Chapter 144
Hearing that Master Wu's second batch actually hatched five more than the previous batch, Xia Juhua couldn't find any other way to express her admiration for him, so she could only silently give him a thumbs up: "Master Wu, you are this one."
The fifth master was even more proud and asked, "Where is Captain Niu? Let him take all the chickens away quickly. I need to have a good rest for two days."
It turned out that Master Wu had hatched the second batch of chicks for Team Three. Xia Juhua felt that she had to criticize Master Wu: "Master Wu, next time no matter who asks you to do it, you can't hatch chicks for them. It's tiring, it's too exhausting."
The Fifth Master waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "If someone else came to me, I would certainly not intervene. But Captain Niu follows Ping An Village everywhere. If you don't even care about Team 3, will those production team leaders listen to you when you talk to them in the future?"
"I have thought it through. I will not help any other production team except Team 3. This will let them know that only people from Ping An Village who listen to you can help them!"
This sentence made Xia Juhua's eyes turn red: in this life, the one who helped her the most was Master Wu. Whether she was the production team leader or the team leader in Ping'an Village, Master Wu was always there to help and give advice, and he did his best.
Even though Xia Juhua had already established herself in the brigade, Fifth Master was still afraid that others would not take her words seriously, so he would rather, at his advanced age of over 70, in poor health, and with unfamiliar techniques, endure the pain and hatch batch after batch of chicks so that the chicken-raising goal proposed by Xia Juhua could be achieved.
If this doesn't move Xia Juhua, then nothing else in the world can move her. This time, it is because of the wholehearted support of Wu Ye, Zhao Xianzhi and others that Xia Juhua is willing to use her brain more actively than in her previous life to find ways to make everyone's life better.
Achievement is always mutual.
Of course, good days don’t come in one day. On the road to good days, one cannot do without hardship and suffering. The members of Ping’an Village were willing to endure hardships and work hard for a better life. They survived together with Xia Juhua.
More importantly, after living a good life, the members of Pingan Village were very grateful and had already regarded Xia Juhua as their backbone. No matter what ideas she proposed, they would support her unconditionally just like Wu Ye. So Xia Juhua didn't care about other production teams, but she didn't want to leave any member of the Pingan Village production team behind.
Even if Sun and Liu Sizhuang were included, Xia Juhua would not deliberately exclude them: she would not take the initiative to take care of them, and let them benefit from all the members of Ping'anzhuang, so as not to make Liu Erzhuang too embarrassed - if Liu Erzhuang was embarrassed, it would probably make Li Daya embarrassed, and Xia Juhua felt that the gain was not worth the loss.
"Come on, if you don't have time, I'll let Qi Xi go find Captain Niu." Master Wu noticed that Xia Juhua's emotions were a little agitated, and not wanting to see her lose her composure, he took the initiative to change the subject.
Xia Juhua sniffed lightly and smiled: "Fifth Master, you haven't seen our vermicelli factory yet, come on, I'll take you to have a look. Captain Niu is also there, so I'll tell him in person and ask him to take the chickens back with him when he returns to the production team."
Wu Ye nodded and walked towards the brigade headquarters with Xia Juhua. Along the way, he asked about the situation of Liu Zhiquan's family in the provincial capital, and asked when Liu Zhishuang would move to the district.
Xia Juhua is really worried when talking about Liu Zhishuang: "That bastard first said he would wait until Xiaoman is out of confinement, and now he says the child is too young and he is afraid of the hassle of traveling, so he wants to wait until the child is a little stronger before moving. He keeps putting it off today until tomorrow, and tomorrow until the day after tomorrow, so who knows when he will move? I am too lazy to pay attention to him."
The Fifth Master had his understanding of this: "Zhishuang is a thoughtful kid. He is worried that you will be alone at home without anyone to talk to. Besides, An'an is a little young. If she goes to the district, Xiaoman will have to stay at home to take care of the child. He will be the only one earning a salary. Life will not be easy for the family of three."
