Chapter 3 High Salary
"What are you thinking about? Add more fire!" Liu Jun reminded Xu Qiang when he saw that he was in a daze.

"Uh." Xu Qiang came to his senses and immediately threw a peat brick in his hand into the stove.

After the two of them worked for a while, the food was soon served on the table.

In order to entertain Xu Qiang today, Liu Jun spent 5 cents to buy a bottle of Sanhua wine, went to the town to buy a piece of lean meat, which is much cheaper than fat these days, and used eggs laid by his own chickens to use up the little animal oil in the house. There was also a plate of pickled vegetables on the table. This was already a very luxurious meal for Liu Jun.

"Let's have a drink first." When the food was served, Liu Jun rolled up his sleeves, picked up the glass and said to Xu Qiang.

"Come!" Xu Qiang also picked up the wine glass at this time.

After a glass of wine, the two of them picked up their chopsticks.

"Uncle, I'm really sad about what happened to my grandfather. I haven't slept for a few days. Why don't good people live long? God will take away whatever he wants..."

When he said this, Liu Jun looked a little gloomy.

"Maybe this is fate." Xu Qiang replied casually at this time.

As a reborn person, he did not feel any empathy for the death of his previous father, but it reminded him of his relatives in his previous life. Fortunately, his biological parents had passed away early, but he didn't know how his wife and children were doing now. Therefore, he had been feeling a little sad in the past few days since his rebirth, but fortunately he had adapted to the environment.

"The uncle was really good to me before. Although he didn't help me get the job in the factory, he really helped me by using his connections and giving me gifts. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life." When saying this, Liu Jun felt a little emotional.

Liu Jun was truly grateful to Xu Qiang's father, and Xu Qiang could see that.

The reason why the relationship between the two families is so good, even to the point that Liu Jun invites Xu Qiang to drink, is because of Xu Qiang's father Xu Zhenguo.

When Xu Zhenguo first started working in the factory, he was envied by the villagers. In their opinion, for a rural person to be able to work in a factory was simply a step towards heaven, like a carp jumping over the dragon gate, which meant that they would have a stable job for the rest of their lives.

Compared with farmers who depend on the weather for their livelihood, those who work in factories are paid much higher. Even if they are temporary workers, they are much better off than farmers in the village.

Liu Jun started working in the fields after graduating from elementary school. Now, in his early 30s, he can barely make ends meet. The work assigned to him by the village is always the hardest, as he has to farm, pull a cart and load goods, but his work points have never been high.

At that time, the production team's score was determined by the team leader, twice a year, an initial evaluation at the end of the year, and a final evaluation at the end of the year. Since male laborers could plow the fields and do heavy work, good men would get ten points, and average men would get nine points. Good women would get eight points, and average women would get seven points. Each work point was only five cents, so at the end of the day, the best male laborer could only earn 5 cents, and a full 5 yuan a month.

In the early years, Liu Jun's daily work points were only eight points, the same level as the female workers. It was only in the last two years that it was increased to nine points. However, he was actually one of the most capable workers in the entire brigade, but he was always criticized by the village party secretary. Although Liu Jun was dissatisfied, he could do nothing about it because the village party secretary was a big shot in the village and, for rural areas in the south, he was an absolute authority.

Working hard in the village, I only earn a dozen yuan a month, but when I start working in a factory, it’s a whole new world.

Even if you are a temporary worker, you can earn at least one yuan a day, which is several times more than what you earn in the village, not to mention all kinds of benefits and labor insurance. I heard from the villagers who work in Shengli Machinery Factory that the workers in the machinery factory have meat for every meal and are given fruits every month. There are trucks carrying food and fruits from outside one after another. There are hospitals, schools, cinemas, bathhouses, and all the services are provided. Children don’t have to worry about going to school. Even in the summer, you can drink sweet orange soda by turning on the tap in the workshop...

Modern people may not be able to understand the rural people’s yearning for factories. In their eyes, factories were a paradise-like utopia.

"We are all from the same village, so we have to help each other. There is nothing much to say." Xu Qiang took a piece of egg and put it in his mouth, then said, "Are you busy with work recently?"

In fact, Xu Qiang's question was a bit redundant, because he also knew that in the entire brigade, Liu Jun did the hardest and most tiring work. He was busy from morning to night every day and was as tired as a dog.

