The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 577 - 576: Laid Off

Chapter 577: Chapter 576: Laid Off

"Big brother, sister-in-law, there really was no other way, Xiaozhao was tricked by his previous partner."

"The relatives from Miss Zhou’s maternal family were causing trouble in Xiaozhao’s company, creating a huge mess for Xiaozhao. In a fit of anger, he fired her along with him, and even declared that he would never hire relatives into the company again."

"Just think, my Hongmei had just started seeing someone, and we wanted to get him a job in the company. I’m afraid this marriage engagement is going to fall through now."

"But don’t you worry, if Xiaozhao’s company won’t work out, we can try the food factory instead. However, Hongmei is employed by someone else too, so whether she can get in will depend on the boss. You should submit your application early tomorrow morning. If you get in, great; if not, we’ll find another way. Does that sound good?"

With that said, the relatives had nothing more to say.

The maneuvers by Yu Jin’e and Shen Zhong had spared their own family trouble, but Shen Mingzhu found herself overwhelmed with busyness.

There were those who came seeking jobs, and others who wanted her to help with matchmaking.

The news that Shen Mingzhu had found a rich and impressive son-in-law for Shen Hongmei had spread far and wide throughout Shenjiagou and the surrounding dozens of miles.

Any family with an unmarried member wanted Shen Mingzhu to help introduce them to an urban belle or a wealthy husband from the city.

For such thoughts, Shen Mingzhu wanted to say, "Dream on, maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for in your dreams."

But saying such a thing outright would only offend people.

Past experiences of being disadvantaged had taught her a lesson fully well, not to make enemies carelessly.

Because you never know when these people might stab you in the back.

As for job seekers, Shen Mingzhu had Shen Hongmei arrange for each one to fill out a job application form, keeping those who could be hired, and referring the others to the labor market.

The labor market had plenty of jobs, though they were relatively more tiring and less well-paid.

Whether to go or not was each person’s choice, but she had arranged work in any case.

For those who wished to find a partner, Shen Mingzhu directly provided the contact information for a matchmaking agency.

Out of consideration for their being fellow villagers, she was willing to advance the registration fee. Whether they could find a satisfying match was up to each person’s abilities and fate.

In those days, matchmaking agencies didn’t have as many gimmicks as in later times. A flat fee was charged per person, two yuan each, and after payment, the agency would arrange dates.

However, one could only go on three dates. If you wanted more than that, you had to pay again.

And believe it or not, several couples were indeed formed, mostly females.

Girls from rural areas were relatively pragmatic. As long as they were decent looking and hardworking, they didn’t have to worry about finding a husband.

In contrast, it was much harder for rural young men to find a wife, as most of them were poor.

For such men, Shen Mingzhu always advised them to find a job first.

To marry a man, you need sustenance and clothing. Without a job to make money, why would a girl marry you?

Though Shen Mingzhu handled these things with ease, Shen Hongmei felt quite guilty, thinking she was causing trouble for Shen Mingzhu.

Especially the way Yu Jin’e and Shen Zhong had pushed the relatives onto the food factory was quite underhanded.

Shen Mingzhu, however, wasn’t very angry.

You reap what you sow. It was her who had meddled first by confronting Yu Jin’e, which led to these subsequent events.

If it were someone else’s business, she might not have intervened, but since Shen Hongmei was not only her capable subordinate but also a close friend, she truly wished for Shen Hongmei and Zhao Dafa to end up together and be happy.

Even if it meant attracting some trouble, she was willing.

She also took the opportunity to advise Shen Hongmei, "When you and Brother Zhao truly become a family, it’s inevitable to encounter such social obligations. I’m setting an example for you. In the future, if relatives come to you asking for favors, you can do as I did to solve them."

"For matters that can be settled with a little money, try not to fall out over them."

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Shen Hongmei nodded busily and took note.

After finding out about this, Zhao Dafa proactively helped introduce a lot of work at the construction site, moving bricks and doing odd jobs, which not only relieved Shen Mingzhu of the trouble but also saved face for Yu Jin’e and Shen Zhong, making the couple even more satisfied with Zhao Dafa, their son-in-law.

Time flew by, and before long, it was winter again. Although the snow had not yet begun to fall, pedestrians on the road had already wrapped themselves in cotton-padded jackets.

With the weekend weather being pleasant, Shen Mingzhu set up two rows of clothes racks in the yard using bamboo poles, and took out the four family members’ cotton and down clothes to air them out and remove any mustiness.

She was busy with this when Pei Ke and Cui Lianying showed up uninvited.

"Uncle, Aunt Cui, when did you get back?"

After the wedding at the beginning of the month, Pei Ke had taken Cui Lianying to Hong City for their honeymoon.

Of course, the honeymoon was only one reason, the other was to introduce Cui Lianying to some old friends in Hong City.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu busy, Cui Lianying immediately rolled up her sleeves to help.

Pei Ke helped out too, and took the opportunity to share their experiences while they were outside these past days.

After hanging the clothes, the couple took out the gifts they had brought for the family of four.

Eatables, clothing, household items, and even some foreign medicines and health products not available domestically were all there.

At lunch, upon learning that Shen Mingzhu still hadn’t found a suitable nanny, Cui Lianying offered to give it a try.

Shen Mingzhu had not initially considered hiring a relative to work in the house, especially since Cui Lianying was her elder.

With Pei Ke’s intercession, and Cui Lianying herself being very persistent, Shen Mingzhu eventually agreed to let Cui Lianying trial for one month.

During the trial period, there were no holidays, work was from eleven in the morning to nine at night, mainly responsible for lunch and dinner as well as household cleaning, and the trial period’s wage was fifty.

The work wasn’t too heavy, but it wasn’t easy either.

In her heart, she hoped that Cui Lianying would give up because the work was too hard.

Several days passed, and not only did Cui Lianying not back down, but she also got better and more efficient at the work. The house was always clean and bright, to the point that even Shen Mingzhu started to feel a bit reluctant to let her go.

Finding a nanny that met her standards and was reliable was too difficult.

During this time, they trialed four or five nannies; either they were careless, didn’t pay attention to personal hygiene, gossiped too much, or even were dishonest.

After consulting with her family, Shen Mingzhu decided to hire Cui Lianying officially ahead of time, with a wage the same as Yu Jin’e, seventy a month, with benefits and red envelopes during holidays and birthdays, and four days off per month.

...

As Fengcheng experienced its first snowfall of the year, the cold wave of layoffs also swept into the hearts of every worker at the cotton mill.

"Ah, it’s finally come to this. For families like ours, with elders to care for and children to raise, how are we going to live in the future?"

The sigh of one worker sparked agreement among many, but on the faces of even more workers was numbness and bewilderment.

"Wenping, do you want to stay or take the money and leave?"

The cotton mill was restructuring, not closing down, and the existing workers were given three options.

One was to exchange their status, turning a secure job into a labor contract worker.

The second was to take a lump sum payment to buy out their years of service and find their own way forward.

The third was early retirement, with the mill offering certain shares or financial compensation.

Pei Wenping was not old enough to retire and had to choose between the first two options.

But staying wasn’t just a matter of decision—as you wouldn’t necessarily get to keep your original job. You might be transferred to the workshop as a regular worker, which would be more tiring with lower wages. Therefore, the decision to stay or go wasn’t an easy one.

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