
She had originally attended this symposium in a daze, but when she heard Director Guo say that they would help unemployed young people find a way to make a living, she, who had been disappointed many times, began to have a glimmer of hope.
After hesitating, Zhao Hong stood up and said a lot of things.
But Pang Xiaopeng's attention was attracted by the girl next to him, Chen Lanjun, a "street girl" from the countryside.
Before attending this meeting, Pang Xiaopeng had asked her about it and learned that the idea of setting up a stall was actually Chen Lanjun's, and she did it. At that time, Pang Xiaopeng was a little bit unbelievable. How could a young girl who had just arrived have such courage and perseverance?
Now I see her with my own eyes, sitting so naturally in the first row, confident and sure.
Pang Xiaopeng felt a little envious and a little yearning.
She struggled for a long time and thought about it for a long time. Before going to sleep, Pang Xiaopeng hugged her mother and asked, "How much dowry did you prepare for me?"
The mother was a little surprised and didn't know what she was going to do.
Pang Xiaopeng's voice trembled a little, but he still said what he wanted to say.
"Can you give me that money for safekeeping?"
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