Chapter 103
Qixi just ran back from Chen's house. After hearing this, he panted and said, "What are you complaining about? I went to talk to them and they were very happy. They said that even Liuzhu had to come with me to the party and guard the roadside. They were all waiting at home. Zhishuang, I ran errands for you, and you didn't even say you would give me a piece of candy."
Although Qixi is not very old, he is Liu Zhishuang's uncle. Now he asked his nephew for candy, which made everyone in the room laugh. Liu Zhishuang blushed and gave him a handful of candy. Qixi didn't feel embarrassed at all. He stuffed the candy into his pocket and ran out again.
Just as Qixi said, all the people in the Chen family were waiting at home. As soon as Liu Zhishuang opened the gate, Chen Liuzhu jumped over and said, "Hurry, give me two pieces of candy. I have to go to the village entrance with Qixi."
Sun Zhaodi gave her youngest son a slap in the face: "You are everywhere. Fifth Master, I am sorry to make you laugh. This kid is nothing like what I am used to."
The Fifth Master smiled tolerantly and said, "That's right. Qixi just asked his nephew for candy."
Chen Liuzhu retracted his outstretched hand: "Oh, mother, this won't work. If Zhishuang and my sister really get together, I will be a generation younger than Qixi. No, no, no."
This child really has to be punished, so Chen Dongsheng kicked him on the butt and said, "Go and guard the village entrance." This was like kicking Chen Liuzhu away.
After entering the house, Xia Juhua first reflected on herself and apologized to Chen Dongsheng and his wife before getting to the point: "Zhishuang bought three meters of cloth for you two to make some clothes. This fifty yuan is his betrothal gift to Xiaoman, don't think it's too little."
Looking at the cloth spread out in the paper package and the five big wedding gifts pushed to his hand, Chen Dongsheng waved his hands: "No, this money is too much, I can't accept it." Chen Dongsheng refused to accept the betrothal money, on the grounds that everyone's family is not easy nowadays, as long as the two children live well, the betrothal gift is enough to show his appreciation, how can he give so much.
The Fifth Master smiled and said, "Fifty yuan is not a small amount, but the fact that Juhua took it out proves that their family can afford it and that they value Xiaoman. If you love the child, then when Xiaoman and his family get married, you can send all the money to the child."
Chen Dongsheng opened his mouth twice, but still didn't say anything because he was afraid that he would be reluctant to give it up. He gritted his teeth and said to himself in his heart that money is good, but if he gets along well with Xia Juhua, he will definitely not lose anything. Now that the Fifth Master has asked for it, he must give all the fifty yuan to Xiaoman as a gift, otherwise he will not be able to hold his head up in Ping'an Manor in the future.
The betrothal gift arrangement went smoothly. Xia Juhua didn't care how Liu Zhishuang and Xiaoman got along in the future - she had taken the opportunity to propose a separation and let them build a new house. Whether they got along well or not was their own business.
As for Xia Juhua herself, she had plenty of things to do.
As soon as Team 3 arrived here and walked through the areas where the canal had not been repaired, they agreed on how to connect Team 3 with the canal in Ping'an Village. Then Wang Caixia delivered the peanuts. Qi Xi found someone to find Team 3 and finally brought Xia Juhua home.
"You're too busy. It's not been long since we last met." Wang Caixia complained as soon as they met.
Xia Juhua smiled apologetically: "I wanted to see you, but first there was the production team and then the team, so I had too much to do."
Wang Caixia looked at Xia Juhua with a teasing expression: "By the way, I haven't congratulated you yet. It's already amazing that you're the first female production team leader in the whole commune, but I didn't expect you to become the team leader. How about it, you feel very happy, right?"
Xia Juhua thought to herself, who knows who is suffering and who is tired. But if she said it out loud, people would think she was taking advantage of others, so she decided not to say it.
So she ignored Wang Caixia's teasing, pulled her back into the house and asked, "Just ask Boss Xia Che to deliver the peanuts, why did you make a trip yourself?" After all, she was the deputy director.
