"There's a small hill over there that needs to be leveled. And there's a low-lying area in the southeast corner that needs to be filled in."
"That's easy; with enough people, it can be done in a day."
Su Jianjun said with full confidence.
"Let's go find the old Party Secretary."
Su Jianguo put away his tools.
"We need to get the land use permits sorted out first, then hire some staff."
The two brothers immediately went to the old Party Secretary's house.
When the Su brothers knocked on the door, the old Party Secretary was feeding chickens in the yard.
"Founding the nation and the army, so early?"
The old Party Secretary put down the chicken feeder and patted the rice husks off his hands.
"I heard you brought back a truckload of plastic last night?"
Su Jianguo nodded and stated his purpose directly.
"Old Party Secretary, we want to expand our vegetable greenhouses and need to borrow that piece of wasteland at the west end of the village."
The old Party Secretary squinted his eyes and pondered for a moment.
"That land is just lying fallow anyway, so it's fine for you to use it. However..."
He paused.
"There are some impoverished households in the village; could we give them priority in hiring?"
"That's exactly what I'm planning."
Su Jianguo readily agreed.
"We plan to hire thirty laborers, paying them one yuan a day, plus lunch."
The old Party Secretary's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"One yuan a day? That's pretty good pay!"
He turned and walked into the house.
"Wait, I'll use the megaphone to call for help right now!"
Although the village's loudspeaker is quite old, its sound is still loud and clear.
The old Party Secretary cleared his throat and shouted into the microphone:
"Attention all villagers! Su Jianguo is expanding his vegetable greenhouses and is hiring 30 workers. One yuan a day, plus one meal! Those who want to apply, come to the village office immediately!"
The broadcast echoed through the quiet village.
Within ten minutes, twenty or thirty people had gathered at the entrance of the village office, and the number was still increasing.
Su Jianguo stood on the steps in front of the village office, looking at the dense crowd below, but he wasn't particularly surprised.
At this point in time, all the work in the countryside has been completed.
Even if it's just a simple meal, providing a dollar a day would attract a lot of labor.
"Fellow villagers!"
Su Jianguo raised his voice.
"We plan to expand our vegetable greenhouses by six, which requires a large workforce. The work includes leveling the land, building the framework, and covering with plastic film, and it may take about ten days."
There was a buzz of discussion among the crowd, and most people looked pleased.
One yuan a day, ten days is ten yuan, which was a considerable income in the rural areas at that time.
"Brother Jianguo, is it really true that wages are paid daily?"
A middle-aged man with a full beard asked loudly.
Su Jianguo recognized him as Ma Laoda, a notorious troublemaker in the village.
Just as he was about to answer, Su Jianjun stepped forward first.
"Boss Ma, what are you saying?"
Su Jianjun's voice was loud and clear.
"My brother has been in the village for so many years, when has he ever gone back on his word?"
Boss Ma was speechless after being rebuked and lowered his head in embarrassment.
A good-natured laugh came from someone in the crowd.
"Don't worry, everyone."
Su Jianguo picked up the conversation.
"Wages will be settled on the spot at the end of each day, with no delays. However, let's be clear from the start: honest work is essential; shirking responsibility and cheating won't do!"
"Jianguo is right!"
The former Party Secretary stepped forward to offer his support.
"This is a great thing that will generate revenue for our village. I'll be the first to object to anyone who tries to sabotage it!"
The registration process went smoothly, and Su Jianguo quickly selected thirty strong and capable laborers, and also chose ten women to be responsible for cooking and helping out.
He divided the workers into three groups.
The first group, led by Su Jianjun, was responsible for leveling the land; the second group, led by Wu Ermaitai, was responsible for preparing building materials; and the third group, led by Zhang Dazhu, was responsible for building the greenhouse frame.
"Let's level the land first today."
Su Jianguo assigned the task.
"Jianjun led his men to level the small mound and transport the soil to the southeast corner to fill the depression. The others cleared away the weeds and stones on the ground."
The workers received their tools and got to work with great enthusiasm.
Su Jianguo personally supervised the construction and occasionally offered some pointers.
At noon, Wang Guixiang and several women brought over hot meals.
Cabbage stew with tofu, cornbread buns, and a bucket of egg drop soup with oil floating on top.
"Everyone's worked hard, let's eat first!"
Su Jianguo greeted him.
"Eat your meal and rest for half an hour before continuing."
The workers sat together, wolfing down their simple meals, but their faces were filled with satisfied smiles.
For them, finding such work right at their doorstep was like a windfall.
My work efficiency was even higher in the afternoon.
By the time the sun was setting, the wasteland had become flat and open, perfectly meeting the requirements for building a greenhouse.
Su Jianguo kept his promise and gave each worker one yuan on the spot.
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