Chapter 177

Well, Xia Juhua had figured it out. Reporter Zhang was going to push her to the limit today. She felt it was time for her to give up the struggle.

There was no point in not giving up. Once they entered the hot and sour noodle factory, the three reporters, two ministers and their entourage randomly asked questions to any worker. Everyone unconsciously shifted the topic to Xia Juhua, and talked about how she led everyone to build the noodle factory from scratch, and described it in detail.

The pride and identification in the tone made Xia Juhua, who was listening, wanted to find a hole to crawl into: I know you like to flatter people, but you say nice things and compliments to people in person for free, without considering the feelings of the person concerned?

No one at the scene paid attention to Xia Juhua's feelings. Reporter Zhang kept taking pictures of the workers, the machines, the vermicelli coming out of the pot, the dough balls being formed, and the smooth packaging line. Most of the shots were directed at Xia Juhua, with Xia Juhua pointing at the vermicelli factory sign, looking down at the production line, and laughing with the workers... He wanted to bring vivid pictures to those who questioned his choice of topic.

The reporters brought by the two deputy ministers were also busy, with their cameras clicking non-stop, just from different angles: they had received instructions from the two leaders to report on the Ping An Zhuang Brigade from all angles and all the changes before and after it smashed the criminal group.

The two leaders have communicated that they will simultaneously establish the Pinganzhuang Brigade as a model. This is a model for the development of production in Pingde County and even the Chengping region. It must be established, immediately, and firmly.

The two ministers made the decision after hearing the workers' introduction that Xia Juhua, against all odds, decided to supply the troops with hot and sour rice noodle, charging only 0.15 cents for each bag of processing fee and selling it to the outside world at 0.40 yuan.

In the face of huge profits, he was not tempted and was dedicated to ensuring the needs of the troops. Such a model is not solid. Will it allow those false and empty models to prevail? The criminal group has been destroyed for three years. It is time for the peaceful region to have a collective model of thriving after the destruction of the criminal group.

That's right, unlike the military newspaper's attempt to establish Lixia Juhua as an individual model, the region and the county all wanted to establish Ping'anzhuang Brigade as a collective model. Because the propaganda of this era still believes that collective power is greater than individual power, and that only a heroic collective can breed great individuals. They subconsciously ignore the role of individual personality charm in driving the collective.

Xia Juhua had no objection to this. Relatively speaking, she was more willing to accept the collective model set by the region and the county: her goal was to quietly earn some money, invest it in the agricultural and trade market that would soon be built in Qiweidong, and live a peaceful and comfortable life in the future.

Although it seems that she is getting further and further away from her goal now, she still hopes that after taking over the whole contract, everything will return to the track she wants.

The minister and the journalists on the other side, although with different goals, were surprisingly excited: there were too many attractions in Ping'an Village, not to mention the two food factories that provided strong support to the troops at the front, there was also the weaving factory that had not yet been seen and was the first to create foreign exchange for the country, which also sounded like there was room for development.

In addition to the weaving factory, the development of Pinganzhuang's sideline business also surprised them. After visiting the members, they found that their understanding was not accurate. The number of chickens raised by each member of Pinganzhuang brigade was not 30 at all, but more than 50. The only one who did not exceed this number was the brigade leader Xia Juhua herself.

The leaders selectively ignored the whereabouts of the extra chickens and were concerned about why Xia Juhua did the same as the other members and raised more chickens. Wouldn't that increase her personal income?

When asked why she only raised 30 chickens, Xia Juhua wanted to laugh: Although the quota for raising chickens has been relaxed, the average production team member raises more than a dozen chickens a day, which is considered brave in a production team. When she arrived in Ping'an Village, she raised 30 chickens, which turned out to be "only raising 30 chickens". What a sharp contrast.

Funny as it is, she still had to answer the question raised by others: "It was me who proposed to the members to help the brigade raise children and develop side businesses, so I can't use my job as an excuse to separate myself from the members, so the quota must be enough to support them."

Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement with her idea of ​​raising chickens with a quota, Xia Juhua changed the subject and said, "But my energy is really limited. I don't have the ability to raise chickens above the quota. So I only raise 30 chickens a year to ensure the number I hand over to the purchasing station. I have a subsidy from the team leader, so I don't care whether the income increases or not."

Listen, what a noble character this is. Reporters and ministers have heard from members that Xia Juhua is concerned about every aspect of Ping An Village. Under such heavy workload, in order to stay in harmony with the members, Xia Juhua actually sacrificed her few rest time and always shared the joys and sorrows with the members. If we don't promote such a person, who else should we promote?

