Chapter 138
The reed poles were transported from the Cheng'an District Supply and Marketing Cooperative, which was a different region from the Chengping District of Pingde County, and a long distance in those days. Chen Qiusheng naturally had to come in person, inviting the three drivers to the production team for tea and a chat, and also called in strong laborers from the powder leaking room to help unload the trucks.
Liu Erxi and his friends were still pushing Zhao Xianzhi: "Team Leader Zhao, you always say that women hold up half the sky, but why do you think of us when you unload the truck? Is your half of the sky going to collapse?"
"The division of labor in the revolution is different. We don't need you anymore at this time. I'm afraid your wife will think you are useless and kick you out." Zhao Xianzhi spoke without thinking, making Liu Erxi blush.
There is strength in numbers. In less than two hours, the three carts of reed poles were piled up into a tall pile. Zhao Xianzhi was so happy that he said, "That's good. Even if we use only reed poles, we can still hold out for a while."
However, An Baoling felt that she could not give up using wheat straw: "I think it is convenient to use wheat straw to weave decorations and small things. Who knows if the next batch of reed stalks will be delivered, so I'd better keep these to weave mats." The true meaning of life is to live a long life.
"That's easy. You go back and prepare the money. We have to settle the bill first." Chen Qiu Sheng came over to remind Zhao Xianzhi.
"Where's Hongcui?" Zhao Xianzhi asked someone to call Hongcui. It turned out that since last year, the weaving team had set up their own account because Zhao Xianzhi had to go out from time to time to buy reed stalks and also had to give the women monthly subsidies for exceeding the quota. The monthly payment received was only handed over to the production team according to the quota, and the rest of the money was collected by the weaving team itself and handed over to the production team at the end of the year.
Originally they wanted Zhang Cuiping to be the accountant, but she declined. In the end, Hong Cui learned from her elder sister Hong Ling for a while and became the actual accountant of the editing team. Only by finding her could we get the money of the editing team.
After a while, Chen Qiu Sheng returned to the production team and had already settled the bill with the visitor: three truckloads of reed poles weighing 35,000 jin cost 350 yuan, and the freight for three truckloads was 90 yuan, which added up to 440 yuan.
After settling the accounts, the driver surnamed Chen who was leading the team said a little embarrassedly: "Captain Chen, we are all surnamed Chen, and we have been one family for five hundred years. Today, the reed poles were delivered without prior notice. It was my fault that I did not handle the matter clearly. Normally, I should have let your production team prepare in advance, but the leader urged me to do so, and I had no choice..."
Driver Chen often went to the countryside to transport goods, so he naturally knew that the current production teams were not very rich, and it was a bit difficult to ask Ping An Zhuang to take out more than four hundred yuan all at once.
But the leader urged them to come to Ping'an Village quickly to avoid being preempted by reeds sent from other areas. He also specifically instructed them to get the money on the spot. Driver Chen had to talk to Chen Qiu Sheng about his family background, hoping that he would not make things difficult for him.
If he didn't want to embarrass himself, he would have to embarrass Chen Qiusheng. Driver Chen was a little speechless. Unexpectedly, Chen Qiusheng smiled and said, "Of course, of course. Brother, you can send the reed poles to us, which will save us a lot of trouble."
"Hong Cui." Chen Qiu Sheng called out, and Hong Cui came in boldly and said to Chen Qiu Sheng in a crisp voice: "Captain, I'm ready. How much is it?"
Could this be the accountant of Ping An Manor? Driver Chen and the other two carefully looked at the girl in front of them and saw that she was standing upright, with a round face, white and clean, dark almond-shaped eyes, and two braids on her shoulders, combed neatly. She was wearing a blue shirt with white flowers on the upper body and black pants on the lower body. The trouser line was not obvious, but it was very straight. She looked like a tall white poplar, making people feel a little unbelievable that she was a rural girl.
What surprised the three men the most was that the girl's clothes were brand new, without a single patch on them, which was very different from the impression they had of a rural girl.
