Chapter 127
Do you have any requirements?
Xia Juhua looked up at Deputy Director Gu in confusion, then smiled and said, "It is my honor to have the opportunity to participate in the expo. I should do all the work at the expo. Director Yang and Deputy Director Gu have already commended me for the little work I have done, so I don't have any more requests. If the leaders insist on asking me to make a request, I would ask them to get the power supply of Ping'an Village to transfer the harvester and diesel to the place as soon as possible, so that our Ping'an Village Brigade can better build agricultural modernization."
The person who asked Xia Juhua whether she had any requests was Director Cheng, the head of the provincial supply and marketing system and Deputy Director Gu's superior. He had heard Deputy Director Gu's various reports on Xia Juhua and knew that Xia Juhua had once asked Deputy Director Gu to arrange for her two sons to work in the supply and marketing system.
Director Cheng had considered choosing to bring up the issue today during the commendation dinner. He wanted to use the harmonious atmosphere and relaxed context to let Xia Juhua let down her guard. He then raised the request and she would agree to it. This would better demonstrate the strength of the provincial supply and marketing system's commendation of Xia Juhua and show that the leaders value Xia Juhua as a person.
Who knew that Xia Juhua no longer mentioned her two sons, but was more concerned about the issue of electrification and deployment of combined harvesters in Ping'an Village. Director Cheng didn't know whether to praise Xia Juhua for her selflessness or give her an unjustified evaluation.
Deputy Director Gu, who was sitting at the same table, calmed down immediately. He looked at Director Cheng with a hint of ridicule: If Xia Juhua was the kind of person who said one thing and meant another, why would she have to come back and report to the organization but still get no response? She should have come to apologize to me the day after she rejected me.
However, he is the leader of the exhibition team after all. As long as the delegation is not disbanded, Xia Juhua will be under his leadership. Deputy Director Gu will not sit idly by and watch Xia Juhua being embarrassed and misunderstood because of his leadership.
He laughed and said to Director Cheng, "Director, I am right, aren't I? Comrade Xia Juhua has always had a characteristic in doing things, that is, she always puts the collective interests above personal interests."
Director Cheng had recovered from his initial disbelief and smiled without any grudge: "We should protect comrades like this, and we should call on all comrades in the supply and marketing system to learn from Comrade Xia Juhua."
Xia Juhua waved her hands anxiously: "Two leaders, I can hardly sit still when you say that. I am just a rural woman who manages some brigade affairs. I am afraid that I can't manage them well, so I worry about them wherever I go. I am sorry to make you laugh."
"We wish all our employees had this sense of responsibility." Director Cheng was truly inspired: "It's easy to say that we should always keep our work in mind and always be ahead of others, but few people can actually do it."
Deputy Director Gu agreed with this point very much, and recounted in front of him how Xia Juhua had amazed her international friends at the expo, negotiated an order for 10,000 tons of rubber for Province L at a price lower than the country's external procurement price, and signed a contract for two tons of cashew nuts at a price nearly one-third lower than the previous import price.
Even though Director Cheng had heard the proposal once before, he still felt excited after hearing it again: 10,000 tons of rubber can almost solve the raw material problem of rubber product factories in the province. Moreover, they have established a connection with Roberts and can place additional orders in the future. For L Province, where the industry is not developed, what a concept!
This is great news that even provincial governors would jump up and applaud. Supply and marketing cooperatives across the country no longer have to worry about shortages of rubber products!
As for the leaders who were sitting at the same table and whose rank was lower than that of Deputy Director Gu, it was the first time they heard of Xia Juhua's great achievements. It was like listening to a fairy tale: it was really eye-opening for them that foreign negotiations could be conducted in this way.
Several leaders were so excited that their faces lit up. They said to Director Cheng in person: "Director, it is a waste of talent for Comrade Xia Juhua to stay in Pingde County as a team leader. Our supply and marketing system is in need of such people."
