Seeing Chu Tian's insistence, Li Gang stopped arguing and quickly calculated the bill, handing it to Chu Tian for a total of 750 yuan. "Brother Chu, count it."
Chu Tian took it and looked at the huge stack of ten-yuan bills in his hand. He felt a headache and thought, it would be nice if there were hundred-yuan denominations. However, he was just thinking about it. It seemed that the earliest hundred-yuan denominations would not be available until the 1980s, and he was not sure when exactly.
With more than 700 yuan in his pocket, Chu Tian glanced at the carriage parked in the courtyard and said, "Brother Li Gang, shall we go now? My wife's brother has been waiting at the entrance of the alley!"
Li Gang raised his arm and glanced at the watch on his wrist. Seeing that it was already 10:15, he nodded hurriedly, "Go, go now. Didn't you already have the food? Let's go with the carriage!"
"Give it to him in a moment?"
Li Gang said without hesitation, "How is that possible? He hasn't even confirmed the job for you, brother! How could I give it to him first? I just took him there to show him the goods!"
Chu Tian raised his eyebrows when he heard this, thinking, "It seems she's not stupid after all? Why is she so stupid to him?"
The three of them drove a carriage to the entrance of the alley, picked up Yao Youjun who had been waiting for a long time, and headed towards Li Gang's other secret base which was used to receive and ship goods. After turning several times, they stopped at the gate of an inconspicuous courtyard. Li Gang got off the carriage and walked to the gate. He exchanged a secret signal with the gatekeeper inside, and the gate slowly opened.
"Qiangzi, why are you the one staying home today? Has the guest I'm waiting for arrived?"
"Brother Gang, I had diarrhea this morning, so I switched with Si Xi. He went to guard the black market. Also, the person you were waiting for has only been here for less than five minutes. I arranged for him to stay in the room where you usually meet your acquaintances."
Chu Tian took a closer look at the young man named Qiangzi. Oh, isn't this someone he knows? He remembered that Li Gang had told him not to accept the five cents when he saw him in the future! He just didn't know if this young man still recognized him after so much time had passed!
When passing by Qiangzi, the young man's eyes lit up, "Brother, you are here too."
"Um."
Chu Tian smiled and nodded, thinking that it seemed that he recognized him. He met so many people every day but he could still remember them. His memory was really good. But then he thought again and felt helpless. He wondered how bad his makeup skills were.
"Director Liu, I have something else to do. This is my brother. He wants to buy the apprenticeship position you have. Let's talk!"
After entering the house, Li Gang introduced Chu Tian and left, leaving them to chat on their own.
Seeing that he was a middle-aged man, Chu Tian hurried forward and shook his hand. "Hello, Director Liu. My last name is Chu. You can just call me Xiao Chu."
Director Liu looked Chu Tian up and down. Although he looked hesitant, he didn't have any calculations. After a moment, he said hesitantly, "Hello, Xiao Chu. It's just that you, you are in your twenties, right?"
"Yes, I'm twenty-three!"
Chu Tian was puzzled, thinking, why bother with my age? Are they going to recommend a job to me?
Director Liu frowned and said, "Although you look quite lively, 23 is too old! Our steel mill requires apprentices to be under 20 years old..."
Chu Tian laughed, knowing he had misunderstood, and quickly waved his hands, "Director Liu, you misunderstood. I bought the spot, but I'm not going. It's my brother who's going. He's eighteen this year and has attended high school."
Looking at the young man Chu Tian pulled down in front of him, Director Liu finally revealed a satisfied smile, "Oh, so it was him who went? Hmm, he went to school? And he went to high school? Not bad, not bad!"
Listening to Director Liu's praise, Yao Youjun smiled unabashedly and said loudly, "Thank you, Director Liu, for the compliment!"
Director Liu laughed heartily, as if he really liked Yao Youjun. He stepped forward and patted his chest vigorously, his eyes full of appreciation. "You have a loud voice, young man. Really good..."
Chu Tian listened to the questions and answers between Director Liu and Yao Youjun. It seemed that they were having a good chat and he had no intention of stopping. He turned his head to glance at Sun Weiguo who was standing behind him. Sun Weiguo nodded in understanding and quickly brought in four bags of grain and placed them in front of Chu Tian. Chu Tian reached out and untied the ropes one by one.
"Director Liu, could you please inspect the goods first? If they are okay with you, when can you let my brother go and register?"
Upon hearing this, Director Liu looked into the bag, and after just one glance, his eyes widened in surprise. He, to be honest, his position in the steel plant was not low, and the benefits and salary were not bad. His monthly salary was more than 80 yuan. In the late 1960s, no, it was already 1970, and in that era, his salary was considered high.
Besides, except for his little daughter who is still in school and has no job, his wife, two sons and daughter-in-law all have jobs. Therefore, he often spends high prices to buy various supplies on the black market, most of which are food. However, he has never bought rice and flour as good as the ones in front of him!
Seeing that Director Liu hadn't come back to his senses for a long time, Chu Tian asked in a low voice, "Director Liu, how is it?"
Director Liu coughed twice to cover up his gaffe, "Okay."
After a pause, he continued, "You should have registered by yourselves, but I've changed my mind. If you have time today, I can take him to register in person!"
"Okay, then let's go now? Since we need to sign up today, let's help Director Liu get these food over, right?"
Chu Tian curled his lips and smiled, thinking, see, this is what money makes the world go round! As long as your product is attractive enough, any problem can be solved! Didn't I tell Li Gang earlier that we should sign up on the sixth day of the New Year? Can't we sign up today, the fifth day?
"Okay, let's go now."
Director Liu's eyes lit up. He asked, "Why did you sign up today?" "Isn't it because you want to reassure them early so they can get the food back and cook it?" "These fine grains look better than the ones sold on the black market near the steel plant. My daughter will definitely be happy..."
Chu Tian found Li Gang leisurely drinking tea in another room, "Brother Li Gang, we're leaving now."
Li Gang put down his teacup and raised an eyebrow. "What? Have you agreed?"
Chu Tian curled his lips. "We are all down-to-earth people. What should be done is what should be done. What is there to discuss about the requirements that have already been set? Isn't it enough for Director Liu to check my brother and the food?"
Li Gang laughed, "Yes, yes, then you are going to sign up now?"
Chu Tian nodded. "The steel plant is quite far from our regiment. If we set off now, we can still arrive before lunch."
Li Gang stood up and walked outside. "Okay, I'll take you out."
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