Chapter 69: If Factory Director Qin becomes rich and powerful, don't forget him.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. There is a sea breeze on the island, and a natural breeze in the shade, so it doesn't feel too hot. It's just that the sun is strong and the scorching sunlight makes it hard to open your eyes.
Li Jianzhi bought a watermelon and went home. When he passed by the vegetable garden, he glanced at it. Everything in the garden was growing vigorously. The garden was covered with a layer of straw mats, and the soil underneath was moist. There were plants like cucumbers and loofahs, and next to them were buried water-permeable ceramic pots, covered with lids and straw mats, and there was still a lot of water inside.
Three hens stood leisurely under the straw shed, enjoying the breeze, occasionally pecking at the weeds. A few sprigs of perilla leaves growing over the fence were mostly pecked to pieces.
These chickens show no signs of laying eggs yet.
"You bought a watermelon!" Qin Xiangxiang and her son were delighted to see the watermelon. On such a hot day, nothing beats eating watermelon to cool off. Little Fatty didn't wear a shirt at home, exposing his chubby belly. Watermelon juice dripped down his face as he ate, making his eyes water a little.
Li Jianzhi pondered how he, with his handsome looks and beautiful wife, had gotten so fat.
"Dad, make some chocolate-coated ice cream!"
Li Jianzhi refused: "I won't do it."
"But Mom wants to eat it."
"Alright then."
Besides watermelons, the island also has a type of algae called agaric, which grows by the sea. After being washed and boiled, it can be made into a gelatinous jelly-like substance.
You need to add some vinegar when simmering, otherwise it will have a fishy smell.
Jelly made from agar-agar is the most natural kind of jelly.
Eating ice cream every day isn't good, so Li Jianzhi took the little fat boy to collect seaweed, washed it, boiled it, and made it into a transparent gelatinous jelly. He then put the seaweed jelly, watermelon chunks, raisins, crushed peanuts, and other ingredients into a large bowl, poured in milk, and made a unique summer treat.
Qin Xiangxiang was pregnant and couldn't eat too much because it was too cold in nature, so most of it went to Xiao Pang, the little glutton who never refused anything.
We used the watermelon rinds to feed the chickens. The three hens were very lively, and we'll probably be able to collect their eggs every day by autumn.
Just as Qin Xiangxiang had predicted, many female relatives gathered around the well morning and evening, chatting in twos and threes about everyday matters.
Qin Xiangxiang listens to a little bit every day: who snores, whose mother-in-law is the most vicious... a whole bunch of random things.
"Have you heard? The quota for family members to accompany military personnel has been released this time. There are three available slots."
"Who will get these three spots? What will the specific tasks be?"
"They definitely need to be cultured; we don't qualify."
"Zhou Lu definitely has one; she needs to pay off her debts quickly!"
"The other new family members, the two from Shanghai, Zhao Yangyang and Qin Xiangxiang. Qin Xiangxiang has been here for several months, and it's time for her to get the job."
Qin Xiangxiang heard that a new batch of job openings for military dependents had been announced, and asked a few questions out of curiosity. She had originally come to the island to "eat, drink, and wait to die," but after being spurred on by Chen Ruifeng last time, she had the idea of working and earning money, provided that it wasn't too tiring.
If you're too tired... a lazy bum like me should just lie down and think about it; eating and sleeping are more important.
"This time there are three positions: a publicity officer at the epidemic prevention station, an accountant for the fishery production team, and a salt field worker."
Upon hearing these job offers, everyone shook their heads. The first two required education, and the saltworks job was likely very tiring and demanding, though the pay was high. The epidemic prevention station job should be relatively easy, and the accountant position at the fishery production team, though a bit far away, was also not bad.
Zhao Yangyang and Zhou Lu naturally refused to go to the salt field. They both set their sights on the propaganda positions at the epidemic prevention station. After mediation, Zhao Yangyang went to the epidemic prevention station, and Zhou Lu went to the fishery production team as an accountant, with a salary of twenty-eight yuan and a salary of thirty-five yuan respectively.
The saltworks job pays fifty yuan a month, but neither Zhao Yangyang nor Zhou Lu go, and naturally Qin Xiangxiang doesn't go either. So, only Qin Xiangxiang is still unemployed.
Zhao Yangyang was overjoyed to go to work. Although the salary was low, it was still a job. In addition, her husband's salary was not low, and the 28 yuan was enough for her to spend.
Zhou Lu was somewhat disgusted with her job. She only earned thirty-five yuan a month as an accountant. Ha, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Before, she could easily ask for twenty or thirty yuan with just a few words, but now she had to go to work. Moreover, she could only take half of her salary; the other half had to be used to pay off debts.
"Mommy, I want chocolate! I want chocolate!"
"Xiao Bao, we don't have any money. Just bear with it for now."
"If you don't give me food, I won't eat!"
...
Deputy Political Commissar Xue sighed and said, "If he doesn't want to eat, then he doesn't have to. Let him go hungry for a while before he eats. When he's really hungry, he'll eat anything... Don't get any other crooked ideas. We've both made mistakes over the years. Let's pay back our debts first."
