Chapter 153
Xia Juhua didn't say anything at the dinner table. She just pursed her lips and watched Xia Long deal with Xia Hongmin. She picked some food for Uncle San from time to time. Uncle San looked at her several times, sighed softly, and ate up all the food in the bowl before asking, "Is your team going to make bricks again? Mancang and the other two can watch the kiln fire by themselves. This time I plan to let them make a kiln alone."
"Well, the captain just told me that. I said I would come back and scold these two brats for not telling me when they learned some skills. But when I saw Hongcui making all these delicious dishes, I forgot to scold them. Thanks to my uncle for reminding me."
Uncle San laughed when he heard this: "They deserve to be scolded. If you hadn't asked me to fire the kiln that time, I wouldn't have thought of teaching them - no one fires bricks, so it's useless to learn. If they don't tell you first after they learn the skills, I will scold them too."
Mancang and Manwu blushed at the aunt's laughter and scolding, and whispered to defend themselves: "We have never fired the kiln alone. If we ruin it, we might as well practice it ourselves and then tell the aunt."
Xu Hongcui and Zhang Fengling saw their son was in a trance and did not help. They just watched their elder sister-in-law joking with the child. Xia Hongmin said, "I just told Juhua that our team is going to expand the brick kiln. When the time comes, Mancang and Manwu will each take care of a kiln. They will be masters. Juhua can't scold them easily."
Hearing that Mancang and Manwu were going to become master chefs at such a young age, Xia Long and Xia Hu were very surprised: "Can they do it?" If their son really became a master chef of baking bricks, he would be considered a very promising person among the young people of their age, and he would be able to choose his daughter-in-law in the future.
Xia Hongmin looked at Xia Juhua meaningfully, and said with a smile: "Okay, now in Xiawo Brigade, besides Uncle San, they are the only two who can watch the kiln fire. Uncle San just said that they should be allowed to burn bricks independently. If they can't do it, who can?"
Then everyone understood that the reason why Mancang and Manwu became independent masters, besides being able to watch the kiln fire independently, was also the external force of Xia Juhua who could not be ignored.
The two young men looked at their eldest aunt excitedly. They wanted to thank her very much, but they felt that a casual thank you would be too insincere, so they could only smile foolishly at Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua couldn't bear to look at the two silly nephews, and pretended to be impatient and said, "You just know how to smile foolishly. Why don't you thank the captain for thinking highly of you and letting you become master chefs? You have to promise the captain that you will work hard in the future and not embarrass him."
The two silly boys stood up, thanked Xia Hongmin together, and repeated what Xia Juhua had just asked them to say. After being encouraged by Xia Hongmin, they sat down with red faces.
Xia Juhua wanted to say a few more words to defend the two children when she heard someone at the gate ask, "Is this Xia Long's house?" It sounded like the voice of Xiaoman's brother Shuanzhu.
She couldn't help but stand up, and Xia Long even walked to the door while answering. When Chen Shuanzhu saw Xia Juhua, he couldn't help but grin and said, "Auntie." Because Mancang and Manwu often played together when they went to Ping'an Manor, he nodded to them.
Seeing that he was sweating and pushing a bicycle, Xia Juhua asked hurriedly, "Why are you here? Did something happen at the construction site?" Apart from that, she could not think of any reason why Shuanzhu suddenly appeared here.
Chen Shuanzhu shook his head and said, "No, everything is fine at the construction site. Someone called from Beijing looking for you. Accountant Chang rode home and found that you were not there, so my mother asked me to tell you to go back and answer the phone."
"A call from Beijing?" Xia Juhua wanted to ask if it was Technician Xue who called, but then she remembered that Accountant Chang was a tight-lipped person and probably wouldn't tell Shuanzhu, so she didn't ask again: "Let me go back now?"
Shuanzhu wiped his sweat and nodded, "Yes, Accountant Chang said that he would call you again in an hour, asking you to go back and wait, otherwise it would be bad if you don't answer the phone."
It only takes about 20 minutes to ride a bicycle from Pingan Village to Xiajia Village. Even if you add the time it takes Accountant Chang to get from the brigade to Pingan Village, it is no more than half an hour. Xia Juhua felt that there was still enough time, so she said to Shuanzhu, "You haven't eaten yet, have a bite quickly, and then we can go back to Pingan Village."
