Chapter 253: Selling Work

After Xu Ning received the acceptance letter, she sent a telegram to Lu Xiaotang to inform him about their admission to Beijing university and the start date of the semester.

When Jianhua learned that Xiao An had been accepted into university, he came over to ask about his plans for work. If Xiao An was considering selling it, Jianhua was willing to buy it.

Xiao An smiled warmly, trying to ease the tension. “Brother Jianhua, between us brothers, there’s no need to talk about money. I’m about to start school, and I won’t be able to work, so this job is yours. I’ll go to the factory tomorrow to finalize the paperwork for you.”

But Jianhua was quick to shake his head in refusal. “Xiao An, I can’t just take the job like that. You worked so hard to get it. If you don’t sell it to me, it feels like I’d be taking advantage of you. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t give you something in return.”

Despite Jianhua’s insistence, Xiao An stood firm, smiling as he said, “I really don’t want any money, Brother Jianhua. This is between family. Please don’t worry about it.”

However, Jianhua remained just as determined, clearly uncomfortable accepting the job without any form of compensation. The back-and-forth between the two was getting nowhere.

At that moment, Xu Ning, who had been observing quietly, stepped in with a thoughtful suggestion. “Brother Jianhua, given the friendship between our families, there really shouldn’t be money involved. But if you feel strongly about it, then just give Xiao An a hundred yuan as a token. That way, it’s not about selling the job, and you both can feel at ease.”

 “A hundred yuan is not enough,” Jianhua said, knowing the market well from his experience working at the machinery factory for several months. “It costs at least two or three hundred yuan to secure a formal job in a city factory, and it’s not guaranteed you can even find one.” Jianhua added.

Having worked at the machinery factory for several months, Jianhua was well aware of the market.

A few days ago, someone who had been admitted to university sold their job for two hundred eighty yuan, and it wasn’t even as good as Xiao An’s position in the workshop.

After considering it, he said, “I’ll give Xiao An two hundred eighty yuan, and that will be his payment for selling me the job.”

Xiao An still wanted to speak, but Xu Ning stopped him.

She said to Jianhua, “Brother Jianhua, two hundred eighty yuan is for selling to someone else. Do you think the friendship between our families isn’t worth more than that job?”

Seeing that the siblings were determined not to accept, Jianhua chuckled and said, “Alright, then I’ll give Xiao An a hundred yuan, and we’ll consider it a favor owed to you both by me.”

Xiao An laughed and replied, “Brother, with such a good friendship between us, saying things like that feels too formal.”

“Good brother,” Jianhua shot back playfully, “it’s actually me who is thinking too much!”

As Jianhua was leaving, Xiao’an walked him to the door and thought for a moment before adding a final remark.

“Brother, about this job, you should just say you bought it from me for two hundred yuan.”

“I understand.”

Sun Hao sold his job to Da Wa for two hundred sixty yuan.

Originally, it could have been sold for two hundred eighty, but Yang Xiaomei and Sun Hao felt it was better to help someone from their village.

When they went to take the exam, Aunt Si kindly took care of their children, which made things much easier for them. In light of her help, they agreed to let the price drop by twenty yuan.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei were planning to return home before the New Year, and with this separation, they all felt a bit melancholic about not knowing when they would meet again.

Yang Xiaomei sighed and said, “After the three of us go back, we still don’t know where we’ll stay.

Sun Hao’s parents wrote that they would set up a bunk bed in the room where their nephew and niece stay, so the three of us can live there.”

“But Sun Hao’s nephew is already so big; it wouldn’t be convenient for everyone to squeeze together.”

“Chen Xiangdong’s family has a bit more space, but they also have a big family living together. Ugh, just thinking about it is so bothersome.”

When Wei Lanlan talked about her in-laws’ situation, her expression didn’t look too good either.

It seemed every family had its own troubles.

“You two haven’t considered buying a house to live in by yourselves?” Xu Ning decided to remind them.

Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei looked surprised at her suggestion. “Buy a house?”

“Yes, buy a house. Think about it: with the college entrance examination resuming, a large number of educated youth will be returning to the city.

At that time, housing will only become tighter and more expensive. If you buy a place now, you won’t regret it later.”

Wei Lanlan and Chen Xiangdong had both attended university, and they were certain they would settle in Zhejiang Province, which was Chen Xiangdong’s hometown and also close to Wei Lanlan’s family.

That was why they both applied to universities in that area—they wanted to be closer to their hometowns.

In the future, housing prices there would rank among the highest in the country. Xu Ning was already planning to save money and buy a few properties there, anticipating that their value would appreciate over time.

Sun Hao and Yang Xiaomei were studying at a university in Haishi, where housing prices were among the highest in the country.

“Buying a house must cost a lot of money, right?”

Wei Lanlan felt a bit tempted after hearing this, but she also realized she didn’t have much money in hand.

With both her and Chen Xiangdong earning work points and having to support two children, they managed to save a little each year, but it wasn’t enough to buy a house.

Seeing Wei Lanlan frown, Xu Ning encouraged her, “Well, it depends on what kind of house you want to buy. If you have enough money, you can get a better one.

If the budget is tight, consider buying a small courtyard in a more remote area. You can always upgrade later when you have more funds. It’s definitely better than squeezing in with others.”

After hearing Xu Ning’s words, Yang Xiaomei began to calculate whether their family’s finances would be enough to buy a house.

Although she wasn’t particularly clever, she had learned one important lesson over the past few years: whatever Xu Ning suggested was always right.

In these past few years, as they followed Xu Ning, everything went smoothly for them, especially with this university entrance examination.

If Xu Ning hadn’t reminded them in advance, they would likely have been like Yang Wenli, buried in their studies and preparing to retake the exam next year.

At the time, they hadn’t even considered applying to universities in Beijing. If they had, they could have been in the same city as Xu Ning.