Chapter 173
When hearing Xia Juhua asking about Liu Hongjuan's situation, Chen Qiu Sheng opened his mouth and said, "That child studies very hard, but her brain doesn't seem to be open. Her grades are below average in the class, and she has little chance of getting into high school." Although he spent most of his time in the vermicelli factory, he still knew the situation of everyone in Ping'an Village.
Xia Juhua sighed silently: "No matter what, Zhiliang has always been thinking about her. If she really can't study, when she graduates from junior high school, we'll see which factory she wants to work in and arrange it for her." If Zhiliang really goes to the battlefield, this arrangement will make him feel more at ease.
Talking about whether the children can study, Chen Qiusheng watched Xia Juhua split the ten pairs of insoles she made into two and stuffed them into Liu Zhiliang and Liu Zhijun's bags respectively, and thought of someone at the same time, and said with a smile:
"When it comes to perseverance in studying, I think none of the kids from Ping An Village can compare to Qi Xi. I heard that he will take the college entrance examination this year, and he holds a book in his hand while eating every day."
Xia Juhua was somewhat helpless about Qixi's persistence in taking the college entrance examination. Who would have thought that Qixi, who used to be a frivolous boy, would become addicted to studying and set the goal of changing his fate through studying? He took Hu Zhongshan, an educated youth who had already gone to college, as his role model and signed up for the college entrance examination last year. Unfortunately, he only scored a little over 200 points. Why did he have to take the exam again this year?
"His family doesn't rely on him to earn work points, so let him take the exam again one year. If he still fails this year, Master Wu will have to speak up." This was all Xia Juhua could say.
Chen Qiusheng nodded in agreement and picked up a bundle that was bigger than others. "This was sent by Fifth Master Da Xi early in the morning. He told me not to write any of the children's names on it. When it arrives in the mail, they can divide it among themselves."
"Did the Fifth Master bring it?" Xia Juhua asked curiously, "What good stuff is there that needs to be packed in such a big bag?" After she said that, she picked up the bag herself and found that it was extremely heavy.
"How much does it cost to mail this?" Xia Juhua sighed as she opened the package and was completely stunned.
The bag contained all the crops grown by Ping'an Village Brigade this year, from wheat to sweet potatoes, corn and sorghum. There wasn't much of each crop, but because of the rich variety, it was packed into such a large bag.
Chen Qiu Sheng saw a rather large paper bag at the bottom of the bundle with some dirt hanging from the outside. He couldn't help laughing: "Fifth Master is old after all, he didn't even bother to shake off the dirt on the paper bag. What good stuff is this?" He opened the paper bag as he said this.
Wrapped in three or four layers of paper was actually some yellow soil, which looked like it was dug from the land of Ping'an Village, because there were small grass sticks and a few pieces of broken grass leaves in it.
Chen Qiu Sheng said in confusion: "What is this old man thinking? There is soil everywhere. Why mail it all the way to the troops?" After De Xin wrapped the soil, he wanted to put the paper bag outside the bundle.
Xia Juhua held his hand tightly, quickly rewrapped the paper bag with the seeds, and said in a low voice: "This is all Fifth Master's kindness, it is the best thing, nothing can be missing."
There was a tremor in her voice. Chen Qiusheng had already lowered his head when he looked at her. Only a drop of liquid fell on the bundle, which made Chen Qiusheng's heart clench. He didn't understand why the fifth master sent yellow earth to the children, nor did he know why Xia Juhua suddenly shed tears. But his heart inexplicably became heavy.
Xia Juhua's heart was boiling with rage. She wasn't sure if Master Wu had guessed her intention, but she couldn't stop herself from going to Master Wu's yard.
Ever since the first batch of chicks were successfully hatched, Master Wu has never stopped hatching chicks - every family in Ping'an Village has raised more and more chickens, and relying on the hens to lay nests cannot solve the problem, so many families come to Master Wu for help.
In order not to let the old man's hard work go in vain, gave Wuye 30 cents for each chick. The breeding eggs were 10 cents each, and Wuye could hatch 300 chicks on one kang. Excluding bad eggs, he could earn more than 50 yuan for each batch.