"You have to go and register first." Xia Juhua saw that Liu Zhishuang didn't want to move: "The regional supply and marketing cooperative is good enough. They have allocated a unit to people without registering. Many people who have worked for many years can't get one. If he doesn't go, the leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative will be in trouble."
After hearing this, Master Wu thought it made sense and said with a sigh, "Okay, I'll tell him about it when I meet him someday."
Regardless of whether Liu Zhishuang listened to what Fifth Master said or not, it was always better to have one more person to advise him, so Xia Juhua nodded happily and continued chatting with Fifth Master, and before they knew it, they arrived at the vermicelli factory.
The vermicelli factory covers an area of four mu, and has a 1.8-meter-high wall. It looks very impressive from a distance. The fifth master thought it was very impressive and said, "It really looks like a factory. When will the sign be put up?"
Xia Juhua then realized that everyone had overlooked a problem - everyone was so excited about the trademark that day that they forgot to give the vermicelli factory a resounding name. However, the factory building has not been completed yet, so it is not too late to hire someone to make a brand after it is completed.
Hearing that they had forgotten such an important thing, Wu Ye didn't know what to say: "Didn't you say that the manufacturer's name was printed on the packaging of the hot and sour noodles last time? What name was printed on it?"
"It's the Ping'anzhuang vermicelli factory." Xia Juhua didn't think there was anything wrong.
The fifth master asked, "The packaging of the first batch of hot and sour noodles is different from that of the second batch. The military chief called us to ask about it. If the manufacturer changes its name again, will they ask us again? It's not appropriate to keep worrying about the packaging."
This possibility is not only possible, but also very high. After all, Xia Juhua guessed that the army leaders attached so much importance to hot and sour noodles in order to prepare for the near future - many things happen with signs, and the leaders will not be completely unaware. Our nation is better at preventing trouble before it happens, and making some preparations in advance can be prepared for any trouble.
So the first thing she and Fifth Master did when they arrived at the vermicelli factory was to ask Accountant Chang to find someone to make a factory brand, and the name was set as "Ping An Zhuang Vermicelli Factory". Even Li Changshun, who was arguing with Fifth Master, did not think that Xia Juhua was arbitrary, and everyone accepted this fact smoothly - it was only a few days since the last discussion, so why waste time discussing it again.
Xia Juhua felt even more anxious. She didn't care about how the three production team leaders were competing with Team Leader Niu for the second batch of chicks hatched by Master Wu, nor did she care about persuading Liu Zhishuang to report to the regional supply and marketing cooperative as soon as possible. She focused her attention on the construction of the vermicelli factory.
Even the day before the equipment was to be moved from the Ping'anzhuang flour-leaching room to the vermicelli factory, Xia Juhua did not let everyone stop working, but continued working and moving at the same time: the sweet potato paste that had already been strained remained in the flour-leaching room to dry, and the members who were supposed to be leaking the flour could not stop either, but continued to leak the flour until all the prepared paste was leaked out, and only then were the iron pans containing the dough moved to the vermicelli factory.
It's not that there weren't some members who were worried. They thought that the Ping'an Village production team would suffer a loss if they moved to the vermicelli factory with everything they had. They might not be able to settle the bill in the future. Xia Juhua didn't even listen. She waved her hand and said, "We'll all be one factory in the future. How can you calculate the cost of debugging equipment and building a factory?" It's too late to worry about such a small amount of money.
The person who was talking was just making a suggestion, but Xia Juhua interrupted him and he dared not talk any more, so he went to move his things. Chen Qiusheng looked at the increasingly empty powder room, and said to Xia Juhua in a very literary way: "It used to be a lively place, but now everyone has suddenly moved away. It really makes me feel empty. The scene of us building the powder room seems to be right in front of me."
Xia Juhua looked at Chen Qiu Sheng and shook her head. If he couldn't stand the powder leaking room being moved away now, wouldn't Chen Qiu Sheng be even more upset when the household contract responsibility system that would soon come would make rural collective labor a thing of the past?
