Chapter 167
The news that Secretary Tang was recalled to the regional supply and marketing cooperative was told to Xia Juhua by Uncle Qi and Secretary Zhang in person at Ping'an Village. In addition to telling Xia Juhua the news, they also came to comfort Xia Juhua and the members of Ping'an Village, telling them not to have any ideological burdens, and that Xia Gongji should continue to lead the work of Ping'an Village and that the members should continue to speed up the construction of the instant noodle factory.
Anyone who truly understands the situation in Ping'an Village knows that even though Ping'an Village now has electricity to every household, roads have been repaired, the weaving team is making money, the vermicelli factory has solved the problem of increasing income for many members, and the instant noodle factory is about to be built, which is another big piece of cake, they would think that whoever becomes the captain of Ping'an Village will be able to gain both fame and fortune smoothly.
If Xia Juhua really tries to do this, except for the electricity and roads, the other three profitable projects will be back to square one in less than two years. The instant hot and sour noodles look fresh, but they are only supplied to the army now. If they are really sold abroad, they will be copied by others in a short time. Not to mention the instant noodle factory, no one knows how it is made except Xia Juhua, and the most important seasoning formula is in Xia Juhua's mind.
As for the weaving team, the leaders did not think that Zhao Xianzhi's statement that she would not do it if Xia Juhua stopped was just an angry remark. Not only Zhao Xianzhi, but the backbone of the weaving factory are now the women of the Ping'anzhuang production team. They worked together with Xia Juhua to build the weaving team to its current scale. If Xia Juhua was forced to leave, they would be heartbroken.
The backbone is gone, and it is Xia Juhua who has been dealing with orders from international friends. Even if the weaving group still exists, it will be extremely difficult to earn foreign exchange.
Now, the weaving group and vermicelli factory of Ping'anzhuang are the face of Red Star Commune and Pingde County. They are always the focus of praise at every meeting with higher authorities. Uncle Qi and Secretary Zhang will not leave Ping'anzhuang without appeasing Xia Juhua.
Of course, given the relationship between Uncle Qi and Xia Juhua, the so-called comfort was more like a joke. After a few words, Uncle Qi severely criticized Xia Juhua: "You knew he had bad intentions, so you should have called Secretary Zhang and me in advance. Don't you even have time to call?"
"You confronted Tang directly. Don't you believe that the organization can coordinate the relationship between the supply and marketing cooperative and Ping'an Village? Fortunately, the members of Ping'an Village listen to you. If you say not to move, they will really not move. But what if there is really a fool who is not afraid of trouble and hurts Tang?"
Xia Juhua lowered her head and said nothing. Uncle Qi slammed the table angrily, "Now Ping'an Village has become famous in the regional supply and marketing system. Everyone will soon know that a small captain of Ping'an Village directly took down the secretary of the county supply and marketing cooperative. You are really capable. Will the supply and marketing system dare to deal with you in the future? Don't forget that you still have a son in the regional supply and marketing cooperative."
After hearing him mention Liu Zhishuang, Xia Juhua raised her head and said, "If I don't do this, what else can I do? They are clearly asking for half of the profits of the weaving factory. Am I going to just watch them take away our hard work? This time it's the weaving group. Will it be the vermicelli factory and instant noodle factory next time? I'm going to give it to anyone who asks for it?"
Uncle Qi was very disappointed: "Didn't I tell you that Secretary Zhang and I are involved? If you tell us, we will naturally contact the regional supply and marketing association."
"How do you negotiate?" Xia Juhua looked at Uncle Qi this time. "You are all cadres. Even if you want to negotiate, it's just a painless phone call or a face-to-face handshake and a few laughs. It's all good for everyone. That Tang guy promised it in person. Can you guarantee that he won't find another reason to target Ping An Manor next time?"
These few words left Uncle Qi speechless.
Xia Juhua was right. As a leader, when there are different opinions, even if you are gritting your teeth in your heart, you must maintain basic courtesy and politeness when you meet. The supply and marketing system is a directly managed unit. When the local government faces issues such as material distribution, it still needs the support of the supply and marketing cooperatives at the next level.
