Chapter 176
The cement coordinated by Xia Juhua was delivered to Ping'anzhuang Brigade in just a few days. Members who needed it could go to the brigade and buy it back home or store it in the brigade warehouse according to the order of registration. Most members chose to store it in the brigade warehouse, as they were afraid that if they did not keep it well, the cement would harden and they would have wasted their money.
Before selling cement to the members, Xia Juhua made a request, that is, the members and production teams who were building new houses had to make a commitment and, like the Ping'anzhuang production team, build houses as evenly as possible and not build them haphazardly. They also had to repair and level the drainage ditches to prevent sewage from flowing on the village roads.
The members of each production team were very enthusiastic about this - the houses that had already been built in Ping'an Village were there, and after seeing them, everyone felt that there was no need to splash dirty water into the yard and the street. Whether it was their own yard or the front door, they would feel comfortable walking there.
For the sake of comfort, no one is afraid of being tired and everyone learns how to dig drainage ditches.
It was the coldest time of winter, so it was impossible to build a house, but we could still dig a drainage ditch if we put in some effort, so it was a good opportunity for us to dig a drainage ditch together. If we could dig the drainage ditch in winter, we could directly apply cement and use it when the weather got warmer in spring.
Xia Juhua and several other brigade cadres visited the production teams from time to time to check on the progress of the drainage ditches, which reminded Li Changshun of the time when they all worked together to repair the canals. He sighed to Xia Juhua, "I haven't seen so many people working together in years." At that time, everyone was still worried about having enough food to eat, but now they have begun to beautify their living environment. What a huge change.
Yes, Xia Juhua looked at the members arguing while digging ditches, and nodded: "If hadn't worked hard to repair the canal that year, the land would have become irrigated, the production of wheat and sweet potatoes would have increased, everyone would not have to worry about food, and everyone the vermicelli factory could not have been built." Not to mention the instant noodle factory.
"Captain Xia." Someone came over here on a bicycle, waving his hand at Xia Juhua and shouting, "It's the commune's phone call." While he was talking, the person had already arrived. Who could it be if it wasn't Chang Accountant?
Xia Juhua asked in some confusion: "Who is calling from the commune? Can't I tell you if there is something?" Accountant Chang spends most of his time in the brigade headquarters, so if there is any notification from the commune, people can usually tell him directly.
Accountant Chang had just ridden his bike in a hurry and was still out of breath. "Yes, it was Secretary Zhang from the commune who called. He said there was something important and asked you to call him right away. Call him back."
It was Secretary Zhang who called personally. No wonder he didn't tell Accountant Chang what was going on. Xia Juhua pushed her bicycle over and rode to the brigade headquarters. Her voice was anxious as she spoke on the phone: "Secretary Zhang, what's going on?"
Secretary Zhang's voice on the phone was quite calm: "It's like this, a reporter from the Southern Military Region wants to interview Ping'an Village, accompanied by reporters from the regional daily newspaper, county daily newspaper and comrades from the propaganda department, and two deputy ministers are with them. You must provide a good reception for them."
Why are you here for an interview? Xia Juhua was a little confused: "Interview? Are you here to interview Ping An Zhuang or the weaving team? Why are you here for an interview in Ping An Zhuang?"
"Neither. From what I heard from the Southern Military Region, it seems that they want to interview you personally this time." Secretary Zhang himself didn't quite understand what was going on, but he still had to do his job as he was receiving the interview:
"Although we are interviewing you personally, they must also take a look at the overall appearance of Ping An Village. After all, the achievements made by Ping An Village in recent years are closely related to you. So you must let the members be well prepared, and all production teams should pay attention to the appearance of the village."
Xia Juhua was not worried about the appearance of the production teams in Ping'an Village. She asked, "When will the reporters arrive? Do we need to prepare dinner for them?"
"Comrade Xia Juhua," Secretary Zhang called out on the other end of the phone, "Even if ordinary people come to visit Ping'an Village, you still have to entertain them. The reporter is interviewing you, and there are two leaders following him, and you don't even want to treat them to a meal?"
