And just like that, in this dramatic turn of events, the Xu family—once again led by their prized treasure, Xu Ying—was about to embark on another ambitious venture: establishing the very first food factory in the commune.
But Father Xu still couldn’t quite believe it. This idea to him felt so surreal that he turned to his daughter again, needing reassurance.
“Daughter,” he asked hesitantly, “are we really going to build a factory right here in our own village? You’re not just humoring your old father, are you? Because this still feels like a dream to me .”
His voice trembled with a mixture of disbelief and hope, as if the wrong answer might shatter this impossible vision.
But Xu Ying, ever the calm and clear-headed one in the family, gave him a reassuring smile and explained patiently, “Making fried items and braised duck products doesn’t need that much machinery anyway—it’s mostly manual work. As long as we have an empty house with a big courtyard, that’ll do for now. And our wheat farm’s location is also ideal. Since this year’s village rations have already been divided, we’ll just start from there. When the business grows, we can just build a separate facility later.”
Xu’s mother hearing XuYing explanation once agin found , her mind already racing with numerous possibilities, still regning her thoughts somehow she inquired about the most glaring problem as of it now that is how to recruit staff for this new venture of there’s so she ask a birrage of questions to XuYing regarding this . “Daughter, how many people do we need?How can we discern who to hire and whom to not ? How can we trust that they won’t leak your recipe to other factories ?Is it safe to hire people other than our family? Can your second aunt, your cousin, and your maternal cousins also join?” she pressed on this qustion the most , as her thoughts are to firmly on keeping the wealth within there family.But Xu Ying, with a warm smile, replied to her last question first , “Yes, they can all join as long as they perform well.”
However, Father Xu, ever the principled leader, interjected at this moment , “No, we will only recruit based on a person’s ability. If we only hire relatives, the other villagers will certainly be unhappy about this and XuYing maybe reprimanded by the higherups to only favoring her family .” This statement of Father Xu sparked a familiar tension within Xu’s mother, who retorted him somewhat sarcastically , “Yes Yes,we only hire on a person’s ability,but the great Captian of Xujia Village you need to remember this while trying to avoid suspicion don’t let your loved one’s suffer .” Mother Xu’s, jabs at this time , made father Xu somewhat embaressed . After a moments thought he still declared solemnly , “As the captain, I naturally have to lead by example.”Hearing this Mother Xu snorted in disgust.
Xu Ying, sensing the rising friction between her parents , smoothly redirected the conversation to another topic . “Just choose people who can do the job well and whom you can trust . We’ll likely expand later and need more people in the future so don’t need to tire youreself to think so much about it ,As everbody can have a chance to work in the coming days ,” she said firmly . Then, turning to her sister-in-law, she added, “Dad, let my mother and my sister-in-law handle this matter in the village for now.” To her sister-in-law, she also proposed, “Sister-in-law, why don’t you sell your scorekeeper position to another person ? I believe the food factory will have more and more orders in the future and you can’t tire yourself by doing two jobs . As of now third uncle Xu is meeting directors of department stores in other counties .If these deals made through which i firmly believe will . Our factory even need more expansion at that time that expanded factory might even employ hundreds or thousands of workers in the future.Which also needs all kinds of leaders to manage them , and our first batch of workers will be the top candidates for that in the future.”
When Xu Ying’s words finished an eerie silence hung in the air as if , transforming everyone’s expressions in to a statue . Second Brother Xu’s , who was the most shocked person present , exclaimed nervously , “Little sister, are you telling the truth? Then, won’t our entire village be full of formal workers?” Even Xu’s elder brother, with a hint of envy in his voice, he continued , “Then if I don’t become a teacher, wouldn’t I be able to be a small leader if I stay in the village and contribute in this factory installation?” Father Xu struggled to suppress a smile imagining the prosperous time ahead, immensely proud of his daughter for achieving what he couldn’t in his whole life . Xu’s mother ever so proud of her daughter’s deeds , beamed with uncontainable joy, already had a list of suitable relatives in mind to join the first batch of factory workers in here village.
Still this thought of her became somewhat unattainable as , a crowd gathered anxiously before the captain’s house fromthe rooster’s first because everyone knows the scarcity of jobs nowadays and nobody want to left this golden opportunity for someone else . When Father Xu came out of the house hearing the commotion a person from the crowd asked him unceremoniously”Captain, how do you decide to hire the workers ?” , quickly followed by everyones numerous questions all in the same sense ,” Father Xu felt a little unacustomed to this crowds frenzy , and began to flustered as where to start , right at this moment he was was gently pushed aside by Xu’s mother.
