Chapter 75 Fubao's Stone 3
That piece of jade is not really jade at all, but just an ordinary piece of jade? When Fu Bao said this, almost no one believed him.
Gu Weidong and Liu Guizhi didn’t understand this. How could they know whether it was a good thing or not? However, since the abbot specially left it for Fubao, it should be a good thing, right?
Besides, Fubao is still young, so she doesn’t understand even more. The child is just talking casually.
Nie Laosan's wife was even more unconvinced. She had finally grasped the truth: "How can this be an ordinary stone? This is a valuable item. If you want it, go ahead. I don't want it! But Fubao can't keep this thing. It's too valuable for a child. This is something from the nunnery..."
She was talking at once, she just didn't want this thing to be given to Fubao or the Gu family. If she couldn't get it, no one else would want it either!
Shengyin ignored her mother's nagging and just looked at Chen Youfu: "Uncle Youfu, this is a piece of jade. Take a look. It's quite valuable, isn't it?"
Chen Youfu stared at the raw silver.
This is just a little kid, only five years old, but for some reason, when this kid smiled at him, he couldn't feel the kid's innocence.
She was laughing too, just like the other kids.
But although they look the same, they are different underneath.
Chen Youfu didn't know how to describe his feelings. It was just like when the production brigade used to make wreaths out of paper when there was a funeral. The artificial flowers on the wreaths looked pretty, but they didn't have the fragrance or the spirit of real flowers. They were just the same.
He suppressed this strange feeling, took the jade from Shengyin, looked at it, and finally said: "I don't quite understand this, but since this thing is from the nunnery, and all the things in the nunnery were taken over by the state at that time, then we should hand this jade to the commune and let the commune find an expert to take a look. If it is really an ordinary stone, or not very valuable, then we should keep it for Fubao to remember. If it is very valuable, then-"
He looked at Gu Weidong and the others, seeing that they were looking at him anxiously, and he felt a little reluctant to say it, but he still said: "Then we have to hand it over to the country, there is no other way."
Huixin and Huiru were dissatisfied, especially Huiru, who stepped forward immediately and said, "How can that be possible? This thing belongs to Fubao, not our nunnery. She is an orphan, and she only has the memory of her parents. Can't we keep it with her?"
Gu Weidong also stepped forward: "Youfu, look at this, can you talk to the higher-ups about this?"
Chen Youfu looked embarrassed. It was not up to him to decide. After all, this involved various regulations. He could not help Fubao to embezzle this thing in private. He had to do what had to be done.
Seeing this, Miao Xiuju suddenly said, "Okay, then let's ask an expert to appraise it. If it's really not worth much, we should return it to the child. After all, it might be the only memory her family has left for her."
Chen Youfu nodded.
So the matter was settled. Huixin and Huiru were naturally very dissatisfied, but there was nothing they could do. They returned to the Gu family and talked to Fubao for a while, giving him some advice.
They have all kinds of things to do now, such as the chickens and ducks at home of their husband and children, and their own private plots. There are too many mundane things to do, and it is not easy to spare a day to make a special trip for this matter. No more time can be wasted.
Seeing that they were about to leave, Liu Guizhi went to Miao Xiujiu to borrow some corn flour and mung bean flour, rolled some thick noodles, put them in the pot for them to eat, and then sent them away.
In the next few days, the Gu family began to anxiously wait for the result.
The other people in the production team were also eagerly awaiting the result.
After all, this was something new that had never happened in the production brigade before, and everyone was looking forward to seeing what valuable thing the jade was. The most valuable thing they had ever seen in their lives was the diesel engine.
The people of the Nie family were naturally looking forward to this news, especially Shengyin.
Shengyin didn't believe it. She just couldn't believe that the thing was just an ordinary thing. How could it be worth a lot of money? What's more, it could bring good luck to people!
It's just a pity that she can't tell this secret. If she does, she will be in big trouble.
Shengyin felt depressed when he thought about this.
Fubao was very calm.
She vaguely felt that the piece of jade was hers. It was an ordinary jade stone that might not be very valuable, and it would definitely come back to her.
