Chapter 102
Hong Ling rolled her eyes at Liu Zhishuang in anger and said, "Brother, if you say that again, I'll take the passenger seat." Then she went forward and picked up Liu Baoguo, then waved to Hong Cui, "Come on, let's ride on the tractor too."
After hearing what Hong Ling said, the members watching knew what was going on. Several people started to make fun of Liu Zhishuang: "Zhishuang, you haven't even treated us to candy yet, and you're already trying to kidnap Xiaoman. Chen Dongsheng will beat you with a big stick."
Xiaoman climbed up to the co-pilot's seat silently. Liu Zhishuang said to the people who were making a fuss, "How do you know Uncle Chen is going to hit me with a big stick?" Without waiting for anyone to answer, he drove the tractor away, leaving the onlookers with a mouthful of dirt.
Everyone laughed and cursed, and after they finished laughing and cursing, they looked at Chen Dongsheng and his wife standing at the door with a little envy and asked, "They have decided on their relationship. How much will the captain's family give as a betrothal gift, and when will the marriage be settled?"
Chen Dongsheng and his wife were delighted to see Liu Zhishuang driving the tractor skillfully. At this moment, Chen Dongsheng no longer had any intention of letting his daughter learn the craft to teach their son - his son was still digging for food in the dirt, while Liu Zhishuang was already driving a tractor. It was a great honor for him.
So he smiled at the person who asked him the question with his usual simple and honest smile: "It hasn't been completely decided yet. As long as the children are doing well, there's no need to worry about the betrothal gift."
The noisy atmosphere outside could be heard in the house, and Director Zhang also had a smile on his face.
Of course, his intention was not just to have a meal at Xia Juhua's house. He solemnly repeated what he had said at the meeting, that is, preparations must be made for canal construction. This year, Ping'anzhuang Brigade must not only repair canals, but also repair more and better canals than other brigades.
"Once these two tractors arrive at the commune, other brigades will get the news and keep an eye on them. If you don't repair the canal well in Pingan Village, those people will have their eyes on these two tractors. I won't be able to handle it by then, so you can't go to the commune again."
Xia Juhua was angry: "Director Zhang, what else can the tractor do besides help transport the excavated soil? Don't we still have to dig it out with hoes and shovels?"
"Who told the county to specifically give these two tractors to Ping'an Village?" Director Zhang chuckled a little unkindly, "You don't know that the agricultural machinery station has been surrounded by the captains of the various brigades these days, and they are asking us to send technicians to their brigades every day."
By hiring a technician from the agricultural machinery station, two tractors can be brought to the brigade. Now all the team leaders want to establish good relationships with the people from the agricultural machinery station.
Xia Juhua no longer wanted to comment on those people's thoughts: "Director Zhang, I have no control over how they do things, but you know better than me how our brigade got these two tractors."
Director Zhang certainly knew this, but he had his reasons: "Captain Xia, don't tell me you don't know, with these two tractors, your brigade can save a lot of effort in the spring plowing next year. With this effort, why can't you build more canals? For example, if your third team is connected to the canal of Ping'an Village, can you get more food this year?"
Xia Juhua and Li Changshun were silent. If the Third Team had not followed Ping'an Village closely this year and planted a lot of sweet potatoes, I couldn't imagine how they would live if they only relied on conventional crops such as corn and wheat.
Xia Juhua thought that it was only in the past few years that everyone listened to her call and used the winter off-season to concentrate on water conservancy construction and try to connect all the canals in the brigade. When the household contract responsibility system was first implemented, who would have been willing to let the canals run through their own land? As a result, only half of the canals were built, and the rest of the land depended on those few wells.
Wells cannot be dug everywhere, and it depends on whether they can produce water. According to Xia Juhua's memory, the third team basically relied on the weather throughout the 1980s. It was not until the mid-1990s that several wells were dug and all the land was turned into irrigated land.
"Captain," Xia Juhua looked at Li Changshun, "What do you think about us having a battle?"
Li Changshun saw that Xia Juhua had not spoken just now, so he knew that she was thinking about something, so he did not speak. Unexpectedly, Xia Juhua was so bold that she even dared to mention a battle: A brigade wants to engage in a battle, aren't you afraid of being laughed at if you tell others?