Shuanzhu wanted to refuse, but Xia Long had already pulled him to sit at the table, and Xu Hongcui had already brought new bowls and chopsticks to them. Xia Juhua said with a smile, "Even if you are in a hurry, you should let him wash his hands before eating. I think there is still time, Shuanzhu, eat quietly."
"Sister, you should eat a few bites too." Zhang Fengling persuaded Xia Juhua who had just finished half of her meal, so that she wouldn't have to ride back with an empty stomach.
Xia Juhua didn't bother to be polite with them. She picked up the half steamed bun that had just been put down and started eating. She didn't forget to discuss with Xia Hongmin about collecting the adobe bricks. She deliberately slowed down so that Shuanzhu could eat enough. But it was his first time to visit the Xia family, so how could Shuanzhu eat freely?
When the two of them arrived at Ping'an Village, Xia Juhua let him go back to her home and continued to rush to the brigade headquarters. When she arrived at the brigade headquarters, she saw that Accountant Chang was still waiting by the phone. He was obviously relieved when he saw her: "Captain, the phone hasn't come back yet, why don't you take a break first?" Xue, Accountant Chang would have heard his voice and would not have failed to remind him, which made Xia Juhua feel uneasy.
It seemed as if someone on the other end of the line was staring at the Ping'an Village Brigade Headquarters. Xia Juhua didn't have much time to rest before the phone rang. Xia Juhua took a deep breath and picked up the phone: "Hello——"
"Comrade Xia Juhua, this is Director Yang." Director Yang's calm voice came from the other end of the phone: "I heard that you are building a road in Ping'an Village. How is it going? Is the road completed?"
"Hello, Director Yang, I didn't expect it was you calling. Yes, the road in our brigade has begun to be paved with asphalt, and it will be repaired soon." Xia Juhua didn't expect that the person calling was Director Yang. She looked at Accountant Chang with some excitement, and found that the man was quietly walking out of the brigade headquarters and closing the door gently.
"It will be good if the road is open soon." Director Yang still calmly said a piece of news that made Xia Juhua unable to calm down: "The road is open, let you go to Yangcheng again, and you will have nothing to worry about."
Suddenly hearing that she was asked to go to Guangzhou again, Xia Juhua was a little confused: "Going to Guangzhou now?"
"Yes," Director Yang answered affirmatively, "Originally, you should have been allowed to go once in June, but at that time, Ping An Village was busy with the hot and sour noodles, and considering that you couldn't leave, we didn't notify you. But this time, the people from Country A clearly stated that they must see you in Yangcheng before they agree to let us pick up the goods, so I have to trouble you for a while."
It turned out that Director Yang knew everything about her actions in Pingan Village. What else could Xia Juhua say? She was puzzled by only one thing: "Why did Country A have to see me this time?" From Director Yang's tone, a batch of rubber should have been shipped in June.
Director Yang smiled and said, "Maybe it's because I heard that Roberts supplied rubber to Province L?"
Xia Juhua couldn't help but mutter, "Could it be that they heard that Roberts sold it to us at a lower price, so they wanted to lower the price for us?"
"Maybe it's possible." Director Yang laughed and said, "You have to go to Yangcheng by yourself this time. I will send someone to pick you up in Yangcheng. Is it okay for you to go out alone?"
If there are any problems, you have to solve them yourself. Xia Juhua thought for a while and said to the person on the other end of the phone that she could bring someone from the production team to travel with her to ensure safety on the road. After Director Yang agreed, he hung up the phone.
Xia Juhua really didn't want to travel alone: she had not forgotten what she discussed with Qi Weidong last time. Now that she had the opportunity to go to Yangcheng, Xia Juhua planned to ask Qi Weidong if he was interested in going with her.
Not only did Xia Juhua want to bring Qi Weidong with her, she also planned to bring Liu Xi with her. Firstly, Liu Xi was a low-key person but he was very capable, so Xia Juhua wanted to train him. Secondly, Xia Juhua was planning to trade some seafood with Qi Weidong on this trip, so she wanted to bring all the money she had. Liu Xi was very strong, so he could also serve as her bodyguard.