There is no reason, but I just know it in my heart.
So these past few days, when Gu Shengtian and Nie Dashan looked at her with sympathy and spoke to her in a softer tone, as if to comfort her, she felt confused: "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Not worried at all, really.
However, the more she said this, the sadder Gu Shengtian and Nie Dashan became.
Gu Shengtian: "I really want to get that jade back for you."
Nie Dashan: "My mother is really something. Why does she have to get involved?"
Maybe if my mother hadn't gotten involved, this matter wouldn't have gotten so serious, Nie Dashan thought secretly.
Seeing this, Fubao began to comfort them: "It's nothing, just a stone. It doesn't matter if they don't give it to me. I didn't have parents before, but now I have parents in the Gu family. I'm fine. It's not that I have to have that stone. That stone is not my parents."
This is her true inner thoughts.
These words were heard by Liu Guizhi who was passing by. She was so moved that her nose became sore and she almost cried.
Fubao is such a sensible child, how can he not be loved?
She felt sorry for the child these past two days and specially steamed egg custard for the child. For this, Miao Xiujiu secretly gave her two eggs, saying that they were for Fubao to eat.
However, Gu Weidong's business is getting better.
Those who had originally talked to Nie Lao San no longer believed Nie Lao San and started to look for Gu Weidong.
They smiled sheepishly, "Weidong, Weidong, take a look at this. Do you still remember what we discussed secretly before... I think I should give it to you first."
Gu Weidong should have been able to lower the price a bit at this time, but since they were all from the same production team, he didn't want to go too far. Besides, this was just a trial, so he gave a fair price.
When the few people saw it, they were very grateful and quickly agreed.
Of course, this cannot be done openly. Just because Chen Youfu doesn't say anything doesn't mean you can do it openly. So usually, he would secretly carry a bag of cotton to Gu Weidong, and Gu Weidong would secretly give him the money, and that would be the end of it.
Soon, bags of white cotton were piled on the floor of Gu Weidong's small house.
Liu Guizhi looked at the situation and felt a little worried: "What if these can't be sold? How can we use so much cotton to make quilts ourselves?"
Of course the white cotton is nice, and she likes to see it, but when she thinks that these white cottons were bought with the great unity, she feels sad. That's all money!
Gu Weidong stared at the bags of cotton. He knew he was taking a risk and that it might not work out in the end, but—
He gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay, let's try it."
Liu Guizhi nodded: "Yes."
I was very nervous, but I didn't dare say it. Since the man said to do it, I decided to give it a try.
Faced with the situation of the fourth branch of the Gu family, Shen Hongying and Liu Zhaodi were secretly delighted.
At first, when Liu Zhaodi saw Fubao had a piece of jade, she felt very jealous. Later, after seeing Shengyin's poem, Chen Youfu took the jade back, and she finally felt relieved.
The fourth room didn't get any big bargain, so it felt relieved.
Liu Zhaodi secretly looked at the cotton in the fourth room and laughed: "What is this? Do you think this will work?"
Chen Hongying curled her lips. "Who knows? Who cares? It's not our fault if we lose money anyway! I heard he used his mother-in-law's money. Bah, he's really careless!"
Liu Zhaodi sneered: "Isn't it..."
Just when Gu Weidong was about to stop after collecting a whole room of cotton, Nie Lao San was making all kinds of trouble over there.
First, Nie Laosan's wife suddenly fell into a cesspool for no reason and got covered in dirt and stench. Then, she was hit on the forehead by a lump of earth thrown out by someone. She was in a lot of trouble for this matter, and she cursed in the street with her hands on her hips, but it was very difficult to find out who it was. She had no choice but to suffer in silence.
When this incident got out, people laughed at me. They all said it was retribution and that I deserved it. I cursed and swore that I was getting retribution now. Because of this, I was laughed at by everyone.
After the embarrassment, Shengyin really persuaded Nie Laosan's wife. After several things happened, Nie Laosan's wife also felt that she had to think of a way. Looking at her own daughter, she felt that her daughter was powerful and had some abilities.
Especially recently, Shengyin mentioned that there might be a fire in the back room of his house and asked Nie Laosan's wife to be careful.
