Chapter 147: Arrangements

On the way back, Cao Feng and Cao Yu kept expressing their amazement. Clearly, they hadn't expected that Li Dong would have his own car.

They didn't know much about Li Dong or his family. The reason for their visit to Pingchuan was the twenty thousand yuan sent by their aunt. Twenty thousand yuan was not a small amount, and it indicated that the Li family must have done well.

Originally, they thought "doing well" meant living comfortably. But now, they seemed to have underestimated the Li family. Even Li Dong, who was just a college student, had a car, which showed that the Li family was indeed wealthy.

---

Upon returning to Wanyuan, Cao Feng and Cao Yu were even more shocked.

Cao Yu asked hesitantly, "Little cousin, are Aunt and Uncle at home?"

Li Dong helped them with their luggage and smiled, "It's just me here. My parents are still in Dongping."

"You live alone?" Cao Yu couldn't believe it.

Such a big house, and Li Dong was living alone. It seemed like such a waste if they were so wealthy.

Cao Feng didn't say anything, but his expression showed that he was equally stunned.

Seeing this, Li Dong realized that their situation wasn't great. Otherwise, this house, though nice, wouldn't have surprised them so much.

He invited them to sit down and went to the kitchen to make tea.

As soon as Li Dong left, Cao Yu excitedly started looking around and whispered to Cao Feng, "Brother, we made the right choice coming here."

Cao Feng, smiling awkwardly, said, "I'm just worried that Aunt isn't here, and that Dongzi might not help us."

Hearing this, Cao Yu also became anxious.

They didn't have much relationship with Li Dong. If Cao Fang were here, at least she was their aunt and would probably be more considerate.

But at this point, there was no use discussing it further. They could only wait nervously.

---

Since it was their first meeting, Li Dong didn't have much to say. They mostly talked about the situation with their grandmother, like how many people were in the family, their health, and how things were going…

After some conversation, Li Dong finally understood the situation.

Cao Fang had four siblings, making a total of five. Cao Fang was the youngest, with two older brothers and two older sisters.

Cao Feng was the eldest, the son of Li Dong's eldest uncle. Cao Yu was the daughter of Li Dong's second uncle.

Originally, they worked in the county town of their hometown. However, Cao Feng had gotten into trouble and injured several people. Unable to pay for medical expenses, he had to run away.

The family was worried about him going alone, so Cao Yu came along. They also remembered that Cao Fang had sent money earlier, which meant they must have prospered.

They didn't have any contacts elsewhere, so the Cao siblings decided to come directly to Pingchuan.

Understanding this, Li Dong revised his opinion of Cao Feng. He had thought Cao Feng was an honest person, but it turned out he was quite reckless, which wasn't a good sign.

To avoid misunderstanding, Cao Yu added, "Brother Feng didn't hit people intentionally. He was acting in defense. Those people were trying to harass a girl late at night, and Brother Feng acted only because he encountered them."

She continued indignantly, "But since they had connections in the police station, Brother Feng still had to pay for the medical expenses in the end."

Li Dong glanced at Cao Feng, who was smiling foolishly, and felt that Cao Yu's account was likely true.

If he was acting to help, it meant he probably wasn't a bad person. As for injuring a few people, in Li Dong's view, it wasn't a big deal.

As they chatted, Cao Feng and Cao Yu brought up the topic of work.

They hadn't brought much money with them, and Cao Yu exchanged glances with Cao Feng, signaling him.

Cao Feng hesitated for a while before saying, "Dongzi, could you help us find a job?"

"So urgent?"

Li Dong suggested, "How about I show you around Pingchuan for a few days first? We can look for a job later."

Cao Yu quickly said, "No need for that. There's always time to have fun. Cousin, please help us find jobs first."

Seeing their urgency, Li Dong didn't insist. He was indeed very busy lately. With Sun Tao on leave, the company's restructuring, and the opening in Fucheng…

He was overwhelmed with tasks, and even coming to pick them up was a rare break in his schedule.

Li Dong regretted letting Sun Tao take a vacation. With him gone, Li Dong was exhausted and disoriented.

Seeing that Cao Feng and Cao Yu were truly anxious, Li Dong asked, "Do you have any specific job requirements?"

Cao Feng quickly said, "No specific requirements. We can do anything as long as it's enough to support ourselves."

Supporting oneself is neither particularly hard nor particularly easy. It depends on how you plan to do it. In Pingchuan, 500 yuan a month might be enough, but 5,000 yuan also might be sufficient. Answering this question wasn't very helpful.

Anyway, since his mother asked, Li Dong couldn't just let them do manual labor.

After a brief pause, Li Dong asked, "Cousin Yu, would you be willing to work as a cashier?"

He wasn't planning to place them in the Yuanfang company right away. Even though they were relatives, he didn't know them well enough and needed to assess their capabilities first.

Cao Yu hesitated a bit but then explained, "I've never worked as a cashier before. I'm afraid I might not do well."

"If you're willing to do it, it's fine. You can learn. It's quite simple," Li Dong said, adding, "The starting salary is 1,500 yuan a month. Once you get the hang of it, the salary will increase."

When Cao Yu heard the 1,500 yuan a month salary, her eyes lit up. In her hometown county, she only earned 600 yuan a month, so this was more than double.

She quickly agreed, forgetting about her previous hesitations.

Li Dong then turned to Cao Feng, who was eagerly waiting. To be honest, Cao Yu was relatively easy to arrange, but Cao Feng was trickier.

There weren't many suitable jobs for him at Yuanfang. Security guard was an option, but would Cao Feng be willing to take that?

Moreover, being a security guard didn't offer much career advancement. As a relative, it wouldn't be right to confine him to such a role for life.

After some hesitation, Li Dong said, "Cousin Feng, I have two options for you. First, become a security guard with a salary of 2,000 yuan a month. However, that's about all the advancement you'll see, maybe a supervisor role, but it won't offer much learning opportunity."

Before Li Dong finished speaking, Cao Feng's eyes widened.

2,000 yuan a month didn't seem to him like a job without prospects. He had only earned 800 yuan a month before, so this would be like earning for almost three months.

Moreover, security work was relatively easy to get.

Just as he was about to respond, Cao Yu quickly gave him a signal.

Cao Feng, though honest, wasn't stupid. He understood Cao Yu's hint that Li Dong might offer something better.

"The second option is to become an apprentice. You would start in the procurement department for a few months and then move to market operations. This job is more demanding than being a security guard and the initial salary might not be as high. However, if you get skilled, there will be greater opportunities for advancement compared to being a security guard. It's up to you to choose."

Li Dong didn't mention that the market manager at Yuanfang could earn at least 100,000 yuan a year.

If Cao Feng had the skills, Li Dong wouldn't hesitate to promote him.

He didn't intend to turn Yuanfang into a family business, but if a relative was capable and aligned with his goals, Li Dong wouldn't mind giving them a high position.

After hearing Li Dong, Cao Feng fell into deep thought and was unsure how to decide.

Cao Yu, growing impatient, said, "There's no need to choose. Brother Feng should become an apprentice. A man can't have a future if he spends his whole life as a security guard."

For a young man in his twenties, being a security guard for life wasn't a good prospect.

Li Dong glanced at Cao Feng, who eventually came to his decision and nodded, "I'll go for the apprenticeship."

"Alright, I'll arrange everything for you tomorrow."

After chatting for a while longer, Li Dong noticed they were tired and suggested they rest.