Chapter 159
With resentment towards the supply and marketing cooperative, Amu set up a stall at the end of the street where he had hidden to avoid the supply and marketing cooperative's pursuit and could not run away. It's not that no one had come to collect his goods, Amu simply followed the collectors, wherever they went, he followed them, because that was all his property, and if they took it away, he would have no food to eat, so he could only follow them to eat.
If Amu had dared to do this two years ago, the Red Squad would have dealt with him. But now the Red Squad has long since disappeared, and the person in charge of him is just a street office clerk, who makes a lot of trouble every day and can't stand Amu's pestering, so he finally returned the goods to Amu.
After getting his things back, Amu decided to go to this street because his first sale was made at the end of this street, so he returned to this street to set up a stall. The street office knew that he was difficult to deal with, so they simply turned a blind eye to him. Gradually, Amu's stall business became better and better, and his family's life also improved.
The villagers found out about Amu's way to make money and followed suit. When the street manager took away their goods, they naturally asked Amu, who led them out of the village, for help. Amu did the same thing and got the goods back for them. Naturally, those people were grateful to Amu and gave him face.
Amu was inspired by Xia Juhua's initiative to increase his fares, so he did not go against the street, but took the initiative to pay management fees to the street. At first, the street did not dare to collect it, so Amu collected it from the stall owners every day and kept a record for the street.
Once, an elderly widower in the street's jurisdiction fell ill, and the street could not afford the money for the old man's medical treatment. Amu showed up with the management fees he had saved and solved the problem for the street. The street then realized that although the management fee of 20 cents per stall per day did not sound like much, it would be quite a lot if collected over a long period of time.
Therefore, it was legitimate for Amu and his friends to set up stalls on this street - the street believed that they collected management fees, which was equivalent to providing Amu and his friends with a small market, even if the market was set up on the street, because they collected management fees, it was under the leadership of the street. And because most of the people who came to sell things were farmers, and they sold seafood that they caught themselves, it was the same as the big market in the countryside, so of course they could continue to sell.
Gradually, this street became famous. The things sold here were not only seafood, but also many people with extensive connections who brought goods from the port from somewhere and sold them here.
Amu was not polite in collecting management fees from such people, charging two yuan for every two cents a farmer paid, and those people actually paid it obediently - they could set up stalls openly on this street without having to hide from people like a rat crossing the street.
The street had generated revenue and was very polite to Amu, which helped Amu's position in the market rise. Now, anyone with a long stall had to be polite to him so that they could safely intercept Xia Juhua and the other two from other stalls.
Xia Juhua and the other two listened to Amu's story as if it were a legend. They all felt that Amu was extremely courageous, as he had actually managed to drive an entire street market.
Surprised as she was, Xia Juhua confirmed the price with Amu again. It was indeed as Qi Weidong said. Amu's price was nearly one-third cheaper than that in the supply and marketing cooperative. Take dried shrimps for example. Xia Juhua bought them at the supply and marketing cooperative at the Expo for 5 yuan per catty, but Amu's price was only 3.5 yuan.
"Can you still make money at this price?" Xia Juhua, who always bargains with others, is now worried about Amu.
Amu waved his hand nonchalantly: "We are friends. I don't make money from you."
Xia Juhua was very moved after hearing this. Last time, she felt that Amu's hard work was worth more than fifty cents. She didn't expect that her momentary kindness would get such a great reward today.
She said to Amu sincerely: "I need a large quantity. If you don't make money, isn't it a waste of time? This won't work. If you are like this, I don't want your goods anymore."
"You need a large quantity, so how much do you want? More than 100 kilograms like last time? It's only more than 100 kilograms. We can harvest it ourselves. I'll still sell it to you for 3.5 yuan." Amu insisted that he didn't want to make money from Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua counted the money she brought with her and said, "I need a thousand kilograms."