Nie Laosan's wife didn't take it seriously. As a result, a fire really broke out a few days later. However, it didn't burn her own house, but someone else's. Only half of the firewood pile in her own house was damaged.
Nie Laosan's wife felt sorry for the half pile of firewood. Thinking about Shengyin's words, she felt that Shengyin in her family was really capable and could know what would happen in the future.
Nie Laosan's wife began to seriously consider the cotton wool business. She asked about Gu Weidong and found out that he was really buying it. She thought about it and felt that she had to let her husband buy it as well.
"We can't fall behind!"
But how can I collect it? I have no money at all. I once had a piece of jade on credit, but now it is gone.
After much thought, Nie Laosan's wife decided to take her own pigs.
This pig of ours will eventually grow to over 200 kilograms. When the time comes, we will hand over 100 kilograms to the production team, and the remaining 100 kilograms will be ours.
Then you can borrow cotton first, and then pay it back with pork!
When Nie Laosan's wife thought about this, she felt that it was a good idea, better than that piece of jade. If the jade could not be sold and could not be weighed into cash, it would be useless. But pork was different. When the pig was slaughtered, it would be very convenient for everyone to get a few pounds of pork.
When Nie Laosan's wife said this to him, Nie Laosan became angry: "This is going on and on, and it's not over yet?"
Nie Laosan's wife: "What's the matter? Others can do it, but you can't? Why can't you do it? They insist on doing it, and I think it's a good thing. We can't just let them take advantage of it!"
In fact, although Nie Laosan's wife believed that her daughter gave birth to silver, she did not necessarily believe it sincerely. Now she was as eager as if she had eaten honey and insisted that Nie Laosan get the cotton, and it was because Gu Weidong did it.
People are like this. If others do it, what if they get a big advantage? So we can't fall behind.
The Nie family started to do it vigorously.
There were also some people who originally wanted to exchange their cotton for some money with Gu Weidong, but Gu Weidong refused to accept it. When they heard that the Nie family would still accept it, and would give them pork in return when they slaughtered pigs during the Chinese New Year, they were immediately tempted.
No matter how poor you are these days, you still have to buy a pound or two of meat during the New Year. Otherwise, how can you make dumplings? So when the Nie family brought out the pork, many people immediately came to exchange it with cotton.
So when the Nie family's pig was still skin and bones, the two hundred kilograms of meat on it had already been taken by someone else. One hundred kilograms went to the production team, and the other hundred kilograms were distributed to the members.
——
The Pingxi Production Brigade has been particularly busy these days, with everyone rushing over to exchange for pork. Chen Hongying and Liu Zhaodi gradually became tempted.
Originally, he was not optimistic about Gu Weidong's job, but later, seeing others getting money from Gu Weidong, he also thought about selling some cotton from his own private plot to Gu Weidong, but who knew that before he even opened his mouth, Gu Weidong stopped.
So the two of them wondered if they could go and exchange pork. But with the situation between their family and Old Third Nie's family being so serious, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to go there. Asking someone to go and exchange it wouldn't be a good idea either.
After so much hesitation, I missed both the money and the pork.
After missing out, the two of them couldn't help but feel resentful. They didn't know how many bad things they said to the fourth room behind their backs. Liu Zhaodi even said, "He should do this well. If the higher-ups don't allow it, don't let us get involved!"
When Shen Hongying heard this, she was a little scared: "That's not the case, why would you implicate us?"
Originally, this was just talk, but who would have thought that one day, just after everyone finished work, they saw Chen Youfu and a few people in Zhongshan suits walking towards Gu's house.
When Shen Hongying saw this, her eyes widened: "What does this mean? Could it be that the things that Lao Si did were not allowed, and they are here to arrest him?"
Liu Zhaodi stamped her feet: "If I had known earlier, we should have moved out quickly to avoid getting ourselves into trouble!"
We are all one family, it’s hard to explain!
The two men were panicking and watched the man in the Zhongshan suit approaching them.
When I got close to it, it looked a little familiar.