Xia Juhua is not afraid of being laughed at. One production team working together is agricultural production. Five production teams working together, what else can we call it if not a battle?!
Looking at the confident Xia Juhua, Director Zhang was not as shocked as Li Changshun. He just asked, "How are you going to fight?"
"I was thinking that when the commune gave us tasks, could we not assign tasks to each production team individually, but instead focus all our efforts on one production team first, starting with Team 3 and Ping'an Village. They are far from the Xianhe River. If we build a canal between Ping'an Village and Team 3, Team 3 will also be able to use the Xianhe River water to irrigate the land in the spring of next year."
"After we have completed the canal between our production team and the third team, if there is still time, we will continue to repair the canal between the fourth and fifth teams. After we have completed the canal between these two production teams, our brigade will only have the Xiaozhuangtou side left. They have already opened up the canal on the other side of the Xihe River. After the thaw of the ice, several production teams will work harder and use the time before the spring plowing. Maybe the canals of the entire brigade can be connected."
The more Xia Juhua thought about it, the more she felt that this was a very real possibility. If the canals of each production team could be repaired before the household contract responsibility system was implemented, would have water to irrigate the land when the land was divided in the future. If two more water pumps everyone were built by the Xihe River, the entire Ping'anzhuang Brigade would no longer have to rely on the weather for their livelihood.
Director Zhang looked at Xia Juhua, who was looking longing, and asked, "There is still halfway between Team 3 and Ping'an Village. Is there still time to repair the section between Team 4 and Team 5? What if the members of the small village have opinions and feel that they are at a disadvantage?"
Li Changshun said quickly, "No, I will do the work in Xiaozhuangtou." If the canals in the whole brigade were connected, how much more water would be needed to irrigate the land. Anyway, Xiaozhuangtou already has half of the land irrigated with water, and the remaining half can be used to grow sweet potatoes and last for a year.
Xia Juhua mentally mentioned the canal between Xiaozhuangtou and Ping'anzhuang and said, "Actually, Xiaozhuangtou and Ping'anzhuang are already connected. What remains is to connect them to the fourth team. If all the members of the brigade work together, it will be done in half a month."
It sounds like a promising future. Director Zhang nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I'll ask the people at the Agricultural Machinery Station when I get back. If they have nothing else to do, I'll see if they can provide you with more support."
Xiao Zhao and his friends had been eating hot and sour noodles, and now they said, "Director, as long as the Red Team members are quiet, we want to come here to eat hot and sour noodles every day."
Director Zhang smiled and said, "I know what you stationmasters are thinking. I'll think of a solution when I get back." They are just a few red teams. Can they still thrive without subsidies?
Since Director Zhang also supported his idea, the Ping'anzhuang Brigade convened all the production team leaders and brigade cadres for a meeting that night. I don't know if Li Changshun told Li Daniu in advance. At the meeting, Li Daniu didn't say a word of opposition, but was the first to assure Xia Juhua:
"Captain, don't worry. As long as the brigade says it's time to start repairing the canal, our production team will be there at any time. We will repair wherever we are told to."
Seeing that Li Daniu had taken the lead, the other three team leaders all expressed the same idea as him. The third team leader even bowed to those people and said, "Don't worry, when our production team is done repairing the canals, we will help you repair them even if it means delaying the spring ploughing next year."
Chen Qiusheng, on the other hand, was the one with the least burden. He pulled the captain of Team 3 and asked him to sit down: "Captain Niu, we are all from the same brigade. This is the unified arrangement of the brigade. It's too formal for you to say that."
Captain Niu shook his head and said, "It's not that we are being polite. Although it is a unified arrangement of the brigade, the confidence of repairing first and repairing later is different. We have fewer people in the third team, so we have taken advantage of everyone."
"Since everyone agrees, let's hurry up and start the work of the production team. We won't wait for the notice from the commune and will start repairing the canal in three days."
Chen Qiusheng smiled and nodded: "No problem, the 200 strong men from Ping An Village will definitely report to Team 3 on time."
