"Really?" Granny Tang said cheerfully, "I may be blessed with a comfortable life, but even with my old bones, I can still help you look after the children."
"Mom, enjoying your ti with grandchildren, aren’t you happy?" Tang Mingli chuckled, "heh heh." Not just his own mother who was looking forward to having children; he himself was also eager to have a child with Jiajia.
After the heart-to-heart talk with her son, Granny Tang returned to Qianjin Village the next day. The village was her ho, her roots; no matter how good it was in the county, it couldn’t compare to her two tiled houses and the vegetable plots in the village.
In the clothing factory, during the day, the employees were all busy working. But she couldn’t do anything; everyone was bustling about while she felt utterly useless, which made her feel uneasy all over.
As soon as Wang Aihua got back to Qianjin Village, she imdiately inquired whether Tang Mingli’s marriage proposal had been officially accepted.
When Granny Tang ntioned that the wedding was set for the end of next month, Wang Aihua was stunned, especially when she heard that the bride-to-be was a girl from the Provincial City with a decent family background, she reacted quite differently from Granny Tang.
Granny Tang shot her a glance and said, "The girl is very pretty. Zhengde has seen her, and so has Xiao Yue. They both said she is good."
"That’s great." Wang Aihua said so, but her heart felt completely different.
Granny Tang thought about the dowry and knew it would certainly co out eventually. It would be troubleso if Wang Aihua made a scene when they announced it during the wedding. Granny Tang said, "The betrothal gift is US$ 1,001, symbolizing ’one in a thousand,’ plus a color TV, and so other standard gifts."
"One thousand and one yuan?" Wang Aihua’s eyes bulged in astonishnt.
Even Tang Zhengde couldn’t help but gasp. He knew Tang Mingli earned money from his business and work at the clothing factory, but he never imagined he was making that much.
The US$ 1,001 dowry was announced as easily as that!
A color TV!
They couldn’t even afford a black-and-white TV at ho, let alone a color one.
And the price of a color TV nowadays must be over a thousand, at least!
Adding the betrothal gift and other dowry items, wouldn’t that be two or three thousand just for the dowry?
My goodness, in today’s village, having US$ 1,000 for a wedding was already very decent.
Jealousy gnawed at the bottom of Wang Aihua’s heart; Tang Mingli had bought a house in the county, and now with this dowry, he’d probably be the talk of the entire village.
"The money is earned by the third brother himself. The girl is from the Provincial City, and it’s his own business if he spends more for the betrothal," said Granny Tang, reminding them not to be envious.
"Big brother, tell , Tang Mingli got you a job that was not only easy but also sothing you could do. Why didn’t you take it?" Granny Tang gave him a sharp look.
Of the three brothers, the eldest was the laziest.
"..." Tang Zhengyuan went silent.
*
After work at Mingyue Clothing Factory, nobody left. Instead, they lined up to collect their pay.
Yesterday, a batch of products was shipped to Shenzhen, and today the money ca in. Tang Mingli and Tang Yue discussed and decided to pay the wages.
Everyone queued up to receive their pay, and it was even US$ 5 more than the promised US$ 50.
"You’ve all worked hard this month. Keep it up next month, and the wages will certainly increase each month," Tang Mingli said encouragingly.
Although they paid out more money, the profit the factory made from manufacturing clothes in just this month was tens of thousands of yuan.
Deng Lanhua received even more money than she had expected.
Uncle Gen had never earned this much in a month during his entire life, and he was so moved that he shed tears.
That day, Uncle Gen declared he’d return to Qianjin Village.
Since he started working, he hadn’t been back. This ti, he went ho with US$ 50 and bought so roof tiles to fix the leaking kitchen.
The villagers greeted Uncle Gen as they saw him return looking healthier and chubbier than before; he seed like a completely different person compared to his spirit when living in the village.
The villagers were astonished, especially when they heard Uncle Gen had earned US$ 50 in a month. Everyone was extrely envious.
Uncle Gen said, "Mingli manages the factory, and I just help out with guarding the gate. It’s very easy."
"Now that’s nice. Is the factory still hiring?" Suddenly, the n were quiveringly interested.
In the forestry, a month of exhausting toil exposed to the weather barely earned them US$ 45, and that depended on the weather not being too rainy. If the spring was wet, they wouldn’t even make US$ 45.
Almost instantly, Uncle Gen was surrounded by people, everyone asking about opportunities at the factory. Uncle Gen didn’t know if they were hiring and could only say he’d help to inquire.
When Tang Zhengyuan heard the news, he regretted his decision bitterly. Wang Aihua, with a twirl in her eyes, said, "Zhengyuan, why don’t you talk to Mingli about doing this job?"
Tang Zhengyuan glared at her and said, "Why should he replace Uncle Gen who is doing a good job?"
"You’re his brother; why can’t you?" Wang Aihua righteously replied.
Tang Zhengyuan said, "You know to ask now, but didn’t you find gatekeeping unimpressive before?"
He had wanted to take the job at the ti, but Wang Aihua’s words had put him off, and now he deeply regretted it.
*
After returning to the factory, Uncle Gen reported this to Tang Mingli, who said, "We do need people, but not that many."
When looking for male workers, they could perhaps hire one for the warehouse to help move goods. Other than that, there wasn’t much need for male workers.
Tang Mingli discussed with Ding Chao whether they should hire more people for the factory.
Ding Chao said, "The orders are tight now, but business is good. If you have the money to expand the factory, that would be best."
Previously, at Fuyang Clothing Factory, they barely made any profit after paying the workers. Each month, he worried about the unsold clothes in the warehouse.
But now at Mingyue Clothing, the situation was reversed. Every day he thought about how to produce more clothes with the limited number of machines. Managing the efficient use of these machines was sothing Ding Chao had put a lot of effort into.
"How about I go and get so more sewing machines?" Tang Mingli estimated his finances, and during the weekend, he specifically consulted with Tang Yue about the idea of purchasing more sewing machines.
Tang Yue wholeheartedly agreed, "Uncle, it’s a must to get more sewing machines. We should make the most of this opportunity to produce more clothes. Not only Shenzhen, but if we can secure orders from the neighboring cities and other major areas, that would be fantastic."
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