Even the leaders of the Expo have praised the people of United Harvester, and Director Yang has personally accepted them. Even if they come to the supply and marketing system for a while every day, the role they can play is unimaginable, okay?
Director Cheng and Deputy Director Gu smiled at each other and asked the leaders to be patient - tomorrow is the day when the commendation meeting will be officially held, and everyone can sit together to discuss the commendation and reward for Comrade Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua felt very nervous after hearing this. She waited until the leaders calmed down a little before looking around with a nervous expression. She quickly lowered her head and said in a neither loud nor low voice: "Dear leaders, I am really not suitable for the work of the supply and marketing cooperative. You should choose someone more suitable."
After saying this, no matter what advice others gave her, she remained silent.
Deputy Director Gu sighed inwardly and shook his head at Director Cheng. They both understood that Xia Juhua was determined not to come to the provincial supply and marketing system. Even if she was determined, they could directly issue a transfer order, but would they really let her sit idle at work every day if they forcibly transferred Xia Juhua into the system?
Not to mention whether it is a waste of talent, other people in the system will also have opinions when they see it, and it will have a bad impact on their reputation.
"Comrade Xia Juhua," Director Cheng could still smile, and his smile was even warmer than when he first asked Xia Juhua if she had any requests: "We already understand your thoughts. Don't worry, the supply and marketing system will not force you to do anything. But you can't forget your responsibilities once you leave the provincial capital. I heard from Deputy Director Gu that you still need to contact Roberts more."
Xia Juhua finally spoke again: "Please rest assured, Director. If the supply and marketing system needs me, I will do my best."
"Okay!" Director Cheng picked up the wine glass in front of him, exchanged a glance with Deputy Director Gu, and then looked around at the people at the same table, and said to Xia Juhua: "I feel relieved when you said that. Please rest assured, we will work hard to coordinate the power supply to Ping'an Village, as for the joint harvester..."
Director Cheng paused at this point, but Xia Juhua was not in a hurry and waited for him to continue. Director Cheng felt that his pause did not achieve the expected effect, so he stopped keeping the secret and said, "We will contact Director Yang, but you can also call Director Yang yourself."
Xia Juhua picked up her teacup along with else. When she heard Director Cheng ask her to contact Director Yang, she smiled and raised her cup a little higher: "Director Yang is such a high-ranking leader. He has to deal with international friends every day. I'd better not disturb everyone his work. Anyway, we are not waiting to use the combined harvester. We can use it when the wheat is harvested."
Deputy Director Gu was so anxious that he almost burst out laughing. This Xia Juhua was really stubborn. Forget it, before the meeting, he should remind Director Cheng to come up with more tangible things.
From his observations these days, Xia Juhua did not really reject her personal interests. Only when personal interests and collective interests were put before her at the same time would she give priority to collective interests.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua didn't know when Deputy Director Gu had such an impression of her, otherwise she would have to tell Deputy Director Gu loudly that she was not like that, she didn't have that, and what she cared about most was her personal interests.
Why do you think Xia Juhua is so concerned about electricity? It's because she wants to develop faster in the future, and electricity is a necessary condition. With electricity, the pulping machine will no longer use manpower, and more powder can be squeezed out by saving labor. There are also constant temperature incubators for raising chickens and blowers for burning bricks. Which one can only be turned with electricity?
Xia Juhua, who did not understand Deputy Director Gu's intention, received a great surprise the next day: the provincial supply and marketing system had achieved fruitful results at the expo this time, and the leaders were very happy, so they increased the recognition. In addition to the honor of an advanced individual, Xia Juhua, who had promoted the achievement, was also given a generous material reward.
A Shanghai brand ladies' watch, a 28-inch Phoenix brand bicycle, and a Shanghai brand radio, these were the three major items of the era.
What made Xia Juhua feel even more thoughtful was that the watch was given to her as a reward on the spot, while the bicycle and radio were invoiced directly by the provincial supply and marketing system and could be picked up directly at the Pingde County Supply and Marketing Cooperative, saving Xia Juhua the trouble of being unable to take them back alone.
