Chapter 98

Zhai Xiangqiang entered the village with his secretary. Many members working nearby all looked serious, and after the director left, they began to whisper to each other.

"You lost a basket and alarmed the commune leaders?"

"Didn't the captain make another announcement this morning saying that if the items aren't returned, they'll be treated as thefts. If they're caught, they'll be punished. It's gotten this far, shouldn't they report it?"

"That basket is woven with gold. How can it be so valuable?"

"There have been many cases of disasters in our village before. Why didn't Zhang Baosheng report it to the commune? Maybe there's something else going on."

"The village is bustling with activity right now. What could possibly be going on? He must be here for that missing basket. He's here to investigate the case himself."

"The commune leaders don't care about investigating the case..."

In the morning, Zhang Baosheng hung up the phone and turned on the loudspeaker to shout. In the end, he still saved his face and planned to give the person with the basket another chance to return it quickly. If he still didn't know what was good for him, he would do as Comrade Xiao Zhou said and advocate village-wide supervision. Whoever caught the basket thief would be rewarded with an enamel pot.

Zhai Xiangqiang didn't know that as soon as he entered the village, a heated discussion would break out. He was thinking about one thing during his visit, which was the plastic greenhouse built by the Qianjin Brigade, and he wanted to check on the progress.

In Zhai Xiangqiang's view, this is also a great feat, and he is once again delighted with the vigorous development of the Qianjin Brigade.

After listening to Jingdang's story that day and reading it, I also started to pay attention to this experiment that I had read about in the newspaper a few years ago, but the information I could find was limited.

However, a few days ago I heard that they found a way to contact the invention experiment team and received their technical guidance, and I have been thinking about it in my heart.

It just so happened that I wasn't very busy these two days, and since the Qianjin Brigade was applying for planting raw materials, I came to survey the planting area and see the progress of the plastic greenhouse.

I went to the plastic greenhouse first. When I came back last time, the foundation had just been laid. When I came back this time, not only was the wall completed, but the frame was also built and half of the film was covered.

Oh, there is also a small mud house.

"That's quite a bit of progress!" Zhai Xiangqiang exclaimed as he watched from outside. "That's pretty efficient."

He had only seen simple pictures of greenhouses in old newspapers, but now that he saw the real thing, it was obviously different from the picture.

Qiu Zeming was in charge of this area, and since he was well-versed in the information, he told Director Zhai about the changes that had taken place in the greenhouse in recent years.

Director Zhai entered from the small door on the north side and saw that there was new progress in the construction. A part of the land was dug down. After Qiu Zeming's introduction, he learned that this was a bottom-dug floor heating greenhouse modified according to the information.

Feeling the temperature in the greenhouse, Director Zhai was full of confidence in their experiment.

"This way, we can eat other fresh vegetables this winter besides cabbage and radishes," Director Zhai encouraged. "Keep working hard. By the end of this year, we'll not only have a report in the commune, but also in the county and city. If this half-acre plot is successful, we'll continue to expand after the year, to several acres, then dozens of acres."

He doesn't need to take on all the responsibility for sales. With their current cooperative relationship with the state-owned restaurant, they can take care of everything with just one state-owned restaurant in the town.

If other units knew about this, they wouldn't have to go to the Qianjin Brigade to sell their products. They would probably come here after hearing the news.

Zhang Baosheng's old face flushed with excitement. He was already getting nervous. He found an opportunity and whispered to Qiu Zeming, "Wait until the report is given."

Qiu Zeming laughed: "Captain, wake up, we haven't succeeded yet!"

Zhang Baosheng patted his shoulder and said, "With your dedication, we will definitely succeed."

Comrade Xiao Qiu has almost grown up on this half acre of land during this period, which shows how dedicated he is.

I heard that he had started to arrange people to be on duty... It wasn't a special arrangement. The roof of the earthen house hadn't been sealed yet, but Liu Jingguo rolled up his bedding and came here, and didn't go home to sleep at night.

They said they were afraid people would steal the plastic sheeting.

Qiu Zeming tried to persuade him several times but to no avail, so he simply arranged a shift and he was also on duty.

