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 everyone 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."
齊衛東看着夏菊花就是笑：“嬸子，你還跟我客氣啥。要我說你幹脆多拿點出來，咱們兩個一人出七千五，股也算一人一半，省得将來不好算帳。”
對于齊衛東的體諒，夏菊花想想也接受了，跟他一起到了縣城，從自己的定期存折裏取出三千五百塊錢。看着存折上只剩下九百塊錢，夏菊花覺得自己重新成了窮人，恨不得現在操起鍋鏟來，好好炒上幾鍋花生換錢，好讓存折上的錢數增加一點。
齊衛東接過錢之後，也把兩張紙遞給了夏菊花，最上頭寫的是投資協議。見夏菊花不解，齊衛東咧嘴一樂：“嬸子，人都說先小人後君子，也說親兄弟明算帳。咱們娘兩個現在肯定都信得過對方，可萬一哪天我突然被錢迷了眼，混蛋勁上來了，你的錢不是打了水漂了嘛。”
說着把筆遞給夏菊花，非得讓她在自己早已經簽完的協議上也簽字。
夏菊花沒想過跟齊衛東簽協議嗎？想過的。可是她沒有提出來，是因為相信齊衛東的人品，也是相信如果齊衛東真背信棄義的話，幾千塊錢自己很快就能重新賺回來。
現在齊衛東主動要求夏菊花簽下這個協議，意義可就不一樣了：索要憑據和別人把憑據塞到手裏，感受差別太大，夏菊花有些接受不了。
齊衛東假裝要抽回那兩張紙：“嬸子，你要是不簽我可後悔了啊。反正現在錢已經到我手裏了，別人知道了也當是你還我材料錢呢。說到哪兒，這錢你也要不回去了。”
這就是齊衛東為啥非得要跟夏菊花簽個協議的原因：夏菊花太信任他了，連個收條都不要，就敢把三千五百塊錢交到他的手上。別說現在平德縣能一下子拿出這麽些錢的人，一個巴掌都能數得過來。就算是真有這樣的人，敢這麽毫無憑據把錢交給別人的，齊衛東覺得只有夏菊花一個。
欺騙這麽信任自己的人，那是要天打雷劈的！
為了防止自己哪一天被天打雷劈，齊衛東必須把兩人之間的交易白紙黑字寫下來，好約束自己千萬別被錢迷了眼。
夏菊花深深看了齊衛東一眼，慢慢在兩張紙上寫下自己的名字，拿起一張折好放進自己的內兜裏，裝出不在意的問：“你錢也湊齊了，現在是不是跟我回平安莊大隊，把錢交給常會計了？”
齊衛東正把剩下的那張紙藏到自己平時放錢的地方，聽到夏菊花問，覺得有些費事：“把錢交到平安莊，常會計又得跑到縣裏來存上。還不如讓他明天來一趟，直接存到銀行多好。”
夏菊花已經站了起來，對齊衛東說：“剛才你不還挺明白的，現在倒辦糊塗事兒。錢既然是交給平安莊大隊的，就得當着大隊幹部的面點清楚，還得當場把協議給簽了。要不那錢是你給方便面廠的，還是給常會計個人的？”
“這不是還有嬸子你嘛。”齊衛東覺得有夏菊花做證就足夠了。
夏菊花卻不認同這一點，臉色變得嚴肅了：“以後你跟人金錢往來多了，都得記着，公是公私是私。剛才咱們那樣的私事，本來不想讓更多的人知道，兩人簽了協議就算數。對公的話，就得三頭對面，至少有三個人在場，錢和協議當面數清楚簽明白才行。”
她的語氣裏，帶着些長輩教導的意味，齊衛東聽出來了，臉上的神情也認真了不少。聽完之後自己又琢磨了一會兒，才向夏菊花鄭重點頭：“行，嬸子我都記住了，以後都按你說的辦。”
兩人一起回到平安莊，在李長順、劉力群和孫慶林的見證之下，與常會計交接了一萬一千塊錢，并簽下了正式協議。
李長順看着整整齊齊擺在常會計面前的十一沓人民幣，十分感慨的對劉力群兩個人說：“我還是頭一回看這麽些錢放在一起，咋覺得也就是這麽回事兒呢？”
孫慶林覺得好笑：“淨睜眼說胡話。去年平安莊分紅你沒去看，那也是一萬多塊錢呢。不過，以前一說一萬塊錢，都覺得那是多少錢呀。可今年分紅的時候你往各生産隊看去吧，哪個生産隊分紅也下不來兩萬。”
