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"Big news, big news!" Several little kids from the village came running over, shouting, "The people chosen by the Xia family to work in the city have come out. Everyone, hurry up and see them."
Someone threw down the hoe in his hand and said, "Hurry up and see if our child has been selected."
"Let's go, let's see who's here."
Everyone working in the fields dropped their tools and ran to the Xia family. This kind of excitement was worth talking about for the whole year. It was impossible for them not to join in the fun.
When they arrived, there were already three layers of people outside the Xia family's door, so many that they couldn't count them.
"Don't push me, my shoes are about to fall off."
"Let me see, let me see if our Sanya's name is on it."
"Who pushed me? Slow down."
"Hurry up and leave after you finish watching. The people behind you still want to watch. Don't waste time."
"Ermao, you can't read. Why are you moving forward like that? Do you understand?"
So many people attracted Xia's father who was inside. He came out to watch because he was afraid that something might happen if there were too many people.
But seeing so many people crowding in, and fearing they might start fighting again, Father Xia shouted at the door: "Everyone, be quiet and stop crowding."
"Listen, this is the list of people who have been chosen. There are seventy-five people in total. Everyone, please don't move. I'll have Yanwen read out the names on the list for everyone later. Otherwise, if you keep making such a fuss, you don't know when you'll see it."
"Aren't there only seventy places? Why did they choose seventy-five?" someone standing in the crowd asked.
Father Xia smiled and said, "These are not the thirty given to our family. We didn't use them all, so we left five empty and included them in the count."
"Okay, Yanwen, come over here and read the list to everyone."
Xia Yanwen walked out of the house, walked through the crowd, peeled off the two pieces of red paper on the wall, walked to the middle of them, cleared his throat and began to read.
Everyone whose name was called was very happy, and those whose family members had someone chosen were also very happy. There were also some families whose no one was chosen, and they were all very disappointed. In short, some were happy and some were sad.
After all the names were read out, some people still couldn't believe that they were not selected, and asked Xia Yanwen to read it again to see if there was anything missed.
He was also afraid that there would be something wrong, so he read it again. This time, those whose names were not selected before were still selected, and those who were selected were selected. There was no case of misreading.
Although the list had been announced, no one wanted to leave. They all wanted to see what the selected people would do, so they kept gathering around.
Seeing that they were really reluctant to leave, the daughter-in-law had no choice but to ask them to keep quiet. He wanted to talk to those who were selected about their salary and benefits.
Father Xia stood at the door and said loudly: "Since everyone is unwilling to come to the opening, please keep quiet. What I am going to say next is very important. Everyone who has been selected should listen carefully."
"As everyone knows, this factory is in Beijing, which is quite far from here. If you want to go there, you need to take a train."
"Then first of all, let's talk about the fare. I know it's not easy for everyone. You might be reluctant to spend so much money, and it might also make your life difficult."
"I am aware of these issues, and we have considered them all. This is the issue I will discuss next."
"Xiao Jin said that the factory will advance you 25 yuan per person for this time's train tickets. You can pay it back when you get paid. Ten yuan will be deducted each month, and five yuan will be deducted in the third month."
When we heard that it would cost 25 yuan to get from here to Beijing, everyone felt both sad and happy.
The happy ones are those families who were worried about the ticket money before. Now they hear that the factory will advance the money. They are so happy. Before, they were worried and were thinking about borrowing some money, otherwise they would have to live a tight life.
Now the factory provides travel expenses, which solves most of their worries.
What makes me sad is that I have to pay for the bus. But there is nothing I can do about it. The city is far away from them, and they have to spend money to take the bus. They can't just walk there.
Seeing that everyone around him understood, Father Xia continued, "Next is the salary. Men will get 80 yuan per month, but your work will be a little harder than that of women workers."
"Girls get 60 yuan a month. Of course, it depends on where you're assigned. If you're assigned to the packaging department, you can choose piecework, which means you get paid for each piece you pack. You'll definitely earn more."
"And if you perform well, you'll get a raise when you become an official."
"Everyone understands this, but I don't think you're in the packaging department. If you are, then it's 60 yuan per month."
When people heard about the salary, they were shocked. They knew the salary was high but they didn't expect it to be so high. It doesn't mean that they can earn the money their family earns by farming for a year in just half a year.
It's even easier than theirs. I can sit in the house without being exposed to the wind or rain.
Those who were not selected sighed, and some regretted that they did not perform better during the election. There was so much money, and they wondered when they would be able to earn it.
The selected people and their families were happy and encouraged. Of course they understood. How could they not understand? It was just 60/80 yuan a month. If they did a good job and became an official, the salary would increase. It was really great.
This is a great thing, there is nothing better than this. These uneducated guys can actually earn so much money in one day.
If you calculate it this way, if you work for two years you can renovate the house, or build a new one. I don't have to build it like the Xia family's, but an ordinary small bungalow is fine.
It would be convenient for him to get married by then, but his son is working in the city, and maybe someone from the city would be interested in him. They don’t dare to think about buying a house in the city.
"Then there's the issue of accommodation. Food and lodging are all included, and there are four days of vacation every month, so you can go out and explore."
"If you understand everything, you can go home and prepare. Someone will come to pick you up in mid-May, so don't worry."
Everyone understands why they don't understand. Everyone agrees with all these points and thinks they are very reasonable. With food and accommodation provided, so much money every month, and holidays, this is truly a fairy-like life.
Those who were not selected wondered in their hearts why they were not selected. They didn’t know if there would be such an opportunity again in the future, and the gap between them and those people would become bigger and bigger.
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