Seeing her shaking her head, Chen Qiusheng didn't feel embarrassed and quickly found a way out for himself: "It's okay. I have to go to work at the vermicelli factory anyway and be with everyone again soon."
When Chen Qiu Sheng went to work at the vermicelli factory, it was agreed upon at the beginning when they discussed setting up the factory - the Ping'anzhuang production team would be the first to leak vermicelli, the first to make hot and sour vermicelli, and the Ping'anzhuang production team would master the preparation of the seasoning. Therefore, Chen Qiu Sheng was responsible for the daily management of the vermicelli factory, and the cadres of the brigade and other production teams had no objection at all.
Who made Xia Juhua also look favorably upon Chen Qiu Sheng and feel that he was one of the most trustworthy people?
Of course, Xia Juhua was the director of the vermicelli factory, Chen Qiu Sheng was the deputy director in charge of production, and the accountant was temporarily concurrently served by the brigade's accountant, who was paid half of his salary.
Accountant Chang did not feel that he was at a disadvantage at all, even though he only received half of the salary of others. Instead, he worked hard, because he kept in mind his own ten work points a day, which was equivalent to one more salary per month than others.
You should know that the monthly fixed salary for ordinary workers in the vermicelli factory (once you enter the factory, you will be called a worker from now on) is 24 yuan, and half of it is 12 yuan. Only a fool would not want to take it.
Xia Juhua and others had calculated why they set the wage for ordinary workers at 24 yuan: if they wanted members to be willing to work in the vermicelli factory, they had to make their income higher than farming in the production team.
Except for the Pinganzhuang production team, whose work points were 26 cents last year, the highest work points of the other four production teams were only 16 cents each, which means a full pay of 48 yuan for 30 days.