The two ministers discussed quietly and decided to highlight Xia Juhua's image when promoting the group - those who were in charge of publicity knew that a train can only run fast if it is led by the locomotive. Ping An Village had achieved such great success, and the role of Comrade Xia Juhua as the locomotive could not be ignored.

No one in the group noticed that the distance between the production teams of Ping'anzhuang Brigade was far. They let the jeep follow slowly behind them, walking leisurely on the flat and wide village road.

"If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed anyone who told me this was just a village road." The acting deputy minister stomped his feet as he walked, "This is a smooth road, much better than the roads in Pingde County, Deputy Minister Li."

Deputy Minister Li looked a little disappointed, but he forced a smile and said, "This is all because the members of Ping An Village have a high level of awareness. I don't think people in the county can use all their assets to raise funds."

Xia Juhua dared not admit this, or she would have offended in Pingde County: "Minister Li is too serious. This road is not only the result of the fundraising of Pingan Village members, but also the asphalt coordinated by the army leaders for us. This alone has saved us everyone a lot of funds, so that we can build the village roads between the production teams while building the highway to the county."

Reporter Zhang said hurriedly: "Captain Xia, you are exaggerating. The army leaders have always been very grateful to Ping An Village for supporting the army. The hot and sour rice noodles and instant noodles you support the army earn more than 20 cents less per bag than selling them to outsiders. In a year, it is much more than the asphalt."

Although this is true, there is no need to bring it up now. Xia Juhua looked at reporter Zhang with some resentment, thinking that he was causing trouble for her. Reporter Zhang smiled silently: Why can't good comrades promote it, but have to make silent contributions? Only when such comrades promote it more can they lead other comrades to learn and make progress together.

Soon, we arrived at the Pinganzhuang production team and found that the streets here were cleaner than those of the three production teams we had passed. The ditches on the roadside had been dug. Although there was some soil piled up by the ditches, members would push carts to transport the soil away from time to time.

As soon as the small cart in front pushed the soil away, an elderly man or woman would come out of the yard and sweep the mud on the road with a broom, leaving no trace of the soil pile.

Deputy Minister Li also had to sigh: "The members of Ping'an Village all love their village very much."

Xia Juhua agrees with this: "We all live together in the village. If we see dirt on a daily basis, you sweep it and I shovel it. It doesn't take much effort. But if we pretend not to see it and no one does anything, it will be much more troublesome when everyone wants to clean up together."

This is the truth, but there are very few people or villages who can do it. The minister and the reporters looked at Xia Juhua with a different look. They all had an idea in their minds that this was the truth, and Xia Juhua must have instilled it into the members.

While thinking, the deputy director exclaimed: "Captain Xia, why do the houses on the east and west ends of your village look quite different to me?"

It would be strange if it wasn't big. Xia Juhua calmly explained to the leaders: “The residential land we have allocated in the past two years is concentrated in the west of the village. The east of the village is full of old houses.”

So that's how it is. The deputy minister quietly gently, and walked towards the west of the village, comparing the difference between the houses on the east and west sides. This comparison made him even more shocked: "You have built a lot of new houses in the past two years." And they are all brick and tile houses.

Xia Juhua's heart was once again filled with an irrepressible sense of pride: "Yes. Compared with the other four production teams, Ping'anzhuang Production Team has the income from the weaving factory, and the members get more dividends. Everyone has more money, so they want to live better. I thought that since everyone wants to build a new house, we might as well build it as uniform, neat, and complete in facilities as possible."

Well, in an era when most rural areas were still worried about building a mud-brick yard, Captain Xia was indeed not an ordinary person to come up with these three points. Apart from other things, farmers often regard building a new house as their lifelong pursuit. Some families even build a new yard after several generations, so they naturally have their own ideas and plans.

But the well-regulated brick houses standing tall at the west end of Ping'an Village told the Minister and the reporters that the three points Xia Juhua mentioned were implemented exactly by the members of Ping'an Village. What a strong organizational ability and appeal!

"Captain Xia, which yard is yours? Let's go and identify the door. The acting deputy minister must be tired from walking, so let's sit in your house for a while." Reporter Zhang suggested. He wanted to capture the yard where Xia Juhua lived in the camera as well, to show people every detail of Xia Juhua.

Unexpectedly, Xia Juhua looked back and said, "You are going to my house. We have already passed it." Now they were almost to the west of the village, dozens of meters away from Xia Juhua's house.

Reporter Xie couldn't help asking: "Captain Xia, why doesn't your family have a brick and tile house? Is it because all the money was raised to build roads?" If that's the case, that would be great, and it would be another good example of Comrade Xia Juhua's selfless dedication.

