Back to my 1980s

"Hey? What kind of outfit are you guys wearing?"

After parking the car in front of Jiang Yue's house, Jiang Yue and Xu Qian sat at the entrance of the main room. Jiang Yue was holding a comb in her hand, and Xu Qian was lying in the crook of Jiang Yue's legs.

"What brings you here?" Xu Qian immediately sat up straight.

"Well, Comrade Jiang Yue gave me a note last time, so I came here specifically to thank her. What are you doing here?" Zhao Hua waved the can in his hand, still very curious about what they had just been doing. In his memory, the only time his mother would sit like this was when she cleaned his ears when he was a child.

"Why do you, a grown man, always pry into everything?" Xu Qian glanced at Zhao Hua with disdain.

Zhao Hua pursed his lips, not caring, and walked past the two into the house, placing the canned food and red paper package on the table.

"What's wrapped in that paper? Why is it wrapped in red paper? Is it money? Here, there's a stool for you." Xu Qian handed the stool next to her to Zhao Hua and then lay back down.

Zhao Hua didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly. He glanced around the room and saw a large cabinet in the center, the kind every household has. On the cabinet were two tin thermos bottles, and in the corner was a tea tray and tea set. Of course, in the very center hung a portrait that every household has.

In front of the cabinet was a small eight-immortal table, and along the wall stood several old wooden cabinets covered with white gauze. He looked closely through a slightly raised piece of gauze and then saw that it was a radio underneath.

He turned his gaze back to Jiang Yue and Xu Qian, and this time he saw clearly that it was Jiang Yue who was pinching fleas off Xu Qian...

This thing is indeed quite common in rural areas, but he didn't expect it to be found in a place full of brick houses.

"What are you looking at!" Xu Qian noticed Zhao Hua's gaze and snapped at him.

She was probably a little embarrassed that people would see she had fleas. Zhao Hua was a bit puzzled and asked, "Laundry detergent and soap are hard to buy in our village because they require coupons. You shouldn't be short of them, right? How come you still have this stuff?"

Xu Qian turned her head away and ignored him. Jiang Yue giggled and said, "Last night, Uncle Li's son next door was discharged from the hospital and came back. We went to visit him. Before we left, she insisted on playing with the dog. As a result, she started scratching it as soon as night fell. She came over late at night and said she would share the trouble with him. She kept me up all night."

Just then, she spotted another one, snapped it with her fingernails, and handed it to Zhao Hua, saying, "Look, we still haven't finished catching them all."

Zhao Hua was speechless. These past few days, she had been busy at the hospital. How could she have time to get rid of fleas on her dog? Even if she did, they would just grow back soon. But he didn't say anything more. Xu Qian was already nestled in Jiang Yue's arms. If he said anything more, she would just get angry.

However, he still quietly moved a little further away; he was covered in fleas and no one was going to help him get rid of them...

"Did the family next door get discharged yesterday? Are they fully healed?" He peeked towards the large iron gate next door.

"No, they said it's fortunate that no vital organs were injured. He just needs time to recover, which is the same no matter where he is. So they took him home to recuperate. Sigh, when I first came back and saw him, he was perfectly fine. Suddenly he became like this."

Xu Qian suddenly turned her head again, leaned back and nestled into Jiang Yue's arms, her small mouth opening and closing as she said, "Isn't it all his fault? He's almost getting married, and he still doesn't work properly. During work hours, he takes advantage of Uncle Li's relationship to skip work and run around outside. Running around is one thing, but he even got into a fight with someone, and I heard it was because of a girl. Doesn't he deserve it?"

Jiang Yue quickly reached out and patted her lightly, saying irritably, "Don't talk nonsense. We're so close, someone might hear us."

"What does it matter? He even blocked my way before. Hmph, it's only because I know Uncle Li that he doesn't dare to act recklessly in front of me, otherwise who knows what he would say." She swayed her hips and squeezed herself up a little, her tone completely nonchalant. Then she turned to Zhao Hua and asked, "How much money is in your bag?"

Zhao Hua clicked his tongue. He really didn't expect Xu Qian to ask so directly. But after thinking about it, given the current state of affairs at the grassroots level, this kind of thing didn't seem unusual. Some people were practically openly charging prices, and in some villages, you even needed connections to get a birth certificate.

