Chapter 162
Xia Juhua was naturally dissatisfied with the somewhat messy appearance of Pingan Village. So when Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang applied for homesteads, she deliberately guided them to choose a place near the entrance of the village, for the convenience of travel and also in the hope that starting from these two families, Pingan Village could be gradually planned and organized.
She has thought it through. In the future, more and more people will want to build new houses in Ping'an Village. At that time, all the new houses will be allocated to Liu Erzhuang and his family's new house. The old houses in the village will slowly replace them and there will be fewer and fewer of them.
After moves there, the old houses can be demolished and a small park-like activity area can be built directly in the place where Teng Ye came. It is estimated that by then, everything in Pingan Village will be on the right track, and everyone will not have to get up early and work hard every day. When they rest, they can play in the small park and feel more relaxed.
This can only be a long-term plan, and Xia Juhua has not yet formed an idea in her mind. However, it is still possible to remind the two families to plan their houses as neatly as possible - the community members' mentality of following the crowd will not change, and when they find that Liu Erzhuang's house is well built, they will naturally build one together.
Li Daya suddenly asked: "Sister-in-law, have you ever thought about building a brick and tile house?"
Xia Juhua naturally thought so too. In her last life, she had built a tiled house, but she had lived in it for less than ten years. So naturally, she wanted to enjoy the spacious tiled house as soon as possible in this life.
But now she really couldn't build it: the 5,000 yuan raised was a reward from the province, and she had already explained it to the members. The money for buying seafood was put on Qi Weidong's head by Li Changshun, so it was considered to have a source. If she took out money to build a brick and tile house, how could she explain the source of the money?
Seeing Xia Juhua shaking her head, An Baoling said angrily: "Have you taken out all your money for the fundraising? Otherwise, the reward from the province alone would be enough for you to build several brick and tile houses. Why are you still so naive? Alas..."
Xia Juhua neither admitted nor denied it, only saying: "Now I am so busy every day that I have no time to build a house. Wait until the instant noodle factory is built and the brigade has less work to do, then I can build a new house."
Wait a little longer, the big contract farming will come, and no one will be watching whether or not she can make money, and how much money she can make, so Xia Juhua can make money freely. Not to mention building a brick and tile house, she can even build a two-story small building.
Thinking of the two-story building, Xia Juhua reminded Li Daya and An Baoling: "Why don't you build your house with a flat roof instead of a ridge?"
Hearing her sudden suggestion, Li Daya and An Baoling were puzzled: "Why build a flat roof? If there is no ridge, what if it leaks when it rains heavily?"
It was a really good question. Xia Juhua explained to the two that flat-roofed houses could be waterproofed, just like the roof of a building, leaving a circle of fence so that they could dry their crops during the autumn harvest.
Of course, the biggest advantage of building a flat-roofed house is that when you have enough money in the future, you can add a floor on top and directly add another floor to make a two-story building.
"If we country folk build a two-story house, people will say we are the Ping An villagers who are good at making steamed buns." An Baoling was actually tempted, but she was afraid of what others would say, so she didn't want to be the first to do so.
Xia Juhua also didn't want the two families to waste money in the future, and it was up to them to decide whether to cover the roof or not. After hearing what An Baoling said, she didn't try to persuade her, but instead asked about the trivial matters of whether the chickens they raised would still lay eggs after the weather turned cold, and how many eggs they could lay in a day.
Li Daya's answer was very logical, but An Baoling was a little absent-minded, always thinking about her own family. If she really lived in a two-story building, how would others stare at her house with envy? How many girls would come to propose marriage to her two sons...
In less than an hour, Shuanzhu came back on his bicycle and told Xia Juhua and his three sisters-in-law that the Xiawo Brigade had just built a new kiln and was going to let Xia Mantun watch the fire and bake bricks. If Liu Erzhuang and his family were in a hurry, they would bake the first kiln.
They also specifically explained that if the two families were worried that Xia Mantun was young and inexperienced, they could wait until they had finished making the tiles needed for Ping'an Village, and then have Uncle Xia make the bricks for them.