Xia Juhua secretly thought that as long as it was free, she could transport two more back to Ping An Manor. But she just thought about it and didn't really say it out loud. What she could say out loud was her gratitude to the leaders.
This trip to the expo was really worthwhile.
Xia Juhua sincerely felt that if she had another chance, she would participate again.
After receiving the award, Deputy Director Gu personally saw Xia Juhua and Section Chief Zheng off. He did not shake hands with Xia Juhua, but told her a decision that could not be made public at the commendation meeting: "I have already reported to the leaders about your proposal in Yangcheng to let your two sons join the supply and marketing system, and the leaders have preliminarily agreed with your idea."
No way? Xia Juhua was really embarrassed: "Deputy Director Gu, you see, I didn't do anything. Director Yang rewarded you once, and the province also rewarded you with so many things. Why are you still..."
Deputy Director Gu shook his head to stop Xia Juhua from talking any further: "Don't be too excited. Your two sons are just in their twenties. It's time for them to learn and do business. Recruiting them into the supply and marketing system will also add fresh blood to us. You are thinking about them. As a mother, you love your children. We all understand."
"However, it is impossible for both of them to come to the provincial capital. One of them has to stay in the Chengping District Supply and Marketing Cooperative. You have to go back and discuss it with them. Give me an answer as soon as possible so that we can handle the formalities here."
All the rewards added together were not as exciting as the last few words from Deputy Director Gu: After living for several years, Xia Juhua could only endure it because there were no conditions at first. The two guys could not move out and live separately. When the conditions were met, the two guys relied on her again and refused to apply for homesteads. There was still no way to separate the family. Xia Juhua really had no way to deal with them.
It's not that Xia Juhua is indecisive, but she has to adapt to the local customs and practices of Ping'an Village if she wants to produce. The performance of Liu Zhiquan and his two brothers in this life can be regarded as filial no matter where they are. Could it be that Xia Juhua said to others: They didn't have a good thing in their previous life?
In that case, it would not be a question of how the Liu Zhiquan brothers were, but that Xia Juhua would be locked up as a lunatic.
Xia Juhua, who has a new life and is living a smooth and promising life, doesn't want to be regarded as a madman - have you ever seen someone doing business with a madman, or have you ever seen a madman taking control of his own life?
With Deputy Director Gu around, things would be very different. If Xia Juhua could take Liu Zhiquan and his brother out, it would mean that she had already paved a good future for her sons and brought benefits to their descendants.
After all, Xia Juhua was the only one who knew that city hukou would lose its appeal and that the iron rice bowl at the supply and marketing cooperative would soon get rusty!
So, Deputy Director Gu finally saw Xia Juhua's face, which suddenly lit up. With excitement in his eyes, he confirmed with himself: "Deputy Director Gu, can those two guys join the supply and marketing cooperative system?"
Deputy Director Gu nodded repeatedly, and after receiving countless thanks from Xia Juhua, he shook the hand of Section Chief Zheng and said, "I have already called your director to tell you the details. He said that Comrade Xia Juhua will receive corresponding rewards after she returns to the region. Remember to remind her not to do anything flashy."
After Section Chief Zheng promised that he would convey the leadership's intentions to the director of the regional supply and marketing cooperative, Xia Juhua and Section Chief Zheng got on the jeep specially arranged for them by the provincial supply and marketing system and went to the railway station to take a train back to Chengping City.
Sitting on the train, Xia Juhua discussed with Section Chief Zheng that she would not attend the regional summary meeting and whether she could take the bus directly back to Pingde County and return to Ping'an Village.
Section Chief Zheng laughed: "Of course not. You don't know how much attention our region is paying this time. Not only the leaders of the supply and marketing cooperatives will attend the summary meeting, but also the deputy directors of the regional revolutionary committee and the directors of the revolutionary committees of each county. Director Qi from Pingde will also attend the meeting. He will definitely have a car to attend the meeting, and you can go back with his car when the time comes, so as to avoid being unable to carry things by yourself."