Wang Caixia glared at Xia Juhua and said, "What do you think? I really miss you. I'm delivering peanuts right now. It would be better for me to come here than to let someone else."
As the first friend Xia Juhua made in her life, she also attached great importance to her relationship with Wang Caixia. She smiled brightly after hearing this: "Who said it wasn't true? I was always in a hurry when I went to the commune several times and didn't have time to visit you. But I know that our Zhishuang has caused you a lot of trouble."
Wang Caixia felt that she was able to help Liu Zhishuang, who often asked her to buy meat, and didn't take it to heart at all: "If he doesn't ask me to go again, I won't know what you do all day. Now, as long as Zhishuang comes to me, I know that you are living a good life, and you are doing well."
Xia Juhua heard the boss of Xiache talking to Wang Caifeng outside, so she went up to Wang Caixia and whispered to her, "Let me tell you the truth, the peanuts you sent this time were not fried by me."
"Didn't you cook it?" Wang Caixia asked, but she didn't look very curious. It was obvious that she was prepared.
It's easy to say if you're prepared. Xia Juhua told Wang Caixia that she didn't have time to fry peanuts, and Wang Caifeng had mastered the skill last year. She assured Wang Caixia: "Don't worry, if you don't like the ones I fry when I deliver them, I'll buy them myself without saying anything. How about that?"
"What do you think?" Wang Caixia also whispered like Xia Juhua: "She is my sister from my mother's family. I am naturally happy when she lives a good life."
Even if everyone was happy, Wang Caixia and her husband refused to stay for dinner. In the end, Xia Juhua gave them five kilograms of vermicelli and sent them away. Wang Caifeng discussed with Xia Juhua: "Mom, how about I go and tell Grandma Qi today?"
You see, as long as they can make money, everyone will be very motivated. Xia Juhua let her make her own decision, and she had to go to Team 3 again - it was said that the five production teams were going to have a joint battle, but they couldn't all be put together, and they had to mark out which section each production team was responsible for, so as to avoid disputes in the future over who had more and who had less.
That is, to designate the responsibilities of each production team, all the production team leaders must be called together to discuss it. I don't want the five production team leaders to unanimously tell Xia Juhua to decide for herself, and they will do whatever she asks them to do, and no one will say no.
According to the location agreed upon with Li Changshun and Captain Niu, Xia Juhua could not help but ask Chen Qiusheng when returning to Pingan Village: "What's wrong with the three of them? In the past, they would wait for me to say one thing and eight more."
She was a little surprised by the sudden change of attitude.
Chen Qiusheng looked proud and said, "Now, each of their production teams is looking forward to Zhiquan going to collect the vermicelli every day. How dare they disobey you?"
Xia Juhua knew that the members were hoping to make some cash, but everyone's eagerness to sell all the vermicelli made her a little scared: "We don't know what the harvest will be like next year. They can't sell all the vermicelli. What will they eat in the future?"
Chen Qiusheng smiled wickedly: "They are all watching Ping An Village. Even though Qi Xi and his men are still guarding the village entrance every day, if anyone is interested, they can see what we do in Ping An Village every day and know how much vermicelli has been leaked and how much is left for each family."
Xia Juhua was still a little worried, so she told Chen Qiu Sheng: "Go back and tell each family not to sell all the vermicelli. If any family does not save food for the next autumn, they will go hungry, and the production team will have no food to provide them."
With Xia Juhua's words, Chen Qiusheng felt more confident. He went back to learn from Wu Ye and asked Zhang Cuiping to talk to the Chen family. The people of Ping'an Village had already sold vermicelli twice. Everyone counted the sweet potatoes in their hands and realized that if they continued to sell, they might really go hungry in the spring of next year. The speed of losing vermicelli suddenly slowed down.
The days passed quickly, and the day of the battle arrived early in the morning. After breakfast, everyone gathered outside the production team, chatting and laughing.
