“He was in too much of a hurry, so I didn’t have time to come back and discuss it with you all.”
“Besides the one work slot, he also gave 200 yuan.”
That century-old wild ginseng really was worth a considerable sum.
You have to understand—200 yuan in this era was nothing like 20,000 yuan in future generations.
It was an amount that the vast majority of people simply couldn’t produce.
The whole family stared fixedly at that employment notice. The name column was blank, left for them to fill in however they pleased.
As long as they carried that slip of paper, they could successfully secure the job.
The entire family stared at the notice for a while, then all eyes turned to Lin Jiaojiao at once.
Jiaojiao was the one who had dug up the ginseng, so naturally the job belonged to her as well.
But Lin Jiaojiao immediately sensed something bad from the way everyone was looking at her.
Hadn’t she already said it? She didn’t want to go to work.
Working was nowhere near as good as staying home.
At home, she could sleep in, gather two baskets of pig grass each day, and spend the rest of her time doing whatever she pleased.
But working was different.
What time you got up in the morning and what time you went to bed at night were all rigidly scheduled.
No matter how cold it was, you had to get up; no matter how sleepy you were, you couldn’t go to bed early.
Just look at her eldest and second brothers.
They had long grown used to it and even took pride in it.
But that wasn’t how Lin Jiaojiao saw it.
In her previous life, she had been a beast of burden—working part-time jobs until she felt sick, clocking in until she wanted to throw up.
If she had to go through that all over again in this life, she only wanted to shake her head and refuse.
“Little sister, you don’t want to go?”
Lin Guozhi had asked her up on the mountain, and what had his sister said then?
His sister didn’t want to work.
At the time, he’d just assumed his sister was being modest. But now, looking at her expression, it seemed she genuinely meant it.
In this whole wide world, there were people who could turn down a job?
Lin Guozhi couldn’t understand it.
“If Jiaojiao doesn’t want it, that’s fine. Which of you would like to take her place?”
“According to what we agreed on before, you’d give half your monthly wages to Jiaojiao as her dowry.”
“Of the remaining half, you’d split that in half again and hand it over to the family fund.”
These terms weren’t harsh by anyone’s measure.
After all, even the two older brothers received five yuan more in spending money than the others.
And most of those five yuan went back into the household anyway.
Money earned by family members was usually kept by Zhang Aihua.
There was no rule about holding onto one’s own earnings.
The Lin family had long grown accustomed to this and saw nothing wrong with it.
Money put into the family fund would eventually be spent on them anyway.
When the time came to build houses or take wives, it would all come out of the family fund.
Whether you worked a job or worked the land, no one would be shortchanged.
That was one of the reasons the Lin family stayed so united.
“Which of you wants to go?”
The Daduizhang asked once more on behalf of his wife.
Lin Guodong and Lin Guozhi didn’t even need to be considered—the two of them already had jobs.
That left the three brothers: Lin Guoan, Lin Guoping, and Lin Guoxing.
The three brothers looked back and forth at one another.
Finally, the fourth brother spoke up first.
“In our family, the eldest brother was the first to get a job.”
“Then the second brother.”
“I think it’s great this way—taking turns one by one, nobody gets the short end.”
“By that logic, this time it should be the third brother’s turn.”
“Let third brother take it. Me and fifth can wait for a future opportunity.”
Hearing Lin Guoping’s words, Lin Guoxing nodded right along.
He felt the same way.
If this work opportunity skipped over the third brother and went straight to the two of them, that would be far too unfair to him.
It was still best to go in order, so no one would have any complaints.
“Alright!”
“Then let’s listen to the fourth brother.”
“Third brother, get ready. Tomorrow I’ll take you to start work.”
“The wages will be distributed as you and Mother said—half to Jiaojiao, you keep 5 yuan, and the rest goes to the family.”
Lin Laosan nodded happily.
He didn’t stand on ceremony with his brothers.
There was no need to be modest at this time. If there were opportunities in the future, he would also fight for the remaining younger brothers.
And so the matter was settled, and everyone was satisfied with the outcome.
Lin Jiaojiao was also very satisfied.
Getting half the wages without having to work made her feel wonderful inside.
So this was what it felt like to be doted on by the whole family.
She had to establish a firm foothold in this family and keep enjoying their love and care.
But a person who only knows how to take and never gives will not come to a good end.
So the matter of writing articles also had to be put on the agenda.
Lin Jiaojiao asked Daduizhang for some newspapers and carefully analyzed the articles in them.
Then, combining the knowledge in her mind and her understanding of the future,
in a corner where no one knew, she quickly wrote several articles.
On a sunny afternoon, Lin Jiaojiao tucked the articles into her pocket and went to town.
First, she went to the post office and mailed the articles, then went to the Gongxiaoshe to chat with her second brother for a bit.
Holding the snacks her second brother bought for her, she was about to head home.
But just as she was about to leave town, she saw a familiar person.
“Why is Ge Qingqing here?”
She was puzzled, and her legs subconsciously followed.
In a dark, secluded alley, Lin Jiaojiao hid in the shadows and saw Ge Qingqing talking to a man who did not look very proper.
“I’m telling you the truth, that Lin Zhiqing is really rich.”
“Our Daduizhang’s family took her in because they saw she had money.”
“If you get her, once she becomes your woman, won’t her money be yours?”
“Think it over carefully!”
Lin Jiaojiao was shocked. Wasn’t she the only Zhiqing surnamed Lin in the village?
Was Ge Qingqing targeting her?
But why? They didn’t seem to have any interactions.
Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t figure it out, but she didn’t alert the enemy.
Now she had family and brothers. When trouble came, she didn’t have to bear it alone—her family would naturally back her up.
Worried she might be discovered and caught by the other party, Lin Jiaojiao carefully retreated from the alley.
Then she ran home as fast as she could.
Only just before entering the village did she take a pile of supplies out of the Space.
The whole way, she walked in fear and trepidation.
Only when she finally stepped into her own yard did she relax.
She put the things in the house first.
Then she picked out meat, vermicelli, and some dried bamboo shoots and put them in the kitchen.
She was scared inside, so she didn’t dare stay alone.
Lin Jiaojiao planned to go to the fields to find her mother.
When Zhang Aihua saw her daughter coming, and her face looked a little pale, she immediately went up to ask.
“Old daughter, what’s wrong with you?”
In their area, even if it wasn’t their own daughter, people would still call other girls “old daughter.”
So Zhang Aihua’s way of addressing her didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
“Mother, I just went to town and ran into some trouble.”
“Let’s find a quiet place to talk.”
It wasn’t that Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t hold things in, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
How could Ge Zhiqing do such a thing? She had to have her mother look into it carefully.
After all, her mother was Daduizhang’s wife and had very good relationships with the villagers. She would definitely be faster at gathering information than Lin Jiaojiao.
“What?!”
The sound was so loud that it startled even Zhang Aihua herself.
Lin Jiaojiao was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered.
“Daughter, you’re saying someone wants to harm you?”
“Who is it?”
Zhang Aihua was furious in her heart — how dare someone try to do harm to her youngest daughter. Just let her get her hands on them.