Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

After making two trips back and forth, Uncle Er successfully secured a job as a canteen apprentice for his son, Liu Guangtian.

At noon, Uncle Er didn't treat himself as an outsider and went straight to Sha Zhu to tell him the news, and asked Sha Zhu to "take care" of him a little.

Sha Zhu was a little surprised when he heard the news, after all, he had just made up an excuse yesterday to get away with the matter.

But unexpectedly, this Uncle Er was actually quite capable; he actually managed to snatch the position from Deputy Factory Director Li!

Chapter 195 Nan Yi Asks for Help

However, since Uncle Er was able to take the position, Sha Zhu naturally had no objections.

Although he didn't like Uncle Er, as long as Liu Guangtian didn't cause trouble for no reason, he wouldn't go looking for trouble with him.

Even... if he's quick and efficient, and willing to learn, there's nothing wrong with taking him on as an apprentice.

. . . . . .

Perhaps the almanac said today was auspicious for finding a job, because Jia Zhangshi successfully found a job sweeping the streets, and Uncle Er also successfully got his son a job as an apprentice in the canteen.

Meanwhile, Ye Jianchuan also had someone come to him, wanting him to help arrange a job.

Moreover, the person who came to his door was none other than Nan Yi, whom he was quite familiar with!

This was something Ye Jianchuan hadn't expected. After all, Nan Yi was all alone, so it was impossible for him to ask for a job on behalf of his relatives.

Similarly, Nan Yi himself was the head chef of the machine repair factory's canteen, which could be considered a secure job, right? So when Nan Yi came to his door, Ye Jianchuan was completely dumbfounded.

"Brother Nan Yi? What brings you to 27 to find me at this hour? Don't you guys at the machine repair shop have to work?"

Nan Yi shook his head, then awkwardly rubbed his hands together. "Xiao Ye, I want to ask you for a favor today."

Ye Jianchuan didn't think much of it, nodded, and asked, "Sure, what's wrong? As long as I can help, I definitely will!"

"Um... Xiao Ye, is your food factory still hiring? Or... could you arrange a job for me?"

This left Ye Jianchuan a little confused. "Wait... Brother Nan Yi, who are you helping find a job? Finding a job in a food factory isn't difficult, but it depends on who it is so that we can arrange it for them."

To Ye Jianchuan's surprise, Nan Yi awkwardly pointed to himself and said, "I... I'm just looking for a job for myself."

"You? You were doing just fine working at the machine repair shop, why did you come to our food factory?"

Nan Yi scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Hey, don't even mention it, our factory manager Liu made me clean the toilets!"

Ye Jianchuan was stunned for a moment, then instantly understood. Wasn't this the beginning of that storm? It's likely that Director Liu heard some news, so he sent Nan Yi to clean toilets to avoid suspicion.

If that's the reason, then he might not be able to help with this. However, Ye Jianchuan couldn't just say "no" directly, since the other party had helped him quite a bit before.

So after thinking for a while, Ye Jianchuan said, "Brother Nanyi, I need to think of a way to handle this. Otherwise, even if our food factory has a job for you, if it upsets your factory manager Liu, we won't be able to handle it!"

Here's what I'll do: I'll take you to see our Factory Director Zhou and ask him about the situation. If he agrees to let you stay, then things will be much easier.

But if Director Zhou doesn't agree, then I might have to think of another way, to see if I can take you somewhere else to find work.

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, Nan Yi immediately nodded excitedly, "Alright, alright, then I'll trouble you this time, Xiao Ye!"

Ye Jianchuan waved his hand without saying anything, but turned to the security guard and spoke to him before leading Nan Yi into the food factory.

Soon, Ye Jianchuan brought Nan Yi to the door of Director Zhou's office. After knocking, Ye Jianchuan went inside.

After the busy period around the Lunar New Year, the food factory is now in its most relaxed phase, so Director Zhou is leisurely drinking tea in his office.

Upon seeing Ye Jianchuan enter, Factory Director Zhou made no attempt to hide anything and greeted him directly, "Little Ye, come, come, I just received a batch of tea from your hometown. Come and have a taste!"

After Ye Jianchuan approached, he leaned down and whispered in Director Zhou's ear, "Uncle Zhou, do you remember when I found a cook from the machine repair shop to help out?"