Not to mention Liu Xi, even Qi Weidong couldn't believe it when he heard Xia Juhua wanted to take him to Yangcheng: "Auntie, are you serious? Can we really find the source of goods there?"
Xia Juhua feels that one has to try before knowing anything. Now the transactions in the county town are not limited to the black market. Yangcheng, the forefront of reform and opening up, will relax faster than the county town due to its geographical location, even if there is no policy now.
So she felt that Qi Weidong's question was completely unnecessary: "Just say you're going there."
"Go, why not? Even if we can't find the source of goods, it's worth it to go to Guangzhou to see the world." Qi Weidong jumped up and was about to pack up and leave. Xia Juhua hurriedly stopped him: "We will go to the district tomorrow. I have asked Zhishuang to buy us tickets for tomorrow night. It's useless to go too early."
In the county city, Qi Weidong was suppressed. In Pingan Village, there was also an excited Liuxi. This kid was so happy that he didn't even know his last name. He had completely lost his usual deep and reserved demeanor. He told his family that he was going to Guangzhou with Xia Juhua, and even sent his luggage to Xia Juhua's house in the middle of the night, fearing that Xia Juhua would forget to call him when she left. He with the luggage, looked at Xia Juhua with a look of resentment.
Wu Ye came with Liu Xi and Qi Xi. Xia Juhua could only ignore Qi Xi's complaints and complained to Liu Xi: "We are just going to Guangzhou, why did you make Wu Ye go all the way?"
The Fifth Master waved his hand at her and said, "I asked him to come with me, he didn't drag me here. This kid has never been out of the house. Although he knows a few words, it's different outside than in Ping An Manor. Don't be embarrassed when the time comes. Just scold him and say what needs to be said."
Seeing Liu Xi's shy face, Xia Juhua knew that he felt that he was already an adult, and it was embarrassing for him to be said like that in front of Qi Xi who was younger than him, so she calmly advised Wu Ye: "Don't worry, if I didn't think Liu Xi could do it, why would I take him out with me?"
"Did you hear that? Your sister-in-law takes you out because she thinks highly of you. When the time comes, you should have some sense and not be unable to control yourself."
"Grandpa..." Liu Xi called out helplessly, and found that Grandpa was taking out a roll of money and giving it to Xia Juhua: "Take this money, save it for you two to buy some food on the road. The poor are rich on the road, don't save it on the road."
Xia Juhua kept making excuses: "Fifth Master, I have money. Liu Xi is going out with me, how can I starve him?"
Liu Xi also insisted that his parents had given him money, not only for food on the way, but also for buying local specialties in Guangzhou. The Fifth Master still insisted that Xia Juhua accept the money, and finally said with a fierce face: "If you don't accept this money, then I won't let Liu Xi go with you."
This was something that the Fifth Master was really capable of doing when he was desperate. Xia Juhua had no choice but to wink at Liu Xi and accept the money herself. She also intentionally counted out the money in front of Liu Xi and Qi Xi, clearly stating that it was one hundred yuan. She also said that the two of them should eat it all up when the time came. Only then did the Fifth Master become happy.
The next day, Sun Zhaodi woke up early and knocked on the door, insisting that Xia Juhua come to her house for breakfast. Xia Juhua had no choice but to close the door and follow her to the next door. She found a large bag at the door, which looked quite heavy.
"What are you doing?" Xia Juhua looked at the bag and had a bad feeling.
Sun Zhaodi did not disappoint her and said with a smile: "You are going to the district, and I have just finished sewing the winter clothes for An An, so you can take them with you."
An An is Sun Zhaodi's grandson, and also Xia Juhua's grandson. How can Xia Juhua refuse to give him such a gift from his grandmother? But she was a little puzzled: "An An grows up quickly. If you make these old clothes for him, he will be too small before he can wear them."
Sun Zhaodi smiled with a guilty conscience: "That was when Xiaoman left and asked me to raise her thirty chickens. I thought I couldn't let her take care of them for nothing, so I packed a few eggs and it's just right for you to take them with you."
Do you think I'm a cow that can carry anything? Xia Juhua felt that she could express her dissatisfaction, but Sun Zhaodi had already called out to her from behind happily: "Liu Xi is here, come and have dinner with your sister-in-law, so that you don't have to walk together."