But if it really came into the hands of the members, it would be at least half, because everyone had to pay for their food and work points. In addition, some people could not go to work because of a headache or fever, or because of family matters, or when it was windy or rainy, so there were very few ordinary members who could remember 360 days of work in a year, and those who could remember 300 days were rare.
這也是為啥看着工分值不低，可其他生産隊一般社員，一年能掙上一百塊錢都不容易的原因所在。到粉條廠來上班，一年能掙二百多塊錢，還是在廠房裏風刮不着雨淋不着，大家不願意來才怪呢。
城裏工廠一個月十八塊錢的學徒工資，有得是人搶着幹。
當然平安莊社員的收入遠遠超過這個數，不過夏菊花等人相信，平安莊的社員也同樣願意到粉條廠來上班。除了工作環境好以外，平安莊生産隊社員的技術普遍要比其他生産隊的人強，配合意識也早在漏粉房就養成了，所以他們來上班，崗位選擇會更多，當上班組長的機會也更大。
班組長一個月的工資提升到了三十塊錢。
而夏菊花已經提出了加班工資的概念——幾次出門的經驗，讓夏菊花知道城裏正式工人的工資，一個月不過二十八到三十六塊錢，所以不會讓平安莊粉條廠的工資超過他們——已經發現平安莊大隊有些樹大招風，粉條廠對外宣稱的工資，當然不适合超過城裏工人的工資。可是給工人發加班費，就沒有啥問題。
夏菊花可以預見，不久的将來平安莊粉條廠加班生産會成為常态，到時大家到手的加班費，實際收入将大大超過城裏人的工資水平。
別人雖然不知道夏菊花的心思，可聽到能有加班費，還是很快的接受了——農民自有他們的智慧，能增加收入的時候不拒絕，就是這智慧之中重要的一環。
粉條廠正式挂牌那天，齊小叔與公社張書記（随着時間的推移，張主任已經提升為公社書記）都到場了，平安莊大隊的社員不管男女老少，能走得動的都早早來到了廠子門前，或遠或近的看着被紅布蒙着的廠牌，邊指點着說話，邊等着夏菊花宣布粉條廠成立。
平安莊小學的師生們，也被帶來了，夏菊花要讓孩子們從小就參與到平安莊的建設之中，讓他們增加對平安莊的歸屬感與責任感。
孩子們都穿着自己最好的衣裳，胸前飄着紅領巾，每張小臉都繃着，對自己參與到這麽重要的活動，個個嚴陣以待。
高年級的學生腰間還別了小鼓，這是劉力柱帶着孩子們準備獻給粉條廠的節目：運動前村子裏有了喜事，總有人打起鑼鼓扭起秧歌助興，粉條廠挂牌生産，是全平安莊大隊的喜事，劉力柱覺得應該熱鬧一下。
看了看腕上的手表，指針已經指到了九點十分，夏菊花舉起從大隊部拿來的話筒，對着密密麻麻的人群大聲宣布：“平安莊粉條廠，從今天開始正式生産啦。現在，請齊縣長為我們揭牌。”
揭牌這個名詞，很多在場的人都是頭一次聽說，可不耽誤大家馬上領會了含義，一雙雙熱切的目光看向站在前排的齊小叔。
給一家大隊辦的廠子揭牌，對齊小叔也是一個全新的體驗。盡管他在全縣幹部大會上做過無數次報告，面對社員們期盼的眼神，手還是微微有些出汗。
不過齊小叔走向廠牌的步子很穩重，沒人能看出他暗暗攥緊的拳頭裏的汗意。走到廠牌前，齊小叔只用了五步，這五步對他的意義、對平安城大隊的意義，大家今天還不知道，卻很快都會知曉。
“張書記，夏大隊長，一起吧。”站在紅布前的齊小叔并沒有自己動手，而是回頭對張書記和夏菊花提出了邀請。夏菊花搖了搖頭沒動，張書記卻走到與齊小叔并排的位置，兩人相視笑了一下，齊小叔微微一用力，張書記配合着把拉着紅布的手一垂，紅布慢慢落下，白底黑字的平安莊粉條廠廠牌，映入大家的眼簾。
就在這時，劉力柱的手向上一擺，平安莊小學高年紀的同學們的腰鼓同時響起，低年紀的學生們随着鼓點跳起了秧歌。
歡慶的鼓點很有感染力，聽的社員們一個個腳板癢癢。聽到整齊鼓點的老頭老太太，身子不由随着晃動起來，好熱鬧的身子已經擺得如風吹過的楊柳。
漸漸的，随着鼓點扭動的人越來越多，很快粉條廠門前成了秧歌的海洋。齊小叔和張書記看着熱鬧的人群，小聲說：“以前搞運動，大家也一起扭秧歌，可都沒有這股子精神勁。”
張書記抿嘴笑了：“平安莊現在的精氣神，哪個大隊也比不了。”
夏菊花并不想制止社員們難得的輕松快樂，又怕領導站在這裏不自在，忙上前請兩位領導進廠參觀。廠子裏的生産從八點就已經開始，哪怕外頭如此熱鬧，也沒人停下手裏的工作。
看着高大的冷庫，齊小叔非常感興趣——他可記得原來夏菊花就打過冷庫的主意，沒想到真的讓她建成了——拉着張主任就往冷庫走。
“那個，兩位領導，你們能穿上工作服嗎？”夏菊花跟在他們身後弱弱的問。
