pjbooks Chapter 27 Recruiting Brothers
Chapter 27 Recruiting Brothers
The Lin Chuan family hasn't been this lively in a long time.
In the past, we rarely talked at the dinner table. When we did, it was usually about what work we hadn't done in the fields or what we were going to do the next day.
Today, everything is different. We're no longer talking about the mundane details of farming; we're talking about making money and aspirations.
At Lin Chuan's prompting, Lin Chuan's mother has already spoken up about bringing Wang Long and Wang Liang into the group, and they are currently engaged in a heated debate.
The point of contention wasn't that they disagreed with joining, nor that they thought the offer was too little; on the contrary, they thought the offer was too much.
Two-tenths, at least seventy or eighty a day, one or two thousand a month.
In the rural areas of that era, this was an astronomical sum. Even thirty years later, a supermarket cashier in their town would only earn 1,800 yuan a month.
"No, these days even laborers only get seven yuan a day. These guys have been close since childhood, and we'd even help them without paying them. How can you give them so much? We can't accept this."
"You can't calculate it like that. In the years since his father passed away, if it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to survive. Xiaoxue would probably be gone by now, and she wouldn't have been able to grow up."
It was tough before, but now that Xiaochuan has found a way to make money, I definitely want to help him too, otherwise I won't be able to sleep at night.
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and the three women—no, Lin Xue and Wang Yan—joined in.
It's enough to give anyone a headache.
Lin Chuan knew this wouldn't work, so he directly said to Wang Hu:
"Uncle Wang, let's settle on this, 20% each."
"Twenty percent won't do. Anyone can do this. Twenty percent is too much. I can't take advantage of you like that."
"Uncle, this is something that not just anyone can do."
First of all, I don't trust others. What if they underreport my information?
Secondly, catching fish doesn't actually require much skill. I can hand over the fish trap to someone else, and they can easily avoid doing it myself.
"And most importantly," Lin Chuan paused, glancing at Wang Long and Wang Liang before continuing, "..."
"If what you said is true, they each give ten yuan each time, and I get three or four hundred. It's okay for a day or two, but what about a year or two?"
When I get there, I'll live in a big house, drive a car, watch a big color TV, and drink a bottle of wine, while they'll still be worrying about whether they have enough money to buy a bicycle.
We're brothers, brothers who grew up together since we were kids. I don't want us to turn against each other over money.
"Damn it, Chuanzi, who do you think you are?"
"Yes, what do you mean by that? Are you implying that we're jealous of you?"
"If you won't, will the wives you marry then?"
When I'm rich in the future, I'll definitely treat you to the best food and wine when you come over.
If I go to your place, you'll treat me to pickled vegetables and cheap liquor. After a few times, will you still feel embarrassed to come to my house for dinner again?
This isn't about doubting you; it's the stark reality.
When the gap between the rich and poor is too large, even the deepest feelings cannot withstand the disparity in material wealth.
After Lin Chuan finished speaking, the others fell silent, all deep in thought.
That makes some sense.
"Uncle Wang, Aunt Mei, Aunt Lan, Liangzi, Xiaolong, Yanzi."
I know you don't care about money and don't want to take advantage of me, but do you think I care about money?
Moreover, realistically speaking, I actually benefited; they did the work, but I still pocketed the lion's share.
"How can you say you're getting a good deal? They were just running errands; you were the one who came up with the ideas."
"Alright," Wang Hu interrupted Zhang Jinmei, taking a deep drag on his cigarette before giving Lin Chuan a long look and saying:
"Let's do it the way Ogawa decided."
Wang Hu spoke up, and Zhang Jinmei and Zhao Chunlan no longer objected, and the dinner table became lively again.
Wang Yan insisted on squeezing into Lin Chuan's arms. Lin Chuan had just called her name, and her feelings for him were rapidly increasing.
Lin Xue was unhappy. How could her brother be taken by someone else, not even her best friend?
She squeezed into Lin Chuan's arms, and Lin Chuan simply leaned one knee on each of them, half-embracing them as they ate.
"Xiao Chuan, you've really learned your lesson. Those two are a bit slow, so you should give them some pointers in the future."
As the meal drew to a close, Wang Hu unexpectedly raised his glass to Lin Chuan. Lin Chuan quickly stood up, grabbed a glass of soda, and clinked glasses with him.
"Uncle Wang, what are you saying? Between us brothers, there's no such thing as giving advice or suggestions."
I feel that I'm actually not stupid.
"I feel the same way."
"Shut up, you two should listen to Xiao Chuan from now on."
The meal lasted from six o'clock to past nine o'clock. Wang Hu got drunk, and Zhao Chunlan also got drunk. She hugged Wang Xiuxia and cried.
Wang Hu was fine with it; Zhao Jinmei and Wang Long could help her back. Lin Chuan was worried that Wang Liang might fall while helping Zhao Chunlan alone, so he sent her back.
After delivering the package, Lin Chuan was about to head back when Wang Liang called him back. Wang Liang looked at him intently for a few moments and said very seriously:
"Thanks, Chuanzi."
"Tch, I thought you had something important to say, but you're just talking nonsense."
Lin Chuan turned around and walked home under the moonlight, a smile playing on his lips.
Lin Chuan woke up before the rooster crowed; he was awakened by a knock on the door.
When I opened the door, Wang Liang was standing outside.
"Liangzi, why are you up so early? It's only three o'clock."
"I couldn't sleep, and there's no clock at home, so I thought I'd come early. I hope I didn't disturb your sleep."
"No, I've been going up the mountain to hunt rabbits sometimes around 1 or 2 a.m. these past few days. Otherwise, how could I have heard you knocking so quietly?"
"That's good, hehe."
"It's a bit early now. Xiaolong hasn't arrived yet, and you can't fit all the meat in one car. Why don't you go sleep on Lin Feng's bed for a while? His bed is empty."
"Go on, go on, I'll call you when they arrive. You haven't slept all night, don't ride your bike into a ditch halfway there."
Lin Chuan pushed Wang Liang and pressed him onto the bed. Afraid of waking Lin Feng and the others, Wang Liang didn't struggle and lay down. Soon after, snoring could be heard.
Not long after the rooster crowed, Wang Long arrived, and Lin Chuan led him and Lin Feng to retrieve the cage.
When the two cages were lifted to their fullest, Wang Long's gaze towards Lin Chuan completely changed.
In the past, among the three of them, Wang Liang was the one in charge of physical strength, and he was the one in charge of wisdom (he called himself that).
Although Lin Chuan was good at studying, he didn't have as many clever ideas as Wang Long. Whatever the three of them did, Wang Long acted as their strategist.
While hunting wild boars was impressive, it ultimately came down to physical strength or, in other words, force.
Wang Long scoffed, claiming he made his living with his brains.
But now, seeing two cages of fish worth a couple hundred yuan, Wang Long is completely filled with self-doubt.
It's so simple, how come I never thought of that?
"You know, this cage is so simple, and there are so many fish in the river, why hasn't anyone thought of catching them?"
"Because it's comfortable," Lin Chuan said casually.
"Humans are creatures of habit; as long as they are not hungry, they will continue to live in the same way they have always lived."
"But this is money! No one here is starving, but there are poor people, aren't there?"
"Ten years ago, this wasn't money, it was trouble. We hadn't had land distributed to individual households for many years, and everyone was busy tending to their own small plot of land."
In two years, I guarantee there won't be any fish weighing more than a pound in this river.
"Alright, stop thinking about all this nonsense. With so many fish and two pigs, we're going to be busy today."