Chapter 174

Although she had not lived in the dormitory at the commune much before, she had already prepared the bedding. This time, she took down the mattress and replaced it with a cotton curtain.

The mattress surface was made of blue-black scraps of cloth and could be used directly; the inside of the mattress was made of white cotton cloth. Zhou Jiani took out some scraps of cloth from the stock and gave them to Dai Jinfang.

Dai Jinfang asked her what she was going to eat for lunch. Zhou Jiani didn't seem to have brought any rice, flour, oil, or salt, but there was plenty in the warehouse. She smiled and said, "After I finish packing, I'll go to the post office to make a phone call, then walk around to get familiar with the surroundings and buy some daily necessities. I'll just eat out for lunch."

Dai Jinfang said, "Okay, I'll take advantage of Old Song and the two children not being home today to modify the cotton curtains so I can hang them up this afternoon. Otherwise, I won't be able to bear the thought of covering myself with two quilts at night."

"Sorry to bother you, sister-in-law."

"It's no trouble, no trouble. Team Leader Zhou, don't be so polite."

Dai Jinfang took her things and returned home. Zhou Jiani continued to pack her luggage, swept the kang again, laid a layer of old newspapers, and then laid a mattress. She then put the thick blanket on top of the mattress and stacked two neatly folded quilts at the head of the bed.

She didn't take the furniture that was made in the village because it was too inconvenient to transport it. She planned to find someone to make the furniture for use here, and also buy a set of tables, chairs and benches.

The family who moved into the dormitory area earlier than Zhou Jiani not only had a coal stove, but also a clay stove they made themselves, which was placed in the small living room. They drilled a hole in the wall connecting to the bedroom and installed a set of heating packs to the inner room. The chimney that went up from the stove turned a corner halfway and stuck out from the window above the main entrance. Every day when it was almost time for dinner, green smoke would float out of the windows above each household.

But this is not the standard configuration of the house and needs to be modified by yourself, so Zhou Jiani also plans to find someone to install a stove and move a set of heating packs into the inner room.

Although there are coal stoves, they produce a lot of smoke and the charcoal smell is too strong in the bedroom, which is also unsafe.

After putting her things away briefly, Zhou Jiani locked the door and went out. At noon, she went to a state-owned restaurant for a meal. She ordered two boxes of dumplings, two servings of braised pork elbows weighing 5 liang each, ten white flour buns, twenty two-grain flour buns, ten large steamed buns, and ten meat buns, and packed them all up to take away.

I went out to find a place to put it on the fresh-keeping shelf in the warehouse, and strolled around until the afternoon. Then I returned to the dormitory with two cabbages, some meat, a dozen eggs, and some vermicelli.

Dai Jinfang had already finished making the cotton curtain and was sitting under the window knitting a slipper. When she saw her return, she quickly put down what she was doing and went out, saying, "Team Leader Zhou, the curtain is done. Let's hang it up before it gets dark."

I hammered a few nails above the door frame and hung the cotton curtain up, and the view in the room suddenly became dark.

"Sister-in-law has great craftsmanship. It fits perfectly."

Dai Jinfang took the remaining scraps of cloth and prepared to give them to Zhou Jiani, saying, "I sewed two extra layers on the bottom of this cotton curtain. One is for wear resistance, and the other is for easy disassembly and washing."

Zhou Jiani confiscated the remaining scraps of cloth and gave them another fifty cents as processing fee. Dai Jinfang declined twice and said embarrassedly, "This, this is too much..."

The cotton batting and cloth were ready-made, and it wasn't difficult to make. She felt a little bad about charging fifty cents, especially since there were several scraps of cloth.

"Not much, not much. Thank you for your help, sister-in-law. Otherwise, it would be very cold at night."

Dai Jinfang accepted it and said enthusiastically, "Team Leader Zhou, if you need anything in the future, please let me know. Please don't hesitate to lend a hand."

"Okay, I'll have to trouble you more often in the future."

Dai Jinfang felt very excited as she held the fifty cents in her pocket.

The sealed stove had gone out before Zhou Jiani left. She took a piece of coal to Dai's house and exchanged it for a burning coal to light the stove. She washed some rice and peanuts and preheated the stewing cup in advance, worried that it would cool down quickly if left outside. After heating, she put it back in the warehouse and finally added rice and peanuts, poured boiling water into it, and put it back in the warehouse.

Before going to bed, I soaked some red dates and ginger slices in a thermos and put it on the shelf.

