Chapter 202 Discussion

Aunt Cai suddenly raised her head and saw the graceful Jiang Haitang. She blinked hard several times, then smiled bitterly, suspecting that she must be hallucinating.

"This...Isn't this a dream? How can I still see Haitang?"

"Don't you recognize me? Aunt Cai." Jiang Haitang said with a smile.

Aunt Cai heard Jiang Haitang's voice clearly and the wooden spoon in her hand almost fell to the ground.

She rubbed her eyes and said in disbelief, "It's really you who's back, Haitang?"

Jiang Haitang smiled and trotted over, holding Aunt Cai's rough hand: "Aunt, it's me! Look, this is real!"

Aunt Cai looked up and down at the girl in front of her, and her eyes gradually became moist.

"Oh my God, it's only been a short while since we last met, and our Haitang has become a big girl in the city! The clothes and the appearance are completely different from before!"

Aunt Cai was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly lifted her clothes to wipe her tears.

Jiang Haitang held Aunt Cai's hand and said, "I'm just a little whiter, that's all I am. It's because you care about me that you think I'm pretty."

"It's different. You look much better than when you were in our team, and you dress nicer too." Aunt Cai praised Jiang Haitang sincerely.

"If you keep praising me like that, I'll feel embarrassed."

"Haitang, you've come all the way here. You must be hungry. I'll go cook for you. The old hen at home has just laid eggs. I'll make you a bowl of poached eggs!" As she said that, Aunt Cai pulled Jiang Haitang towards home.

Jiang Haitang hurriedly pulled her back: "Don't worry, Auntie, we've eaten on the way."

"Then come over to my house and sit down, and we two mothers can have a good chat." Aunt Cai was very enthusiastic. When she turned around, she saw the young man Xiao Chen next to her.

"Haitang, is this your partner?"

Jiang Haitang hurriedly shook her head and took the basket from Xiao Chen.

"No, Aunt Cai, this is my colleague who came with me today. This is a little gift for you."

Aunt Cai waved her hands repeatedly to refuse: "Haitang, I'm very happy that you came to see me, but you can't give me anything else."

"Auntie, I haven't seen you for a while. This is some brown sugar and white sugar, as well as some defective fabrics. I brought them specially for you. They're not good things either. I remember your kindness to me."

"Hasn't Dazhu already brought something back for me?" Aunt Cai said immediately.

Jiang Haitang held Aunt Cai's hand and said sincerely, "Aunt, I was in the village at that time. If it weren't for your frequent support, how could I have survived? You must accept these things."

"That's what we should do. We're all neighbors, how can we not help each other when we're in trouble? Haitang, it's not easy for a girl like you to live in the city. Just take these things back and live a good life."

"Aunt Cai, please accept it. I came here this time because I want to ask for your help with something. If you don't accept it, I will be embarrassed to ask for it again." This is all Jiang Haitang could say.

Aunt Cai finally accepted the gift, muttering, "Dazhu has been worried about not having a decent outfit to wear to a blind date, so this piece of fabric is perfect. Haitang, if you have anything to ask, just tell me. As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it!"

Jiang Haitang explained in detail the need to collect special soil.

Aunt Cai slapped her thigh and said, "I thought it was a big deal! That red soil slope in the back mountain doesn't grow anything but weeds. We have as much as you want!"

As he was speaking, Zhao Dashan walked out of the house and froze in place when he saw Jiang Haitang.

Aunt Cai was happy to see that her husband was the same as her.

"Boss, you didn't recognize me, did you?"

The honest farmer rubbed his hands and laughed: "She looks a bit like Haitang's girl."

Aunt Cai said cheerfully, "That's why Haitang is back, head of the family! Our Haitang has made it big and has come back from the city to see us!"

Zhao Dashan scratched his head and smiled innocently: "It's really Haitang! I almost didn't recognize her!"

When he heard that the soil from the back mountain could be exchanged for money, his eyes widened: "Is it true or not? Why do I find it so unbelievable? Just the soil from our back mountain?"

The soil on that mountain is special, nothing grows there except weeds. Now someone suddenly says that the soil can be exchanged for money, which seems unlikely no matter how you think about it.

Jiang Haitang explained seriously, "Uncle Dashan, it's true. Our factory needs this kind of soil for experiments. If we can cooperate with the village and pay by weight, it will not only solve our problem but also increase the village's income."

Zhao Dashan still couldn't believe it: "But...but that soil can't grow anything. Is there really anyone who wants it?"

Aunt Cai pushed her husband and said, "How could Haitang deceive us? This is great news! Let's go and discuss this with the team leader!"

Zhao Dashan rubbed his rough palms, turned to Aunt Cai and said, "Dazhu's mother, go clean up the main hall. I'll go and invite the team leader to come home and have a seat."

Aunt Cai nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, I'll go boil some water and make some tea. Haitang, please sit down and rest for a while."

As she spoke, Aunt Cai hurried to the kitchen.

Jiang Haitang felt warm in her heart as she looked at this simple couple.

Xiao Chen said, "Mr. Jiang, I think the people here are pretty good."

Why did driver Xiao Wu say that the people here are extremely bad?

"Yes, it's okay!" Jiang Haitang smiled faintly.

There are bad people here, but most of them are good, otherwise, she would not have survived in the early years.

Zhao Dashan put on his straw hat and was about to go out when he turned back and took out a cloth bag from the cabinet. "I almost forgot, this is the tea I made last time. I haven't been willing to drink it yet. Dazhu Niang, please make some for Haitang."

"Got it, boss, go quickly and don't waste time."