However, Fifth Master was not a person who would eat alone. He would share some with any grandson who accompanied him during the incubation period. Even if the grandsons did not want it, he still had his great-grandsons. He was always very generous in giving New Year's money to the children.
At this time, Xia Juhua heard the chirping of chicks as soon as she entered the yard. It seemed that Master Wu's chicks had hatched again. Li Zhaodi came over and greeted Xia Juhua, then handed her a white coat. Xia Juhua was in a bad mood, but she smiled when she saw this: "Master Wu is still so particular?"
Li Zhaodi nodded and said, "My grandfather said that the chicks he hatched are easier to raise than those of other families because he pays attention to hygiene."
When watching TV in her previous life, Xia Juhua knew that the hygiene requirements in some large hatcheries were indeed very strict, so she said to Li Zhaodi: "What Fifth Master said makes sense. Isn't that what the technicians at the Agricultural Technology Station require? Maybe it's a bit troublesome for you to go in and out every day to take care of Fifth Master."
Hearing her explain to herself on behalf of the Fifth Master, Li Zhaodi couldn't help laughing: "We all know that everyone has made a white coat for themselves, so they don't have to wear the same one as others."
Xia Juhua also smiled and asked, "Since they are hatched, why don't you let them take away quickly? Why do you keep them at home? Do you want them or what?" The chicks are very delicate and want to be kept warm and eat soft millet. One or two is nothing, but if there are more than 200 of them, the amount of millet required is not small.
"It's winter now. My grandfather said it's hard to raise chicks in cold weather. Keep them at home for a few more days and let someone catch them after they've been bumped and bruised." Li Zhaodi explained to Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua nodded after hearing this. No wonder everyone in Ping An Manor recognized the chicks hatched by Master Wu. This consideration for others was far better than those who didn't care about the life or death of the chicks just to make more money.
The Fifth Master had heard their conversation and said from inside, "It's very cold outside. If you have anything to say, please come inside and talk."
Li Zhaodi smiled quietly at Xia Juhua. They went to the west room and saw that Master Wu was squatting on the kang and scattering rice for the chicks. When he saw them come in, he patted the broken rice in his hands and was about to go to the field.
Xia Juhua said hurriedly: "Why are you being so polite to me? I have nothing to do. I just haven't seen you out for a long time, so I came to see you."
"Have all those things been mailed?" When Master Wu heard her say that she had nothing to do, he seemed to know why she came. He got up from the ground floor, put on his shoes, and said, "Let's talk in that room. The smell in this room is too strong and you can't stay here."
The three of them arrived at the east room. Li Zhaodi poured each of them a glass of water and went home to make lunch for the Fifth Master. Xia Juhua and the Fifth Master were left alone, and neither of them spoke a word, and no one touched the glass of water in front of them.
After a long silence, Master Wu sighed and said, "It's enough that you have shown your intentions. Don't dwell on it. Just do what you need to do."
Xia Juhua hummed but didn't say anything. She sat for a while and then got up and went out. She could still hear Fifth Master's long sigh.
Some things can't be overcome by justing, you still have to face them.
Not saying anything is not because I am not worried, but because I am afraid that others will have the same worries as me.
Xia Juhua had been forcing herself to smile during this year. Even though Liu Zhiquan and his brothers returned to Ping'an Village with their wives and children on the 29th day of the 11th lunar month, and the three children were vying to call her grandma, Xia Juhua's smile did not linger for a moment.
The New Year's Eve dinner still has to be eaten on the 30th. Even if there is no mood to prepare for the New Year, the ingredients in Xia Juhua's family are still much richer than those of ordinary families. Qi Weidong, who has opened up the seafood route, not only supplies instant noodle factories, but also has many sales channels. Xia Juhua doesn't even need to calculate how much money he makes in a year. She knows that if the agricultural and trade market is given up now, Qi Weidong can also build it.
