“That works, no problem.”
Neither of them had come for the salary in the first place.
Cheng Junsheng knew full well that no one who applied to be a tour guide didn’t want to use the opportunity to resell goods. Placing too many restrictions on them would only discourage those who spoke Russian from taking the job.
Although it was a state-owned travel agency, it was still responsible for its own profits and losses, and people fluent in Russian were far too scarce. If the two of them did well, there would be performance bonuses later on. As long as no issues arose with their work and they kept a close eye on the tourists so no one illegally stayed behind in Russia, everything would be fine.
Cheng Junsheng pulled out two forms for them to fill in. The required tour guide certificates, passports, and international health certificates would all have to be obtained at their own expense.
Looking at Lei Yihong, Cheng Junsheng could not help asking, “Is your health really fine?”
He was so thin a gust of wind could blow him over, and his complexion was deathly pale. It would be disastrous if something happened and his family tried to extort the travel agency.
Lei Yihong patted his own chest. “No problem. By the time the documents are ready, my health will have mostly recovered.”
That pat was a bit too forceful, nearly making him throw up, but he managed to force it back down.
This terrible body was truly a hassle.
Still uneasy, Cheng Junsheng sized him up from top to bottom before finally nodding. “Alright then. Tour guiding requires good physical stamina. If your health isn’t up to it when the time comes, we won’t dare use you.”
Among these documents, the passport took the longest to process. Once applied for in Laibin City, it had to be sent to the municipal authorities, taking anywhere from twenty days to nearly a month back and forth.
They could reassess Lei Yihong’s physical condition then.
Seeing another item on the form asking for educational background, Tong Xiaoqian wondered what qualifications she even had.
The original little fool had not even finished third grade.
She wrote down high school, and Cheng Junsheng did not ask to see a diploma.
It was the same on Lei Yihong’s side; he had fallen ill before finishing high school.
In their past lives, both held high academic qualifications: Tong Xiaoqian had graduated with a master’s degree, and Lei Yihong had earned a doctorate. Yet in this era, they had become semi-illiterate and a high school dropout.
Neither of them cared about this anyway, nor did they plan to waste time trying to pass the college entrance examination.
The 1990s were somewhat chaotic and lacked interconnected computer networks, so all kinds of certificates could be bought with money.
This included college diplomas, high school diplomas, driver’s licenses, and more.
Right now, Tong Xiaoqian also needed to apply for a replacement national identity card.
Their village had started issuing identity cards in the mid-to-late 1980s, but her household registration had previously been under the Tong family, and Tian Juhua had continually dragged her feet and never applied for it.
Once the two finished filling out the forms, they would just need to wait for their documents to be complete before coming in to start work.
Stepping out of the travel agency, the two went to the train station to wait. A vehicle passed through roughly every ten to twenty minutes; besides the Xiaolin family, other households in the village also ran transport routes to the city.
There were several other villagers at the waiting area. Tong Xiaoqian only thought they looked familiar but could not put names to their faces at all.
These people all recognized Lei Yihong. When greeting him, they maintained their distance, acting as though they were terrified he might suddenly collapse and entangle them in trouble.
When the vehicle arrived, everyone let Lei Yihong board first.
Thanks to the invalid’s presence, Tong Xiaoqian felt quite at ease. The two of them sat close to the driver’s seat, with three people sitting on either side.
Anyone else coming along would have to wait for the next ride—not because there was no physical space, but because having any more people up front would cause the back to weigh down and lift the front wheels off the ground.
The motorized tricycle rattled and bounced all the way back to the village. Upon entering the village, the few people sitting outside got off first, leaving Tong Xiaoqian and Lei Yihong to ride all the way to their front gate.
A crowd had already gathered outside the gate, making quite a lively scene.
Tong Xiaoqian could not drop her persona as a virtuous wife, so she supported Lei Yihong as he stepped off the vehicle, looking utterly attentive and caring.
Throughout the morning, word had spread wildly through the village that the little fool was fiercely protective of her husband.