If Uncle Qi really came forward to coordinate Secretary Tang's affairs, he would have to first report the situation to the director and gradually bring up the issue. It's not like today, when Secretary Tang caused a serious situation and Uncle Qi could justifiably ask the regional supply and marketing cooperative for an explanation.
But Secretary Tang would definitely not wait for things to develop in a direction that was unfavorable to him, but would find all kinds of excuses to shirk responsibility. The longer time passed, the more reasons Secretary Tang could find to justify himself. In addition, there was someone backing him up. In the end, it was hard to say whether Ping An Manor would survive this disaster or let the supply and marketing cooperative have a share.
"Comrade Xia Juhua, no matter what, the Ping'an Village members who gathered today and did not let Secretary Tang leave are not right. To put it mildly, it is a serious case of localism, and to put it more seriously, it is a mass incident." Secretary Zhang seriously answered Xia Juhua's question on behalf of Uncle Qi.
Xia Juhua disagreed with this characterization: "We members didn't touch him at all."
Secretary Zhang smiled and said, "Even if you didn't touch Secretary Tang, it's true that you surrounded people and didn't let them leave Pingan Village. It's also true that you insulted them. So you have to make a profound self-examination to the regional supply and marketing cooperative and eliminate the impact."
Well, Xia Juhua knew the purpose of these two people returning to Pingan Village. Wasn't it just to let her put some eye drops on the leaders of the regional supply and marketing cooperative? She looked at Uncle Qi with some doubts and asked tentatively: "Should I write a self-criticism or make a phone call first?"
Uncle Qi was once again disappointed that they could not make it: "Of course you should express your attitude as soon as possible." If it was a real written self-criticism, the man surnamed Tang would have returned to the regional supply and marketing cooperative long ago. Face-to-face conversations are much more flexible than cold letters. No matter how eloquently Xia Juhua wrote her self-criticism, what would it be of any use? !
Xia Juhua could not learn the art of speaking of the leader. She shed tears of regret (grievance) to the director of the regional supply and marketing cooperative on the other end of the phone, and apologized very much for not stopping the members' impulsive behavior earlier. She felt very ashamed of not staying in the weaving group to wait for Secretary Tang's inspection because she did not receive a notice from the county supply and marketing cooperative.
She expressed her full admiration for Secretary Tang's personal guidance of Ping'an Village's work and his ability to offer guidance and rectification directions. She believed that even if Secretary Tang did not understand the situation and some of his opinions were extreme, she should fully accept them.
So she pleaded with the leaders of the regional supply and marketing cooperative to allow Secretary Tang to come to Ping'an Village again to give her a chance to correct her mistakes. This time, she must have waited for Secretary Tang and his party early. At the same time, she also considered that she was too old and was indeed not suitable for managing the Ping'an Village Brigade as Secretary Tang said. The next time Secretary Tang came, he could directly supervise the election of a new captain for the Ping'an Village Brigade.
The Ping'anzhuang Brigade will use this action to express its sincere apology for the unpleasant experience that Secretary Tang and his party had in Ping'anzhuang.
The director on the other end of the phone couldn't see what expression Xia Juhua had when she heard her self-criticism, but Uncle Qi and Secretary Zhang, who were on the phone, gave her a thumbs-up, which Xia Juhua could see clearly. In order to avoid Uncle Qi and Secretary Zhang giving her a thumbs-up, Xia Juhua continued to speak louder and louder, and also called Deputy Director Gu.
There is only one central idea, which is to ask Deputy Director Gu to take care of her two sons, because she may no longer serve as the captain of Ping'an Village, and then she will need to live with her two sons in her old age. If Deputy Director Gu takes care of Liu Zhiquan, it is equivalent to taking care of her.
Deputy Director Gu was of course shocked when he heard this, but unfortunately he couldn't find out why Xia Juhua was no longer the captain of Ping'an Village, so he had to call the regional supply and marketing cooperative to find out the situation.
The deputy director of the provincial supply and marketing system called the regional supply and marketing department, and naturally did not call the deputy's office. The person who answered the phone was the director of the regional supply and marketing cooperative who had just hung up the phone with Xia Juhua.