"No," Xia Juhua could tell that Secretary Zhang was still a little nervous, so she quickly explained and comforted him, "That's not what I meant. We have to entertain guests, and I'm not afraid that if we don't meet the standard, it will bring shame to the commune. Besides, the chickens I raised have all been handed over to the collection station this year, and my family is really... I have to arrange for someone to buy food for me."
Secretary Zhang said very firmly: "You may be able to fool others with this, but you are far from fooling me. How many chickens did you raise in Ping'an Village this year? You only handed over 30 to the purchasing station. I don't know how many you have left? Unless you eat a chicken a day, there must be plenty of chickens in your backyard."
All right, you are the leader and you have the final say. laying hens. In fact, there were not many that could be killed.
But if this were said to Secretary Zhang, he would certainly not believe it. He would only remember that Master Wu had been hatching chicks continuously, and as a member of the Ping'anzhuang Brigade, he had never allowed his chicks to be exported.
So it is almost a foregone conclusion that a chicken in your backyard will be slaughtered.
Since we can't escape, let's add a few more. Xia Juhua opened the door of her office and wanted to call Accountant Chang to arrange for someone to buy meat - it's cold now, and the meat can be kept for a few days if it is bought early - when she heard the sound of cars coming from the road.
Xia Juhua had not expected the reporters to arrive so quickly. She hurried to the gate of the brigade headquarters and found that two jeeps had already left the rural road and were heading towards the brigade headquarters.
Accountant Chang, who followed her out, exclaimed, "Where did the car come from?"
Xia Juhua hurriedly told him that they might be here for an interview, and asked him to arrange to buy meat and prepare lunch as soon as he finished meeting the people. Needless to say, in recent years, Xia Juhua's family usually prepared meals, and Accountant Chang asked familiarly, "Do you still want to ask Xiao Man's mother to help?"
Xia Juhua nodded and walked with Accountant Chang to the parked jeep. The reporter from the County Daily Newspaper who got out of the first car had dealt with Xia Juhua twice before. He just nodded to her and quickly walked to the next car and opened the back door.
The three people who came down were all wearing blue-black Zhongshan suits with their buttons buttoned tightly. They looked very serious and kept turning their heads to look around the environment around the brigade headquarters.
After all the people herself got off the jeeps, Xia Juhua found that there were nine people in the two jeeps. She thought to, fortunately there was no such thing as overloading at this time, otherwise it would be very difficult for the traffic police.
"Captain Xia, come here, let me introduce you." The county reporter, who had met Xia Juhua once, called Xia Juhua to a man in a Zhongshan suit and said, "This is Comrade Li Honglin, deputy director of our county's propaganda department."
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "Hello, Minister Li. Welcome to the Ping'anzhuang Brigade to guide our work."
Minister Li's serious expression finally relaxed a little, and he took over the introduction responsibility of the county reporter and introduced to Xia Juhua the deputy commander of the regional propaganda department, Dai Hongzhou, the military newspaper reporter Zhang Tianming, and the regional daily reporter Xie Jingfei. As for the county newspaper reporter Lin Shutang, he did not need to introduce him.
Xia Juhua kept smiling and expressed warm welcome to every leader and reporter who came to Ping'an Village to provide guidance, and invited everyone to come to the brigade headquarters and sit down to talk.
After sitting down and pouring some water, the acting deputy director of the region spoke: "I heard that the Ping'anzhuang Brigade is doing well, but I didn't expect it to still maintain a hard-working and simple style. The office conditions of the brigade are very simple."
Seeing that his expression was calm and he had no intention of blaming her, Xia Juhua said, "The old man taught us that we must make sure our comrades maintain a hard-working and simple work style. We in Ping'an Village remember the old man's teachings and dare not engage in extravagance and waste."