Do the people in Ping An Village live such a good life?
Thinking back, when they arrived at Ping'an Village and met the members, no matter adults or children, there were really few who had patches on their bodies. Driver Chen couldn't help but believe what Hong Cui said she had prepared.
Chen Qiusheng had already told Hongcui the amount of money. Hongcui asked about the weight of the reed stalks, how much one pound cost, and how much the transportation fee was. She counted it on an abacus and said to Chen Qiusheng with a smile, "That's a total of 440 yuan, right?"
Chen Qiusheng nodded with satisfaction: "Yes. Your calculations are getting better and better."
Hong Cui was a little embarrassed by his praise, but she didn't show any shyness. She took out a wad of money from her backpack, counted out forty-four bills with her ten fingers, and handed them to driver Chen: "Please count them and see if you are right."
Driver Chen took the money and counted it. Not a cent was missing. He smiled gratefully and said to Chen Qiu Sheng, "Brother, I am indebted to you this time. Next time you go to Cheng'an, just come to the transport team to find me. I will treat you well."
Everyone can say polite words, but Chen Qiu Sheng not only said them but also did them. He refused to let the three drivers leave Ping An Zhuang hungry. He treated them to a meal of pork stewed with vermicelli and some substantial white flour steamed buns, which shocked the three drivers a little.
Driver Chen said with emotion: "Brother, you guys are having a really good time in Ping An Village."
Chen Qiusheng has always been modest: "Our lives have only gotten better in the past two years. It wasn't that easy before."
Driver Chen pulled him aside and whispered, "Brother, you said that you leaked the vermicelli yourself. I want to shamelessly trade some with you. Is that okay?"
This put Chen Qiusheng in a difficult position: "Brother, you know that the wheat is almost pulpy now, and there are no more sweet potatoes left. Our production team doesn't have any vermicelli left."
"I won't trade with you for more, just 20 to 30 kilograms will do. The main thing is that your vermicelli is resistant to cooking and tastes strong, much better than the ones I buy at the grocery store. Brother, I'm begging you today, you can't let me lose face next time."
It was really hard to refuse the driver's words. Chen Qiusheng had no choice but to give all the vermicelli he had saved at home to the driver, and refused to take his money no matter what.
Although Driver Chen was able to say something, he was not the type to take advantage of others. When the car started, he threw a roll of money at Chen Qiu Sheng through the window and said, "That's all I have. If you leak powder again in the fall, don't forget to leave some for me."
When Chen Qiusheng picked up the money and tried to stuff it back into the car, the car had already gone two miles away. How could he catch up? After counting the money in his hand, there were a total of 40 yuan. Chen Qiusheng knew that the brother he had just met did not give him the money casually.
Even though it was only driver Chen who asked for vermicelli, Chen Qiusheng, who was good at handling things, naturally would not really give it to only one person, but 20 kilograms for each of the three drivers. 60 kilograms of vermicelli cost 40 yuan, which was about the same price as when Qi Weidong took it away from Ping'an Village.
"Hongcui, ask your sister to come over." Chen Qiusheng said to Hongcui, and went back to the production team to wait. The vermicelli given to driver Chen was of course from the production team. He said in front of driver Chen that it was for his family to eat, but he was afraid that he would ask for too much. Now that the money had been paid, of course he had to ask Hongling to come over to settle the bill.
Now that the mat-weaving team had three carts of reed poles, they could naturally fill orders much faster. With Zhao Xianzhi, Zhang Cuiping and others watching over them, Xia Juhua returned her focus to the construction of the vermicelli factory.
Of course, the flour-leaking room of the Ping'anzhuang production team is still in production - the first batch of sweet potatoes coordinated by the troops has arrived. The earlier the production starts, the earlier the troops can be supplied. Xia Juhua is reluctant to waste time.
Fortunately, Technician Xue has been working in the vermicelli factory since his last visit, which saved Xia Juhua a lot of worries: he came with drawings, and many of the things had been tested and matured in Beijing, and now all he had to do was adjust the proportions according to the production scale of the Ping'anzhuang vermicelli factory.
