Chapter 30: Recruiting for the Shop
Although I was very happy when I made those grand promises.
But looking at Xiaohua's hands, because she had been busy washing dishes for the past few days, her already not very delicate hands became even rougher from holding the loofah and wood ash to scrub the dishes for so long.
Then he thought of this little girl, who used to be the most vain person.
Now, however, he washes dishes every day without saying a word, and even though his hands have become like this, he has never complained to anyone.
I don't know if it's because of what I said last time.
Grandma Guo looked at the little hands and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Feeling a pang of heartache, she hugged the little girl tightly. Turning to Guo Baiwen, she hesitated before saying, "How about we spend some money to hire someone else to help?"
She and Guo Baiwen were doing alright; one of them was in charge of blanching the vegetables, and the other was in charge of accounting and collecting money. In their spare time, they would help each other prepare the ingredients.
But Xiaohua not only has to serve dishes, clean the table, and wash dishes, but sometimes she also has to prepare the dishes and replace the used ingredients.
This is a case of one person holding multiple positions.
Although there are only three of them, they can manage to keep up with the workload.
But the reason I thought about it was because I was worried that I wouldn't make much money from the store. So I decided that my family members should take care of everything in the store.
But now that we're calculating and the daily profit isn't small, it would be good to hire more people to help clean the tables and wash the dishes.
This way, Xiaohua's hands are freed up, and she only needs to help the store deliver and prepare dishes every day, so she is not so tired.
After hearing what his grandmother said and looking at Guo Xiaohua's hands, Guo Baiwen realized it made sense.
Hiring someone to wash the dishes and tidy the countertop shouldn't be too expensive. They can come during the day, clean and tidy up, and then leave.
Since they don't live at home and won't be near the food at the bottom of the pot, the three of them can relax a bit.
"We need to hire someone to help out."
But that's what he said, the county town is so big, where is he going to recruit workers?
Go find Granny Sun?
Let's forget about it.
Hiring a laborer won't earn you much money in a month, and you'll also have to share some commission.
Since buying the house and land, he plans to use the money he has left for a while longer.
Seeing that Guo Baiwen was frowning and thinking, Grandma Guo didn't disturb him. She just moved a small wooden table over and squatted down by the wooden basin, preparing to help Xiaohua wash the dishes.
Before they had even finished washing a couple more bamboo bowls, Guo Baiwen seemed to suddenly remember something. He clenched his fist and slammed it heavily onto his other outstretched palm. "Grandma, I've got it!"
Guo Xiaohua looked up at him, "What's on your mind, Brother?"
Guo Baiwen tapped her nose. "I'll go ask around and see if we can hire a helper before we open tomorrow."
Fortunately, the ingredients were almost all prepared before the shop opened in the evening.
There was no rush to settle today's accounts. He took off the apron he was still wearing, grabbed the coat hanging on the wall, and went out. "Grandma, Xiaohua, I'm going out to ask first. If I don't make it back for dinner in time, you don't need to wait for me."
Because of opening a shop, they now eat three meals a day.
However, lunch and dinner are earlier than usual, otherwise they really wouldn't have the energy.
Grandma Guo said anxiously, "Then you must remember, if you are in a hurry, buy something to eat on the way."
Her response was a voice that gradually faded into the distance: "Okay—"
Guo Baiwen thought of the helper who delivered meals to his home every day when he had hired Hu Qingshan to do carpentry.
He seemed to have worked at that snack shop for a long time. The two had chatted a few times when he was delivering food before, and he might know quite a few people who wanted to work as laborers.
Thinking he'd give it a try, Guo Baiwen went out and headed straight for that small shop.
It wasn't mealtime, and sure enough, when he went around to the back door of the small shop, he saw him busy preparing the aromatic seasonings for the kitchen, including scallions, ginger, and garlic.
The garlic was quite pungent in his eyes. Seeing that he was so busy that he didn't even look up, Guo Baiwen finally managed to catch a break when he finished crushing the garlic and quickly called out, "Brother Zhao!"
In Xiuning County, Zhao is a common surname.
Many people have the surname Zhao.
I had just finished pounding garlic and was thinking of taking a break when I suddenly heard someone call my name.
Startled, Brother Zhao didn't even look up. "I just wanted to wash the garlic press, I wasn't thinking of slacking off!"
Hey.
The point is to make someone confess without being asked.
Guo Baiwen couldn't help but laugh.
It was this smile that made Zhao realize that the person who called him was neither the chef nor the owner of the shop.
She looked up in a curt tone and saw Guo Baiwen looking at her with a smile.
Brother Zhao isn't face-blind, and besides, when he delivered the food boxes before, he received quite a few melon seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, and candies from Guo Baiwen.
He wiped his hands on his apron, then half-stood up, looked around, and pulled the person aside. "I heard you opened a mala tang (spicy hot pot) shop over there? You've come to see me now because you need something?"