"You guys should work hard. We will bring you water in the afternoon." Zhao Xianzhi and her friends were not in a hurry to make baskets. They stood outside the crowd and shouted, "We can't let other production teams lose to us. That would bring shame to the captain."
"There's no need for you to deliver water. Team Three said there's enough hot water." Someone who wasn't afraid of death could clearly tell that it was Zhao Xianzhi who was shouting, and he replied.
"Okay, you guys can drink the water from Team 3, and it's best if you can eat in Team 3, too." How could Zhao Xianzhi be afraid of this? She threatened the person who was answering the call, "Today I will not allow your wife to come home to cook until she finishes weaving baskets, and you will have to eat cold cakes at noon."
"Sister Xianzhi, you have to see clearly who said it. Don't attack everyone at once." Someone immediately admitted his guilt and insisted on helping Zhao Xianzhi find the person who dared to say something to her, which made everyone laugh.
The Pinganzhuang production team was bustling, and the brigade headquarters was also bustling. Several brigade cadres had arrived early, and were going to ride in the brigade's horse-drawn carriage to go to the third team. Li Changshun always felt that something was missing, and after thinking about it, he slapped his forehead and asked accountant Chang: "I remember when we were organizing the battle, did we have to hang a banner?"
Accountant Chang nodded and said, "I still have that banner. How about I go find it?"
Li Changshun urged him: "Why don't you go find it quickly? What are you waiting for?" Accountant Chang stumbled and trotted to search the storeroom. When he found the things, the director of poverty alleviation, Sun Qinglin, helped Accountant Chang open the box and took a look:
Ping'an Village learns from the Dazhai Commando!
"Captain, isn't this a bit weird?" Xia Juhua felt that it would be better not to say these words.
