Jiang Tian had never thought of recruiting apprentices from schools, especially junior high schools. Wouldn’t that be child labor?

But He Chunling's words changed her mind.

He Chunling returned to school after the Chinese New Year. She had excellent grades and was a top student that her class teacher focused on cultivating.

However, not every girl is so lucky that she has good grades and her parents are willing to spend money to send her to school.

He Chunling came to see Jiang Tian, ​​and at first she wanted to ask her for a favor, to find a job for her classmate's sister.

This classmate's sister graduated from the third year of junior high school this year. Because her grades were more than ten points short of the mark, she failed to get into high school, so her family wanted her to find a husband as soon as possible.

"My classmate's sister is very capable. Usually at home, they work in the fields, grow vegetables, raise pigs, wash clothes and cook. These two sisters do all the work."

"But their family conditions were too poor. The whole family was crowded into two dilapidated thatched houses. I went to their house and saw that the thatched houses were made of adobe. The back wall was about to collapse, and it was propped up with two pieces of wood. It looked scary."

"She had already accepted her fate and thought she might as well get married so that she could get some money for her family to build a house. Tiantian, I just heard that your rice dumpling factory is hiring, right?"

"She said that she knew she was not old enough to work in the factory, and she wanted you to help her get half the salary."

"She wants to go out and see the world. She doesn't want to get married at such a young age and work like a slave for someone else..."

He Chunling's words almost brought tears to Jiang Tian's eyes.

However, Jiang Tian also knew that if the rice dumpling factory wanted to do legitimate business, it could not skirt the law or do anything illegal.

Thinking about what she had often heard from bloggers about vocational high schools and technical schools in her previous life, Jiang Tian calmed down and spent two days making a "Plan for Recruiting On-the-job Training Apprentices" and went to the town to find Mayor Han.

Han Sishu was shocked after reading the plan and asked Jiang Tian why she would think of spending money to do this.

You know, with the current performance and salary of the rice dumpling factory, even if it is recruiting formal workers who meet the age requirements, there will be a large number of people willing to compete for the jobs.

There is absolutely no need to spend so much time and energy to train a group of apprentices who are not yet adults.

Although the plan states that apprentices do not receive piece-rate wages, they only receive a monthly living allowance.

However, in the 1980s when labor was very cheap, no factory would do this loss-making business.

Jiang Tian's expression was a little bitter, and her tone was a little heavy -

"I know that many people will say that I am stupid and that I don't know how to do business."

"But Uncle Han, you don't know that there are very few options for girls my age in the countryside."

"I didn't think about anything else, I just wanted to find a new path for them. I wanted to tell girls like me who don't do well in school that they shouldn't be afraid if they can't get into high school. Besides getting married, we really can have other paths to choose from."

"I know that employing child labor is wrong, but these girls will indeed take another two or three years to reach the age of 18. But should we let them sacrifice their entire lives just because of these two or three years?"

"Why should I go home and wait to get married and earn dowry for my parents just because I can't get into high school? I don't accept that!"

"If the family feels that it costs money to raise a girl and needs to recoup the cost, then we can earn money ourselves and return the money to the family. Why do we have to force them to get married?"

Han Sishu didn't know how to answer Jiang Tian's question.

Because the problems she raised are exactly the most common and deep-rooted problems in rural areas of this era.

It is also a phenomenon that cannot be changed in the current social environment.

This is a vicious cycle.

Families with boys waiting to get married but who have no money can only marry off their daughters in exchange for a dowry to help their sons get married.

In order to raise the bride price, the family who married the girl had to marry off their daughter.

In and out, in the end, the only ones who got hurt were the girls from the two families.

But what's wrong with girls?

Just because they are girls, do they deserve to be sold off like valuable goods by their families?

Is it really true that there is no other way to go?

etc!

Perhaps, the plan mentioned by Jiang Tian is indeed feasible.

Aren’t those families who are in a hurry to marry off their daughters because they are short of money?

If these girls can find jobs and earn money for their families, do they not have to get married so early?

"Okay, let's hold a meeting to discuss this matter first." Han Sishu finally nodded and agreed to give it a try on behalf of Jiang Tian.

Two days later, Jiang Tian was invited to the town again.

This time, Han Sishu brought her good news: the town had preliminarily agreed to conduct a pilot program at the rice dumpling factory, allowing them to recruit some apprentices under the age of eighteen to learn skills on the job first, and after they completed their studies and passed the factory's assessment, they could be converted to regular employees when they were eighteen years old.

In fact, this is the routine of many technical schools in later generations. First, they recruit students and let them study cultural courses for half a year. Later, they are basically sent directly to the factory, which is called "internship". In fact, they are trained for free by using the factory equipment. Later, it simply became an unspoken rule for the exchange of interests between enterprises and schools. Ahem~

If this were to be said out loud, it would affect the interests of many people, and Jiang Tian had no intention of being the first to do so.

However, the town also made several requests:

First, apprentices for the rice dumpling factory must be selected from recent graduates of the township middle school.

Second, not only girls but boys can sign up, so don’t discriminate on the basis of gender.

Third, recruiting students is allowed, but the consent of the students' parents must be obtained. If the parents are dissatisfied with the recruitment and make a fuss at the factory or town, they will not be responsible, and Jiang Tian will have to settle the matter herself.

Han Sishu originally thought that the last condition would scare Jiang Tian away.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, all the third-year junior high school graduates in Shuangfeng Town, who had not been admitted to high school and had no conditions to repeat their studies, rushed to the rice dumpling factory to sign up.

Even the parents of the female students, who Han Sishu was most worried about, ran away faster than the other, as if gold had fallen from the sky.

How did Jiang Tian do it?

Han Sishu couldn't help but become curious.

This is not difficult to find out.

Han Sishu followed the crowd and strolled to the entrance of "Xiangjun Supermarket". He sat on a small bench and listened to the gossip for a while. Then he knew why these people suddenly didn't want to marry their daughters off so early.

Money can move people’s hearts!

This devilish girl Jiang Tian just settled accounts with the parents of these girls and pulled this group of people to her side.