Seeing that Xia Juhua was still hesitant, Section Chief Zheng advised Xia Juhua: "Didn't you say that you have to have a son join the regional supply and marketing cooperative? You should meet with all the leaders so that if your son has any problems in the future, there will be someone to speak for him."
Xia Juhua actually didn't care much about this - the road was paved, and if someone sprained their ankle while walking on the road, that was the person walking on it's own problem.
But Chief Zheng's words touched Xia Juhua: "The leaders of the provincial supply and marketing system have told the regions not to give flashy rewards. Maybe the rewards are cash. It's not appropriate for anyone to collect that for you."
Chief Zheng's guess was correct. As soon as he got off the train, he could feel that the Supply and Marketing Cooperative really attached great importance to the results of this expo. They had picked people up at the platform, and a deputy director led the team. Xia Juhua had to express her gratitude very much.
The summary meeting was scheduled for the next day. That evening, the supply and marketing cooperative arranged a welcoming banquet for Section Chief Zheng and his two companions. Also attending were the directors of the Revolutionary Committees of various counties. When Uncle Qi saw Xia Juhua, he smiled and said hello: "If you don't come back, Ping'an Village will be in chaos."
Xia Juhua could tell that Uncle Qi was joking, but she was still a little nervous: "What's going on? Is it that someone doesn't listen to Captain Li's instructions, or is there someone..."
The word "report" was not uttered, the situation was really wrong. Uncle Qi looked at her with a half-smile, shook his head and said, "It's not that Pingan Manor itself is in chaos, it's that someone from the northwest came to look for you, and they couldn't find anyone so they went to Pingan Manor directly. Li Changshun and his men didn't know how to greet people, it was a bit chaotic."
Xia Juhua was not worried at first, but when she heard that someone from Xibei was looking for her, she became worried: "We don't have any relatives in Xibei, so why would someone from there look for me?"
However, Uncle Qi was not allowed to explain the situation in detail to Xia Juhua. Before he came to the meeting, he was told not to leak the news before they met Xia Juhua. Uncle Qi had no choice but to shake his head to Xia Juhua and told her that after the commendation meeting, he would take Xia Juhua directly back to Pingde County.
Seeing that although Uncle Qi didn't say much, he didn't look too anxious, Xia Juhua could only put her worries aside for the time being and obediently attended the welcoming banquet and the regional summary meeting with everyone.
The regional leaders summoned the directors of the Revolutionary Committees of all counties to attend the meeting mainly to use the example of Pinganzhuang Brigade in Pingde County to stimulate the work of other counties:
Although the criminal group had been crushed, the main leaders in many counties were still very constrained in their thinking. They did not think about how to quickly restore the nearly collapsed industrial and agricultural production, and were still thinking about class struggle.
Don't you look at the farmers in your own county? How much do they get in dividends in a year? How many families can't even have a white dumpling during the Spring Festival? Can't I expect you to make contributions to the country and let the people in your own county have enough to eat?
So this time, not only did the regional supply and marketing cooperative give Xia Juhua the reward of recruiting workers (in order to prevent adverse effects, the supply and marketing cooperative blurred the specific information of the recruitment) and directly allocating housing, the region also specially set aside 500 yuan to reward Xia Juhua, the leader who led the entire brigade to engage in sideline production, and required Pingde County to come up with corresponding rewards.
It is no exaggeration to say that although the recruitment and housing allocation were all completed at one time, the directors of the county revolutionary committees were somewhat surprised, they were not as moved as the reward of 500 yuan: they were used to spiritual rewards, and when material rewards were suddenly put on the table, many people could not accept it for a while.
After the meeting, when they wanted to ask Uncle Qi how much reward Pingde County would give, they found out that Uncle Qi and Xia Juhua had already taken a bus back to Pingde County and did not even attend the celebration banquet.
This is a bit odd: Pingde County logically took the lead this time, and Uncle Qi also gave a speech on his experience at the meeting. How could he not stand out at the celebration banquet?
