Volume One, Chapter 15: Recruiting Workers—We Must Intensify Efforts to Raise Funds!

“Dad, if you don’t believe me, let’s try it tomorrow and you’ll see for yourself.”

“Anyway, we’re not in a hurry. Tomorrow, we have to sell all the remaining stock.”

Tang Yichen pounded his chest confidently.

“But if we bring in outsiders, aren’t you worried they’ll steal our way to making money?”

Tang Xionghua still had some reservations.

“It’s fine. They don’t even know our wholesale prices,” Tang Yichen replied.

“It’ll take some time before anyone realizes the business opportunity inside.”

“Besides, this venture isn’t something we’ll do for a lifetime. It’s just a stepping stone to earn our first pot of gold.”

Tang Yichen continued explaining.

“Well... alright then.”

After hesitating for a moment, Tang Xionghua finally nodded in agreement.

Though a bit worried, it was the kind of worry that felt like a blessing.

After they finished their instant noodles and washed up, both father and son fell soundly asleep.

——

Help Wanted.

A delivery worker is sincerely sought. Requirements: honest, hardworking, able to operate a tricycle.

Salary: 200 yuan per month.

……

Early the next morning,

Tang Xionghua found a piece of cardboard and wrote down the recruitment notice.

He hung it directly behind his tricycle.

Parking the tricycle beside a breakfast stall, he ate soy milk and fried dough sticks while waiting for interested applicants.

Passersby glanced at the sign and asked a few questions, but none were suitable.

Either they looked unreliable or they were just curious and not genuinely seeking work.

Just as Tang Xionghua began to think this method might not work,

A woman in a worn dress stopped beside the tricycle.

She stared blankly at the recruitment sign, lost in thought.

Her name was Li Huihui, around twenty-five or twenty-six.

Her expression revealed deep worry and helplessness.

This was because she was on the verge of losing her job.

The factory where she worked had begun cutting production lines, shrinking capacity. Many dual-income families had one member laid off without pay.

Li Huihui was one of them.

Her secure “iron rice bowl” was about to be shattered.

She didn’t know where her future lay and felt utterly lost.

——

What troubled her most was that her family depended solely on their mother’s income, yet she had to support three siblings.

Especially the youngest brother, still in middle school.

Before, her mother’s and her wages combined were barely over three hundred yuan, just enough to get by.

Now, with Li Huihui unemployed, their situation would become dire overnight.

Her second brother, just eighteen and newly an adult, had started taking odd jobs to help support the family.

But with no skills or education, relying on manual labor barely earned him anything.

And those jobs were irregular at best.

Li Huihui hadn’t been to work for nearly a month and was nearly driven to despair.

She wanted to find part-time work, but as a woman, seeking physically demanding jobs was extremely difficult.

In this era, the service industry was scarce; even ordinary retail sales positions were hard to come by.

Today, as usual, she wandered around the train station and vegetable market, hoping to find suitable work…

By chance, the offer of 200 yuan a month caught her eye.

She knew that as a factory worker with an iron rice bowl, her monthly wage was only 170 yuan.

When Li Huihui stopped by the tricycle, Tang Yichen and his father noticed her.

But they paid little attention, thinking she was just a passerby.

Unexpectedly, Li Huihui looked directly at Tang Xionghua and asked, “Sir, are you the one hiring?”

Tang Xionghua was taken aback but replied, “Yes, but I’m hiring delivery workers to do physical labor. It has to be a man.”

Hearing this, a clear look of disappointment flashed in Li Huihui’s eyes.

Yet, driven by anxiety, she wasn’t ready to give up the opportunity.

“Boss, I can deliver too!”

“I know how to ride a tricycle, I’m strong and hardworking.”

“Besides, I work at a nearby factory and know this area well.”

“Hire me! I’m definitely capable—more than some men, really!”

Li Huihui confidently began promoting herself with enthusiasm and energy.

“Well…”

Tang Xionghua felt somewhat conflicted.

He regretted hastily not specifying that only men were being hired on the sign.

Seeing his hesitation, Li Huihui became hopeful.

Grasping at this lifeline, she vowed, “Boss, I can take a lower wage—150 yuan is fine! But I promise to do the job well. You can test me; if I don’t work out, I’ll leave without complaining or causing you any trouble. Please, okay?”

Tang Xionghua found himself in a difficult spot.

As a teacher, he honestly didn’t know how to refuse a woman.

Tang Yichen, appearing like a five-year-old child, also made the situation a bit awkward.

But because of his small stature, crouching on the ground, he noticed the firm muscles on the woman’s thighs beneath her skirt.

Perhaps this woman really was quite strong.

At that moment, Li Huihui lifted the tricycle with one hand.

“Ah, this…”

Her strength astonished everyone at the breakfast stall, including the Tang father and son.

The young woman looked gentle and fair-skinned, yet surprisingly strong!

“Boss! Please hire me.” Li Huihui put down the tricycle and continued to plead.

“Uh, okay… but let’s try it out first. If it doesn’t work, then I…”

“If it doesn’t work, I’ll leave on my own. I won’t make things difficult for you!” Li Huihui hurriedly interrupted.

“Alright. Have you eaten breakfast? We’ll start soon.”

“I’ve eaten, boss. I’m ready anytime!” Li Huihui beamed.

Seeing this, Tang Yichen shrugged.

Regardless of gender, anyone who can work hard is a good laborer!

Still, Tang Xionghua felt uneasy.

He wanted to hire a man to do the work, so how did he end up with a young, attractive woman?

What would people think if they saw this?

Soon, Tang Xionghua and Tang Yichen brought Li Huihui back to their rented room from the breakfast stall.

Seeing the seven or eight sacks inside, Li Huihui immediately understood.

She rushed ahead of Tang Xionghua and hoisted a sack onto her shoulder.

“Boss, I’ll do it!”

Panting, she carried it down three flights of stairs and loaded it onto the tricycle.

To be fair, Tang Xionghua also carried a sack down and wasn’t much slower.

Li Huihui quickly climbed back upstairs and brought down another sack.

After loading it, Tang Xionghua was about to mount the tricycle.

“Boss, let me ride! You and Yichen can sit in the back.”

Li Huihui grabbed the handlebars, insisting this was her job.

Tang Xionghua thought it over and didn’t refuse.

He knew the rider was needed; he just instinctively assumed as a man he should be the one riding.

“Fine, but I won’t sit on the back. You ride slowly; I’ll follow behind.”

Tang Xionghua declined to ride and preferred to stay behind the tricycle with Tang Yichen.

“Boss, no problem! I can pedal! My thighs are strong,” Li Huihui insisted.

But Tang Xionghua, a bit annoyed, refused again.

This isn’t about how strong your thighs are.

I’m a grown man—having a woman ride the tricycle while I’m just following behind?

What would people think if they saw us on the street? Would I still have any face at all?