Linxia

Chapter 38, Regret

"I have to say that You Chaodong is really not loyal. We agreed to go together but he left halfway. How can this be called a big deal?" Fu Hong cursed loudly but his heart began to beat.

——You Chaodong has already retreated, do you still want to follow him?

"Hongzi, everyone has their own ideas." Geng Shi advised Fu Hong, then looked at Fang Lin: "Linzi, don't take it to heart."

"Ah."

Fang Lin nodded slightly, calmly as if he had expected it and naturally didn't mind.

He was willing to let You Chaodong follow and take him with him because he had raised his hand to support the Fang family once - although his support did not play a role in that vote, he still accepted the favor.

Now that the other party had gotten the news and had not fallen into the trap of the petty official surnamed Xiao taking kickbacks, Fang Lin felt that he had done his duty to You Chaodong. And since the favor had been repaid, what choice You Chaodong made had nothing to do with him?
Not to mention that You Chaodong was not going, even if Fu Hong followed him, he would still be calm.

……

Today, what Fang Lin, Geng Shi and Fu Hong had to do was actually similar to what they did yesterday. They went to the shops on the street to inquire whether they were short of staff, how much the wages were, whether the shopkeepers were easy to deal with, whether the wages were paid on time, whether there were any deductions, etc.

The difference is that they changed the area - compared with the entire city, what they went to inquire about yesterday was only a very small area, and the larger area was still blank to them.

"Linzi, let me be the one to gather information today?" Fu Hong offered.

You Chaodong didn't come to join in the fun and went to work to earn money, which made him anxious and couldn't wait to do something. This was just an attempt. Besides, he had some unspeakable thoughts. This role of dealing with people could best express himself. Who knows, he might be noticed by some shopkeeper because of this!

"Okay." Fang Lin glanced at the other party and agreed.

It turns out that Fu Hong is quite capable. With Fang Lin's demonstration yesterday, he was not nervous every time he went to a street shop. At the beginning, he followed Fang Lin's template yesterday to strike up a conversation and make small talk. Gradually, facing different scenes, he began to adapt and develop his own style, and performed with ease.

——This is not surprising. Fu Hong can make a living in Xiaohe Village by stealing small things. He is not excluded. He must have his own skills: he is smooth-talking and can say nice things. His parents are so coaxed into doing nothing with him. Many old men and women in the village are also coaxed into being happy. Sometimes they don't care if they are stolen a little bit.

Opportunities come to those who are prepared, this is always true.

In the middle of the morning, he went to a pawnshop and skillfully pretended to be a customer to get information. After being exposed, he still smiled and pestered the customer. He was very eloquent and managed to get a lot of information out of the customer, which attracted the attention of the pawnshop owner: "Young man, I am still short of an apprentice for the imperial court. The monthly salary is two taels of silver. Do you want to give it a try?"

Pies in the sky!
Fu Hong was very surprised and wanted to agree quickly, but was stopped.

It was Fang Lin and Geng Shi who called him aside and whispered, "We just asked around and found out that the owner of this shop has a bad reputation and often delays or underpays workers."

Fu Hong was busy just now, but they were not idle either. They asked a lot of questions indirectly from the other side.

"It's not like they don't pay you. I've seen so many shops like this in the past two days. Besides, two taels of silver a month means an average of more than six cents a day, which is higher than working as a porter at the docks, and it's much easier and more respectable."

Fu Hong complained in his heart but didn't take it seriously.

He even had some darker thoughts. Fang Lin and Geng Shi hadn't found a job yet. Maybe they were jealous of him! Deep down, he felt guilty. Today, he had snatched the job that Fang Lin was leading. Otherwise, it would have been Fang Lin who would have been chosen.

"I still plan to give it a try here. From now on, I won't continue running with you guys." Fu Hong said.

He was not afraid of offending Fang Lin and Geng Shi. As long as he agreed to it when he returned, he could get this easy job with high pay immediately. On the other hand, Fang Lin and Geng Shi had no jobs yet, and the difference in status between them was obvious. It seemed that he would have no use for them in the future.

"You..." Geng Shi wanted to say something.

"Let's go!" Fang Lin pulled him and turned around.

"Alas, Hongzi didn't listen to my advice. Who knows, he will suffer in the future. Also, it's nothing that Hongzi accepted this job, but he stayed immediately without even finishing the morning's show. This is not how things are done. No wonder..."

