Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 509: Chapter 509: The Whole Household Benefits from a Person’s Elevation to a High Post

The brother from Dwarf Hill Post wasn’t feeling well. The combination of a train and a car journey left him feeling like his body was falling apart.

What was truly lethal was that after the bus stopped, he still had to take a tricycle taxi to reach Luohua Manor.

The tricycle taxi driver was quite a rip-off, charging him five yuan, but his brother said, as long as he could get to the manor to work quickly, he would earn a hundred a day.

When they were still far from the main gate, the tricycle taxi driver stopped and said, “That, uh… we’re here, that’s it up ahead.”

“This is it?” The brother from Men Gang felt a bit down, but after all, this was Zhengyang, not his hometown, so he cautiously argued, “Big brother, it’s still a li away… I have a bad back, I can’t walk.”

“I would like to drive further, but I dare not,” the tricycle taxi driver replied irritably, “Luohua Manor is a place of wonder, what if I offend King Crow… is it on you, or on me?”

“Wonder?” The brother was somewhat surprised, his own brother hadn’t mentioned this, “Uh… my brother is Men Gang, his own brother, that should be okay, right?”

“Don’t joke with me, brother,” the tricycle taxi driver forced a laugh, “We agreed on five yuan, so that’s that, don’t start with this… Seeing as your back is no good, a little tug, and you wouldn’t be able to handle it, would you?”

“My brother really is Men Gang,” the brother became anxious, “He used to work in construction, now he’s with Boss Feng.”

“Really?” The tricycle taxi driver glanced at him sideways, “What’s your respected surname then? No… what’s your brother’s?”

We obviously have the same surname! The brother grew even more annoyed, “I’m surnamed Bai… what do you think my brother’s surname is?”

“Oh, so you really are Brother Bai’s relative,” the tricycle taxi driver chuckled, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ll take you there.”

The brother felt the conversation was a bit surreal… Could it be? My brother’s that impressive in Zhengyang? Zhengyang People even call him Brother Bai?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤο.ƈ0

The tricycle taxi driver restarted the engine, while chattering, “Old brother, have you got a place to stay in Zhengyang… can I introduce you to one?”

“I’m here at my brother’s place, do I need to find somewhere to stay?” The brother replied matter-of-factly, “Just squeeze in together on one bed, right?”

That’s how they always slept when they were kids, to sleep outside would mean spending money, right?

The tricycle taxi driver gave him a deep look, “Are you sure… you can get through the door?”

It was no joke, the gate of Luohua Manor was notoriously difficult to enter; wind could go through, rain could go through… but not people.

Coming to a big place like Zhengyang, the brother also felt less confident, “Well… if I can’t get in, we’ll deal with that then.”

With a burst of the accelerator, the tricycle taxi arrived at the main gate, and the driver shouted, “Brother Bai… your brother’s here!”

The brother from Dwarf Hill Post came out of the guardhouse, “Ah, you’ve finally arrived… Is your back holding up?”

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” On seeing his brother with his arm in a sling, the older brother’s heart tightened, “What happened, is it serious?”

“No worries, want to make money, can’t be afraid of trouble,” Dwarf Hill Post replied nonchalantly. Then he flaunted his injured arm, “Got this fighting off a thief.”

The brother had many questions, but at this moment, he decided to ask first, “Uh… can I come in?”

“Sure, you can come in, I’ve already talked to President Feng,” Dwarf Hill Post opened a crack in the gate and stepped out, “Where’s my brother’s luggage? Driver, could you help with it… His back’s not in a good shape, and my arm’s out of commission.”

The tricycle taxi driver, with a grin plastered on his face, carried down the luggage, “Brother Bai, you should have said earlier, picking up your brother is like picking up my brother, right?”

“Never mind that,” Dwarf Hill Post waved dismissively, speaking indifferently, “How much does it come to?”

“That would be…” The tricycle taxi driver hesitated for a moment, “Three yuan.”

Dwarf Hill Post had only one hand free, and after rummaging in his pocket for a while, he handed over a banknote, “Five yuan, no need for change.”

His brother watched, feeling pain for him, “Never mind… Two yuan, that’s like picking up forty plastic water bottles.”

Dwarf Hill Post glanced at him, feeling that his old brother was out of touch. From the bus station here, locals pay three yuan, it’s not unreasonable to charge an out-of-towner five yuan; they’d surely ask for more than three yuan from you. It’s just that knowing you’re my brother, he didn’t dare to scam you.

But now I’m mixing with Boss Feng, earning fifteen thousand a month, I can’t be too fussy over such small amounts. Otherwise, I might save two yuan today, but it lowers our stature. What about when relatives and friends visit later—won’t we be looked down upon?

However, although that’s what he thought, he couldn’t very well say it. Siblings meeting after a long time shouldn’t be so disheartening.

Just then, an old but not outdated minibus approached from the distance, and the driver honked at the gate.

The tricycle taxi driver hadn’t left yet. Hearing the horn, he couldn’t help but turn around in surprise, “Damn, who’s that bold?”

Little did he expect, the short gatekeeper glanced at the window of the vehicle and waved with a smile, then pressed the remote in his hand. The automatic telescopic door slowly opened.

“This is really awesome,” the tricycle taxi driver shook his head, looked back at Dwarf Hill Post, “Brother Bai, where did you find this guy?”

The short man gave him a look, “You can’t learn this, this too was cleared with Boss Feng.”