Zhou Jiani's first night in the county town was not very good.

There is a bed here, not a kang, so it cannot be heated to warm up the room to drive away the cold, nor can she read with half of the quilt on and a cotton-padded jacket on. Now she has a hot water bottle on her feet, another in her arms, and the quilt is wrapped tightly around her chin, but she is still cold, her head and ears are cold.

I finally fell asleep, but several times during the night I felt a slight chill in my head while half asleep and half awake.

I was woken up by the noise outside around five in the morning. The neighbors on both sides had already woken up to light the stove and boil water. They chatted with each other as they saw each other. I poured hot water on the frozen tap outside and talked to the people who had woken up at other houses as I did so.

Zhou Jiani wrapped herself in the quilt, tried her best to ignore the noise outside, closed her eyes and continued to sleep.

Around half past six, the noises outside became increasingly lively. The noises of children shouting and adults at home, although not so dense and some distance away, were still clearly audible. There was also the clanging of doors opening and closing, and even the sound of cutting vegetables.

Zhou Jiani opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling for a while, then tried to get up.

As soon as he sat up, he slipped back out, hugged the cup, took out the thermos from the warehouse, drank a few sips of ginger and jujube tea, and waited until his stomach warmed up before he quickly got up and put on his clothes.

I went to the living room and looked at the unemptied water in the bucket and washbasin. They were all frozen.

Fortunately, there was both cold and hot water on the shelves in her warehouse. She took some out and mixed some to wash her face and brush her teeth. She originally wanted to scan it and put it directly into the trash can, but then she opened the door and took it out.

Dai Jinfang wasn't cooking in the house. She was outside, lighting a coal stove. Seeing her come out, she asked, "Team Leader Zhou, are you up? Are you lighting the coal stove?"

Zhou Jiani poured out the dirty water and said, "I have to exchange it with my sister-in-law."

"That's no problem."

Zhou Jiani went back to the house, picked up a piece of coal and replaced it with a piece that was burning brightly. She slowly lit the stove and took out a pan to fry two eggs.

The breakfast was quite rich, with steamed buns I bought yesterday, porridge I cooked last night, two fried eggs, and a bottle of pickles I picked up from the shelf and put in the porridge with chopsticks. After eating and drinking my fill, I went to the county government.

County Magistrate Wang knew that she was officially going to work today, so he arrived a few minutes early. But when he arrived, Zhou Jiani was already waiting in the office. When she saw him come in, she stood up and greeted him, "Good morning, County Magistrate Wang!"

"Good morning, Comrade Zhou!" County Magistrate Wang put down his briefcase, rubbed his numb hands, and picked up the tea his secretary had just brewed for him. He asked with a smile, "Is everything settled in the dormitory?"

Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Everything is settled."

"If you have any difficulties, please report them to the organization."

"Thank you for your concern, County Magistrate. There are no difficulties for the time being."

County Magistrate Wang sat down on the chair, opened the drawer, took out a document and handed it to Zhou Jiani, while introducing her to the situation of the various communes under Bin County. Zhou Jiani took the document and did not rush to read it, but listened carefully to County Magistrate Wang's introduction.

After a brief introduction, seeing that the time was almost up, County Magistrate Wang took her to the group office. Someone was already waiting inside. It was Qian Hai, the secretary assigned to Zhou Jiani.

I've seen them before when I reported in last time. When Qian Hai saw the two of them coming in, he stood up and said, "County Head, Team Leader!"

County Magistrate Wang nodded, looked at Zhou Jiani, extended his hand and said with a smile: "Team Leader Zhou, welcome to join us. I hope that under the leadership of Team Leader Zhou, Bin County's weaving industry will achieve greater success."

Zhou Jiani reached out and shook it: "I will definitely live up to my mission!"

"I'm looking forward to your performance." County Magistrate Wang asked again, "When will Jingdang come?"

"We've arranged to go see the factory site together on Wednesday. After that, he'll officially report in after finishing his current work."

County Magistrate Wang nodded and said, "Then I won't assign anyone to you for now. If you feel you're short of manpower, you can transfer someone from another department."

"Okay, County Magistrate."

There wasn't much to do on the first day at work. County Magistrate Wang organized a meeting in the morning to formally announce the appointment and welcome Zhou Jiani's arrival.

Many people here are familiar with the name Zhou Jiani. The weaving factory of the Qianjin Brigade and even the plastic greenhouse at the beginning are all related to this female comrade.

