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Chapter 457: Chapter 457: Deep Brotherly Love
Jiang Jun and Liu Sanwa both stubbornly held back their tears. But after hearing the two men’s struggles, Deng Wenwen could not help but cry.
She regretted not having a heart of stone - these two men were too pitiable.
Compared to Deng Wenwen, Tong Yao remained calm. Even the most heartfelt stories could not move her to tears as her own experiences in Qing City had.
Despite feeling sympathetic towards the two men, Tong Yao had to be pragmatic. She was there to hire staff, not to run a charity. She said bluntly, "Work on the mountain is tough. You two are too skinny and weak to cope."
"We can handle it, really we can. We both have a lot of strength," Jiang Jun quickly replied. "I’m even able to carry things weighing more than a hundred kilograms. I often did heavy chores around the house when I was a kid."
Liu Sanwa also quickly added, "You just need to feed us. We don’t even need wages."
Ever since they came to Kyoto nearly a year ago, they had hardly eaten a full meal. After going through so much, Jiang Jun and Liu Sanwa treated each other like the only family they had in the world. They had no other demands now except for a chance to fill their bellies and survive.
"Farm work is not as easy as you imagine. It’s rather dull to face chickens and ducks every day on the mountain," Tong Yao warned. She was worried that the pair, who were still young and had long been unemployed, would not be able to endure the hardships at the farm.
After all, the mountain needed labor to help Tong Yaohui and Gu Hongwei share the workload. It would be troublesome if she brought two men who were hard to manage and unable to work.
Furthermore, in the event that the two were unhappy with their jobs and harbored other intentions, it would be too late for regrets.
That place embodied her and Gu Hongwei’s dreams. Tong Yao did not want her momentary compassion to ruin her and Gu Hongwei’s grand plans.
Hearing Tong Yao repeatedly emphasizing the arduous nature of working on the mountain, Jiang Jun assumed she was worried about his leg injury hindering his ability to work. Clenching his teeth, he said, "If it’s because of the injury on my leg, could you let Liu Sanwa go work instead? He is diligent and can work harder than me. You could just let him go alone. You can let him try it out for a few days."
Jiang Jun did not want Liu Sanwa to be burdened by his problems. If things continued as they were, Liu Sanwa might end up starving to death with him.
For some reason, Jiang Jun had an intuition that as long as they could follow Tong Yao, their lives would change for the better.
Since he was not fortunate enough, Jiang Jun thought it would be fine for Liu Sanwa to follow Tong Yao. The two of them had been good friends since childhood, and after the earthquake, they considered each other as brothers. Jiang Jun did not want to drag Liu Sanwa down.
Upon hearing this, Liu Sanwa immediately rejected the idea, "That won’t work. If I leave, how will you survive on your own?" Liu Sanwa understood that if they parted ways, Jiang Jun’s death from starvation was only a matter of time.
Seeing the deep bond between the two men and their unfortunate plight, Deng Wenwen was moved to help. However, she remained silent. She knew that Tong Yao had her reasons for hesitating.
Seeing that Tong Yao did not show any signs of relenting, Liu Sanwa bowed to her, "I’m sorry, we can’t separate. He is the only family I have in this world. Without him, there’s no point in me being alive."
After saying that, he helped Jiang Jun to his feet and began to walk away. If they were going to starve to death, they would do so together.
"Wait a minute." Tong Yao called out to them, sounding resigned, "You two stay and try working for a few days."
At her words, Jiang Jun and Liu Sanwa were so overjoyed that they froze on the spot, looking at Tong Yao in disbelief.
Tong Yao continued, "The work on the mountain is quite tough. The salary is eighty yuan per person per month. You can try working for a few days first. If you can’t handle it, feel free to leave anytime. Just let my dad know, and he’ll pay you according to the days you worked."
Originally intending to work without pay, as long as they were fed, they were stunned when Tong Yao offered them a salary of eighty yuan each. Jiang Jun and Liu Sanwa were flabbergasted.
Not knowing how to react - such a sum was beyond their wildest dreams. Back at their hometown, their families’ annual income didn’t even reach two hundred yuan.
This figure was astronomical to them, no different from a figure from Astrophysics. It didn’t matter if the work was tedious. Even if they had to soak in a cesspool every day, they would still be willing to do it.
Tong Yao took ten yuan in change from her pocket and handed it to Liu Sanwa, saying softly, "This ten yuan is an advance of your salary. Go eat something and get your leg looked at. Come find me here in two days, and I’ll arrange for a car to take you to the farm."
Liu Sanwa took the money. He and Jiang Jun were so moved that they almost wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Tong Yao. They couldn’t hold back their tears any longer.
Jiang Jun hastily wiped his eyes, saying with teary eyes, "Boss Tong, you are our benefactor. Since the earthquake, no one has ever been as kind to us as you. We will be grateful to you for our lifetimes."
There were too many people affected by the earthquake. Both men were not so young at the time, and everyone’s attention was focused on the children, the elderly, and the women, completely overlooking the likes of them who were young adults.
If they were not astute, they might’ve ended up being sold off like Song Yu somewhere, or even worse, they could have lost their lives.
Jiang Jun nodded in agreement with Liu Sanwa’s words. He wanted to say something, but his mouth opened and closed without making a sound.
Seeing the two men so affected, Deng Wenwen’s tears fell like rain, even more fiercely than theirs.
In the shop, three out of the four people present were crying. Tong Yao felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere and hurriedly said, "You’ve been hungry for a long time, haven’t you? Go out and eat something, get your leg seen to. Don’t delay it for too long and end up with complications."
Liu Sanwa and Jiang Jun nodded. After saying goodbye to Tong Yao, they both swore silently in their hearts that they would work hard to repay Tong Yao’s kindness. To them, Tong Yao was a savior.
"Sister Yaoyao, they’re too pitiable," Deng Wenwen wiped her tears, feeling extremely guilty. Her words were too harsh before, but luckily, Sister Yaoyao didn’t listen to her and chase the two away.
Tong Yao sighed, "Indeed, they are quite pitiable. The thing is, I don’t know if they will make something of themselves in the future."
What she didn’t say was that the ten yuan she had just given was like a litmus test. If Jiang Jun and Liu Sanwa returned on time in two days, it meant they were sincere about looking for work, and she would let them try working on the farm for a while.
However, if the two didn’t return in two days, or if they squandered the money and then came back, it proved they were incorrigible. Tong Yao wouldn’t show them any more kindness, nor would she employ them.
Spending ten yuan to discern their character was a worthwhile investment in Tong Yao’s eyes.
Also, she did feel some pity for the two men. She didn’t care about their faults - the bond of brotherhood between them was enough to justify her kindness.
If they could sincerely settle down and dedicate themselves to working on the farm, Tong Yao wouldn’t mistreat them. How they would proceed in the future would depend on their own decisions.
