"Let's...just try to find another way to make a living. I'm sure we can do something else." Zhang Jing'an said worriedly.
Fang Yun said, "The porters at the wharf post only recruit those over 16 years old, so you can't do it. The workshops only recruit skilled workers, and you have no experience, so you can't do it either. If you run a small business on your own, you can't even make wontons. Even if you can, are your wontons better than others? How can you have the courage to say such things when you don't even have a skill?"
Fang Yun looked down at Zhang Jing'an, his eyes seemed colder than the winter wind.
"I… "
Fang Yun said: "It doesn't matter, you can continue to starve, and I can continue to accompany you to look for it. You are very lucky, you are not sick or in trouble, you don't need to support anyone, and no one in your family needs you to save their lives."
Zhang Jing'an's stomach rumbled even louder.
"I'll do it!" Zhang Jing'an said gritting his teeth.
"Very good, we'll go now. If we're late, someone might get there first." Fang Yun immediately found the broker, paid a hundred coins, took the note with the address on it, and walked out.
"We'll each take half of the hundred coins. From now on, you'll pay me two coins every day until I pay you off." Fang Yun said.
"Stingy!" Zhang Jing'an whispered.
The two men braved the wind and snow and hurried to Xinming Street. They saw the beginning of this area in an old house and learned the reason for the recruitment.
Winter is different from other seasons. It is cold and people work slowly, and a lot of garbage will freeze, so it is very difficult to deal with it. The couple in charge of the Xinming Street area is a couple, but the woman is sick and recuperating at home, so there is only one man left, so they will recruit temporary workers. If they do a good job, they will consider turning them into permanent workers.
"The wages are paid daily, no matter how many people there are. If you work on the entire street, you can get 20 cents a day. In winter, the amount is increased to 25 cents. I will only give you 25 cents. You and Lao Guo can discuss how to divide the money. I will not interfere with other matters. Remember, if you do not do a good job, you will be deducted money. If you cause trouble, we will not help you. Collect feces in the morning and garbage in the afternoon. We do not care what you do the rest of the time..."
After quickly explaining some work requirements, Qingjiaotou wrote a document, and both parties signed and sealed it, then he asked Fang Yun and the others to go find Lao Guo.
The two left the warm house and went out again. Soon they saw a large ox cart at the back door of a house on Xinming Street. However, it was not pulled by oxen or horses, but by a man in his fifties, who was tied with a rope and moved forward with great effort.
The two walked over quickly. Fang Yun took a look at Lao Guo, who was wrapped up tightly. His fur coat, fur, and leather boots were all patched and stained, some of which were even shiny with dirt.
When they got closer, Fang Yun put his hand on the left shaft and pulled it forward, and Zhang Jing'an immediately ran to the right shaft.
Old Guo raised his head, his face covered with snow and wind, and looked at Fang Yun with a blank look. After a long while, there was a little light in his eyes.
The winter breath seemed to block out the light in his eyes.
Fang Yun went straight to the point: "My father and I are here as temporary workers, and we will be responsible for Xinming Street together with you." As Fang Yun spoke, he took out the document that he was working on.
A hint of vigilance flashed across Lao Guo's eyes, and he looked at Fang Yun carefully. He nodded slightly, opened his cracked lips, and said with difficulty: "You two have never done this business, right?"
"It's our first time, but don't worry, we'll do whatever you say. In the first three days, we'll only take ten cents and you'll take fifteen cents. Once we get familiar with each other, we'll discuss a new way to split the money so that you won't suffer any loss. What do you think?" Fang Yun said with a smile.
"Okay! Help me finish today's work quickly. It will be more difficult if you delay it till night." said Lao Guo.
"Okay. Jing'an, work harder! If you don't use your strength, don't even think about getting the money!" Fang Yun grabbed a rope and pulled the cart, but he only used the strength of an ordinary man.
"Yes!" Zhang Jing'an agreed and pulled the cart hard.
Both of their hands were exposed. Fang Yun's hands remained unchanged, but Zhang Jing'an's two little hands soon turned red from the cold.
Zhang Jing'an only felt a piercing pain in his hands, and at the same time felt numb, but he did not dare to let go.
If you let go, your wages will definitely be deducted.
Zhang Jing'an secretly glanced at "Zhang Longxiang" and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.
Jingzhou City learned from the cities in Shengyuan Continent and had a good sewage system. Sewage could flow into the Yangtze River outside the city through pipes built by underground workers, but a lot of debris remained in the sewage tanks, and some debris was piled at the back door and had to be handled by Qiangjiaotou.
The three of them pulled the cart to the back door of the next house, where there was a sewage trough shared by several families nearby. Lao Guo picked up a shovel and said, "The sewage trough will be frozen in winter, and we have to clean the dirt on it and shovel away the broken ice every day. It sounds easy, but it is actually very troublesome and requires a lot of strength. It can even make your palms bleed, and your hands will be sore the next day."
Fang Yun reached out and grabbed the shovel, and said with a smile: "Since this is the most troublesome job, let me do it, but you have to give me an extra three cents a day."
"No. I can give you one cent at most." Lao Guo held the shovel tightly.
"Let's each take a step back and give each other two cents." Fang Yun said.
"Deal!" Old Guo smiled and let go of the shovel, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. As he got older, the frequent shoveling of ice became a bit too much for him.
Fang Yun picked up a shovel and shoveled hard at the ice near the sewage trough.
With just a glance, Fang Yun knew where the ice was the brittlest and how much to shovel at a time. With strength comparable to that of a demon lord, shoveling ice was not much different from shoveling sand for him.
"What a great strength!" Lao Guo was a connoisseur and couldn't help but admire.
Zhang Jing'an picked up another shovel and tried to push away the broken ice.
Lao Guo said, "There are some vegetable leaves and the like in there. Pick them out and put them in the first bucket. They will be made into feed and sold to pig farmers and chicken farmers. Can you do it? Here are the gloves."
Zhang Jing'an looked at Old Guo who was panting, nodded, reached out to take the gloves, and picked out vegetable leaves from the crushed ice.
"Put the edible things for the livestock in the first bucket. Put the inedible things in the second bucket. There is other garbage in other places, such as wood chips that can be burned, which are placed in the third bucket. The things that can be burned are not valuable, so we can take them home, but they are rare, so most people burn them themselves. If there are good cloths, put them in the fourth bucket... Most of these have to be handed in. Of course, if the owner of the house feels sorry for us, the things we give away will be considered ours." There was a sly flash in Lao Guo's eyes, and then he patted his worn leather jacket.
Fang Yun and Zhang Jing'an smiled slightly. This old Guo is a nice person.
Fang Yun took a look at the clothes, hat and shoes on Lao Guo, and it seemed that they were all "given" by others.
Winter nights come early, and by dark they still have one-fifth of the streets to clean, so they have to continue cleaning at night.
Cleaning up all the garbage was not the end of the job, because the three of them had to pull the cart to take the garbage to a faraway place, which took two hours round trip. Finally, they parked the cart where Qingjiaotou lived.
"Meet at Xinming Street at six o'clock tomorrow morning, don't forget!" Lao Guo waved his hand and his figure disappeared in the wind and snow.
.(To be continued.)
...