Zhou Lu remained silent, feeling a bit resentful. She regretted not returning the money to Zhuang Xiaoman in the first place, resenting Zhuang Xiaoman for spending the money and Zhao Yangyang for making a big fuss. Otherwise, she would still be living a comfortable and happy life.
Now she goes to work hard every day, while Qin Xiangxiang in the opposite house is living a comfortable and happy life, eating and drinking well every day to nourish her pregnancy.
Comparing yourself to others will only make you miserable.
"Xiao Qin, I'm sorry to trouble you. You'll have to wait for work. Don't worry, just focus on your pregnancy. You'll have work to do later."
A women's director came to Qin Xiangxiang's home to do ideological work with her family. Qin Xiangxiang cooperated very well, saying that she was not anxious, not angry, and had no emotional issues... "Little Qin, it is really shameful for us to be so understanding."
Qin Xiang thought to herself: There's no need to feel ashamed at all, because she just doesn't want to work.
"Director, when is the school recruiting? I can play quite a few musical instruments, including the piano, accordion, and harmonica. Could you help me find out which primary or secondary schools are short of music teachers, or cultural centers or museums that need musical instruments? I can do it all."
At this point, Qin Xiangxiang was more willing to work as a temporary music teacher, which would probably only earn her twenty or thirty yuan a month, but that would be better than nothing.
...It's better not to work.
Unlike Shanghai, there aren't many high-paying jobs on the island. Only military officers, researchers, and other technical personnel have relatively better family conditions. Most ordinary people earn 30 or 40 yuan a month, with a base salary of 36 yuan and a bonus of 5 yuan, totaling 41 yuan a month. For a couple, that's 82 yuan, which is already considered a very good family income.
Factory wages are higher, but there are few factories on the island, and most of them are seafood processing factories where workers require little technical skill, so wages are not high.
"Xiao Qin, it's great that you have this idea. I'll help you inquire about it, but don't blame me for being a downer. Everyone knows that being a teacher at a school is good... This spot is highly competitive."
There are many troops stationed on the island, including those from the army, navy, and air force, as well as many military dependents. They all want to become teachers, but a school only has so many teachers that it's impossible to accommodate them all. Furthermore, every year the school receives newly assigned young teachers, who also become military dependents, leaving only a few vacant positions each year.
In the past few years, when primary schools were merged, there was a need for more teachers, so there were more openings. However, secondary school teachers needed to meet certain qualifications and could not be hired directly. Most of them were transferred from primary schools or were assigned after graduation.
It's been harder to get in these past two years; there are too many applicants and not enough spots.
"Cultural center, cultural palace... I'll go ask about that for you. It's a great thing that you have talent."
After the women's director left, Sister Gao, the head of the intelligence department, stayed behind. She closed the door, clearly wanting to have a private talk with Qin Xiangxiang.
Qin Xiangxiang took a chocolate-coated ice cream wrapped in oil paper from the refrigerator and handed it to Sister Gao.
"Xiao Qin, don't worry about work. I see your forehead is flushed, which is a good omen. Something good is coming soon."
Qin Xiangxiang thought to herself, "Don't make things up, Sister Gao. Just say what you need to say. What news do you have?"
"I have some news for you, but just take it with a grain of salt. This is still just a rumor. As you know, there are still a lot of family members whose employment problems haven't been solved. The situation is even more serious in the army. We need to find a way to solve the employment placement problem for these families. I heard that we might build a small textile factory here."
“The textile factory in Mingzhou has some old machinery and they are worried about what to do with it. They need to find a new location to build a factory. There is no textile factory on our island yet. Since we have a lot of military personnel here, a textile factory can specialize in producing military cloth, which is perfect for us to produce and sell ourselves.”
This is actually a win-win solution. Textile factories need a lot of women, so they can absorb a large number of female textile technicians. Moreover, there are many troops stationed on the main island and surrounding islands, and the amount of military cloth consumed every year is huge. The military cloth produced can be used by the troops.
However, there are also considerable problems. The island is isolated and lacks technical personnel. Textile workers are skilled workers who need to learn, and they need experienced masters to guide them in the workshop. Where can they find so many experienced masters and the conditions for learning textiles?
Qin Xiangxiang: "?Build a textile factory on the island?"
Qin Xiangxiang didn't remember such a thing. In any case, when she came in the dream, there was no textile factory. The news was probably false and the factory was never built.
"That's right. I heard from Comrade Li that you used to work at a textile factory in Shanghai. You grew up there and are considered a highly skilled professional! If a textile factory is to be built, that's when you, Comrade Qin, will shine."
Qin Xiangxiang: Hehe.
Comrade Xiao Qin came to the island to join the army in order to escape the textile factory and the workshop.
Sister Gao patted her arm: "If we're going to build a textile factory, you're such a good candidate, you could be the leader."
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
"Maybe I'll have to call you Director Qin in the future."
There's a saying that goes, "If I become rich and powerful, I will not forget you."
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