With the experience of the previous five team leaders, the people of Ping'anzhuang Brigade were more obedient. Xia Juhua asked everyone to cooperate with Technician Xue's work. Everyone rushed to complete Technician Xue's instructions, and the cold storage was soon completed.
The first batch of sweet potatoes brought by the troops weighed 20,000 kilograms and did not rot after being stored for more than ten days, proving that the construction of the cold storage was successful. This not only gave Xue the confidence himself, but also made the members of the Ping'anzhuang Brigade more motivated.
Think about it, our ancestors had to watch the sweet potatoes rot and be thrown away every spring, but now they can be preserved intact after the beginning of summer. Do you dare to say that Technician Xue is just talking nonsense?
So later on, Xia Juhua no longer needed to keep an eye on things every day, as the members would go to Technician Xue to get their tasks on their own initiative. And Xia Juhua really didn't have time to keep an eye on the vermicelli factory in recent days: Xiaoman was finally born.
On the third night after the cold storage was built, Xiaoman began to have regular contractions. At Xia Juhua's insistence, Liu Zhifu drove her to the county hospital on a tractor.
There was no other way. When Liu Zhishuang heard Xiaoman crying out in pain, his hands trembled so much that he couldn't hold the steering wheel and couldn't drive the tractor at all. Xia Juhua could only let him sit in the back of the truck and support Xiaoman.
Sun Zhaodi, who was sitting in the tractor with her at the time, said to Xia Juhua: "When we give birth to children, don't we always find a midwife? It's too much trouble to go to the hospital." The main reason was that Wang Caifeng gave birth to both of her children at home. What should Wang Caifeng do if she had an objection to her daughter giving birth in the hospital?