Qi Weidong, who had made money, treated Xia Juhua, who helped him to find the way, as his own aunt. As soon as the first month of the lunar year came, he took everything from food to clothes to Ping An Manor, and gave Xia Juhua a big red envelope of 5,000 yuan. After being scolded by Xia Juhua, he put it away awkwardly: "I just don't know how to thank my aunt. If you don't accept the money and things, I will be embarrassed to come to Ping An Manor again."
Xia Juhua looked at the pile of things on the ground and shook her head helplessly: "It's hard to say who is taking advantage of whom. You think I have paved the way for you to buy seafood, but in the past year, you have not made a penny from the seafood you supplied to the instant noodle factory except for the freight and losses."
"The instant noodle factory is not selling to the public now. The processing fee paid by the army is only enough to pay the workers' wages and electricity bills. You invested money, but you didn't get a penny back in one year. Ping An Village took advantage of you."
Qi Weidong waved his hand nonchalantly: "Auntie told me that this is far away. I invested in the instant noodle factory not for the next two years, but because I am optimistic about the future profits of the instant noodle factory. You don't know how much I made this year just by delivering hot and sour noodles to the railway."
Seeing Xia Juhua looking at him with a half-smile, Qi Weidong realized that what he had just said sounded like bragging. He took out the big red envelope that Xia Juhua had just rejected and shook it to prove that what he said was true: "It must be more than twice this."
Xia Juhua had no doubts about this, because Qi Weidong was a successful businessman in his previous life, and he would never do business at a loss. So she accepted the seafood, beef and mutton, and a basket of very rare vegetables sent by Qi Weidong with peace of mind.
Just two days ago, Qi Weidong came back from Guangzhou and gave Xia Juhua a basket of seafood so that she could have something fresh to eat during the New Year.
The main dish of today's New Year's Eve dinner is the seafood delivered by Jiweiqi Weidong.
"Grandma, this is delicious. Come and try it." Liu Baoguo picked up a piece of fried horse mackerel for Xia Juhua, and then picked up a piece for Lele, and reminded her: "It has bones."
An An called him "brother" and looked at Liu Baoguo's chopsticks eagerly. Liu Baoguo smiled at him and gave him a chicken leg: "That one is prickly, you are still young and can't spit out the thorns, it will hurt your throat. This one is good, with more meat."
Seeing Liu Baoguo seriously caring for his younger siblings, Xia Juhua felt that Wang Caifeng had educated him well: "Baoguo is quite sensible. Caifeng has been raising two children by herself, which is also hard. She has to pick vegetables for herself."
"Mom, I'm working hard too." Xiao Man pretended to be jealous and said, "Why didn't you tell me to pick some vegetables for me to eat?"
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "Do you think I didn't see you frying meatballs? Your mouth was busy?" Wang Caifeng had already picked up a big shrimp and put it in Xiaoman's bowl.
Liu Zhishuang said with some envy: "Xiao Qi has become more capable in the past two years. These things are only brought by ourselves so that we can eat fresh ones. If we buy them, not only are they hard to buy, but they are also all icy on top and the meat is all loose."
Liu Zhiquan had been busy serving seafood, and only looked up after hearing what Liu Zhishuang said: "Now that Xiaoqi is not working, he seems to be free. Unlike us, we are tied to the office every day and can't move anywhere."
Wang Caifeng was very content and said to Liu Zhiquan: "It's free, but I have to worry about everything myself, and I also have to worry about someone catching me for speculation. Now that we both work, I can fry some peanuts after get off work and take care of them, isn't that good?"
"Sister-in-law, how many peanuts did you fry this winter?" Xiaoman became excited when he heard Wang Caifeng talking about frying peanuts and started to ask.
Xia Juhua knew that Xiaoman had moved to the district and was very depressed for a while because she didn't make money on the job. But after Qi Weidong heard about it, he went directly to the district family building and asked her to continue to fry peanuts for him and pay her the processing fee just like when she was in Ping'anzhuang.
Taking into account the consumption levels in the region and the provincial capital, Qi Weidong charged Xiaoman 1 cent per pound for processing, which was several times higher than Liu Zhishuang's salary in a month.
