Chapter 25 (1/2)
Picked Up a Good Girl
Long Bing appeared without a sound and disappeared without a trace Xia Lei was accustomed to it He wasn’t overly concerned about whether the Archaeological Bureau would go after Long Bing for taking the compass away either
Thunder Horse Workshop opened for business three days later Business was not as good as they’d thought but it wasn’t bad Ma Xiao-An took on the normal tasks and Xia Lei handled the difficult jobs; their division of labour was clear At the end of the day, after taking out the cost of materials, utilities and rent, they made 1400 yuan
“It’s a tad little,” said Xia Lei, feeling a pang of dissatisfaction
Ma Xiao-An, on the other hand, was happy “Lei, be content We didn’t do that much and stilla whole e worked at the construction site”
The two of thee of 100 yuan a day at construction sites, needing a week tothis ae i about it “If the Archaeological Bureau paid us, ould have made 50,000 more We would have to work for almost a year to make that aical Bureau is a governet paid sooner or later,” said Ma Xiao-An
Just then, a wo - early twenties, apple-shaped face and big eyes She earing a colourful short-sleeved checkered shi+rt on top, which was pulled tight by a huge chest Her boso buttons seemed like they would pop off any moment On her bottom was a pair of cheap denim shorts, and her bottom itself was rounded and quite attractive On her shoulder was a bundle wrapped in worn blue cloth and a dirty-looking white towel peeked out fro immediately told everyone that she was fro for so?” enquired Xia Lei
“I…” The woman looked nervous “Who is the boss here?”
She had an accent which sounded like she was from Sichuan
Before Xia Lei could speak, Ma Xiao-An pointed at him and said with a s for hie, looked straight at Xia Lei and bowed clu I’ll wash dishes, stack plates, cleaning, cooking…”
Xia Lei s a restaurant so we don’t need someone to stack plates or wash dishes I’m sorry, please ask at a restaurant”
The woman bit her lip but did not press the issue, and turned and left
Xia Lei looked at her feet and saw that she wore plimsolls Footwear like this was uncommon for women, even in the countryside Perhaps he was moved by the plimsolls, but Xia Lei’s heart softened and he called out to the wo for work?”
The woman looked at Xia Lei, then looked away from his eyes and spoke carefully, “My father is old and cannot work My younger brother wants to go to school but we have nofor work” When she got to that part, her eyes filled with tears, “B-But… I have no skills and all the restaurants have enough staff It’s also not the hiring season at factories… I’ve used up all ht I…”
Xia Lei stopped her mid-sentence, “Stay, then I will pay you 3,000 aroom and board”
“Wha-?” The surprised excla for a job but Ma Xiao-An
The woratitude, so overwhelmed she could not speak
Ma Xiao-An pulled Xia Lei to one side and whispered, “Hey, Lei, why are you taking her in? I know you feel sorry for her but there are plenty of sorry souls out there What can we do with our liive her so irl like her would be happy with 1,500, including room and board”
“Doesn’t she need to support her little brother’s studies? We can take less profit and give her a little more so her family can lead better lives What’s so bad about that?” said Xia Lei
Ma Xiao-An sighed He knew that Xia Lei had changed his e because of her si because he wanted to save money but the boss of the workshop was Xia Lei He had no further arguainst Xia Lei’s decision
The wo Brother, I, I will start working now What can I do?”
“Are you afraid that the boss would regret it? Don’t worry, your boss is a good man He’s very kind and won’t chase you out once he’s taken you under his wing,” said Ma Xiao-An snappily
The woman let out a breath and quickly said, “Thank you, Boss! Thank you, Big Brother!”
“We’ve been thanked Don’t be so forht, what’s your name? I’m Xia Lei and he’s Ma Xiao-An,” s,” she said, then sees, Boss Xia! Greetings, Big Brother Ma!”
Ma Xiao-An was unco started sweetly saying ‘Boss’ and ‘Big Brother’, his heart softened Zhou Xiao-Hong was also a young and pretty country lass - a bigmean to her, could he? That was so classless
“You don’t have a place to stay?” asked Xia Lei
Zhou Xiao-Hong hung her head and spoke sheepishly, “Uone The hotel owner threw ”
Xia Lei considered some options and said, “Why don’t you stay in the shop for now We have a foldable bed in here I’ll order some delivery for you later so you’ll have toonce you’re settled”
“You’re truly a good person, Boss Xia Thank you, thank you!” Zhou Xiao-Hong thanked hio again Don’t be so for smiled aardly, then said, “You don’t have to order delivery food for ive me instant noodles”