In addition to being on duty, he also asked the villagers about adopting a dog, training it, and having it stay here to watch over the vegetable garden.

While Director Zhai was greeting other members working on the project, Zhang Baosheng whispered, "No matter what, we have one report that's guaranteed to pass this year. The higher-ups in our knitting industry are definitely paying attention."

Well, let Comrade Xiao Zhou give the report on this matter when the time comes.

The director happened to be here today, and we had a final discussion on recruitment. Then the commune called the heads of each brigade to a meeting to discuss issues such as raw material cooperation and recruitment.

After visiting the greenhouse, Zhai Xiangqiang went to the processing workshop again.

When they saw the commune director come in, Zhang Laosi and the others felt a chill in their hearts. They thought that they had lost the basket and alerted their superiors. But it turned out that he came to inspect the land to prepare for planting raw materials.

Now the news was made public to other people working on the project, and many of them looked happy.

I didn't think about adding jobs, but I once again deeply felt the long-term development plan of their staffing industry.

With a plan, everyone feels at ease.

Zhai Xiangqiang said a few encouraging words here and then went to see the progress of the factory.

I heard that the date has been chosen...it's the day after tomorrow, and the beam will be put up.

Normally, a leader shouldn't care about this, but he deliberately skipped over the point of correction, thinking that it would be done later depending on the level of progress.

In fact, it was a date that Zhang Baosheng came up with after secretly looking through the almanac and discussing it with several elderly people in the village.

The Forward Brigade is finally about to make a breakthrough, how can we not be cautious?

Feudal superstitions are not allowed nowadays, and they didn't do it openly. They told everyone that it was a day for a meeting and discussion.

Zhou Jiani was here today. Seeing Director Zhai and his group coming over, she hurried over to greet them: "Hello, Director Zhai, hello, Secretary Zhao!"

Zhao Changhong's face turned pale as he said, "Hello, Comrade Zhou!"

Zhai Xiangqiang looked at Zhou Jiani and said with a smile, "I heard that the idea of planting was proposed by Comrade Zhou. Comrade Zhou is quite far-sighted."

Zhou Jiani waved her hand and smiled, "I wouldn't say I'm farsighted, but I think large-scale planting can improve the yield and quality of raw materials, and it can also create some jobs outside of the busy farming season. If we do this well, when we have surplus materials in the future, we can transport them to other areas, which will not only generate income for the team, but also increase personal income."

One more position means you can earn more work points or wages.

Seeing what she said so righteously, Zhai Xiangqiang didn't know how to refute her.

It’s obvious that they are afraid of being strangled by others due to insufficient raw materials.

This Comrade Xiao Zhou!

Thinking of this, he really admired Comrade Zhou's foresight. Apart from anything else, people from other brigades have already come to the commune to express their opinions in the past two days, hoping that the commune could do some ideological work on the Qianjin Brigade, lead them in weaving together, and supply goods to the province together.

Zhai Xiangqiang couldn't help but frown. This was the path he had originally planned to take, but didn't the Qianjin Brigade have this intention? Now that the factory was built, even if it was for the sake of easier management, the initiative had to be placed on the Qianjin Brigade's side.

At this moment, Zhai Xiangqiang took a deep breath and said to Zhang Baosheng and the others with a smile: "Okay, just for the sake of the prospects Comrade Zhou mentioned, let's work hard and do a good job in this area."

Zhang Baosheng could only nod repeatedly.

After viewing the partially completed factory building, Zhai Xiangqiang and his companions prepared to go up the mountain to take a look. Seeing Zhou Jiani staying behind, ready to wave goodbye, Zhai Xiangqiang didn't want to leave the young comrade idle. He pretended not to notice and said with a smile, "Comrade Zhou, if you have any opinions on the zoning of the project you proposed, you should also speak up."

Zhou Jiani…had to brush off the dirt on her raised hand, stepped forward and said with a smile, “Okay, Director!”

We certainly cannot occupy the land below to grow raw materials. The vacant land has also been reserved to expand the greenhouse, so we can only go to the mountains, so the amount of exercise today will not be small.

