Hiring
The dry-pot lotus root slices and braised pork belly with radish were made by Wang Yao herself, and the remaining eight dishes were the same as the original menu.
The customers who came to eat couldn't explain why, but they felt that the dry-pot lotus root slices and braised pork belly with radish tasted better today, so they made three extra batches of these two dishes.
After the lunch session ended, the others rested for a while before starting to prepare dishes for the evening session, while Liu Xiangmei took Wang Yao to the clothing wholesale market next to the county's No. 1 Middle School.
The mother and daughter usually don't have much time, but with autumn just around the corner, they have to make time today to buy some autumn clothes.
When they moved, they didn't bring many clothes from their hometown. One reason was that they had too much stuff and simply couldn't carry it all. The other reason was that their old clothes were somewhat worn and dusty.
When they moved, Wang Yao tried her best to stop Liu Xiangmei from going through the trouble of packing up all those old clothes. Liu Xiangmei was reluctant, thinking that her daughter didn't know the value of money since she wasn't in charge of the household. She said the clothes were still wearable and that throwing them away and buying new ones would be a waste of money.
Now I realize that listening to my daughter was the right thing to do. When dealing with people, it's important to be proper and respectable.
Of course, it's also because Liu Xiangmei is now making money; otherwise, she would be struggling to make ends meet, let alone care about appearances.
The clothing wholesale market was as bustling as ever. It was the time when autumn clothes had just hit the market, and many parents brought their children to buy clothes. Liu Xiangmei and Wang Yao squeezed in among them, holding up clothes to compare.
No wonder Liu Xiangmei has made money; now when she buys clothes for Wang Yao, she doesn't even look at the price tags, she only cares about whether they look good.
Wang Yao is the same as her in this respect, but Wang Yao's reasoning is that compared to prices decades from now, current prices are practically dirt cheap, so she doesn't feel the pinch at all when buying things.
Although both of them wanted to go on a shopping spree, they still had a disagreement. Why?
Because they both felt that the other had terrible taste!
"Mom, what are you carrying? It looks so tacky, put it back!"
"What do you know? These pink and green ones are much prettier than your dark and gray ones, aren't they? You should go try them on, they'll definitely look better."
"You can try it if you want, but I won't. I don't like it."
"The ones you like aren't good-looking, would I harm you? Listen to me, go try them out."
In the end, neither mother nor daughter could convince the other. Liu Xiangmei bought Wang Yao's two pinkest outfits on her own, and then, at Wang Yao's insistence, she reluctantly bought her two black coats.
After paying, Liu Xiangmei was still nagging Wang Yao: "You're just a young girl, you should dress more brightly. You'll have plenty of time to wear black and gray when you're older, you..."
Wang Yao was impatient with her mother's nagging and was looking around at the commotion when she saw a large crowd gathered at the customer service counter. Some were returning or exchanging goods, while others were asking for information. Among them was a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
Wang Yao tugged at Liu Xiangmei, who was still muttering to herself, and asked, "Mom, look at that person, isn't he from our hometown?"
Liu Xiangmei stopped talking and followed Wang Yao's gaze, then saw Liu Huahua in the crowd. "That's right, that's your Aunt Liu. She came to our store a couple of days ago, and she's probably here to buy clothes today too."
Wang Yao didn't know about this yet; she only vaguely remembered that before moving out, all the chickens and pigs she raised were sold to her family.
Liu Xiangmei took Wang Yao over to say hello, but unexpectedly overheard Liu Huahua asking if they were hiring.
They were busy and didn't have time to talk to her, so they waved their hands impatiently and said they weren't hiring.
Liu Huahua wanted to ask something more, but was pushed aside by the people next to her. She sighed, turned around and was about to leave when she saw Liu Xiangmei and her daughter not far away.
"Aren't you busy today? Did you bring Yao Yao to buy clothes?" Liu Huahua walked quickly up to Liu Xiangmei and asked.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, and seeing that more and more people were arriving, they walked towards the door while still talking.
Liu Xiangmei learned that Liu Huahua had been staying in the county town for the past few days to take care of her sister-in-law who was hospitalized. She heard her sister-in-law say every day that she was just farming at home and barely making ends meet. She thought it would be better to find a job and save some money.
I didn't think much of it at first, but after hearing it so many times, I gradually realized it made some sense. I happened to be passing by today and saw a job posting on the door, so I thought I'd come in and ask.
As someone who has already left her hometown, Liu Xiangmei strongly agreed with what her sister-in-law Liu Huahua said, and also told Liu Huahua some important points to note when looking for a job.
Although she had never looked for a job, she was the boss, and she usually dealt with other bosses.
Although most of them are small business owners, I often interact with them and now understand some of the tricks they use when recruiting employees.
After parting ways with Liu Huahua, Liu Xiangmei sighed, feeling grateful to have such a good daughter as Wang Yao. If it weren't for her daughter helping her make decisions, she might be in the same situation as Liu Huahua, searching for work all over the streets.
Thinking this way, the dissatisfaction I felt towards Wang Yao when buying clothes earlier vanished. Oh well, the child is grown up and has her own ideas. Let her wear whatever she wants; as long as she's happy.
After returning home, Wang Yao prepared for her studies, while Liu Xiangmei also returned to the store with some of her spoils.