Li Changshun waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Take them with you, and take those colorful flags with you, too. When the wind blows, they will flutter in the air and no one will care what is written on them."
Yes, it would cost money to make another banner, and the brigade didn't have much money in its account. Xia Juhua went to the warehouse with Accountant Chang again, one of them carried the flag face, and the other carried a few flagpoles, finally satisfying Li Changshun.
等他們的馬車來到三隊地頭的時候，五個生産隊的人都按着劃好的位置站好了，就等着誰一聲令下開挖呢。
上輩子夏菊花不是沒有參加過修水利的會戰，可那時候她是等着別人下命令的人，這輩子自己卻成了組織者。看着大家一個個摩拳擦掌的樣子，不由心情激動起來。
“菊花，你說兩句吧。”李長順現在是随時要把夏菊花舉到前頭，務必要讓她有身為大隊長的自覺。
夏菊花還真有點兒打怵：“大隊長，還是你說吧。”
“我說啥，你現在才是大隊長，以後不許再管我叫大隊長，叫李叔。”李長順擺出一副不耐煩的神情，死活都讓夏菊花講話。
那麽多人看着等着呢，夏菊花不能一直推辭，接過常會計遞過來的大喇叭，舉起來擋住自己半張臉，大聲喊起來：
“同志們，平安莊大隊冬季修渠會戰，今天就要開始了。希望大家撸起袖子加油幹，早點兒把三隊的渠跟平安莊的水渠修通，咱們就去修四隊和五隊的水渠。等全大隊的水渠連成一片，咱們全大隊的地都成了水澆地，大家天天吃上白面饅頭就有指望啦。”
哄的一聲，所有社員都議論了起來，他們不求天天都吃上白面饅頭，逢年過節的時候全家都吃個夠就行。
還真沒幾個人把夏菊花的話當真——前幾年公社或是縣裏組織修水庫的時候，領導也有這麽說的，可大家還不是把種出來的麥子，都交了公糧？大家也就是一說一聽，只要把渠修好就行了。
不過全大隊都成了水澆地，小麥種的也就多了，各家能分到的肯定比現在多，社員們想想已經挺知足了。加之夏菊花把修渠的順序都說明白了，為了以後別人修自己生産隊的渠能盡力，沒有人想着給別的生産隊幹活的時候偷懶。
何況幾個生産隊的人離得都不遠，不說搞啥生産競賽吧，出的人一樣多，結果你比別人挖的慢，人家咋看你？
李長順聽夏菊花三兩句就把話說完，把大喇叭放下，有些無語了：讓你講話不是讓你跟社員彙報工作，咋除了說吃白面饅頭一點兒鼓勁的話都沒有呢。
“還看着幹啥，都開始幹活。”李長順沖着幾個還看過來的生産隊長吼了一句，夏菊花才發現自己忘了說開始，讪讪的沖李長順笑了一下，自己走到了平安莊生産隊的隊伍裏。
拿過讓陳秋生給自己帶的鐵鍬，夏菊花狠狠把它插到地裏，用力往鍬沿上一蹬，雙手一較力，一大塊泥土被挖了下來。兩只手腕一翻，足有三四斤重的泥土，就被揚到了一邊。
一直注意着夏菊花的人都看直了眼，這還是個女人嗎，難怪她的外號叫夏小夥，本以為是平安莊人誇大了，現在看來他們哪兒是誇大，就算是一個壯年男人也不過如此。
夏菊花并不只是做做樣子，她就那麽一鍬連着一鍬的挖着土，很快腳下就出現了一個深坑。平安莊的社員已經見怪不怪，自覺的在夏菊花左右一字排開，吭哧吭哧的跟着挖了起來。
李大牛沖着小莊頭的人喊了一句：“挖呀。”小莊頭的人動了起來，他們跟平安莊負責的地段挨着，就算趕不上平安莊的速度，也不能落得太遠。
三隊自己的人在平安莊人開動之後，也跟着動起手來，大家邊挖邊小聲議論：“大隊長可真能幹。”
“就是，我還以為大隊長只是腦子活，沒想到幹活也是一把好手。”
“她要不是一直這麽能幹，平安莊的人能推舉她當生産隊長？就算推舉了，也不能一直這麽聽她的。”
生産隊嘛，大家還是最服氣能幹活、會幹活的人。
四隊和五隊的人也沒閑着，大家被刺激的連三隊婦女們來送水都顧不上喝，生怕自己一停手，就被平安莊的人給落下。
大家的土載挖越多，劉志雙跟另外一名被選出來的拖拉機手一起，開着兩臺拖拉機開始裝土，免得土堆得太多了不好下渠。
“要不大隊長說這是農業現代化呢，一車都頂上咱們推十車了。”有社員羨慕的看着拖拉機。
別人就說：“那可不光是頂十車的事兒。你推車的時候是不是還得花力氣，人家拖拉機除了裝車外，卸車都能自己車鬥一擡就卸下來了，才叫省勁呢。”
“平安莊今年春天的時候翻地使的就是拖拉機，來年咱們也能使上。多虧大隊長要來了這麽好的東西。”
一心挖土的夏菊花聽不到大家說什麽，李長順可把這些話聽到耳朵裏了。要說心裏一點兒不酸是不可能的，酸過之後更多的是欣慰：你們也覺得夏菊花當大隊長沒錯吧，最早覺得她應該當大隊長的，可是他李長順。