Xia Juhua, holding a bag filled with the children's clothes, jackets, and Xiaoman's spare clothes, did not take Sun Zhaodi's words seriously: "We didn't have the conditions before, but now that we have the conditions, of course we can do whatever insurance we want."
王彩鳳會不會有意見，夏菊花當然想過，可她還是做不出拿一條幼小生命冒險的事兒——小滿這一胎養得比王彩鳳懷樂樂時更好，七個月時肚子就趕上人家九個月大了，夏菊花很怕到時胎兒過大引起難産，那時再上醫院可就來不及了。
這樣的判斷自然不能當着孫招弟這個親娘說，否則車鬥裏就不是小滿因為太疼的哭聲了。跟着一起坐在拖拉機裏的王彩鳳多少知道些孫招弟的心思，夏菊花說完她就接話道：“嬸子，人家醫院裏的大夫見的多，肯定比接生姥姥水平更高，去那兒生對大人孩子都好。”
孫招弟當然知道醫院的大夫水平比接生姥姥高，剛才那麽說也是怕王彩鳳心裏別扭，現在連王彩鳳都這麽說，她還能說啥？
等到了醫院，大夫宣布胎用過大還有些胎位不正，孫招弟除了擔心閨女外就只剩下對夏菊花的感激了：這要是閨女嫁進別人家，別說進醫院生孩子，就算是接生姥姥都未見得請——現在還有不少人家為了省錢，婆婆給兒媳婦接生或是妯娌幫着接生的。
可是閨女呢，剛一發動夏菊花就張羅着送醫院，劉志雙更是只知道心疼媳婦啥也顧不得，可見平時多在意閨女。就連嫂子王彩鳳都把兩孩子托付給娘家媽，跟着跑醫院來了，這樣的人家還想上哪兒找去？
如果是在家裏而不是在醫院發現閨女胎位不正，孫招弟都不敢想後果是啥樣。
好在有驚無險，最後小滿生下了一個七斤半的大胖小子，因為側切在醫院住了三天拆線後才回了平安莊。前頭孫招弟已經說好要伺候閨女月子，便向安寶玲請假暫時不能到編席組上工。
孫招弟的外孫子，還得管安寶玲叫一聲三奶奶，她哪能不同意？不光同意，還當天就送來了豐厚的催奶禮：兩個早做好的小棉被，二斤紅糖和三十個雞蛋。
編席組其他人送的催奶禮都不薄，大隊部的幹部們、各生産隊長聽說夏菊花又得了個孫子，也都紛紛由家中主婦送了催奶禮，夏菊花自然沒去大隊部，而是留在家裏招呼來人——大家為啥會送如此豐厚的催奶禮，自然不是看劉志雙夫妻的面子，而是大隊長夏菊花，她不留在家裏就失禮了。
因大家一直問小孩子叫啥名，夏菊花便讓劉志雙快點兒給他兒子取名，結果劉志雙又耍賴：“娘，樂樂都是你給起的名，為啥我兒子你不給起名？”
念在這小子得了兒子快樂傻了，夏菊花也懶得計較，又立志這輩子跟上輩子區別開來，夏菊花便給小孫子起名劉安國，小名就叫安安。
不想劉保國又不樂意了：“弟弟妹妹都有小名，就我沒有。”
夏菊花只好說：“你有小名，就叫保保，因為你現在已經是一名小學生了，所以我們都叫你的大名，時間一長你自己忘了有小名了。”
劉保國把“保保”聽成了“寶寶”，覺得自己一名小學生天天被稱為“寶寶”，的确有些丢人，總算消停下來。
說話之間，劉志全已經帶着一輛卡車回到了平安莊，原來他的崗位已經确定到省供銷系統采購科，人家也給他分了一間不到三十平米的筒子樓，并特意派了汽車給他搬家。
待遇不可謂不好。
就是來的有點匆忙。王彩鳳就埋怨劉志全：“你也不說往家裏捎個信兒，我好準備準備。”
自己都走半個多月了，王彩鳳還說沒準備好，劉志全便知道媳婦這是不想離家。可他這半個多月只有一個人在省城，那種孤孤單單、沒着沒落的感覺，不想再嘗。
為勸王彩鳳下定決心跟自己去省城，一向嘴笨的劉志全，把省城如何如何好，省供銷系統的領導如何照顧自己一家子，聽說王彩鳳在生産隊的幼兒園工作，特批她到供銷系統內部的幼兒園當合同工，以及分的筒子樓咋方便，自己都往裏添置了啥東西，還有哪些自己拿不定主意說了個遍，真把王彩鳳給說活了心：
“我去了真能去供銷系統的幼兒園上班？”
就連夏菊花聽了也有些覺得省供銷系統的領導，是不是給的待遇太過了：“連彩鳳的工作都安排了？”
劉志全便有些得意：“上次顧副主任在醫院見過彩鳳和樂樂，我報到的時候顧副主任還說彩鳳把樂樂教的挺好。我就跟他說了，彩鳳在生産隊幼兒園當老師的情況說了。顧副主任便問了幼兒園那邊，說可以讓彩鳳先試試。不過是合同工，跟我這樣的固定工不一樣。”
此時也有合同工之說，不過管理和待遇與固定工沒有太大的區別，一般都是沒有正式編制，又要安排人才會用合同工的名目而已。
“那彩鳳去了可得好好幹，要是能轉成固定工就好了。”王彩鳳的娘本來還擔心，閨女跟姑爺去了省城沒了收入，會被姑爺嫌棄，沒想到說有工作就有工作了。
夏菊花覺得自己很有必要給顧副主任再打個電話——招劉志全兄弟兩個都進供銷系統已經算是破格，人家又給王彩鳳安排工作，可能是看在自己參加博覽會回來就累病後的補償了。
盡管是補償，自己也不能接受的這麽心安理得，得向人表達一下感激之情。