Is this still the taciturn Sun Zhaodi that she knew? Xia Juhua fell into deep self-doubt. Liu Xi, however, did not think too much about it. He thanked Sun Zhaodi and started eating.
After everyone had breakfast, Xia Juhua heard a car horn at her door. When she went out, she saw Qi Weidong standing in front of the car with a smug look on his face. He smiled at Xia Juhua and said, "Auntie, as soon as I told my uncle that you were going to the district, he gave the car to you. I thought I couldn't let you go to the county town to take the bus, so I brought the car to pick you up directly. What do you think? I understand, right?"
It was not Uncle Qi who gave her the car. It was clearly Director Yang who called him. Otherwise, Xia Juhua would not believe that he was so kind. However, she had a lot of things with her, and it would be more convenient to have a special car, so Xia Juhua did not offend Qi Weidong.
Along the way, listening to Qi Weidong and Liu Xichang talking about Guangzhou, where they should go for fun, and what local specialties they should buy, she didn't feel lonely. Xia Juhua didn't show any symptoms of motion sickness, and they had already arrived at the bottom of Liu Zhishuang's unit.
Xiaoman was holding a big fat child in her arms. When she saw her mother-in-law, her eyes turned red. She called her mother-in-law and held the child up to Xia Juhua. Xia Juhua took the child and found that An An was well taken care of by Xiaoman. Not only was her face rounder than when she was at home, but she also grinned at people with a little drool from the corners of her mouth.
"Which floor do you live on?" Xia Juhua didn't come with them last time, and still doesn't know which floor her youngest son lives on.
"I live on the second floor." Xiaoman's mood had calmed down a lot, and he smiled and wanted to take An An: "Mom, let me hold him. This kid has become a lot heavier."
"The child eats well and sleeps well, and he grows up so well because of your careful care as a mother." Xia Juhua held An An tightly in her arms: "It's okay, I can hold him." After that, she let Xiaoman lead the way and took Qi Weidong and Liu Xi upstairs.
The unit house is different from the tube building. There are only three families on each floor. Liu Zhishuang's family lives on the east side of the second floor. There is a small living room at the entrance. There is no place to sit after the dining table. Xiaoman asked everyone to move in: "Come in and sit inside."
Liu Xi felt that his eyes were not useful enough: "Xiao Man, your house is quite spacious, why did my sister-in-law say that living in a building is not good?"
When Xia Juhua heard him mention her, she said, "You only saw the apartment where Xiaoman and his friends lived, but you didn't see the tube-shaped building where Zhiquan and his friends lived. You can see everything clearly once you enter the house. There is no toilet and no place to cook."
Liu Xi still felt that Xia Juhua was not telling the truth: "Isn't the place next to the living room just now the place where they cook?" After saying that, he even walked over to see if what he said was correct.
Qi Weidong said to the driver, "Can you go back alone? Otherwise, let Zhishuang go with you later, and he can take the bus back tomorrow."
The driver smiled and refused, and after a short while he went downstairs and returned to Pingde County - he was Uncle Qi's driver, and he said he was afraid Uncle Qi would need the car, so he had to go back immediately. This made Xia Juhua very upset, and after the people left, she complained to Qi Weidong, "Let me rest for a while, why are you asking me to go back so soon?"
Qi Weidong said nonchalantly: "Their drivers get subsidies when they go out, and they are willing to drive more." But he didn't mention that he had just given the driver ten yuan to buy some food on the way. Naturally, the driver would not feel that he was being used and then driven away.
Soon Liu Zhishuang also ran back, and as soon as he saw Xia Juhua, he boasted: "Mom, it takes two days to get from the district to Guangzhou, so I bought you a sleeper ticket."
Even Xia Juhua had never sat in a sleeper berth in her previous life, let alone in this era when transportation is so underdeveloped. She had heard that sleeper berths were only for people of high rank on business trips. How did Liu Zhishuang buy one?
Seeing Xia Juhua and the others' doubtful expressions, Liu Zhishuang couldn't help but feel proud. He walked up to Xia Juhua with a smile and handed her the three sleeper berth tickets for her to verify. Then he told her how he bought the sleeper berth:
Liu Zhishuang has always been smarter than Liu Zhiquan. After he saw the world at the regional supply and marketing cooperative, his cleverness was magnified infinitely. Within a month, he got along well with everyone in the unit and became friends with many of them.