After listening to the director of the regional supply and marketing cooperative's introduction, Deputy Director Gu directly characterized Secretary Tang's behavior as nonsense, and told the director very seriously that Xia Juhua's current work in Ping'an Village cannot be replaced by anyone. Her job is not just to sign a rubber order for Province L. The vermicelli factory under her leadership and the instant noodle factory that is about to be built both provide supplies for the troops!
"That Secretary Tang is so careless and has such a long hand. Didn't you conduct any investigation when you promoted him? Who recommended him and who gave him the power to dare to interfere in the management of the personnel of the local government's subordinate brigade?"
I really don't know how powerful the supply and marketing cooperative is. To put it bluntly, the supply and marketing system still serves the local government. Do you really think that you can interfere with their management just because you control the materials? It's one thing for them to save face and not argue with you, but if they really argue, they will directly file a lawsuit with the provincial government, saying that the supply and marketing cooperative is in the wrong!
Deputy Director Gu ordered Director Zheng to investigate the matter thoroughly to find out whether Secretary Tang's actions in Ping'an Village were his own decision or whether there were bad elements within the regional supply and marketing cooperative who attempted to undermine the supply of materials to the troops by undermining the leadership of Ping'an Village.
The matter involved the supply of troops, so it was not something that the regional supply and marketing cooperative could cover up. In fact, from the moment Xia Juhua called Deputy Director Gu, the matter could no longer be covered up. As soon as Secretary Tang returned to the regional supply and marketing cooperative, what awaited him was a strict review by the organization department.
The final review result, of course, showed that there were no hostile elements. However, not only could Secretary Tang no longer return to Pingde County, but even the deputy secretary who recommended him was transferred to the Cheng'an District Supply and Marketing Cooperative to become the last-ranked deputy director.
