Chapter 53: Paying for a Job

Lin Xiangnan cleared his throat nervously and silently went to park his bicycle.

While Hu Meili was negotiating with the second aunt, Lin Xiangnan didn’t say a word, mainly because he didn’t have the chance to speak. Hu Meili negotiated the matter with the other party in just a few words.

“Let’s pay a hundred yuan deposit tonight. Tomorrow morning, Xiaonan will follow Cuicui to the unit to take over the work, and then we’ll pay the remaining five hundred. What do you think?”

“Okay, let’s do it this way. Just let Xiaonan wait at the entrance of the state-owned restaurant in the west district tomorrow morning.”

The job at Liu Hongshan’s scrap recycling station cost five hundred yuan, and this more decent job at the state-owned restaurant also cost six hundred yuan, which was the market price.

From the moment they announced their intention to sell the job to the moment they sold it, it took less than a day.

From the moment Hu Meili heard the news to the moment she bought the job, it only took an hour.

So, buying a job these days was all about luck.

Lin Xiangnan had been wandering around various factories, looking at their recruitment information and constantly inquiring about jobs for sale, but he hadn’t been able to find a single one.

Now, with a stroke of luck, the job was immediately secured.

The deposit had already been paid. When Hu Meili went back, she asked her aunt: “Isn’t Wu Cuicui pregnant? Why would she think of selling her job? Couldn’t she just find someone to cover for her?”

She was so eager to buy the job that she didn’t ask any further questions. Now, she had the time to gossip.

If her aunt hadn’t investigated the situation thoroughly, she wouldn’t have dared to help connect them.

“It’s a long story. Let me put it this way. Firstly, Wu Cuicui lost a child two years ago, and this pregnancy has been really difficult. Secondly, her younger brother will graduate from junior high school next year and needs to go to the countryside.”

“Oh, I understand. It’s those things, right?” Hu Meili smiled subtly.

Her aunt also raised her eyebrows at her. “It’s exactly what you’re thinking. The other party wants Wu Cuicui’s job, but they didn’t even offer a decent amount. How could Wu Cuicui agree? She’s not an idiot.”

The job was bought for their daughter by the Wu family, so why should anyone else take advantage of it? Wu Cuicui was so annoyed that she went home and asked her parents to arrange the future of the job.

Wu Cuicui only has one brother, and her brother and sister-in-law both have jobs. Her nephew and niece are still young, so the family doesn’t need her job. Therefore, the Wu family directly sold the job.

They were all relatives, so they would later say that Hu Meili begged the Wu family for help, and the Wu family came to her rescue. Wu Cuicui’s in-laws didn’t dare to make a fuss even if they had objections. It was their fault for wanting their daughter-in-law’s job.

Knowing the reason why Wu Cuicui sold her job, Hu Meili couldn’t help but sigh: “Every family has its own problems. Compared to them, the Gu family is relatively easy to deal with.”

They just beat him up, and the Gu family completely calmed down.

“Oh, I heard from people at the pharmaceutical factory these days that Gu Zhenguo has been disciplined by his wife recently. He doesn’t arrive late, leave early, or take sick leave. It’s amazing!”

“Last time, Xu Xiaodong invited her family to help her out. I went to the scene and saw that her family has a lot of brothers…”

They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t go home even when they reached their doorstep. They continued to gossip about other people.

Lin Xiangnan ignored them and went straight to the kitchen, took out a few potatoes from the cabinet, and prepared to practice his knife skills.

When Hu Meili finished gossiping and went into the kitchen with a satisfied look, she saw a basin of potato shreds of different sizes.

“Good heavens, why did you cut so many potatoes? How many meals will that take? Even capitalists don’t waste food like this. Put down the knife right now.”

Lin Xiangnan was speechless. “You’re the one who said that! You were just busy bragging. Don’t you think about how I’m going to explain this later? You’re a typical example of killing without burying the body!”

Wu Cuicui’s position was as a kitchen helper, assisting with cutting vegetables.

“What are you afraid of? If you can’t cut vegetables, just ask the leader to assign you other tasks. As long as you have a good attitude, I don’t believe the leader will dare to fire you.”

Hu Meili confidently added burdens to the shoulders of Lin Xiangnan’s future leader.

They had left in a hurry just now, and Hu Meili hadn’t finished what she wanted to say. Now that they were alone in the room, Hu Meili said: “Let’s make it clear beforehand. This job was bought by me for six hundred yuan. If your elder brother can really return to the city, or if your younger brother’s job doesn’t work out, you have to return this job to the family.”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say.” Lin Xiangnan agreed casually.

Hu Meili may have a hot temper, but she is truly good to her three children.

In order to keep Lin Xiangnan in the city, Hu Meili tried everything she could, even wanting to borrow money to buy a job for Lin Xiangnan. Later, she even threatened to divorce.

If it hadn’t been for Hu Meili standing in front, resisting the pressure from the factory and the neighborhood committee, Lin Xiangnan might be picking peanuts in the countryside now.

It’s normal for Hu Meili to plan for her other two children now.

Not to mention the kindness of this body’s parents, just for the matter of staying in the city, Lin Xiangnan still owes Hu Meili a favor.

Even if Lin Xiangnan doesn’t like working, he is willing to follow her arrangements and take this job first.

But Hu Meili is the kind of person who takes a step back and then takes two steps forward.

Seeing that Lin Xiangnan agreed to her request, Hu Meili continued: “Since the job belongs to the family, you have to give me your monthly salary.”

“What?” Lin Xiangnan was speechless. “Mom, listen to yourself. You’re asking me to give you all my salary after I work my ass off? Is that even human? Even Zhou Baipi wasn’t as ruthless as you.”

Hu Meili compromised. “Then I’ll leave you with a dollar for pocket money. Is that enough?”

Lin Xiangnan rolled his eyes.

“Not enough? Your Peach Sister only gets a dollar a month, and she manages to get by. You’ll definitely be able to manage with that. Besides, you have your own private money, and once you get married, you’ll have Xiao Gu’s salary to use… At most two dollars, no more.”

“Half.”

“What half?” Hu Meili was shocked. “You want to keep half of your salary? That’s too greedy! Impossible, absolutely impossible.”

“I’m working a month and only getting a dollar in the end. I can’t live like that.”

At this salary level, even the most honest worker would be driven crazy.

Lin Xiangnan reasoned: “Peach Sister only keeps a dollar for pocket money because her food and clothing are provided by the family. Can you provide for my food and clothing?”

Hu Meili not only couldn’t provide for Lin Xiangnan’s food and clothing, but she often ate good things at his expense, and even got two new clothes from him.

Speaking of this, Hu Meili felt a little guilty and grumbled, “Okay, okay, half is half. I’ve raised you for so long, and you’re getting wings and demanding things from me.”

Lin Xiangnan looked up at the sky and pretended not to hear.

That night, Lin Xiangnan cooked the potato shreds he had cut, and the next morning, he went to the state-owned restaurant to take over from Wu Cuicui, feeling a little guilty.