Chapter 86

After thinking of Zhao Dabao as a candidate, Wang Xiaoqiang went to Zhao Dabao's house. Zhao Dabao's home consisted of three tiled rooms and a kitchen, looking low and dilapidated. Usually, the family of four squeezed into these three rooms. As the children grew older, it was no longer practical to always be crowded together. Unfortunately, due to a lack of money, they had never been able to build a new house.

When Wang Xiaoqiang arrived at the Zhao family's house, it happened that both Zhao Dabao and his wife were at home. After explaining his intentions to Zhao Dabao and his wife, although Zhao Dabao was mute, his hearing was not impaired.

Upon hearing that Wang Xiaoqiang wanted to hire him as a worker at the chicken farm, Zhao Dabao became very excited, nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice. Zhao Dabao's wife, Li Jinye, was also very happy. She was straightforward and immediately asked Wang Xiaoqiang how much the salary would be. Wang Xiaoqiang asked, "How much does Uncle Zhao earn as a laborer in the construction team per day?"

Zhao Dabao held up one finger and waved it in front of Wang Xiaoqiang.

Wang Xiaoqiang knew he meant one hundred, so he said, "Then let's make it one hundred per day. How does that sound?"

Zhao Dabao was naturally delighted. Working as a laborer in the construction team was hard labor, and earning one hundred a day was hard-earned money. Working at the chicken farm, although it was a bit dirty, there wouldn't be too much heavy work. Earning one hundred a day was a rare opportunity.

The key was that working as a laborer in the construction team was not a long-term job, and it was intermittent, with only a few months of work throughout the year. If he worked at Wang Xiaoqiang's chicken farm, he could work from the beginning to the end of the year, earning a salary every day for 365 days.

Hearing the salary Wang Xiaoqiang offered, Zhao Dabao and his wife were overjoyed. Zhao Dabao nodded his head continuously, making indistinct sounds to express his excitement. Li Jinye was so happy that tears came to her eyes, and she repeatedly thanked Wang Xiaoqiang.

Seeing that they had no objections, Wang Xiaoqiang told Zhao Dabao to start work the next day. Just as he was about to leave, Li Jinye pulled him back and asked, "Xiaoqiang, does the chicken farm hire women?"

"Yes, it does!"

"Then hire me too!" Li Jinye pleaded.

Wang Xiaoqiang thought for a moment. The chicken farm was just starting, and there weren't many pheasants yet, so they didn't need that many workers. However, if the fire spirit energy could hatch chicks quickly, the number of pheasants would increase rapidly, and more workers would be needed. So he nodded and said, "The salary for female workers is lower than for male workers, only eighty per day."

"Fine, I don't mind the low salary," Li Jinye said excitedly. "The kids are already studying in the county, and I have nothing to do at home..."

"Alright, then. Clean up today, and tomorrow you two can bring your cooking and sleeping gear up the mountain. From now on, you two will live and eat on the mountain." Wang Xiaoqiang suddenly realized that if the two of them lived on the mountain, they could take care of the chicken farm day and night, saving him a lot of trouble and preventing them from frequently interacting with outsiders and spreading information about the chicken farm. So he made this decision.

Of course, Zhao Dabao and his wife had no objections and happily agreed, repeatedly thanking Wang Xiaoqiang as they saw him out.

Feeling satisfied that he could help the villagers earn money while making a fortune himself, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a great sense of achievement.

That afternoon, Wang Xiaoqiang cleaned out a new flat on Mantou Mountain to use as an office. He then brought his bed, a table, and a chair up the mountain and placed them in the flat, using them as an office desk. He would gradually improve the rest.

The next morning, the workers arrived early on Mantou Mountain and gathered at Wang Xiaoqiang's office.

To Wang Xiaoqiang's surprise, two more people had come. In addition to Zhao Dabao and his wife and Xia Guihua, Xia Guihua's mother and Li Xianghong had also come.

Before Wang Xiaoqiang could speak, Xia Guihua's mother said, "Xiaoqiang, count me in. You know I work hard and never slack off..."

Wang Xiaoqiang didn't compromise just because she was Xia Guihua's mother. He shrugged and said, "Aunt, the chicken farm doesn't need that many people right now."

"Mom, go back! What are you doing here?" Xia Guihua pushed her mother, signaling her to leave.

