72: The salary was 2,500 yuan, and Cui Guangsheng was shocked.

Returning home, the sky was already sparkling with stars.

As soon as he entered the door, Li Mubai spotted his younger sister, Li Qian, sitting on the sofa, her face full of resentment as she stared at him.

He was about to ask what was wrong when he suddenly remembered that he had promised her that morning he would come home early to make her dinner.

And now it was past seven in the evening.

It was much later than the six o'clock he had promised.

"Have you eaten?"

Li Mubai chuckled, his voice betraying his barely concealed embarrassment.

Li Qian, however, remained silent, just staring at him with quiet resentment.

Li Mubai scratched his head, unsure what to say to gain the Xiao Yatou's forgiveness.

Just then, *rumble*—a hungry stomach growl echoed in the living room.

As soon as the sound rang out, the Xiao Yatou's resentful eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Li Mubai quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Don't cry, don't cry, it's my fault, I apologize to you. Next time, I won't be late again."

The Xiao Yatou threw herself into Li Mubai's arms, large teardrops rolling down her cheeks: "Wuwu… Brother, you… you don't keep your promises… wuwu…"

Li Mubai held her close, gently patting her back, his face full of apology: "Xiao Yatou, don't cry, it's my fault. I'll make you dinner right away."

Only then did he realize that a casual promise or assurance from him meant everything to his sister.

After a while, the Xiao Yatou calmed down, pulling away from Li Mubai's broad chest. Her tears were gone, but her eyes were still a little red.

"Xiao Yatou, wait a moment, I'll go make you dinner."

With that, Li Mubai immediately went to the kitchen and began cooking.

Before long, a large table of dishes appeared on the dining table.

At the dinner table, the Xiao Yatou's face finally showed a smile and contentment.

Watching the Xiao Yatou squinting and enjoying the food, Li Mubai finally let out a long sigh of relief, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

So, this is what it feels like to be a big brother? It feels good…

…

The next day, after dropping the Xiao Yatou off at school, Li Mubai rode his bicycle to the factory.

He didn't linger in the office for long. He organized the documents and then went straight to the workshop where the machine tool was kept.

His working hours were already short, and he had to go home to cook for his sister in the evening.

As a result, the production of core components was even slower.

This meant he couldn't afford to waste time and had to work extra hours.

Before long, the unique rumbling sound of the factory started up. It was time for work, and everyone began a new day.

Here, Li Mubai had just finished making a small part when someone came to the empty workshop to find him.

"Boss, Master Cui has arrived and is waiting for you in the lounge."

The person was Old Xiao.

"Okay, I know, I'll be right there."

Li Mubai carefully put the part away, then picked up the towel draped over his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead and face.

Then he left the workshop and went to the factory lounge.

Pushing open the lounge door, Cui Guangsheng was already waiting inside.

"Apologies, Master Cui, for making you wait."

Li Mubai walked into the room, smiling apologetically.

"I just arrived myself," Cui Guangsheng said with a faint smile.

Immediately after, Li Mubai took out the employment contract he had prepared and handed it to Cui Guangsheng: "Master Cui, this is the employment contract. Please see if there are any issues we can discuss."

Cui Guangsheng took the contract, simply flipped through it a few times, and then turned directly to the last page.

This page was for signing and confirming the contract.

Cui Guangsheng was about to ask Li Mubai for a pen when he suddenly noticed several numbers written prominently in the salary line on the contract: 2500!

He thought he had misread it. He had clearly agreed to a salary of 1500, which was already incredibly high, so how could it possibly be an extra thousand, raising the salary to 2500 yuan?

This salary, even before his retirement, was something he could only dream of, never achieve!

Or rather, no matter how skilled a worker was, it was impossible to reach this salary.

Cui Guangsheng rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked at the contract in his hand again.

2500. It was still the same number.

"Impossible, impossible, I must have misread it. How could a factory that isn't particularly large afford such a high salary?"

"It must be that I couldn't sleep last night, so I'm disoriented and my eyes are blurry. The number 2500 is definitely impossible."

"This factory previously agreed to 1500, which is a salary that's hard to get even with much pleading. How could it possibly increase on top of that?"

He admonished himself silently.

Then he closed his eyes again, took a moment to compose himself, and once more carefully looked at the contract in his hand.

The next moment, he stared wide-eyed, stunned: "This… how is this possible? Even a national-level Fitter couldn't get this salary!"

2500. Looking at the clearly written black numbers on the contract, Cui Guangsheng's eyes showed undisguised shock.

He had looked three times, and it was always the same number, which meant he hadn't misread it at all. The clause in the contract regarding his remuneration was 2500 yuan a month.

"Boss, this… the salary written on the contract is 2500. Did you pick up the wrong contract? You clearly said it was 1500 a month?" he asked, looking at Li Mubai with doubt.

Li Mubai, however, smiled calmly, his tone firm: "It's not the wrong one. I did agree to a remuneration of 1500 before, but your skills clearly deserve a higher salary. If you're satisfied with this remuneration, then sign it. If not, we can still discuss it."

Cui Guangsheng immediately looked grateful, his voice excited: "Satisfied, satisfied, very satisfied. Thank you for your recognition, Boss. I will definitely work hard!"

He was deeply moved in his heart; this was the first time anyone had appreciated him so much. Moreover, a salary of 2500 could truly be called an astronomical figure. Even the academicians in those research institutes might not earn that much. How could he not be happy to receive this salary?

Li Mubai smiled, then handed over the pen.

Cui Guangsheng quickly signed.

Without delay, Li Mubai directly took him to the workshop where he worked, then opened a cabinet, took out a stack of part drawings, and handed them to Cui Guangsheng: "Master Cui, these are the types of parts you need to make, along with various parameters. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."

Cui Guangsheng nodded. Taking the thick drawings, he began to examine them carefully.

While he was still looking at the drawings, Li Mubai turned on the machine tool and began making parts again.

Cui Guangsheng, however, was somewhat bewildered by Li Mubai's actions.

"Is the Boss… going to do it himself?" he wondered.

But then he immediately dismissed the idea. One must know that the processing and manufacturing of parts was not easy at all. It required a long period of accumulation to achieve precision machining. But how old was the Boss? He looked to be only about twenty-four years old. Such a person would still be a Fitter apprentice in a factory. Some might not even be allowed to touch the machine tool. He had just looked at the parameters on the drawings, and they were extremely precise. Even he, an Eight-Grade Fitter, didn't have enough meticulousness to perfectly machine a part in one go. If even he couldn't do it, then how could a young man?