Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 680 The Job Trap: Old foxes are still the spiciest.
The first day after Labor Day.

Early in the morning.

Madam Jia prepared breakfast and waited for Qin Huairu to get up and eat, looking every bit like a devoted nanny.

Qin Huairu slowly got out of bed, enjoying the rare pampering from her mother-in-law, and was secretly delighted.

"Xiao Qin, it's time to go," Yi Zhonghai urged from outside the door.

"Oh, here we come."

Qin Huairu responded, glanced one last time at the fast-sleeping Kuihua, and then looked at Xiaodang: "Xiaodang, take good care of your sister."

"Mmm~" Xiao Dang nodded emphatically.

She glanced back at Jia Zhangshi and said, "Mom, take good care of Kuihua. The baby bottle is in the cupboard. Remember to feed Kuihua when she's hungry."

"I understand," Jia Zhangshi replied outwardly, but secretly cursed through gritted teeth.

Qin Huairu didn't care at all and immediately went out, only to find Yi Zhonghai already waiting for her at the door.

"Let's go." Yi Zhonghai glanced at Qin Huairu but didn't say anything more.

Along the way, the workers kept glancing at her and gossiping about the unfamiliar yet voluptuous young woman.
"Who is this person? She's quite pretty."

"I don't know which man failed in his duties and let such a beautiful girl go out to work. If I were her man, I would rather die than let her go out."

"That's right, I don't know where she works, or if she has a boyfriend."

The gossip drifted into Qin Huairu's ears. She covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling and attracting the attention of passersby.

She's a mother of three, yet she's still so popular.

"Pfft!" Qin Huairu couldn't help but smile, instantly stunning everyone around her. No one expected the girl to be even more beautiful when she smiled.

The passersby couldn't contain their curiosity and wanted to go up and ask her about her situation.

"Ahem! Xiao Qin, watch where you're going." Yi Zhonghai coughed twice, silencing the restless workers.

"Oh? Yes." Qin Huairu replied blankly.

Those around looked at the person who had spoken and realized it was Yi Zhonghai; they immediately dared not step forward.

This is a renowned level-eight craftsman; this girl must be connected to him, so she must not be messed with.

Finally, the two arrived at the entrance of the steel rolling mill.

"Wait here for a moment, I'll go and call the director to bring you in."

"Okay." Qin Huairu stood at the door with the letter in her hand.

The workers watched Qin Huairu standing outside, all curious about her background.

Even the security guards were no exception, whispering about her and forgetting to keep watch.

After waiting for a while, Guo Da Piezi arrived and his eyes lit up when he saw Qin Huairu.

"Is Qin Huairu Jia Dongxu's wife?"

"It's me," Qin Huairu nodded.

"I am the director of Workshop 1, you can call me Director Guo."

"Director Guo."

Qin Huairu carefully sized up the somewhat ugly director in front of her. He was Dongxu's boss, nothing special.

Guo Da Piezi looked Qin Huairu up and down. She was in good shape, especially her two large breasts. Although they were covered by her clothes, one could imagine their size.

Guo Da Piezi was getting restless.

"Ahem, Director Guo." Yi Zhonghai behind him coughed twice, immediately suppressing his thoughts.

"Come with me, let's go and start our onboarding process." With that, Director Guo led the two to the Labor Protection Department to begin their onboarding.

After handing over the work permit issued by the steel rolling mill, the head of the labor protection department glanced at the contents and then checked the stamp to confirm that everything was correct.

They immediately processed Qin Huairu's onboarding, saying as they did so, "Once you're onboarded, go to the logistics department to pick up your uniform and props."

"I'll take you to collect these things in a bit," Guo Da Piezi said.

"Thank you, Director Guo."

Next comes the most important thing.

“You’re here as a substitute, so you’ll have to start from scratch. For the first three years, you’ll be an apprentice. The first year’s salary for an apprentice is 18 yuan.”

