Hearing the commotion outside, Zhang Hongmei quickly got up. The children were going up the mountain again today, so she decided to let them have fish balls this morning.
She smiled as she looked at Annie, who was sleeping soundly beside her, and tucked the blanket around her a little.
Hu Aifen had already prepared everything; the pancakes were all ready, and now it was time to make meat pies.
"Hongmei, the fish is all prepared. You can start seasoning now."
"Okay." Zhang Hongmei didn't dare to use the spiritual spring water; that wouldn't work, there were too many people.
It was an hour and a half later when Gu Chuanming and Zhang Xingguo arrived with the children.
The rice porridge is ready. There's also stir-fried potato slices with meat, salted eggs, and pickled red vegetables.
"Grandma, breakfast is so lavish!" Zhang Weiyu said with a beaming smile.
"It's not a big meal, just enough for my grandson. Hurry up and sit down. Once you're done eating, take the meat pies and flatbread with you. You can grill them when you get to the mountain."
Zhang Hongmei first served each of them a bowl of fish balls.
“There’s plenty more, you can eat.”
Jia and the bodyguards outside also ate fish balls and thought they were pretty good.
Zhang Hongmei thought that even if it didn't taste good, probably no one would say so.
After dinner, the children wore the same clothes as yesterday, and Xiangzi and the other two went up the mountain together again.
The procession was quite impressive. The villagers watched them leave, hoping they would actually manage to hunt down the wild boar.
Da Shan's father broadcast over the loudspeaker, telling all commune members to come to the brigade headquarters today to distribute fish.
Zhang Hongmei's idea was to keep ten grass carp at home and divide the rest among herself.
If you calculate it this way, each family can get three strips.
After the distribution was completed, Da Shan's father came over with a smile.
"Uncle, I came to ask you something. Yesterday, my great-grandmother and I discussed it. There's a logistics company under a service company in our city that can arrange jobs for people from our village. Do you think this is feasible? It's not a state-owned enterprise, and although there will be benefits in the future, it doesn't have the reputation of a state-owned enterprise."
Upon hearing this, Da Shan's father immediately slapped his thigh and laughed, "That's a great idea! There are many young men in the village, and they are all educated, at least primary school graduates. But now, the city only requires junior high school graduates to be hired. And the jobs aren't very good, so not many people go out to work."
However, because our village has seeders, harvesters and the like, we don't need that many laborers at all now.
It would be wonderful to arrange jobs for them.
"Uncle, working at a logistics company isn't particularly good. If you're skillful, you can learn to repair cars; if you're educated and reliable, you can arrange shipments; the rest are just loading and unloading workers, which is no easy job."
"Then ask them. If they want to go, they can; if they don't, they can stay in the village and farm."
"Okay, Uncle, just ask them. The person in charge of the logistics company will be here this afternoon."
“Hongmei, now that the men have all left, shouldn’t the women and children stay behind?”
Zhang Hongmei nodded. "That's all we can do for now. Once the warehouses here are built in the spring, there will be dormitories, and the women can go there to find work. I'm not too sure about the specific positions."
"Should we let them come along today?"
"Well, there's still a month until the Lunar New Year. Let them go and adapt for a while. If they are capable and willing to stay, let them go after the New Year. If they don't want to go, let them stay."
"Okay, I understand. I'll go and tell everyone the good news right away."
Da Shan's father left with a smile. This was great news. The young men in the village all envied those who worked outside, and now they were being given the opportunity. It all depended on how they viewed it, since this wasn't a state-owned enterprise.
He then announced over the loudspeaker, "All men under the age of thirty who want to work outside, come to the brigade headquarters. There's good news!" This sentence was broadcast three times.
At this time of year, villagers usually gather to play cards, chess, and chat. Upon hearing this news, regardless of whether they met the requirements or not, everyone rushed to the brigade headquarters.
When Da Shan's father saw this scene, he realized there were even more people than when they had come to distribute the fish earlier. The people who had arrived first surrounded Da Shan's father and asked him questions.
"Please don't rush, wait another twenty minutes, or I'll have to say it several more times."
"Uncle, where are they hiring?"
"Wait a minute, they'll all be here soon, then I'll tell you."
Another fifteen minutes passed. Seeing that no one was coming, Da Shan's father coughed and said, "It's like this, a logistics company in the city is hiring, but let me make it clear first, this is not a state-owned enterprise."
They need mechanics, delivery workers, and loader/unloaders.
If any of you are interested in going, their representative will be coming over today.
When everyone heard that it wasn't a state-owned enterprise, they all felt uneasy.
"Uncle, is this a scammer?"
“Why would you let someone fool you? If you want to go, come with us today. We have a holiday for the New Year. It’s not like you’ll get a job just because you go. You’ll have to go through training. If it doesn’t work out, you’ll have to come back anyway.”
"Uncle, was this person introduced by Hongmei?"
"Yes, Hongmei just told me. I've been thinking about it. If it weren't for her, who would come here to recruit workers? There are plenty of people in the county and township. If we want to recruit workers, we don't even need to leave the city."
Most people are sensible and understand what this means. Of course, there are also those who have different opinions. If this is not a state-owned enterprise, then what is the point?
"Couldn't his uncle talk to Hongmei and ask her to find state-owned jobs for the children?"
Da Shan's father glanced at the old woman who was speaking; she was Wang Hongxi's cousin's wife.
"If you're so capable, go find a job yourself. You're complaining about food being bad even when you're begging. You think you're so great?"
"Hey! Why are you talking like that?"
"You're being too kind by talking to me like that. Go away. Even if your Xiaoqiang wanted to go, they wouldn't want him."
"you!"
"Go away, all of you. You all know the situation. Oh, and the men are leaving, so their wives and kids might be able to go next year too. They'll be given jobs there. Of course, they won't be letting you become old men and women."
After Da Shan's father finished speaking, he shooed everyone away. Then he went home.
Da Shan's dad's friends all gathered at his house.
"Erzhuang, what do you think about this job?"
"Brother, I think it's true. You've taken Xiao Hai and the others to the city, and you know that even junior high school graduates can't find jobs. Aren't high school graduates just ordinary workers?"
We've asked around in the county, but they don't need any workers anywhere.
"Yes, it's not a state-owned enterprise."
"Brother, this is all I can say. If Dashan doesn't have a job, I will definitely let him go. I'm speaking from my own family's perspective, but I feel this company belongs to Hongmei. Do you think she'll let us work for nothing? You should all go back and discuss this. This is no small matter. Of course, if you're capable, you can go find jobs in state-owned enterprises yourselves."
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