Chapter 149 Wang Yuqing Calculates Team Members' Wages

The two later ran into Tang Wan and Wang Shuo on the road, and the four of them went to the brigade headquarters together. They chatted and laughed along the way, except for Wang Shuo, because he couldn't get a word in edgewise. If he did, his loud voice sounded like he was arguing.

Tang Wan frowned and said, "Don't speak."

Wang Shuo quickly shut his mouth and secretly glanced at Ji Xuening next to him.

Ji Xuening clearly wasn't laughing, but he insisted that Ji Xuening was mocking him and that Ji Xuening wasn't a good brother, which broke his heart.

Ji Xuening: "..."

Wang Shuo tried to chat with Ji Xuening, but Ji Xuening was only talkative in front of Wang Yuqing; he could barely utter a word in front of anyone else.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Ji Xuening's daily task was to rush to the brigade headquarters at dawn and lead the militia in two hours of training, where everyone was in high spirits and full of energy.

Compared to when Liu Huo first became the militia company commander, everyone seemed like a different person. As Chen E put it, "Before, under Liu Huo's leadership, everyone was squinting and listless, but now they are all full of energy. This is what a real militia should be like."

During their breaks, they would sing revolutionary songs. Their passionate voices were so inspiring that they boosted morale and uplifted the spirits of the people. As a result, many members of the brigade joined in the singing, a scene that had never been seen before.

After training, the group of people went on patrol with great pride and high spirits.

Most of the commune members working in the fields developed a sense of admiration for Ji Xuening, praising him even more: "He is an expert in field work and a first-rate trainer of militia."

These days, Liu Huo has been acting timidly wherever he goes. Although he is quite resentful, he doesn't dare to say a word.

The militia also participated in labor, especially heavy and tiring work that the commune members couldn't carry or lift, or various technical tasks, all of which they helped with.

They were also responsible for leading the completion of tasks such as water conservancy facilities, land leveling, drilling wells, and building production roads.

At night, they take turns patrolling the fields with rifles, walking along the field ridges, vigilantly observing their surroundings to prevent anyone from stealing the collective's crops.

He became the militia company commander and performed his duties diligently, which was evident to all the villagers. Lei Yongxia suddenly said, "You did a much better job than Peng Hong did back then."

She's always been outspoken and didn't think much of it.

Chen E nudged her with her elbow, signaling her to be quiet.

While scooping up snails, Lei Yongxia continued, "Why did you bump into me? That Peng Hong isn't as good as Xiao Ji. He seems fine, but he's not as hardworking, honest, and responsible as Xiao Ji. Otherwise, why was he dismissed from his militia company back then?"

“Every year when the commune holds a competition for militia members, our brigade’s militia company always comes in last place. That’s not all, they’re all lazy and don’t help with the work. They’re not even as good as Xiao Ji, let alone Wang Shuo. Wang Shuo and Xiao Ji are both pretty good.”

Chen E whispered a reminder: "Tang Wan is still here."

Lei Yongxia noticed Tang Wan, who was changing the water for the snails, next to her.

Tang Wan wasn't angry, just quite shocked, because what Lei Yongxia said was different from what Peng Hong said. Instead, she seriously questioned Lei Yongxia.

Lei Yongxia told Tang Wan about Peng Hong's actions as the militia company commander. Although he didn't have any major character flaws, he certainly didn't perform well enough.

Tang Wan was a little incredulous. In her mind, Peng Hong was an outstanding man, just like Ji Xuening, who was dedicated to the country and its people, and was upright and righteous.

Moreover, when the militia company was abolished, Peng Hong said that he did not want to continue serving as the militia company commander because he wanted to go abroad with the army to provide foreign aid, wanted to be a people's hero, and wanted to make a difference. On the one hand, it was out of patriotism, and on the other hand, it was to be worthy of himself.

Wang Yuqing listened without saying a word. Based on Lei Yongxia's description, she always felt that Peng Hong didn't seem to love Tang Wan very much. He loved himself more and cared more about face and honor.