Later, Wang Caifeng heard about it and called Qi Weidong to ask if she could also fry peanuts in the provincial capital. Qi Weidong directly introduced her to a partner of his in the provincial capital and asked her to buy raw peanuts directly from that person. After frying, that person would sell them directly in the provincial capital, which would not conflict with Xiaoman.
Xiaoman was considerate, and in order not to cause any impact on Liu Zhishuang, the couple secretly rented a small yard and set up a pot to fry peanuts. So when Xiaoman said that she had worked hard all year, Xia Juhua agreed in her heart - she had heard from Qi Weidong that Xiaoman had been almost busy all year, unlike Wang Caifeng who only worked for two months before the New Year.
Xia Juhua didn't ask how much money they made, and she certainly wouldn't tell them how much she made. She liked the current way of getting along with them, where they saw each other a few times a year, and they weren't too unfamiliar, nor too close.
After dinner, watching the two sisters-in-law chatting and laughing while cleaning the table, Xia Juhua once again felt that it was the wisest thing for her to let her two sons move to the city. She was secretly proud of herself when Liu Zhiquan pushed a red envelope in front of her.
Xia Juhua didn't even look at how much money was inside and pushed it back: "I've already said that I can earn money myself. You have to buy everything in the city. There are many places to spend money. You don't need to give me money."
Liu Baoguo and Lele both saw their father giving red envelopes to grandma. Seeing that grandma didn't want it, they ran to Xia Juhua, one pulled the bag and the other took the red envelope and put it in. They both said, "Grandma, take it and buy delicious food. Buy whatever you want."
An An was even more anxious than the other two and shouted to Liu Zhishuang, "Dad, red envelope."
Liu Zhishuang teased his son: "What red envelope? You can only receive red envelopes when you pay New Year's greetings tomorrow. There are none now."
An An pointed at Liu Baoguo and Le Le who were laughing and joking with Xia Juhua and said, "Hurry up and bring the red envelope for grandma."
"We have money in our family, why should we give it to grandma? No." Liu Zhishuang continued to tease his son. When Xiaoman entered the room, he saw his son's expression, which looked like he was about to cry, and complained to Liu Zhishuang, "You tease him every day, and make him cry in the middle of the year. Do you think your mother will scold you?"
After saying that, Xiaoman took out a bulging red envelope from his trouser pocket and asked Anan to put it in Xia Juhua's other pocket.
Xia Juhua gathered the three children in front of her, made them sit down, and placed two red envelopes at their feet. She then asked the four children, "How much money did your two families earn this year? Why are you giving all this to me at once? Aren't you able to make ends meet?"
Since the day you moved to the city, our separation has become a fact. I will no longer take your money, and you don't have to count on me. That's great. Xia Juhua, who just felt that she was far away from her parents, was afraid that her two sons would use two red envelopes to rely on her again, so she found reasons to refuse.
Liu Zhiquan said, "Mom, Zhishuang and I have inquired these two days. My second uncle's family spent a total of 1,100 yuan on the house and the yard. We will each pay 600 yuan, and you can build the house in the spring."
When asked who in Ping'an Village was most qualified to build a new house, Liu Zhiquan and his brothers thought it was their own mother. But when they came back this year, they found that a quarter of the families in the production team had moved into brick and tile houses, while their own mother was still alone in the old house.
They both felt bad: their mother gave them the opportunity to go to the city, and even though the tube-shaped building or single-family house they lived in was not as spacious as the courtyard in Ping'an Manor, the convenience of life was several times better than that in Ping'an Manor. Whenever they noticed a convenience in life, they would think of their mother who was still in Ping'an Manor, and felt that they had stolen it from her, and they felt a little guilty.
Yes, Xia Juhua is indispensable to the affairs of Ping'an Manor now. They all know that their mother cannot leave Ping'an Manor for a while, so they should let their mother live better and have a smoother trip, which can also make up for their guilt, right?
The two knew that Xia Juhua had raised 5,000 yuan to build a road, and they were afraid that she was reluctant to build a new house because she had no money. After discussing it, they decided to pay for it together to build a house for their mother: their mother had contributed so much to Ping'an Village, and they couldn't let her live in a worse place than others.