"Huh? 18? Comrade, didn't you say too little? Shouldn't it be 27.5?"

The section chief and Guo Da Piezi frowned slightly: "Who told you it was 27.5 in the first year? That's only for apprentices who have been in training for three years."

Qin Huairu immediately turned hostile: "Uncle, how come this is different from what you said?"

Yi Zhonghai immediately stood up and said, "I told the factory manager that the first year's salary would be 27.5. Why did it change?"

"Impossible. Director Yang knows the rules; he wouldn't give you special treatment," the section chief immediately retorted, leaving no room for argument.
“You’ve already received the compensation, so you should start over. How could you expect to start as an apprentice for three years with a salary of 27.5?”

"Qin Huairu has never done fitter work before. How could someone who knows nothing about it be paid so much? If we really did that, all the substitute workers would come to me, and the steel rolling mill would be in chaos."

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Guo Da Piezi nodded and looked at Yi Zhonghai.

Qin Huairu was the same.

"Uncle, this is completely different from what you said a few days ago. I need to think about it before accepting this job."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was drenched in cold sweat.

I was just lying to Qin Huairu a few days ago. Once she's been tricked into joining the company, I'll be the one in charge.

It's all the fault of the head of the Labor Protection Section; why did he have to talk nonsense?

"Xiao Qin... this..." Yi Zhonghai hesitated, unsure how to explain.

The head of the labor protection department didn't care about any dirty business between the two, and slapped the employment certificate on his hand: "The employment certificate is done. If you have any issues, go outside and discuss them yourselves."

"No, I haven't said I want to join yet, I want to quit!" Qin Huairu refused without even thinking.

The section chief, who had no connection with the two, said directly, "Are you sure? The onboarding process is already complete. If you quit now, you'll be leaving the company and losing your job."

"I won't quit! I won't quit!" Yi Zhonghai hurriedly said, then pulled Qin Huairu: "Little Qin, let's talk about it outside later."

"If you quit your job, you'll lose your job. If your family doesn't have jobs, you'll just starve to death."

At this moment, Qin Huairu was in a dilemma.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this for you. If it really doesn't work, I'll make up the difference!" Yi Zhonghai assured him.

"Alright, for the sake of this old man, let's go outside and talk."

Qin Huairu left without looking back, followed closely by Yi Zhonghai with the certificate in hand.

The section chief and Guo Da Piezi exchanged a glance, knowing there must be something going on, but neither of them bothered to get involved.

"Sir, how do you plan to handle this matter?"

After obtaining the certificate, Yi Zhonghai said, "It's hard to say here at the factory. Let's go back and talk about it. Don't worry, I'll handle it for you."

Qin Huairu suppressed her anger as Guo Da Piezi came out.

"Qin Huairu, come with me to get your things."

After collecting all the supplies, the three headed straight for the workshop.

Yi Zhonghai led Qin Huairu to the center of the front of the workshop, where everyone could see her.

Even without Yi Zhonghai saying anything, everyone saw this unfamiliar yet beautiful woman and began to whisper and discuss her.

Seeing that everyone was looking over, Yi Zhonghai introduced her directly: "This is Jia Dongxu's wife, Qin Huairu. From today onwards, she will be working in our workshop."

"Everyone applauds and welcomes!"

"Clap clap clap~" A continuous round of applause rang out.

Yi Zhonghai then added, "Xiao Qin just gave birth and came back to work right after her postpartum period. She's not in good health, so please take good care of her."

"Don't worry, Yi Gong, we all know how to do it."

Yi Zhonghai has spoken, and everyone knows perfectly well that Qin Huairu is Yi Zhonghai's person, so they must not offend her.

Seeing everyone's cooperation, Yi Zhonghai nodded with satisfaction; it seemed he still held some prestige in the factory.

Qin Huairu looked at everyone, then at Yi Zhonghai. Luckily, she had added this condition a few days ago; otherwise, she didn't know what would have happened today.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai had said enough, Guo Da Piezi stepped forward. "Liu Xiaoyan."

