"Liunian, we've agreed to rent the educated youth dormitory to you for ten yuan a month. What do you say?"
Just as Zhang Liunian was about to leave, Zhang Laoshi arrived happily.
Zhang Liunian put down the iron bucket and turned to smile, "That's fine!"
Ten yuan a month, one hundred and twenty yuan a year, this price wasn't high, and Zhang Liunian could accept it. He turned and asked Jiang Qingqing to take out the money and give it to the village head.
Upon receiving the money, the village head went to the village secretary to finalize the matter.
By the time he returned, Zhang Liunian had already gone to the county town. The village head had no choice but to give the rental agreement for the educated youth dormitory and the keys to Jiang Qingqing.
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian was pushing three hundred pounds of crayfish to the back kitchen of the machinery factory, where Zhao Zhijie personally weighed them and handled the payment.
"That's a total of three hundred and two jin. I'll give you 121 yuan for it."
Zhao Zhijie, the cafeteria supervisor, had the authority to settle accounts. He took out 121 yuan and paid Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian accepted the 121 yuan and asked, "Uncle Zhao, my cousin from the village will be coming to take over one of my shifts. Who should I look for then?"
Yesterday, Yan Guoguo had said he would give him two jobs, but hadn't specified the details. Zhang Liunian had to ask Zhao Zhijie.
Zhao Zhijie heard him, closed the ledger, and said without surprise, "Bring him to me, and I'll arrange it. What about the other one?"
"That one is also for someone else. I don't have time to come to work. The other one might come tomorrow or the day after."
"Alright, bring them both over. I'll make all the arrangements."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao."
"No need to be so polite. Come on, let's go out!"
The two were in the supervisor's office. After settling the accounts, they naturally had to go to the back kitchen.
Zhang Liunian picked up his iron bucket, said goodbye, and left.
As soon as he left, someone stepped forward to ask Zhao Zhijie.
"Supervisor, don't we have chefs in our cafeteria? Why are we still buying ingredients from outside?" This stir-fry chef felt a sense of insecurity seeing Zhao Zhijie ordering food from an outsider, so he decided to inquire.
Zhao Zhijie glanced at the dishes in the three large pots, didn't answer, and directly offered him a taste.
The chef picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and was immediately stunned. This dish was indeed delicious.
And it was also cheap. Over a hundred yuan bought them three large pots, which was a great deal.
However, after eating for a while, he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Supervisor, what is this dish? It's like fish and like noodles; I can't tell what it's made of." The chef put down his chopsticks in shame.
Zhao Zhijie chuckled, "Don't worry, even I haven't figured out what it is."
While they were talking, the workers got off work. They came to the cafeteria and found a new ingredient. They were all curious and ordered to try it.
At first, they were just curious, but after eating it, they all declared it delicious, incredibly delicious.
On the other side, Zhang Liunian went to the construction site to sell crayfish. Many people asked why there were no braised dishes.
Zhang Liunian explained that braised dishes were only available in the afternoon. Everyone was a bit disappointed but said nothing.
Although the braised dishes were fragrant, they couldn't compare to crayfish. After all, crayfish could be a meal, but braised dishes couldn't.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, I'll be able to gather the money tomorrow. Please wait another day." The old man who sold noodles, Tang Kaiming, had told his family about this yesterday. The whole family was excited, and now they were gathering the money. He believed they could finalize the payment and the person tomorrow.
Zhang Liunian was packing up his flatbed cart, "No rush. I'll prioritize you."
"Thank you. On behalf of my entire family, I thank you." Tang Kaiming clasped his hands together to express his gratitude.
Tang Kaiming's gesture made Zhang Liunian unsure whether to laugh or cry. The factory workers were all eager for the jobs, but Zhang Liunian didn't want any of them.
He just wanted to be a good self-employed businessman, grow bigger and stronger, and provide a good life for his wife and daughter.
"Uncle Tang, please don't be so formal. We're both getting what we need."
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, I will remember your kindness."
"By the way, Uncle Tang, do you know where there are places for food testing?"
"You've come to the right person. My wife's elder brother is in that line of work. What do you want to test? I'll personally take you there."
"Really? Then let's do it after we finish business tomorrow at noon."
"Okay."
After chatting with Tang Kaiming, Zhang Liunian pulled his flatbed cart away. He first went to the market and bought ten jin of meat, then headed home. On the way back, his arms felt exceptionally sore and weak, making it difficult to exert force.
He knew this was due to overuse.
This wouldn't do. The machinery factory was a large factory with tens of thousands of workers, and his three hundred jin of crayfish wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth.
His arms were already sore at the beginning; what would happen later?
After some thought, he realized that he couldn't stir-fry alone. He then had the idea of asking the mute to help him stir-fry crayfish.
The mute, being unable to speak and having a pure nature, was an excellent candidate for stir-frying.
Furthermore, with the mute present, he wouldn't have to get so tired that he couldn't lift his arms.
Having made up his mind, Zhang Liunian's hands pulling the flatbed cart seemed to regain their strength.
He arrived home a little after one in the afternoon. Xiao Si and Xiao Wu had already returned, and Zhang Liunian sat alone at the dining table.
Jiang Qingqing walked over and handed the rental agreement and keys from the village head to Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian took them and suddenly said, "Qingqing, I plan to let the mute live in the educated youth dormitory. I'll teach him how to stir-fry there. What do you think?"
"It's up to you to decide," Jiang Qingqing replied with a smile, not asking why he wanted to do this.
In her eyes, any decision Zhang Liunian made was bound to have its reasons.
Zhang Liunian stopped eating and smiled at his wife.
After the meal, Zhang Liunian shared his idea with the mute.
When the mute learned of this, he was overjoyed and wept tears on the spot.
Zhang Liunian had told him he would teach him to stir-fry crayfish and even offered him a free place to stay in the educated youth dormitory. He was truly happy.
After so many years, he finally had a place to go and no longer had to endure his elder brother's bullying. He was so happy and grateful.
He wanted to express his gratitude to Zhang Liunian, but he could only utter "ah" and no other words.
"I understand what you mean. Just work hard for me," Zhang Liunian said, patting the mute on the shoulder.
The mute, however, remembered Zhang Liunian's kindness and secretly vowed to always work for him, to always follow him, to belong to him in life and death.
Zhang Liunian was unaware of the mute's thoughts. He encouraged him again, "Don't be afraid. I'll come back tonight to help you move."
The mute nodded solemnly.
The matter was settled. After Zhang Liunian finished his meal, Zhang Laoshi visited with his eldest son, Zhang Liutian.
"Liunian, we've chosen. We've decided to let the eldest son go to work," Zhang Laoshi's family had been arguing about who should go since last night.
Just now, Zhang Laoshi had made a firm decision, and the candidate had been decided.
If he hadn't done so, they would have bickered for several more days.