Just as Village Chief Huang was about to leave for work, he saw Grandma Huang helping Huang Qinqin over.
Village Chief Huang is always very happy to see Huang Qinqin return.
Because recently, whenever Huang Qinqin comes back, she always brings them good news.
"Qin'er's back? Come in, come in!"
Village Chief Huang gestured for them to sit down and asked expectantly, "Qin girl, is there something you want to say today?"
"Village chief, I've come here today to tell you some good news."
Huang Qinqin continued with a smile, "The department store has decided to conduct a tasting of pickled vegetables in the next few days. If many people like them, they will increase the order volume."
"Since the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, many people will be buying things to visit relatives, so I recommended our pickled vegetables to the department store manager."
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Huang exclaimed, "Great news!"
She slapped her thigh excitedly: "Great! I knew it! Qin girl, you've always been thinking about our village!"
Huang Qinqin interrupted, "Village chief, although it's a good thing, there's one thing we need to be aware of."
"Because pickling vegetables takes time, I suggest starting today to increase the amount of pickled vegetables."
"However, there is some risk involved, as the department store has not confirmed that they will definitely increase the quantity. We will need to observe the customer response at that time."
"Although I have a lot of confidence in the pickled vegetables in our village, there are indeed some risks involved. It all depends on what the village decides to do."
After listening to this, Village Chief Huang calmed down a bit. Indeed, if the department store's sales were not good, it might become a liability.
But if we don't marinate more now, it might be too late if a lot of people like it.
"Tiezhu's wife, I'd like to ask, how long can the pickled vegetables made according to your recipe be stored?"
"I want one that won't affect the taste."
After thinking for a moment, Village Chief Huang decided to first see how long the pickled vegetables could be preserved.
If it's pickled vegetables they made themselves, they'd still eat them even if they were left for a year or so.
That's right, towards the end, the taste and texture of the pickled vegetables weren't as good as they were at the beginning.
Grandma Huang said confidently, "Leaving it for a year or two will definitely not be a problem."
"are you sure?"
Village Chief Huang was both pleasantly surprised and somewhat incredulous.
Grandma Huang nodded affirmatively: "The ones I gave you and the brigade secretary to try before were pickled last year. This year's ones haven't been opened yet."
Since that was the case, Village Chief Huang immediately agreed: "Okay, we'll marinate a lot more today!"
"Even if you don't need that much for the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can still store it for a few months."
"Alright, then I'll trouble the village chief to follow up on this. It's a great opportunity for the village."
After finishing speaking, Huang Qinqin remembered Song Mincheng and the others, and casually asked, "Village chief, are those educated youth willing to work in the workshop?"
“We’ve already talked to the educated youth who are willing. You know what, ever since Song, the educated youth, joined the workshop, we’ve been calculating work points much faster.”
Since the workshop hasn't officially started supplying goods to the department store yet, Song Mincheng's daily work involves calculating costs. In his spare time, he helps the village calculate work points.
Thanks to Song Mincheng's help, there were far fewer arguments in the village over work points, and the villagers' impression of them improved considerably.
Village Chief Huang and the others remembered Song Mincheng's help and learned that the elderly people in the cowshed were all very knowledgeable.
The village chief asked them to teach the village children to recognize characters or do math, and in exchange, the village would give them some grain.
At first, the villagers had a lot of complaints, thinking that the people in the cowshed were bad elements and they didn't want their children to have any contact with them.
Finally, Village Chief Huang only said one sentence: "Even if they are bad elements, do you think they would dare to do anything bad on our turf? And most importantly, this is free!"
Upon hearing that it was free, requiring no money, and that the amount of grain to be given to the cowshed wouldn't be much, they were immediately intrigued.
The villagers immediately changed their tune, saying they would send their children over the next day.
It's free, and someone will help take care of the child. Plus, the child can learn to read. What a bargain!
Then Song Yongjun and the others looked at the children, ranging from 1 to 8 years old, and were completely overwhelmed.
It's not that there aren't any younger children in the village, but people aren't comfortable with the younger ones. The older children also need to earn work points.
So now all these children aged 1 to 8, who spend their days playing with cats and chasing dogs, are being looked after by the people in the cowshed.
I take them home for lunch at noon, and then deliver them back in the afternoon.
Of course, Village Chief Huang didn't intend to explain these things to Huang Qinqin in detail, because that wasn't his original intention.
Initially, Village Chief Huang only wanted to help Song Yongjun and find an excuse to send them some food.
Who knew the villagers would ask them to help take care of their children...
When Huang Qinqin heard that the educated youth were all willing, she didn't ask any more questions. After saying goodbye to Village Chief Huang, they went back home.
Grandma Huang originally wanted to take Huang Qinqin back, but Huang Qinqin said, "Grandma, you and my third cousin go to the workshop and pack some pickled vegetables for us to take back."
"The department store is for other people to sample. I brought some home before, and I've almost finished eating them."
Grandma Huang nodded: "Okay, then aren't you coming with us?"
"I'm not going there. I'm going to the cowshed to take a look. Someone asked me to look after Grandpa Song, and I want to go see how he's been doing lately."
"Okay, then be careful, don't walk too fast, and be safe."
......
When Huang Qinqin arrived at the cowshed, she heard the sounds of reading aloud and children's laughter coming from inside.
The cowshed was still the same cowshed, still dilapidated, with even the roof teetering on the verge of collapse.
But the children's voices brought a glimmer of life to the cowshed, much like a plant that was nearly withered and dying in the desert suddenly receiving nourishment from the rain.
It is like withered trees coming back to life.
When Lao Xu came out carrying the bucket, he saw Huang Qinqin standing quietly in front of the door.
He greeted her warmly: "Little girl, are you here to see Old Song? I haven't thanked you for the medicine last time!"
Huang Qinqin smiled and nodded, then explained, "The medicine last time wasn't mine; I was just running errands for you. Is Grandpa Song inside?"
"Yes, I'll take you in."
"Okay, thank you for your help. May I ask how I should address you?"
"My surname is Xu. You can call me Old Xu or Grandpa Xu, it's fine."
Seeing Old Xu return with the bucket, his wife asked, "Old man, why are you back so soon?"
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