Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 133 Hiring Lin Shaojun

Carrying a bicycle across the river is fine, a tricycle is a bit bulky but still manageable, but a tricycle with an engine is a different story. It's inconvenient to get on and off the boat, and it's also prone to accidents.

Chen Wenjun thought it made sense and immediately asked around for suitable rental properties on the other side of the river.

Because of the major conflict with Anshan Society, Chen Wenjun didn't even consider Anshan Society, which was closest to them, and ultimately chose Anshui Society, which was next to Anshan Society.

It's only about a two-minute boat ride away, nothing to worry about.

Moreover, Anshui Village is closer to Shimoda Village, making it more convenient to go to the city.

Chen Wenjun used his connections to get in touch with the village chief of Anshui Village, and spent 1,000 yuan to rent a piece of wasteland closest to Nanxi. He then made a trip to Shanglin Village to find Lin Qingxiang and his son to help.

Lin Qingxiang hadn't been to Nanyu for a long time. He was immediately amazed by the stadium as soon as he entered. Looking back at the additions to the building, he was even more astonished. "Wow, Lin Yi! Your daughter and son-in-law are getting more and more impressive! Especially that stadium, tsk tsk tsk. I've lived this long and have only ever heard of such things. Today I've finally seen the real thing! It's magnificent! So magnificent!"

Lin Shaojun nodded repeatedly, especially when he saw the basketball hoop; he felt a little itchy to play.

Chen Wenjun played a game with him, which made Lin Shaojun very happy. "I've decided to come and play ball with Brother Wenjun whenever I have free time."

"Dream on! Don't you want to do the work in the fields? Don't you want to do your job? Don't be lazy and set a bad example for Wenjun! He's not like you!" Lin Qingxiang slapped Lin Shaojun on the forehead.

Lin Shaojun winced in pain, instantly deflated, and looked at his father with a look of utter resentment. "Dad! I'm not even married yet! If you beat me senseless, who will carry on the family line!"

"You still dare to talk back!" Lin Qingxiang made a move to hit him again.

Lin Shaojun quickly dodged.

Lin Yi chuckled, "Shaojun is getting on in years, he can start dating now."

Lin Qingxiang agreed wholeheartedly, “That’s what I think too. It’s just that our family was too poor before, and we didn’t have a suitable girl, so we were delayed. Last year, we made some money building houses for Wenjun and Aqin. During the Spring Festival, we asked someone to act as a matchmaker and found two people. One of them was in a similar situation to our family, except that he had more brothers in his family.”

The coward was too scared to respond when he found out. The second girl seemed a bit delicate and shrewd; although she had a sweet tongue, I always felt she wasn't someone to be trifled with. My husband and I didn't like her.

Lin Yi understood, "Then let's wait a little longer."

Lin Qingxiang was secretly anxious. "We're brothers who grew up together. You're different now. You've seen a lot. If you meet a suitable girl, don't forget about our Shaojun. Also, if you find a suitable job, you can introduce it to Shaojun so he can try it out. Otherwise, he'll be looked down upon for staying in the village to farm and do odd jobs. It's not easy for him to find a girl with good conditions."

Lin Qingxiang and his wife hadn't thought much about it before, but ever since their son started going on blind dates, they immediately realized the importance of a stable job; otherwise, they wouldn't have shamelessly asked for it.

Lin Yi agreed readily and turned to find Chen Wenjun to explain the situation.

Chen Wenjun chuckled and said, "Dad, Uncle Qingxiang, if Shaojun doesn't mind, he can come and help out at my shop."

Lin Yi and Lin Qingxiang were both stunned.

Before Lin Yi could speak, Lin Qingxiang jumped up excitedly, "What? When did you open a shop? What do you sell?"

Chen Wenjun told her about his seafood wholesale business: "After Aqin gave birth, she had to take the child to the store to work before dawn every day. She was busy until eight o'clock and then had to take the child to class immediately. She could only relax for a few days recently after the college entrance examination."

However, she wasn't confident and said she needed to work hard for another year. I figured she should just focus on her studies and take good care of the child; she wouldn't have much energy for anything else. Also, there's the Liu family. They caused trouble a while ago, and although they didn't really make a mess of things, I still felt uneasy. I was thinking it would be better to just ask someone for help.

I don't have to do much. I just help my father-in-law run the shop. I go there at five in the morning and can rest around eight or nine o'clock. After my seafood is delivered, I help sort the goods and put them into the freezer. Then I can go home. I come back to work at five-thirty in the afternoon. My things are delivered around six o'clock. After helping unload the goods, I have to go to Nangang again. I can get off work around eight or nine o'clock.

"Eighty yuan a month, plus some extra perks during holidays, do you think that's acceptable?"

He had wanted to ask for help for a long time, but Lin Qin hadn't mentioned it, and Lin Yi was eager to do it, so he was afraid that it would cost him too much money, and the matter had been put on hold.

The Liu family's commotion gave him an opportunity to make arrangements, and at the same time, it shut Lin Yi up.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingxiang immediately tugged at Lin Shaojun, "Hurry up and thank your brother Wenjun!"

Lin Shaojun snapped out of his daze, grinned sheepishly, and bowed to Chen Wenjun, "Brother Wenjun! I'll work for you from now on!"

Chen Wenjun patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "I should thank you. The work in the shop is not easy, and we also have to guard against the Liu family going crazy. We're counting on you!"

"No problem!" Lin Shaojun patted his chest and assured him.

And so, the matter of hiring someone was settled.

Lin Qingxiang and his son felt much more at ease after finishing a major task. They discussed the garage construction with Chen Wenjun and then left.

After they left, Lin Yi hesitated for a while before muttering, "Actually, it's okay not to hire anyone; I can do it myself."

Chen Wenjun knew Lin Yi would say that, and he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Dad, you helped me watch the shop this morning, and you couldn't manage it all by yourself. If you come with me this afternoon, you'll be neglecting the land in Nanyu and the chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs."

Although your cousin-in-law can help out here, you can't just hand over everything to her! What if she quits one day? What will happen to this huge operation?

Lin Yi was speechless after being confronted and could only admit defeat.

Lin Qingxiang and his son returned home in high spirits and told Huang Yuzhen about their work.

Huang Yuzhen was so excited she almost shouted.

Lin Qingxiang quickly covered her mouth, "This is something we should keep to ourselves. Don't tell the villagers, or they'll be jealous."

Huang Yuzhen nodded frantically, suppressing her excitement, and asked in a low voice, "Is Lin Qin's man really that amazing now?"

"Of course! They even built a gymnasium specifically for the children to exercise. Could they do that without money? If you ask me, Ah Qin is lucky. She remarried and managed to marry such a capable man. Most importantly, she gave birth to a healthy and beautiful son."

Do you think Chen Wenjun wouldn't praise the mother and son to the skies?

I was worried that Lin Yi wouldn't feel secure living with his son-in-law, but with this grandson, Chen Wenjun will take care of him in his old age, even to the point of death, and will surely look after him better than his own son.

(End of this chapter)