"Alright!" Xia Guihua's mother sighed. "But Xiaoqiang, if you hire more people in the future, remember to count me in..."

"Don't worry, I'll give you priority when hiring more people," Wang Xiaoqiang smiled.

After sending Xia Guihua's mother away, Wang Xiaoqiang turned his attention to Liu Xianghong. He noticed that Liu Xianghong seemed to have dressed up, and her tight clothes accentuated her curvy figure, making her very attractive. However, Liu Xianghong's presence surprised Wang Xiaoqiang. He could guess that her purpose was similar to Xia Guihua's mother's.

What surprised Wang Xiaoqiang was how Liu Xianghong knew he was hiring workers.

Liu Xianghong had indeed come to apply. She learned from Xia Sanwa the previous day that Wang Xiaoqiang's chicken farm was opening and needed workers, so she came with high hopes today.

However, seeing that Xia Guihua's mother had been sent away, Liu Xianghong didn't dare to speak, fearing that she would also be rejected.

Seeing that Li Xianghong didn't speak, Wang Xiaoqiang asked, "Aunt, did you come today just to visit the chicken farm?"

"Yes, I wanted to visit," Liu Xianghong replied, then hesitantly added, "But I also want to join."

"Aunt, the chicken farm doesn't need that many people right now. Why don't you go back and come again when we need more workers..." Wang Xiaoqiang said firmly, though he knew Li Xianghong was in financial difficulty, he wasn't running a charity.

"Xiaoqiang, please hire me," Liu Xianghong pleaded. "Xiao Ying needs to go to school, but we don't have the tuition for next semester."

Xiao Ying was Li Xianghong's daughter, still in elementary school. Hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a pang of sympathy. If a child couldn't finish elementary school, their future would be ruined.

Considering this, Wang Xiaoqiang said, "Aunt, the chicken farm will definitely expand in the future, and hiring more people is inevitable. If we hire more people, I'll consider you first. If Xiao Ying needs the tuition urgently, you can come to me, and I'll lend you the money, but if you tell others about this, I won't lend you anything."

Liu Xianghong sighed in relief, nodded, and promised, "Xiaoqiang, don't worry, I won't say anything."

After Liu Xianghong left, Wang Xiaoqiang felt a sense of satisfaction. Zhao Dabao and his wife were moved and felt reassured. Having such a good boss, they had nothing to fear. As for Xia Guihua, she was mainly there to help Wang Xiaoqiang, not for the money. Being able to see Wang Xiaoqiang every day was the most important thing for her.

After sending Liu Xianghong away, Wang Xiaoqiang briefed the three hired workers. There wasn't much to say, mainly about the confidentiality of the chicken farm. He said very seriously, "Everything about the chicken farm must be kept confidential. You cannot tell anyone anything. Can you do that?"

Wang Xiaoqiang looked at Zhao Dabao and his wife with a serious expression. He was confident that Xia Guihua would keep the secret, but he was mainly concerned about Zhao Dabao and his wife.

Although Zhao Dabao and his wife were not well-educated, they understood Wang Xiaoqiang's words. Zhao Dabao nodded sincerely, and Li Jinye said, "Don't worry, Manager Wang. We will only do what you tell us to do and not concern ourselves with anything else. Once we go down the mountain, we'll be mute. Both of us will be mute. You can trust us!"

Li Jinye now called Wang Xiaoqiang "Manager Wang." Wang Xiaoqiang didn't object to this title. Since the chicken farm was now operational, everything should be formalized. Since they were his workers, they should call him "Manager."

Wang Xiaoqiang nodded and then arranged their accommodations. The chicken farm had five flats. Wang Xiaoqiang took one, Zhao Dabao and his wife took one, and Xia Guihua took one. Each person would bring their own cooking utensils.

The flats on the mountain were much larger than the rooms in Zhao Dabao's house. Living in such spacious and new houses made Zhao Dabao and his wife very happy.

After settling in, Wang Xiaoqiang took the three on a tour of the chicken coop, the incubation room, the cold storage, and the metal fence surrounding the farm. He then explained their future tasks.

Caring for the chicks, raising the pheasants, and cleaning the chicken coop were assigned to Zhao Dabao and his wife. Xia Guihua's task was to count and record the number of eggs daily and handle the preservation work.