Courtyard House: A Prosperous and Joyful Life

Wang Jun spent his days snapping photos with his Seagull DSLR camera, taking pictures non-stop in the streets and alleys, and before he knew it, it was New Year's Eve.

The streets of Beijing were decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and firecrackers crackled and popped, filling the city with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. Inside the courtyard houses, smiles were everywhere, from adults to children. For the past ten days or so, everyone had been working tirelessly to install antennas; though they were as busy as spinning tops, the money they earned was enough to keep them happy for a long time.

Wang Jun set up a hot pot in his room, filled with more than a dozen kinds of ingredients; this was his New Year's Eve dinner.

Being a bachelor, he was too lazy to prepare a large table of dishes, as it was troublesome and he couldn't finish them all. He preferred to cook a hot pot, eating while watching TV, which made him feel more comfortable.

He turned on the TV and tuned to the Spring Festival Gala, watching it with great interest while he was having hot pot.

Since the first Spring Festival Gala in 1979, people have developed the habit of watching the gala while eating their New Year's Eve dinner. Who wouldn't want to catch a glimpse of the stars on stage?

Many people would rather skip their New Year's Eve dinner than miss watching the gala.

Although the 1985 Spring Festival Gala was criticized as "the biggest failure in history," with reportedly over 100,000 people writing letters to criticize it, and the director even had to issue a public apology, Wang Jun was just looking for excitement and didn't care much about the quality of the program.

"Brother Jun! Brother Jun!"

"Soldier, open the door! We want to watch TV!"

"Open the door!"

Wang Jun opened the door, and a group of children blocked the entrance. He chuckled, "It's New Year's Eve, why aren't you at home? What are you doing here?"

"watch TV!"

"Your TV is huge, and it's in color! We want to watch it!"

"I want to see a big star sing!"

The children chattered amongst themselves, saying that Wang Jun's 24-inch color TV was ten times more impressive than their 12-inch black and white TV, and who wouldn't be envious?

"Okay, take a look." Wang Jun pointed to the sofa, "There are milk candies, melon seeds, candied winter melon, and wind-dried biscuits on the coffee table. Help yourself to whatever you want." After saying that, he sat back down and continued eating hot pot. The children cheered and grabbed the snacks. They ate the unfamiliar foods with great relish while watching TV.

In the courtyard, Huaihua quickly finished her meal, put down her bowl, and tried to slip away. Qin Huairu grabbed her, saying, "It's New Year's Eve! Where are you going instead of spending the holiday at home?"

"Mom, I'm going to Wang Jun's house to watch TV!"

"Don't we have a TV at home?"

"How can they be the same? Ours is a 12-inch black and white TV, while Wang Jun's is a 24-inch color TV, ten times better looking!"

Qin Huairu glared angrily. Bang Geng slammed his hand on the table: "You're not allowed to go! If you dare go, I'll break your legs!"

Huaihua, hands on her hips, laughed: "Try it? This is a society governed by law now; if you break my legs, you'll go to jail!"

Bang Geng's face darkened; he really didn't dare to make a move. This girl had become very eloquent since following Wang Jun, and she would often use the law to intimidate people. He had heard it so many times that he was genuinely afraid.

Huaihua teased him, "Brother, if you buy a big color TV, I won't go to Wang Jun's house! But... do you have the money?"

Bang Geng's face darkened even more. There were several thousand dollars in his savings account, but that was meant to open a restaurant. How could he waste it on a TV?

"Hmph, once my restaurant opens, I'll earn several hundred a day, twenty or thirty thousand a month! Then I'll buy a 29-inch color TV!"

Huaihua sneered, "I don't believe it!"

Before Bang Geng could finish speaking, he had already dashed out the door, leaving Bang Geng standing there staring blankly.

Jia Zhangshi stared at Huaihua's retreating figure, a glint of malice flashing in her triangular eyes: "That brat is getting more and more disobedient. In another half month, I'll take all the money she's earned!" These days, she'd been itching to make money from Huaihua, but in order to make a big profit, she decided to wait another ten days or so.

Meanwhile, at Uncle San's house, Yu Li finished her New Year's Eve dinner and headed towards Wang Jun's house. Yan Jiecheng quickly stopped her, "Wife, where are you going?"

"Let's go to Wang Jun's house to watch the Spring Festival Gala!"

