Jiang Liye replied, “No, actually. Both the groups of young men in the morning and afternoon went straight to the Zhang brothers’ stall as soon as they arrived. It almost seemed intentional.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingning immediately understood what was going on. “Fourth Uncle, were those people around the same age as the brother who got into a fight yesterday?”
“Yeah, they were all teenagers around seventeen or eighteen, full of energy.” Jiang Lifeng also caught on. “I was wondering how so many ring-tossing experts suddenly appeared. I was worried our stall might run into them later.”
At this, he chuckled. “Looks like the Zhang brothers have crossed the wrong people and got what they deserved. Serves them right!”
Su Guiying brought two bowls of noodles into the room. They were served in large soup bowls, each topped with a fried egg. “Let’s eat first. You can chat more after dinner.”
Jiang Lifeng stood up to take the bowls, placing one in front of his brother and the other in front of himself.
Jiang Liye grinned. “Thanks, Sister-in-law. Perfect timing—I was just getting hungry.”
Su Guiying said, “I was going to add some cabbage, but then I realized we’ve run out at home.”
Jiang Liye replied, “I’ll ask Haozi to bring a couple of bags over tomorrow. He’s working odd jobs at the vegetable station now.”
“Haozi?” Jiang Lifeng thought for a moment. “You mean Haozi from the chemical fertilizer plant?”
Jiang Liye nodded. “That’s the one. He got laid off last year.”
Su Guiying was surprised. “How could he get laid off? I haven’t heard about the chemical fertilizer plant shutting down.”
Jiang Lifeng said, “I heard the chemical fertilizer plant is planning to move out of the capital and relocate to Tangshan.”
“So far away? What about the employees? Will they go too? And what about their families?” Su Guiying felt a headache just thinking about it.
Jiang Liye slurped down half his bowl of noodles. “What can they do? Either the whole family moves together, or the worker goes alone while the family stays in the capital. Or, like Haozi, they can take a lump-sum payment to buy out their years of service and leave the job.”
Su Guiying shook her head. “But what happens after they’re laid off? Jobs aren’t easy to come by these days.”
Jiang Liye said, “Haozi’s actually one of the luckier ones. At least his mother works at the vegetable station and can help him find odd jobs for now. There’s also Xiaobo from our courtyard—he got laid off before the New Year. His factory shut down, and he didn’t even get his last paycheck.”
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table grew heavy.
Both brothers ate quickly, and soon the two large bowls of noodles were empty.
“Should I make you two more bowls?” Su Guiying stood up to ask.
“No need, Sister-in-law. I’m full,” Jiang Liye quickly waved his hand.
“I’m full too.” Jiang Lifeng stacked the empty bowls and took them to the kitchen to wash.
Jiang Liye patted his stomach and let out a long sigh of contentment. After resting for a moment, he began pulling out the money he’d earned that day and placing it on the table.
“Come on, Qingning, Sister-in-law, let’s count the money!”
Jiang Qingning clapped her hands happily and joined the counting.
“Six hundred and twenty-two yuan—even more than yesterday! Fourth Uncle, you’re amazing!” Jiang Qingning praised.
Jiang Liye said, “The Zhang brothers packed up and left while the sun was still high. After that, all the customers came to us. I bet they won’t be back tomorrow either.”
Jiang Qingning nodded. “The capital is huge. There’s really no reason for them to stay here and struggle.”
“Exactly. With your method, they can set up a stall and earn money anywhere. If they stay here, those young guys won’t let them off easily.” Jiang Liye thought of something and added, “Tomorrow, I might be a bit too busy on my own. I’m planning to ask Xiaobo from our courtyard to help out in the evening. He’s my childhood friend, and he’s trustworthy.”
Jiang Qingning nodded. “Anyone recommended by Fourth Uncle must be reliable.”
Su Guiying agreed. “When doing business outside, it’s always better to have someone with you.”
After finishing the count, each received 311 yuan.
Jiang Liye grinned as he tucked the money into his pocket. “I’ll pay Xiaobo his wages separately.”
Jiang Qingning pretended to be displeased. “Why? The stall belongs to both of us, and I’m also a boss. Of course, I should help pay the employee’s wages too.”
Jiang Liye laughed. “Alright, fine. Let’s go by the temporary worker rate—five yuan a day.” He planned to quietly add a little extra on his own later.
“You can decide that yourself, Fourth Uncle.” Jiang Qingning smiled and nodded.
“Then I’ll head home now. I won’t come over tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back in the evening.” Jiang Liye stood up to leave.
Su Guiying got up to see him off. “Will you eat here tomorrow evening? Is there anything you’d like? I get off work early and can make something nice for you.”
Jiang Liye said, “I’m fine with anything. I’ll eat whatever you all eat.”
Su Guiying smiled. “Then let’s have dumplings.”
Jiang Lifeng came in after washing the dishes, drying his hands as he said cheerfully, “Dumplings sound good. Let’s make some with cabbage and pork filling. Isn’t your friend bringing cabbage tomorrow, Old Fourth?”