When the news was fed back to Pingan Village, Xia Juhua breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't care how Secretary Tang was dealt with. What she wanted most was the evaluation of her by the regional supply and marketing cooperative that came with the news.
據劉志雙打電話告訴她，現在地區供銷社都在傳，別看平安莊只是一個小小的大隊，可大隊長人硬氣，根子更硬，唐書記一個正科級幹部，竟然因為平安莊，被發配到了承平地區最偏遠的縣做主任去了，可謂陰溝裏翻船。
所以日後再碰到平安莊的事，大家最好別動小心思，幫不幫忙無所謂，別想給人使絆子才能保平安。
因為劉志雙經常跟其他單位打交道，所以他聽說的遠比齊小叔反饋給夏菊花的消息更多，據他又說，現在傳這話的已經不止供銷系統，好些地區的單位，都知道了平安莊大隊的大名，還列入了重點關注對象。
列不列重點關注對象夏菊花不當回事，通過這件事讓人知道平安莊的事兒不是那麽好插手的，才是她敢松點勁的根本所在。
得到消息的應該不止平安莊，沒多久公社供銷社的陳小蔓副主任，竟親自帶人來到平安莊，主動向夏菊花提起了前段時間雞蛋收購價格被壓的事情。
按陳小蔓的說法，她所以那麽做，都是因為唐書記給她下了任務，不得不為之。因此請夏菊花千萬別因為此事，就跟她生了芥蒂，畢竟在困難的歲月裏，兩個人也曾相互幫助過。
如果陳小蔓不把責任都推到唐書記身上，夏菊花還會給她找一個上進心太強、沒有處事經驗的理由。可陳小蔓把責任往唐書記身上一推，夏菊花只能笑着說自己并不介意，畢竟她也沒去供銷社交過雞蛋。
陳小蔓聽了臉上青一陣白一陣，又拉着夏菊花回憶了兩個人通過陳科長達成的友誼，并希望這段友誼得到延續。夏菊花由着她小小年紀追憶往昔，自己不時笑笑算是回應。
最後陳小蔓自己回憶不下去了，只好說出自己真正的目的：時間已經不知不覺到了冬天，各村的雞下蛋的太少了，只有平安莊因養的雞基數大，還能有些收獲。
因為前段時間壓價，現在平安莊的社員交雞蛋，寧願在劉志福他們跑拖拉機的時候，順道捎到紅旗供銷社，也不交到紅星供銷社了，讓她很難完成任務。所以她希望夏菊花能號召一下社員同志們，別舍近求遠，還是把雞蛋交到紅星供銷社吧。
“農民嘛，過日子都仔細。”夏菊花直到陳小蔓沒詞了，才說：“誰家過日子不是把一分錢看得比磨盤還大。一只雞蛋就降一分錢，農民的雞一天才下幾個蛋。供銷社一降價，直接把大家的心氣都給降沒了，好些人下年都不想替大隊養雞了，我們也愁着呢。”
夏菊花平靜的陳述事實，陳小蔓卻平靜不了。她來平安莊，着急完成任務是真，想探一下夏菊花有沒有因為王彩霞的事情，對自己有看法更是重中之重。
她叔叔聽說她做的糊塗事兒，早把她叫過去罵了一頓，還聲明如果夏菊花針對她的話，別指望他伸手幫忙。
陳小蔓又哭又求，她叔才給出了這麽一個主意，那就是陳小蔓得放低姿态，別再把夏菊花還當成那個買幾斤面條頭子，就覺得占天大便宜的農村婦女，而是主動到平安莊給人道歉，哪怕不求得原諒，也不能繼續交惡。
盡管陳小蔓不大情願，可她叔叔說的唐書記與地區供銷社一位副處級副主任的下場，把她吓着了——她現在的身份還是工人，哪怕被稱為副主任只是以工代幹——這才不得不一上來就向夏菊花示弱。
可是她叔叔終究小看了侄女的小聰明。幾次接觸下來，陳科長知道夏菊花是一個人敬我一尺、我敬人一丈的人，陳小蔓年紀又小，誠懇的道個歉，承認自己急功近利了，夏菊花哪怕會說幾句，也不會跟她一般見識。
不想陳小蔓直接把責任推到唐書記身上，夏菊花對她的觀感變得更差，對陳小蔓遞過來的橄榄枝，接都不接。哪怕陳小蔓承諾，如果平安莊的社員再到供銷社交雞蛋，每只增加五厘錢，以彌補前段時間平安莊社員的損失，夏菊花也只說自己會通知社員，至于人家去不去，她左右不了。
殘存的理智，讓陳小蔓沒直接用唐書記被平安莊社員堵屋裏不敢出來的事兒威脅夏菊花，尴尬的離開了平安莊大隊。常會計等她一走，就說了一句：“早知現在，何必當初呢？”
夏菊花看了常會計一眼，問：“大家要交的雞都統計好了？”
常會計點頭，告訴夏菊花不光統計好了，哪個生産隊派誰去交雞，哪天去交都安排妥了，讓她只管盯着方便面廠的建設就行了。
沒錯，方便面廠的建設已經到了最後時刻，而知青點那邊随着高考分數快出來，知青們的情緒更加緊張毛燥，一言不合就能發生沖突，讓夏菊花都有些後悔，把知青點給圈進方便面廠了。
他們人頭打出狗頭來夏菊花不上心，耽誤了方便面廠建設，她真能揍人。
好在平安莊社員們上下同心的表現，不光震撼了唐書記和供銷社一衆人，同樣讓知青們明白，這些年平安莊的社員一直讓他們自行其事，真是對他們格外優待了。否則真跟他們較起真來，他們還敢因為休假問題找大隊要說法？
所以他們沖突歸沖突，都是在內部進行，并沒有把平安莊社員牽扯進去。夏菊花對他們的要求也十分簡單，只要不耽誤方便面廠的建設，別來找平安莊的麻煩，相互之間別傷筋動骨，那就由着他們去好了。
