Chapter 203: Heartfelt Words

Seeing that Lao Zhou agreed, Jiang Haitang smiled, her eyebrows curved, and she said to Aunt Cai with a faint smile, "Then I'll trouble you tonight."

Jiang Haitang's voice was clear and pleasant, and Aunt Cai could tell that it was different from the exhausted voice she had when she was at the Li family.

She couldn't help but sigh in her heart that she was finally living a comfortable life.

Aunt Cai was overjoyed, the smile on her face almost overflowing, her eyes narrowed into slits, and she quickly reached out and grabbed Jiang Haitang's hand, enthusiastically pulling her into the house.

"Dazhu's father, go to your third uncle's house and stay for one night! Dazhu, go to your second uncle's house and sleep!" The voice was loud and bright, full of joy.

When Zhao Dashan heard his wife's instructions, he turned around and walked quickly to the inner room to pack his bedding without saying a word. His movements were quick and swift.

Dazhu did not pack his bedding immediately, but instead walked slowly up to Aunt Cai and Jiang Haitang with a simple smile on his face.

He scratched his head, and his short black hair became a little messy, and his dark face was shining with a simple light.

Jiang Haitang has a good impression of the hardworking Dazhu.

Seeing Dazhu approaching, he smiled and asked, "Dazhu, what are you busy with recently?"

"It's just farming. Sister Haitang, do you work in a textile factory? Are there a lot of fancy machines there?"

Jiang Haitang was surprised that Dazhu was interested in these things, and then asked curiously, "Are you interested in machinery?"

Dazhu's face suddenly turned red, as if dyed by the sunset, and he nodded embarrassedly.

"I like it, but I have never seen the advanced machines in the factory. The last time I went to your factory, I only heard the roar of the machines." When he spoke, his face was full of longing.

"Our factory has introduced several new hosiery knitting machines, which are very advanced. If you can get a job delivering soil to the factory, I will take you to see them." Jiang Haitang said to Dazhu with encouragement in her eyes.

Dazhu's eyes suddenly lit up, like the twinkling stars in the night sky, full of surprise and anticipation.

"Really? Sister Haitang, the sock knitting machine you're talking about, is it the kind that can knit socks by itself?"

"Yes, that kind. One machine can knit hundreds of pairs of socks a day, and the patterns can change automatically."

Her hands danced up and down in the air, trying to make Dazhu understand more intuitively.

"So amazing!" Dazhu couldn't help but exclaim, his mouth wide open, his face full of disbelief. "How many people must be watching the machine?"

"One person is enough to look after one machine. We don't need too many people." Jiang Haitang answered with a smile, with a hint of pride in her smile.

Aunt Cai was also listening intently, her eyes fixed on Jiang Haitang, muttering, "Oh, then will we be able to wear machine-knitted socks in the future?"

"Of course. But the sock knitting machine has not yet been officially put into production. It will definitely be available at the supply and marketing cooperative in a few months." Jiang Haitang nodded and said affirmatively.

Dazhu asked again, "Sister Haitang, do you think... can our team also get a machine like this?"

Jiang Haitang was a little surprised, raised her eyebrows slightly, and asked, "You want to start a factory?"

Dazhu rubbed his hands embarrassedly, his hands were covered with calluses from years of hard work.

"I just thought that if I could learn how to use these machines, maybe it would make our brigade's life easier in the future. Our brigade is so poor. The brigade next door has tractors, but we don't have any."

As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered, with a hint of helplessness and unwillingness.

Jiang Haitang saw the unyielding spirit on the young man's face.

She wondered what Dazhu's life was like in his previous life.

After the reform and opening up, he went to the city and seemed to have made a name for himself. Aunt Cai and Uncle Dashan were also taken away. Later, she was busy supporting the family and lost contact with them, so she didn't know about their situation.

Aunt Cai patted her son on the back, her tone tinged with rebuke. "Kid, you're always thinking about unrealistic things! If you have the time, dig up some more soil and send it to your sister Haitang and the others. You'll get a few more cents at the end of the year."

Jiang Haitang felt a little sad after hearing this.

She knew the situation in Qingshuigou Brigade very well. The food distributed here at the end of each year was not enough for a family to eat for the whole year, let alone the money.

The villagers work hard from dawn to dusk every day, but still find it difficult to escape poverty.

That's why they are willing to do jobs that pay five dollars per ton of soil.

"Dazhu, your idea is great. I'll take you to see the machine later. If you can understand it, I'll give you a chance to learn in the factory."

Jiang Haitang looked at Dazhu seriously, her eyes full of sincerity.

"Is it really possible?" Dazhu's voice trembled with excitement, and there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"However, you are just going there to study without any salary. Are you willing to do that?" Jiang Haitang continued.

Aunt Cai hesitated. She knew that if a young man of this age did not go to work, he would definitely lose work points.

But looking at his son's eyes sparkling with anticipation, the words of disobedience came to his lips, but he never said them.

Dazhu was so excited that he almost jumped up. He clasped his hands together tightly and said in a high-pitched voice, "Really? Sister Haitang, can I go and learn?"

"It depends on your own performance. Now the country advocates the development of community enterprises. If you can learn, you will have a chance." Jiang Haitang explained patiently.