"How can I not be busy? The old branch secretary recently asked me to go to his house to help, to carry some mud bricks and renovate his small house. He said that I can get full work points this year." Liu Jun said with a sigh.

Liu Jun was helpless. His family background was not good, and he was a stranger. He was always worried about being held accountable. He could only accept being bullied. For him, as long as he could live a stable life, he would be fine. He did not have too many extravagant hopes for other things.

"The work points are what you deserve. Why should you help him for free? In the past, when we built houses in our village, according to the rules, even if we didn't get paid, we should have good wine and good meat every day. Now, just because of his words, we have to work for him for free?" Xu Qiang was very disgusted with this kind of leader's empty promises. "Okay, stop talking. He is the village party secretary. He can't change his mind."

After all, Zhao Xigui is a man who has the final say in this village. He has four sons and many relatives, so no one dares to offend him. It has been like this for many years.

"Everything should be done reasonably." Xu Qiang glanced at Liu Jun and shook his head helplessly. After a moment, he said, "Actually, I have a business that makes money. Would you like to join me?"

"What kind of business?" Liu Jun's eyes suddenly lit up.

"But if you work with me, you will have to do less work in your village..."

"That won't do!" Liu Jun shook his head like a rattle when he heard that. "What about my work points? If you do less work, you won't get any work points. Those people are very cruel..."

"Even if you get full work points, how much money do you make a month?"

"At least a dozen dollars, right?"

"Only a dozen yuan a month, what are you doing?" Xu Qiang glanced at Liu Jun and said, "Follow me, I'll give you 25 yuan a month!"

"25 yuan? Is that true?!" Liu Jun widened his eyes again.

"Will I ever go back on my word?" Xu Qiang said as he took out two big unity notes from his pocket and gently placed them on the table.

Xu Qiang's family is considered one of the wealthier families in the village. When his father was alive, his income was much higher than that of ordinary villagers. This time when his father got into trouble, the factory gave his family 900 yuan in one go, which is basically 20 times the monthly salary. All the money was given to Xu Qiang's mother. Xu Qiang now has more than 400 yuan in his hand, which was the money his mother gave him to buy new clothes when he entered the factory and to give some gifts to the leaders.

As for the money-making job that Xu Qiang mentioned, it is actually the traditional method of producing fertilizer using peat. This can be said to be a project with a low entry barrier for entrepreneurship. If it succeeds, it will definitely make a lot of money.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang had always wanted to start a business, but the chemical industry has its own particularities. Many domestic chemical companies are extremely asset-heavy companies that require huge amounts of capital, and they are basically large state-owned enterprises. So even though Xu Qiang has very high technology and attainments in the chemical industry, it is still impossible for him to start his own business.

But in that era, when the country had just begun to open up, the domestic chemical industry was still at a very low level. Most chemical products had to be imported, even some very simple chemical raw materials. This gave him an opportunity to start a business.

"Uncle, you are kidding me, right?" Looking at the two big unity notes on the table, Liu Jun still couldn't believe it.

"I've already paid you the money, and you still think it's fake." Xu Qiang tapped the big unity on the table with his finger and said, "If you do a good job, I will give you a raise in the future. When our business gets bigger, it will be no problem for you to earn a thousand yuan a year."

"A few thousand dollars!?" Liu Jun widened his eyes.

"In your current situation, it's difficult for you to find a wife. But if we succeed in this business, you can pick any girl from the surrounding villages! If you want to live a good life, you have to take a gamble. Now the opportunity is in front of you. If you miss it, you will never get it again. You have to think it through." Seeing that Liu Jun was still hesitant, Xu Qiang immediately started to make big promises again.

There are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. In their rural area, it is common for people to get married at the age of 20 or 30, and marriage in their s is considered late. However, Liu Jun is now in his early s, but he has not been able to marry because of his lack of money and his family background. This has become a source of worry for Liu Jun, but he can do nothing about it.

Although working with Xu Qiang would risk being fired from the brigade, Liu Jun would still take the risk if he really had the chance to get married. Besides, the salary Xu Qiang offered was already very high.

"What kind of business is this? Uncle, tell me about it."

Sure enough, Liu Jun had already begun to feel moved.

(End of this chapter)