853 The Eldest Brother Who Was Like a Father
Qiao Yu had many small buns on her bed. These buns were snacks for the workers on the assembly line. Now that it was almost the end of the year, there was a lot of pressure at work and everyone had to work overtime. Some workshops had a lot of orders and had even started their workers on double shifts.
Qiao Yu had stolen all these buns. The boxes containing the buns were placed next to the main door and anyone who wanted to eat them could go and get some.
Everyone would rather eat proper meals than these buns since they all earned enough to support themselves. The main thing was that these small buns were really unpalatable.
The older employees would get a discount when they ate in the canteen. Moreover, they had eaten there for a long time and knew which chef cooked better and which chef served more rice. They were all wily and experienced enough to know how to save money after so many years.
The current system was also different from the past. In the past, no matter how much work everyone did, the salary was the same. Now, it was calculated based on work done.
Whoever made more would earn more. For someone like Qiao Yu, who had just arrived and was not familiar with the process yet, she could only earn about 35 dollars a month. Sometimes, it may even drop to 28 dollars!
These older employees had worked for so many years. In a good month, they could earn up to 80 dollars! Their average monthly salary was about 60 dollars.
Qiao Yu had stolen so many buns to tide her through the period when Su Yang would not be around after work. Since she could not get any free meals, she would eat the buns to fill her stomach and save as much money as she could.
The next morning, everyone went off to work as usual.
Li Gui still maintained her habit of waking up very early. Xia Wen also came to Qiao Mei’s place early in the morning to tell them about the results of yesterday’s matter. Xia Wen was tactful enough to go straight to look for Li Gui without going to Qiao Mei’s house.
Xia He had probably told him that Qiao Mei had a morning temper and that he should not look for her too early.
Li Gui was cooking in the kitchen. Now, she was in charge of everyone’s three meals a day. Zhang Wei, Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin would occasionally come in and help out. As for Zhang Miao… Li Gui could not count on her at all.
She had thought that this child would be like the other children and had some talent in cooking, but this child seemed to be born to be at odds with the kitchen. The first time she helped, she smashed the bowls at home.
If it only happened once or twice, it could be because she was still young and could not hold things steadily. However, every time she helped, something would happen. She would either break something here or drop something there. Once, she even almost blew up the kitchen.
From then on, Li Gui did not allow Zhang Miao to enter the kitchen anymore. She was not even allowed to help to bring out the dishes, in case she blew up the kitchen again.
Their house now was different from their old place. Every brick and tile was made of limestone bricks and would not catch fire easily. However, Li Gui was still worried.
“Xiao Wen, you’re here! Come in and take a seat. I only just started cooking! I can’t serve you any food yet!” Li Gui said apologetically.
Xia Wen did not think much of it and even rolled up his sleeves to help Li Gui wash the vegetables. He smiled and said, “What are you talking about, Auntie? We’re all family! Don’t stand on ceremony with me. Let me help you with the chores.”
By then, Xia He and Qiao Mei were almost done washing up. They casually put on two sets of warm clothes and went to Li Gui’s place. The dishes were ready at this point.
Xia Wen walked out of the kitchen with the dishes and said, “You lazy bum. We let you stay here to take care of Qiao Mei. How can you sleep in? Look, Auntie has been busy since morning! Don’t you know how to come and help!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’ve been busy for most of my life! I don’t know what to do if you let me rest! Xiao He, you don’t have to listen to your brother! Auntie doesn’t feel tired!” Li Gui said laughingly.
Xia He made a face at Xia Wen. He was like her father and nagged her about everything. He was clearly only six years older than her, but he was so old-fashioned. Those who knew him would say that he was her eldest brother, but those who did not know him would think that he was her disciplinarian father!
It was not Xia Wen’s fault. After all, no one was there to care for Xia He after she was born. Xu Lan left her in Wu Min’s care. After confinement, Xu Lan went on tour around the country. Wu Min had to work during the day, so the heavy responsibility of taking care of Xia He was left to the young Xia Wen. It could be said that Xia Wen was the one who raised Xia He.
Therefore, it was reasonable for Xia Wen to want to discipline Xia He. After so many years, he was already used to it.
“Auntie is willing to dote on me, so don’t lecture me! Just eat your food!” Xia He said unhappily.
