Chapter 245: Going to the City to Buy a Job Position

By midday, Xu Xiangbei had originally planned to return to the city, but the enthusiastic old village secretary and others persuaded him to stay for lunch before heading back.

The villagers of Shuangtian Village were filled with anticipation, wondering if they’d be lucky enough to taste a dish cooked with silly roe deer meat at lunch.

If it hadn’t been for the recent discovery that Zhoujiazhuang was generous, they wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a thing. If it were their own village, three silly roe deer wouldn’t be enough even for the locals, let alone outsiders.

Upon arriving at the canteen, the villagers of Shuangtian found that lunch indeed included an extra dish: braised silly roe deer meat with potatoes.

The dish was simple enough and not too challenging for the village canteen’s “head chef.”

First, the roe deer meat was cut into small pieces and soaked in cold water to draw out the blood. Then it was blanched in cold water, a step meant to remove the gamy odor and enhance the flavor, since wild game often has a strong, musky scent. After blanching, the meat was drained.

While that was being done, the potatoes were peeled and chopped into chunks. Cooking oil was added to the pot—thanks to Zhou Yimin providing them with rapeseed oil, they could afford to be generous with it. Normally, they would barely grease the pan.

Lately, the villagers had been doing heavy labor, so cutting back on oil wasn’t an option.

Next, water was added to the pot, brought to a boil over high heat, then simmered over low heat for about an hour. Finally, the potato chunks were added and stewed for another 10 to 20 minutes until soft and tender, and the sauce reduced over high heat to finish.

Liang Huang marveled, “Didn’t expect Zhoujiazhuang to be this generous. We’re already getting a taste at lunch. If only this project could go on forever.”

“Exactly. Yesterday, Liang Huan even wanted to swap with me. As if I’d agree,” Liang Zan said.

Not only did he have tasks assigned by his uncle, but the meals in Zhoujiazhuang were far superior to those at the commune—only a fool would agree to trade.

“Yeah! They laughed at us at first, saying we were stupid to skip the commune with all its good food and drinks, just to come to a village like Zhoujiazhuang, where even getting full would be a challenge,” Liang Liu added.

Back when the draw had been held to decide who would be assigned to Zhoujiazhuang, the selected ones had been terribly disappointed about not getting into the commune. But now, those same people were overjoyed they’d been picked for Zhoujiazhuang.

After lunch, Xu Xiangbei was getting ready to head back, but the old village secretary stopped him. “Engineer Xu, we’ve got a bit of silly roe deer meat here for you, if you don’t mind.”

He then handed over an entire hind leg of a silly roe deer.

Xu Xiangbei immediately declined. “This is too valuable, I can’t accept it.”

Zhoujiazhuang had only managed to catch three silly roe deer in total—half of one had probably been eaten just at lunch.

“Engineer Xu, please accept it. Without your help, this reservoir wouldn’t have been possible. You’ve done a great favor for our village,” the old secretary said earnestly.

Since the old secretary had put it that way, Xu Xiangbei could only accept it with a wry smile and solemnly promised, “Rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye on this reservoir and won’t let anything go wrong.”

The old secretary felt much more at ease after hearing this. “Then we’re truly grateful, Engineer Xu.”

Taking the meat, Xu Xiangbei got on his bicycle and left Zhoujiazhuang.

The old secretary brought the other roe deer leg to Zhou Yimin’s house. After all, Zhou Yimin had helped the village so much—this was finally something they could give back in return.

Although the villagers were a bit envious, they understood the difference between major and minor contributions. The life they now enjoyed in Zhoujiazhuang was inseparable from Zhou Yimin’s efforts.

Zhou Yimin initially didn’t want to accept it, but the old man gestured for him to take it.

If he didn’t, the old secretary wouldn’t feel at ease. One-sided giving couldn’t sustain a relationship for long. Zhou Yimin understood the reasoning and accepted it.

As they were chatting, an unexpected visitor arrived.

The old secretary saw Zhou Dafu’s expression and immediately knew he had something to discuss. He pulled him aside and said, “Dafu, what’s the matter?”

Zhou Dafu said, “Old Secretary, I want to go to the city this afternoon and have a look.”

He had saved up more than two hundred yuan recently and had also borrowed a good amount from other hunters. He planned to use that money to buy a job position in the city so he could become a city resident and live the life he wanted.

The old secretary had initially wanted to persuade him otherwise—the village life was improving, and there wasn’t really a need to go to the city to work.

But he also knew that Zhou Dafu had long set his heart on working in the city. A few words from him wouldn’t change his mind, so he said, “If you really want to find work in the city, then go ask Yimin for help!”

After all, someone who’d lived in the village all his life could easily be taken advantage of when suddenly carrying so much money into the city to buy a job.

Zhou Dafu thought for a moment and said, “Old Secretary, I want to take a look by myself first. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll ask Uncle Sixteen for help.”

If he could find one on his own, he wouldn’t have to trouble Uncle Sixteen again.

Mostly, he just felt awkward about always asking for help. Every time he went to the city, he practically had to bother Uncle Sixteen.

The old secretary had something to say but held it back.

He had watched this younger generation grow up and knew what kind of person Zhou Dafu was. So he only gave him one reminder: “Fine, do as you wish. But if you can’t handle it, make sure to ask your Uncle Sixteen for help. Come with me.”

He then wrote a letter of introduction for Zhou Dafu.

“Thank you, Old Secretary!” Zhou Dafu said happily as he took the letter.

He headed straight for Forty-Nine City.

It took quite some time to walk from Zhoujiazhuang to the city, but if all went smoothly, he could get it done in one afternoon and save on a night’s lodging.

Of course, once in the city, he could always spend the night at someone else’s place.

Zhou Dafu first went to the steel factory because he knew it offered the best benefits in Forty-Nine City and had the most sought-after jobs. That was his top target.

Since it was working hours, the area wasn’t bustling with people.

He wandered around outside the factory with no leads, just like a headless fly.

Only then did he realize that going straight to Uncle Sixteen would’ve been much simpler. His sudden burst of pride now seemed a bit laughable.

In his naivety, he even approached the factory gate guard, offering a cigarette and asking a few questions, earning a strange look in return.

Although buying job positions was a common practice, and many people did it, to ask so openly at the factory gate—wasn’t that being a bit too bold?

At least try to be discreet, right?

If the steel factory were that easy to get into, there wouldn’t be so many unemployed young people still waiting.

Even though hundreds of yuan was a lot, many families in the city could still scrape it together if they tried.

But money wasn’t the only problem. Whether there were vacancies was another question entirely. If there weren’t any, someone had to be willing to sell their position first.

The gate guard saw how sincere Zhou Dafu was and, since he had offered him a cigarette, finally pointed him in the right direction.

(End of Chapter)