Aunt Cai looked at her son's expectant eyes, sighed inwardly, and decided to speak up for him: "Haitang, if this really works, you have to help this kid. He has loved tinkering with these mechanical things since he was a child. Let him try, whether he can learn it or not."

Jiang Haitang began to explain to Dazhu the principles of the hosiery knitting machine. She explained it in detail, from the structure of the machine to the operating principles and how to operate it, leaving out no details.

Dazhu listened even more attentively, staring at Jiang Haitang without blinking, afraid of missing a single word. Later, Dazhu simply took out a notebook and paper and began to write down everything quickly.

The two of them spoke while the other listened, and time passed unnoticed in this lively communication.

It was Aunt Cai who looked at the sky and found that it was already very late, so she urged the two of them to go to bed.

Dazhu then put down his pen with a sense of unfulfilled desire and left to find a place to live.

When he left, he kept looking back, full of reluctance.

Aunt Cai sighed as she made the kang, "This child has been fascinated by those iron lumps since he was young. When he was ten years old, he secretly dismantled the thresher in the brigade and reassembled it..."

Jiang Haitang still remembered this incident. When Aunt Cai mentioned it, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I remember that Uncle Dashan chased Dazhu around the team for two big circles. Dazhu got beaten so badly that he even limped."

Thinking of the situation at that time, Aunt Cai also laughed.

The two of them lay down, and Jiang Haitang helped Aunt Cai straighten the corners of the quilt, her movements gentle and considerate: "Dazhu has talent."

Lying on the kang, covered with a quilt that smelled of sunshine, Jiang Haitang looked at the moonlight outside the window and had already made a plan in mind.

"Haitang, are you living well in the city? Is anyone bullying you?" Aunt Cai didn't know what Jiang Haitang was thinking, so she asked the question she had wanted to ask today.

Jiang Haitang shook her head slightly, with a faint smile on her face: "Everyone in the factory is very nice."

"I heard that the Li family got into trouble. It won't affect you, right?" Aunt Cai asked again, with a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

"I cut off ties with them a long time ago. It has no impact on me." Jiang Haitang replied calmly.

If she had not made contributions to the factory and had not personally arrested Li Shengli, it might have really affected her.

After hearing Jiang Haitang's answer, Aunt Cai felt much more at ease. Her heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down.

Ever since she heard about the Li family's troubles, she has been worried about whether Jiang Haitang would be implicated, and she has been thinking about it all these days.

"Haitang, have you found a partner? You are still young, and you can't just..." Aunt Cai hesitated to speak.

"Aunt, I'm engaged and will be getting married in the next six months." Jiang Haitang said with a blushing face.

"Who is it? Is the boy good-looking?" Aunt Cai asked anxiously, her eyes full of curiosity.

"You've seen him before. He's Director Lu who came to our team last time!" Jiang Haitang said shyly.

Aunt Cai's eyes lit up, and a surprised smile appeared on her face. "Director Lu? Last time Dazhu came back and said that Director Lu was good to you, and guessed that you two had a chance. I scolded him, but I didn't expect it to be true."

After the joy, Aunt Cai became worried again: "Haitang, what's his family like? Is their financial situation good? Will they dislike you?"

Jiang Haitang blushed even more and whispered, "His family is doing well. I've met their elders and they're very nice to me."

"Oh! That's great! If you can find a partner like this, I'll be relieved!" Aunt Cai patted the quilt and her voice became louder. "It's true that a blessed woman will not enter the door of an unlucky one."

The Li family deserves their misfortune for not wanting such a good daughter-in-law!

"Auntie will make shoes and insoles for you, and also embroider a pair of pillowcases..." Aunt Cai said excitedly, as if she was an old mother who was about to send her daughter to get married.

Hearing Aunt Cai's heartwarming words, Jiang Haitang suddenly smiled softly.

Old Zhou, Little Chen and the other two in the next room were also talking about Aunt Cai's family.

Lao Zhou, Xiao Wu, Xiao Chen and Xiao Li were squeezed on the kang. Because the place was narrow, everyone felt a little cramped.

Xiao Chen wrapped himself in the quilt, wrapping himself up like a silkworm chrysalis, and muttered, "Master Wu, didn't you say that the people in Qingshuigou are particularly difficult to deal with? I think they're okay."

"That's because you didn't see what happened the last time we came. If it weren't for Director Lu, Engineer Jiang probably wouldn't have been able to go back." Xiao Wu said with a pout, a hint of dissatisfaction on his face.

"Was it instigated by someone?" Xiao Chen asked curiously.

"Yes, it was Li Shengli's mother and sister. They instigated a few bachelors, saying that they wanted to marry Jiang Gong to them as wives. Those people went crazy on the spot..."

When Xiao Wu thought about it, he still felt so angry that his teeth were itching, and the expression on his face was a little distorted.

"That's not surprising. You come from the city. You don't know how crazy the bachelors in the countryside who can't find wives are. Few people would give up the chance to get a wife for free." Old Zhou sighed and said, "A few years ago, in my hometown, a man died. The woman was kidnapped the same night he was buried. The villagers turned a blind eye to it. It's all because of poverty."