Chapter 7: How to Get the First Pot of Gold?

Their village was the biggest beneficiary of this industrial zone. In addition to receiving land compensation, the Hong Kong-funded factories that had already commenced operations within the zone would prioritize hiring the young and able-bodied men from their village as workers.

Nearly a hundred villagers had already entered the factories to work.

The wages at the Hong Kong-funded factories were much higher than those at mainland factories.

For villagers like those from her village working in the factories, their monthly piece-rate wages combined with overtime pay could reach one or two hundred yuan.

In contrast, the wages for ordinary workers in most mainland factories currently fell into tiers of 28, 36, or 39 yuan, with those in higher job grades earning a bit more.

By comparison, the wages at the Special Economic Zone's Hong Kong-funded factories were several times higher than those at ordinary factories. This was the primary reason why countless people from all over the country flocked here after the Special Economic Zone opened up.

Shen Yu had previously heard an elder who came to Pengcheng early on say that in the early nineties, her salary in the mainland was only about a hundred yuan, but in Pengcheng, she could earn between eight hundred and a thousand yuan. (A real-life case)

Even in later generations, the average salary in a super-first-tier city like Pengcheng remained much higher than in the mainland.

Of course, the cost of living here was also very high; the more you earned, the more you spent.

"Mom, is there any more food? My younger brother and sister are craving it; they want to eat meat soon."

Shen Yu's drifting thoughts were pulled back by the voice of her eldest son.

She quickly replied to him with a smile, "Alright, alright, I'm coming right now. Don't be in such a hurry."

Shen Yu plated the vegetables from the pot, quickly washed it, then placed the large pot of water on the stove to boil hot water for bathing.

Afterward, she carried the stir-fried vegetables and said to her eldest son, "Let's go, time to eat."

Since there were large meat buns for dinner tonight, Shen Yu didn't cook anything else, only stir-frying two dishes.

With just these two dishes plus the large meat buns, the three children ate until their mouths were glistening with oil, repeatedly saying how delicious it was.

The two dishes and the plate of large meat buns were eaten clean by the family of four, without even a drop of soup left.

After finishing, Shi Zichen looked at Shen Yu with an expression of pure admiration and said, "Mom, I feel like the food you made today is especially delicious. It's even better than what the chefs at the state-run restaurants make."

When Shi Lei was still around, he worked at a construction site and could earn over a hundred yuan in wages.

Every time he received his pay, he would take his wife and children to a state-run restaurant to treat themselves.

As soon as Shi Zichen finished speaking, he thought of these things, and the joyful expression of satisfaction on little Jun's face instantly sank.

How wonderful it would have been if Dad were still here, and their family could be together, happy and joyful.

Seeing his expression, Shen Yu knew that Shi Zichen must be missing his father again.

She reached out to pat his head and said to him with a smile, "If you like it, Mom will make more for you in the future."

The second son immediately voiced his support from the side, "Mom, I love it too!"

As soon as Xiao Shushu saw her brothers speaking, she didn't want to be left behind and said, "Mama, I like eating meat too..."

Today's twice-cooked pork, fried to a golden brown, fragrant and flavorful, had been a real treat for Xiao Shushu, and she instantly memorized this delicious meat.

She wanted more!

Shen Yu coaxed them, "Alright, as long as you like it, Mom will make it for you in the future."

The second son leaned in, hugged Shen Yu, and flattered her, "Hee hee, my Mom is the best, the absolute best."

Xiao Shushu also leaned in to hug the other side of Shen Yu, rubbing her little face against her, "Mama is good, Mama is the best..."

The eldest was older and more reserved; although he also wanted to express affection toward his mother, he felt a bit shy.

Shen Yu took the initiative to pull him over, spreading her arms to pull all three children into her embrace.

"You are all Mom's good babies, and Mom loves you most, most, most of all."

She gave each of them a kiss.

Influenced by her, the three children kissed her back.

The second son and Xiao Shushu even gave her several kisses in a row, giggling loudly after they were done.

After her interaction with them, the eldest took it upon himself to do the dishes.

Shen Yu prepared to give Xiao Shushu a bath.

The eldest and second son were not very young and had already learned to bathe themselves.

In Pengcheng in June, the weather was very hot, with temperatures reaching around thirty degrees Celsius every day. If you didn't bathe for a day, your whole body would feel sticky and uncomfortable.

People here bathed almost every day, and children were no exception.

Only after finishing the day's chores and coaxing the children to sleep did Shen Yu have the chance to think about the future.

She calculated the money the original owner had left.

The largest sum was Shi Lei's death compensation of 3,600 yuan.

There was also the 366 yuan the original owner had saved from her usual expenses.

Combined, these two sums totaled 3,966 yuan.

If she didn't buy a house or land and only spent it on food, drink, and entertainment, this amount wouldn't be considered small.

But if she wanted to do something big, this amount was completely insufficient.

For example, the land in their village had already risen in price; it generally went for 200 yuan per square meter, and even if one wanted to sell, it could only be sold to fellow villagers, not to outsiders.

With the small amount of money she had, she couldn't even buy 20 square meters. What could she do with that!

In her space, she had stored quite a lot of gold. Exchanging a small amount would be no problem, but she didn't dare exchange large amounts for fear of being arrested.

Unless she used the black market.

But exchanging large amounts of gold in the black market also carried the risk of being targeted if the amount was too high.

After much thought, Shen Yu felt that the safest way was to bring out and sell the agricultural products and processed goods produced by her farm.

The next day.

After Shen Yu and the three children finished breakfast, her eldest son, Shi Zichen, went to school with his cousins.

She tidied up her things, put the 3,966 yuan left by the original owner into her space, and then took Kang Kang and Xiao Shushu to the old family residence.

She arrived quite early; her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and eldest brother and sister-in-law were still at home.

Shen Yu called out to them one by one, "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sister-in-law..."

Su Chunhong greeted her warmly, "Oh, Xiao Yu is here. Come in and sit down quickly."

Seeing that Shen Yu had brought the children, her mother-in-law, Liang Sanmei, also proactively asked, "Xiao Yu, you came so early, is there something going on?"

Shen Yu said to them with a smile, "I'm thinking of going into town to buy some things in a little while. Could I trouble you, Mom, to look after Kang Kang and Xiao Shu?"

Hearing Shen Yu say she was going into town, Liang Sanmei's brow furrowed slightly. She wanted to ask something, but in the end, she didn't.

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on them. Come back early once you're done with your business."

"Thank you, Mom."

Fearing that if she left, the children would insist on going along, Shen Yu took out a handful of White Rabbit creamy candies to coax her second son and youngest daughter into her mother-in-law's room to play, and only then did she quietly slip away.

Liang Sanmei and Su Chunhong, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, exchanged a look, seeing worry in each other's eyes.

Shen Yu didn't care what they were worried about; right now, she only wanted to seize the time to make money and accumulate capital.

The places with the highest foot traffic in Pengcheng right now were Luohu Railway Station, the bus station, and Dongmen Old Street.

Since the Luohu Railway Station and the Luohu Bus Station were right next to each other, Shen Yu set her first stop for making money right there.