After hearing the two people's reasons, Xia Juhua was speechless: "Even if I raised 5,000 yuan for the road construction, I still get paid every month at the vermicelli factory, instant noodle factory and weaving factory. Don't look at me, I don't want it, but as soon as I mentioned it, they said that if I don't want it, they would be embarrassed to take the salary. What can I do?" Although Xia Juhua didn't say how much the salary was, Liu Zhiquan and others felt that it should not be less than the average worker.
Adding the dividends from Ping An Manor, Xia Juhua's income was really not low. Liu Zhishuang asked in confusion, "Mom, why don't you build a house? A brick house is spacious and well-insulated. It's warm in winter and cool in summer, so you don't have to suffer."
Xia Juhua seemed to be chatting and laughing with everyone, but in fact, she was just thinking that her two sons rarely came back, and she couldn't let her mood ruin the atmosphere of the New Year. Now when I heard Liu Zhishuang say that it was warm in winter and cool in summer, I couldn't help but think of the "cat ear holes" introduced in the TV last life.
In the hot and humid weather, the soldiers still steadfastly guarded the homeland in the cat's ear holes. In addition to the hot climate, bites from snakes, rats, mosquitoes and insects, food and drink became a problem, and there were also occasional cold gunshots and stray bullets. Even their lives were not guaranteed. That was suffering!
I just live in an old house, which looks a little dated, but I can move around freely, the environment is safe, and food and drink are guaranteed. What qualifications do I have to say that I am suffering?
Seeing that Xia Juhua hadn't said anything and was a little absent-minded, Liu Zhiquan and the others were a little confused. Even the children stopped making noise and looked at Xia Juhua, occasionally touching her face with their little hands or pulling her hand.
"How can we say that living in such a nice house is suffering?" Xia Juhua came to her senses and continued to discuss building a new house with her two sons: "This house was built by the three of us, one adobe at a time. Every adobe is covered with our sweat. I want to live here for a few more years, so we can talk about building a new house later."
Both Liu Zhiquan and his brother were silent. Wang Caifeng had experienced how Liu Zhishuang's mother-in-law led her family to build the western wing before Liu Zhishuang got married. Xiaoman had lived next door to Xia Juhua's family since childhood, and had seen the old house built from scratch and then fully equipped.
The four people had mixed feelings in their hearts.
After a while, Liu Zhiquan said, "Even if you don't build a new house, you should keep this money. We don't come back many times a year, and we don't know what to buy for you. You can buy whatever you want."
It was rare for the boss to speak such a long speech in one breath. Although Xia Juhua still refused, she smiled more often - life had to go on, and her constant depression would not stop the war.
Then do your best and continue to help those on the front line.
Xia Juhua thought so and did so. Years ago, she had held a meeting with the brigade cadres to discuss the issue. After the children from Pingan Village left to serve in the army, each family would lose a strong laborer, and their income would be reduced accordingly.
In order to allow the children to concentrate on their military training, each military dependent family can choose one person to work in the factory. If there is already someone working in the factory, it is not impossible to add one more person.
As soon as the news came out, the military families were naturally deeply moved - generally speaking, families who can send their children to the army and whose children are left behind by the army have good family traditions. None of these military families felt that the benefits given to them by the brigade were their due, but they consciously did not want to take too much advantage of the collective, so as not to embarrass the soldiers.
Of course, Xia Juhua had no idea whether Liu Sizhuang and his wife thought the same, because they didn't dare to show up in front of her until now.
Several families of military dependents who have someone working in the factory said that although there is no strong labor in the family, the work points of the production team have increased a lot. The brigade can deduct half of the food work points as the mother of the main soldier. There are still people working in the factory in the family, and they can see cash every month, so there is no need to arrange for others to work in the factory.
Military families who have no one in the family feel that the employees in the factory are all carefully selected, and if their family members are not selected, they do not meet the requirements. Now I have to take care of my children because they are in the army. I am afraid that there will be a psychological burden on my children when they hear that they are in the army. They all said that they are afraid that their family members are not suitable for factory work, so they will not go there.
In the end, only three of the twenty-one soldiers' families agreed to let them work in the factory!
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