Why did you leave so quietly? Isn't this a disgrace to the district and the supply and marketing cooperative? The leaders will come across as arrogant and complacent, and the supply and marketing cooperative will not give you face. Will you still be able to allocate materials in the future?
Uncle Qi was not a newbie, how could he not understand this? The other county revolutionary committee directors were also not new to their posts. When they saw that the district leaders and the sales agency leaders did not seem to notice that Uncle Qi and Xia Juhua were not present at the celebration banquet, they understood everything.
The district leaders knew that Uncle Qi had taken away Xia Juhua, a great contributor to the Expo, and the leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative also knew about it! And the fact that they released her even though they knew about it must mean that Pingde County had something more important waiting for Uncle Qi and Xia Juhua.
How come Pingde County is the one that gets all the good things? !
At this time, Uncle Qi, who was envied by other county revolutionary committee directors for his good luck, had just introduced to Xia Juhua who was waiting for her at the Ping'an Village Brigade. Why didn't he let Xia Juhua even eat a bite of rice, and he had to hurry back:
"We don't know much about what's going on in the army, but when it comes to the army, there's nothing trivial. They don't allow me to talk about it, and that's all I know. You have to go back to find out the details."
Xia Juhua had recovered from her initial shock and thought of a possibility: "The people who recruited soldiers from our county before the New Year were from the Northwest Military Region, right?"
Uncle Qi nodded and said, "Of course they are from the Northwest Military Region. At first I thought they were soldiers from your Ping'an Village Battalion who had committed some crime and were here to investigate. But after asking around a few times, they all said that the training for the new recruits had not yet ended and that the children from our county were doing well."
The soldiers were fine, but the military district people came to find her. Xia Juhua couldn't figure out why they came. Since she couldn't figure it out, Xia Juhua simply pretended to be a camel, thinking that she would know why they came when she met them. There was no point in worrying now except to make herself feel depressed.
Xia Juhua, who didn't want to upset herself too early, actually fell asleep on the road, which made Uncle Qi angry and amused - how big is this man's heart? After the two soldiers came, he was a little restless. Xia Juhua was only surprised for a moment, and then she fell asleep? !
Looking back at Xia Juhua who was sleeping soundly in the back seat, Uncle Qi asked the driver to drive more steadily.
Although Xia Juhua was careless about jokes, Uncle Qi was familiar with her. This time, he saw that she was obviously thinner than before she went out. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, which were not obvious to begin with, became two points deeper. It was obvious that although she had won a lot of rewards, those rewards were not easy to come by.
After Uncle Qi gave the order, the car speed dropped significantly. However, since the special car did not need to stop to pick up passengers, it still saved a lot of time. Before it got dark, the car had already passed the Red Star Commune and was about to reach Ping'an Village.
Xia Juhua woke up when the car drove onto the dirt road. Looking at the increasingly familiar scenery, she couldn't help but sigh, "I'm finally back."
Uncle Qi smiled and said, "You've seen the world, so you don't like these little mud houses, do you?"
Xia Juhua thought this was too unpleasant to hear: "What's wrong with the mud house? It's a place for people to live and it's comfortable. The brick house is tall and spacious, but it's not your home. You don't dare to move when you live in it."
Uncle Qi didn't think Xia Juhua was the kind of person who would live in a brick house and not dare to move, but seeing Ping'an Manor right in front of him, he still reminded Xia Juhua: "It seems that the people coming here are also in charge of things in the Northwest Military Region. You should be more polite when talking to them."
Xia Juhua was a little embarrassed: "I just made a few jokes because I'm familiar with you and Director Zhang. It's just a joke."
Uncle Qi did not comment on Xia Juhua's words. He had already seen Li Changshun standing at the entrance of the fifth team's village, craning his neck to look at the road, so he asked the driver to stop the car on the side of the road.
When Li Changshun saw Xia Juhua getting off the car, he limped over excitedly and said, "You're finally back. If you don't come back, I'll be at a loss."
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