“夏大隊長，夏大隊長在嗎？”路邊不知道是誰在找夏菊花。
剛挖得冒汗的夏菊花擡起頭，發現路邊不知啥時候停了三輛自行車，車邊站着幾個穿着中山裝的人，其中一個胸前還挂了一個照相機，正沖着地裏的人群喊呢。
“隊長，好象是縣裏頭的人，你去吧。”陳秋生就在夏菊花不遠處挖渠，見夏菊花沒有動的意思，連忙催她快過去——要是縣裏來人的話，可不能怠慢了，要是人家覺得受了怠慢，把拖拉機要回去咋整。
不得不說，到現在全平安莊大隊還覺得那兩臺拖拉機來得太不真實，都怕不知道啥時候縣裏就來人要回去。
夏菊花拍拍身上的土，發現李長順正在看自己，忙向他走過去，邊拉着他一起往路上走邊說：“大隊長，這幾個人你見過沒有？”
李長順搖了搖頭，有點兒不想上前——現在他已經不是大隊長了，所以一直跟着處理大隊的事兒，不過是怕事兒太多夏菊花一個不耐煩，摞挑子更沒人能處理得了。眼前的這幾個人明顯都是縣裏或是更上一級來的人，應該不是壞事兒，那就該夏菊花自己去見他們。
可夏菊花哪能這麽輕松的放過他，李長順不上前她也不走，就看誰能耗得過誰。
路邊上的人已經等的有些不耐煩了：“夏大隊長，我們是縣報社的，要來報道一下平安莊大隊會戰的光榮事跡。”
啥？兩輩子都沒跟報紙打過交道的夏菊花有點兒蒙，更不想上前了：“大隊長，快點過去，他們是找你的。”
睜眼說瞎話也不是這麽說的，人家明明都叫夏大隊長了，咋還說是找自己的呢？李長順沒好氣的看了夏菊花一眼，氣哼哼來了一句：“走，咱們兩一起過去，他們還能吃人是咋地。”
是不能吃人，可拿筆的刀子有時候能殺人。
三位縣報社的同志自我介紹了一下，原來他們先是聽說了平安莊生産隊婦女們積極開展副業生産，東西都賣到友好國家去了，想報道一下。
不想到公社之後，聽張主任介紹說大旱之年，平安莊大隊竟然主動進行修渠會戰，覺得比發展副業更有看點兒，果斷改變了采訪目标，想先報道一下會戰。
這就有點兒巧了哈。夏菊花當然先禮貌的向三人介紹了李長順，最年長的那位記者就向李長順伸出手：“李大隊長你好，我們聽公社介紹過你的事跡，聽說你是一位退伍老兵，帶領社員們在農業戰線上奮鬥了二十來年，還向組織推薦了夏大隊長做農業生産的帶頭人，是這樣嗎？”
李長順沒想到記者不是跟自己客氣，而是真的對自己的情況了解的很清楚，臉上放光了：“我老了，大隊的工作有些力不從心了。夏菊花同志不光年輕能幹，腦子也好使，讓她帶着大家一起幹，我放心。對了，這次進行修渠會戰就是夏菊花同志想出來的，也得到了社員同志們的普遍支持。”
“是嘛，”記者沒主動跟夏菊花握手，只向她提出了問題：“夏菊花同志，你則當了一年的生産隊長，就接手大隊長工作，有沒有壓力？”
“你是咋想到要進行修渠會戰的？我們了解到平安莊生産隊今年一共打了七眼井，完全可以跟生産隊的水渠一起，保證平安莊生産隊澆地的需要，你是咋又想到接着修渠的？”
問題一個接着一個，夏菊花只撿自己最有把握的回答：“正因為今年年景不好，我才意識到整個大隊的水渠不連通的話，離河遠的生産隊不能及時給莊稼澆水，産量就會受到影響。莊稼是農民的命，收不上莊稼農民一年的辛苦就白費了。所以我就想着大隊的人一起使勁，盡快把水渠給連通起來。”
“夏大隊長，你說的太好了。”老記者有些激動的說：“雖然你沒啥豪言壯語，可聽得出來你是一位真真正正的農民。”
Is this nonsense? Isn't Xia Juhua a farmer or a cadre? Who pays her salary? Xia Juhua kept a polite smile and wanted to invite the reporter to sit in the third team for a while. But the reporters were all practical people. They wanted to interview the members on the spot to understand their true thoughts on the battle.
The two young reporters took out their notebooks and went to where the teams were crowded. The old reporter stayed where he was and asked Xia Juhua and Li Changshun how many members were mobilized for the battle, how everyone's work points were recorded, and how the problem of food was solved in addition to work points.
After asking, he looked at Xia Juhua intently, wanting to hear her answer.