He smiled and said, "It's nothing, just ten yuan."

Xu Qian suddenly sat up straight, but immediately sat back down, fiddling with her hair and saying, "It doesn't seem like much for you. What's wrong? Why are you giving so much at once?"

Zhao Hua chuckled. These days, the second generation of rich kids, while not exactly poor, are still much better off than farmers, at least they don't have to worry about food and drink. But to say they're rich is another matter entirely.

Especially for the second generation in these rural towns, their parents' monthly salary is only fifty or sixty yuan. Of course, the benefits and treatment are not reflected in the salary, but in these rural towns, the only thing they can eat relatively well is probably the food.

Once they leave the town, no one will even recognize them. I reckon that when they were studying in other cities, their living conditions were not as good as those of the working-class families around the school.

But as soon as they return to the township, things change. These days, village officials are like local tyrants, let alone these second-generation rich kids. However, there's really not much money to be made in the township, so it's in an awkward, middle-of-the-road situation. Ten yuan isn't a lot of money for them, but it's not a small amount either. After all, even if they only earn thirty-four yuan a month at their regular jobs, that's already a salary that everyone envies.

However, he wasn't sure if he could talk about this, so he simply looked at Jiang Yue and let her handle it herself.

Jiang Yue had been diligently smoothing Xu Qian's hair. Only when no one spoke did she look up and see Zhao Hua's gaze. She suddenly realized what was happening, smiled, and continued smoothing her hair, saying, "It's nothing. His family is building a house and asked if I could help him get some affordable bricks."

"Are you building a new house?"

Zhao Hua nodded and said, "We're building a new house, and I've come here today to ask you something."

The two looked over at him. Zhao Hua didn't try to be mysterious; he smiled and said, "I'm thinking of starting a small workshop. Do you have any suggestions?"

Xu Qian asked curiously, "Why are you asking us for advice on setting up a workshop? What suggestions can we possibly have? We don't even know what kind of workshop you want to set up."

Jiang Yue didn't speak, but it was clear that Xu Qian was asking the same question she wanted to ask, so she simply stopped what she was doing and waited to see what Zhao Hua would say.

Zhao Hua knew that these two girls seemed harmless, but they weren't stupid. Besides, there was no need to beat around the bush. He went straight to the point: "Here's what I'm thinking. I'll set up a workshop, and you two can give me your opinions. If it makes money, I'll split it 10% with you as my consulting fee. If it loses money, it has nothing to do with you. I'll bear all the losses myself. How about that?"

Zhao Hua wasn't stupid, nor was he intentionally trying to subsidize others. Even if we don't talk about this time now, even in the 1990s, it would be useless to think about going home without cultivating good relationships with these people.

Even if you get lucky and one department visits the company to learn from your experience, and you're treated to good food and drinks, then it's truly a visit to learn from your experience. But if the food is even slightly subpar, then the next visit might become a joint effort by several departments, and then it won't be a visit to learn from your experience anymore.

This is still considered good. When you accumulate bills from eating and drinking at restaurants, they'll call you out for a meal when the bills reach a certain point. At this point, you have to be sensible; otherwise, you won't be able to continue working.

If you're lucky, you'll get through these hurdles. Don't rush. Maybe one day a department will suddenly come up to you and say that the company is short of vehicles and needs to borrow your car for a few days. You'll have to arrange for the car to be lent to someone else, and once it's lent out, you never know when it will be returned.

If one unit does this, you can grit your teeth and tolerate it, but if so many units, big and small, do this, people won't be polite to you at all.

It would be better to bring these two girls along from the start. The hidden benefits and gains are far beyond what money can buy. Not only will there be no obstacles to overcome, but they might even help you grow rapidly. Since both of them are here now, you might as well bring them along, so that one of them doesn't dare to, or the other doesn't ruin what you've already agreed to.

As for why Zhao Hua knows so much about these things, it's all from what he heard from his fellow workers on the construction site.

In addition, he enjoys watching various success stories and memoirs while eating, the kind where the protagonist wipes away tears and says they regret it and feel guilty towards so-and-so.

However, the two were still somewhat confused, not understanding what Zhao Hua was up to. After all, this kind of thing was too advanced for them; they had never even seen anything like it. Xu Qian looked at Zhao Hua blankly and said, "If we make money, we'll split it; if we lose, it's none of our business. So what are you after? What kind of advice is so valuable?"