Thus, whenever the villagers saw the son of the second Lei family, they made sure to walk around him. Otherwise, while the fool was no longer foolish, she was somewhat crazy, and if they got beaten up, they would have nowhere to seek justice.
After all, even her second aunt Tian Juhua had been beaten until her face was bruised and swollen, let alone anyone else.
As soon as Tong Xiaoqian stepped off the vehicle supporting Lei Yihong, the onlookers at the gate automatically parted to clear a path, letting the two walk into the courtyard without hindrance.
No one dared to breathe heavily, fearing that a stronger breath might blow the invalid over.
Tong Xiaoqian helped Lei Yihong into the room. Lei Yihong leaned against the edge of the *kang* bed. This body of his was truly weak as a reed; after strolling around for just one morning without walking too much, he already felt exhausted.
Wang Yumei followed them inside. In four years, her son had never set foot outside the village except to see a doctor. Watching him go out for a stroll with her daughter-in-law today had kept her heart in her throat the whole time, terrified that something untoward might happen on the road.
Tong Xiaoqian reassured her in a low voice, “It’s nothing, he’s just a bit tired. He’ll be fine after a little rest.”
Wang Yumei patted her chest. “That’s good… There are several people outside who came to ask about the house…”
Seeing her hesitant expression, Tong Xiaoqian patted her hand. “Is something wrong?”
Wang Yumei whispered, “Well… Yihong’s eldest uncle also wants to ask how much you want to sell the house for… Someone has already offered eight thousand, and he says he will give eight thousand too…”
“However, he might have to split the payment into two installments. He’ll give five thousand first, and if you give him a bit of time—within two or three months—he’ll gather the remaining money. He wants to know if that’s fine with you…”
Tong Xiaoqian smiled. “Why wouldn’t that be fine? We’re all family. Don’t we still owe eldest uncle’s family money? How much is it? We can just factor that amount into it when the time comes.”
Wang Yumei was taken aback. “That won’t do! The house belongs to your side of the family, which makes it equivalent to your dowry. How could we let you use your dowry to pay off our debts? You don’t need to worry about this money. From now on, Yihong won’t need to keep seeing doctors all the time, so we’ll be able to pay it back very soon.”
Leaning against the edge of the *kang*, Lei Yihong interjected, “Let’s do… as Xiaoya says. Whatever we owe eldest uncle’s family, we’ll pay it off together this time. I will compensate her for this money later.”
Regardless, since he had transmigrated into the Lei family, he was considered a part of it.
Tong Xiaoqian nudged Wang Yumei. “Alright, it’s settled then. Mom, go fetch eldest uncle so we can discuss this.”
“This isn’t right, your father won’t agree either…”
“Am I not a part of this family too? Go on!” Tong Xiaoqian ushered Wang Yumei out the door.
Wang Yumei glanced at her son. Lei Yihong nodded at her, and only then did she turn and leave.
Lei Yihong looked at Tong Xiaoqian. “I will repay you double this amount later.”
Tong Xiaoqian grinned. “Sounds good!”
That was more interest than a loan shark would charge.
A moment later, Wang Yumei returned with Lei Wanguo and Lei Wanqiang.
As soon as Lei Wanqiang entered the room, he anxiously searched for Tong Xiaoqian. “Xiaoya, this money…”
Tong Xiaoqian cut him off. “Yihong and I have already discussed this matter. You two elders don’t need to worry about it.”
She then turned to Lei Wanguo. “Eldest Uncle, no matter who I sell this house to, it’s still being sold. Selling it to our own family is even better. How much did we owe your family previously?”
Lei Wanguo looked at his second younger brother and sister-in-law, then turned to Tong Xiaoqian. “We were owed two thousand two hundred from before, but there’s no rush for that money. To be frank with you, I want to buy this house to open a convenience store. Your eldest aunt and I will live over here then, while leaving our house to the two kids. Our second son has reached the age to look for a match, and our current house is too small to fit everyone.”