Chapter 160
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "Of course it's much easier to walk than before. When we got off the train, Liu Xi and I were wondering how far the road had been repaired. We didn't expect to find ourselves walking on a new road when we got back."
The Fifth Master's face was all smiles: "That's right, I've never walked on such a flat road in my life. Although it was a little hard to step on, Daxi rode his bicycle to take me to the brigade, and the whole way was not bumpy at all."
Seeing the old man so happy and beaming with joy when talking about the road, Xia Juhua could only be even happier: "With this road, we can import and export sweet potatoes, deliver grain, or transport hot and sour rice noodles without worrying about the road collapsing and the car getting stuck inside and causing delays."
Delaying time is one thing, but if there is a waterwheel in the pit and it tilts, the grain on it will fall into the water and be wasted.
Sun Zhaodi then told another story she had heard: "The day before yesterday, someone took a basket of eggs on a bicycle and rode it to the supply and marketing agency. He came back and said that the eggs were safe all the way, and when he took them out at the supply and marketing agency, not a single one of them was broken."
It is not easy to carry a basket of eggs on a bicycle. If the bicycle is bumped, the eggs inside may bump into each other. Hearing what Sun Zhaodi said, Xia Juhua and Wuye were even happier and continued to talk about the benefits of building roads.
What Fifth Master is most concerned about now is the brick-making work that Xia Juhua had planned before she left. Now the adobe bricks and tiles made in Ping'an Village have been transported to Xiajia Village, and two kilns have been fired. Chen Qiusheng said that they also bought a lot of adobe bricks made by members of the Xiawo Brigade. The old man has been a little confused:
"Before you left, you asked Qiu Sheng to collect adobe bricks from Xiakuo Brigade. What's the point of burning so many bricks? I figured it would be enough to build another vermicelli factory."
Xia Juhua knew everything about Master Wu except why the hot and sour rice noodle was only supplied to the troops: "Didn't I tell you before I left that I have developed a new instant noodle? After the comrades in the army tried it, they thought it was as good as the hot and sour rice noodle, so they wanted us to continue to produce it in large quantities. I still have some left, how about I make some for you to try now?"
Fifth Master was a little confused, not sure whether Xia Juhua had told him, but he had eaten dinner and usually went to bed at this time, so he naturally said he didn't know. He continued to ask him about the problem: "Do we need to build another factory? If we build a new factory, it's a good thing, but there will be a lot of people needed inside. Will there be anyone to farm?"
For farmers, land is their foundation. If no one cultivates the land in the old factory, no matter how much money is earned, Wu Ye will not be able to accept it.
Xia Juhua had long felt that Ping'an Village Brigade was short of manpower, but the instant noodle factory had to be built as soon as possible. After thinking for a while, she said, "Actually, a production team has about 500 acres of land. Whether it's wheat harvesting or planting, machines can be used. Each production team can have 60 to 70 people to serve. It's when we rush to plant late sweet potatoes that we need more manpower. If that doesn't work, we can just draw people from the factory."
Seeing her determination to build the factory and knowing that the income from the factory was indeed higher than that from farming, there was no member who did not want to work in the factory. Fifth Master did not say anything against it, but from the way he kept sucking on his pipe, it could be seen that he was not very reassured.
Xia Juhua felt that she needed to call Technician Xue, no, Engineer Xue, and ask him to study agricultural machinery in addition to the automatic production machine for instant noodles. It would be best if even the sweet potato harvest could be produced by machinery, so that more manpower could be freed up.
Seeing that the two had been silent, Sun Zhaodi spoke up: "In fact, the women in our production team can earn money by weaving. The women in other production teams are jealous. They are almost fighting for people in the two recruitments. If they can also work in the factory or operate those farming machines, I think some people should be willing to do it."
Yes, now all the women in the Pinganzhuang production team have work to do, and they have also recruited two groups of women from other teams to join the weaving group. So why can't the hot and sour noodle factory and the instant noodle factory recruit female workers in the same way? Most of the women in the other four teams have to be idle in winter.