"Mandun can even become a master chef by himself?" An Baoling asked Xia Juhua in astonishment: "How old is he this year? He can already be a master chef by himself. He is really promising." It was a pity that she didn't give birth to a concubine. Otherwise, such a promising young man would not have fallen into the hands of others because of her relationship with her eldest sister-in-law.
Xia Juhua was also happy for her nephew, and smiled as she told her two sisters-in-law what her uncle said about the two brothers Mantun: "...I think the Xiawo Brigade will have to build another brick kiln, and then Mantun will be able to see that kiln all over the house."
She said that the estimated things are usually 80% to 90%. Li Daya made the decision directly: "Why don't you believe it? Even if it's burnt, it's still a practice for your own children. It's okay. Tomorrow I'll let Erzhuang talk to Mantun and let him install the kiln. This is what I said. If you don't trust others, how can you not trust your own children?"
Xia Juhua considered Xia Mantun her own child. Xia Juhua felt sorry for Li Daya's determination: "If he dares to mess up the fire, I will make him make bricks and tiles for both of you, and he will have to pay for your coal."
Li Daya pouted and said, "Do you still want Mantun to charge us for our work? Let me make it clear, I dared to let him practice with this brick, so I don't plan to pay him. I don't even plan to pay him, so why should I ask him to pay for it if it's burnt?"
Such a strong logic, coupled with Li Daya's deliberately stern face, makes people feel moved and emotional. She patted Li Daya's hand and said nothing, but everything was unspoken.
Soon, the news that Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang were going to build new houses spread throughout Pingan Village. Liu Erzhuang had been a production team leader. Although he had used his power as a team leader to assign some light work to Liu Sizhuang and his wife, he never took more than he wanted, nor did he bully others, so he had a good reputation in the village.
When they heard that they were going to build a new house, many people came to ask when the construction would start and whether they would come to help on that day. Some people also asked Liu Sanzhuang. Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang both declined the offer: half of the Pinganzhuang production team was working in the vermicelli factory, and the rest were working at the instant noodle factory. They felt that they could not delay the construction of the instant noodle factory for the sake of building a house for their own family.
Li Daya mentioned that Xia Juhua used all her money to raise funds and could not even afford to build a new house. This was a great stimulation to Liu Erzhuang - his sister-in-law was able to use all her savings for the members, but he had to build a house at this time. It was already embarrassing enough for him. How could he have the nerve to let the instant noodle factory lack labor because of building a house?
The people who built the two houses were hired from the production teams of Li Daya and An Baoling's families. They told outsiders that they were the helpers of the families, but in fact they were paid one yuan per person per day.
Xia Juhua learned about the two families' approach from An Baoling and thought it was a good idea: it was already November and if they didn't build a house soon, the land would be frozen. If Li Daya and An Baoling really didn't want to live in the same courtyard with Sun and his family anymore, she would have wanted to persuade them to build the house in the spring of next year.
Now the two families are willing to pay to hire someone to build the house, and they hire people from outside the Ping'an Village Brigade, so as not to occupy the village's labor force, which is the best of both worlds. All Xia Juhua can ask is:
"Is there enough food at home? If not, ask me for some." Xia Juhua was not willing to help them herself, but she knew that the two families had to provide lunch for the twenty or so people they invited, so she asked An Baoling.
As expected, An Baoling shook her head and said, "Since we planned to build the house, my second sister-in-law and I have started preparing food. We have enough. If it is not enough, we can ask Xiaoqi to help us."
I have to say that now the people in Ping'an Village don't treat Qi Weidong as an outsider. If they encounter Qi Weidong with any problems, they just need to say hello to him and he will handle it clearly.
Otherwise, Qi Weidong would have the confidence to ask Xia Juhua to discuss with the team members whether to accept his investment if Xia Juhua didn't agree.
Now, he was sitting in front of Xia Juhua with a smile on his face, and asked the question that concerned him the most: "Auntie, do you all agree that I should invest in your instant noodle factory? How much do you want me to invest?"