"When the leaders came, they should have seen the road from Pingan Village to the county seat. It was built with funds raised by the members. Until now, the funds have not been returned to the members, so how can the brigade cadres dare to improve the office conditions themselves?"
"Oh?" The acting deputy minister showed a curious expression on his face: "Such a wide and smooth asphalt road, was it built by members' collective funds? How much did it cost to build the road, and how much did everyone raise?"
The Ping'anzhuang Brigade is not really short of money to return to its members, but the instant noodle factory has paid considerable dividends, so it would be better to let everyone continue to invest in the instant noodle factory. Therefore, the brigade did not even mention the repayment of the funds raised this year.
However, since the leader asked and there were reporters following, Xia Juhua had to think about her words: she had just put down the phone call with Secretary Zhang when these people arrived at Ping'an Village, seemingly trying to catch her off guard. Generally, such people are picky about questions, and if they answer carelessly, they are easily caught in a trap.
"If you want to get rich, build roads first. Although we farmers are the propertyless class and members of the revolution, we also need food and clothing. The old man led us to make a revolution so that the vast majority of the propertyless class can have their own land and live and work in peace and contentment." Xia Juhua first sang a few high-sounding words, and at the same time sublimated the behavior of the people of Ping'anzhuang raising funds to build roads.
Then she said, "In order to allow the majority of members to live a better life, and at the same time to allow the products of Ping An Village to be delivered in time to ensure the supply of the troops, we think that this road must be built."
The reporter from the military newspaper interrupted and asked her, "The products you mentioned that Ping An Village supplies to the troops, are you referring to instant hot and sour rice noodles and instant noodles?"
Xia Juhua nodded: "Yes. At that time, the road from Pingan Village to the county town was full of potholes, and the troops' vehicles got stuck in potholes several times. Pingan Village did not have any towing equipment, so the members had to carry the vehicles on their shoulders and dig them out with their hands. It took a lot of time and made us realize the urgency of road repair."
"But the county transportation bureau was short of funds and couldn't afford to build a road for Ping'an Village. In order not to delay the supply of troops, the members had to come up with a way to raise funds. Not only did everyone contribute money, but they also contributed their labor to build this road." Even when facing the propaganda minister whose intentions were unclear, Xia Juhua still felt a little proud at the end.
Look, these are the members of Ping An Village. They have made huge contributions and have done their best.
The acting deputy minister frowned, "Are the members of Pingan Village so rich? I have the impression that building roads is a very expensive thing. Such a long road should not be a small amount of money, right?"
Xia Juhua nodded in agreement and said, "It is indeed not a small amount. The members of our Ping'an Village have emptied their pockets and raised a total of 90,320 yuan."
The figures were indeed shocking: the highest paid visitors were probably the Acting Deputy Minister and the military newspaper reporter Zhang, whose salaries were less than a hundred yuan each, and they were very shocked to hear that the members of Ping An Zhuang had raised so much money all at once.
Reporter Zhang asked again: "How can we ensure our livelihood if we raise so much money? What if there is an emergency at home?"
Xia Juhua felt that his problem was much more practical than that of the acting deputy minister. She smiled at him and then said, "The wheat yield per acre in our Ping'anzhuang Brigade has remained stable at around 600 kilograms in recent years, so everyone has no shortage of food. Since everyone has little spare money after raising funds, and the brigade wants to develop sideline production, it has decided to increase the quota for raising chickens per household. This will support the vegetable baskets of the general public and increase the income of some members."
The Acting Deputy Minister looked at Xia Juhua who was talking eloquently, and listened to her recounting the achievements of Ping'an Village one by one. His eyes were finally no longer calm, but were shocked and surprised at every turn.
"That is to say, your Ping'anzhuang Brigade now submits 30 adult chickens per household to the purchasing station every year?" The acting deputy minister asked another question that was not easy to answer.
Xia Juhua seemed not to notice the change in his expression and continued to nod and answer: "Yes, thirty per household." At least this much is delivered to the purchasing station every year.