Although mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot) is not uncommon in Xiuning County, what's rare is that Guo Ji Mala Tang's broth is exceptionally fragrant, and the price is also very affordable.
They all run small food shops and restaurants nearby, so they all know each other to some extent.
Even if they sell different things, they can still be considered competitors.
Worried about being seen by people in his own shop, even though they were fairly familiar with each other, Brother Zhao was no longer as relaxed as he had been at the beginning.
"I had a great chat with Brother Zhao earlier!" Guo Baiwen said with a smile, handing over another box of pastries, which were cloud cakes given as a reward for checking in through the system.
Something like this is convenient for giving as a gift.
It also saves money.
They say that if you take someone's money, you're indebted to them; that's certainly true.
Zhao, who had been aloof, still had a "what are you doing?" expression on his face after receiving the box of pastries, but quickly stuffed the oil paper package into his pocket.
Her expression had lost its initial distance and even carried a hint of a smile. "You, just say what you want! Why bother with all this gift? You're being so polite!"
When Guo Baiwen mentioned that he wanted to find someone to help with washing dishes, Zhao Xiaoge's smile became even more genuine.
"Hey! I thought it was something serious! I just want to find someone to help with the dishes, that's easy!"
He pointed to the west side of the city not far away, "You just need to stand there and shout, and I guarantee plenty of people will come and ask you!"
Guo Baiwen naturally knew that it was easy to recruit people in the western part of the city.
But that place was a mixed bag, and since the laborer he hired was going to be working in his own home, he still wanted to find someone who was clean, efficient, and of decent character.
As for wages, given Guo Ji Mala Tang's current profitability, it's all negotiable.
Moreover, he was in a hurry to find people but didn't want to go to a broker to inquire. However, if he went to recruit people himself and then screened them, he wouldn't be able to get a clear picture of the people coming in, and it would also waste the time that the shop needed to work things out.
Knowing that Guo Baiwen wanted people to start work today, Brother Zhao thought for a moment and actually managed to come up with a few usable people in his mind.
"Okay, I'll call a few people over for you, and you can see if there's anyone you like inside." As he spoke, he waved to the little boy who was resting under a tree not far from the back door.
The child looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, with fairly regular features. His clothes were somewhat worn, even more so than the clothes Guo Baiwen wore when he first arrived in Guojia Village.
Although he was young, he seemed very sensible. After seeing the gesture of greeting, he quickly ran over and stood in line, speaking very politely: "Brother Zhao, what can I do for you?"
Brother Zhao seemed to know him well, and casually ruffled his hair before speaking familiarly, "Go run an errand for me to Plum Blossom Alley and call Big Fatty and Er Ya over. Tell them that someone is recruiting today, and they won't be available if they miss it!"
'Hiring?!'
The child's ears twitched when he heard the word, even though it was hidden by his hair. He squatted around this area every day to help deliver food, so he naturally knew that Brother Zhao's snack shop was already well-staffed.
But then, Brother Zhao announced that he needed to hire workers.
He shifted his gaze to Guo Baiwen, giving him a quick, casual glance before turning back to Zhao Xiaoge with a sincere expression. "Brother Zhao, why don't you take a look at me?"
Brother Zhao chuckled. "Yang Qiaomai, this isn't our shop hiring, it's this guy, Brother Guo. His shop is hiring."
"You're just asking me if I want to hire you, so what I say doesn't count!"
Yang Qiaomai was waiting for Zhao Xiaoge to say this. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, she seized the opportunity and quickly turned around to look at Guo Baiwen.
She even bowed respectfully before standing up to continue speaking, her tone very sincere, "Brother Guo, right?! My name is Yang Qiaomai, I'm twelve years old this year, and I can do everything! Washing dishes, chopping vegetables, cleaning, delivering vegetables, I know every little road in the county! And I can run faster than them!"
"I don't ask for much in wages, just two hundred coins a month is enough!"
"If you think it's too expensive, I'd be happy to accept a lower wage, as long as you provide me with two meals a day!"
"I eat little but work a lot! You definitely won't lose out by hiring me as a helper!"
This smooth and natural job-seeking pitch left even Brother Zhao, who was sitting right across from him, completely dumbfounded.
What's more, Guo Baiwen had never seen anything like this before!
Goodness, this kid is so young and already his hair is all curled up like this!
Why call it Yangqiaomai anymore?
Why not just rename it Yanghuajuan?
He unconsciously smacked his lips, unsure of what to say in this situation.
The scene suddenly fell silent. Seeing that things were getting awkward, Brother Zhao quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Yang Qiaomai is quite clever. Brother Guo, if you just want someone to help with washing dishes, he's quite capable."
"If you can't make up your mind, how about this: try working for half a day first?"
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The author's note: Due to the historical context, I'd like to share a bit of interesting fact—employing child labor is now illegal.
Just take a look.
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