Jiang Qingning raised her hand. “I want chive and egg filling too!”
“Alright, we’ll make two kinds of fillings.”
…
Humming a tune, Jiang Liye walked home in high spirits. It wasn’t just because he’d earned over 300 yuan that day—he also felt an inexplicable excitement and thrill.
Starting today, he was a boss too.
The feeling of being an employee versus being the boss was really different.
Before, when he worked for Qingning, it was his niece’s business, and he did his best. But now that he was the boss himself, he realized it was still not the same.
He couldn’t quite explain why it felt different, but today, his mind kept unconsciously thinking about how to improve the business, attract more customers, and later recycle some toys…
These were things he never used to think about before—he just had to follow instructions and get the job done.
Lost in thought, he arrived at the Jiang family home. The streetlights in this courtyard neighborhood had been broken for a long time with no one to fix them, so he skillfully navigated around obstacles and entered their crowded courtyard.
The Jiang family lived in the west wing room. The east wing room opposite belonged to Xiaobo’s family. He went over first and tapped on the window.
“Who is it?” a voice called out from the dark room.
Jiang Liye lowered his voice. “It’s me.”
“Brother Ye?”
“Yeah, there’s some work tomorrow morning. Let’s leave together at 7:30.”
“Alright, got it!”
After saying this, Jiang Liye went home. The lights were still on at the Jiang household. He pushed open the door to see his mother sitting by the bed, pasting matchboxes. His younger sister was leaning against the wall, and his fifth brother, on the upper bunk, was reading a book.
“You’re back. Have you eaten?” his mother asked, pausing her work.
“I ate at Big Brother’s place.” Jiang Liye pulled 200 yuan from his pocket and handed it to his mother. “Mom, didn’t I tell you to stop pasting these boxes? It’s hard on your eyes.”
“I’m bored staying home with nothing to do.” His mother pushed the money back toward him. “You just gave me 100 yuan yesterday.”
Jiang Liye sat on a small stool. “We still haven’t paid for the coal briquettes from the past few months, right? And there’s the water and electricity bill too.”
“That’s enough. You should keep your money for your wife. Oh, by the way, didn’t you go pick her up today?”
“I went over early this morning, but she insisted on staying for a couple more days.”
“Strange. What could she possibly need to stay at her parents’ place for?”
Jiang Liye shrugged. “Just don’t worry about her. She’ll come back when she’s ready.” He then looked up at his younger brother on the upper bunk. “Fifth Brother, come sleep with me in the inner room. That bed is bigger, and Little Sister can sleep up here.”
Before Fifth Brother could respond, their mother said impatiently, “How can you let your younger brother sleep on his sister-in-law’s bed? Just keep sleeping like this. It’ll be fine once school starts in a couple of days.”
Jiang Liye muttered, “What does it matter with our family in this state? Why bother with formalities?”
His mother insisted, “No matter how bad things get, we mustn’t forget our manners. Alright, it’s late. Hurry up and wash up for bed.”
Looking at their crowded home, Jiang Liye sighed inwardly and silently vowed to work hard, make money, and buy his mother a big house!
Before, when he didn’t even have a job, just supporting himself was an achievement. Naturally, he hadn’t thought much about improving their family’s situation—or maybe he hadn’t dared to think about it.
When you lack the ability, dwelling on it only makes you feel more hopeless.
Now that he had a way to earn money, even though it wasn’t much yet, he felt a sense of hope for the first time, as if a broad road lay ahead for him to walk on.
Across the courtyard, the Li family’s room was just as cramped, housing four people: Li Xiaobo and his wife, his elderly mother, and their newborn son.
“Xiaobo, didn’t we agree you’d look for a job tomorrow? My third aunt said their shoe factory is hiring temporary workers.” The voice of Li Xiaobo’s wife, Chen Erya, was laced with frustration.
“Brother Ye just mentioned he has work for me tomorrow.”
“What good can you learn from him? He’s the neighborhood’s notorious troublemaker, idle all day. Why do you always follow him around?”
Li Xiaobo replied impatiently, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve already promised Brother Ye.”
Chen Erya fumed, “You… I promised my third aunt too! Do you know how hard it is to find you a job? You can’t just say no! If you don’t go out and earn money, how will our family survive?”
“And you have the nerve to say that? The money from your third aunt’s factory last time still hasn’t been paid.”
“Well… they said the accounting department closed the books for the New Year. They’ll settle it along with your pay this time.”
Li Xiaobo shook his head. “Forget it. Last time, I worked one day and came back exhausted. The work was too heavy. I can’t handle it.”
Chen Erya was exasperated. “What’s a grown man like you complaining about? Old Wu in the back courtyard is over fifty and still pedals a tricycle hauling goods. How come he doesn’t complain?”
From the small bed next to them, Li Xiaobo’s mother sighed softly, patting her grandson gently, afraid he’d wake up from the noise.
Li Xiaobo turned away. “Anyway, I’ll bring money home tomorrow.”
“Hmph, you’d better.” Chen Erya also turned her back, still fuming.