"What about you? From what we have learned, your two sons have moved to the city with their wives and children. You have to be busy with the work of the brigade and also have to contact the weaving group for orders. Will you also deliver thirty every year?" The acting deputy minister looked at Xia Juhua with a sharp gaze.
Xia Juhua looked him straight in the eye and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I also hand in thirty chickens every year. If the leader doesn't believe me, each of our production teams will register every year when they hand in chickens. We will record how many chickens each family has handed in and how much they weigh in total, so that we can share the money with the members after the chickens are handed in."
The deputy minister seemed to have caught something and asked, "Didn't the members raise chickens on behalf of the brigade? The income should belong to the brigade. Why do we have to share the money with the members?"
Old fox.
Xia Juhua cursed inwardly, but she still kept a decent smile on her face: "It's true that the members are raising chickens on behalf of the brigade. But chickens need to eat food, and someone needs to feed them to grow into adult chickens. The original intention of our registration is to calculate the pass rate of adult chickens. For members who reach the pass rate, the brigade will of course give them work points and calculate the food money they eat."
The deputy minister did not seem to be satisfied with her answer. He nodded slightly and asked, "I forgot to ask you a question just now. The members of Ping'an Village Brigade raised funds to build a road. How much did you raise, Captain Xia?"
When raising funds, Xia Juhua explained to the members where her money came from. Now she is not afraid to tell the acting deputy minister again: "I raised a lot of money, a total of 5,000 yuan."
Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, everyone present was moved. They were all state officials with monthly salaries, but if they were asked to take out 5,000 yuan, no one present could come up with that.
Xia Juhua raised so much money at one time, and everyone looked at her with curiosity and questioning.
Xia Juhua said slowly, "The reason I raised so much money is because I feel guilty about keeping it for myself. I think it would be better to use it to build roads, which would make me feel better."
"Do you feel guilty?" The deputy minister's eyes once again showed scrutiny: "Why do you feel guilty? It's because this money came from..."
"Leader, I think you may have misunderstood." Xia Juhua shook her head at the acting vice minister and briefly explained how she had been rewarded by both the ministry and the province for saving foreign exchange for the country: "...As a member of the proletariat, it is my unshirkable responsibility to contribute to the country. But the country gave me such a generous reward, and I feel guilty for taking it myself. It is just right to use it to build roads for everyone, so that everyone can feel the warmth of the collective."
Reporter Zhang was the first to applaud. He felt that his decision to interview Xia Juhua was a wise one. Those who thought that Xia Juhua only sent a few pairs of insoles to the soldiers and did not provide any substantial help should come and listen to the report to find out whether Xia Juhua should be reported and whether her deeds were outstanding!
He had thought it all out. After he returned and finished writing the report, he would directly take pictures of the faces of those who questioned Xia Juhua, so that they would know that seemingly ordinary people, doing ordinary things, may not necessarily achieve ordinary things!
The acting deputy minister had already stood up and bowed slightly to Xia Juhua: "Captain Xia, I want to apologize to you first."
Xia Juhua and the people present were all stunned. She quickly stood up and said, "Deputy Deputy Minister, where did you get that from? We are so happy that you are here to guide our work in Ping An Village. Why do you need to apologize?"
The acting deputy minister expressed his apology firmly: "When the military newspaper reporter Zhang contacted the Propaganda Department, the department did not agree to his interview with you. In our view, you mailed insoles to the soldiers, which is something that millions of people do. Although you persisted the longest and mailed the largest number, it is only insoles after all."
"After arriving at Ping An Manor, I realized that both my tribe and I had become narrow-minded. Your persistence proves that you always care about the warriors in your heart and that you are not just half-hearted about them. The amount of mail you sent is sewn into the insoles of your shoes, which shows your deep concern for the warriors."
"Under your leadership, the members of Ping An Village have joined the ranks of caring for the soldiers and doing practical and good things for them. This driving force is immeasurable. So I must apologize for this. Please forgive my subjective style of making a preconceived decision without any investigation or research."
