After dinner, Zhou Qingyue took Sheng Xiping to the train station hotel on his bicycle.
Upon inquiring at the hostel, Sheng Xiping discovered that two people from the south had indeed checked in the previous day. Following the staff's directions, he went to the room and found Hou Yashuang.
"Brother Hou, when did you arrive? Why didn't you send me a letter or a telegram beforehand?"
Upon seeing Hou Yashuang, Sheng Xiping didn't even bother to check who else was in the room before speaking directly.
"Brother Sheng, I've finally found you."
I called you to go to your forest farm, but your family told me you came to Songjianghe. They thought I was going to miss it this time.
"Please sit down, I brought some things from home for my younger brother." Hou Yashuang said as she took something out of a package on the bedside table.
Sheng Xiping, having been reborn once before, was quite knowledgeable, and he was genuinely surprised when he saw what Hou Yashuang had brought out.
Jinhua ham, Hangzhou silk quilt covers, West Lake Longjing tea, and a few boxes of pastries—these should all be quite famous items.
All of these together can amount to quite a bit of money.
"Brother, what are you doing? You could have just come in person. Bringing all this stuff from so far away is such a hassle."
Before Hou Yashuang could speak, Sheng Xiping spoke first.
"Brother Sheng, I came here specifically to thank you, and I brought some local specialties from our area."
These aren't worth much money, they're just a token of my appreciation, so please don't refuse them.
In your Northeastern dialect, if you don't accept it, then you're disrespecting your older brother.
Hou Yashuang took everything out and laid it on the bed, pointing at the things and laughing.
"If it weren't for my brother's help, I wouldn't have become the head of the purchasing department. My salary and benefits are much higher than before."
Hou Yashuang grasped Sheng Xiping's hand and said in a warm tone.
"I really have to thank you, my brother. Without your help, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Hou Yashuang had previously mentioned this matter to Sheng Xiping via telegram.
"Brother, you're too kind. With our friendship, there's really no need to be so formal."
The last time they dealt in timber, it was a win-win situation. Sheng Xiping made more than 10,000 yuan from it. It was only 1979, and more than 10,000 yuan is no small amount.
"No, this is my heartfelt gift, you must accept it." Hou Yashuang grasped Sheng Xiping's hand and said solemnly.
What could Sheng Xiping do when they were so hospitable?
"Brother, tell me, is there something else you need this time?"
When you offer a gift, you must have something in mind.
Hou Yashuang brought so many things; she must have come for more than just gratitude.
Since they were already acquaintances, there was no need to beat around the bush, so Sheng Xiping asked directly.
"Oh dear, brother, how can I put this? I really need your help."
Hou Yashuang sighed and glanced to the side. Only then did Sheng Xiping notice that there was a young man in the room who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
“This is my eldest son, Hou Mingliang. Liang, come and greet your uncle.” Hou Yashuang beckoned to the young man, signaling him to come over.
Hou Mingliang stepped forward and respectfully greeted Sheng Xiping, saying, "Hello, Uncle."
"Oh my, this is my nephew? He's really handsome! Look at those thick eyebrows and big eyes, what a lovely child. How old is he this year?"
Sheng Xiping looked the young man up and down. To be honest, the eldest son of the Hou family was quite good-looking and not short either. He was quite a rare find.
"I'm eighteen, I didn't do well in school, I stopped studying after junior high, it's hard to find a job, so I'm just drifting along like this," Hou Yashuang said with a sigh.
"Here's the thing, there's a pretty big timber company in our area, which is a subsidiary of the Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative, with one or two hundred employees."
The head of that timber company contacted me a while ago and said that if I could help him get some timber, he would try to get my son a job at the timber company.
Brother, I really had no other choice, that's why I brought the kid to you."
Since they were all acquaintances, Hou Yashuang knew Sheng Xiping's temperament; he liked to be straightforward, so he didn't hold back and got straight to the point.
This time, Sheng Xiping understood what was going on.
It must be that someone found out about Hou Yashuang helping their furniture factory buy the timber.
The timber company also wanted to open up supply channels in Northeast China, so they approached Hou Yashuang, using the excuse of arranging a job for his son to ask Hou Yashuang to help them get timber.
"Brother, if this had happened around New Year's Day, you wouldn't even need to come in person; I would have taken care of it for you."
Back then, every forest farm had plenty of timber. I could probably scrape together ten or twenty train cars worth of it.
But right now, most of the timber has already been sold, so this is a difficult situation.
Sheng Xiping sighed. If they had to come at this time, Qianchuan Forest Farm probably wouldn't be able to raise many more.
"Brother Sheng, I know this matter is putting you in a difficult position."
Oh well, let's not talk about that now. If it really doesn't work out, we can just stay for a few more months and wait until New Year's Day.
"Anyway, I'll just treat this as visiting relatives in Northeast China and seeing my younger brother. Is that alright?" Hou Yashuang was mentally prepared before coming.
So many experienced timber merchants stay in Northeast China for months, and they still might not be able to get anything done.
At least he didn't leave empty-handed last time, which is good enough.
Whether it works out or not, let's just consider it a heads-up to Sheng Xiping and make a decision beforehand. At worst, we can arrange our son's job in a few months.
Sheng Xiping is the type of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force, so Hou Yashuang's words made him feel uneasy.
Besides, they brought so many things with them as soon as they arrived, and this is related to the child's job.
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