Geng Shi didn't say anything more, because he realized that it was not good to say bad things about people behind their backs. However, Fang Lin knew what Geng Shi meant. When he was in the village, there were rumors that Fu Hong was a "petty thief" and "used people in a positive way and didn't use them in a positive way." He meant that Fu Hong was not a good person.

"Forget it." Fang Lin just said so.

Those who should leave will leave, and those who should come will come. Let them be, put aside the desire to help others, and respect the fate of others. It can be said that if it were not for the favor of that vote, there would not have been a reminder before.

Of course, this reminder was the utmost he could do. What happens to Fu Hong in the future has nothing to do with him, and he would not devote any more attention to it.

……

After a busy day, I go back home in the evening and get a lot of street shop information.

Fang Lin's purpose is to compare and screen the collected information, lock in the position that suits him, and actively promote himself.

Geng Shi was different. Fang Lin's method depended on the individual. Geng Shi could not learn it, so he could only "try his luck" as You's wife said, just like the pawnshop owner saw that Fu Hong was smart and eloquent, so he gave him a chance. Since it was a matter of luck, it was naturally a low-probability event, and the only way to increase this possibility was to cast a wide net.

However, in the eyes of outsiders, Fang Lin and Geng Shi were the same, both gained nothing today.

A simple tavern in a shanty town.

"Linzi, you didn't find the guys? Why bother? You've run for a whole day in vain!"

"Don't try to persuade him. He is ambitious and is eyeing a job in a street shop!"

"A job in a street shop? Is that something you can even dream of? It's like a toad wanting to eat swan meat."

"Isn't it? Linzi, I'm not saying that you guys don't have that kind of luck, just accept it and come with us to work as porters at the dock."

Song Kai, Bai Bao and their gang were still eating and drinking here. When they saw Fang Lin and Geng Shi, they joined in and mocked them again.

In fact, it’s not just a matter of the holiday, but also because after a day of hard work at the dock, I feel exhausted, tired, and in a bad mood, and I always have to find a reason to vent.

Fang Lin was too lazy to argue with them.

Geng Shi couldn't help but said, "Who said we ran all day for nothing? We came back at noon and found some work for the women at home to mend clothes. We got two copper coins per piece, and we can earn three cents a day. I heard that your wives are doing laundry. It's hard work, but they only earn two cents a day. Don't we women make more money than you? And we are much more economical?"

Yes, at noon, the two of them came back to eat and told Fang about the job they had found in a tailoring shop. Fang's mother, Geng's daughter-in-law Su Xiaoqing, and Guihua's wife were already doing the mending work in the afternoon.

Upon hearing this, Song Kai and his gang were speechless. It was not easy for them to refute, but they felt more unbalanced. They were grown men working as porters at the dock, working so hard that they only earned five cents a day, but those women could easily earn three cents by doing sewing and mending. Why?
Coincidentally, Fu Hong also came back at this time, with his chest puffed out, his head held high, and his steps as fast as an official on the stage. He looked so proud, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he had good things to do. "Hey, how did you know that I found a job as an apprentice in a pawnshop with a salary of two taels of silver a month? Song Kai, Bai Bao, Zheng Yu, you can come to me if you need to pawn something in the future!"

He was not speaking for Fang Lin and Geng Shi, but because he had a grudge against Song Kai and his gang. He had snatched the bird eggs from Zheng Yu, but was voted out by Song Kai and his gang. Today, when he found an opportunity, he naturally wanted to strike hard at them. At the same time, he also wanted to show off that he had such an easy and decent job!

"An apprentice of the imperial court?"

Song Kai and his gang's expressions froze on their faces, full of shock and disbelief. Who could have thought that the swan meat would really be eaten by a toad, and it was Fu Hong, the man who had a reputation as a petty thief in the village and whom they looked down upon the most!
You Chaodong was also waiting to pack up his oil-splashed noodles - since he had earned money on his first day of work, he must have a good meal to improve his diet, right?

Hearing Fu Hong's words, he turned his head in disbelief. Just now, when Geng Shi said that they found jobs for the women in the family, he didn't think much about it, but now he was really shocked.

You Chaodong couldn't help but think, if he hadn't gone to the dock to work today, but continued to follow Fang Lin and others, would he be the one who found a decent and easy job in a street shop?
Regret rose in my heart.

But when he thought of the six cents he had earned today, he quickly suppressed his regrets: "Fu Hong must have been a blind cat that caught a dead mouse. Didn't you see that Fang Lin and Geng Shi both failed to find it? So, my choice was right, absolutely right!"

……

(End of this chapter)