The jitney driver chuckled nervously and walked away, but the brother who had just arrived was a bit curious, “Wasn’t it said that it’s hard to get in here? The driver earlier, he didn’t even dare to stop nearby, he made me get off from afar.”

“He’s one of the workers we’re looking to hire,” the shorter gatekeeper had already come to see the manor as home, even using “we” to describe it, “Lately, the manor has been short on hands, so we recruited a group from the western suburbs.”

The brother nodded, remembering his younger brother’s smile, and casually asked another question, “You’re hiring new people… is there a leader on the bus?”

“It’s our boss’s assistant,” replied the short gatekeeper, then he lowered his voice, “Here in the manor, just taking care of the gate is enough, don’t meddle in other things… The people we’re hiring this time, they’re all the assistant’s fellow villagers.”

Upon hearing this, the brother took a sharp breath, “My goodness, this assistant must be pretty powerful then.”

“Her?” The Dwarf Hill Post gatekeeper gave a dismissive chuckle, then whispered, “Assistant Xiao Li is a good person, but really doesn’t have much power… See that guy in charge of recruitment over there? His name’s Gao Qiang, and he’s responsible for the selection.”

The minibus entered the mountain gate and didn’t go far before stopping next to Pump House No.1.

Gao Qiang sat inside the pavilion with pen and paper in hand, asking someone a few questions.

Seeing this, the gatekeeper’s brother spotted a fashionable and pretty girl standing beside Gao Qiang, chatting and smiling, and he guessed that this was Assistant Xiao Li. He whispered his question, “So this Gao Qiang, his power must be considerable, right?”

“Him?” The Dwarf Hill Post gatekeeper laughed and shook his head, “He’s not really anything special either, but, those who truly have power here, they don’t usually manage affairs. Around here… it’s those without power who end up managing things.”

The brother glanced at his younger sibling and said thoughtfully, “It looks like… you can manage some things too, because you don’t have power?”

“I’m just a gatekeeper, what power could I possibly have?” The Dwarf Hill Post spread his hands, “Honestly, aside from President Feng, I wouldn’t give face to anyone trying to bring people in… I mustn’t give face. Brother, you could come in not because I have great skills, but because the boss nodded his approval.”

The brother nodded thoughtfully, “There’s quite a strict system here, those in power don’t manage affairs… are they practicing some sort of sorcery?”

“Shit,” the short man jumped in shock, quickly looking around, “Don’t speak nonsense. Here, you use your eyes to see… Just keep good watch over the gate, don’t concern yourself with the rest.”

Gao Qiang was assessing the person in front of him, originally planting trees was a matter of checking their strength, as long as they weren’t lazy or slippery, they could meet the criteria.

But when Li Shishi went home for a visit, once she mentioned hiring here, many enthusiastically applied, with lots of people coming to advocate on their behalf.

No one knew how much money Li Shishi earned here, but from the things she brought home, everyone knew that the daughter of the Li family had truly made good fortune – she even had air conditioning installed at her grandmother’s house!

However, the manor’s employment benefits were known to all: a probation period of one to three months with a salary of three thousand, including meals and accommodation, and after becoming a regular employee, the salary was six thousand, still including meals and accommodation, with holiday benefits, and bonuses for good work.

In Zhengyang, these benefits were not considered bad, and most importantly, they didn’t care about education, only strength.

Moreover, Li Shishi had said, if you go there, just follow the rules, and if anyone bullies you for no reason, I’ll speak to President Feng.

This meant… we’ve got someone on the inside.

Her village wasn’t far from Zhengyang, and many would go to work there in their spare time, but many didn’t have any special skills, and only had elementary or middle school education; they couldn’t find proper work and could only sell their manual labor.

And selling manual labor was usually short-term work.

Now there was an opportunity for well-paid, stable labor – in fact, planting trees wasn’t too hard, and having food and accommodation covered could save a lot of money.

The truly capable workers were the stout fellows who could eat up to four or five jin of staples a day in a situation where food was scarce.

And again, we’ve got someone on the inside, so no fear of being cheated.

Feng Jun planned to hire ten people, but after Li Shishi went home for the weekend, twenty-seven or twenty-eight signed up, many of whom could also double as technical workers – bricklayers, carpenters, and even electricians.

It was hard for her to make a choice; they were all villagers, and it wouldn’t be nice to offend any of them, so she made a phone call to the boss.

Feng Jun didn’t mind; he said, well, then let’s have a selection, anyone interested can come, and we’ll pick ten.”

The minibus was hired by Li Shishi – this expense could certainly be reimbursed by President Feng.

These people hadn’t been screened yet, so they definitely couldn’t go directly to the mansion, and going to the temporary work shelter wasn’t suitable either, so the initial selection was set in this pavilion.

Gao Qiang’s method of selecting people was interesting; besides chatting and observing, he also tested their strength, no dumbbells or Stone Locks needed, he just propped his arm on the table – come on, let’s have an arm-wrestling match.

Most farmers had no problem with this, but it was tough to beat him – the guy was ex-special forces!

After chatting for a while, he’d have an arm-wrestling match, and no one could beat him.

He wouldn’t even wrestle anyone down; since no one could get him down, he’d pull back and forth like a saw, and that way, he’d know the other person’s strength.

After testing seven or eight people, a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth came over, “Uncle, if I can beat you, can I be made a regular employee right away?”

(Updated to, summoning monthly tickets.)