If he needs 1,000 kilograms, Amu will be in a dilemma - he now sets up a stall every day and needs to purchase goods from others, and sometimes the purchase price is more than three dollars and fifty cents.
Unexpectedly, Xia Juhua continued, "Not only dried shrimps, I also need 1,000 kilograms of kelp and laver. Just sell some to me at a lower price, and don't try to make a profit. I want to buy your goods because I believe you can guarantee the quality, and I don't trust anyone else."
Seeing that Amu was still going to refuse, Xia Juhua said to him bluntly: "To be honest with you, our brigade has opened an instant noodle factory, and we need some seafood seasonings. This time I bought seafood to test the proportion of the seasonings. When we really start working, these seafood will not take long. Then you will have to supply us for a long time. You have a big family to support, and if you don't make any money, everyone in your family will starve to death? You still have to make money, just don't make too much."
At the end, Xia Juhua made an intentional joke. Before Amu could react, Qi Weidong became anxious: "Auntie, didn't we agree to purchase the goods and sell them ourselves? Why are you purchasing goods for the instant noodle factory now?" The instant noodle factory hasn't been built yet, why are they in such a hurry to purchase goods?
Xia Juhua understood Qi Weidong's desire to make money, but what she cared more about was the variety of flavors when instant noodles were produced in large quantities to supply the troops. Anyone who has eaten instant noodles knows that it smells good and tastes good at first, but when you eat too much, you will always get annoyed and have to prepare a few more flavors to season it.
In the future, instant noodles are likely to go to the battlefield with the soldiers. In her opinion, temporary benefits are not as important as ensuring that the soldiers have good food.
But not many people knew about this situation, and now was not the time to talk about it openly. Xia Juhua explained to Qi Weidong that the instant noodle factory would belong to the entire team, and compared with all members living a good life, it didn't matter whether she made money early or late. Anyway, she could get a salary of 60 to 70 yuan a month at the vermicelli factory, which was enough for her to eat and spend.
Liu Xi and Amu were very moved, and they looked at Xia Juhua with admiration. Amu gritted his teeth and said to Xia Juhua, "If you say that, I will sell you the dried shrimps for four yuan per pound, and I will make fifty cents per pound. Don't think I make too little, sometimes I can make three yuan. The kelp is ten cents per pound, and the seaweed is five cents per pound. It can't be higher."
Who is the buyer and who is the seller? Xia Juhua looked at Amu in surprise, who looked determined, and was speechless for a long time.
Qi Weidong finally found his voice and asked Amu: "If I want to buy from you, will it be the same price as my aunt?"
He thought about it. Although industrial products can make more money, they are not easy to carry. It would be more convenient for him to buy the same things as Xia Juhua and check them together. If he really likes industrial products, he will bring Li Lin with him next time so that they can have help when moving things.
Amu had no objection to Qi Weidong's desire to take advantage of the situation, and he readily told Xia Juhua that if she needed seafood next time, she didn't have to come to Guangzhou in person, but could just send him a telegram.
Xia Juhua was a little worried that if the quantity was too large, it would be difficult for Amu to arrange the supply, but Amu told her that the villagers now had more money and were more willing to do the lucrative Hong Kong goods business. It was easy for him to collect the seafood - there were not many people selling seafood on this street, otherwise the stall owner would not have been so angry because of his obstruction.
Not because they are afraid that the goods will fall into their hands, but people setting up stalls on the street generally don't dare to yell at Amu - now he not only collects management fees, but also has the right to allocate stalls.
After hearing Amu say that he had the right to allocate stalls, and then looking at his stall at the end of the street, it was not difficult to understand why he was so excited when he heard Xia Juhua's words about caring for the members of Ping'an Village.
Xia Juhua introduced Qi Weidong and Liu Xi to Amu, and told him that after returning to the team, he might not be able to take care of the sale of seafood, and these two people would contact Amu in the future.