In less than twenty minutes, cheerful voices were heard outside the yard.

Captain Zhao Zhijian, wearing a washed-out blue shirt and holding a pipe in his hand, strode in.

"Haitang, you're back?" Zhao Zhijian extended his hand warmly upon entering. "I heard from Dashan that you brought good news to our team?"

Jiang Haitang quickly stood up to greet him: "Captain Zhao, I came back this time because I want to discuss something with the villagers."

Zhao Zhijian sat down at the eight-immortal table and took the large bowl from Aunt Cai. "I heard from Dashan that your factory wants to buy soil from the mountain behind?"

"Yes, Captain."

Zhao Zhijian stared at Jiang Haitang in disbelief and asked, "Are you talking about those 'ghost-seeing trees' in the back of our mountain where there's nothing but weeds growing?"

Jiang Haitang then remembered that the older generation said that the weeds in that area didn't grow well, and it was a place where ghosts would come to see you.

"If we dig the soil ourselves, we can give the brigade one yuan per ton. If the brigade collects it, we can buy it for five yuan per ton. If the brigade collects and transports it, we can get an extra one yuan per ton."

Zhao Zhijian could no longer hold the tea bowl in his hand. He put it down tremblingly and stared at Jiang Haitang, as if to see if Jiang Haitang was wrong.

"Did you say it wrong, or did I hear it wrong, Haitang."

"Captain, you heard me right, and I was right too. Our initial plan is to order ten tons. If there's still a need, we'll continue to purchase."

Zhao Zhijian calculated in his mind that if he wanted ten tons first, that would cost fifty yuan. If he used his own ox cart to deliver it, it would cost sixty yuan. If he needed more later, he would have to pay even more.

At least hundreds of tons could be mined from that slope! What a windfall!

Aunt Cai was refilling tea for everyone and almost dropped the teapot when she heard this: "My God, is that barren soil so valuable?"

Jiang Haitang nodded. "However, we also have requirements. The soil must be kept pure and free of impurities. If it is mixed with other impurities, we will not accept it."

Zhao Zhijian tapped his pipe lightly on the edge of the table. "We need to hold a members' meeting on this matter. But..." He suddenly lowered his voice, "Haitang, tell me the truth, is this soil really that valuable? Don't let your factory suffer..."

He was worried that Jiang Haitang had deliberately done this to help the people from Qingshuigou.

Jiang Haitang's heart warmed: "Captain, it's not easy for everyone to dig the soil. If you don't dig, we will have to arrange people to dig the soil. It's not cost-effective."

Zhao Zhijian stroked his chin and thought, "Thank you, uncle. Without you, this good thing wouldn't have happened to our team. If this thing really works, our village will have electricity this year!"

As he was speaking, there was a chattering sound outside the door.

Several little heads popped in from the crack in the door. They were all children from the village who had heard that Jiang Haitang had returned and came to watch the fun.

Aunt Cai smiled and waved, "Come in! Sister Haitang is here with some candy!"

Jiang Haitang remembered that there were some fruit candies in her bag, so she quickly opened the cloth bag and distributed the candies to the children.

A little girl timidly asked, "Is there an iron ox in the city that can run on its own?"

"That's called a tractor." Jiang Haitang squatted down and straightened her collar. "When our Qingshuigou Brigade has money, we can buy one too."

Zhao Zhijian watched this scene and immediately stood up: "I'm going to ring the bell to start the meeting! Such a good thing, let's decide it tonight!"

In the evening, all the villagers, young and old, gathered together at the threshing ground.

The moon is very round and bright tonight, so the whole threshing ground is bright.

Jiang Haitang stood in the moonlight and explained the cooperation plan in detail.

The villagers were discussing this, and an old man raised his hand tremblingly: "Haitang girl, will digging up the soil affect the feng shui of our village?"

Jiang Haitang was well prepared: "Don't worry, we will only take the ghost-seeing sorrow, and leave the rest of the soil untouched. Maybe, after digging up this layer of ghost-seeing sorrow, we can still grow crops in this area in the future."

Zhao Zhijian took over the conversation, "There weren't any crops growing near that 'Ghost-Seeing Sorrow' to begin with. Now that we've been able to turn waste into treasure and exchange some for our brigade, it's a blessing from our ancestors!"

When the vote came, out of the 137 households in the team, 136 voted in favor. The only person who didn't raise her hand was hard-of-hearing Grandma Liu. She had been deaf for years, and although she attended the meeting, she hadn't heard anything clearly.

She only raised her hand when she saw that everyone had raised their hands, but the counting had already ended.

After the meeting, Zhao Zhijian took Jiang Haitang's hand and said, "Tomorrow I'll use the slack time to organize young and strong laborers to start work! Don't worry, we Qingshuigou people are the most down-to-earth people!"

Under the moonlight, Jiang Haitang looked at the villagers happily returning home, and her heart was filled with emotion.

Xiao Chen came over and whispered, "Mr. Jiang, it's time for us to go back to the guesthouse."

After hearing this, Aunt Cai quickly pulled Jiang Haitang aside and said, "Haitang, don't go back to the guesthouse. It's too far. Sleep in the same room with me tonight and we can have a good chat."

Jiang Haitang said embarrassedly: "Auntie, there are several of us."

Aunt Cai said, "Let your uncle and Dazhu live with someone else. Your colleagues can stay in one room. Our kang is big enough for them."

Jiang Haitang thought that she had to come early tomorrow morning, so she discussed it with Lao Zhou.

Lao Zhou also agreed that there was no guesthouse in the town and they had to go to the county, which was quite far.