In addition, the old Party Secretary also said that day that the militia company of the brigade was canceled because it angered the higher authorities by not doing its job.

Of course, he has passed away now, so it's not appropriate to discuss him anymore, especially since he was a martyr who sacrificed his life for the country.

Lei Yongxia realized she had said too much, and she smiled and said, "But he is still a good person. He is highly educated, intelligent, and filial."

This incident left a lingering unease in Tang Wan's heart, and she even went to the old Party Secretary herself to inquire about Peng Hong's matter.

The old Party Secretary naturally chose to say the nice things, after all, Peng Hong was now a people's martyr revered by the entire brigade.

As for Wang Yuqing's daily tasks, they were to come to the brigade headquarters, assign tasks to everyone, check the ingredients, and do some accounting.

She was quite relaxed and even collected some cultural relics in her spare time.

She initially thought that farmers were not wealthy and certainly wouldn't have porcelain, jade, or jade bracelets, let alone ancient artifacts. However, she was surprised to find that several households had some small cultural relics, such as bowls, basins, and pots.

Nobody takes these things seriously; the only concern is that they might break and need to buy replacements.

Wang Yuqing then exchanged some tickets with Aunt Huang and bought dozens of new pots and pans to trade with everyone for the old and broken ones. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the exchange, secretly thinking that she wasn't very smart.

Even the Ji family members don't understand.

Wang Yuqing laughed and said, "It's purely a hobby."

As for the couples in everyone's homes, there's no rush to accept them now, and there's nowhere to put them anyway.

She carefully kept everything she had received, as it would eventually become a small fortune.

At the end of the month, work points need to be evaluated, and the previous month's income needs to be calculated and reported to the accountant.

Wang Yuqing spent the whole day working on the ledger.

Hua Gui sneered, "Can she even do basic accounting? She can't even read a few words."

She even specifically asked the accountant, Tian Liang, to help with the accounting for the non-staple food team, deliberately mocking Wang Yuqing.

Little did Wang Yuqing know that she didn't need Tian Liang at all. She didn't even need an abacus; she just did a verbal calculation and settled all the accounts.

Tian Liang was a little surprised: "Comrade Wang Yuqing, are you sure you only went to school for two years?"

Wang Yuqing remained calm: "That's right, the rest was all self-taught. There's no way around it if you're smart."

Tian Liang: "..."

Last month, they sold snails for a total of fifteen days, earning a total of 1,200 yuan. This amount not only shocked the members of the non-staple food team, but also the entire brigade. Everyone felt like they were dreaming.

Although everyone knew that snails were a good source of income and were quite envious, they were still shocked when they learned about the total income, which was equivalent to the entire brigade's collective income for a month.

Tian Liang stood by and watched, thinking that she could ask him if she didn't understand anything, but she didn't ask him once until the accounts were finished.

And the calculations were done very clearly and explicitly, and everything was written down.

Total income: 1200.

Net income of 800 yuan: This is calculated by subtracting 200 yuan from the credit union loan, 50 yuan from business tax, 50 yuan from various expenses such as account books and kerosene lamps, and 100 yuan from payments to the state.

Distributable income of 700 yuan: net income minus 50 yuan for production development fund and 50 yuan for members' welfare fund.

Tian Liang squinted at it for a long time, somewhat confused: "Why reduce this? What are the development fund and welfare fund?"

Wang Yuqing explained: "The production development fund is money accumulated from the public. We extract it and deduct money from it for various expenses related to our non-staple food team."

"This commune member welfare fund is used to subsidize commune members. For example, they can receive subsidies when they are sick, when they have happy events in their families, and during holidays. This makes everyone more motivated to work."

Tian Liang's eyes were full of admiration. He admired Wang Yuqing even more and said, "I'll adopt this approach. Our brigade will follow suit from now on."

However, the next second he smiled sheepishly: "But our brigade has almost no income every year, we don't even have enough food, and we have to eat the government's relief grain."

Wang Yuqing didn't want to get involved in this matter; she continued with her own accounts.