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Chapter 462: Asking for Help Again
Chapter 462: Asking for Help Again
At noon, Zhou Chenglei and his father returned home for lunch.
They had gone out to sea to collect the young mussels.
Retrieving them was much easier than setting them out, and this was their second trip to collect them.
The first batch they had set out earlier had already been retrieved and was now being raised on wooden stakes.
This batch was larger, but they managed to collect it before lunchtime.
After the meal, Zhou Chenglei, his father, and the others still needed to go and tie the collected young mussels to the wooden stakes.
Today was a day of low tide, and the water was receding quickly and far, so they had to hurry to wrap the ropes covered in young mussels around the wooden stakes.
Zhou Guodong had nothing to do, so he went to help as well, and only then did he go to drive the tractor to plow the fields for the villagers at 3 pm.
The second sister-in-law, Dong's aunt, and Xu Ling helped clean up the utensils and tidy up.
After they finished, Dong's aunt returned home first, as she needed to take care of Dong's uncle, who had limited mobility.
The second sister-in-law and Xu Ling also headed home, and Zhou Mu accompanied them.
The low tide had arrived, and Jiang Xia also wanted to see how the mussels they had raised before were growing, so they all went out together.
On the way, the second sister-in-law asked Xu Ling, "How is it? What do you think of him?"
Xu Ling seemed to be doing well, not talking much but being attentive.
Xu Ling felt a little embarrassed and shyly replied, "He asked me to go to the market with him the day after tomorrow, and I agreed."
Both sides seemed to have taken a liking to each other and felt they could try dating.
The second sister-in-law laughed and said, "Then you should date for a while and see. Only by dating will you truly know each other's character. Keep in contact, and anyway, you're only twenty, so there's no rush."
He seemed good now, but one's temperament and true nature were not easily discernible at first glance; these things would only gradually reveal themselves over time.
After all, some people were different with outsiders than with their own family.
Some people were gentle, polite, and considerate in front of strangers, but had a bad temper and spoke coldly to their wives, or worse, they might even be verbally abusive and physically violent. It was a nightmare to marry someone like that.
Jiang Xia agreed, "That's right, you'll only know if you're compatible after dating. Date and fall in love first, and only decide if you feel it's a good match."
Jiang Xia also thought that Zhou Guodong was a good person, diligent and hardworking, but one should still be cautious when choosing a life partner. It wouldn't be wrong to decide after getting to know each other better.
Zhou Mu also said, "Yes, after dating and understanding him better, you can decide if you feel it's a good match."
"Okay," Xu Ling replied.
Zhou Mu intentionally led them past Zhou Guodong's house, letting Xu Ling take a look.
It was also a half-stone, half-mud-brick tile house, the same size as the Zhou family's old residence.
A loquat tree was planted in the courtyard.
"This is his home, but they haven't divided the family yet, so they all live together. However, his two sisters-in-law are easy to get along with, and I think they're good people. You can pay attention to them in the future."
If they decided to date, there would inevitably be opportunities to visit each other's homes during that time, and she could observe these things herself.
After all, Zhou Mu's temperament got along well with them, but that didn't necessarily mean Xu Ling would get along with them too.
"Okay," Xu Ling said, glancing at the house. It was similar to her own, but her family didn't have such a large courtyard.
Now, most families lived in houses like these, and few could afford to live in apartment buildings; there were only a handful in the entire village.
Moreover, not everyone could have a three-story building like the Zhou family, with so many rooms that they couldn't even fill them all.
Xu Ling also noticed these things; her family was also poor, and her sisters had to squeeze into one room.
The second sister-in-law, seeing Xu Ling looking at the house, said, "As long as a couple is hardworking, they'll gradually have everything. Look at your sister Xia, wasn't she also living in the old house of the old residence when she got married? It's because her husband and wife are both diligent, and with his translation work and fishing, they've earned such a large house, bought a tractor, a car, and a boat."
Jiang Xia: "..."
She felt that they weren't just hardworking but also had good luck.
When I married your uncle, we didn't have a house or our own family, but now we do. It's more important to find a good man; when a couple is united, nothing can compare! Don't be greedy for material things; marrying into a wealthy family will only bring you trouble. Having a job is ideal, but those with jobs might not look twice at us. We don't have jobs either."
She didn't agree with her sister-in-law's perspective.
But now, Lei Yuzhen has a proper job in the city at a garment factory as a purchaser. Her sister-in-law mentioned that the fabric and accessory suppliers compete to send her gifts and invite her to meals.
With such a good job, she might even find a wealthy suitor in the city.
The second aunt still hoped for the best for her niece, whether she was from her side of the family or her husband's.
Jiang Xia thought about how Zhou Fu would be going out to sea in a couple of days, as the license for the processed food business had been obtained. Jiang Xia planned to ask Zhou Fu to purchase more small fish fry and also find local resellers to buy in bulk.
With only two or three people, it would be impossible to manage, so she wanted to hire an additional person in advance.
Last year, the sales of the Three-Flavored Fish Fry, along with the surge in sales before the New Year, brought in a total profit of over 13,000 yuan. Each person received more than 6,000 yuan.
The Marquis said that he would continue to purchase this year, and he would buy as much as they could produce.
Jiang Xia planned to scale up production.
Not only would they make fish fry, but they could also create snacks from jellyfish and squid strips.
Jiang Xia aimed to gradually expand from a small food workshop to a small food factory.
Of course, establishing a food factory would take time, and she didn't have that much capital yet.
But even for a small workshop, she needed to hire a few more people.
Earlier, she noticed that Xu Ling was quick and meticulous in her work, paying attention to cleanliness, which made her a good fit for the food industry.
Jiang Xia said to Xu Ling, "In a few days, I'm going to hire someone to make fish fry. If you're not afraid of hard work, you can come and help. The probation period is one month, and the salary during this time will be 60 yuan. After the probation, it will be 80 yuan per month."
Xu Ling's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not afraid of hard work."
A monthly salary of 60 yuan was even higher than Lei Yuzhen's by over ten yuan!
Jiang Xia asked, "Your home is a bit far from our village. Do you have a bicycle?"
The second aunt couldn't help but speak up for her niece, "Don't worry, Xia Xia. Her home is actually closer than mine; it's only an hour and a half walk away!"
"I don't have a bicycle, but I won't be late! Don't worry, Xia Xia! What time do we start work in the morning? I'll be there on time!"
"Usually, we work from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and then from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., about seven to eight hours a day."
In fact, the working hours weren't fixed. When Fen Yi and He Xinghuan worked together, they would start after finishing their housework around 7 a.m. Previously, to finish frying the fish quickly, they worked late into the night, but for any work exceeding eight hours, Jiang Xia would pay Fen Yi double the wages.
Sometimes, when there was less fish to fry, they would finish in just one or two hours, and Jiang Xia would still pay them for a full day's work.
However, since they were planning to operate as a small food workshop, they would need to hire more people, and things would gradually become more formal.
"Then I definitely won't be late!" She could leave at 6:30 a.m. and arrive in less than an hour and a half.
"After I receive my first salary, I'll buy a bicycle, and I won't be late anymore."
Jiang Xia said, "Then in a few days, I'll send someone to inform you when we start."
During this era, there were no phones, so to contact someone, you either had to go there yourself or go to the market to see if there was someone from the same village and ask them to pass on a message.
"Okay."
Apologies, apologies! My child has a performance today, so I couldn't finish two chapters! I'll make it up to you tomorrow morning.
(End of Chapter)
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