齊小叔兩人回頭看到夏菊花不知從哪兒拿來的白大褂，有些莫明其妙：“進個冷庫還用穿白大褂？”
夏菊花有些不好意思的向兩位領導解釋，只要進廠子的人員，都得穿上白大褂，因為粉條廠生産的是吃的東西，得從源頭上就保證衛生。
兩位領導又得到一次新鮮體驗，穿上白大褂跟夏菊花看冷庫裏堆着的紅薯，張書記有些好奇的問：“這還是去年的紅薯嗎，真能保存這麽長時間？”
夏菊花點頭做了解答：“是去年的紅薯，不過不是咱們本地的，是部隊從北邊協調來的。”如果不是北邊運來時冷庫已經建好，怕是也儲存不了這麽長時間。
齊小叔便問：“這些紅薯你們得生産多長時間？”
“如果機器全開，工人兩班倒的話，有十來天就用完了。”夏菊花說到這兒皺了一下眉，不過想到林宏亮說部隊會接着協調紅薯，便沒把自己關于紅薯不能及時運到的憂慮說出口。
齊小叔與張書記都管過農業，所以能估摸出眼前的一堆紅薯得有個三四萬斤，聽說十來天就能用完，就有些吃驚：“現在廠子的産能就能每天生産三四千斤？”
夏菊花有些驕傲的帶兩位領導來到了生産車間，放眼望去就是幾十個人同時坐在大盆邊上挑撿、清洗紅薯的場面。夏菊花解釋說：“想出好粉條，把紅薯清洗幹淨十分重要。雖然薛技術員也試了洗紅薯的機器，可都儲存這麽長時間了，難免有長斑的地方，我覺得還是人工挑撿保險。”
對此兩位領導都很理解，随着夏菊花又來到絞漿車間。這裏的人就比清洗的人少多了，只有十來個人的樣子，運轉的絞漿機卻比以前在平安莊生産隊見到的大了一倍不止。
出口也不再是敞開的鐵槽，而是一個長長的管子，一頭連接着絞漿機的出口，另一頭直接注入接漿的大桶之中。大桶的底部五分之一的地方，有一個水龍頭，打開可以把漿水放出來，幾個人正來回搬運放好的漿水。
這樣即避免紅薯漿暴露在空氣中，落入塵土之類，又可以控制接漿水的多少，避免換盆過程中漿水流到外面浪費。
“這個辦法好，薛技術員用心了。”齊小叔連連稱贊，問夏菊花：“薛技術員人呢？”
按理說今天是正式生産的頭一天，薛技術員應該守在機器邊上才對。三個人來了有一會兒，都沒發現薛技術員的身影，夏菊花便領着兩位領導往烘幹車間走：“烘幹車間裏頭加了新機器，說不定在那邊。”
果不其然，薛技術員正在烘幹機前給大家講解操作要領，見夏菊花三人進來也只是點了點頭，講解的話連個停頓都沒有。
三人也不打擾，聽了一下便退了出來，夏菊花覺得有必要向兩位領導說一下烘幹車間的好處：“這個比漏粉房的先進多了。那邊只是加熱，這邊的機器還增加了空氣流通，讓濕氣能快速散發出去，天氣潮也不會發黴，不管是冬天還是夏天都能用。”
正是有了烘幹車間效率的提高，出粉時間縮短，才能供得上漏粉車間的需求。
相對改變很大的前兩個車間，漏粉車間還是半機器操作：調漿和往漏勺裏倒漿都改用機器，可往出撈煮好的粉以及團粉，都還需要人力完成，所以漏粉車間也是全廠人最多的地方。
齊小叔看看圍着大鍋的一圈白大褂，只問了一句：“有啥防暑措施沒有？”天可是一天比一天熱了，要是中暑幾個的話，就耽誤生産了。
夏菊花便告訴兩位領導，每天上下午，都會給漏粉車間工人煮綠豆湯，讓大家喝了解暑——大熱的天還圍着冒着蒸汽的大鍋往出撈粉條，又得穿着白大褂，的确很容易中暑。
齊小叔想了想說：“回頭我讓供銷社聯系一下，給漏粉車間裝幾臺吊扇吧。”
Xia Juhua smiled and thanked the leader for his concern: "We are all used to it. We never thought about installing a ceiling fan."
Whether it was unexpected or a small loophole was left to show the wisdom of the leadership, no one investigated it. As long as the listing was successful and the production was smooth, Xia Juhua had no other requirements.
That's not right. She still had a request, which was to send Captain Niu and Captain Sun to other brigades to inquire about the growth of sweet potatoes, in case the sweet potatoes coordinated by the troops could not be delivered in time, and to use local early sweet potatoes to supplement them. Production could not be delayed due to insufficient sweet potato supply.