She took the baskets woven by her fellow villagers and skipped the county and city, and went directly to the provincial capital's department store. Later, she established a cooperative relationship with the Friendship Store, allowing the Qianjin Brigade's woven products to be taken abroad by foreign merchants.

From the beginning to the current situation, it has almost been a leap forward.

But most people have never seen Zhou Jiani in person. They met her for the first time today and didn’t expect that she was such a young and beautiful girl.

The single male comrades in the unit were like getting a shot of adrenaline, but after the female comrades from the Women's Federation came to help them find out the "military intelligence", they learned that Zhou Jiani not only had a partner, but was also engaged. All the rising enthusiasm in their talents instantly wilted.

Zhou Jiani was in the office looking at information and a map of the entire Bin County to understand the topography of each commune and the local specialties.

Secretary Qian knocked on the door when he was about to leave work. "Boss, should I get your lunch back or should we eat in the cafeteria?"

Zhou Jiani looked up from the information: "I haven't settled the food issue yet. I forgot about it. I'll go back to the dormitory to eat."

Secretary Qian said hurriedly, "I'll remind you as soon as I get to work this afternoon."

Zhou Jiani nodded and asked the secretary: "Is there any place in the county that makes furniture?"

Secretary Qian thought for a moment, then quickly wrote down an address and said, "I don't know if there's one in the county, but there's one in Daqiantan Brigade next to the county seat..."

"Okay, I'll go check it out later."

The dormitory was cold and she had to light a stove. Zhou Jiani couldn't just take out food in the office, so she went to a state-owned restaurant to eat a bowl of shredded pork noodles. She then went to the supply and marketing cooperative, wearing a hat and a scarf, and bought a few aluminum lunch boxes and enamel basins. She came out, packed her things, and rode her bike straight to Daqiantan Village.

It was not difficult to find a carpenter in the village; she could just ask anyone. Zhou Jiani went to explain her purpose, decided on the size and style, paid a deposit, and arranged a time to pick up the goods. She returned just in time to be there.

Two days is enough time for Zhou Jiani to thoroughly understand the information in her hands.

As soon as I arrived on Wednesday morning, I saw Li Jingdang waiting in the office. His nose was red from the cold and there were still snowflakes stuck in the seams of his hat.

Zhou Jiani couldn't help but sigh at their luck. She said, "Director Li, you really know how to choose the right time. Everything was fine the day before yesterday and yesterday, but it snowed last night..." She looked at Li Jingdang and asked, "Did you come here by bike?"

Secretary Qian arrived earlier than Zhou Jiani. He had already prepared hot water and poured a pot of hot water for Li Jingdang to drink.

Li Jingdang nodded and laughed, "Who would have thought it would be such an unfortunate coincidence?"

I chose to go out on such a snowy day, but I have to do what I promised even if it rains knives from the sky.

"Luckily, the snow isn't too heavy." Zhou Jiani said, "Have you had breakfast?"

"Just eat and then we can head out."

Zhou Jiani asked Qian Hai: "Do you have a bicycle?"

Qian Hai: “Yes!”

Zhou Jiani: "Bring your notebook and pen, let's ride our bikes to see the factory site."

The three of them wrapped themselves tightly and went out into the street in the wind and snow.

There are three factory sites, none of which are in the city center. They are all in a more remote corner of the county town. The area is four or five times larger than the Qianjin Weaving Factory. Li Jingdang looked at them with a happy face, measured them carefully, and rode around to look at the surrounding terrain. It was a bit difficult to choose for a while because the geographical location and transportation were not very good.

The three of them found a sheltered spot to talk. Zhou Jiani squatted on the ground, using the snow as a canvas to roughly draw something. She said, "The three areas are about the same size, and the geographical locations are not good. There's not even a decent road nearby..."

Li Jingdang laughed: "Good places won't be given to weaving factories."

Although the weaving industry is booming, the profits it brings are certainly not comparable to those of large units such as garment factories, textile factories, and machinery factories. If you want a large area, you cannot require convenient transportation. Places with convenient transportation cannot allocate such a large area.

Li Jingdang pointed to the area to the south. "This area to the south is right on the road that leads directly to Ningpu District. Before reaching Ningpu, there's no main road leading in other directions. The distance in between is too long. We can build the factory here and then turn east and west... The main road nearby is so bumpy and not very good. The only advantage is that this area to the south is the shortest distance to the main road over there, making it easier to build a road from the factory gate..."