Unfortunately, Xia Juhua had no experience cooperating with reporters and told the truth: "It's not that I don't have enough money. You know my two sons have moved to the city, and I'm the only one at home. What house I live in is just a matter of sleeping. When I don't have to take care of the brigade's affairs anymore, it won't be too late to build a house."

Reporter Xie and Reporter Lin both shook their heads in regret. Only Reporter Zhang asked, "Captain Xia, aren't you afraid that if you don't build a new house, people will think you are just seeking fame?"

"What?" Xia Juhua had never heard of this word and didn't know what it meant. After listening to reporter Zhang's explanation, she laughed: "I am just a team leader, not a state cadre. Why do I need a good reputation? If the members trust me, I will continue to be the team leader. If they don't trust me, I will just quit." She really didn't want to be the team leader anymore, which was exactly what she wanted.

Everyone was stunned again after hearing this. They all knew that Xia Juhua said this from the bottom of her heart.

"If you don't want to be the team leader, what will we old people do?" An old voice suddenly interrupted, and an old lady looked at Xia Juhua angrily, holding a half-sewn insole in her hand.

Xia Juhua said with a smile: "Seventh Grandma, why did you come out in such a cold weather? Today, the leader came to inspect our brigade, and I said that. Don't worry, even if I am no longer the brigade leader, whoever takes over will not let you old people down."

The Acting Deputy Minister and others saw Xia Juhua being so cautious for the first time, and couldn't help asking: "Who is this..." Could it be Captain Xia's mother-in-law? But shouldn't she be supporting her mother-in-law herself? How could there be a matter of the next captain?

Grandma Qi pursed her lips and introduced herself to the Deputy Minister and others, saying, "I am a five-guarantee household in the Ping'an Village production team. Ever since Juhua became the production team leader, she has been taking good care of us five-guarantee households. The food rations are the same as those for everyone else. They also built a nursing home for us and gave us pocket money at the end of the year. We also keep the money for raising chickens ourselves. Tell me, if such a good person doesn't become the team leader, who will be the team leader?"

Pingan Village is just a brigade, but they actually built a nursing home? The acting deputy minister felt that his knowledge was refreshed again. He looked at Qi Nai and asked, "Where is your nursing home built? How many people are there? Do all the five-guarantee households in the brigade live here?"

Grandma Qi looked at Xia Juhua. The deputy minister thought she was waiting for Xia Juhua's signal, so she looked at Xia Juhua with inquiry again. Unexpectedly, Grandma Qi glared at Xia Juhua and said:

"Our nursing home does not belong to the Ping'an Village Brigade, but to our Ping'an Village Production Team. Now it's just me and Old Dong. I've told you that we won't live for many more years, so we have to live in our old house. You said you had to spend that much money to build a new yard for us. With that money, you can build a brick and tile house yourself, so that Zhiquan and his brothers won't worry about you and always want to take you to the city."

It turned out that the nursing home was newly built, and it was built by the Ping'an Village production team alone. The acting deputy minister and his entourage had no time to visit other member families, and followed the chattering Seventh Grandma to the door of the nursing home.

The sign had been there for a while, but Seventh Grandma kept it clean every day, making people wonder if it was newly put up for inspection. But when they entered the yard, this doubt was immediately dispelled: there was a table standing in the sunny part of the yard, and a newly made gown was neatly pasted on the tabletop.

Xia Juhua couldn't help but say, "Seventh Aunt, didn't I tell you that you can use these rooms as you like? Just light a fire in any room and it will be dried in a day. Why bother hanging it outside?"

Grandma Seven continued to glare at Xia Juhua in dissatisfaction: "You can't waste firewood when making a fire. The firewood was carried by everyone, so we should save it if we can. They have been rushing to place orders for fairy branches these days, so we won't need the jacket for a while, so we can dry it slowly."

Although she was glaring at Xia Juhua and her words were not polite, the Deputy Minister and the others felt that the two were very close, and Qi Nai's complaints were a bit like coquettishness towards Xia Juhua.

It seems a little weird to think about it, but this feeling won't go away.

Uncle Dong, who had just left the house after hearing the commotion, also said to Xia Juhua, "Juhua, tell them to stop sending us things. I can still carry the firewood, and the eggs that Grandma Seven's chickens lay are enough for both of us to eat."

Xia Juhua pretended not to hear anything and introduced Grandma Qi and Uncle Dong to the Deputy Minister and his party. When Uncle Dong heard that the visitors were leaders from the county and the region, he rubbed his nose:

"I never dreamed that I could live in a house like this. In the old society, people like me would die without a burial. But look at the house I live in now. The food, clothes, and daily necessities are better than those of people with children."

Xia Juhua wanted to refute his words: "You eat ..."