"arrive."

He was a man in his early forties, with fine wrinkles around his eyes. His blue work clothes were stained with dark marks, and the edges of the cuffs were frayed but had been starched until they were white.

What's most striking are her eyes; though slightly cloudy, they reveal a sharpness like that of a hawk.

"Qin Huairu, this is your mentor Liu Xiaoyan. From today onwards, you will be working under her. She is one of the pillars of our workshop's female workers, and her apprentices are all outstanding."

“Each of her apprentices is more capable than Jia Dongxu if you take her on your own. Work hard under her and become her apprentice as soon as possible.”

Everyone who enters the workshop will be assigned a mentor. The mentor's role is similar to that of a school teacher, simply to impart knowledge.

"Okay." Liu Xiaoyan nodded lightly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's eyes lit up, completely unaware that Guo Da Piezi's words had offended Jia Dongxu.

She had long been dissatisfied with Jia Dongxu, who hadn't been promoted to a second-level worker in six or seven years. With such a capable mentor, she didn't believe she couldn't do it herself.

"Liu Xiaoyan, Qin Huairu is in your care. She just finished her postpartum period, so she shouldn't do any heavy work this month. You can make the specific arrangements."

"understood."

Liu Xiaoyan looked Qin Huairu up and down. She had a good foundation and looked like someone who had been working for many years, which would make it easier for her to get started.

After taking a closer look, I couldn't help but nod. She was indeed a woman who could endure hardship.

"Xiao Qin, why don't you go and call your master?" Yi Zhonghai reminded him.

"Oh." Qin Huairu immediately ran to Liu Xiaoyan and called out in a clear voice, "Master."

"Okay!" Liu Xiaoyan nodded and waved her hand. The four female workers beside her came over.

“These are all my apprentices. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, and I am not around, you can always turn to them.”

"Under my tutelage, there aren't many rules; the most important thing is mutual help and support."

Liu Xiaoyan said a few words and pointed to an open space: "Your workstation will be here from now on, but you are an apprentice now, so there is no fitter's table for the time being."

"You've just finished your postpartum confinement period, so it's not suitable for you to do heavy work. Let's start with something easier. You can help your senior sister move things and get to know the objects while you're at it."

"Today, you guys will take turns showing Xiao Qin around our workshop, canteen, public restrooms, and so on, so he can get familiar with the place."

Liu Xiaoyan then assigned the work for the next month, and her apprentices listened attentively.

This month's work is simple, mostly moving things around, plus getting to know the objects and tools.
Guo Da Piezi and Yi Zhonghai nodded after seeing that Liu Xiaoyan had made the arrangements, and then went about their own business.

And so, Qin Huairu spent the whole morning wandering around without doing any work.

Finally, it was lunchtime and I could leave work.

Liu Xiaoyan looked at Qin Huairu: "Come on, I'll take you to see the cafeteria."

While waiting in line, he told Qin Huairu about the pros and cons of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Sha Zhu." When Qin Huairu was getting her food, she was surprised to see that it was Sha Zhu serving the food.

"Sister Qin!" Sha Zhu never expected to run into Qin Huairu here.

He knew Qin Huairu was coming to work this morning, but he didn't expect to run into her.

"Pillar! So you were here!"

"Sister Qin, what brings you to the cafeteria?"

"My mentor brought me here. Today is my first day at work. I didn't expect to find you in this cafeteria," Qin Huairu said, pointing to her mentor, Liu Xiaoyan, beside her.

"Sister Qin, you're still in your postpartum confinement period! Can you handle the work in this workshop?"

"I haven't even started working yet. My supervisor has been very kind to me. I haven't done much work this morning."

The two chatted as if no one else was around, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the people behind them.

"Shazhu, let's talk after we get home from get off work. Let's get the food first."

"Okay."