Although Amu said that it was easy for him to receive the goods, it would take more than one day to receive all the goods Qi Weidong wanted. Xia Juhua exchanged addresses with Amu, gave him the phone number of the Ping'an Village Brigade, and took Qi Weidong and the others to see the fresh things on the street.
After waiting for two days, Amu found Xia Juhua at the guesthouse and told her that he had collected all the goods. He asked Xia Juhua when she would come to check the goods. Xia Juhua had been traveling around Guangzhou for two days and even bought some fresh food at the street market where Amu and his friends were, just to wait for Amu to collect all the goods.
Now that the goods were ready, she naturally had to go and take a look. It wasn't that she didn't trust Amu, but the rules of doing business couldn't be broken. After checking the goods, weighing them, and settling the bill, Xia Juhua only had more than 300 yuan left of the more than 5,000 yuan she brought.
Fortunately, there was enough money for the return trip, so Xia Juhua called the number left by Director Yang and told the person that she wanted to buy a ticket back to Chengping District tomorrow, and then asked someone to help her see if the things she bought in Yangcheng could be shipped back with the car.
Thanks to Director Yang's phone number, otherwise the train would not agree to transport the thousands of kilograms of goods. With the help of the supply and marketing cooperative leader, the formalities were handled smoothly, and Xia Juhua didn't even have to pay for the shipping fee.
Not only the shipping fee, but also the sleeper berth tickets for Xia Juhua and other two people, the leaders of the Yangcheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative refused to charge for them, stating that Director Yang had already made arrangements before they left that Xia Juhua and her group would be considered on a business trip for the ministry, and that the ministry would reimburse their tickets.