Factory Director Zhou nodded. "I remember, I remember, it was the time you invited Chef He over, right? That cook's skills were pretty good, but... why are you bringing him up?"

"He came to me today, wanting me to help him find a new job, so I came to ask for your opinion."

"Looking for a job? Isn't he doing just fine at the machine repair shop? Manager Liu from the repair shop mentioned him when he came by last time!"

Ye Jianchuan nodded and then explained, "Uncle Zhou, you're not exactly a nobody, you must have heard that things are about to change up here, right?"

This matter is very unfavorable to Nan Yi, because his family used to be imperial chefs, so they have a less than flattering reputation and are considered part of the landlord class.

So, their factory manager, Liu, was afraid of getting into trouble, so he sent him to clean toilets. He didn't want to just drift through life like that, so he came to me for help.

After hearing this, Director Zhou nodded and said, "What you said is indeed a problem, but Director Liu is making a fuss over nothing."

Even if there are some problems, they are Nan Yi's own 220 problems and will not have any impact on him. Since his machine repair shop does not value talent, then our food factory will not be polite.

So, you can arrange for Nan Yi to work in the cafeteria, nominally as a kitchen helper, and he'll be paid twenty-three yuan a month.

But from now on, I'll specifically ask him to cook for me, and I'll pay an extra ten yuan out of my own pocket to make up for the difference in his salary!

Since Director Zhou had said so, Ye Jianchuan was naturally very happy. After all, this meant he wouldn't have to rack his brains to find other solutions for Nan Yi.

"Okay! But... Uncle Zhou, shouldn't we talk to Director Liu a bit? After all, Nan Yi's files are still at the machine repair shop!"

"We've essentially poached someone from Director Liu's team, haven't we? If we don't say anything, won't it affect future collaborations?"

Reminded by Ye Jianchuan, Factory Director Zhou remembered that he had just done a business deal with them and hoped that the 'cooperation' could last.

However, after thinking about it for a moment, Director Zhou waved his hand and said, "I'll just tell him about it."

"He's just a cook, someone even Director Liu himself didn't want to keep. If I transfer him here, Director Liu might actually thank us for solving a problem for him!"

Chapter 196 Madam Jia Zhang Comes to Collect Debt

Since Director Zhou had said so, Ye Jianchuan had nothing to worry about. He got Director Zhou to sign a note and then went to arrange the matter.

As soon as Ye Jianchuan stepped out of the office, Nan Yi greeted him with an expectant look on his face. Ye Jianchuan smiled, shook the note in his hand, and then spoke.

"Alright, Brother Nan Yi, this matter is settled, but your position might be a bit... special."

Factory Director Zhou was also afraid of causing any unnecessary trouble, so he could only let you work as a regular kitchen helper in the canteen, earning twenty-three yuan a month.

But don't worry, you'll still have opportunities to cook. Whenever our food factory hosts any kind of reception, you'll be in charge of the cooking. Factory Director Zhou will give you an extra ten yuan each month as a bonus.”

When Nan Yi heard that he was a kitchen helper, he frowned slightly, after all, he was one of the top chefs in Beijing.

Having worked as a head chef in a machine repair shop for a long time, the sudden change to a kitchen helper must be quite disconcerting.

However, after hearing the second half of Ye Jianchuan's words, Nan Yi had no more complaints.

Next, Ye Jianchuan naturally took Nan Yi to the cafeteria to report for duty. He briefly introduced him to the people in the cafeteria and also told the head chef about Director Zhou's decision.

The head chef of the food factory's canteen wasn't very confident in his cooking skills. The few times Sha Zhu came to help cook, he could only watch from the sidelines.

Nan Yi's arrival will not affect his salary, will give him a role model, and will also prevent the cafeteria from having to rely on outside help for special meals in the future.

Therefore, the chef did not reject Nan Yi's arrival as Ye Jianchuan had thought.

And so, Nan Yi, the head chef of the machine repair shop, officially started working at the food factory.

. . . . . .

A little after six o'clock in the evening, Jia Zhangshi came to Uncle Er's house excitedly and told him that she and Uncle Yi had failed to reach an agreement on 'compensation'.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Er immediately felt that his authority had been challenged, so he quickly pulled Sha Zhu and Uncle San together to Uncle Yi's house.

