Huh?!
Yang Jie was completely bewildered.
Xia Xiao Lan didn’t seem like someone who’d work with this sibling pair – what kind of money could they make with her?
They were all doing odd jobs, could this person handle the hardship?
“Sister Xiao Lan, sorry to trouble you.”
Despite his doubts, he followed Yang Yong Hong’s lead and called her sister.
Yang Jie was also born in ’65, though Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t sure which month.
But given her mental age and her status as Yang Yong Hong’s classmate, having Yang Jie call her “sister” wasn’t taking advantage of him.
“Your sister isn’t lying to you. As long as you’re not afraid of hard work, you can earn enough money for marriage in these two summer vacation months.”
Xia Xiao Lan had been observing Yang Jie since he entered.
Yang Yong Hong hadn’t lied about her brother being tall and strong. Yang Jie was about 1.8 meters tall, and though he looked thin, his exposed arms showed some muscle – clearly from working on the farm since graduating high school a year ago.
He seemed introverted, but his gaze was steady when looking at people, not seeming like the cunning type.
The Yang family shared similar features. While Yang Yong Hong was burly, the same features on Yang Jie’s face made him somewhat handsome.
Yang Yong Hong could tell what her brother was thinking and slapped his shoulder:
“Don’t doubt Sister Xiao Lan. She wouldn’t make this trip if she wasn’t looking out for us.”
Before even seeing the work, Yang Yong Hong was already overwhelmingly grateful.
Xia Xiao Lan waved her hands repeatedly, “Big Sis, don’t say that. I was planning to go to Pengcheng this summer anyway.”
It was just a matter of coming a few days earlier, no big deal.
Xia Xiao Lan helped the siblings get their ‘border passes’ with Little Wang’s help. They didn’t have to wait in Yangcheng – the documents were processed the same day. After entering through Yangcheng, they reached the Special Zone. Since Liu Yong was extremely busy, Bai Zhen Zhu came to receive them.
When she heard Xia Xiao Lan brought two people to work in Pengcheng, Bai Zhen Zhu offered positions at the building materials store:
“We’re short on staff!”
“They’re only working for the summer vacation. I want to send them to my uncle’s place.”
In two months, they’d barely learn the basics of sales, and wouldn’t earn much commission at the building materials store.
Working with the renovation team would be different. Now Yuan Hui was fully focused on the Nanhai Hotel renovation, with work available every day. With Yang Jie’s build, he could handle being a general worker. General workers earned 13 yuan per day – calculating 50 workdays for the summer, Yang Jie could earn 650 yuan in wages.
Adding Yang Yong Hong’s wages, the siblings could earn enough in two months to buy the four major household appliances. Xia Xiao Lan planned to have her run errands with Li Dong Liang.
On construction sites, there was no gender discrimination. Yang Yong Hong was from the Civil Engineering department – she’d need to deal with construction sites in the future anyway.
The Yang siblings were quite sturdy, and Bai Zhen Zhu nodded:
“They seem suitable. Send them to work with Uncle Liu, he’ll treat them well.”
Keeping wealth discreet, Bai Zhen Zhu didn’t mention the building materials store business in front of these two unfamiliar people.
In Pengcheng, the Yang siblings only knew Xia Xiao Lan, so they naturally followed her arrangements. Li Dong Liang, originally Liu Yong’s assistant, was quite troubled about having a female college student from Huaqing as his assistant… Besides the cook, there were no women around the renovation team. Was it appropriate for Yang Yong Hong to work there?
Of course, Li Dong Liang couldn’t oppose Xia Xiao Lan’s decision.
“Miss Xia, since she’s your classmate, I’ll assign her some lighter tasks.”
Yang Yong Hong strongly objected, “Whatever men can do well, I can do well too. That’s not taking care of me – it’s looking down on me.”
Yang Yong Hong already knew they were working for Xia Xiao Lan’s uncle, so they couldn’t embarrass her.
Li Dong Liang didn’t take it seriously. Yang Yong Hong was tough enough to repeat three years just to get into Huaqing. When Li Dong Liang said he’d take care of her, she went straight to a small barbershop and cut off her newly grown braid.
It wasn’t about removing feminine characteristics – she told Xia Xiao Lan:
“Short hair is great! Don’t need to wash it often, just wipe it with a towel in the morning and you’re ready to go!”
Xia Xiao Lan looked at her extremely short hair and gave her a thumbs up.
“Big Sis, I admire your optimistic spirit!”
Being poor was nothing.
Yang Yong Hong could get into Huaqing – poverty was temporary. As long as she didn’t self-sabotage, her future would be fine.
Xia Xiao Lan was happy to help because Yang Yong Hong was optimistic and determined, never feeling sorry for herself when facing difficulties.
Yang Jie started work the next day in Pengcheng, wearing a safety helmet. He didn’t mention whether it was tough, but he secretly approached Xia Xiao Lan, asking her to arrange easier work for his sister:
“Sister Xiao Lan, let me do more work, and my sister do less.”
Yang Jie had asked the workers – general laborers earned 13 yuan per day. The agreement in his letter to his girlfriend wasn’t about summer vacation but before National Day.
That meant almost three months.
Yang Jie vowed to work every possible day, while his sister wouldn’t need to work so hard – he could earn enough for the bride price anyway.
Yang Yong Hong’s optimism was the first reason Xia Xiao Lan wanted to help.
The second reason was naturally the siblings’ harmony.
Yang Jie wasn’t like brothers from families that favored sons over daughters, who only knew how to exploit their sisters. Instead, he cared for his sister. Xia Xiao Lan, having no siblings herself, rather envied this kind of relationship.
However, she couldn’t keep babysitting the Yang siblings forever. When Liu Yong saw she was in Pengcheng, he grabbed onto her like a lifeline.
Yuan Hui and Hua Jian were working together but doing their own things. Hua Jian’s workers all had secure jobs and looked down on Yuan Hui as unprofessional.
And Yuan Hui indeed had issues. The Nanhai Hotel’s renovation standards were high, and Yuan Hui’s workers might not have such good skills. Liu Yong couldn’t tolerate any mistakes – fixing them later would increase renovation costs, meaning less profit for Liu Yong.
Less profit was bearable, but what if major problems meant no profit at all?
As the boss, Liu Yong spent every day at the construction site, not daring to relax at all.
If Xia Xiao Lan didn’t come to help, Yuan Hui’s other business would basically be paralyzed – this management capability worried Xia Xiao Lan, especially without management talent to help.
…
Beijing.
After finishing his exams, Ji Jiang Yuan visited the Great Wall Hotel daily.
While Yang Jie was happy with his 13 yuan per day wage, sweating in the high temperature,
Ji Jiang Yuan sat in the Great Wall Hotel’s air conditioning, easily earning 100 US dollars per day, perfectly demonstrating that “knowledge is the primary productive force.”
“Mr. Harold, the hunting ground has been arranged. For a better experience, we’ve arranged it slightly further north.”
Butler Allen brought two glasses of wine. Harold gestured for Ji Jiang Yuan to have a drink:
“Let’s skip the hunting. I’ve booked flights to Pengcheng tomorrow. If you’d like, you can come along.”
Ji Jiang Yuan raised his glass, “Does Uncle George know?”
Harold shrugged, “He’ll think we went hunting.”