Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: The Land and Water of Your Village is Extremely Nourishing

In their early twenties, their appetites were at their peaks, yet their family situations were not good. The living allowances from their parents were scanty, and their daily struggle was to make ends meet. Now that they’ve found jobs to supplement their living costs, eating without worry is no longer a problem.

Most importantly, the jobs Tong Yao offered were long-term. As long as they did well, they could work until they graduate. If they save a bit, they can even accumulate a little money.

No longer did they have to work as exhausted porters like before, earning a measly yuan a day, and even had to pay compensation if they accidentally broke something.

Such good news, they had to make a call home and share it right away.

*

On Tong Yao’s side, she was looking at the workers doing the renovation when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Boss, are you hiring here? I was referred by Zhou Lei. He had a stomachache and went to the toilet. I am here alone..."

The speaker stopped mid-sentence when he saw Tong Yao turn around. Gu Hongwei’s words got stuck in his throat as he stared at Tong Yao incredulously for a while.

Tong Yao was surprised to find out that the classmate Zhou Lei was talking about was Gu Hongwei. She laughed and said, "Gu Hongwei, you got into Kyoto University? That’s a coincidence. I graduated from there too."

Gu Hongwei returned to his senses and asked incredulously, "How did you end up in Kyoto?" As soon as he said this, he felt he sounded silly. Tong Yao was originally from Kyoto. Her being there was normal.

But then, what about Si Chen?

Seeing the confusion in Gu Hongwei’s eyes, Tong Yao explained with a smile, "Ahchen is now working at the Kyoto First People’s Hospital, so I followed him here. I didn’t want to work long hours every day, so I decided to open a bubble tea shop. You are here to apply for a job, right?"

"Yes." Gu Hongwei nodded and said, "But, I haven’t made bubble tea before. I’m not sure if I can do it well."

When his classmate suggested he apply here, he was worried he wouldn’t do well, but he was really short on money and didn’t want to miss the opportunity. He came with the attitude of giving it a try, never expecting that the bubble tea shop would actually be owned by Tong Yao.

Not wanting to go to work and opening a store instead sounds easy, but it’s something not everyone can do. Opening a store requires a considerable investment. It’s impossible without some financial backing.

People had always said Tong Yao was a golden phoenix. It seemed they were right. The Tong family was indeed quite influential in Kyoto.

Tong Yao didn’t know Gu Hongwei’s thoughts; she assumed he was not confident about the job. "As long as you’re willing to learn, it’s fine. The bubble tea shop will open next month. After the renovation is done, you can come two days earlier for training. I will teach you how to make bubble tea."

"OK."

Gu Hongwei nodded. Seeing that the renovation workers occasionally glanced at him and Tong Yao, he was worried others would gossip. So he found an excuse to return to school.

Tong Yao was married after all. As a man, he should keep a distance from her to avoid any negative influence on her. If it reached Si Chen’s ears, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

In this era, rumors can kill people.

"How did it go? Was the interview successful?" Gu Hongwei hardly entered the dormitory when Zhou Lei walked up to him and asked. Zhou Lei had a stomachache just now; otherwise, he would have accompanied Gu Hongwei. Gu Hongwei was rather stolid; Zhou Lei wondered if the boss would hire him.

After all, selling goods is not like doing physical labor where all you need is physical strength.

"I got the job." Gu Hongwei sat down on the bed, and still couldn’t believe that Tong Yao was his boss.

Zhou Lei was relieved. Seeing Gu Hongwei didn’t seem very happy, he was slightly puzzled. "You seem disappointed. Were you too scared to go?"

"No, it’s just that I’m surprised. She is from my village." Gu Hongwei didn’t hide the fact he knew Tong Yao. Everyone was going to work together and would find it out sooner or later. There was no point in hiding it, and it could affect relationships with his roommates.

"She is from your village?" Zhou Lei was as surprised as if he had found a golden bean in his rice. "Hongwei, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Is she really from your village?"

"No mistake, she’s from our village." Gu Hongwei nodded calmly.

"That’s great then." Zhou Lei excitedly slapped Gu Hongwei on the shoulder. "Since she’s from your village, we won’t have to worry about being fired. As long as we’re willing to learn, even if we’re slow learners, she would surely teach us."

Then he teased, "Speaking of which, what do you guys eat in your village? Why is everyone so good-looking? The environment there must be really nurturing."

Gu Hongwei was handsome, and not long after he arrived at the school, several girls were already inquiring about him. Now this beautiful lady boss had appeared - were all the good-looking people from his village?

Gu Hongwei responded seriously, "Don’t speak nonsense, she’s married into our village."

However, it did seem that the environment of their village was quite nurturing. The men of the village were all handsome, while the women were relatively plain. There were no particularly beautiful ones.

Strangely, both Si Chen and Si Boyi were good looking, but their sibling Si Xiaohui, despite having the same parents, was just ordinary. Could it be that the environment really only favored men?

Zhou Lei was so surprised he could fit a whole egg in his mouth. He had so many questions. "She’s married already? But she looks about our age, right? She didn’t go to college and got married straightaway, did she?"

"You’re overthinking, she’s our senior." Gu Hongwei broke his conjecture mercilessly.

In this era, rural people would start their schooling later. For example, he only started school when he was eight. At that time, he didn’t attend kindergarten and started directly from the first grade. City children were different; they would start school at five or six years old, and some even started attending kindergarten at the age of four. That’s why despite them being around the same age, he had just started university, and Tong Yao had already graduated.

The cultural gap between people from the city and the countryside was significant, as were their mindsets. Most rural people believed that there was no use in getting too much education. A few years of school to learn to read was enough; learning a trade was much more critical.

City people, on the other hand, would try every means to hire tutors for their children and improve their learning abilities.

When he was studying in Li City, he didn’t feel much difference between the city and the countryside. Only after arriving in Kyoto did he realize the great gap between the two sides and the disparity between the rich and the poor. This realization made him more determined to work diligently in his studies.

"Oh my gosh, she’s already a university graduate?"

Zhou Lei was completely flabbergasted. He could hardly express his shock. Gu Hongwei had given him a ton of new information, and he was finding it hard to process everything.

Initially, he just thought Tong Yao was pretty. Who could have imagined that she would be Gu Hongwei’s fellow villager and their senior?

Thinking about it, how could such a beautiful and intelligent lady end up marrying into some remote village? Could she have been tricked and taken there?

Just a short while had passed, and Zhou Lei had imagined a whole series of cases where beautiful university students got abducted.