Clearing her throat, Xu’s mother announced in a resounding voice clear to everyone present , “This recruitment is mainly handled by me and my eldest daughter-in-law. Only our family can fulfill the food factory’s orders, so anyone who wants to apply for this postion must pass both of our strict scrutiny. My husband isn’t incarge of this matter Iam , alright, everyone, please be quiet and listen carefuly what Iam about to say . “Everyone whose name is mentioned will stay for now , and will start working . If your name isn’t mentioned right now , don’t feel discouraged. As the food factory is currently expanding their buisness and when we have big orders in the future, more staff will be hired than . You can wait until the next time .”Maybe you don’t even need to wait that long.When Mother Xu start calling the names .
The buzzing crowd fell silent instantly , all of their gazes were fixed on Xu’s mother, and their breath held in anticipation. “Wang Lanhua, Chen Meilan, Zhang Lancao…” she began, calling out ten names. Those named were called erupted in surprise, while those who were,nt a flash disappointment washed over them.
A wave of dissatisfaction also rippled through the crowd as somepeople began to complain . “Sister-in-law, Captain, several of them are your own relatives! This is using your position for personal gain!” someone shouted.”You are blatantly favoring your relatives”. “Yes, we can do these jobs too, why choose just them?” another angry voice echoed.
Xu’s mother, unfazed from there complaints , sneered, “You don’t even know what kind of work you’d be doing or how many work points you could earn daily. The people I selected all get almost full points in their every day task , and you have the nerve to complain while you slack of most of the time . If you’re so unconvinced, then don’t participate in the next recruitment also .” She knew these complainers were from the slackers, and she wouldn’t compromise her daughter’s trust just because of some petty complaints from them.
The scolded individuals became momentarily speechless when scolded by Mother Xu . Father Xu than waved the crowd off, “Don’t just stand here and rant , go do all of your work quickly. You’re always thinking about how to slack off , but now you’re hoping for good things without any effort . Subsequent recruitments will also be based on the work ability.”So if you all want a share of this pie you need to start improving your work performance first.
A disgruntled voice then echo simply trying to stirred the trouble in Xu household, “Xiuhua, why isn’t your family on the list? You and your daughter-in-law are so capable, but your eldest brother-in-law’s family didn’t choose you for this batch of workers ?” Chen Xiuhua,is an honest person , so even the other party try to simply sow discord she just shook her head, understanding the situation clearly as it was to avoid suspicion.
“Second Aunt, please come inside ,” Xu Ying called out, stopping Chen Xiuhua just as the instigator closed their mouth and began to left . Chen Xiuhua felt , puzzled, followed Xu Ying inside the home.
“Second sister-in-law are you feeling angry that I didn’t choose your family for this recruitment?” Xu’s mother asked guiltyly, noticing the slight embarrassment on Chen Xiuhua’s face. Chen Xiuhua admitted honestly , “It was at first as my eldest daughter-in-law and I are both quick workers, so I was a little uncomfortable when not been called out , but then I felt relieved. We’re all relatives, and Sister-in-law must have had a reason for the people she choose now. What happened with Shengshun back then was all uncovered by thanks to Yingying and we can finally get the justice we deserved . So, Sister-in-law if you did’nt choose us this time , there must be a reason for it.”As your family is ours benefactors and you won’t try to harm us in any sense.
Xu’s mother heart beamed, feeling satisfied from the answer that is full of trust and respect for their family . “My daughter said that from now on, my eldest daughter-in-law and I will have to look after the food factory’s orders. You know my eldest daughter-in-law is a scorekeeper in a village . If she works in the food factory, she won’t be able to do that job. I was thinking of giving that job to your eldest daughter-in-law. She studied well before, so she’d be perfect for that .”
Chen Xiuhua’s eyes widened, then began to filled with tears. “Sister-in-law Xu , thank you again for helping us,” she choked out, her voice now thick with emotion.
“This job isn’t free,” Xu’s mother continued, before Chen Xiuhua could say more. “My eldest daughter-in-law’s mother-in-law bought it for 200 yuan, and if you contribute 200 yuan, this job will be yours.”
Chen Xiuhua nodded quickly, “It’s indeed the right thing to do.” Her family had recently received significant compensation due to XuShengshun’s case , making the price of 200 yuan affordable for there family . The scorekeeper job, with its easy work and good benefits, was far more appealing than the demanding factory work for her eldest daughter-in-law. This strategic decision to sell the job was , a result of heated discussion between Xu’s mother and Xu Ying, promised a bright future for all the members of their family.