Zhou Jiani: "We need to build roads, no matter how long or short they are. Since we're already starting construction, let's not worry about whether the road is longer or shorter. Don't even consider the south. Although the geographical environment isn't great, this piece of land in the south is the worst. Just pick one of the two places, east or west."

The three of them discussed it over and over again and finally decided on the piece of land in the west.

After the location was selected and reported, County Magistrate Wang approved it on the spot.

Zhou Jiani suggested going on a business trip to Lin City to see the scale of the Lin City weaving factory for reference.

County Magistrate Wang smiled and said, "You can make your own decisions on these matters. I'm just waiting for your plan."

Zhou Jiani was stunned for a moment and said, "You must sign for that batch of funds?" They have to pay for travel tickets, food and accommodation for their business trip.

County Magistrate Wang laughed and said, "Team Leader Zhou, you are an independent department. You need to learn how to approve and sign for your department's funds."

When she was in the commune, Zhou Jiani never signed anything. She always applied and asked Director Zhai to sign.

They are all working groups, but they seem different.

So, when Li Jingdang officially completed the handover of his work at the factory and reported in, Zhou Jiani gave her a note and asked Secretary Qian to take it, and she really got the travel funds and food coupons.

The three of them packed their luggage and went to the nearby city.

We made a phone call before coming, and the Linshi Handicraft Factory arranged someone to pick us up at the station and put the three of us in a guesthouse near the factory.

Li Jingdang has a lot of dealings with the weaving factory, and Zhou Jiani also has a few acquaintances there, so she doesn't feel restrained coming here.

Knowing that Zhou Jiani and her team came to visit to seek advice on factory construction, they expressed great welcome.

In fact, they also admired the Qianjin Weaving Factory very much. The factory arranged for people to go there to study, and when they came back, they described it to them. It was really just a village-run enterprise, built on the edge of the village, next to farmland and farmers, and the transportation was not very convenient. Even the entire factory was only about the size of their workshop. However, such a small factory has created such outstanding results.

Not only that, but the people who went to study there came back and said, "It's not the kind of workshop we've seen before. It's very well organized, the operation room is very neat and clean, and there are all kinds of fire prevention, theft prevention, and smoking prevention slogans on the walls. They even have a wall of honor. The content on our factory's wall of honor isn't as rich. And although the area there is so small, they have a proper exhibition booth..."

It is precisely because of these evaluations and his outstanding achievements that the Linshi Weaving Factory respects this colleague very much.

The person in charge of receiving them was Tao Dongliang. Zhou Jiani had done business with him in tea when she first attended the Canton Fair, and they met again at the second Canton Fair, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Tao Dongliang said enthusiastically, "Welcome Director Li, welcome Comrade Zhou." He looked at Qian Hai and said, "This is..."

"Team Leader Zhou's secretary, Qian Hai!" Qian Hai introduced himself.

Tao Dongliang was a little surprised. Comrade Zhou had become a secretary?

But then I realized that Comrade Zhou seemed to have mentioned on the phone that their county was going to build a weaving factory... their county, that is to say, Comrade Zhou came here to represent the county, a large county-level factory, which means one reason, Comrade Zhou has been promoted.

Tao Dongliang's mind worked quickly, and Li Jingdang spoke quickly, saying with a smile, "Team Leader Zhou is the head of our county's handicraft products group. I am now Team Leader Zhou's assistant and have resigned from the position of director of the Qianjin Weaving Factory."

Tao Dongliang's mind immediately turned again. He was about to step down as the leader of the village-run enterprise and become the leader of a county-level factory. He immediately smiled and said, "Congratulations, congratulations to both of you."

Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Thank you, Director Tao."

They arrived here at around four o'clock in the afternoon. After we took them to the guesthouse and arranged their meals, it was almost time for dinner, so Tao Dongliang welcomed them in the factory cafeteria.

Zhou Jiani did not take advantage of the other party and gave him food coupons.

After eating, Zhou Jiani returned to the guesthouse to rest and had a rare good sleep.

The guesthouse was warmer than the dormitory. She asked someone in the dormitory to set up the stove and heating bag. The first half of the night was not too cold, but the second half was still very cold. She even started to get frostbite on her ears.

Apart from the cold, there was also the clanging sound in the morning, which she still couldn't adapt to.

The next morning, everyone met in the lobby. Tao Dongliang was already waiting there and took them to the factory cafeteria for breakfast.

It was dark last night and they couldn't see clearly, but from the moment they entered the door today, Zhou Jiani and the other two began to observe the layout of the factory.