This time, when Liu Zhishuang received the order from his mother to buy tickets, he started thinking about how to make his mother sit more comfortably. The last time his mother went to Guangzhou, she collapsed on the way home due to exhaustion, and Liu Zhishuang felt distressed, so of course he had to think of a solution.
He found the head of the purchasing department and asked him what rank was required to get a berth when the regional supply and marketing cooperative went out to purchase, and how to buy a berth. After learning that one had to be at or above the department level, and had to carry a large amount of funds or important materials, and that the leader of the supply and marketing cooperative had to write a note to the station in person, he shamelessly went to find Deputy Director Xue.
He talked to Deputy Director Xue about his mother's age, the significance of her visit to Guangzhou, and the rubber issue. Deputy Director Xue could take a sleeper berth even if he didn't bring a lot of money on his own business trip, so he didn't think it was unusual for Liu Zhishuang to buy a sleeper berth ticket for his mother.
As it was not out of the ordinary, he of course wrote a note to Liu Zhishuang, and then Liu Zhishuang bought three sleeper berth tickets.
Looking at her proud little son, Xia Juhua wondered whether she should remind him. Even if he didn't look for Deputy Director Xue, with Director Yang's watertight style, he would probably call the district and have someone buy sleeper berth tickets for him. The only thing was whether they would buy three tickets.
Forget it, after this incident, Liu Zhishuang should have established an image of filial piety in the eyes of others. In the end, he can get a sleeper berth ticket, and others will recognize his ability to get things done, which will be good for his future work.
The most important thing is that Liu Zhishuang himself will gain more confidence because of this. For a person who goes out to work, nothing is more important than self-confidence. Why should I discourage him?
Not only should you not attack them, you should also praise them: "It seems that you get along well with everyone in the regional supply and marketing cooperative, so everyone is willing to help you. When I come back from Guangzhou, I will bring back more local specialties, and you can share some with your colleagues. Thank you for their help."
Liu Zhishuang's face was full of pride. He smiled foolishly at his mother for a while before he remembered to ask, "Mom, you must be tired from sitting in the car. The train is still more than three hours away. Come on, I'll take you out for dinner."
The house is not small, but after entering the city, I found that it is very difficult to buy some non-staple food. The vegetables are rationed every day, and if you want to eat meat, you need meat tickets. Therefore, the family really cannot prepare a meal to entertain Qi Weidong and Liu Xi.
It didn't matter what my mother ate, but this was the first time for the two of them to come to my home, which was my home in the city, so Liu Zhishuang felt that he should treat them well.
"Why are you being so polite to us?" Qi Weidong saw what he was thinking and rejected Liu Zhishuang's proposal with a smile: "We are all family. Of course we should eat at home when we come home for the first time. There is no need to cook anything else. Just cook some noodles and two poached eggs."
He didn't mention Xia Juhua, but forgot: "Xiao Man, your mother brought you a lot of eggs, take them out quickly, don't knock them down later."
The mother and daughter stuffed the child into Liu Zhishuang's arms and tried to pick out the eggs. Liu Xi echoed Qi Weidong's words: "Zhishuang, Brother Qi is right. Let's not be vain. Just eat some noodles."
Liu Zhishuang felt bad: "You guys finally came here, how can you just eat noodles? Xiaoman is alone at home taking care of the kids, and Anan can't leave anyone alone now, so we really can't go out to buy food. When I got off work and went to buy food, the food was all leftovers, so there's nothing prepared at home, so let's go out to eat."
While they were talking, Xia Juhua and her mother had already picked out the eggs, a total of sixty eggs. Xia Juhua was shocked when she saw them: "Your mother is afraid that you will have no eggs to eat in the city."
Xiaoman looked at the two large bowls of eggs and missed home even more. "My mom must have brought all the eggs from home. Actually, it's not as weird as Zhishuang said. Sometimes I can also buy some food with Anan in my arms."
"Your mother is worried about you." Xia Juhua comforted Xiaoman and said, "If you miss your mother, call the brigade headquarters and ask someone to call your mother."
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