是呀，今年平安莊大隊五個生産隊，每名社員都很少請假，就連各隊的婦女們，以前有些常年不出工的，也因自家男人進了粉條廠或是修路，地裏實在缺勞力，不得不開始上工。
成果同樣是喜人的，大家修路時記了一筆工分，建粉條廠時記了一筆工分，現在建方便面廠又記了一筆工分。加上各家脫土坯打瓦片單掙的，以及搶種晚紅薯的收入，李長順光想想就笑出了聲。
笑歸笑，他看向夏菊花的目光更佩服得緊：“這都是菊花有辦法呀。以前那些懶貨，你咋叫他們下地都有理由偷懶。今年好了，不修路将來你就自己走土路，別走大家修好的柏油路，不幫着埋電線杆自己家就別扯電，你看是不是都下地了？”
大家一想可不就是這麽回事兒，都哈哈笑出了聲。
笑夠了，李長順又向齊衛東問了一個問題：“小齊，現在城裏的雞蛋是個啥價？”
還在笑的人們都不笑了：今年平安莊大隊家家養了三十只雞，哪怕是當年雞蛋下得不勤，加在一起數量也是很可觀的。
許是供應量太大，供銷社那頭收購壓力大，價格竟然越來越低，氣得好些社員把拿到供銷社的雞蛋，直接拿回家，寧可自己吃也不願意往供銷社交了。
夏菊花一心忙着方便面廠的事兒，沒注意到，李長順一直各生産隊轉悠，早想問問齊衛東了。
齊衛東還覺得奇怪呢：“現在天冷，雞不愛下蛋了，挺不好收的，賣的也就貴了。原來五分錢一個，現在八分一個還不好買呢。”
夏菊花則問：“大隊長，前兩天招弟還跟我說，大家都把雞蛋往供銷社送呢，咋又想讓小齊賣了？”齊衛東這段時間一直跟她東奔西跑的，收雞蛋這樣的日常買賣，都是李林兩個在跑。那兩人都有自己固定收購的地方，就沒來平安莊收雞蛋。
李長順便把社員們在供銷社糟遇說了一下：“……雞蛋多的時候還是四分錢一個收，現在雞蛋少了，從前天開始卻降到了三分五，大夥都不願意。”
“我覺得小齊他們要是能賣出去的話，還是得讓他來收一波。這雞是你號召大家養的，大夥都養得很精心，可要是不掙錢的話，我怕你得落埋怨。”
根本不是李長順亂猜，而是他已經聽到有人抱怨，說夏菊花跟供銷社的王彩霞關系好，怕王彩霞完不成收購任務，才讓大家都養雞，結果王彩霞反而壓價，怕是中間的差價錢，兩個人要平分呢。
“彩霞不是那樣的人呀。”夏菊花皺起了眉頭：“她跟咱們平安莊關系一向不錯，哪次化肥或別的好東西到了供銷社，也都先緊着咱們平安莊，咋這回突然給雞蛋降價了呢？”真是讓人想不通。
那頭齊衛東已經向李長順拍起了胸脯：“大隊長你放心，今天晚飯後，我就讓李林他們兩個過來，雞蛋只要不破不壞，全部五分錢一個，有多少收多少。”
幾個大隊幹部都露出了笑容，夏菊花還在琢磨王彩霞為啥要這麽對平安莊大隊社員。想來想去想不明白，她打算親自去供銷社一趟。
說來她還真是與王彩霞很長時間沒見面了，有誤會還是及時當面解釋清楚的好。抱着這樣的想法，夏菊花回家帶了一斤海米，還有在羊城買到的一塊本地沒有的布料，騎上自行車就殺到了公社。
把車子在供銷社前鎖好，夏菊花發現供銷社進出的人比以往多了不少。只是以前覺得整齊氣派的供銷社，現在看起來顯得低矮，敞開的大門黑洞洞的，跟街道上明媚的陽光，形成鮮明的對比。
“啥，彩霞沒上班？”夏菊花看着有些眼熟的售貨員，問：“那小蔓呢？”除了王彩霞外，夏菊花還認識供銷社的陳小蔓。
跟她說話的售貨員，有些奇怪的看了夏菊花一眼：“你還不知道吧，人家陳小蔓現在代理副主任了。聽說是因為人家是高中畢業，彩霞，”
提到王彩霞的名字，她緊張的四下看了一下才說：“彩霞初中都沒畢業，給她安排工作的那上親戚，被舉報是罪惡集團的喽啰，下來了。所以有人說彩霞別說當副主任了，連工作能不能保住都不一定呢。要不她咋這些日子都沒來上班。”
竟然還有這樣的事兒，夏菊花來之前萬萬沒有想到。這個王彩霞，發生了這樣的事兒，咋不說告訴自己一聲，難道她忘了，自己跟縣供銷社的林主任，也是能說得上話的？
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.