Chapter 134 – Allocation of Quotas

At Zhou Family Village, Zhou Yimin told his grandfather about the job quotas at the instant noodle factory.

Ten job slots—that was no small number.

They could already foresee that once the news got out, their doorstep would practically be worn down by all the people coming by. Each opportunity to work at the factory was incredibly precious.

One could say that once you put on a worker’s uniform, your fate would be forever changed.

Upon learning that this was a “reward” their grandson earned by inventing a type of noodle, the old man and old lady were brimming with pride.

Their eldest grandson really was something else.

“This matter can be either big or small. Yimin, go fetch the Party Secretary and the Brigade Leader. Just tell them I’m inviting them for a drink,” the old man said.

“Got it!”

Zhou Yimin went out to look for the old Party Secretary and the Brigade Leader.

The two men looked confused—Zhou Yimin’s grandfather was inviting them for drinks? That was rare! What on earth was he up to?

But the old man really did bring out a handful of peanuts and a good bottle of liquor.

From the look of it, he clearly had a request to make.

“Uncle, if there’s something you need us to do, just say the word. No need to wine and dine us,” said the old Party Secretary, although he said that while promptly sitting down and helping himself to the peanuts and a sip of liquor.

“That’s right! Uncle, just give the order,” added the Brigade Leader.

Zhou Yimin’s grandfather put on a modest air.

“Oh, it’s nothing too serious. A few days ago, Yimin invented something new again, didn’t he?”

The Party Secretary and Brigade Leader both froze, turning to look at Zhou Yimin in unison.

He invented something again?

Come on, how did the ancestors decide to bless only this one descendant? Were the rest born of stepmothers or something?

“So…” the Party Secretary probed.

So you invited us here just to show off?

“This time, the noodle factory agreed to give Yimin ten job slots. I called you both over mainly to discuss how we should allocate them, and what a fair contribution amount should be for each slot,” the old man continued.

The moment he said that, both the Party Secretary and the Brigade Leader were stunned.

Ten factory job slots?

That was huge.

As for collecting a fee—of course that was reasonable!

Zhou Yimin added, “Strictly speaking, it’s nine slots. One’s already been promised to Xiaoxue, Dazhong’s little sister.”

The Party Secretary and Brigade Leader lit up with excitement. This was an incredible opportunity—one that Yimin had secured for their village.

“If you ask me, we draw lots. Let fate decide. I also did some checking—each job slot is worth at least 600 yuan. How about charging 600?” suggested the Party Secretary.

The Brigade Leader raised a concern: “But what if someone can’t come up with 600 yuan?”

Everyone knew how things were in the village. It wasn’t that no family had savings at all, but most could only scrape together one or two hundred yuan at best.

Zhou Yimin said, “No need to pay upfront. Just start the job first, and then pay it back monthly from your wages. That way there’s no pressure. But 600 might be a bit steep—let’s set it at 500 yuan.”

Even someone without a single coin to their name could take the job if they won the draw.

Hearing that, the Party Secretary and Brigade Leader felt even more respect for Zhou Yimin.

Knocking 100 yuan off in one go—ten slots meant a difference of 1,000 yuan.

“Let’s also set an age limit,” said Zhou Yimin’s grandfather.

The idea was to give young people a chance.

“Uncle, what age range do you think is appropriate?” the Party Secretary asked.

“Between 15 and 25.”

“Understood. I’ll go notify everyone and arrange for people in that age range to participate in the draw.” The Party Secretary and Brigade Leader no longer cared about the peanuts or liquor and hurried off.

They knew perfectly well what really mattered here.

Once they left, Zhou Yimin turned to his grandmother and said, “Grandma, four days from now is your sixtieth birthday. I want to throw a little celebration for you. I’ve already invited Uncle Zhang’s family.”

The old lady’s eyes suddenly felt like they had sand in them—her grandson actually remembered her birthday.

Her own son had never celebrated her birthday before, barely even acknowledged it. Sometimes, she’d wonder to herself how her own son could be so cold-hearted.

“Alright. Just don’t go overboard with it,” she said, not about to refuse her grandson’s care and kindness.

Besides, she knew that the Uncle Zhang he mentioned was their future in-law. That gave her even more reason not to refuse. The house was all fixed up now—it was the perfect time to meet her future granddaughter-in-law.

Once Yimin and the girl married and had children, then the two elders could truly say they had no regrets left.

“It won’t be anything extravagant,” Zhou Yimin said. “We’ll just invite the Party Secretary and some of the over-sixty elders in the village. We’ll also prepare a small gift of sunflower seeds and peanuts for each household—that’ll be enough.”

The old man nodded. His grandson’s plan seemed quite reasonable.

If they really tried to invite the entire village for a full banquet, that would be excessive.

He couldn’t help but recall his own sixtieth birthday—back then, Yimin hadn’t started working yet and had simply made him a bowl of longevity noodles. And yet, it had moved him to tears.

The older you get, the more sentimental you become.

…

In the village, the Party Secretary and Brigade Leader gathered all the villagers.

No one had any idea what was going on. They were busy working and got called back—what kind of emergency was this?

“Secretary, what’s the matter? We haven’t finished our work!”

The Party Secretary made a calming gesture with both hands, signaling everyone to quiet down.

Once the area fell silent, he raised his voice and said, “A month from now, the noodle factory in the city will be hiring. They’ve given Yimin ten referral slots. One of those slots has already been promised to Xiaoxue, so there are nine left. We’ve gathered you here to…”

He hadn’t even finished before the crowd broke into loud chatter. The scene was almost unmanageable.

A chance to work at a factory—who wouldn’t want that?

“Quiet! Quiet!” the Brigade Leader bellowed.

Only then did everyone fall silent again, eyes burning with anticipation as they looked at the Party Secretary and Brigade Leader. Even though one slot was already taken by Xiaoxue, nine slots was still a big chance.

Xiaoxue and her mother were mentally prepared, but even so, they were still overjoyed.

“To be fair, the remaining nine slots will be decided by a lottery. It’s all about luck. If you don’t get picked, you can only blame your luck. One more thing—these slots aren’t free.

The going rate, as the Brigade Leader and I have checked, is at least 600 yuan, but Yimin is only asking 500 from everyone.”

The Party Secretary was interrupted again.

People started complaining that their families didn’t have 500 yuan. Truthfully, families that could afford it could be counted on one hand.

“What are you all shouting for? Let the Secretary finish!” the Brigade Leader roared again.

The noise died down once more.

The Party Secretary continued, “Considering that many families can’t afford that much upfront, Yimin said the payment can be made in installments. Whoever wins a slot and starts working can just set aside a portion of their wages each month to pay it off. Got it?”

Upon hearing this, the crowd broke into joyful cheers.

In that case, it was no problem at all.

“Now, anyone aged 15 to 25, including 15 and 25, step forward. Both boys and girls.”

It was Zhou Yimin’s rule that both genders should have equal opportunity.

Otherwise, with the villagers’ traditional mindset, the good stuff would always go to the boys first. Girls were expected to marry out and were considered someone else’s family.

Those under 15 or over 25 looked on with disappointment.

(End of Chapter)