Forty years later, when a reporter interviewed the famous female entrepreneur Wu Meili, she asked a question.
"Ms. Wu, in your autobiography, you said that the years you spent in the Great Northern Wilderness were the darkest and most painful time in your life. During this time, were there any beautiful moments that you can't forget?"
Wu Meili, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a graceful temperament and luxurious clothes, smiled faintly at the reporter.
"If that person hadn't appeared, I would have lived in darkness forever. Until she came, I realized that there is a way for people to live. Without her help, I wouldn't be who I am today."
"If I could go back in time, I would like to go back to that winter afternoon. My friend and I sat on the warm kang, listening to the radio, she knitting a sweater and I sewing shoe soles. There were steamed potatoes on the kang table, and when I was hungry and craving for food, I would dip them in sugar and eat a bite."
“That was the first time I clearly felt that I could be liked and respected by others.”
Qiao Baozhu didn't know that this afternoon, which seemed ordinary to her, was actually the most important turning point for Wu Meili.
Zhang Xiaoxia took Qiao Baozhu's "Authorization Letter" with her and as soon as she got home, she couldn't wait to go door to door in the village to notify everyone.
In the future, any women in the village who want to earn some pocket money by sewing shoe soles can give it to her.
The villagers believed Zhang Xiaoxia's words without a doubt, not because her father-in-law was the farm manager, but because of the "Authorization Letter" in Zhang Xiaoxia's hand.
These days there are still many elderly people in the village who are illiterate, and they don’t understand what Zhang Xiaoxia meant by the authorization letter.
But everyone could understand the seal, and when they saw the red seal with their name engraved on it, they all believed what Zhang Xiaoxia said.
"My dear niece, it is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I have two pairs of newly-made soles here. Do you think I can make them?"
"I heard that they don't accept shoe soles from outside the family compound. If you want to send them to the family compound, you have to ask them to take half of it. You don't take a commission here, and you give me the full amount of one dollar?"
With Qiao Baozhu's pre-job training, Zhang Xiaoxia handled these trivial matters calmly.
She took the samples and asked the members to compare their own soles one by one, so that everyone could see clearly how big the difference was between their own soles and those sold in the shoe store.
Then explain to everyone in detail how they can receive the goods and pay.
"I, Zhang Xiaoxia, am really nothing. I am just a rural woman like you. But my family is very powerful. You know my father-in-law. He is Qiao Changfu, the director of the three-point court."
"My sister-in-law Qiao Baozhu is in charge of collecting shoe soles in Qingyan Mountain. The man she married is a battalion commander in the corps, and she herself is a cadre working on the farm. Since I dared to come to your house to inform you of this matter, it was allowed by the higher-ups. Now the family members in the family compound, as well as the female educated youth and female workers on the farm, are all selling shoe soles openly."
Zhang Xiaoxia was like a mobile loudspeaker, doing propaganda work.
Let me tell you, it’s not just Qiao Baozhu who is collecting shoe soles now. Qingyanshan Farm and the army have also joined forces to set up a mutual aid society. People who don’t know how to sew shoe soles but want to make money can go to the mutual aid society to make paper boxes and paste medicine boxes for handicrafts.
Half of the commune was in an uproar, and when it was dark and time for dinner, every household was discussing the matter.
The name Qiao Baozhu was heard in every corner of the farm.
The next day, before Gao Liman even reached the office door, she saw a group of people blocking the door.
She leaned over to the crowd to ask, and only then did she realize that these people were all there to get cardboard boxes.
After finishing her work in the cafeteria, Qiao Baozhu ran over to help, only to find that all the cardboard boxes in the mutual aid society's stock had been taken away.
"A truckload of cartons came over. Did they take all of them?"
Qiao Baozhu looked at Ji Hehua in disbelief: "Did you collect the deposit?"
Ji Hehua made a bitter face and glared at Gao Liman unhappily: "Ask her!"
Gao Liman lowered her head, like a child who had made a mistake, and did not dare to look up at Qiao Baozhu.
Seeing Gao Liman like this, Qiao Baozhu understood.
He pressed his eyebrows and asked with a fake smile, "Did the villagers see you here and ask you to do them a favor? Take the boxes home first, and come back to deliver them when you're done."
"The people who asked you for help are the elders in the village who watched you grow up. You should not let them down. Waive their deposit and let them take their belongings and leave."
Gao Liman raised her head and made a solemn promise to Qiao Baozhu.
"We are all from the same village, so we all know each other. They asked me for help, so I feel bad not helping them. Don't worry, I remember who took the things. If they don't deliver, I will go to their house to ask for them."
Ji Hehua couldn't stand it anymore, so she put her hands on her hips and argued with her loudly.
"With your brain, how can you remember so many people? You have no evidence, what can you use to collect the debt?"
Gao Liman raised her head and retorted unconvincedly: "Then I will go into the house and search, and I will take away the cardboard box if I see it."
"What if they burned the cardboard box as firewood? What evidence do you have that they took our unit's things?"
Gao Liman was stunned. She didn't consider that the cardboard box would be burned by the villagers.
"Why burn the paper box? This is public property, who dares to burn it?"
Gao Liman frowned, angry that Ji Hehua made a fuss and made her lose face in front of Qiao Baozhu.
Although she felt a little guilty, Gao Liman didn't want to give in in front of Ji Hehua.
"Gao Liman! You are such a fool!"
"You're talking nonsense! When I was little, my mother said I was the most cunning kid in the village. I think you're the one who doesn't have any cunning. No, you have too many cunning minds, and that's why you're not growing taller."
"Look at your head, it's as short as a bean sprout, not even as tall as the green onions my mom grows."
"Lulululu, shorty, bean sprout, lulululu."
Once Gao Liman was ignored, she started to act like a spoiled brat. She was very careless with her words and always spoke to Ji Hehua where she felt hurt.
Ji Hehua was from Jiangnan, not only was she petite, but her voice was also soft and cute. Even when she was arguing with Gao Liman, it sounded like she was acting like a spoiled child to others who heard her.
Gao Liman seemed carefree on the surface, but in fact, she was like a fool. Ji Hehua was so angry that she jumped up and slapped her face, but Gao Liman thought Ji Hehua was joking with her.
He raised his hand and pressed it on Ji Hehua's forehead, teasing her condescendingly: "Hey, I can't hit you, I can't hit you."
Qiao Baozhu couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she walked between the two of them and pulled Gao Liman away.
"Okay, stop it. You are working now, not playing house."
After being scolded by Qiao Baozhu, Gao Liman immediately shut her mouth obediently.
Rubbing his fingers, he looked at Qiao Baozhu pitifully: "I didn't make a fuss..."
"Humph! Didn't you say you remembered who took the box? Find a piece of paper and write down the names of all the people who took the box."
Gao Liman was unconvinced and wanted to retort, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she was glared back at by Qiao Baozhu.
"Say one more word and I'll deduct your salary!"
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