Chapter 6
The driver Zhang Daming also received an employment offer from Shen Wei.
His current job was mainly driving for the leaders, a temporary position within the system.
Zhang Daming's driving skills were renowned throughout the entire unit.
For those leaders who got carsick, they would ride with Zhang Daming and not feel nauseous.
He drove steadily.
Especially when it came to reverse parking, it was so smooth that it left people in awe.
When he first received the offer, he thought it was a scam. These days, there were too many scams, often touting high salaries.
He didn't take it seriously at all.
He was on duty when his wife called him, telling him to hurry home as there was a major incident!
Since there was no need for a vehicle in the unit, Zhang Daming simply notified the leader.
He was inexplicably anxious, unsure of what this "major incident" his usually composed wife spoke of.
The moment he returned home, he was dumbfounded—the familiar corridor had been splashed with paint.
The fresh red paint looked like blood, a shocking sight.
Zhang Daming's heart tightened. He hadn't offended anyone at work; he was just a driver and hadn't done anything earth-shattering, so why this?
His hands trembled as he took out his keys. As soon as he entered, he saw that his wife's eyes were already red from crying.
"What happened?" Zhang Daming asked.
His wife said nothing, but her chest was heaving up and down.
Zhang Daming felt a tightness in his chest. "Should we call the police?"
"No, we can't call the police!" his wife said trembling.
Finally, she pointed, and Zhang Daming realized that their son, who was supposed to be in school, was kneeling on the floor.
They had strictly adhered to the one-child policy.
This son was their only child, cherished like a treasure.
Although the couple didn't have much money, they had always doted on their son.
The kid was quite promising, having scored over 500 points to get into a second-tier university in the province.
After graduating, finding a job shouldn't be a problem.
But now, seeing his son kneeling on the floor, Zhang Daming's mind went blank. "What happened?"
His son had been crying for who knows how long, his eyes red and lips trembling.
Although his wife was angry, seeing their son like this, she couldn't bear it either. "He owes money from online loans."
Online loans?
"How much does he owe?" Zhang Daming almost shouted.
"800,000 yuan."
Zhang Daming felt lightheaded.
Immediately, his wife and son rushed over to support him. "Daming, don't scare us. You're the pillar of our family. If you can't hold it together, we're all finished."
It took Zhang Daming a long time to recover.
800,000 yuan—a sense of despair welled up inside him.
Their entire life's savings amounted to just 100,000 yuan.
Even if they sold this old house, it would only fetch 300,000 yuan.
With his salary of just over 2,000 yuan per month, and his wife not working, where could they come up with the remaining 400,000 yuan?
Even if they didn't eat or drink, they couldn't earn that much.
Zhang Daming flew into a rage, then took off his belt and mercilessly whipped his son.
His son's cries and his wife's shrieks echoed back and forth.
But Zhang Daming was like an enraged bull. Neither of them could escape.
It wasn't until he was too tired to continue that he finally stopped. Zhang Daming felt drained, as if his vigor had been whipped away. He sat on the floor, his mind fixated on the 800,000 yuan debt.
Their relatives were all in similar financial situations. These days, earning money wasn't easy, and everyone guarded their hard-earned savings more preciously than their own eyes.
If someone tried to take even a small portion of that from them, it would be like taking their life.
Borrowing money was out of the question.
As for exactly how much their son owed, they only found out after a thorough interrogation.
Ever since entering university, their son had let himself go. Add to that the stark wealth disparities among his roommates, with a few wealthy ones.
In order to keep up appearances with these rich classmates, he gradually developed the bad habit of treating others and chasing luxury brands.
But with his parents only giving him 1,500 yuan per month for living expenses, how could he afford such extravagance?
Not to mention that he had also gotten a girlfriend in college, and it was quite convenient to take out loans with the campus card.
Little by little, he had spent over 100,000 yuan.
Later, he became addicted to spending money and borrowed even more from unregulated online lenders.
According to him, he had only borrowed over 300,000 yuan initially.
But when he couldn't pay it back, the interest compounded until it reached over 800,000 yuan.
This time when he returned home, he was initially terrified, but after being beaten by his father, he immediately felt that the matter was resolved.
Zhang Daming and his wife had lived honest, modest lives. Where could they possibly get that much money?
His wife suggested to Zhang Daming, "Why don't you try out that kindergarten that offered you 20,000 yuan per month?"
Previously, they had thought the 20,000 yuan monthly salary offer was a scam.
But now, the pressure of repaying the debt felt like a knife at their throats.
Not to mention the aggressive debt collection efforts from the online lenders.
After all, he was their own child. No matter how fierce the beating, they still felt pity afterward.
Zhang Daming composed himself and finally told his wife, "Here's what we'll do. Let's find a lawyer first and see which debts are legal. For the legal ones, we'll negotiate repayment. As for the illegal ones, we'll forget about suing."
"Keep a close eye on this wretched son. If necessary, have him take a leave of absence from school. We can't let him dig himself into an even deeper hole."
As the head of the household, Zhang Daming had made his decision, and his wife immediately felt a sense of reassurance.
As for Zhang Daming himself, he decided to check out the kindergarten first. If the 20,000 yuan monthly salary was indeed real, he would work there for a few months to earn some quick money before making any other plans.
He then went to report for duty at Starry Sky Kindergarten.
The middle-aged man who received him didn't even conduct an interview—he simply had Zhang Daming sign the employment contract right then and there.
Was it really that casual?
In Zhang Daming's eyes, Starry Sky Kindergarten seemed increasingly like a scam.
But the lure of 20,000 yuan hooked him, so despite his doubts, he had to swallow them.
What if it wasn't a scam?
He resigned from his unit.
As a result, his former leader pulled him aside for a heart-to-heart talk that lasted nearly half an hour.
Seeing that Zhang Daming was determined to resign, the leader had no choice but to reluctantly let him go.
After all, that's how the system worked—no matter how capable you were, you could never earn as much as in the private sector.
While processing his resignation, Liu Master Chef mentioned this incident to Shen Wei, who had just returned from purchasing supplies.
He also felt that the hiring process was a bit too casual. "Are you sure we don't need to do another review?"
"No need," Shen Wei said enigmatically.
These were all people recommended by the system, which had already thoroughly investigated their backgrounds and character.
Anyone who passed the system's verification had at least a guaranteed level of character and ability.
The school bus driver issue was resolved.
The electronic voice in Shen Wei's mind repeated: "Congratulations on recruiting the school bus driver."
"System reward: 20 pounds of beef, 100 eggs, 2 pounds each of vegetables and fruit, 3 cherry seedlings. 1 million yuan cash. 10,000 points."
Shen Wei received a generous reward.
She immediately told Liu Master Chef, "Can you farm?"
Liu Master Chef perked up at the mention of this. "Of course!"
Back when he was a youth sent to the countryside, he had farmed before.
He had even told his wife before: Once we have money, we'll find a piece of land in the countryside and live a good life farming.
Little did he expect that while working here, he would be able to realize that dream early. The two of them found an unoccupied plot of land in a corner.
The area was quite large.
It had been used for growing flowers before, but now it lay vacant. It was a waste to grow flowers there, so they decided to plant vegetables instead.
Liu Master Chef tilled the soil and leveled the land, finally preparing a large plot. After sowing the seeds, Shen Wei planted the three cherry seedlings, as well as the tomato seeds rewarded by the system.
In the vegetable garden, Liu Master Chef was more attentive than anyone else.
He almost wanted to water the plants three times a day.
Now he could feel the benefits of working at the kindergarten—he had ample free time.
Getting paid to live a pastoral lifestyle—who would believe it if he told them?