"You can watch it at home!"

"What's so interesting about that 9-inch black and white TV at home? Wang Jun's 24-inch color TV is much more satisfying. I'm leaving!" Yu Li said without turning her head, completely ignoring Yan Jiecheng's expression.

At this moment, almost half of the people in the courtyard flocked to Wang Jun's house, with thirty or forty people crowding around, making it as lively as a party.

"Haha, Junzi, your TV is really good!"

"A 24-inch large-screen TV is truly something else!"

"Absolutely! This is what watching TV should be like! My little TV at home is so small you have to get really close to see it, I don't want to watch it anymore."

"The picture and sound quality are much better than mine!"

"Of course, it's imported!"

As more and more people gathered, amidst the cacophony of voices, Wang Jun wondered, "What's going on? Why is everyone coming to my house for the New Year?"

"It's because your TV is so big!"

"I'm here to soak up some of Jun's wealth! Jun's the boss, so if I get a little bit of his good fortune, I'm sure to make a fortune in the New Year!"

"What a coincidence, me too!"

……

Time flies, and it's already the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. In the 1980s, the Spring Festival holiday was only five days long, from the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, making it the longest holiday of the year. There were no weekends, at most half a day off on Sunday, and only one day off for National Day.

On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Jun went straight to the garment factory after breakfast. The formalities had been completed, and the five golden characters of the signboard "Huanyu Garment Factory" hung high, commissioned by Lü Guangrong at a high price. Lü Guangrong had been staying at the factory these past few days. Upon seeing Wang Jun, he hurriedly went to greet him: "Boss, the machines are all in place, we just need workers. Our factory needs to hire 150 female workers, preferably educated, young, and under forty years old."

Wang Jun nodded. Only educated women can read measurements and make decent clothes; older women, though they can sew, rely on intuition, and their work is inconsistent, so they can't be used. Older women learn slowly, have less energy, and are more prone to making mistakes, so younger women are preferred. Of course, for those with exceptional skills, being older is fine.

Lu Guangrong then asked, "Wages need to be determined before hiring. How much is appropriate for ordinary female workers?"

Wang Jun countered, "How much did the female workers in your factory earn?"

"Thirty to eighty. Technical positions like fashion designers are only over eighty. When I was a factory manager, I was only in my seventies."

Wang Jun pondered for a moment: "Set the basic salary at 50 yuan, which they can get once they complete the task. In addition, they can get an extra yuan for each qualified garment they make, so the more they work, the more they earn. This way, they will be motivated on their own and will work hard without being supervised."

Upon hearing Wang Jun's calculation, Lü Guangrong was immediately shocked. According to this standard, a worker's monthly wage would easily exceed one hundred yuan! He quickly reminded him, "Boss, if you calculate it this way, a month's wage can easily exceed one hundred yuan; that's too much!"

Wang Jun chuckled and said, "That's settled then."

Since the boss had already made the decision, Lü Guangrong could only nod: "Boss, with such a high salary, there must be at least eight or ten thousand people who want to work in the factory. But this is a good thing, because we can select the best female workers."

Wang Jun nodded. His garment factory produced high-end goods, so the workers' skills had to be excellent. He continued, "Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. You should hurry up and write up the job postings so we can start work as soon as possible."

"Understood!" Lü Guangrong replied.

When Wang Jun returned to the courtyard house, he had just finished making breakfast when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he found twenty or thirty neighbors blocking the entrance.

"Jun, when are we going to assemble the antenna? My hands are itching to get started!"

"It's the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, everyone's back at work, it's time for us to get started too!"

"Yes, hurry up! I feel restless after being idle for a few days!"

This group of middle-aged women and young wives all have one goal: to assemble antennas! This job can earn them over ten yuan a day, and sometimes as much as twenty or thirty. Who wouldn't want to start working as soon as possible?

Wang Jun laughed: "Okay, let's assemble it today! Everyone get ready, I'll have someone deliver the materials right away."

During the Spring Festival, Wang Jun was busy preparing a lot of signal amplifiers so he could start work as soon as the materials arrived.

"Great!" "We can make money again!" The crowd cheered. Someone shouted, "I'm going to install twenty today!" Immediately, someone else challenged, "Twenty is nothing! I'll install thirty!" Another person muttered, "My pockets are empty after the New Year; I have to rely on antennas to make money back!"

