So, it was a reconnaissance mission for salary information. Qiumei finally understood Chunhua’s purpose.
"How much could it be? Just over twenty yuan, I guess. I’m not very clear on it," Qiumei said vaguely and then changed the subject, "You’re going to work, who will take care of the child?"
"Send him back to his grandmother for help," Chunhua asked again, "What about Qiulan, are they still hiring?"
Qiumei hugged her son and said, "Honestly, I’m not very clear. If you really want to do it, you might as well ask Cheng Su. She’s the boss. Doesn’t she know better than I do?"
Chunhua lowered her head and said, "I’m just asking around first."
Qiumei fell silent. Her sister had repeatedly warned her not to meddle too much in Cheng Su’s household affairs or boast about how things were at the restaurant, to avoid making things difficult for Cheng Su.
So, she simply played dumb.
Seeing she could not get any information here, Chunhua sat for a while and then left.
Cheng Su soon heard about Chunhua’s intentions from Qiulan, and her brow furrowed slightly.
"My sister didn’t say much, just told her to ask you," Qiulan explained quickly upon noticing Cheng Su’s displeased expression, clarifying for her sister.
"It’s fine. Let’s wait until she brings it up with me," Cheng Su said with a smile, "You go back to work!"
Qiulan went back to her tasks, and Cheng Su pondered the matter.
To be honest, hearing about Chunhua’s intentions from Qiulan did unsettle her. If you want to do something, why not ask me directly? Why take such a roundabout way to inquire about someone else’s salary? What’s the point?
If Chunhua really does bring it up with me, what should I do?
Cheng Su looked around. The restaurant had plenty of staff at the moment, and the current waitresses were all young girls. Chunhua would not fit in; it wouldn’t be right to make her wash dishes.
However, the factory did need operators and salespeople, but if a salesperson didn’t land any orders in three months or performed poorly, they would be eliminated too.
Having made up her mind, Cheng Su stopped thinking about the issue and turned to practice English dialogues with Liang Dan.
It was already May, and she had to take the retake exam at the beginning of the following month. This month was critical to consolidate her knowledge.
So she and Liang Dan helped each other by testing their language dialogues.
Additionally, she sought advice from Ying Xiaoya using mock exam papers, determined to pass the university entrance exam on the first attempt.
With a pile of materials in hand, she returned home, where Chunhua came over, making convoluted small talk before finally steering the conversation towards her purpose.
Cheng Suxin had already thought of a response in advance and shared her previous thoughts with her.
"As an assembly line worker, it’s hard work, standing all day, inspecting and packaging jam. As for the salesperson, you’ll be running around outside all day, even in the sweltering heat, and if you don’t make any sales in three months, you’ll be out," Cheng Su said.
Chunhua frowned and asked with a flushed face, "Isn’t there a position like Qiulan’s?"
Cheng Su almost laughed, saying, "You know how long Qiulan has been with me. It took her nearly a year to rise to her current position. Without knowing anything, how can you do her job? It all requires accumulated experience."
Chunhua’s face turned as red as an apple, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Cheng Su pretended not to notice and said, "If you’re not afraid of hard work, I can arrange a position for you in the factory, but it would only be as an assembly line worker or a salesperson. Think about it!"
This was her way of repaying Chunhua for her past kindness.
The saying is indeed true: debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay. No wonder people say that if a problem can be solved with money, do not owe a favor—it makes perfect sense.
Look, now that she’s come to ask, should I respond or not?