Hua Kai washed the grapes and brought them in, placing them on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) between Hua Zhongzhi and Zheng Shuzhen.
Zheng Shuzhen ate a grape and said, "It tastes so good in winter, like a precious treasure. The eldest son has made something of himself, and his children are capable. Unlike the second, third, and fourth sons, who have never eaten grapes in winter in all their years."
Hua Kai looked at Zheng Shuzhen and said, "Grandma, that's an exaggeration. This is what's sold in the city market. If the uncles want to eat it, they can just take a bus to the city to buy it."
Zheng Shuzhen sighed: "It's easy for you to say. It's not as easy as you make it sound. You are rich and capable. How many times in our lives can we go to the city? Transportation costs money, food costs money, money is everywhere. Where would we get so much money?"
Hua Kai said, "You can make money as long as you're willing to work hard. Look at all the people in our village who go to the market; aren't they all doing better and better?"
Hua Chongzhi coughed lightly and said to Hua Kai, "Kai Kai, going to the market can make money, but there are too many people doing it now, the competition is too fierce, and the costs are high. So I came here today to discuss with you whether your fourth uncle can go to the city with you and you can arrange a job for him. You can arrange jobs for Li Jing, so why can't your fourth uncle do more work than a young girl like her?"
Hua Kai knew the purpose of the two men's visit today, but of course she couldn't agree: "Sir, Li Jing is going to work in sales. All the sofa sellers in our store are young girls. If my fourth uncle goes there, there really won't be any work for him."
Hua Zhongzhi said, "Don't you still have a factory? There must be workers in the factory, right? Your fourth uncle can do manual labor, right? We don't need to worry about not having a leader back then, we just need to work, do manual labor, and earn wages. That's not difficult, is it?"
Hua Kai said, "Sir, we don't need relatives in our factory. Ye Yifan and I have an agreement on that." As she spoke, she looked at Ye Yifan.
Ye Yifan understood immediately and said, "Yes, Huakai and I discussed this beforehand. If we send relatives from both sides, how will we manage it?"
Hua Chongzhi had heard Hua Kai say something similar before, but today he was going to use his connections: "This is Kai Kai's fourth uncle, not an outsider. We have that relationship. Besides, we promise to work hard."
Ye Yifan said, "This door cannot be opened. Once it is, if the uncle comes, the cousin will have no way to refuse, and the rule will become a mere formality."
Hua Kai looked at Ye Yifan approvingly and said, "Well said."
Hua Zhongzhi sighed deeply: "I never expected my granddaughter to be so capable, yet so heartless."
Ye Yifan didn't need Hua Kai to speak, and continued, "Grandpa Hua, you can't say that. The bigger the business, the more principles you need to follow. Without rules, there can be no order."
Hua Chongzhi asked Ye Yifan with resentment, "So there's absolutely no family affection left?"
Ye Yifan said, "If Fourth Uncle wants to work in the city, I can help introduce him to a job. However, there are many laid-off workers in the city now, so the competition for jobs is fierce. As for good jobs, we can't compete for them. But I can help find jobs like carrying heavy loads or working as a boiler operator."
Hua Kai looked at Ye Yifan. This guy was ruthless. Not only did he not really help, but he also stabbed Zheng Shuzhen in the heart. This guy was even more cunning than herself.
Ye Yifan also looked at the blooming flowers, her eyes pleading for praise.
Zheng Shuzhen was indeed angry, but she was only tough at home; she really didn't dare to throw a tantrum at Ye Yifan.
At this point, she could only say to Hua Zhongzhi with a wronged expression, "Old man, let's not embarrass ourselves here. They're clearly looking down on us. They're running big businesses and making big money, and they want our son to be a boiler operator and a porter? They're just trying to humiliate us."
Ye Yifan said in a serious tone, "Grandma Hua, you've misunderstood. There's a wave of layoffs in the city right now. Many state-owned enterprises have laid off workers or taken over, and many people with city residency can't find jobs."
Hua Kai said, "Grandma, didn't you just say that my fourth uncle could do manual labor? Ye Yifan was talking about manual labor, even if it's not in our factory, it's still a legitimate job. Don't you want my fourth uncle to do legitimate work for me? Do you have other ideas?"
Zheng Shuzhen did have other ideas. As long as her son got a job at Huakai's factory, he wouldn't have to actually work and would just collect a salary. She could then find a way to get even more.
Now that Hua Kai has revealed it, Zheng Shuzhen feels guilty: "I didn't, you made that up."
Hua Kai smiled and said, "That's good. Then you can decide for yourselves. If Fourth Uncle wants to go, he should let me know in advance and ask someone to make arrangements beforehand."
What could Zheng Shuzhen say now? She turned to Hua Zhongzhi and said, "Alright, there's no hope for this. Let's go home."
Hua Chongzhi had planned to come alone, and her relationship with her eldest son had recently improved. However, she learned that Hua Kai had returned today when she came out with her husband. They ended up coming here, but unexpectedly, things turned into an unpleasant situation.
After leaving the yard, Zheng Shuzhen looked at Hua Zhongzhi with a face full of resentment: "You saw it, that child Hua Kai really has no human touch at all. What do you suggest we do?"
Hua Zhongzhi sighed and said, "What should we do? This is our fault to begin with, so we can't take a hard line now. I have to work with the boss to smooth things over and get him to speak up."
"I do have selfish motives, but what I'm thinking isn't wrong. If it were the boss's own business, I wouldn't say anything. But this belongs to Huakai, and it's a collaboration between Huakai and others. It has nothing to do with the boss. After Huakai gets married, won't it all be outsiders?"
"I know, that's why I said I'd talk to the boss. Don't get involved in this. The boss has a problem with you. The more you interfere, the more they'll turn against you. Didn't you see that?"
"I admit it, but you say it's all in the past, so how can I atone with my death?"
"Look at you, saying that again. What's the use of saying that? Alright, stop talking and go home."
The two of them talked and complained to each other.
After they left, Hua Kai smiled at Ye Yifan and said, "You understand me best."
Ye Yifan smiled and said, "Was what I said alright?"
Hua Wanjiang said, "You two kids are too cunning. I thought it was true."
Hua Kai said, "Dad, that's true. It's easier to manage a business if relatives aren't involved. If all the aunts and uncles are around, and they're all elders, what if they make a mistake? Besides, they're all elders, so who's in charge of whom?"
Hua Wanjiang nodded and said, "That's right, that's true. As long as you have your own rules, we promise not to break them."
Hua Kai said, "Dad, we actually value character. Otherwise, we wouldn't have hired Li Jing, right? To be honest, she's from my grandparents' side, and we don't trust her."
Hua Wanjiang said with a wry smile, "That's true. I wouldn't trust him either."
After chatting for a while, Hua Qingyang started arranging for Ye Yifan to go out with him to burn sparrows. Ye Yifan quite liked playing with his future brother-in-law and went out with Hua Qingyang.
Hua Kai talked to her parents about her studies. Although they didn't understand much, they were willing to listen to their daughter.
Before long, Gu Lanyan started preparing a meal, telling them to eat it and take it back with them, and to also bring some for Hua Qingyi.
Hua Kai didn't object and helped her mother cook.
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