The materials arrived shortly afterward, and everyone was assigned tasks and immediately got to work.

Just then, Xu Damao, pushing his bicycle to get to work, spotted Wang Jun and quickly slipped over to whisper, "Brother, I'd like to learn photography from you, to take artistic photos, is that alright?"

Wang Jun was stunned. Xu Damao actually wanted to learn drafting? How strange. But he was busy opening the factory lately and didn't have time to teach him at all. Besides, he always felt that Xu Damao had something to hide, so he refused: "Brother, I don't have time for that lately. Why don't you go to the bookstore and buy a photography book and learn from it?"

Xu Damao was a little annoyed, but he still agreed: "Okay, I'll go buy the books now."

The other day, Wang Jun's photos were very popular among women, and Xu Damao was envious. He also wanted to buy a camera to take pictures of Yu Haitang to deepen their relationship; he even used his identity as a photographer as a pretext to attract young girls. He wanted to ask Wang Jun to be his apprentice to learn techniques, but was rejected and had to figure it out on his own.

At 5 p.m., the antenna assembly was completed, and everyone was paid. Clutching their bills, they chatted excitedly. Wang Jun did the math: they had assembled 1,500 antennas that day, sold them to Xu Damao and Yan Bugui, and made a net profit of 60,000 yuan.

Seeing that everyone was about to leave, Wang Jun stood up and clapped his hands: "Wait a minute, I have some good news. My garment factory is opening soon and we're hiring! We require women under forty years old with a primary school education. If you want to join the factory, contact Factory Manager Lü Guangrong to register. If you pass the test, you can become a worker."

The courtyard house erupted in chaos:

"A garment factory is hiring? That's great!"

"How much is the salary?"

Even if it's less, it's better than staying home idle!

Assembling antennas is a quick way to make money, but Wang Jun had said before that this job wouldn't last long; he could only hold on for another half a month at most after the New Year. A stable salary in a factory was the long-term solution.

Wang Jun continued, "The basic salary is fifty yuan, which you can get once you complete the task; after completing the task, you get an extra yuan for each additional garment you make, so the more you do, the more you earn."

"What is basic salary?" someone asked.

"It's a fixed salary you get once you complete the task!" someone nearby explained.

"My God! Fifty dollars? That's incredible!"

"If I do a hundred more orders, I can earn 150 a month? Really?"

"Nonsense! When has Junzi ever lied to anyone?"

"I work fast, I'm sure I can earn a hundred or two in the factory! Junzi, I'll sign up first!"

"I'm too old, so I'll register my niece for a place!"

"I'll sign up for my cousin too!"

In the blink of an eye, dozens of people wanted to sign up. Wang Jun quickly gave them the address: "Come here tomorrow to find Director Lü. There will be an on-site exam. Only 150 people will be recruited; once that's full, we won't accept any more."

Everyone had their own plans:

"I have to get up early; I need to be the first one there tomorrow!"

"Quickly tell your niece, don't miss it!"

The next day, Wang Jun and the Liu brothers drove two Changjiang 750 motorcycles to the garment factory. They were stunned when they arrived. The area around the factory was densely packed with young women, at least two or three thousand of them, all there to sign up. It was as lively as a bustling market.

"So many people?" Wang Jun exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Guangtian laughed: "Boss, the benefits you're offering are amazing! Everyone says working at your factory is even better than working at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill."

Liu Guangfu chimed in, "That's right, I heard some people started queuing up as early as three or four in the morning."

Wang Jun thought to himself: It seems there are quite a few people without jobs. I need to open a few more factories to solve the employment problem.

The three squeezed into the factory, where an exam was being held. Lü Guangrong had hired more than fifty teachers to proctor the exam, and those who passed were immediately announced as having passed.

"Haha, I passed! I can start work tomorrow!"

"The questions were easy; I'm a high school graduate, so I passed them in no time."

"Me too! Done in twenty minutes!"

"After being idle at home for so long, I finally have something to do!"

"I was a sent-down youth, and I haven't had a job for five years since returning to the city. Now I feel at ease!"

"The private factory offers such good benefits, I just hope the boss will pay us on time."

"Don't worry! I've checked the machines, they're all new. The boss is definitely wealthy, the salary won't be bad!"