Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

Seeing his expression, Liu Fang asked, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"

Qian Gaofei asked in a low voice, "Was there a meeting in the village this afternoon?"

Liu Fang was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"I heard about this side hustle group, this group leader, what's going on?"

Liu Fang put down her work, wiped her hands, and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"That's how it happened. In the afternoon, the team leader used a loudspeaker to call everyone to gather at the village entrance. I went too and listened for a long time."

She recounted everything that happened that afternoon, from Captain Li announcing the sideline group, to Qian Cheng standing up to speak, to him mentioning the price for purchasing wild vegetables, and then to everyone's reaction.

Qian Gaofei listened, his expression changing repeatedly.

"You mean, he announced in front of the whole village that he wanted to buy wild vegetables? And at a price 20% higher than the supply and marketing cooperative?"

Liu Fang nodded: "Yes, he said it himself, and that he would receive the money on the same day and settle the payment immediately, without owing a single penny."

Qian Gaofei fell silent.

Seeing him like this, Liu Fang muttered to herself, "That kid is really capable now. He's managed to get things done in such a short time."

Qian Gaofei snorted: "What skills does he have? He's just lucky to have run into someone."

Liu Fang curled her lip: "Good luck? Do you know how much they made selling bean sprouts for two months?"

Not only did they pay off Zhang Changtian's 100 yuan hospital fee, but they also had money left over.

He even found his own way into the mine; the canteen manager specifically requested his goods. Is that what you call luck?

Qian Gaofei was speechless.

Liu Fang added, "Don't be unconvinced. He may be young, but he's capable. If you had his brains, you wouldn't be working hard in the mine."

Qian Gaofei's face turned bright red. He wanted to retort, but couldn't find the words.

Liu Fang stood up and continued cooking.

After taking a couple of steps, she turned back and said, "By the way, if you want to make some money, you can ask Chengzi. Even though we've fallen out, we're still relatives, so maybe..."

"Impossible." Qian Gaofei interrupted her. "I'm his elder. You want me to beg him? Don't even think about it."

Liu Fang didn't say anything more and turned to go into the kitchen.

Qian Gaofei sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), his face ashen.

He looked out the window, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

How come that brat Qian Cheng is doing so well?

He was unconvinced.

Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The snow in the fields has almost completely melted, and the hillsides are a lush green.

As the grass grew taller, the wild vegetables also grew wildly.

Tender shoots of prickly ash sprout, dandelions spread out in a carpet, bracken ferns bend over and push their way out of the soil, and clumps of wild garlic grow lush and green.

These days, many villagers have been going up the mountain.

People go up the mountain every day to check if the wild vegetables are growing well.

Today we go to this house, tomorrow we go to that house.

They got together and discussed it when they got back.

"The tender shoots of the wild thorns on the mountain are sprouting, but they are still too young. Let's wait a couple more days."

"I think I can pick the dandelions now, so I'm thinking of going tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Chengzi said to wait for further notice. There's nowhere to put them now."

"When will that be?"

"It'll be soon, in the next few days."

Everyone is waiting anxiously, even more so than for the Lunar New Year.

Finally, that morning, the loudspeaker blared.

"Hey, hey, comrades in Laowozi Village, listen up! Wild vegetables can be dug up! Wild vegetables can be dug up!"

Qian Cheng started collecting wild vegetables at the brigade headquarters today. Anyone who has picked some can send it over.

The prices are as agreed last time: 15 cents for young shoots of Aralia elata, 10 cents for dandelion, 10 cents for bracken fern, and 0.8 cents for wild garlic. They need to be of good quality, not too old or rotten, and freshly harvested that day.

Captain Li's voice came through the loudspeaker, and the whole village heard it.

As soon as he finished speaking, the village became lively.

Every household carried baskets, shoulder sacks, and small shovels, making their way up the mountain with their families.

Old and young, men and women, everyone who could move was mobilized.

Some didn't even have time for breakfast, just grabbed a cornbread and went up the mountain.

The hillside was full of people.

"These tender shoots of prickly ash are great, come quick!"

"I have plenty of 'old folks' too, don't fight over them!"

"There are wild garlic cloves right here, you can dig up a whole bunch!"

Aunt Li and her daughter-in-law squatted on a hillside, their hands moving swiftly.

I plucked a handful of tender thorny shoots and threw them into the basket, then plucked another handful.

The daughter-in-law was digging for dandelions nearby, turning them over quickly with her small shovel.

"Mom, how much can we dig up?"

"Dig as much as you can, it's 15 cents a pound, so ten pounds would be 1.5 yuan."

Hearing this, the daughter-in-law became even more motivated.

Grandpa Wang has difficulty walking, so he didn't go up the mountain; he just wandered around behind his house.

Behind the house was a patch of wasteland overgrown with dandelions.

He bent over and dug up the plants one by one, filling a basket to the brim.

He muttered to himself, "Enough for a few meals. I'll sell the rest to Chengzi for some money."

As the sun rose higher, more and more people appeared on the mountain.

As noon approached, people began to come down with baskets on their backs.

They didn't go home; they went straight to the brigade headquarters.

Qian Cheng was already waiting at the entrance of the brigade headquarters.

He moved a table, on which sat a scale, a notebook, and a bag containing a wad of cash.

Hou Yufen sat to the side, holding her bag and handling the bill, while Qian Cheng held paper and pen and was responsible for keeping track of the expenses.

Qian Lu was also there, helping to move the baskets and weigh them.

The first one to arrive was Aunt Li.

She was carrying a large basket on her back, her head covered in sweat, but she had a big smile on her face.

"Chengzi, I'm here! Look at me, how do I look?"

She put the basket down and showed it to Qian Cheng.

Qian Cheng squatted down and flipped through it.

The tender shoots of the prickly ash are still moist, having been pinched off not long ago.

The dandelion was fresh, and the leaves weren't wilted.

The bracken fern was picked just right, neither too old nor too young.

Small garlic cloves with their roots still attached can be eaten after washing.

"Auntie, yours looks good. Come on, let's weigh it."

Qian Lu lifted the basket and hung it on the scale hook.

When the weight is moved, the scale beam tilts.

"Six catties of tender shoots of Aralia elata, eight catties of dandelion, four catties of bracken fern, and five catties of wild garlic."

Qian Lu reported the amount.

Qian Cheng wrote it down in his notebook.

Qian Cheng began to calculate: "Six catties of tender shoots, 15 cents, 90 cents."

Dandelion, eight catties, one mao, eight mao.

Four catties of bracken fern, one mao, four mao.

Five pounds of small garlic, eight cents, four mao.

It cost two dollars and fifty cents in total.

After saying that, Qian Cheng asked his mother to count out two yuan and fifty cents from her bag and hand it to Aunt Li.

Aunt Li took them, counted them one by one, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.

"They really pay in cash?"

Qian Cheng laughed: "Auntie, I said I'd pay today, would I lie to you?"

Aunt Li carefully pocketed the money and left happily.

Those waiting nearby got even more excited when they saw this.

"My turn! My turn!"

"I was here first!"

"Queue up, queue up, don't push!"

As more and more people gathered, Qian Cheng and Qian Lu were busy greeting them.

Some weighed the items, some kept the accounts, and some paid the money.

Qian Cheng took out his pen and wrote down each sentence carefully. After he finished writing, he still had to do the accounting.

Qian Lu was strong; he was the one who carried and weighed the baskets, one after another, until he was covered in sweat.

My mother, Hou Yufen, was in charge of counting and paying the money.