Chapter 234
“You two seem young and probably haven’t asked around to see how much a job costs these days, right? And it’s not just about money; jobs aren’t easy to buy. My job here may not sound great and the monthly salary is only twenty-five yuan, but it’s easy work. I just sit in that room, log the items, and take payments when people come. Plus, I spent fifty yuan and have the wiring installed in that room myself. You can enjoy a fan in the summer; it’s really comfortable,” the old man hurriedly explained, fearing they might back out.
“But eight hundred is enough to buy a third-level job, which pays thirty-six yuan a month. Your job only pays twenty-five yuan a month, so that’s a ten-yuan difference every month,” Su Xiaoxiao argued reasonably. Though she wasn’t short of a hundred or two hundred yuan, she didn’t want to be taken advantage of.
The old man smiled meaningfully. “I have three sons and two daughters. If I sell the job for a cheap, market rate, they’ll accuse me of being selfish. They might even come and cause trouble for you. Can a young girl like you handle such disturbances? But if I sell it for a higher price, they’ll feel they got a good deal and will be too busy splitting the money to bother you.”
What he said had some truth, but it was clear he also wanted to make more money. Su Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and then said, “Six hundred, and you have to make sure your children won’t cause any trouble. Otherwise, we return the job and you return the money.”
The old man frowned but then relaxed his expression, about to agree when Su Xiaoxiao suddenly added, “We need to sign a contract and leave a fingerprint for six hundred yuan. If you go back on your word, we’ll go down together.”
In those days, transferring jobs was usually done verbally; they would inform the workplace it was a relative, and the transfer would be done. But there were many instances where disputes arose after the transfer, causing trouble for the workplace, which then made them sort it out themselves before making another transfer. Personnel records had to be kept at the factory for a while before being officially submitted.
The old man hadn’t expected Su Xiaoxiao to say such things, as if she had seen through his little scheme. His face turned awkward for a moment, but he quickly pretended to be calm and said reluctantly, “Six hundred is too little. It’s only slightly more than a first-level worker. With that price, you could get a job in a factory, but the hard work would exhaust you. My job is perfect for you, so you should add a bit more, maybe seven hundred and fifty?”
“No, six hundred and fifty,” Su Xiaoxiao countered, giving another figure after rejecting his offer.
After some haggling, they finally settled on seven hundred yuan for the job.
“So, do we register now or tomorrow?” the old man asked eagerly, his eyes fixed on Su Xiaoxiao, as if afraid she might change her mind.
“Tomorrow will do,” Su Xiaoxiao said after thinking it over.
“Alright, then what time tomorrow morning? You need time to get here. How about ten or eleven? If it’s later, the office will be closed, and we’ll have to wait until the afternoon.”
It was clear the old man was quite anxious to sell the job. Seeing the deal was sealed, Su Xiaoxiao nodded with a smile, “Okay, it’s settled then.”
After putting the purchased items into the basket Jiang Yexun was carrying, they left the junkyard together. Once they were some distance away, Jiang Yexun asked, “Are you planning to work there?”
“Actually, there are two options now: one is to give this job to Aunt, and you can take the previous job assigned to you and go to work. That way, after I marry you, we can live directly in the city. The second option is to give the job to Xinyue. I’ve checked, and the work isn’t too demanding. The key is with the old man, and it’s only organized once a week. You and your brother-in-law can help out.
Moreover, when Xinyue’s due date gets closer and we return from Shanghai, Aunt can temporarily take over for a year or so as Xinyue’s mother. As long as the job is done properly, no one will say anything,” Su Xiaoxiao explained.
As soon as Su Xiaoxiao began discussing the job with the old man, she had already figured out how to arrange it. The textile factory job that Jiang Yexun had was not only busy and exhausting, but also required night shifts in a two-shift system. From her perspective and understanding, it was certainly not a good job.
But the recycling station was different. They had only briefly searched through half of it, and with just half a week’s worth of stock, they had already found so many valuable items. This suggested that, at least in their city, no one had yet thought of searching the junkyard for treasures.
“Which option do you prefer?” Jiang Yexun asked. He was fine with any arrangement. He hadn’t initially expected his little girl to be so bold, directly planning to buy the old man’s job. Since she had negotiated the deal, she should naturally be the one to decide how to arrange it.
“I think it’s best for Xinyue to take over this job. There’s a small room there where Xinyue can bring the child. Moreover, with Xinyue having a job, when Aunt comes back with us from Shanghai, she can come directly to the city to help at work and take care of the pregnant Xinyue. Even if Old Jiang’s family has any objections, they won’t have much to say. They would just assume this job was found for Xinyue by her husband.
And I have another important reason: I still want to stay longer at Hong Feng Production Team,”
Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned slightly serious as she said this. Jiang Quansheng and Yu Siping had received their deserved retribution, but what about Jiang Quankun, Hu Yuezhen, and Jiang Guoli? Su Xiaoxiao also wanted to keep an eye on Dong Jiaxuan and Pan Yongsheng to see if the person who had secretly bribed them in the previous life would appear again in this life.
Although she suspected that person was Peng Huijing, there was no solid evidence for her speculation. Moreover, in her past life, she and her parents were all harmed by these two people. In this life, she was determined to make them pay in blood.
“Alright, then let’s ask my sister’s opinion first. If her pregnancy is too far along or she doesn’t want to get involved, we can go back and ask my mother,” Jiang Yexun suggested, leading Su Xiaoxiao to Jiang Xinyue’s house.
When Jiang Xinyue opened the door and saw them standing at the entrance, she was startled. “Why are you here at this time? Did something happen at home?”
“Xinyue, don’t worry. Nothing happened at home. We came to the city to buy some things today and have something we want to discuss with you,” Su Xiaoxiao quickly reassured her, concerned that she might get agitated and harm the baby.