In the past, only strong laborers were recruited because transporting sweet potatoes, slurrying and filtering vermicelli required great strength, and women would easily get tired and injured. But now, vermicelli factories and the upcoming instant noodle factories have all started semi-automatic or fully automatic production. Women are careful and flexible, and can do everything from packaging to frying seasonings, so they are really suitable for factory work.
Xia Juhua kept it in mind and waited to have a meeting with Li Changshun and others tomorrow to discuss it. Now she had to settle driver Xiao Wang.
The meal was over, and the next question was where to live. Both Liu Zhiquan's and Liu Zhishuang's rooms could accommodate people, so in the end, Xiao Wang, the driver, and Qi Weidong moved into the south room of the east wing - the north room had always been occupied by Liu Zhiquan and his wife, and Xia Juhua felt it was inappropriate for outsiders to live there.
It's not too cold now, so put two pieces of firewood on the kang, spread the mattress and cover them with a quilt, so that they won't be cold.
At dawn the next day, the roosters in Ping'an Village began to crow about the sun. Someone's dog was woken up by the roosters and started barking at the sky in dissatisfaction. The whole village suddenly became lively.
Xia Juhua listened to the chorus of the roosters and smiled to herself at the roof: How wonderful! In the past, no family in Ping'an Village was willing to use the limited quota to raise roosters. Once they had enough breeding eggs, they would sell or kill the roosters to free up space to raise another hen to lay eggs and sell for money.
Listening to the crowing of chickens now, every household has more than one or two roosters, so we won’t have to look for breeding eggs everywhere for next year.
After waking up, Xia Juhua didn't have the habit of staying in bed. She washed up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast for Xiao Wang and Qi Weidong. When she opened the door, she saw that the kitchen was cleaned by Sun Zhaodi. The things in the kitchen were still arranged in an orderly manner according to Xia Juhua's habit, and there was a basket of eggs placed prominently on the west stove.
The chickens at home should have laid eggs during the days she was away. But this year, the chicks she brought from Fifth Master's house have grown into about ten roosters, and the remaining twenty or so hens are all from this year. They have just started laying eggs, so it's good to have one egg every two days.
It was only seven or eight days, so it was impossible to save so much. Needless to say, Sun Zhaodi must have sent all the eggs laid by the thirty chickens she raised for Xiaoman.
As it was still dark, Xia Juhua could not afford to lose the eggs, so she ran to knock on the door next door, thinking that when she saw Sun Zhaodi again, she would tell her that Xiaoman's chicken had been given to her to raise, and she could keep the eggs for herself - raising chickens was not only laborious but also required food, and she couldn't let them eat the food from Chen Dongsheng's house and then have the eggs belong to Xia Juhua.
Having cooked for two lifetimes and with plenty of ingredients at home, Xia Juhua easily made scallion cakes and seaweed egg drop soup with the seaweed she brought back. When driver Xiao Wang and the other driver got up, everything was already on the table.
Driver Xiao Wang was full of praise for Xia Juhua's cooking skills. Xia Juhua just asked him to eat more because he had to drive back to the district soon. There was only one person driving on the road and there was no one to talk to. He would have the energy to drive only after eating a full meal.
After they finished eating, Sun Zhaodi came in with two tied roosters. Xia Juhua couldn't help but say, "I brought them 60 eggs two days ago, and now I caught two chickens. Do you have to bring them half a pig next time?"
Sun Zhaodi smiled and said, "Now all pigs are kept in the pigsty of the production team. If everyone shares their pigs, I can raise two of them. In the city, they have to pay for even a scallion. Now Zhishuang is the only one earning a salary. If he brings some food with him, they can save some money."