"Old Yi, I heard from Jia's wife that you're still not satisfied with the decision made at our hospital's general meeting yesterday, right?"

Grandpa Yi was clearly bewildered as well. What was going on here? He said innocently, "No, I just agreed to what you said yesterday, didn't I?"

Jia Zhangshi, standing to the side, began to shout, "Yi Zhonghai, stop pretending! If you really agree, then I'll ask you for two hundred yuan in compensation. Why won't you give it to me?"

Only then did Uncle Yi realize what was happening, and he turned to Uncle Er, "You heard that too, didn't you? This Jia Zhangshi asked me for two hundred yuan as soon as she opened her mouth!"

This compensation is outrageous! Of course I can't agree to it!

Uncle Er frowned, because Madam Jia was indeed asking for an exorbitant amount, leaving him unsure how to defend her.

However, while Uncle Er couldn't find the right angle, Sha Zhu could! Although on the surface he had 'reconciled' with Uncle Yi, the hatred he harbored for Uncle Yi was not so easily forgotten.

"Two hundred yuan is a lot? Two hundred yuan is not much. Your uncle's monthly salary is only ninety-nine yuan. Two hundred yuan is only two months' salary."

The Jia family lost a job that would have brought them a monthly income! Let alone two months' salary as compensation, I think two more months would be justified!

It's not that Sha Zhu wants to help Second Master, but rather that Sha Zhu himself doesn't like First Master, so he's just settling a personal score!

Hearing what Sha Zhu said, Uncle Yi became a little anxious. "Sha Zhu! What do you mean by that? It's true that I only earn nineteen yuan a month, but their job doesn't pay that much!"

"Let's calculate it at Qin Huairu's monthly salary of 27.5 yuan. Didn't you just say you'd compensate her with two more months' salary, making a total of four months' salary, 110 yuan? Is that enough?"

The old man stated his price and immediately bargained it down to ninety yuan. That bargaining was indeed quite ruthless; he almost cut the price in half.

However, Jia Zhangshi was naturally unhappy with such a price. "That can't be calculated like that! Our Dongxu used to be a level three fitter, earning thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents a month!"

Even if we calculate it based on four months' salary, you still need to give me 150 yuan!

Jia Zhangshi also gave her bottom line: 150 yuan. For Uncle Yi, 150 yuan is indeed not a lot, just a month and a half's salary.

But Uncle Yi is the kind of person who's all about saving face, not just steaming buns. You want this much? No way! You have to lower the price a little more so I can save face!

And just like that, the two of them started arguing over such a small amount of money.

Finally, the third uncle couldn't stand it any longer and stepped in to persuade the two to stop.

"Alright, alright! You two stop arguing. I think you should try a different approach."

Since Jia's wife has no source of income now, I think Old Yi shouldn't give her any more money. Just give Jia's wife five yuan a month!

This way, Sister-in-law Jia won't have to worry about food and drink every month. What do you think of this arrangement?

When Jia Zhangshi heard what her third uncle said, she was a little unhappy. Five yuan? What use is five yuan? But she quickly realized that this wasn't just giving her five yuan!

That's five yuan a month! That's (blank) 698925850, which is equivalent to an extra five yuan in my salary! Although I didn't receive a large sum of money all at once, as long as I'm alive, this money will always be mine!

One hundred and fifty yuan? One hundred and fifty yuan is nothing! As long as you live long enough, you might even get one thousand five hundred yuan!

So Jia Zhangshi immediately nodded excitedly, "Third...Second Uncle, your idea is absolutely right! I think it's a great idea! Yi Zhonghai, from now on you can give me five yuan every month!"

Jia Zhangshi was happy, but Uncle Yi was a little dissatisfied. After all, he wasn't stupid. Giving Jia Zhangshi five yuan a month didn't sound like much, but it would never stop!

Five yuan a month, that's sixty yuan a year. If she pays for two and a half years, that will reach the one hundred and fifty yuan that Jia Zhangshi is asking for. If she continues to pay, she'll lose money!

Chapter 197 Isn't this just installment payment?