Jiang Yue seemed to realize what was going on, after all, there was a living example in the village—the thugs in those underground casinos. She looked at Zhao Hua and said, "You want to do those shady businesses?"

Xu Qian suddenly turned her head to look at Jiang Yue, and she instantly understood. Then she turned her head and stared straight at Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua waved his hand and said, "What kind of shady business? What kind of shady business can we do in this shabby place? I'm going to set up a workshop! A proper workshop!"

The two of them were instantly confused again. Jiang Yue asked doubtfully, "Could you explain it to me in general terms? I don't quite understand."

Zhao Hua didn't really know what to say for a moment. After all, he hadn't even figured out what to do yet. He only knew that if you wanted to do something these days, you had to know these people, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to get past the village secretary. So he simply came over to settle the prerequisites first.

He thought for a moment and said, "You know what 'seven up, eight down' means? It's the same as 'employer'."

After the two nodded, Zhao Hua continued, "But our village might not accept this, and they might just take a blanket approach. If I get caught in that blanket approach, then I'll have to come to you for advice, understand?"

Now the two of them understood. Jiang Yue glared at Zhao Hua with annoyance and said, "I thought you were really that nice, thinking of sharing your earnings with us. Who would have thought we'd still have to help with the work?"

Xu Qian chimed in with disdain, "Exactly! I was wondering where such a good deal came from, that you can actually get a share of the money just by offering some advice."

Zhao Hua noticed something was off; why were they all reacting like this? He frowned and quickly continued, "Just help me out with this kind of thing. There won't be many of these kinds of incidents, and it's already clearly stipulated in the law. I'm just worried that the villagers are too timid, since they're about to retire and probably want to avoid trouble. You don't need to worry about anything else; I'll handle it. You won't be shortchanged on your share of the profits; we can write that into the contract."

"A contract?" Xu Qian became interested.

However, Zhao Hua felt that she was more interested in signing contracts, as those two words were a completely new concept to her.

"Leaving aside those things beforehand, have you thought about what you're going to do?" Jiang Yue was more mature after all, and instead of getting bogged down in the details, she went straight to the heart of the matter.

"I'm asking for your opinions first. Without you two big shots, I can't do anything I want," Zhao Hua shrugged.

Xu Qian burst into laughter upon hearing this, but Jiang Yue didn't rush to agree, saying, "We need to discuss this with our family later. You need to have a general plan before I can talk to them."

Zhao Hua thought for a moment and said, "You're not going to discuss this and then end up having your brothers or something come and talk to me, are you?" Compared to their brothers and sisters, Zhao Hua would rather cooperate with the two people in front of him, since he was more familiar with them.

Before Jiang Yue could speak, Xu Qian exclaimed, "No way! Don't worry, you're our friend, and they have their own friends too. Besides, they all work in the county, not our township."

"Then why didn't you go?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Hua realized that he had asked a pointless question. Although it was very likely that they had arranged for the brothers to be assigned to low-ranking government offices in the county, that was still a county, and it wasn't a place that could be assigned just like that. Of course, it wouldn't be their turn, as girls wouldn't be able to go. Staying in the countryside with their parents was much simpler than going to the county.

The two rolled their eyes in unison. Before they could speak, Zhao Hua quickly changed the subject, saying, "You two are educated, so can you help me think of something that can make money? Let's come up with a rough plan first."

Jiang Yue was no longer in the mood to find fleas for Xu Qian. This kind of thing was new enough for her, and besides, if it really worked out, who would complain about having too much money? As for Zhao Hua's request, she had already figured it out.

It's actually quite easy to understand. Even though these days everyone in her village makes a living by farming and nobody does anything like setting up factories, she's lived near the township government for so long that she often hears about villagers from other villages causing trouble. After a little research, she knows what's going on.

The principles are the same. If Zhao Hua hadn't sought them out, he might have become one of those who "caused trouble" in the future.

As long as he's running a legitimate workshop, even if he doesn't pay her, if he comes to her door after being harassed, she should still help him. So she didn't find this kind of thing particularly offensive. After all, it's a society that values ​​personal connections these days. The fact that she was able to get the job as the restaurant's assistant manager wasn't entirely due to her education.

Besides, she genuinely felt that participating in the construction of a workshop was actually quite interesting.