"Shut up right there." Uncle Dong interrupted Xia Juhua rudely, "You don't let me tell you what you did every day. Do you want to suffocate me to death? People do bad things and are afraid of being known. Why don't you let me tell you when you do good things?"

Well, this old man has lived in the nursing home for a few days and his temper has grown. The deputy minister and others found that Xia Juhua was also unable to deal with Uncle Dong, so they couldn't help but ask Uncle Dong about the changes in Ping'an Village.

Uncle Dong usually has nothing to do, so he just walks around the village. He keeps the changes of Ping An Village in his mind: "If there were no chrysanthemums, we in Ping An Village would have to dig canals in the winter and carry river water in the summer to fight drought. How could we live such a good life?"

"We all did this together, why do you always blame me?" Xia Juhua yelled at Uncle Dong, but was scared back by his glare.

After looking around the yard, the Acting Deputy Minister went into the house to see where Uncle Dong and Grandma Qi lived. He found that although it was cold outside, the house was so warm that it made people sweat. He couldn't help but extend his hand to Xia Juhua.

As soon as Xia Juhua's hand touched his, the acting deputy minister said, "Comrade Xia Juhua, what you have done makes us, the leading cadres, feel guilty."

Xia Juhua let go of his hand, shook her head and said, "Since I married into Ping'an Village, the elders have watched me grow up and helped me a lot. Now that everyone is living a good life, we can't let the elders eat coarse food again."

No matter how humble she was, the Acting Deputy Minister asked her in detail about the treatment of the elderly in Ping'an Village. Several reporters took notes quickly, and Uncle Dong and Grandma Qi added the same thing whenever they remembered it.

I heard that in addition to the two elderly people living in the nursing home, Fifth Master has also been helping Xia Juhua with advice on how to manage Ping'an Village. The Deputy Minister proposed to pay a visit, and Xia Juhua naturally agreed.

Before leading a few people to Wu Ye's house, the group walked around the three short streets in the west of the village. They had a deep understanding of Xia Juhua's theory that sewage should not be discharged directly into the Xihe River and expressed their agreement.

If they really took it as seriously as she appeared to, Xia Juhua felt that today's reception was not in vain. As for whether she would become a role model, she didn't take it to heart.

She didn't take it personally, as the members of Ping An Zhuang valued this interview. No matter which house the reporter entered, he was warmly received. The members not only made tea for him, but also gave him one or two candies, which gave the reporter a more intuitive impression of the wealth of Ping An Zhuang.

Before leaving, the acting deputy minister once again shook Xia Juhua's hand and said, "Captain Xia, if our brigade and production team can be like Ping'an Village, we will be close to realizing agricultural modernization. Thank you for giving us a vivid lesson and letting us know how to develop rural areas in the next step."

The hat was a bit too big, and Xia Juhua felt that she couldn't hold it. She kept making excuses, saying that she had done nothing and that everything was the result of the joint efforts of the members. She believed this from the bottom of her heart, but the members of Ping'an Village did not agree.

Several members who were photographed by the reporter took the opportunity to send the photos to them. When they heard Xia Juhua say that the development of Ping An Village had nothing to do with her, several people refuted her wrong view in unison and told her that without her leadership, Ping An Village would not have achieved what it has today.

If the leaders and reporters were not present, Xia Juhua would have scolded these people loudly. Unfortunately, the reporters' cameras were not closed yet, so she could only force a smile and ask them to stop talking so as not to delay the leaders' schedule.

The jeep drove on the asphalt road without raising a speck of dust. Xia Juhua looked at Li Changwang, Zhao Tiedan and the others with murderous eyes. Zhao Tiedan was the first to shout, "There's meat stewing in my pot, don't let it get burnt." He turned around and ran away, leaving the others staring at each other.

The old masters started running, and Xia Juhua, who was no longer young, naturally couldn't catch up with them. She couldn't catch up with them either, so she asked the Fifth Master helplessly, "Are these people free?"

Master Wu smiled and knocked the cigarette bag pot against the sole of his shoe, and asked, "Which of them said something that was not true?"

I can't tell the truth. Now is not the time to highlight myself, or I might be accused of individual heroism!

Master Wu seemed to see Xia Juhua's worry and said with a smile, "I feel that these two years have been much more relaxed than the previous two years. No one will find fault with you if you talk more. Otherwise, after a while, when more people come to visit and learn, the whole production team will be in turmoil."

Xia Juhua was really stunned. She didn't expect that the Fifth Master had this idea: According to the Deputy Minister, Ping'an Village must be promoted as a model, so there will be a lot of people coming to visit and learn from it. During the movement, people from all over the country flocked to Dazhai to visit and learn from it. others could maintain normal production!