Driver Xiao Wang was a little stunned. Is this really Liu Zhishuang's mother-in-law? Even though his wife's family is from the city, because there are many brothers and sisters, they are the only ones who can bring things to his mother-in-law's house every time, and they have never seen anything from his mother-in-law's house.
What kind of life is Liu Zhishuang having? His mother-in-law brings him things time and time again, and they are all nutritious things.
Xia Juhua also packed a large bag of the semi-finished instant noodles she had been testing, and gave another five kilograms of vermicelli and one kilogram of dried shrimp to driver Xiao Wang, asking him to take them home and try them - everything that should have been given to Liu Zhishuang had already been given to him yesterday, so Xia Juhua didn't bring him anything else.
Such old things are enough for the whole family to eat for half a month, how can we just taste them? Xiao Wang, the driver, was very reluctant, and repeatedly said that he was the one who picked up Xia Juhua and it was arranged by the leaders of the supply and marketing cooperative. Xia Juhua still insisted that he take them: "They are all our own things. If you like to taste them, tell Zhishuang and ask him to bring them back to you next time he comes back."
What else could driver Xiao Wang say? He could only take the things, thank the owner repeatedly, and drive back to Chengping area.
After sending driver Xiao Wang away, Xia Juhua asked Qi Weidong with a smile: "You have been following me since last night. Are you planning to fight a protracted war with me? Tell me what your plan is."
Qi Weidong knew that Xia Juhua couldn't keep his thoughts to herself, so he smiled and pulled her back to the main room, asking, "Auntie, do you really want to hand over all your Hai Mi to the brigade?"
Xia Juhua corrected him: "It was not handed over to the brigade, but to the instant noodle factory."
"What's the difference? We are all from the brigade. Auntie, tell me the truth, all that money has been given to the brigade for nothing, don't you feel bad?" Qi Weidong kept shaking his head, indicating that he didn't understand what Xia Juhua was thinking.