In previous years, each production team only sent out a hundred people to build the canal. This year, Xia Juhua said that she wanted to have a battle, and each production team had just agreed to send out 200 people. Just by hearing this, everyone could imagine how heated the scene was.
Captain Niu said hurriedly, "I heard that when Ping'an Village was repairing the canal last year, someone delivered water and ginger soup to the repairmen every day. Our team three doesn't have that much ginger, but we're sure there's enough hot water."
Everyone laughed, and the fourth team leader said to Xia Juhua with some regret: "I was thinking of taking a few good guys to Ping'an Village to repair the canal in a few days. If we fall in love with a girl from Ping'an Village, we will make a fortune. But now we are going to the third team to repair the canal..."
"What do you mean?" Captain Niu was unwilling: "You look down on the girls of our production team, don't you? Just wait, don't let me hear that the young man from your production team wants to marry a girl from our production team. If I find out, I will break your head."
The fourth captain said fearlessly: "You still don't want to listen, ask them who doesn't want to marry the daughter of Ping An Manor now."
Li Daniu and a few others nodded to Captain Niu, making Captain Niu so angry that he gasped for breath.
After the meeting, Xia Juhua returned home and found that the light in the east room was still on. She stood under the window and asked, "Caifeng, why haven't you slept yet?"
Wang Caifeng opened the door and came out, whispering, "Mom, Xiaoqi is resting in Zhishuang's room, and Zhiquan and Li Lin have gone to the small village."
No wonder, Xia Juhua understood why Li Daniu was so easy to talk to today. He probably met Liu Zhiquan before the meeting.
"Okay, then you should take a rest first." Xia Juhua said and went back to the house. Wang Caifeng closed the door carefully. After hearing that the two children were silent, she followed them to the main room and said:
"Mom, not long after you left, my cousin came and said that the regional supply and marketing cooperative had given them a task and wanted you to roast another 1,000 kilograms of peanuts. She asked when you could deliver the peanuts."
Still want to fry peanuts yourself? Xia Juhua asked in confusion: "Where do they get the peanuts?" After asking, she realized that she was overthinking. Even if the year was bad, it would not be difficult for the regional supply and marketing cooperative to get some peanuts.
"What did you say?"
"I told my cousin that you went to the brigade for a meeting and didn't know if you had time. I had to ask you. She had something else to do at home and left first. She asked me to convey the message to you today and wait for your reply tomorrow." Wang Caifeng told Xia Juhua everything.
Xia Juhua didn't understand: "Why don't you agree to her? Even if I don't have time, you have already mastered the skill of frying peanuts, so you can fry them yourself. It's 5 cents per pound, which is 50 yuan. It's a waste if you don't make money."
Wang Caifeng was a little embarrassed: "Mom, you taught me that skill. If you want to fry it..."
"What are you talking about?" Xia Juhua waved her hands at Wang Caifeng, "I'm busy with things outside every day and I can't handle it. If you think you can handle it, then take it. If you can't," Xia Juhua thought that if she turned it down this time, the other party might not come to her next time. She was reluctant to do it, "If you feel you can't handle it, then let Seventh Grandma help you take care of the children. You have to fry the peanuts for your cousin anyway."
“What if people find out the food wasn’t cooked by my mother?” Wang Caifeng was still a little worried.
Xia Juhua thought it was not a problem at all: "How can they be so picky? They can taste the flavor even if I can't. They can only cook a few pots at this time of year. What are you still thinking about?"
Wang Caifeng felt relieved, and nodded happily, saying, "Okay, I'll ask Zhiquan to tell my cousin tomorrow. Mom, when I make the money, we'll split it in half."
Wang Caifeng knew very well why people had to go to the Liu family to fry peanuts.
Xia Juhua didn't want the money, and told her daughter-in-law: "You earned the money yourself, I don't want it. You have two children to raise, so you should keep the money you deserve. And don't let Zhiquan think he's taking advantage of Zhishuang. Xiaoqi won't benefit from Zhishuang. He should concentrate on driving the tractor in the future, there will be many opportunities to make money."
In the early 1980s, the people behind the steering wheel were the ones making the most money.