The man in the front, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, looked at Liu Zhaodi affectionately. "Sister-in-law, you are from the Gu family, right? Are you from the same family as Gu Weidong?"
Liu Zhaodi was dumbfounded. After a moment's silence, she quickly shook her head: "No, no, no, no, I don't know Gu Weidong!"
ah?
Li Mingshuan was confused, Chen Youfu was confused, and Shen Hongying behind Liu Zhaodi was also confused.
However, Li Mingshuan had also seen some storms before, so he quickly asked, "Then, then did you know that Gu Weidong was at home?"
Liu Zhaodi shook her head and waved her hands: "I don't know, I don't know, I've never heard of him! He has nothing to do with us!"
Li Mingshuan frowned and glanced at Chen Youfu.
They were supposed to be from the same production brigade, so there weren't that many people. They were from the same village, so how could they not know each other?
When Chen Youfu saw Liu Zhaodi like this, he glared at her angrily: "Third sister-in-law, what do you mean? Don't you know your brother-in-law? What the hell is going on!"
Liu Zhaodi blushed and stammered, "I, I, I..."
Chen Youfu no longer wanted to pay attention to him and quickly raised his hand: "Secretary Li, please come in."
As he spoke, he called out, "Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, are you home?"
At this time, the men were not at home, they had gone to work. Liu Guizhi was there, washing clothes with a washboard. She heard Chen Youfu calling and thought something was wrong, but then she saw Li Mingshuan.
He was startled and quickly wiped his hands on his clothes, then came over with a respectful smile.
"This is Fubao's mother. Where is Fubao?" Chen Youfu quickly introduced.
Fubao and Gu Shengtian were flipping through comic books in the house when they heard the noise and ran out.
As soon as she ran out, she saw Li Mingshuan. Of course she remembered Li Mingshuan, and she was immediately surprised and ran forward and shouted, "Uncle Li!"
Her little voice is so sweet, and the joy in her eyes is like tiny stars reflected in the river.
Li Mingshuan really liked Fubao, and now seeing her surprised look, he was even happier. He laughed and said, "Fubao, I came here this time to return your things to you in person, and to come and see you by the way."
Liu Guizhi was a little bit confused when she saw the stranger coming suddenly, but now she slowly calmed down and was about to pour water for Li Mingshuan: "Water, water, drink some water..."
She can speak quite a bit now, but sometimes her speech is a little sporadic and incoherent.
Fu Bao had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't dare to believe it: "My things?"
Li Mingshuan smiled and took out a box from his bag, a small red wooden box.
Fubao's eyes lit up.
Li Mingshuan handed the small wooden box to Fubao and asked, "Open it and take a look?"
Fubao took it, opened the box, and saw the jade.
The jade had been cleaned very cleanly and was tied with a new red rope. It looked brand new, completely different from when it was in Shengyin's hands.
Li Mingshuan smiled and said, "We took this piece of jade to the district and had it appraised. The expert said that although it's not very valuable, it's still a piece of jade. After discussing it, we decided to give it to you. After all, it was left to you by your family."
After hearing these words, Liu Zhaodi wanted to slap herself!
So it was because of this matter. Fortunately, she had been so foolish as to pretend not to know him. Chen Youfu must have felt that he was stupid! He was really embarrassing himself today!
Fubao stared at the jade, then looked up at Li Mingshuan's kind smile, and felt warm in his heart. Although Secretary Li had only met him a few times, he was really good to him.
"Come, let me put it on for you."
"Uh-huh!"
Fubao nodded very obediently.
Li Mingshuan smiled, took the jade from her hand, and helped her hang it around her neck: "Fubao, this jade was left by your relatives. You must wear it well. Maybe one day you can recognize your relatives with this jade."
Fubao never thought about recognizing her relatives, nor did she dare to think that she had any relatives in this world.
However, what Li Mingshuan said moved her and even gave her a vague expectation.
She pursed her lips and smiled: "I will always wear it."
She pinched the jade in her hand. The jade was now translucent and clear. When she held it in her hand, she could see the light pink on her fingers through the jade.
It’s a beautiful piece of jade. Although it’s not that valuable, it’s precious to Fubao.
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