Xia Juhua called Qi Weidong and asked him to come over. She really wanted to talk to him in person about the investment. When he asked, she told him: Ping'anzhuang Brigade agreed to let Qi Weidong invest 15,000 yuan, which would be used to pay for the upcoming machinery and wheat payments.
This 15,000 yuan accounted for 15% of the total investment in the instant noodle factory. After the investment, Qi Weidong did not participate in the operation, but enjoyed dividends every year. If Qi Weidong wanted to sell this 15% of shares in the future, he had to give priority to selling it to Ping An Zhuang Brigade.
Qi Weidong didn't think much about it and said, "Okay, I'll go back and get the money."
Xia Juhua told him, "Just take out 10,000. I'll tell everyone that those seafood are the seasonings you bought for the instant noodle factory, and they are counted in your investment of 15,000 yuan. Everyone thinks that you are so concerned about the instant noodle factory without investing anything, so they are more willing to let you invest."
Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua without any doubt and said, "Then I have to take out 11,000 yuan. The money for the seasoning is 4,150 yuan. I won't count the 150 yuan. Just pay an even number."
As for Qi Weidong's insight, Xia Juhua could only sigh and say that he was worthy of being the senior who had brought business to the region.
She explained to Qi Weidong, "The money that I made from the secret business with you cannot be brought out in the open, so I can only invest in your name. I have already used your name, and I cannot let you suffer financial losses. I still have this thousand yuan, so you don't need to take it."
Qi Weidong just smiled at Xia Juhua, "Auntie, why are you still being so polite to me? I would say you should just give more. We can each pay 7,500 yuan, and each of us will get half of the share, so that we don't have to settle the bill in the future."
Xia Juhua thought about it and accepted Qi Weidong's sympathy. She went to the county with him and took out 3,500 yuan from her savings account. Seeing that there was only 900 yuan left in the account, Xia Juhua felt that she had become poor again. She wanted to pick up a spatula and fry a few pots of peanuts to exchange for money so that the amount in the account could increase a little.
After Qi Weidong received the money, he also handed two pieces of paper to Xia Juhua, with the investment agreement written on the top. Seeing Xia Juhua's confusion, Qi Weidong grinned and said, "Auntie, people say that you should be a villain first and a gentleman later, and that brothers should settle accounts clearly. We must trust each other now, but if one day I suddenly get blinded by money and act like a jerk, your money will be wasted."
As he said this, he handed the pen to Xia Juhua and insisted that she sign the agreement that he had already signed.
Did Xia Juhua never think about signing an agreement with Qi Weidong? She did. But she didn't bring it up because she believed in Qi Weidong's character and believed that if Qi Weidong really betrayed her, she would be able to earn back the thousands of yuan quickly.
Now that Qi Weidong has taken the initiative to ask Xia Juhua to sign the agreement, the meaning is different: asking for a certificate and having someone else stuff the certificate into your hands have a huge difference in feeling, and Xia Juhua finds it a little hard to accept it.
Qi Weidong pretended to take back the two pieces of paper: "Auntie, I will regret it if you don't sign. Anyway, the money is already in my hands. If others know about it, they will think it is you paying me back for the materials. No matter what, you can't get this money back."
This is why Qi Weidong had to sign an agreement with Xia Juhua: Xia Juhua trusted him too much and dared to hand over 3,500 yuan to him without even asking for a receipt. Not to mention that the number of people in Pingde County who can take out such a large amount of money at once can be counted on one hand. Even if there really is such a person, Qi Weidong thinks that Xia Juhua is the only one who dares to hand over money to others without any basis.
If you deceive someone who trusts you so much, you will be struck by lightning!
In order to prevent himself from being struck by lightning one day, Qi Weidong had to write down the deal between the two of them in black and white to restrain himself from being blinded by money.
Xia Juhua looked at Qi Weidong deeply, slowly wrote her name on two pieces of paper, picked up one, folded it and put it in her inner pocket, pretending to be indifferent and asked: "You have collected the money, are you going to come back with me to Ping'an Village Brigade and give the money to Accountant Chang now?"
