50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 397 The Impoverished Households of Yangjia'ao

"Director Sun, I wonder what your requirements are for the nanny, and how the wages are calculated?"

“Old Party Secretary, I don’t live in the government compound, but in a small, private courtyard.”

"The requirements are: honest, hardworking, clean hands and feet, and not talk nonsense. Of course, you need to know how to cook, but you don't need to be too particular, just be able to cook a home-style dish."

"As for the salary, everyone says 36 yuan is the best, so let's calculate it as 36 yuan a month."

"In addition, Auntie can eat with our family. She has a separate room and takes one day off a week."

"Also, if I get sick, my family will pay for the medical treatment. In addition, it will be counted as seniority, with an extra two yuan for each year of service."

"Is this all you need? Is it alright?"

That's fantastic, far exceeding Secretary Yang's expectations.

Secretary Yang is not ignorant; these days, when state-owned factories recruit workers, apprentices only earn 17.84 yuan in their first year.

After three years of apprenticeship, you become a full-time employee, and that's a maximum of 36 yuan.

This boss, Mr. Sun, gives me 36 yuan a month, what could I possibly complain about? Even though there's no fixed quota or ration coupons for being a nanny, at least they provide meals.

He also inquired about families in nearby villages who work as nannies in the city, and found that their wages are around 30 yuan, and they provide accommodation but not meals.

After all, city dwellers have limited rations and can't afford to be extravagant, so nannies usually eat their own food.

The fact that Director Sun's family provides meals is enough to attract people to work for him, even if the monthly salary were to be reduced.

Sun Zhiwei's asking price was indeed higher than the usual rate for a nanny, but his family really didn't need that extra amount.

He went to the ghost market yesterday and brought back 500 jin each of rice and flour. There are also rations for the four people in his family. Even if they add a nanny and let them eat as much as they want, it's enough to last them a year.

He will come back regularly to replenish the supplies so that his family won't go hungry.

"Director Sun, are you sure about such good treatment? This is above the average standard."

The old Party Secretary was still a little incredulous. He had to make sure it was true, otherwise if he introduced so many people but there weren't enough, he would have to spend his own money.

"Old Party Secretary, you must meet my requirements. I won't accept anyone who tries to cheat or cheat."

"No, you can rest assured that I can handle things. The guarantor is law-abiding, and our team can act as guarantor."

"Okay, then please introduce me to someone. We'll go back and try it out for a month. If it's a good fit, I'll keep her; if not, please help me find someone else."

“That’s good. You can only know if shoes fit after wearing them for a few days. That’s no problem. I’ll make it clear in advance.”

"Comrade Sun, come on, I'll take you to find someone right now." Party Secretary Yang picked up his pipe and was about to walk out.

Sun Zhiwei quickly stopped him: "Wait, old Party Secretary, don't be in such a hurry."

"Could the person you're introducing tell me about their background first? Ideally, they shouldn't be too young."

“Being a nanny isn’t a great job, and I’d like to find one that I can do long-term. We can’t hold back the future of the young people in the team, can we?”

Upon hearing this, Party Secretary Yang thought for a moment before sitting down again: "Then I'll name a few, and you can see if they're alright?"

“I have three candidates now. One is Yang Guihua from the east end of the village. She is 32 years old. She married out of the village a few years ago, but her husband died in a disaster.”

"Because she didn't have a son, she wasn't well-liked by her husband's family. So she went back to the village and lived alone with her two daughters. The younger daughter is 6 years old, and the older daughter is 9 years old. The older one is already able to earn work points."

Sun Zhiwei knew immediately that this wouldn't work. If he invited someone back, what would happen to the two girls? Would he just leave them at home and ignore them? Wouldn't they be bullied to death in the village?

Another point is that the Party Secretary didn't mention Yang Guihua's family situation. It's obvious that things weren't good; a married daughter being sent back to her parents' home with two children in tow wouldn't be well received by her brothers.

Her parents probably didn't give her a good look either, otherwise she should be living at her parents' house instead of raising her two daughters alone.

After waiting for a while, the Party Secretary saw that Sun Zhiwei had not expressed his opinion, and sighed inwardly. He could only continue to introduce the next person.

"The second candidate is also a widow named Wang Xiuzhen, who is 35 years old this year."

"Her husband was a soldier. He died in the north in 69, leaving behind a son and a daughter. The older daughter is 15 years old and the younger son is 9 years old. There are also her parents-in-law at home."

Well, this is another family in trouble, a strong laborer with four dependents.

However, this is still relatively good, as there are elderly people at home who can take care of the children, so even if I go to the city to work as a nanny, I don't have to worry about who will take care of the children.

However, this family was quite unlucky. In 69, only a few dozen people died in the north, but one of them happened to be from their family.

“But Party Secretary, this is a martyr’s family. They should receive a pension, and there should also be subsidies for their minor children every year, as well as support payments for their wife and elderly parents.”

Hearing Sun Zhiwei's detailed knowledge, the Party Secretary simply sighed, picked up his pipe, and took a deep drag.

Seeing the Party Secretary's appearance, Sun Zhiwei knew there was something fishy going on. However, the Party Secretary was probably not involved; he guessed that introducing their family was just an attempt to help.

After a while, the Party Secretary finally managed to utter a sentence: "Her husband has a younger brother."

I understand. The two elderly people are counting on their younger son to support them in their old age after their eldest son passed away. So, the eldest son's pension and subsidies have probably all gone to the younger son.

As for the eldest son's two children, they were underage and had no chance of winning. In addition, the old man was biased towards them, so you can imagine how difficult their lives were.

Moreover, this kind of thing is very common in rural areas, and the old man's actions were not wrong, even the old Party Secretary couldn't control it.

How can this be managed? The elderly rely on their youngest son for support, while the widow and orphan in the eldest son's family also depend on the youngest son for help. The youngest son is the head of the household.

However, he needs to know some details to make a judgment on the specifics of the matter.

"Has Wang Xiuzhen's brother-in-law gotten married?"

The old Party Secretary didn't know why he asked this, but he honestly replied, "Yes, we're married. We just had a son last year."

"So, are Wang Xiuzhen's two children in school?"

"no, what happened?"

The old Party Secretary hadn't quite grasped it yet, but Sun Zhiwei had already understood. That younger brother-in-law wasn't a good person; he had mistreated his deceased elder brother's children.

Sun Zhiwei understood the situation and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he asked the old Party Secretary to continue introducing the last candidate.

"The last candidate is Li Hongxia, who is 38 years old this year. Her husband was injured and paralyzed in bed a few years ago, and she also has a mother-in-law."

"She has two sons and two daughters. The two daughters are 18 and 14 years old, and the two sons are 10 and 8 years old."

Goodness, this family must be the most struggling of them all, because they have a sick man who is a bottomless pit; his medication alone can bankrupt the family every year.

The family relies on the two women, and there's no other income. Without their help, it's hard to say whether they could survive.

Sun Zhiwei estimates that their next step will probably be to sell their daughter. They will get a dowry from selling their eldest daughter to get through the difficult times and wait for their two sons to come of age.

If that's not enough, we can sell another young daughter in a few years.

(End of this chapter)