Xia Juhua nodded: "I feel bad, of course I do. But without these seafood, the instant noodles only have three flavors of seasoning: pork, shredded chicken, and hot and sour. Eating them often can easily hurt people."
"Who still eats that stuff as a meal every day..." Qi Weidong just said this, and then he remembered that the hot and sour noodles had been supplied to the troops. A possibility emerged in his mind. He stared at Xia Juhua and couldn't say the following words.
見他應該也想到了那種可能，卻沒有問出口，夏菊花便向他點點頭，沒說話：意會到了也好，不是自己說出去的，齊衛東又不是不能保密的人，說不定在這事兒上還能給自己幫手呢。
外頭的事兒六喜還稚嫩了些，有齊衛東帶着會好得多。
齊衛東的臉難得的嚴肅了起來：“嬸子，你說我能給你們的方便面廠投點錢不？你們那個粉條廠現在也就掙個工錢，大隊剩不下啥錢。社員手裏的錢，上回都拿出來修路了，還拿啥建方便面廠，要不我給投點錢吧。”
意識到方便面廠的作用，齊衛東首先想到的就是自己得參與進來，不為了別的，就憑夏菊花如此費心費力，他也得參與。
這幾年跟夏菊花合作的經驗告訴他，夏菊花花精力越多的事兒，得到的回報越大。何況這事涉及到了部隊，別說掙不掙錢了，全國能替部隊出份力的人又有幾個？！
這份力他必須得出，頭拱地也得出盡了才行！
夏菊花可沒想到齊衛東的反應是這個，她覺得自己腦子有點不夠用：“你要給方便面廠投錢，可你不是平安莊大隊的人，将來分紅都不好分給你，你投了不是打水漂了。”
“嬸子你是平安莊大隊的，我把錢給你不就得了。”齊衛東覺得不成為問題。
偏偏夏菊花自己買海貨的錢，還想說是跟齊衛東借的呢，要不沒法解釋她的錢是從哪兒冒出來的。現在齊衛東還想把錢放在她這兒，再通過她的手投到方便面廠，夏菊花咋想咋覺得不合适。
齊衛東見夏菊花一直不松口，有些急了：“嬸子，你說咱們合作了這麽些年，侄子沒坑過你，沒占過你便宜吧？現在侄子就是想跟你一起投個方便面廠，你都不答應，是不是覺得侄子不值得你相信，怕侄子走露了消息？”
說到走露消息，就有點嚴重了。夏菊花對齊衛東的信任，是多年一起賺錢一點點建立起來的，不管是人品還是行事風格雙方都已經認可了，哪能讓齊衛東有這樣的誤會，忙說：
“不是嬸子不信你，實在是建方便面廠，我也是剛有這個想法，才開始準備。需要多少錢還沒算、缺口還差多少也不清楚。這個廠子我也說過了，同樣得以平安莊大隊名義才能建成，不是嬸子一個人跟你合作就行的。”
齊衛東放賴了：“嬸子你要是真信我，那就跟你們大隊的人商量一下，看看我能不能投錢——現在大家手裏都沒錢，我投正是時候。要是你們大隊覺得不行，我就去問問我小叔。我也沒別的意思，就是覺得自己跟平安莊賣粉條賺了點錢，現在平安莊建廠有困難，我想幫一把，咋就不行呢？”
還講不講理了，誰跟你說建廠有困難了？好嘛，你想投錢人家不敢收，你就覺得人家建廠有困難了？編電視劇呢吧？
夏菊花看着跟自己放賴的齊衛東，想狠心拒絕他，又覺得太傷人，以後再合作說不定心裏得存在疙瘩。想了想對齊衛東說：“你先回去，該賣你的海貨先賣着，我得跟大隊的人商量一下，然後給你回話，行不行？”
齊衛東直點頭：“嬸子，有你這句話我就放心了，只要你同意，別人肯定沒問題。”
話是這麽說沒錯，夏菊花除了自己有想法外，還得看大形勢不是？現在隊辦廠都鳳毛麟角，個人辦廠一個也沒有，她可不敢給齊衛東打包票，一定能收下他的錢。
直到齊衛東去找六喜，讓他騎自行車送自己回縣城，夏菊花也沒松口，只說自己會跟大隊幹部開會研究。不過齊衛東的話也給了她一個思路，那就是如果大隊反對的意見不多，那她的錢，同樣可以通過齊衛東的手投進方便面廠。
一方面方便面廠資金充足的話，生産線可以多上一條，增加産量。另一方面真到大包幹之後，她有在方便廠的投資，對方便面廠的管控可以更上一層樓。
相比于前人還自己漏過粉來說，方便面廠完全是夏菊花自己一點一點試驗出來的，哪怕借鑒了上輩子的一些經驗，那也是別人沒有的經驗不是？
真到大包幹時，把方便面廠按照集體經濟，按人頭分給社員，夏菊花就成了替他人做嫁衣——她不求将來方便面廠完全變成她自己一個人的，卻希望自己出力之後，能夠得到更多的回報。
越想，夏菊花越覺得齊衛東想投資方便面廠的主意可行，當即也不騎自行車，慢慢走在新修好的柏油路上，打算先去大隊部找人商量一下。