Qi Weidong was hiding the remaining piece of paper in the place where he usually kept his money. When he heard Xia Juhua's question, he thought it was a bit troublesome: "If we hand over the money to Ping An Manor, Accountant Chang will have to go to the county to deposit it. It would be better to let him come tomorrow and deposit it directly in the bank."
Xia Juhua had already stood up and said to Qi Weidong, "You seemed quite clear just now, but now you are confused. Since the money is handed over to the Ping'an Village Brigade, you must count it in front of the brigade cadres and sign the agreement on the spot. Otherwise, is the money given to the instant noodle factory or to Accountant Chang personally?"
"Don't we still have you, auntie?" Qi Weidong felt that Xia Juhua's testimony was enough.
Xia Juhua disagreed with this and her face became serious: "When you have more financial dealings with others in the future, you must remember that public is public and private is private. We just had a private matter like that and we didn't want more people to know about it. It's final if we two sign the agreement. If it's a public matter, we have to face each other, at least three people are present, and the money and the agreement must be clearly counted and signed in person."
There was a hint of instruction from an elder in her tone, and Qi Weidong heard it, and his expression became more serious. After listening, he pondered for a while before nodding to Xia Juhua: "Okay, Auntie, I'll remember it, and I'll do as you say in the future."
The two returned to Ping'an Village together, and in the presence of Li Changshun, Liu Liqun and Sun Qinglin, they handed over 11,000 yuan to Accountant Chang and signed a formal agreement.
Li Changshun looked at the eleven stacks of RMB neatly placed in front of Accountant Chang, and said to Liu Liqun and the others with great emotion: "This is the first time I have seen so much money put together. Why do I feel that this is the case?"
Sun Qinglin found it funny: "You are talking nonsense. You didn't see the dividend of Ping An Zhuang last year, it was more than 10,000 yuan. However, in the past, when we heard 10,000 yuan, we thought it was a small amount. But when we looked at the production teams this year, we found that no production team received less than 20,000 yuan in dividends."
Yes, this year, in the five production teams of Ping'anzhuang Brigade, every member seldom asked for leave. Even the women in each team, some of whom had not worked for years before, had to start working because their husbands went to work in vermicelli factories or to build roads, and there was a real shortage of labor on the fields.
The results were also gratifying. Everyone recorded a work point when they built the road, a work point when they built the vermicelli factory, and now another work point when they built the instant noodle factory. Add to that the income from each family making tiles from adobe bricks, and the income from planting late sweet potatoes, and Li Changshun laughed out loud just thinking about it.
Although he was laughing, he looked at Xia Juhua with even more admiration: "This is all Juhua's idea. In the past, those lazy guys always had excuses to be lazy no matter how you asked them to go to the fields. This year, if the road is not repaired, you will have to walk on the dirt road in the future, not on the asphalt road built by everyone. If you don't help bury the electric poles, don't pull the electricity in your own house. Do you think you will all go to the fields?"
When everyone thought about it, they realized that this was exactly the case and burst out laughing.
After laughing enough, Li Changshun asked Qi Weidong another question: "Xiao Qi, what is the price of eggs in the city now?"
Those who were still laughing stopped laughing: This year, every household in Ping'anzhuang Brigade raised thirty chickens. Even if the chickens did not lay eggs frequently that year, the total number was still considerable.
Perhaps because the supply was too large and the supply and marketing cooperative was under great purchasing pressure, the price kept getting lower and lower. Many members were so angry that they took the eggs they got from the supply and marketing cooperative directly home, preferring to eat them themselves rather than go to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xia Juhua was so busy with the instant noodle factory that she didn't notice that Li Changshun had been wandering around the production teams and had long wanted to ask Qi Weidong.
Qi Weidong still found it strange: "Now that it's cold, the chickens don't like to lay eggs, so it's hard to harvest them, and the price is higher. They used to be five cents each, but now they're eight cents each and they're still hard to buy."
