Zhang Ze couldn't do anything about Xu Peng. The key was that the more he talked to Xu Peng, the angrier he would get, and he would be unable to do anything about it. This was very frustrating!
Chen and Huang Guang didn't get involved in Xu Peng and Zhang Ze's bickering. They didn't know why, but they always felt that something was going to happen when the two of them got together. Although they didn't know what it was, as long as they didn't fight and affect their relationship, everything else was a small matter!
Just as the two were staring at each other, Huang Xiaoping walked over with a piece of paper. The timing was perfect, exactly eight o'clock, and the live broadcast room was opened immediately.
"Good morning, Teacher Chen, Teacher Huang, and all the teachers. You all look great, which means you slept well last night. Now, I'll announce today's tasks!"
Huang Guang stopped Huang Xiaoping, "Director, which eye of yours saw that we slept well last night? Look at Teacher Zhang, he's pale and has dark circles under his eyes. Is that a sign of a good night's sleep?"
"Look at those two beauties, their eyes are barely open, they wish they could go back to sleep for another nap, are they really sleeping well?"
"And Xiao Xu, look at his belly. He ate two big bowls of thin porridge with a countable number of grains of rice, and he's still starving. How can you bear to make him do things on an empty stomach?"
Huang Xiaoping was bewildered by Huang Guang's three consecutive questions. Where did all this anger come from so early in the morning? Was he trying to avoid doing his job?
"Teacher Huang, the way you're talking makes it sound like our production team is mistreating you. We gave you quite a lot yesterday!"
"Not a lot? You stingy old man Huang, don't you think about it? Yesterday, we worked all day without our feet touching the ground, we were exhausted, and you only gave us fifty yuan. A bricklayer can earn one hundred and fifty yuan a day. So, the five of us big stars racked our brains to please the audience in front of the camera and we're not even worth a third of their individual value? Stingy old man Huang, you've made us all work together and we don't even get the national minimum wage. In that case, we might as well go work as gatekeepers, at least we can fill our stomachs!"
Huang Xiaoping was taken aback. It seemed that someone had been giving him some pointers. "Oh dear, Teacher Huang, Teacher Chen, Teacher Zhang, and all the other teachers, as you all know, President Fang only allocated two million yuan to us for our activities. We had no choice. The rent for this house alone is a considerable sum for a year, and then there are renovations to be done, which also require a lot of money. Every day, our food, drink, and other necessities cost money. We can only wait until things are a bit better in the future and then try to find a way to subsidize you a little!"
Chen He was easy to talk to, but Huang Guang had a fiery temper, especially after Zhang Ze's accounting yesterday. He was still seething with anger, even after a whole night. He jumped up and said, "You stingy old man Huang, all the milk, drinks, rice, oil, salt, and vinegar on this table were bought by you, weren't they? Wasn't it because of the advertising? From now on, we'll just use bowls for everything we eat and drink. Since it's all bought, no brand means no harm. Maybe one day we can even get some sponsorship to improve our lives. We won't need to haggle with you, stingy old man Huang!"
Huang Xiaoping didn't expect Huang Guang to be so irritable today, threatening to smash the pot at the slightest disagreement. This was a bit troublesome. It seemed that he had been exploited too much, causing a rebellious mentality. However, he couldn't admit it directly, otherwise it would be difficult to do things in the future.
"Teacher Huang, please calm down. I understand how you feel. However, the production team did accept some advertisements, but the advertising fees were not much, and the products were used on you, right? We have to admit that. The main reason is that yesterday was the first day of the live broadcast, and the influence was still a bit small. We are short of funds, so please understand. I believe things will improve a lot in the future!"
Seeing Huang Xiaoping back down, Huang Guang couldn't help but sigh. "Director Huang, it's not that I'm deliberately trying to make things difficult for you. Look at our workload yesterday, and what did we eat? If it weren't for Teacher Zhang and Xiao Xu going to the river to catch some fish yesterday, to be honest, there wasn't a single dish that could be served. Where would you put Lao Chen and me in terms of face?"
Huang Xiaoping nodded, "This is indeed a bit excessive. Well, let's compromise. We can't offer more benefits for now, but we can't treat you unfairly. Today, our task is to clear all the melon vines from that field and turn it over. I'll give you two hundred yuan. That's quite a wage!"
Huang Guang glanced at Huang Xiaoping with a puzzled look. He felt that Huang Xiaoping was acting a little strange today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Xu Peng was the most qualified to speak about working in the fields. He did some mental calculations and figured the melon patch was about an acre. He didn't need to take special care of the vines; he just needed to borrow an ox, and he could plow an acre in a day. The pay was pretty good; you couldn't find such a high wage in the countryside, and it only required one person to do the work, so it was considered normal income.
After calculating the costs, Xu Peng nodded to Huang Guang, indicating that the job was acceptable and that he hadn't set a trap for the guest group.
"I'll let it slide today since you're being somewhat sincere, but let me make this clear: you can't raise the price on vegetables that cost two hundred yuan. Otherwise, we'll just take the two hundred yuan and buy them ourselves at the market. It's much better than being squeezed out of us by you."
"Don't worry, Teacher Huang, we got some really good dishes in the warehouse today, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Huang Xiaoping's old face beamed with a smile, which successfully appeased the old man. In fact, even if Huang Guang hadn't made a fuss, Huang Xiaoping would still have had to provide the guests with a few more dishes today. The big boss was coming today, and even if the old men lay on the ground and wouldn't move, Huang Xiaoping wouldn't dare not provide a few hearty dishes!
Xu Peng glanced at Zhang Ze and said, "Teacher Zhang, how about we go to the melon field today? I'll go to the village and borrow an ox. An ox can plow three to five acres a day. If we work hard, we can finish plowing in less than a morning!"
Zhang Ze stood up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's finish this quickly and get some rest so we don't have to go out in the afternoon if the sun is too strong."
Xu Peng was pushed by Zhang Ze to hurry out the door and ran to the village chief's house not far away to borrow an ox and a plow. Fortunately, it was not the busy farming season, and the village chief's ox was staying obediently in the cowshed, so it was easy to borrow it.
After walking for half an hour along yesterday's route, Zhang Ze led the ox in front, while Xu Peng followed behind carrying the plow. When they arrived at the melon field, Zhang Ze looked at the dozen or so half-sized watermelons scattered among the melons and asked Xu Peng, "What should we do with the remaining unripe watermelons?"
Xu Peng laughed and said, "What do you mean, what to do? Usually, in melon fields like this, you can pick them up, cook them, and feed them to the pigs. When I'm plowing the field later, I can pick them up and give them to the village chief. We borrowed the village chief's cow, so it's only right that we give him some pig feed."
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