bookcurios Chapter 153 Long-term Worker Contract
Chapter 153 Long-term Worker Contract
Not long after Cheng Yue and her friends returned home, someone came outside the courtyard wall making a lot of noise.
The villagers have been very busy recently, helping Chen Ping harvest wheat and farm, and helping Zhao Luoguo and Er Laizi build a house.
I had just been idle for two days and was worried about having nothing to do, when the village head came to my door and said that Chen An wanted to recruit an apprentice.
They don't have the potential to work in Cheng Yue's shop, but they can't afford to miss out on the hard work.
Although being someone's apprentice means running around like a son and having no freedom for three to five years, they still want it.
After all, carpentry is a craft. As long as you can make a good living, it will be enough to support you for a lifetime. If you work hard to improve yourself, your descendants will probably never have to worry about food.
Just look at Chen An’s father and you will know. If he didn’t have this skill, how could he have built the only brick house in the village and had so much land?
"Nephew Chen An, are you really going to take in an apprentice? Look at my Xiaobai. Even though he is only eight years old, he is the most hardworking. He can work in the fields even better than his father!"
Aunt Li has the loudest voice. As soon as she entered the yard, she began to excitedly recommend her grandson. One must strive for such a good thing!
Cheng Yue looked over and found that he was really white and clean. No wonder he was called Xiaobai. He was indeed completely different from his father Heidan.
But are all the names in Aunt Li's family so casual and descriptive?
The black one is called Heidan, the white one is called Xiaobai...
Chen An responded with a smile: "Aunt Li, I do want to take it in, but it still depends on the child's own wishes, and also whether it is suitable."
Everyone was present, and I said this to Aunt Li and to everyone in the village.
"I understand, I understand. If you can be selected, that would be great. If you can't be selected, we won't say anything!"
Aunt Li said this, but her heart was pounding.
Her son Heidan has no special skills. He either works in the fields or goes out to do odd jobs. The work he does is tiring and hard. She doesn't want her grandson to work hard like this all his life.
There are so many children in the village, it is impossible for Chen An to take in everyone she sees. There are too many wolves and too little meat. Can her Xiaobai do it?
Aunt Li was nervous, and so were the other people in the village. They didn't know what Chen An would choose. After all, it was someone else's business to accept a disciple, and whether to choose or not was a matter of fate.
Chen An coughed lightly and said slowly: "We are all from the same village. I will speak directly if I have something to say. I don't have so many requirements for accepting disciples. You can just treat it as a job recruitment.
But they are all children and have never been exposed to carpentry work. I don’t know how many years it will take them to learn it.
During this period before you finish your studies, I will not charge you any money, and you will not receive any wages either, but you just have to do the work and not be lazy.
Of course, after you finish your studies, I promise you will have work to do and get paid. But I have one requirement, which is that you need to sign a ten-year contract.
It is similar to a long-term labor contract, except that the skills learned cannot be revealed to others during the ten years, and one cannot start one's own business. If the rules are violated, a compensation of one hundred taels must be paid."
In fact, there are many things to pay attention to and rules for accepting disciples, but Chen An and Cheng Yue discussed it specifically and did not want to follow the old rules too much.
In particular, Cheng Yue had a lot of ideas about carpentry. It would be better to say that he was recruiting workers and forming a team of carpenters rather than taking in apprentices.
As their braised food and pastry shops gradually develop, they will have connections, and their woodworking business will naturally flourish as well.
This is Cheng Yue’s own idea, and of course Chen An also agrees with it. Even if the business fails, he is confident that he can get the job.
It’s not easy to find experienced people, so this is the only way.
The advantage is that the relationship is more solid, but of course there are disadvantages as well. It takes a lot of time and energy to teach a group of children.
They are not philanthropists and will not teach everyone skills for free, but they are not black-hearted either. Although they have signed a long-term labor contract, they will ensure that everyone can earn money.
That's why Cheng Yue and Chen An discussed and made this decision. It depends on whether everyone accepts it.
After Chen An finished speaking, the villagers gasped. One of the ladies asked worriedly, "How can we afford to pay this hundred taels?"
Cheng Yue took over the conversation, "If there is no violation of the regulations, then naturally there is no need to compensate. Carpentry is a traditional craft, and we also have risks in teaching it to everyone for free. This is just to give us a guarantee."
The head of the village actually understood what was said. After all, the villagers had gained the upper hand, so he said, "You can only hear the bad things, but you can't hear the good things.
This is called ugly words, as long as you don't make mistakes, there is no need to worry about paying money!"
What a bunch of people who only care about their heads and not their butts, and only care about their butts and not their heads!
"What about ten years later?"
The head of the village glared at them. He thought that everyone was smart enough, so why did they become so confused when something happened?
"Isn't this very clear? It's just ten years!"
Cheng Yue smiled and dissuaded him, "Uncle Lizheng, it's okay. This is a serious matter. It's normal for everyone to ask a few more questions."
The head of the village sighed and gave up.
Chen An went on to say, "The contract will be terminated after ten years. I won't care what you want to do."
After Chen An finished speaking, everyone started discussing.
Aunt Li didn't want to listen to everyone's discussion, and said firmly: "Nephew Chen An, I don't have any ideas, I just want Xiaobai to learn a skill, not like his father running around everywhere.
Don't even mention ten years, even twenty or thirty years, ask him to follow you!"
She didn't think too much about it, it was just an idea.
Chen An taught them in vain. After they finished their studies, he let them work for a few years for nothing. It was nothing. Which master who accepted apprentices outside did not do the same?
Isn't it just a ten-year contract? There's a guarantee of work, so why worry so much?
Everyone understood what Aunt Li said. Ten years is nothing. They are just teenagers. If they spend another ten years after finishing their studies, they will be in their twenties.
They are not afraid of ten years, but they are afraid that after ten years, Chen An will be left with nothing to do. What can they do on their own?
So they all agreed.
Everything that needed to be said had been said in advance, and since everyone had no concerns, Chen An began to select people.
He first asked if anyone was unwilling, and he didn't force them. It was obvious that even the children knew that this was a good thing, and none of them shook their heads.
The next thing is to look at your physical condition. Being a carpenter is a strenuous job, so you must first have a strong body. If you are sick and weak, it will not work.
Although they are all children from farming families and are used to doing farm work, some of them do not have enough food to eat or are born weak.
More than half of the students were eliminated at this stage. The parents of the eliminated children were worried, but they had no choice but to accept it.
As for the remaining people, Chen An wanted to see if they had talent, so he gave them tools and a few pieces of wood. After explaining the purpose and usage of the tools, he asked them to go home and make a small stool and hand it in two days later.
The small stool may look simple, but it is not so easy to make it well. Whether the tenons are strong and whether it is planed smoothly are all matters of the art.
"Tsk! With your ability, you still dare to accept a disciple? Your father didn't dare to accept one even at such an old age, how dare you?
What a bullshit ten-year contract! You are selling yourself like a prostitute! Ouch! Don’t be fooled! "
Just when everyone was about to leave, a very sarcastic voice suddenly came from outside the door.