Qu Lixin was still a little dizzy when he returned to the village. He was so lucky today. First, he got a job, then he met Grandpa Xu on the black market, and finally he was even able to exchange gold for money.
As soon as Ouyang Weidong saw Qu Lixin return, he stopped hiding and crawled out from under the bed. "Where's my ID? Was it processed?"
Qu Lixin muttered, "How could it not be possible? Here you go."
Ouyang Weidong was extremely excited as he looked at the newly issued identity certificate in his hand, which stated the address as Hongqi Commune.
"Wait, buddy, didn't I say I wanted farmer status? Why am I still listed as a city dweller?"
Qu Lixin then realized he seemed to have forgotten and said somewhat awkwardly, "Do you want some?"
Ouyang Weidong wasn't too disappointed. At least he wasn't wanted by the police and could go out on the streets. As he was looking at his identification, he realized that his name had changed to Ou Weidong.
"Why did the name change?"
Qu Lixin felt even more embarrassed. He had completely forgotten about his idol when he saw him, and thought he should give the other person some money as compensation.
"The current purchase price of gold is 7.68 yuan per gram (price referenced online). Your five gold bars, each weighing 25 grams, are worth 960 yuan in total. The black market will take a 20% commission, which is 192 yuan. Your identification document is worth 230 yuan. This is only cheaper because you are originally from the county, so your city ID is valid. Otherwise, it would cost more than 400 or 500 yuan. I won't charge you much for my travel expenses, 150 yuan is fine. I didn't take all the money either; I also took some receipts. I'm hiring now, so I'll leave the receipts for you."
Ouyang Weidong hadn't expected the recycling price to be so low at this time; even a "ten-thousand-yuan household" wouldn't get more than a thousand yuan. But it wasn't bad either; he'd still get three hundred yuan plus some loose grain coupons and industrial coupons.
"Thanks, bro. Is 150 enough? Or should I give you some more?"
Qu Lixin was heartbroken that this guy wanted to give him money. He regretted asking for more money. Now that the guy was offering it to him, asking for more would only make him look too despicable. No, he couldn't let Ouyang Weidong be the only one looking morally superior on camera.
"It's alright, we're all comrades, we should help each other out."
"You are such a good person."
[Is the gold purchase price really that low? Just over seven yuan per gram! Wow, I really want to go on a shopping spree there!]
[What are you thinking? This show uses fake gold; I reckon it's brass.]
[Ouyang Weidong's new name is hilarious! Ou Weidong, hahaha, but at least he doesn't have to hide anymore.]
[To actually see Grandpa Xu, Qu Lixin's expression at that moment was practically acting out my performance!]
[It seems that because Mr. Xu considers Qu Lixin a fan, he reduced his commission by 20%, otherwise he would have received even less.]
Why didn't Qu Lixin go to the bank to exchange the money? I saw him looking at the exchange rate from the bank entrance; it was about the same as the black market rate.
[Sure, you can exchange it, but how will you explain the source of your gold? Are you going to bring up Ouyang Weidong, or explain why Qu Lixin's family has three generations of farmers with gold? If you don't handle it well, you might get a green stamp and ruin your identity.]
[That makes sense. Speaking of which, the streets were so lively today, I even saw little newspaper vendors! It felt so warm and welcoming. When does the park finally open?!]
[I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. Imagine this is just the park's trial operation; it'll definitely be even more fun when we go later.]
The participants who have been accepted have all obtained certificates to change their household registration information to that of the factory and have begun their apprenticeship.
On the other side, Ouyang Weidong, who had now officially become a commune member, was on the verge of tears when he found his place of residence with his identity certificate.
He no longer needed to hide; he could go to state-run restaurants and stores with his money and coupons to buy necessities. It was so great to have money and coupons to spend.
It wasn't until he bought too much and his identity information was checked by patrol officers that Ou Weidong became somewhat afraid.
Fortunately, his identity information was correct, so he was released.
As Ou Weidong passed by the notice board, he could finally straighten his back and look at it. Ou Weidong's reward had now reached twelve yuan, but the notice was now only on the edge. The huge hand-painted poster on the front read, "Encourage urban educated youth to go to the countryside and the frontier to reclaim wasteland and receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants."
Seriously? Is this show targeting him?! He finally gets to walk openly in the street, and now he has to go to the countryside!!
Ou Weidong initially wanted to be a farmer, but after experiencing the clean toilets in the city for half a day, he absolutely doesn't want to go back to the dry toilets in the village!! His benefactor, Qu Lixin, please help!!
The Qu Lixin he was talking about was busy working as an apprentice at a food factory, carrying an iron shovel and stirring the coffee beans being heated in the stove.
Qu Lixin never expected the show to be real; entering the factory meant real work! Those with more strength were assigned to move and roast coffee beans. Those with less strength were assigned to grind coffee beans, knead sugar, and make coffee blocks.
When Qu Lixin went to the restroom, he saw another group kneading sugar and flour. It was no easy task. They kneaded the sugar and flour continuously for ten minutes. If they couldn't form a dough, they would lose points, which would affect their chances of becoming a full-fledged employee later.
As for shaping, packaging, and the remaining preparation of coffee and tea, it requires meticulous care.
This is the process in their coffee and tea workshop. Qu Lixin dared not linger, for fear of being penalized by Master Mo, which would affect his promotion and salary.
Master Mo is the chef next to the coffee bean roaster, responsible for controlling the flavor. If he slows down even a little, he will take notes in his notebook.
Master Mo patiently repeated, "This batch is all for hotels catering to foreign guests. These are all imported goods, worth a lot of money, so don't damage them."
Qu Lixin finally made it to lunchtime and discovered that the canteen also had meat, but it was all gone by the time it was late, unlike the village where there seemed to be more meat.
He was so exhausted from cooking all day that his arms were about to give out. Holding his aluminum lunchbox, he stared longingly at the meat and vegetables in the window. Before he could even get close, he heard someone in the cafeteria shout, "The meat and vegetables at window number three are all gone."
The cafeteria was filled with groans and cries.
Qu Lixin felt that this was not much better than working in the fields. His colleagues behind him also grumbled, "At least there's no one watching over you when you're working in the fields, so you can take the opportunity to slack off. In the factory, there are supervisors watching over every step of the process, so you can't be idle for even a moment."
Qu Lixin, with tears of bitterness in his eyes, struck up a conversation with the other person, "That's right, brother, which workshop are you from?"
"From the salty soda workshop."
"Is your work heavy?"
"Don't even mention it. I spent the whole morning carrying salt and lemons, and I had to keep stirring. The factory doesn't even have a mixer; it's all done by hand. After I finish eating, I have to go and get someone else to eat. As long as the fire keeps burning, the stirring can't stop."
Qu Lixin also sighed; it turned out that every workshop was tiring.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