Speaking of Liu Zhishuang, Wang Caifeng couldn't stop talking: "Mom, you know, Xiao Qi told us tonight that he introduced a guy to Sun Hongmei, and the Sun family has agreed. I heard that he is a commercial grain eater. He is just two years older than Sun Hongmei, but why would that commercial grain eater like Sun Hongmei?"
That’s two years older, right? That’s the age at which he can become Sun Hongmei’s father.
When Xia Juhua heard that the child in the east room was quiet, she told Wang Caifeng what Qi Weidong had told her. Wang Caifeng was stunned: "How could the Sun family agree to such a person? How could Sun Hongmei do it herself?"
Xia Juhua didn't hesitate to speculate the Sun family with the greatest malice: "They are a family that is greedy for money. Didn't the money from Liu Sizhuang's family in the old courtyard never come back? There was not much harvest in Sun's village this year, and their money was taken away by the Red Team. They are thinking of using Sun Hongmei to exchange for food." However, given Sun Hongmei's selfish nature, the Sun family could only take advantage of her this time.
"What if Sun Hongmei captures that person..." Wang Caifeng couldn't help but worry. At this time, the farmers were envious of the people in the city who ate commercial food, and always felt that they could do things more easily than the farmers.
The man Qi Weidong found for Sun Hongmei had some kinship with Uncle Qi, so he could deal with the Liu family if he really wanted to. But Qi Weidong made it clear that the man's personality might have become distorted after his legs became damaged, and he probably spent all his energy on Sun Hongmei, not caring about dealing with the Liu family.
Even if they really wanted to deal with the Liu family, Xia Juhua believed that with Qi Weidong around, that person's relationship with Uncle Qi could not be closer than his. Didn't you see Li Lin follow Qi Weidong?
After listening to Xia Juhua's analysis, Wang Caifeng finally felt relieved: "That's good. But mother, Zhishuang should hurry up and give Uncle Chen's family a betrothal gift, otherwise Sun Hongmei will get married before Zhishuang. I always feel like Zhishuang is being outshined by her."
Xia Juhua didn't think so: "It's better for her to get married first. If she gets married, she will be far away from us, so she won't have the chance to cause trouble for us. But when Zhishuang comes back, I have to ask him. That bastard didn't tell me clearly how much dowry he wanted. It's a shame that he still had the nerve to bring Xiaoman to the commune today."
Wang Caifeng smiled and said, "Baoguo came back and said that Zhishuang bought Xiaoman a red headscarf."
"Xiao Qi came over in the evening, but didn't he bring anything? Didn't he go to Xiao Qi to buy things?" Xia Juhua was too busy today and really didn't care what Liu Zhishuang bought.
Wang Caifeng shook her head, feeling somewhat guilty for not helping her mother-in-law, and said, "Xiao Qi did give Zhi Shuang two paper bags, but he didn't tell her what they were."
As long as there is something, it's fine. Xia Juhua planned to ask again tomorrow. She sent Wang Caifeng back to the house to look after the children and went to sleep. As for Liu Zhiquan not coming back from collecting vermicelli, Xia Juhua was no longer worried - he was already such a big man and had worked in two production teams. If there was still a mistake, it would be his own responsibility to find a way to solve it.
The next day, Qi Weidong did not leave, waiting to talk to Xia Juhua. While eating breakfast, he told her what he knew about the market. Food is expensive now, and the price of food on the black market is 50% higher than before. This is because the price has dropped after the relief came. It has almost doubled in the past period of time.
"Auntie, are you still going to buy this food?" Qi Weidong wanted to get a firm answer before taking any action.
Xia Juhua nodded decisively: "Buy, buy as much as you can. Zhiquan, have you taken note of how much money was deducted from each production team?"
She looked at Liu Zhiquan, and Liu Zhiquan looked at Wang Caifeng. When Wang Caifeng nodded, he also nodded: "Caifeng, I've written it down."
Xia Juhua wanted to hit him hard: "Let you learn to read with Zhishuang when you have time, or even let Caifeng teach you, isn't that better than relying on others for everything?"
Liu Zhiquan replied in a muffled voice: "I will learn it today."
