NOVPUB
Chapter 639: Chapter 629 Salary and Bonus System (Additional Chapter 7 for Giving Snow to Haidilao)
"But for now, we haven’t solved the accommodation issue here, we’ll just have to make do and set up a temporary thatched shelter for a few days. Luckily, the weather has turned quite warm, so it won’t be too unbearable. Our farm’s dormitory building is under construction, and it should be finished in two or three months. By then, things will get better," Shen Yunfang continued explaining.
Sun Dawei was so overwhelmed that he found himself speechless. According to his calculations, with wages and bonuses combined, he’d earn a little over a hundred a month. For such pay, he would be willing to sleep on a big straw mat every day. But now, it seemed there would be free dormitories, actual buildings, for him to stay in. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. The conditions were so good that he could hardly believe they were real.
Under the relentless persuasion of Li Hongjun and his wife, Comrade Sun Dawei staggered into the small room. He seemed not to have seen the peculiar wooden bunk beds at all, and went straight to the ground pallet to dream away.
After Shen Yunfang tidied up the table, she had the children turn off the TV and sent them to wash up before bedtime.
Fortunately, when constructing the bunk beds, Shen Yunfang had anticipated that guests might come to stay, so she had designed a large drawer under Pangpang’s bed. Pulled out, it turned into a makeshift bed. Although it was a bit low, at least it was off the ground, preventing anyone from catching a cold while sleeping. She hadn’t expected it would come into use so soon.
Only when the couple lay in their bed did Li Hongjun begin to talk about Sun Dawei’s situation.
He didn’t delve into what happened in the army; after Sun Dawei was discharged and came home, he had kept in touch with Li Hongjun, so Li Hongjun knew a little about the various events in Sun Dawei’s family over the years.
After returning home, Sun Dawei had thought that no matter where he was, he could contribute to socialism, that with his strength, he could support his family anywhere. But his wife didn’t see things the same way. Since he came back home to farm, she would quarrel with him every three days over trivial matters and every five days over more significant issues. The main point being that she looked down on Sun Dawei for being useless, incompetent and for not earning enough money.
During the years Sun Dawei was in the army, he felt sorry for his wife being at home alone, taking care of the elderly, so he bore with her complaints, and when he couldn’t bear it anymore, he would just go outside and sulk alone.
But his tolerance did not earn her forgiveness. A year later, his wife actually ran off with someone else, taking all the family’s money with her.
Such a scandal in the family led the people in the village to verbally condemn his wife for her indecency and to comfort him that it was alright, promising to find him a better wife in time. But behind his back, they all laughed at him. A man who couldn’t keep his wife was certainly a laughingstock.
In the following years, because Sun Dawei’s family was destitute, no one wanted to marry him. The mockery from the villagers caused his parents worry and distress, and not long after, they both passed away from illness, leaving Sun Dawei to live alone at home.
So when Li Hongjun called him, he did not hesitate to leave his land to be managed by his uncle, agreeing that as long as they provided him with enough grain to eat each year, that would suffice. And that’s how he packed his belongings and came to seek refuge with Li Hongjun.
"Don’t be fooled by Sun Dawei’s impatience, but he’s definitely not a bad person and is capable and willing to work hard. He might not have many skills, but he can farm like no other. I was thinking, since the salary here is good, why not come work here for a few years, save up a dowry, and find a wife to warm the bed?" Li Hongjun was quite concerned about his men, and upon learning that his wife was hiring workers with such generous wages, he took the initiative to secure the job for them. It was better to benefit his own men than to help outsiders, after all. Plus, by selecting these people himself, their character was guaranteed, and they were skilled workers—exactly the kind of talent his wife currently needed most.
Shen Yunfang didn’t mind his little scheme. After all, she needed to hire workers and didn’t know what kind of character randomly hired people might have. If someone dishonest or a vagrant was brought in, that would be quite troublesome. By comparison, the people Li Hongjun recommended were much more reliable.
"Well, let’s try it out and see. My farm is no place for idlers. As long as the people who come are as capable and willing as you say, I’ll have nothing to complain about." Shen Yunfang snuggled into his arms. "But what about Brother Chen and his wife? Why haven’t they arrived yet? Did you explain the situation here clearly to them, or do they not want to come?"
They had informed Chen Jing and her husband first, but now almost half a month had passed, and they had not yet seen a trace of them. No wonder Shen Yunfang harbored such doubts.
"Don’t overthink it. Chen Jing called me a few days ago. They want to arrange things for their child first before they can come over, which might delay them a few days," Li Hongjun tightened his arms around her.
It was Shen Yunfang who had called Chen Jing initially, and over the phone, she had made it clear what the work would entail, as well as the basic salary and bonus amounts. Chen Jing had agreed to come over without a second word. However, their child was indeed a complication, "Their kid should be in junior high by now, right? How are they planning to manage it?" 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
"I heard they’ve arranged for the child to board at school, so the kid will eat and live there. Whenever they have time, they will go back and visit," Li Hongjun honestly relayed what he knew. In his opinion, there was no need for such hassle—simply transferring the child to a school in Z Province would suffice. The child could go home every week easily enough.
"That does sound troublesome. Our place isn’t close to S City, and it takes two days by train alone. It won’t be easy to go back and visit the child." Shen Yunfang felt it was a challenging situation; just one trip took two days, and for both of them to visit their child meant asking for a week’s leave. Considering how honest Chen Jing and her husband were, she estimated they might not be able to visit their child even once in six months.
Now a mother herself, she could fully empathize with the longing to be with one’s child.
"Since they’re not here yet, let’s not worry about this for now, but when they both arrive, you should talk to them properly. I can arrange for a school for their child here, and the tuition for non-resident students won’t be expensive. If you can really offer such high wages, the two of them could easily afford their child’s education," Li Hongjun felt it was best to discuss such matters face-to-face when the time came. Moreover, it would be more convincing once they actually received their wages.
In truth, Chen Jing and her husband had their own considerations. Apart from other concerns, they hadn’t yet decided if they could work here long-term. Only if they could settle in for good would they consider bringing their child over, as non-resident tuition fees would need to be paid since their household registration was not in this area. Moreover, they were not sure if they could meet Shen Yunfang’s expectations. If they couldn’t perform adequately, no amount of wages would justify imposing on Li Hongjun and his wife.
"Go on, what are you implying? You make me sound like Huang Shiren who withholds the wages of migrant workers," Shen Yunfang slapped him playfully.
"Heh, let’s get some sleep. I reckon these next few days, the comrades I’ve contacted will start arriving one after another. You’ll be busy then."
