Chapter 87: 1953 3.0

Zhang Ping'an gives him 200,000 per month, and it will increase by another 50,000 after the New Year; of course, his nephew's will also increase, and after the Public-Private Partnership, Zhang Daniu will be holding two jobs, so his salary will likely increase a bit more.

"Daniu, why are you buying all this? You're just spending money on useless things."

"That's right, Brother Daniu, just buy some cotton and cloth, I can make them myself at home."

"Mom, my wife isn't spending money on useless things; Xiaohua gave these to me at cost, she didn't even charge for the labor, it made me feel embarrassed."

"Alright, just take them back and try them out, it's Daniu's good intention."

Not long after Zhang Daniu arrived home, Zhang Ping'an also arrived at his second uncle's house; he was preparing to discuss the matter regarding sister-in-law Xiaoli.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Brother Daniu, and Sister-in-law, since everyone is here today, I want to discuss something with you all."

"What is it? Go ahead, Ping'an."

"It's like this..." Zhang Ping'an briefly explained his idea.

In fact, keeping Zhang Daniu on was initially a bit of a selfish motive for Zhang Ping'an; Zhang Daniu is steady and strong, so there's no need to worry when going out.

But the other cousins will enter the Rolling Mill after the New Year, and their salaries will also increase year by year.

Especially after the Eighth-Grade Worker System, their salaries will certainly be higher than Zhang Daniu's in the future, so bringing sister-in-law Xiaoli over to cook can be considered a disguised form of compensation from Zhang Ping'an; of course, sister-in-law Xiaoli's cooking is also quite good.

"Daniu, Xiaoli, what do you think?"

"Dad, Mom, I..."

"It's okay, Xiaoli, don't worry about the chores at home; your mother and I are still young, we can handle it," Zhang Laiwen saw Xiaoli's concerns at a glance.

"Then, then okay, I'm willing to go."

"Good, then sister-in-law, just come over with Brother Daniu after the fifth day of the New Year."

"Mm, okay, Ping'an, thank you very much."

Upon returning home, Zhang Ping'an heard his mother urging his fourth sister about her marriage; if Zhang Lanhua were still in school, Dong Dani wouldn't say much, but she had already graduated for a year, was old enough, and it was time to find a partner.

"Dad, Mom, actually I have a partner, Wang Zhiyong, a Public Security officer at the Police Station."

"Really, Lanhua?"

"It's true, Mom. I've also met that Public Security officer; he's a person with a strong sense of justice, and although he doesn't look as good as me, he's not bad either."

"Go on, stop being so vain. Lanhua, when will you bring him home for your father and me to see?"

"Zhiyong will be very busy before the New Year, let's wait until after the New Year."

"Alright."

Knowing that his daughter had a partner, Zhang Laohan also breathed a sigh of relief; don't look at how he agreed to support his daughter's studies, his internal pressure was actually quite high.

Now it's good; his daughter not only found a partner but also a Public Security officer, so he'll have face wherever he goes.

Zhang Ping'an still has three loyal younger brothers in the village: thirteen-year-old Zhang Tiejun, fourteen-year-old Zhang Tiedan, and Zhang Tiezhu; the three of them are just like their names, each one tall and sturdy, and if you didn't know their age, you'd think they were eighteen or nineteen.

These three guys are the grandsons of Zhang Ping'an's grandfather's younger brother; the three are cousins, and they have been following behind Zhang Ping'an since they were snot-nosed kids.

Zhang Ping'an naturally hasn't forgotten them; every year when he comes back to hunt, he focuses on teaching the three of them, and now they have impressive hunting skills, and they also have dogs and old-fashioned hunting rifles at home.

However, because they are too young, their families don't allow them to enter the deep mountains, so they basically set traps on the outskirts.

Even so, each family has a good harvest every year, and they, along with Uncle Zhang Laiyuan, are also the main targets for Zhang Ping'an's procurement.

Zhang Ping'an plans to bring them to Sijiucheng to work after they are seventeen or eighteen; by then, with their skills, it shouldn't be difficult to be a purchaser.

Speaking of dogs, Zhang Ping'an also wants to raise two for guarding the house, but there aren't any suitable ones around; the two dogs at Uncle Zhang Laiyuan's house only have one or two puppies each time, which is just enough for his own hunting.