OK, at least she wasn't given the money until tomorrow. What else could Xia Juhua do except lower her head and drink porridge?
Qi Weidong found it very interesting when Aunt Xia talked to her two sons. She was obviously full of disdain in her words, but she would not tire of teaching them again next time when something happened. The two brothers were not bothered by being scolded. Sometimes, even though they knew they would be scolded for what they said, they would never hide anything from Aunt Xia.
I guess this is a case of it being one willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten.
Xia Juhua didn't know that Qi Weidong thought so much about the relationship between the three of them. If she knew, she might tell Qi Weidong. She had been kept in the dark about many things in her last life, and it was only after several warnings in this life that she got the two brothers to speak the truth and do honest things.
Now she still had something to ask Liu Zhishuang: "Xiao Qi bought something for you, when are you going to go next door?"
Why bring this up at this time?
Liu Zhishuang said in confusion: "Mom, the tractor just arrived, I want to get familiar with it for two days."
"How long will it take you to pay the betrothal gift?" Xia Juhua almost slammed the table.
Liu Zhishuang asked in confusion, "Mom, why are you getting more irritable every day?"
Xia Juhua ignored him and told him to finish eating quickly and bring over the things Qi Weidong had helped buy. She had to check how much there was so as to avoid any complaints from the Chen family.
Liu Zhishuang resigned himself to finishing his porridge, stuffed the last piece of Erhe bread into his mouth, and went back to the west room to get two paper bags.
"Mom, the big one is three meters of cloth, and it's for Xiaoman's parents. The other one and a half meters of red cloth is for Xiaoman, to make a dress for Xiaoman. The small inner cloth is for you to make yourself a dress." Liu Zhishuang said as he opened the paper package.
The big paper package contained blue and red cloth, and the small paper package contained a piece of blue and a piece of dark blue twill cloth, all neatly stacked. Xia Juhua pointed at the blue cloth and asked, "Why are they all blue?"
Qi Weidong smiled and explained, "Auntie, I was wondering who would make this cloth in the end, so it wouldn't be a big deal if we bought a large piece. I picked this dark blue one, it looks better than the black coat you're wearing now, right?"
Xia Juhua asked: "How much do these two pieces of cloth cost? I'll give you the money. You still have to give gifts to others, so you probably don't have much money in your hands."
Liu Zhishuang smiled and said, "I don't have any other money, but how can I not have money to buy some clothes for my mother?"
Wang Caifeng turned around and went back to the house, and took out a pair of cotton shoes: "Mom, save these shoes for you to wear when Zhishuang gets married."
Xia Juhua felt even more guilty: "You have two children, why are you still making shoes for me?" After saying this, she put down the cloth that Liu Zhishuang bought for her and tried on the new shoes: "It fits perfectly. You don't have to make shoes for me next time."
Qi Weidong smiled and said to Wang Caifeng, "Sister-in-law, next time I see someone selling leather shoes, bring a pair back for Auntie, and you just need to take good care of Baoguo and Brother."
Wang Caifeng felt that she had been praised by Xia Juhua, and did not think that Qi Weidong looked down on the cotton shoes she made. She smiled and said, "Okay, bring them back to my mother. Tell me how much they cost and I'll give you the money."
Qi Weidong smiled but said nothing. Xia Juhua put away the paper bag given to her and asked Liu Zhishuang, "How much is the betrothal gift?"
"Didn't you say fifty?" Liu Zhishuang thought Xia Juhua should know, and acted as if it was a matter of course.
Wang Caifeng pursed her lips and said nothing. Liu Zhiquan asked, "Why don't you buy two snacks or some candies?" At least four items should be added to make it look good.
Seeing Liu Zhishuang and Qi Weidong nod together, felt relieved. Because of the local custom, the betrothal gift must be paid in the morning, so Xia Juhua decided to go to the brigade headquarters a little later today and find the Fifth Master to take care of this matter first.
The Fifth Master asked Qixi to go to the Chen family first, so that when they went there, everyone in the family would go to work. Xia Juhua said with a bit of self-pity: "I should have told you earlier, but one thing after another, I forgot. Chen Dongsheng and his wife won't make trouble, right?"
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