Chapter 243: Appraisal System in the Seventies (17)

"Grandpa, do you have any old pottery or jars around here? My mother asked me to bring back a container that can hold water."

The old man, who had received two White Rabbit Creamy Candies and was planning to go home to spoil his grandson after his shift, heard this and enthusiastically pointed Xie Yang toward another warehouse: "Go look over there."

"Alright, thank you, Grandpa! Next time I have candy, I'll treat you again."

The old man pursed his lips and chuckled: "That would be lovely."

Xie Yang headed straight for the warehouse piled with various copperware, ornaments, and broken household items.

From piles of broken porcelain shards and scrap metal, she found a Western Zhou Dynasty bronze Ban Gui, a Warring States period bird-lidded Hu vessel, and a Ming Dynasty Xuande-era blue and white double-circle glazed porcelain bowl that seemed to have been used as a chicken feed basin.

These three old items, which the Appraisal System valued at millions, were completely at the level of cultural relics.

Even if the storage fee was expensive, it was worth it!

Xie Yang did not hesitate to store them in the Appraisal Space.

The rest were not as valuable—

An Imperial Blue and White Porcelain Vase shattered into shards, with a recovery price of 5 yuan; copper coins issued in large quantities during the Qing Dynasty, with a recovery price of 1 yuan each...

Xie Yang didn't mind; she sold them to the Appraisal System to earn a bit of pocket money.

She buried her head in the scrap pile for an entire afternoon, and only when she could no longer find anything of value did she hurriedly carry out two flower pots with chips and cracks to finish her task.

After settling the bill, she tied a stack of old books and newspapers to the back of her bicycle, placed the two broken flower pots in the front basket, and rode home through the sunset, feeling fully rewarded.

Having added a wave of ingredients and picked up a wave of major treasures, for the next few days, Xie Yang barely left the house except to go to the bathhouse.

On this day, she woke up naturally as usual, got up, and watered the small vegetable patch on the balcony, when Kuihua Sao's voice rang out from downstairs:

"Xiao Xie! Xiao Xie! Someone is looking for you!"

"Who is looking for me?"

Xie Yang poked her head out and saw Xu Xiaoyu, with a middle-aged couple dressed in refined clothing standing beside her, their hands full of items.

After going upstairs and entering the room, Xu Xiaoyu grabbed Xie Yang's hand and introduced her:

"These are my uncle and aunt. Don't misunderstand; it's not that my parents don't care, but my father's work is quite special and my mother is in poor health, so they entrusted my uncle and aunt to accompany me. My whole family is very grateful to you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."

Xu Xiaoyu's aunt patted her niece's hand soothingly and said gratefully to Xie Yang:

"This time, we really owe it to you, Comrade Xiao Xie. If anything had happened to Xiaoyu, not to mention anything else, my older sister's health alone would likely not have been able to hold up."

Xu Xiaoyu's uncle also expressed his gratitude, and finally said: "I heard that Comrade Xiao Xie hasn't settled into a job yet. It just so happens that we have a few job positions we can maneuver. See which one you like? Pick any one you want!"

The Xu family had truly prepared thoroughly for this expression of gratitude.

In addition to the gifts they brought, they offered three positions for Xie Yang to choose from: Post Office Receiver, Supply and Marketing Cooperative Salesperson, and Hongqi Commune Women's Federation Officer.

"... However, the Post Office and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative are both temporary worker positions, but don't worry, as soon as there is a vacancy in the establishment, you will be made a formal worker immediately. As for the Hongqi Commune, you would be a formal worker from the start. The previous Women's Federation Director was just transferred, and after the Deputy Director was promoted to Director, a position for an officer opened up. Director Cai of the Hongqi Commune owes me a favor. If you go, I will give them a heads-up beforehand, and they definitely won't make things difficult for you. Of course, if you have other thoughts or requirements, feel free to bring them up; as long as we can solve them, we will never refuse."

Xie Yang immediately understood.

Bai Xiuyuan hadn't chosen from the three jobs mentioned above at the time, but instead made a request—to have her husband transferred from the Mechanical Factory Transportation Team to the County Committee Compound Official Car Driver, changing from a truck driver to a chauffeur for county leaders.

Driving for leaders was much more prestigious than hauling cargo, and one could also easily pick up extra money on the side.

After all, if you want to get things done by leaders, you first have to know their whereabouts; don't you have to give some gifts when asking the driver for information? This makes money much faster than helping people haul goods.

Xie Yang had previously probed Qin Zheng's thoughts and learned that he had absolutely no intention of changing jobs.

Besides, she didn't think a chauffeur was any nobler than a freight driver.

Moreover, there was still a calamity in Qin Zheng's fate; if he were transferred to the County Committee Compound to drive for leaders and the calamity still descended, wouldn't the leader sitting in his car suffer as well?

As for the three jobs offered by Chen Xiaoyu's uncle, Xie Yang herself had no interest, but upon hearing "Hongqi Commune," her heart suddenly stirred.

She wanted to recommend her sister-in-law, who was an Educated Youth.

In the original world, the original owner was bedridden in her early forties, and it was only thanks to her parents and brother and sister-in-law who never abandoned her that she lived a few more years and left with dignity.

If one says that parents and brothers being good to their daughter/sister is out of blood kinship, then the sister-in-law taking care of her sister-in-law for years, guiding her, and treating her well was due to her kind heart.

Xie Yang was very willing to give this job opportunity to her kind-hearted sister-in-law.

Besides, her sister-in-law had a high school education; working in the fields all day really buried her potential.

Plus, she was pregnant recently; even if she would be careful during the first three months, it was impossible not to do any work during the entire pregnancy. If she could sit in an office, that would be the best thing.

Xie Yang accepted the Xu family's gratitude generously, which actually made Xu Xiaoyu's uncle and aunt breathe a sigh of relief.

After returning, Xu Xiaoyu's uncle went straight to the County Committee Compound to report to his brother-in-law, who had just been parachuted into the position of Yongcheng County Magistrate last month:

"Brother-in-law, Xiaoyu's matter is basically settled, and Comrade Xiao Xie has been thanked as well. She took the job as a Hongqi Commune Women's Federation Officer, which actually saved me some effort."

Father Xu said with a serious expression: "Don't think of it as saving effort; you still need to make the necessary arrangements. We owe it to her this time; otherwise, not only would Xiaoyu have suffered, but your older sister's heart wouldn't have been able to take such a blow, and I'm afraid... The Wang Family would definitely have taken advantage of me being overwhelmed to stir up trouble. The latest news from the police is that the hooligan was hired by the Wang Family's youngest daughter with money. On the surface, it looks like jealousy because our Xiaoyu found a good partner, but behind the scenes, who knows if Wang Qingshan had a hand in it..."

"What!!! This matter with Xiaoyu wasn't an accident? It was maliciously designed by someone?"

"That's why we must be even more grateful to her."

"I understand, brother-in-law."

Over there, Xie Yang was organizing the things brought by the Chen Family. There were really quite a lot, and they were all good things—

A ham, two soy-sauce ducks, two bottles of Moutai, two cartons of Wutaishan cigarettes, two cans of Malt Extract, two bottles of canned oranges, two boxes of White Rabbit Candy... Except for the ham, everything else was in pairs.

Under the candy were two boxes of high-end silk square scarves, which couldn't be bought locally in Yongcheng even with money and coupons.

Xie Yang did a rough calculation; this gift alone was worth one or two hundred yuan.

Not to mention that the Chen Family also gave her a job as a commune officer, which could be considered a solid "iron rice bowl" in this era.