象胡中山與李有光兩人，高考後主動到工地上幫忙，負責工地的劉力群跟夏菊花說過之後，她也沒反對，還囑咐劉力群他們上一天的工就給記一天的工分，等到年底時統一結算給他們便是。
及至小莊頭往采購站交雞的那天，除了帶回了賣雞款，還帶回了高考成績出來的消息。胡中山兩人幹不下活去了，找到劉力群請假。
劉力群當然同意，因為這兩小夥子幹活不惜力，讓他二人的印象改觀不少，還主動問他們咋去縣城，用不用讓劉志福開拖拉機送他們一程。
聽說大隊可以出拖拉機，知青點的人都出來了，除了兩個考到一半就再沒進考場的知青，都爬上了拖拉機車鬥，誰也顧不上拖拉機剛運完活雞，車鬥還沒打掃過。
對于劉力群額外給自己安排的差使，劉志福一笑就接了過來——他娘早告誡過他，他還年輕、眼裏得有活兒，要不人家不說他不好，卻會說大娘看人不準，會讓大娘失去威信。
劉志福最怕的不是他親爹娘，而是明明都沒說過多少話的大娘，生怕自己真給大娘丢臉。所以大隊幹部不管誰給他安排差使，他都先應下，再去跟大娘報備一聲。
這次他同樣向夏菊花說了一聲，夏菊花囑咐他說：“你開車前把人數好了，下車前跟他們說清楚，幾點在哪兒等着，過時不候。一定要讓所有人都答應了，再讓他們下車。就跟他們說，要是他們不答應，出了啥事兒你都不負責，知道了嗎？”說完，把自己腕上的手表摘下來，讓劉志福戴着看時間。
劉志福連連連點頭，邊接過手表小心裝進內兜裏，便突突突的帶着知青們往縣城趕。一路上也碰到了別的大隊走着往縣城趕的知青，有人揮着手想搭車，劉志福只當沒看見，哪怕車鬥裏有人說揮手的人他認識，也沒停下拖拉機。
就有知青不滿的嘀咕，覺得劉志全不近人情，等路上再沒啥人的時候，劉志福慢慢把拖拉機停下，轉頭對車鬥裏的知青說：“咱們大隊不管誰使拖拉機，都要自己出油錢，你們聽說過吧？”
別以為自己送他們一趟，是真覺得他們中間要出大學生，這是劉力群看在胡中山兩人的面子上派的，不是欠知青的。劉志福都想好了，要是這些人再說三道四，他就直接把人趕下拖拉機，讓他們也跟那些人一樣自己走到縣城。
知青們聽懂劉志福話裏的意思，一下子不出聲了。只有胡中山小聲催了一句：“知道，說不知道的都是揣着明白裝糊塗呢，你別理。快開吧，一會到縣城人家該下班了。”
可不是，如果按剛才知青的議論，劉志福見一個人揮手拉一個人，一路上得耽誤多少工夫？再說去的時候把人拉去了，回來的時候拉不拉着回來？
見知青們都老實了，劉志福趕緊把剛才夏菊花的話交待清楚了，言明自己把人送到教委門口，只等一個半小時，如果那時還不出來趕不上拖拉機，對不起，請你跟剛才揮手的一樣，走着回平安莊吧。
知青們得了胡中山的提醒，都知道早到一分鐘，早一分鐘知道結果，哪怕心知希望渺茫，也願意早一分鐘死心，比現在心裏七上八下的強。
The tractor quickly drove to the county education commission. When it stopped, we could hear a lot of noise in the yard of the commission. Some people were shouting excitedly, and some were crying bitterly. We couldn't tell whether they were crying with excitement because of their high test scores, or crying with sadness because of their low test scores.
No matter what they heard, it was very irritating to the educated youths. They looked at each other and climbed down the tractor in a hurry. Hu Zhongshan and Li Youguang did not go into the yard to check the scores without looking back after getting off the tractor like the other educated youths. Instead, they took the time to thank Liu Zhifu and calmed down before walking towards the yard.
Their footsteps were not light. Standing in front of the tractor and looking at their backs, Liu Zhifu suddenly understood why Hu Zhongshan and Li Youguang walked so slowly and with such heavy steps.
Even though they were seven or eight years older than Liu Zhifu, Liu Zhifu still believed that he understood how they felt - their fate was about to be revealed, so they could not take it easy.