沒等她把自己的打算說出來，劉志全那邊就說：“娘，顧副主任說，這次派車來給我搬家，一來怕我的東西多，二來也是要請你順道去一趟省城。”
讓自己去省城？夏菊花的些疑惑：“沒說啥事兒呀？”如果是急事，應該打電話到齊小叔那裏，再由齊小叔通知自己，那樣更快一些。
劉志全搖頭表示自己并不知道，夏菊花便沒再問——自己的兒子自己心裏有數，顧副主任不肯主動告訴他原因，他是沒那個膽子問人家一個為啥的。
欠的人情太大，別的人要求就不好拒絕，夏菊花只好跟孫招弟道歉：“按理說我也該伺候小滿月子，可……”
孫招弟當初請假伺候月子，就是怕夏菊花太忙顧不上伺候，此時自然不會跟夏菊花攀比：“人家省供銷社領導找你，肯定是大事兒，家裏有我呢，你還有啥不放心的？”
得到孫招弟的支持，劉志雙兩口子更沒有意見，夏菊花便開始安排大隊的事兒。好在有劉志全帶卡車回來，他搬家在即的消息早已經傳得全大隊都知道，聽說夏菊花要跟着去一趟省城也沒人覺得意外。
所謂安排，無非是粉條廠要按薛技術員的要求加緊建設，編席組的訂單要盯緊質量，各生産隊不能誤了農時，還有各社員家裏的養雞計劃要抓緊實施。
薛技術員那裏夏菊花還是有些抱歉的：人家是因為自己一個電話來平安莊大隊的，結果自己在活沒幹到一半的時候跑了，留薛技術員自己沒黑沒白的幹活。不過經夏菊花對薛技術員的了解，要是她當面說感謝的話，薛技術員一定覺得別扭，幹脆啥也沒說，想着等人走的時候，自己再有所表示。
不過她特意拜托李長順，要時不時給薛技術員鎮一下場子，別自己不在的時候，有社員不聽薛技術員的招呼，那就太對不起人家了。李長順直接讓夏菊花放心：“現在天一天天熱起來了，我就跟薛技術員一起住到粉條廠，等你啥時候回來我再搬回家去。”
“你身體能受得了嗎？”夏菊花有些擔心的看李長順的傷腿：“你白天過來看看就行，粉條廠就搭了個帳篷，鋪了一層床板。現在雖然天熱了，薛技術員年輕還好點兒，你睡這兒怕受不了。”
李長順不在意的擺手：“這算個啥，我們年輕那時候，雪窩子都睡過，現在又是帳篷又是床板的，能有啥事兒。再說現在材料越來越多，我跟薛技術員一起，晚上也有個照應。”
夏菊花就便想起安全的問題，又叫過劉力群，讓他每天晚上帶着民兵巡邏一遍。最後劉力群幹脆建議，每天晚上派兩個民兵到粉條廠值班，就不用李長順給薛技術員做伴了。
這個主意可比讓李長順住帳篷更讓夏菊花放心，當即點頭同意。李長順知道他們都是擔心自己的身體，也就沒再堅持，不過卻向夏菊花保證，他一定會看好五個生産隊長，不會再出現前五隊長那種事兒。
常會計那裏同樣要囑咐到——上一次缺錢之後，夏菊花提出的重新增加投資，最終還是全大隊都通過了，按照原來的出資比例，各生産隊和大隊追加了一倍的投資，應該也夠把粉條廠需要的機器都置辦下來了。
Because she didn't know why Deputy Director Gu asked her to go to the provincial capital, Xia Juhua wanted to thank him and thought the best gift was hot and sour rice noodles. Fortunately, Ping'anzhuang's rice noodle house had already started making improved rice noodles in large quantities, so Xia Juhua quickly prepared the seasonings and hand-sealed 100 bags of rice noodles, which she loaded onto the truck along with Liu Zhiquan's family's belongings.
There were many people seeing her off, and when they saw Xia Juhua sitting in the co-pilot's seat, they all waved goodbye to her, as if it was Xia Juhua who was moving away instead of Liu Zhiquan and his wife. Only Wang Caifeng's family members sincerely shed tears for Wang Caifeng who was sitting in the car.
"Auntie, your family is so popular in the production team." The truck driver looked at the retreating crowd with lingering fear and sighed.