When there is time to enter the deep mountains, he will see if he can use his space to tame a few wild wolves; it would be cool to lead them out, and he'll just tell people they are wolf-dogs—just thinking about it makes him happy.

Time flew by, and the fifth day of the New Year passed; the nephews had already returned to the shop with Li Ze and Li Cheng on the afternoon of the third day, and the Rolling Mill started work on the fourth day, so the Bicycles were left in their hometown to facilitate their parents' travel.

A group of eight people; fortunately, the tricycles of this era are sturdy and can carry a thousand pounds of cargo, otherwise it would have been really difficult.

Mainly because Li Ze and Li Cheng's wives are both pregnant, the eldest sister and second sister have to look after the fields, and the younger brother and sister have also gone to the city, so they had no choice but to bring them along to take care of them.

On the morning of the fifth day, Zhang Ping'an, the fourth sister, and Zhang Daniu's couple and child, five people in total, set off for Sijiucheng; Dazhuang, Erniu, and the others had already been sent to the Rolling Mill by the village's Ox Cart early yesterday morning, and they are living in the factory's collective dormitory.

Although the environment isn't great, a group of rough men don't care about these things; after the Public-Private Partnership, they will be able to be allocated houses, and since there are few people in the early stages, maybe they will get a turn.

"Brother Daniu's strength really didn't grow in vain."

The journey that would have taken nearly an hour was cut by nearly half, and that was still because they didn't dare to ride fast in the freezing cold.

"Hehe, Ping'an, you're just too thin; eat more and you'll be stronger too."

"Hahaha, Brother Daniu, Sister-in-law, you guys tidy up, I have to go back for a trip too."

"Alright."

In the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an cleaned the entire house inside and out, and only then did he remember to talk about the matter of the sister-in-law cooking.

When Zhang Ping'an rushed to the shop, Li Ze and Li Cheng had also finished work, so it was just the right time to talk about their food.

"Uncle, Little Cheng and I have brought our wives; we will each pay 50,000 in food expenses every month." Zhang Ping'an didn't expect them to bring it up first.

"Mm, I was just about to talk to you about this; before the New Year, our Clothing Shop moved toward formalization, and many things have to be handled officially."

"You are not employees of our shop, but you enjoy the Staff Canteen; how about this, you pay 20,000 each month for food expenses from now on."

Of course, this 20,000 is definitely not enough, but they are still Apprentice Workers, and their own salaries are not high, only a mere 180,000.

Zhang Ping'an is also collecting it symbolically, and he will add some more later; who told them to be his nephews? He'll just spoil them.

"Uncle, this is too little; 50,000 wasn't much to begin with."

Normally 50,000 is indeed enough, but Zhang Ping'an's meals are always rich in oil and fat, so 50,000 naturally isn't much.

"Alright, let's just do it like this for now, go inside."

Zhang Ping'an went in and found that everyone in the studio had left; that's right, Li Ze and the others had both arrived home, and San Jie and the others were probably cooking at home half an hour ago; he had come in such a hurry that he hadn't even noticed.

"Xiaochen, Xiaojing, Xiaomei, Xiaoqing, this is my sister-in-law, your eldest aunt; you should have met her before. From now on, she will be specifically responsible for our, uh, Staff Canteen, yes, Staff Canteen."

"Uncle, we already tasted eldest aunt's cooking at noon, it was very delicious."

"Mm, it goes very well with rice."

"Yes, it's just a bit spicy."

"Hahaha, alright, since everyone likes it, then it's settled. Right, sister-in-law, use less chili in the future; there are also two pregnant women, we have to consider them too."

"Okay, I understand, Ping'an."

"Mm, then the daily purchasing from now on will be left to you and Brother Daniu. You should have an idea of the quantities by now. Keep a record of every purchase and go to Xiaochen for reimbursement."

"Okay, I understand."

Liu Xiaoli was the daughter of the Accountant of Liu Family Village; she was literate and could do accounts, which was why Zhang Ping'an could entrust it to her with peace of mind.

Alright, now everything was settled, he would just quietly wait for next year's Public-Private Partnership. He wanted to be the first person in this neighborhood to eat crab, but he still had to go buy another Sewing Machine tomorrow, otherwise there wouldn't be a workstation when Qin Pandi arrived.