Zhou Jiani sighed and decided that she would have to come to the mountain more often in the future and ask someone to make her a trekking pole.

Along the way, Zhai Xiangqiang caught her and asked her a lot of questions, focusing on the storage stool that was bought on the spot at the Friendship Store.

There has been no new news in the past two days. After the delivery of the few orders from the provincial department store, there have been no new orders.

But Zhai Xiangqiang already had a confident premonition of the future of their Xihe Commune's weaving products.

Therefore, I emphasized to them that they should start studying new models now and prepare for various exhibitions next year.

Zhang Baosheng had already taken the village elders to see the planting area. Zhai Xiangqiang took a look around and added a few suggestions on safety issues, which Zhang Baosheng quickly wrote down.

There was no news about the lost basket. After Zhang Baosheng sent his leader away, he announced on the radio that the whole village should monitor the situation. Whoever caught the person who stole the basket would be rewarded with an enamel pot.

The members lost their composure and began to dig up their memories.

The village committee finally became lively, and a group of old ladies surrounded Zhang Baosheng.

This person said that he saw someone carrying a woven bag back to his parents' home that day. Did he steal the basket and send it to his parents' home?

The one who said he saw a married girl coming back that morning, did she take one of our baskets with her when she left?

For a while, the village committee became lively. Not only was there a lot of invalid information, but there were also several disputes.

Zhang Baosheng: …

"They were the ones who showed up near the processing workshop between 5:30 and 6:10 in the evening," Zhang Baosheng said. "Think it over before reporting back."

Only then did I send these old sisters away.

At the educated youth center, Liu Ailing's face was ashen and her hands and feet were cold. Even when she sat in front of the stove to light a fire, the blazing flames could not warm her sweaty hands.

"Damn, it's just a broken basket, what's the big deal?"

It really never ends.

At first, everyone was laughing and guessing which naughty kid was causing trouble. Liu Ailing even thought this was a good excuse. Since the village cadres thought so, they probably let the matter go lightly.

I didn't expect that there would be another collective self-criticism among the cadres. At that time, I thought it was a bit of an overreaction.

Zhang Baosheng kept reminding her again, and not only did she feel annoyed, but some of the other women in the village also sighed in frustration: "Oh, a broken basket, is it enough to pay for the electricity to run the radio?"

Should this be the end?

He didn't. He mobilized the whole village to supervise and even offered a teacup as a reward.

Liu Ailing couldn't help but want to swear.

Meng Jiandi came over, smelling the burnt smell, and exclaimed, "Ailing, is the pot burnt?"

Liu Ailing suddenly came back to her senses and quickly lifted the lid. This kind of cornmeal porridge is very easy to get stuck in the pot if it is not stirred frequently. Isn't there a layer of sticky stuff?

"Ailing, what are you thinking about?" Meng Jiandi said, then realized her tone was too blunt and made a joke, "You don't want to get that teacup as a reward, do you?"

She laughed again and said, "You took a day off the day before yesterday and weren't with the team that day, so forget it... Oh, that's not right. You came back this afternoon and even went out before dinner. Did you see anyone suspicious?"

Liu Ailing turned her back to stir the pot, her hands busy and mumbling, "I went to Aunt Yuezhen's house the afternoon before yesterday to draw a pair of shoes. I didn't see anyone suspicious. Maybe a mischievous child took it. I didn't dare tell my family for fear of being beaten."

Turning back, he smiled and said, "I was just thinking about making shoes. Jiandi, have you ever made shoes yourself?"

Meng Jiandi just shook her head when Sun Ping came in with a bundle of firewood and said casually, "Ailing went out the day before yesterday? I thought you went to work."

Liu Ailing smiled and said, "Yeah, I went for a walk in town." She then said, "Has anyone of you ever made shoe soles? I'm going to make a pair of shoes and cotton boots, and I'm going to learn how to make them myself."

Changed the subject.

Until the beams of the factory building were put up, there was no useful information about the baskets.

The factory construction entered the final stage of finishing work, and the commune also called the captains of each brigade to a meeting to formally discuss the development of the Qianjin Brigade's establishment industry.