Xia Juhua asked, "Captain, Zhaodi told me two days ago that everyone was sending eggs to the supply and marketing cooperative, why do you want Xiaoqi to sell them now?" Qi Weidong had been running around with her recently, and Li Lin and the other two were the ones who were doing the daily buying and selling of eggs. The two of them had their own fixed places to buy eggs, so they didn't come to Ping'an Village to buy eggs.
Li Changshun then told the members about the bad experience they had in the supply and marketing cooperative: "…when there were a lot of eggs, they were still selling them at four cents each. Now that there are fewer eggs, the price has dropped to three and a half cents since the day before yesterday. No one is happy about it."
"I think if Xiao Qi and the others can sell them, we should let him buy them. You called on everyone to raise these chickens, and we all raised them very carefully. But if we don't make money, I'm afraid you will be blamed."
Li Changshun was not making random guesses at all. He had heard people complaining that Xia Juhua had a good relationship with Wang Caixia from the supply and marketing cooperative, and they were afraid that Wang Caixia would not be able to complete the purchase task, so they asked everyone to raise chickens. As a result, Wang Caixia lowered the price, and they were afraid that the difference in price would be shared equally by the two of them.
"Caixia is not that kind of person." Xia Juhua frowned: "She has always had a good relationship with our Ping'an Village. Whenever fertilizers or other good things arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, she would first contact our Ping'an Village. Why did she suddenly lower the price of eggs this time?" It was really puzzling.
Qi Weidong on the other end had already patted his chest to Li Changshun and said, "Don't worry, Captain. I'll have Li Lin and the others come over after dinner tonight. As long as the eggs are intact, they'll be five cents each. You can take as many as you can get."
Several brigade cadres smiled, but Xia Juhua was still wondering why Wang Caixia treated the Ping'anzhuang brigade members like this. After thinking about it for a long time, she couldn't figure it out, so she decided to go to the supply and marketing cooperative in person.
It was true that she had not seen Wang Caixia for a long time, so it was better to explain the misunderstanding in person. With this in mind, Xia Juhua went home with a pound of dried shrimps and a piece of cloth that she bought in Yangcheng, and rode her bicycle to the commune.
After locking the car in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, Xia Juhua found that there were many more people coming in and out of the supply and marketing cooperative than before. However, the supply and marketing cooperative that used to be neat and dignified now looked low, and the open door was dark, forming a sharp contrast with the bright sunshine on the street.
"What, Caixia is not at work?" Xia Juhua looked at the salesperson who looked familiar and asked, "What about Xiaoman?" In addition to Wang Caixia, Xia Juhua also knew Chen Xiaoman from the supply and marketing cooperative.
The salesperson who was talking to her looked at Xia Juhua strangely and said, "You may not know this, but Chen Xiaoman is now the acting deputy director. I heard it's because she just graduated from high school, Caixia."
When Wang Caixia's name was mentioned, she looked around nervously before saying, "Caixia didn't even graduate from junior high school. The relative who arranged a job for her was reported to be a member of a criminal gang and was fired. So some people say that Caixia is not sure if she can even keep her job, let alone become a deputy director. Otherwise, why hasn't she come to work these days?"
There was actually such a thing. Xia Juhua had never thought of it before she came. Why didn't Wang Caixia tell me about this? Did she forget that she could talk to Director Lin of the county supply and marketing cooperative?
After thinking about it again, Xia Juhua realized that Wang Caixia didn't look for her because she was afraid of causing trouble for her: now that the chaos had been rectified, a group of people were rehabilitated, and a group of people who were proud in the past were brought down.
Xia Juhua didn't know who the person was who arranged the job for Wang Caixia, but she heard from the salesperson that he was a relative of Wang Caixia's family, so he must be a very close relative, otherwise he wouldn't have arranged the job for her.
If someone who is so close to Wang Caixia knew that Xia Juhua helped Wang Caixia out of trouble and asked her to ask Xia Juhua to help her, would Wang Caixia ask Xia Juhua or not?
So Wang Caixia simply didn't tell Xia Juhua about her situation so as not to embarrass Xia Juhua.
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