Sha Zhu scooped a large spoonful into Qin Huairu's lunchbox and handed her two steamed buns made from two kinds of flour.

"Thanks." Qin Huairu smiled sweetly.

Next up was Liu Xiaoyan, and Sha Zhu also shoveled a big bowlful.

"Thank you," Liu Xiaoyan said, taking her lunchbox and finding a place to eat with Qin Huairu.

Seeing this, the workers behind Liu Xiaoyan also looked at Sha Zhu expectantly, hoping to give him a big bowl as well.

The result was just a normal spoonful. He muttered under his breath, "That's all? So stingy! You bastard!"

After eating, the two returned to the workshop and found a place to rest.

Liu Xiaoyan said, "Xiao Qin, that's enough for today. Go home later and start working officially tomorrow."

"Huh? Isn't this bad?"

"It's alright. It's your first day in the workshop, so we can let you work a full day. Go back and take care of your work clothes and stuff first."

"Thank you, master."

After receiving the message, Qin Huairu did not go back directly, but went to find Yi Zhonghai.

He needs to go back and explain the salary issue to Jia Zhangshi, and secondly, he also needs to give her the 300 yuan.

Jia family.

"What? Only 18? Isn't it 27.5? Qin Huairu, did you secretly hide it?" Jia Zhangshi asked without thinking.

Qin Huairu retorted, "What am I hiding? What's the point of hiding such a small amount of money? Ask the old man why it's not 27.5!"

Qin Huairu looked coldly at Yi Zhonghai, letting him explain the matter himself.

Yi Zhonghai could only explain the rules and regulations of the steel rolling mill: "This is the factory's arrangement, and I didn't expect it to be like this."

"So, I'll make up the missing 9.5 until Xiao Qin reaches 27.5, then the money will stop. That's settled."

The solution proposed by Yi Zhonghai was barely acceptable, since the final take-home pay was 27.5, regardless of the actual salary.

That's the first thing, and this is the second thing.

Qin Huairu held out her hand: "Mom, here's my 300 yuan."

"What 300 yuan?" Jia Zhangshi immediately denied it.
Qin Huairu instantly flew into a rage: "You still want to lie to me? You promised that in front of this old man a few days ago, and now you don't want to admit it?"

Jia Zhangshi had this thought in mind: "Impossible, I didn't say that. Don't try to use Lao Yi to pressure me. I won't be fooled by you."

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Qin Huairu sneered twice in anger, then looked at Yi Zhonghai: "Uncle, say something?"

Yi Zhonghai offered a few words of advice to Jia Zhangshi, but she simply wouldn't listen.

Yi Zhonghai spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders, looking completely helpless.

Qin Huairu immediately vowed, "Fine! You won't give me money, huh? Fine! Then my whole family will starve to death, and I won't go to work tomorrow."

Jia Zhangshi was not intimidated by Qin Huairu's shameless attitude; she had already obtained crucial information during their conversation.

Qin Huairu has already started working here. She can't sell or change her job, and she can't resign either. So why doesn't she hurry up and make the decision?
"Fine, I won't go. Do you think I'm afraid of you? Anyway, all the money is in my hands. I'll just keep this guy around."

"As for those two money-losing babies you gave birth to, let them starve to death. That way, you won't have to support them."

"Ah~" Kuihua's cry rang out at just the right moment, piercing Qin Huairu's ears like thunder.

Without money, she couldn't buy food, and her two daughters might really starve to death.

Jia Zhangshi's move struck at Qin Huairu's weak spot, and she immediately burst into tears.

"what!"

"Hmph, you're still too green to play with me!"

Madam Jia looked at the weeping Qin Huairu with smug satisfaction, secretly pleased with herself.

She managed to control Qin Huairu without handing over a single penny; only she could do that.

Yi Zhonghai watched this desperate struggle with a cold eye, a barely perceptible sneer flashing across his lips.

Without saying a word, they quietly left.

(End of this chapter)