哪怕夏菊花一定要把錢塞給人家，人家也一臉笑眯眯的拒絕，面上雖然笑得很親熱，态度卻分外堅決，那就是不能收錢，夏菊花只好做罷。
這一次楊司長的交待還不只如此，一上了火車，列車長便來到夏菊花三人的隔間，問他們有什麽需要，用不用把硬卧調整成軟卧。
夏菊花連忙拒絕列車長的好意，還想把自己買的羊城特産送給人家，同樣被列車長含笑拒絕了。一路上列車員更是殷勤備至，下車的時候，夏菊花三人都不知道該咋感謝人家才好。
因提前給劉志雙打了電話，他是帶着地區供銷社的一輛半挂車來接站的，要等足足兩個小時，才能提托運的海貨，劉志雙便提議夏菊花回家裏歇一會兒。
夏菊花一走七八天，惦記着路修通了沒有，早已經歸心似箭，哪有心情跟他回家。随手把自己在羊城給安安買的衣裳和玩具找出來，另裝一個包袱讓劉志雙給帶回家去，便跟齊衛東兩個坐在車站等着。
對于親娘的決定，劉志雙一向沒辦法反駁，好勸歹勸，總算讓親娘同意，到車站前面的國營飯店裏點了一份面條，幾個人一邊吃一邊等。
“我覺得還是家裏的面條好吃。”六喜滿足的咽下最後一口面條，對夏菊花感慨的說：“雖然羊城的小吃樣數不少，可我總覺得一樣一樣的個頭太小了，咋吃也吃不飽。”
劉志雙聽了兩眼放光：“都有啥小吃，給我說說呗。”
六喜就掰着手指頭給他數羊城的小吃，聽得劉志雙口水都快下來了：“娘，下次你再去羊城的話，一定得帶着我。”
夏菊花直接搖頭：“六喜是給我拎東西去了，你跟着我還得操心你。”
“我比六喜還大兩歲呢，他都不用你操心，我還用你操心？”劉志雙那叫一個不服氣，很想拉着六喜站起來比一比，好讓親娘松口下回帶他。
六喜安慰他：“你等着，要是下回我去羊城的話，就帶着你。”
對他的話劉志雙沒信，覺得六喜有這一次機會，全因他們哥兩個都離開家，要不咋也能跟去一個。卻不知道，夏菊花已經把與阿木對接的任務，交給了六喜，以後他往返羊城的機會，少不了。
等到可以提貨，也裝好了車，劉志雙有些戀戀不舍的對親娘說：“娘，你不用擔心我們，等過年的時候我們就回去陪你。”
車子越來越接近平德縣，六喜突然問了夏菊花一個問題：“嫂子，你說咱們大隊的路修好了沒有？”
算着時間，應該差不多了。可是出門幾天都沒顧上給大隊打電話，夏菊花心裏也沒底，自然沒法回答他這個問題。
到縣城之後，先把齊衛東的東西卸下來，他還問夏菊花呢：“嬸子，你真不留點在我這兒？”留在他這裏，可以一起在黑市出售，賺的錢都是夏菊花自己的。要是随車運回平安莊，可就成了平安莊大隊的。
夏菊花毫不猶豫的說：“不留，都運回去吧。要是廠房蓋得快，這點東西用不了多長時間。”在大量生産之前，她還得把調料的配比試驗出來，真的需要這些海貨。
她的脾氣齊衛東早已經了解，也不深勸，由着李林兩個把東西扛進屋，自己跟着夏菊花他們往平安莊走。出了縣城好遠，車子還是穩穩當當前行，一點也沒有出發那個早晨的颠簸。夏菊花便把車窗搖下來，探出頭看向路面。
天已經全黑了，四周黑漆漆一片，哪裏看得清？齊衛東帶着笑對夏菊花說：“嬸子，你往前看不就行了，前頭車燈照得多清楚。”
可不是，自己真是糊塗了，往前看和往車底下看都是一樣的，夏菊花的目光貪婪的看向被車燈照得清清楚楚的路面。
路面在車燈的照射下，如同蒙了一層黃亮的外衣，筆直的伸向遠方，不時閃過的一點點燈火，與車燈剛融為一體便迅速被抛得遠遠的，去點綴孤寂的黑夜。
前幾次走夜路回平安莊，可看不到這麽些燈光，夏菊花有些感慨的說：“現在拉電燈的人家越來越多了。”
六喜十分自豪的接話：“那也不如咱們平安莊，現在家家正房前都拉了燈泡，走在街上一點兒也不黑。”
說起家家正房前拉燈泡，還是孫招弟那次擔心夏菊花給出的主意，不想竟帶動了整個平安莊的風氣，誰家晚上正房前的燈泡沒亮起來，肯定得有鄰居敲門，看家裏是不是出了啥事。
聽了六喜的介紹，齊衛東都不得不感慨平安莊變化之大，想他第一次來平安莊的時候，劉志全賣點粉條都戰戰兢兢的，整個生産隊的人，為了每斤紅薯粉能掙二斤紅薯，高興的跟過年一樣。
現在竟家家有閑錢，能在正房前點起不必需的電燈。這才用了多長時間！
帶來這種變化的，正是跟他一起坐車，出神看着車燈前柏油路的夏菊花。齊衛東沒有把自己的感慨說出來，怕打斷夏菊花的思路——他知道這條路對平安莊的意義，比起拉上電來一點也不差。
如果說拉電給平安莊的生産生活帶來便捷，這條路就給平安莊帶來更大的希望。這份希望，同樣是夏菊花帶領着平安莊人一起創造的。
只不過參與創造的人，變成了全平安莊大隊，相應的，夏菊花肩頭的擔子更重了。
