"No need for you, you go ahead with your work." Lu Qingfeng knew, of course, that tomorrow was payday for the factory workers, and he definitely wouldn't be able to go on the train.
Because of the large amount of salary and benefits being distributed this time, the payments for managers and above started yesterday.
Because a lot of things were distributed during the Lunar New Year, the security personnel have been standing guard at the entrance of the finance department with guns on the evenings for the past two days.
The salaries and benefits of several thousand people are not something to be taken lightly.
The next morning, He Caiwei had just arrived at the factory when she noticed that the workers were in particularly high spirits, and even the speed at which they cleaned and tidied the machines had become exceptionally efficient.
They even eat lunch while they're receiving their wages.
Nowadays, wages are paid in both yuan and fen (cents), making it quite troublesome to count. There are also very few literate people. Older people have to count their few yuan wages two or three times and ask someone to help them check. This is why it is really slow to pay wages. This time, there are also some issues with grades and receipts, which makes it even slower.
It wasn't until 6 p.m. that we finally saw the last worker off, and everyone in the finance department breathed a sigh of relief.
"Luckily, the cadres' salaries were paid yesterday, otherwise we'd all be exhausted in this finance office today." Minister Xu had even dragged his wife along as a helper today.
Mrs. Xu was a gentle and beautiful woman, the daughter of a schoolteacher. Her job, sitting on the small sofa, was to help those who couldn't count their money and tickets, or to help them understand what benefits each level offered.
"You know what, it's always like this during the Spring Festival. Come on, come on, do you want to eat out or go home? The temperature outside isn't too cold today, how about we go to Guangyuanlou for a meal..." Minister Xu wanted to treat everyone again.
"No thanks, I'm going home for dinner today. My second brother and sister came from the capital and just arrived this afternoon. I have to go home." He Caiwei's hands and feet were numb, and she really didn't want to go out anymore. Besides, although the temperature was a few degrees higher than before, it was still cold.
She wishes she could wrap herself up like a dumpling before going out; she wouldn't want to go out in this freezing weather unless she really had no other choice.
"I'm going back too. My son and daughter are back. By the way, Weiwei, could you help me get some eggs or chicken? If you have any lamb, that would be even better. My daughter-in-law is pregnant, and I want to get her some good meat to nourish her." Sister Chen said mysteriously, pulling He Caiwei to her side.
Everyone else was also craning their necks, waiting to see if they could get a share of the pie.
"Sure, congratulations Sister Chen on becoming a grandmother! Try your best to find things. I saw tomatoes, eggplants, eggs, and whole chickens there before, but the chickens were already killed, not fresh. We also have duck eggs and whole ducks, as well as grass carp and carp. Just tell me the number you want, and I'll write it down and have someone deliver it. Oh, and we also have brown sugar, white sugar, and glutinous rice. We don't have any pastries or desserts though..." He Caiwei was still chattering away, while the entire finance department of six people stared at her in disbelief.
I was just shocked. I never expected that this young girl could get her hands on such scarce supplies in this year.
Minister Xu was in charge of taking notes. His people would state the number of things they wanted, and Minister Xu would help them write it down. The group thought and talked at the same time, and in half an hour, they actually wrote three whole pages.
He Caiwei took the three pages and felt it was a bit exaggerated. There were only seven of them, including Minister Xu's wife, so how could they ask for so much stuff?
"Hmm... I can guarantee 100 eggs, but 10 chickens per person, aren't you guys exaggerating a bit..."
"If you don't have chicken, duck will do. Also, at least one pound of each kind of brown sugar and white sugar. If you can get an extra pound or two, that would be great too. We can eat all of them. Please, pretty fairy, help us get some." Sister Chen was the one who wanted 10 chickens. There were eight people in her family, six of whom were working. Even though her mother-in-law didn't work anymore, she still helped with housework and did some sewing and mending for the neighbors. So, they weren't short of money, they were just short of food.
"Okay, okay, I understand. I'll try my best to get you as much as I can. Come to my house to pick it up after dark tomorrow." He Caiwei shook her head, took the list and bag, and left.
She has plenty of these things in her space, but she's afraid of attracting too much attention by taking them out.
He Caiwei rode her bicycle for halfway, then found a secluded spot and took out two baskets from her spatial storage. One basket contained thirty or forty pounds of tomatoes, with about ten pounds of eggplants on top, and then the whole chickens, all sealed in plastic bags, on top of the tomatoes. She took out 15 whole chickens and six ducks in each bag.
The other basket contained 6 jin of brown sugar, 10 jin of white sugar, 10 jin of glutinous rice, and 50 jin of refined rice, topped with more than 500 eggs, all wrapped in a dark blue work cloth to prevent them from rolling and breaking accidentally.
These supplies filled the space in both of her boxes to the brim.
When she got home, Lu Qingfeng and the others were just about to come out to pick her up.
"Brother, where are you going?"
"You're back! I was just about to pick you up. I thought you wouldn't be back until seven or eight o'clock again today..." Lu Qingfeng went over to take her car, and Lu Qingzhu helped push it from behind.
"Why did you bring back so much stuff again? Didn't you just bring back a batch of stuff a couple of days ago? If we don't have a refrigerator, all this stuff will spoil if we can't finish it all by the New Year..." Lu Qingfeng muttered to her as he pushed his bicycle.
"No, these aren't for us to eat at home. They're for my colleagues in the finance department. Sister Chen's daughter-in-law is pregnant and wants to see if they can get her some good things to nourish her during the New Year. They asked me to help buy some, and I picked them up on my way back. Second brother, what time did you arrive? Have you eaten yet? Is your aunt very busy?"
"The train arrived at 5 o'clock, and I haven't eaten yet. I've been waiting for you. My dad has been so busy lately, and my mom works in the logistics department, so she's also very busy. We're the only two poor kids left, and no one wants us, so we have to come here to mooch a meal..." Lu Qingzhu felt a real headache when he thought of his parents, who were so busy that he could hardly see them day or night.
If it weren't for the fact that their children all take after their father and know that their parents are busy contributing to the country, given their parents' laissez-faire parenting style, who knows how far the siblings would have gone.
"There's no other way. The disaster in the north is too severe. Uncle must want to distribute the relief grain before the New Year so that the affected people can have a good New Year. It's okay. My parents are still here. You're a poor thing. Come on, come on, what do you want to eat? It's my treat today..." He Caiwei covered her mouth and chuckled as she saw how pitiful he sounded.
"Where are you going? Put your things down quickly, wash your hands and eat. Where do you think you're going?" Just as they were talking, He Yuping came out, glared at her daughter, and began to lecture the group.
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