Chapter 86: Chapter 86
When they arrived at the milk powder factory, the workers were gradually making their way inside and greeted Chen Danian warmly.
Seeing Bai Ruxue following behind, they also curiously sized her up.
"Alright, hurry to the workshop! It’s time to work!" Chen Danian urged the workers to get to their jobs.
"Uncle Chen, you’re not bringing me here just to show me the milk powder factory, are you?" Bai Ruxue asked as she pushed her bicycle forward alongside Chen Danian.
"Xiao Xue, let’s talk when we get to the office," Chen Danian said mysteriously.
Bai Ruxue wasn’t afraid and followed him to the factory manager’s office.
When they reached the desk, Chen Danian hospitably invited her to sit and even poured her some water.
"Uncle Chen, what do you want to tell me? Just say it!" Bai Ruxue asked straightforwardly after sitting down.
She was hungry now and wanted to quickly finish the conversation so she could go eat at the State-Owned Restaurant.
Chen Danian closed the office door before walking over and whispering:
"I heard from Grandma Chen that you promised her to deliver refined grain every month, right?"
"Yes!" Bai Ruxue knew that Grandma Chen had already told him, so there was no point in denying it. She admitted openly, waiting for his follow-up.
"Can you provide a bit more?" Chen Danian lowered his voice.
"How much more are you talking about, Uncle Chen? If it’s too much, I can’t manage it, after all, I’m still young." Bai Ruxue pondered Chen Danian’s words before speaking.
"Two hundred pounds of rice... one hundred and fifty pounds would also do. Can you manage that? I’ll pay the price you set!" Chen Danian said eagerly.
"Two hundred pounds..." Bai Ruxue hesitated.
"I’ll throw in two more job application forms for formal positions!" Chen Danian added more incentives.
He was in a hurry to send gifts to the superiors as there were rumors that they wanted to replace the factory manager of the milk powder factory. He needed to work faster to secure this managerial position.
He was contemplating what to give to the new town mayor when he coincidentally ran into Bai Ruxue this morning.
At that time, nothing was as worthwhile as giving grain.
Job application forms were something he could decide with a wave of his hand, and although two hundred pounds of grain would cost three hundred yuan, the factory manager’s salary was two hundred yuan a month; spending two months’ salary on a gift was worth keeping the position.
"Two more forms? All for formal positions?" Bai Ruxue’s eyes lit up as she asked.
"Yes! The one you have is for a temporary worker; I’ll exchange it for a formal position! The wages at the milk powder factory aren’t low! Thirty-five yuan a month!" Chen Danian added another point.
"Alright! Two hundred pounds of rice! No problem getting it to you! Three hundred yuan!" Bai Ruxue showed three fingers.
"Alright, alright, alright! The money isn’t a problem!" Chen Danian was delighted after seeing Bai Ruxue agree.
Bai Ruxue was also overjoyed inside. Job application forms for the milk powder factory were rare and typically arranged for people with urban household registrations. An opportunity for rural folks to work in the city was rare.
Most people would pass down the job quota to their children upon retiring! There were very few recruitment opportunities.
"Don’t forget to give me the job quotas! I’ll get in touch about the grain afterward! No longer than five days!" Bai Ruxue earnestly said, holding up five fingers.
Chen Danian was thoroughly elated. He had contacted black market merchants, but no one could get as much refined grain as this girl could, and she offered a better price.
Although a lot of grain flowed on the black market before the new year, none of it was refined grain. It troubled him greatly.
"I’ll give it to you right away! You can take it home now, and just have someone come to work within half a month!" Chen Danian opened a drawer and took out two pieces of paper, wrote something on them, and handed them to Bai Ruxue.
Seeing the job quotas on the paper, Bai Ruxue felt at ease.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen, you can rest assured about the grain! No matter how hard it is, I’ll get it for you!" Bai Ruxue smiled as she thanked Chen Danian.
"Xiao Xue, give me the temporary job quota you have! The factory can only hire three more people at most; there can’t be an additional one!" Chen Danian provided Bai Ruxue with three formal job quotas, so he asked for the temporary job quota he had given her in the morning.
Understanding to be content, Bai Ruxue quickly took the temporary job quota from her bag and handed it to Chen Danian.
"Uncle Chen, there’s something I need to tell you!" Bai Ruxue stood before Chen Danian, speaking in a tone of negotiation.
Chen Danian admired Bai Ruxue, this little girl, and he knew she must have some background, she was quite capable! So he responded cheerfully, "Xiao Xue, just say what you need!"
"To be honest, my dad doesn’t know about my dealings outside, especially not with the black market! So Uncle Chen, please don’t mention our transactions to others! I don’t want them worrying about me!" Bai Ruxue’s tone softened, revealing a timid side typical of a young girl.
"That problem? Don’t worry! Uncle Chen won’t say a word, I’ll just act like I don’t know them by then! Uncle Chen is still hoping to trade with you a few more times!" Chen Danian agreed readily.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen!" Bai Ruxue felt relieved, but she already knew that Chen Danian would not mention this matter to her dad.
"Let’s go check out the staff dormitory! I’ll have someone take you there!" Chen Danian waved a hand, "Xiao Li! Take this young comrade to see the staff dormitory!"
"Alright!" Bai Ruxue looked toward the doorway, where a young man in his twenties walked in, likely Chen Danian’s secretary or something similar.
"Xiao Xue, follow Xiao Li!" Chen Danian said, "Xiao Li, check how many dormitories are left and arrange three for Xiao Xue!"
Bai Ruxue was thrilled! She wanted to give the job quotas to her dad, her second uncle, and her little uncle; having one room each would be perfect!
Bai Ruxue followed Xiao Li to the staff dormitory, walking through a narrow, tube-like building, noticing that every dormitory entrance was piled with things and passing by the communal kitchen and bathroom.
When she reached the dormitory at the very end, she felt all sorts of emotions.
The milk powder factory was a large establishment, employing several hundred workers and supporting nearly half the people in Pingyang Town.
She looked inside the dormitory and saw that the rooms were particularly small, probably somewhere between twenty to thirty square meters. Fortunately, the kitchen and bathroom were outside for communal use; otherwise, cooking would fill the tiny room with smoke...
Passing by other dormitory entrances, she noticed that some places were crammed with large families living together.
"Comrade Xiao Li, are these three adjacent dormitories for me?" Bai Ruxue took a glance inside; there was nothing but a bed.
She needed to get her dad some supplies, like bedding, tables, and dishes.
"Alright! These three then; you can lock them up after buying locks!" As Xiao Li finished speaking, several seniors who didn’t have to work looked at Bai Ruxue, one of them with a displeased expression. Bai Ruxue realized that the old woman had come out from the dormitories she had just chosen. Content originally comes from novel⦿fire.net
"Secretary Li, how come this young girl was given three dormitories at once?" The displeased old woman couldn’t hold back and asked.
"The factory manager arranged it; I don’t know the details!" Xiao Li responded, clearly not pleased, and deflected the question.