He handed the two bags to Old Man Li, saying, "Uncle, I bought two sets for you and Xiao Chengzi each. Try them on when you get home tonight."
Old Li chuckled and said, "And there are also those for my son and me."
Liu Xiangmei gulped down a large glass of cold water, took a breath, and then said, "Of course we have it. Try it on when you get home tonight, and if it doesn't suit you, take it back to exchange it tomorrow."
Old Li didn't stand on ceremony and readily agreed.
After spending this time together, the people in the shop have come to regard this place as a second home. When family members buy clothes together, they would pass the buck and act distantly.
Liu Xiangmei walked towards the kitchen and saw that Chen Xiu had washed the pots and pans used at noon, and had also diced a large basin of beef and mutton. There were also two basins of vegetables ready to be cleaned up next to her.
"Xiuer, stop busy. I bought you two outfits. Try them on when you get home and see if you like them."
Chen Xiu wiped the sweat from her brow and replied, "I'll try again tonight. There are still over ten pounds of meat left to cut, and we're out of barbecue sauce. I'll have to make some sauce later."
Liu Xiangmei felt that this wouldn't work.
Since Yu Daqiang was arrested, Yu's Sichuan restaurant went out of business. Then no one competed with her for the buffet business anymore. Although there were a few competitors for the barbecue business at night, none of them were very good. So now the restaurant's business is getting better and better.
The three people in the shop work from morning till night without a break. If this continues, they'll all collapse from exhaustion.
Hiring!
Liu Xiangmei immediately thought of Liu Huahua, whom she had just met. She secretly assessed the person and thought it was feasible, so she decided to discuss it with Wang Yao.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yao felt there was no problem, but then she became a little worried that hiring Liu Huahua would attract people from the Wang family.
Liu Xiangmei snorted, "We do business honestly, why should we be afraid of them? If they dare to cause trouble, I'll let the whole county know about the scum they've done."
Wang Yao looked at Liu Xiangmei and chuckled. Not bad, not bad. Mom is now showing the qualities of a capable and independent woman. She won't be bullied by the Wang family anymore.
Liu Xiangmei clicked her tongue, "I'm discussing something with you, what are you grinning about?"
Wang Yao shook her head and said, "I'm happy for you. Your business is getting better and better."
Liu Xiangmei smiled smugly. Although she knew that her daughter had played a significant role in this, as the apparent boss, she was still very proud and pleased.
After discussing it, Liu Xiangmei didn't delay and immediately went to the county hospital to find Liu Huahua.
When Liu Huahua heard that the monthly salary was four hundred, she was stunned. It was only after her sister-in-law, who was lying in the hospital bed, nudged her that she came to her senses. She quickly agreed and thanked her profusely, assuring her that she could start working in a few days.
“She can go tomorrow,” her sister-in-law said for her, and then said to her, “I’m almost fully recovered, I don’t need you to take care of me, you can go tomorrow.”
Liu Xiangmei was naturally happy that Liu Huahua could start work as soon as possible. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she said goodbye and left, as she had to hurry back to prepare dinner with Chen Xiu.
Liu Huahua took her to the hospital entrance, and while watching her rush around, she was still thinking about her monthly salary of four hundred yuan.
Although Liu Xiangmei said the shop would be a bit busy, they are used to working and are not afraid of being busy. What does being busy mean? It means business is good and they won't be fired anytime soon.
Four hundred yuan! You know, the pigs we raise at home only earn about five or six hundred yuan a year. Now she can earn so much in a month. How much would that be in a year?
Wow! Four thousand eight hundred dollars! Good heavens!
Liu Huahua covered her mouth, wondering if she had read the number aloud. She looked around and, finding no one paying attention, relaxed.
On the way to the ward, Liu Huahua kept doing the math. Four thousand eight thousand a year, including meals, means she only needs to spend a few dozen yuan a month on rent. That means she can earn more than four thousand a year. She has lived for decades and has never seen so much money.
Liu Huahua felt she was about to make a fortune, and Liu Xiangmei also felt that hiring another person would mean she wouldn't have to be so busy anymore, which was incredibly satisfying.
Liu Xiangmei did not give Liu Huahua a commission, after all, she only intended for Liu Huahua to do some odd jobs.
She had already decided that from now on, she and Chen Xiu would be in charge of cooking, Liu Huahua would be in charge of serving food and cleaning, and Old Man Li would still be in charge of the most important thing: keeping the accounts.
By the way, since the last paint-throwing incident, Old Man Li has cancelled his original rental and is now renting a place on the second floor of the hotel, which is downstairs from Liu Xiangmei's house. He said he was worried about Liu Xiangmei and Wang Yao, who are a widow and orphan, living there, and that it would be better for them to live together so they could take care of each other.
So Old Li now has another important task—security. He's a light sleeper, and he can sense even the slightest movement downstairs at night. It was precisely because of his vigilance that a fire was averted at the Haozailai Restaurant a few months later.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
With Liu Huahua joining the Hao Zailai Restaurant, everyone is more organized and everything seems to be thriving.
In this atmosphere, the county's No. 1 Middle School held its autumn sports meet.
During the three-day sports meet, athletes took turns on the field, and others were not idle either. They submitted well-written broadcast scripts to the podium, and the young hosts on the podium read them aloud with their golden voices, cheering on the athletes.
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