Qiao Baozhu pretended not to notice the inquiry and confusion in Zhang Cuilian's eyes.
She told Zhang Cuilian about her idea of finding flexible manual labor for the staff quarters.
"When I was young, I would help my mother paste paper boxes at home during the winter and summer vacations. Five boxes only cost one cent, but for a child, one cent could buy a candy bean. At that time, I would paste fifty in the morning and another fifty in the afternoon. I could make money without interrupting my fun, and most importantly, I could supplement the family income!"
Zhang Cuilian's eyes lit up. The news brought by Qiao Baozhu was so good. Ever since she led several familiar family members to make shoe soles, many people came to her and asked Zhang Cuilian to help introduce them.
"What a coincidence! I came to you today not only to tell you about your mother's family, but also to ask you for something. I was wondering how to start."
When Qiao Baozhu heard this, she understood.
With a humble smile on his face, his tone became more intimate: "Sister-in-law, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly. There is nothing that cannot be discussed between us."
Qiao Baozhu's words made Zhang Cuilian feel very comfortable, and the smile in her eyes became even more intense.
"What I want to tell you is about shoe soles. Ever since Wu Meili and her friends sold a few pairs of shoe soles to you, not only the people in the family compound know about it, but even people in several nearby villages have heard about it."
"Today, a women's director from a neighboring village came to me and asked if you could help collect the soles of shoes in their village."
Zhang Cuilian looked at the two sacks of shoe soles in Qiao Baozhu's house and showed an embarrassment on her face: "Now it seems that the employer doesn't need so many shoe soles."
You can sell a pair of shoe soles for one dollar. Isn't this much less labor-intensive than working in the fields to earn work points?
The women in the village have been making clothes and shoes all their lives, but this is the first time they know that shoe soles can be sold for money. Whenever I heard about it, I couldn't help but want to find out more.
They heard that the people who collected the soles of shoes were the wives of officers in the staff quarters. These people did not dare to go to the staff quarters to inquire, so they could only run to the village committee and discuss it with the women's director of their own village.
The women directors ran to the farm headquarters again to ask Zhang Cuilian about the matter. Zhang Cuilian could tell without asking that Qiao Baozhu's supply of shoe soles was almost saturated.
"As for the shoe soles, I'll go back to the city and meet the manager of the shoe store and we'll discuss it. If the quantity they need is large, I'll let my sister-in-law know."
Zhang Cuilian nodded happily: "I feel relieved when you say that."
After this period of contact, Qiao Baozhu could see that Zhang Cuilian was a pragmatic person. It can be said that the several family members who came to visit her on her wedding day were all very good people. Shen Xiao also said that if Qiao Baozhu wanted to make friends in the family compound, Zhang Cuilian, Ji Hehua and Wu Meili would be her first choices.
"By the way, Baozhu, you just said you wanted to find a job pasting medicine boxes. I think that's a good idea. I've heard of pasting paper boxes. Pharmaceutical factories, soap factories, all kinds of factories use paper boxes. Paper box and paper bag work is a long-term job, right?"
Qiao Baozhu nodded. There were fewer plastic products in this era, but all plastic packaging was considered high-end goods. Most of them are packaged in paper, which is why there is a high demand for paper boxes and paper bags.
"Yes, pasting paper boxes is a long-term job. Other urgent and in-demand jobs include embroidering basket flowers, washing sacks, unraveling cotton yarn, and in winter, pasting flowers on the head."
Hearing that there were so many types of odd jobs, Zhang Cuilian stood up excitedly.
"That's great, Sister Baozhu, we have to take this job. Tell me, how can we get these jobs?"
Qiao Baozhu smiled sweetly: "It's not difficult to get a job. You can ask the Women's Federation or the military logistics department to say hello. The quota will be allocated to you every month."
"The real challenge is that there must be someone dedicated to these matters. Even though these tasks seem easy, they still require at least one person to handle them."
"Where do we get the work from, how do we distribute it, how do we collect it, and what are the standards for acceptance. How do we pay, how do we reconcile accounts, and what is the warehouse for storing parts? All of these need to be prepared in advance."
Zhang Cuilian listened carefully and her head was about to explode.
"Our office is too small, and we definitely can't fit everything in. And there are so many people coming and going every day, you come to pick up something, she comes to hand it in, and the constant coming and going of people is a big hassle for us to work."
“So you need at least one dedicated person to do this, and you also need a dedicated venue.”
This is the real trouble. The staff can find an enthusiastic and selfless family member, but they can't get one themselves because the office location is not approved by the government.
Zhang Cuilian pondered for a moment and said seriously, "I will report this matter to the farm. When Lao Duan gets home from get off work, I will discuss it with him. This is a good thing for the development of production for women comrades. When Captain Shen comes back, remember to tell him."
Qiao Baozhu nodded perfunctorily.
Zhang Cuilian saw that she didn't take it seriously and guessed that the couple had a rift because of Bai Hongmei's meddling.
She is an experienced person and knows that if a couple cannot be of one mind, their life in the future will be very tiring.
Zhang Cuilian admired Captain Shen's character and also liked the young man Qiao Baozhu. She sincerely hopes that the couple can live happily.
Seeing Qiao Baozhu was absent-minded, she couldn't help but persuade her, "Captain Shen is indeed too chauvinistic sometimes. Relying on his family's good conditions, his palms are looser than the waist of my old Duan's cotton trousers. In the past two years since he was transferred here, I don't know how many soldiers have been subsidized to return home after retiring."
"It is because he is a man of integrity that Wei Yanda entrusted his son to him. If you have any questions, just tell Captain Shen directly. He has a strong sense of responsibility and a broad vision."
"You're on duty, collecting shoe soles in the family compound. Family members from our compound come in and out of your house. Captain Shen didn't say anything, right?"
Qiao Baozhu recalled carefully that some family members came to ask about shoe soles very late at night. Shen Xiao saw it, but he wasn't unhappy, and he didn't stop her from doing things afterwards.
When Zhang Cuilian saw Qiao Baozhu's expression, she knew that she had guessed right.
"See, I said Captain Shen wouldn't say anything. He looks cold, but he's actually warmer than anyone else."
"If you want to get a room, be prepared to do odd jobs for a long time. Let Captain Shen report to the leader. His words carry much more weight than our old Duan."
Things were exactly as Zhang Cuilian said.
Qiao Baozhu only mentioned it briefly in front of Shen Xiao, and Shen Xiao submitted the application report to his leader the next day.
It is said that the leaders also learned that Qiao Baozhu led several military dependents to make money by sewing shoe soles.
The superiors took this very seriously and specially invited Qiao Baozhu to their office to carefully ask about her ideas.
Within three days, things began to take shape.
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