“哎，司機，右拐，快右拐。”六喜見司機快駛過大隊部了，忙出聲提醒他，也把陷入沉思中的夏菊花給喊醒了。
“到了？”夏菊花見司機放慢了車速，已經把車子停到大隊部門前，問了一句。
六喜忙說：“嫂子，我聽你說過，這些海貨都是給方便面廠買的，那咱們是不是直接卸到大隊部，省得再從家裏運過來。”
夏菊花讓司機重新發動車，告訴六喜說：“先放到家裏吧，我還得研究研究配料的比例。再說廠子還沒影呢，卸到大隊部沒人經管，壞了咋辦。”
的确是這個理兒，六喜不好意思的撓了撓頭：“我把這茬給忘了。”
說話間車子就來到平安莊，果然還有好些人家正房前的燈還亮着，把村莊的夜空分割成一塊一塊，比經過的其他村莊多了許多生氣。
司機聽了一路，見到實際情況後才說：“嬸子，你們生産隊的日子過得真不賴。”
夏菊花還是謙虛的：“也就仗着比別的生産隊多了個編織組，要不也拉不起來電。”
自己一路駛過的柏油路告訴司機，情況完全不是夏菊花說的那樣：真的只憑一個編織組，能在農村修出這麽好的路來？別說錢從哪兒來，光是材料都沒處買去。
他決定了，回地區之後，一定要跟劉志雙處好關系，就憑他娘的能力，劉志雙将來也錯不了。
一直幫着夏菊花照看家裏的孫招弟，聽到汽車的動靜就出來了，一看夏菊花和六喜回來了，高興的回頭招呼陳冬生：“你快出來，隊長回來了。”
出來的可不止陳冬生一個人，拴柱和留柱比陳冬生跑得快多了，一邊叫着嬸子，一邊已經爬到了車廂上，手腳麻利的往下卸東西，把司機給吓了一跳。
見夏菊花沒當一回事，司機才放心的跟着下車，還想幫着搬東西，已經被夏菊花拉進院：“快進屋，不用你沾手，他們幾個馬上就能卸完。”
孫招弟也已經跟着進來，快走兩步打開正房，把牆邊的燈繩一拉，院子裏一下子亮堂起來。司機馬上看出來，劉志雙家房前這盞燈，至少有六十瓦。
他正想着劉志雙的娘一年能掙多少錢，才在院子裏都點六十瓦的燈光，那個剛才跟夏菊花打招呼的婦女，已經給他倒了一杯紅糖水，笑眯眯的請他坐下歇着。
對她在夏菊花家的自如，司機心裏更納悶，就聽夏菊花給他介紹：“這是志雙的丈母娘，我們就住隔壁，我出門都是她幫我照看家裏。這水，肯定是她今天新燒的，不是隔夜的。”
孫招弟聽出來司機跟劉志雙肯定熟悉，忙沖着人又樂了一下：“累着了吧，你等着，我去給你們做飯去。”
夏菊花一看表，都已經快九點了，忙說：“別弄費事，給我們調碗酸辣粉就行。正好讓小王嘗嘗咱們平安莊的吃食。”
小王就是司機，聽夏菊花說給自己吃平安莊的吃食，也附合着說：“對，我都聽小齊念叨了一路的酸辣粉，正饞這一口呢。”
不愧是老跑外的司機，這麽快就跟齊衛東熟悉了，夏菊花覺得這一點值得六喜多學着點。
還不知道被安排了任務的六喜，大半個小時後才進了屋，告訴夏菊花東西都已經搬進倉房了，他得回家了。
夏菊花咋叫他跟着一起吃完了再回家，他也不聽：“嫂子，我得快點回去了，要不我爺知道我回來，一會兒該找過來了。”
Before he could finish his words, Liu Daxi had already followed Master Wu into the house. Xia Juhua quickly put down her bowl and stood up: "Master Wu, why aren't you asleep yet so late?"
Fifth Master sat on the edge of the kang and said, "Eat your food. I figured you would be home in half a day, so I thought I'd wait a while."
Liu Xi also came forward to greet Grandpa. Grandpa Wu looked at his grandson, who had changed significantly, and nodded with satisfaction: "You have learned a lot from going out with your sister-in-law, right?"
Liu Xi just smiled and nodded, and Wu Ye patted him and said, "You can eat too."
After Liu Xi picked up the bowl, Wu Ye asked Xia Juhua, "Did you take our way back? How was it?"