Deputy Minister Li of the County Propaganda Department could no longer sit still, and stood up and said to the Acting Deputy Minister and Xia Juhua: "The Acting Deputy Minister's subjectivity is ultimately due to my failure to introduce Ping An Village and Comrade Xia Juhua to the Acting Deputy Minister. If anyone is to apologize, I should be the first to apologize."
Xia Juhua made the two of them a little confused: "The two leaders are too polite. We didn't do anything wrong and we really don't deserve to be reported in the military newspaper. The leaders can come to Ping'an Village to take a look and point out our shortcomings so that we can make better contributions to the collective in the future. It's not a matter of whether to apologize or not."
Seeing that the two deputy ministers were still talking, Xia Juhua felt that if everyone stayed in the brigade headquarters, it would be difficult to apologize, so she suggested: "Since the leaders are here, why don't they inspect our vermicelli factory and instant noodle factory and encourage our workers?"
Reporter Zhang immediately responded, "Yes, we will. Our soldiers are very happy with the two convenient foods from Ping An Village. Especially the soldiers defending the positions, many times the supplies cannot be transported up, and they rely on these two foods to replenish their energy."
"The soldiers all said that when they ate the steaming hot and sour rice noodles or instant noodles and stepped on the hard insoles of their shoes, they had only one thought in their minds, which was to defend the country and let the people of the country eat such delicious food safely. Only in this way could they live up to the people who cared about them."
The two deputy ministers had just heard that Ping'an Zhuang would give priority to supplying the troops with these two kinds of food, and they looked at Xia Juhua with admiration: many people haven't even done anything yet, but they've made a fuss about it and made it known to everyone, for fear that others won't know what they're going to do.
Xia Juhua did so many things, but not a word of it left Ping'an Manor, which perfectly demonstrated her virtue of humility.
Before they came, they had many guesses about Xia Juhua, thinking that she might want to earn a good reputation. Now it seems that their guesses were so shallow - does she really need to earn a good reputation? With the double rewards from the ministry and the province, her reputation must have spread to people they dare not even think about.
But after meeting them, Xia Juhua was still so humble. She did not use the leaders to put pressure on others, nor did she show dissatisfaction because of her initially harsh questions. Such a broad mind makes people admire her.
Xia Juhua had no interest in exploring the two's mental journey, as long as they stopped asking her to apologize. She led everyone to the vermicelli factory near the brigade headquarters. When the deputy director saw the sign of the vermicelli factory, he asked again: "Captain Xia, didn't they say that this place produces hot and sour vermicelli? Why is it called a vermicelli factory?"
Xia Juhua had to explain to him that the original intention of establishing the vermicelli factory was to solve the problem of raw sweet potatoes being difficult to store, so she organized everyone to set up a vermicelli factory to make vermicelli together. Because the soldiers in Ping'an Village were far away from home, she was afraid that they would miss home, and she wanted them to eat the authentic hot and sour vermicelli from their hometown, so she came up with the idea of packaging the seasoning. So even though the main product of the factory has become hot and sour vermicelli, it still continues to be called the vermicelli factory.
"It turns out that Captain Xia has been concerned about the development of the troops since then." Zhang Jidu sighed. It is easy for a person to do one thing, but it is not easy to stick to doing one thing for several years. It is even more difficult if this thing has nothing to do with his own interests.
"It's not that I care about the army's development."
"But I understand that among the soldiers of Ping'an Village, none of your own children are there." Reporter Zhang disagreed with Xia Juhua's low-key attitude.
Xia Juhua wanted to keep a low profile: "But there are two of them, both of them are my nephews."
"From what I understand, the parents of one of the soldiers had conflicts with you. I think he is one of the nephews you mentioned." Reporter Zhang sighed, "Even if his parents had conflicts with you, you still treated that soldier equally. Captain Xia, you made the hot and sour noodles with this motherly love, right?"
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