Before long, it was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the factory had closed for the holiday. On the day the holiday began, they settled the salaries; fifteen yuan was the base wage, and they gave him an extra five yuan for overtime, ten jin of food stamps, and one jin of meat tickets. This was because he had worked a lot of overtime before the end of the year, earning these benefits. To work overtime, he would get off work at six, hurry home to cook, have dinner, and come back to work by seven-thirty, not finishing until ten at night.
Delivering vegetables to others was done hurriedly after dinner, rushing with the bamboo basket on his back. He was pressed for time, running to and from on a half-hour journey in just fifteen minutes. That's how he saved time, and how he made money.
He hadn't told anyone where he lived, so as soon as he got the money, he immediately climbed over the side wall and left, not giving anyone outside the chance to stop him.