在商量之前，夏菊花先找到常會計，了解一下修路資金的使用情況。常會計給修路單立了一本帳，拿出來就給夏菊花報數：
平安莊大隊修路一共集資九萬零三百二十元，使用了七萬一千七百四十二塊零八分，還剩下一萬八千五百七十七元九毛二分。
聽說修路還剩下這麽些錢，夏菊花有些不相信：“咋剩下這麽多？”
常會計指着帳本上的數目字，一條一條給她算清楚：材料用了五萬七千九百六十一塊二毛八，人工一共記了一萬三千七百八十塊八毛，可不就剩下這麽多。
他也給夏菊花解釋為啥能剩下這麽些錢：“咱們大隊的社員，因為是給自己修路，一個個幹活真拼命，都是天剛能看見亮就上工，看不見了才收工。也就是從五隊到公社的那段，是別的大隊平的，工記得多了點。”
“加上瀝青是人家部隊雙擁給解決的，沒花錢，就剩下了。要不光工費就還得再加五千出去，瀝青也得一萬大多，別說剩下錢，算下來都不一定夠。”
夏菊花完全相信常會計的話，把帳本合上後長出一口氣：“咱們平安莊大隊的社員太能吃苦，也太能替集體着想了。”
常會計卻不認同她的話：“要不是你那五千塊錢，大家也不會這麽拼命。你都把自己家底掏出來了，人心都是肉長的，大家還能裝看不見？”
話雖如此，可夏菊花上輩子見過，最親的人把她的付出當成理所當然，此時不能不感激于平安莊大隊社員的知恩圖報。
見她情緒緩不過來，常會計有意岔開話題：“現在帳上剩下這麽些錢，大隊長你覺得是直接投到方便面廠好，還是退給社員們？”
夏菊花當然希望剩下的錢都投入方便面廠，受齊衛東的啓以，她覺得這樣等于社員們都投資了方便面廠，大包幹時，可以按各家的投資劃分一下股份，不至于讓社員因生産方式突然改變無所适從。
有方便面廠的收益托底，投資的社員們總能有一份分紅，不至于只靠種地的那點收入，生活重新捉襟見肘。可是錢是大家為修路集資起來的，她自己同樣不能做主，還是得召集大隊幹部和各生産隊長先開會。
上輩子的經驗告訴夏菊花，很多事不是你覺得為別人好，就處處替人家做主，萬一人家有自己的想法呢？那就又成了出力不讨好。
李長順等人一聽夏菊花回來就叫大家開會，還以為她帶回了啥上級的新指示，都急急忙忙的來到大隊部，跟夏菊花打過招呼之後，眼睛都沒離開過她，希望她能早些說說上級的新指示。
畢竟這段時間以來，外頭的變化越來越大，先是有了恢複了高考的消息，接着這是早年下放的牛鬼蛇神被平反回城。現在已經有小道消息在傳，不管知青們能不能考上大學，都可以返城了。
平安莊大隊沒有分到下放的牛鬼蛇神，可現在知青們除了幾個準備參加高考的，剩下的可着平安莊大隊亂串，有想把自己用了幾年的東西賣給平安莊大隊社員的，也有想從平安莊大隊社員手裏換一些土特産帶回家的。都在為返城做着準備。
如果往前倒兩年，那些想把舊東西賣給平安莊大隊社員的人知青，還能賣得出去，可現在平安莊大隊想買點啥，都不用夏菊花出面，劉力群或是陳秋生都能跟縣供銷社聯系解決。
随着工分高值提高，社員們的眼光也跟着開闊了不少，哪還能看得上知青的舊東西？這讓自我感覺良好的知青們，大受打擊。
那些想跟平安莊社員換東西的知青，手裏其實還不如社員們富裕，換起東西來分斤掰兩，恨不得直接把社員的東西拿走，為此發生了好幾起紛争。要不是劉力群時常黑着臉出面，還不知道他們得鬧到啥地步呢。
如果現在真有知青返城的消息，平安莊這幾個生産隊長，巴不得放着鞭炮送他們走，所以更想知道上級的政策是不是下來了。
Unexpectedly, what Xia Juhua talked about was not the new policy from the higher authorities, but how to deal with the remaining funds for road construction: she proposed two options. One was to calculate the proportion of the remaining funds to the total funds based on the amount raised by everyone, and then return the money directly to the members.
Another way is to use it to build an instant noodle factory. The amount of money left for each company is calculated according to the above ratio. After the instant noodle factory is built, the share of the shares is calculated, and dividends are distributed to members every year based on this share.
After listening to this, Li Changshun asked Xia Juhua directly: "Which one do you think is better?"