Liu Erzhuang looked at the energetic members and gave a thumbs up to his sister-in-law in his heart. He happily followed them to the site where the canal was being repaired.
The canal happened to reach the junction of Pingan Village and Xiaozhuangtou (the name of the production team), and it was less than half a mile away from being connected. There was obviously more water left in Pingan Village than in Xiaozhuangtou, and Xia Juhua couldn't help but ask Liu Erzhuang: "Do they have more people than us who are repairing the canal?"
Liu Erzhuang's face flushed as he was asked: "Each team has 30 people. I was busy these two days and didn't keep an eye on them, so the progress..."
I understand. Xia Juhua didn't need Liu Erzhuang to say anything more. She looked at the members carrying shovels and hoes. Just as she was about to speak, the workers from Xiaozhuangtou came. The two production teams were close to each other. Xia Juhua had often worked with the men to repair the canal before. They all knew that there was a young man named Xia in Ping'an Village.
Seeing that Xia Juhua appeared in the canal repair team again today, Li Daniu, the leader of the Xiaozhuangtou production team, joked with Liu Erzhuang from a distance: "Erzhuang, the men in your production team are not good at work, so you sent Xia Xiaogu here again."
The people who were repairing the canal in Ping'an Village were laughed at and looked unhappy. Liu Erzhuang said to Li Daniu in a bad mood: "What are you talking about? My sister-in-law is now the leader of our production team. Of course she has to come and see how the canal looks like."
"What? Xia Xiaofu has become the leader of your production team. Are there no men in your production team?" Li Daniu looked at Xia Juhua in disbelief. "She is a woman. No matter how capable she is, can she outdo you old men? Or do you know that you can't repair the canal better than us, and you are afraid of being embarrassed during the evaluation, so you let a woman take the blame?"
The people in Xiaozhuang burst into laughter, and the people in Pinganzhuang were so angry that their faces turned black. Xia Juhua kept looking at Li Daniu who was talking. They knew him, but they had never spoken to him before, so why did he say such harsh words?
Li Daniu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and smiled at Xia Juhua: "Well, sister-in-law, I didn't mean that. I was just joking with Er Zhuang. It was just a joke."
Xia Juhua glanced at him again and ignored him, which made Li Daniu feel even more embarrassed. He wanted to say something more, but Xia Juhua raised her voice a little bit, and said to the people in her production team who were repairing the canal: "Young and old, I think it's true that the people in the small village look down on us. Who made them repair the canal faster than us? We can only listen, right?"
"Mom, please stop talking. I'm risking my life today. I'll work hard to finish this canal in as little time as the people in Xiaozhuangtou." Liu Zhishuang shouted in the crowd. He had to shout to let his mother know that he supported her to be the production team leader.
Xia Juhua found it funny in her heart, and her expression was a little miserable. She said something with a hint of toughness: "But I, Xia Juhua, don't want to hear this again in the future. I have never been laughed at like this in my life. Even if I am not given work points today, I will work with everyone to repair the canal. I just don't believe that the people of Ping'an Village work so hard and still let the small village head look down on us."
"Sister-in-law." Liu Erzhuang was so ashamed that he almost buried his head in the canal. If he hadn't been busy with family matters these days and didn't follow the canal to watch, those cunning guys wouldn't dare to slack off, and they abducted people who were working hard and slowed down their progress.
We all have ten work points, so how can a cunning person be lazy? Others have to work non-stop, so if someone wants to be lazy, everyone should do it together.
Liu Erzhuang was ashamed, and the others were also embarrassed. If they, a group of big bosses, really had to be led by Xia Juhua to defeat the people in the small village, were they still men?
Yes, Xia Juhua's nickname is Xia Xiaohuo, but she is a woman. Didn't Li Daniu say that they want a woman to take the blame?
Sun Zhaodi's husband Chen Dongsheng couldn't bear to see Xia Juhua follow the men into the canal in the middle of winter because of what his wife had said to her. He said loudly, "Captain, we in Ping'an Village are not people who want to be laughed at. I don't believe you don't have to go into the canal. The little village has only dug a few more shovels than us. Let's work hard and catch up with them today."
"Yes, catch up with them!" The people of Ping'an Village responded in unison, which scared the head of the small village who was smoking and waiting to see the joke. After understanding what the people of Yi'an Village were shouting, they all laughed.
Even though it was only half a mile away, digging the canal was not a matter of just walking from one end to the other. The earthwork, two meters deep and three and a half meters wide, had to be dug with shovels, dug with shovels, and carried with baskets.
Can the people of Pingan Village make the canal break free by themselves with just their willpower? Can the earthworks run out of the ground by themselves? Li Daniu shouted to Xia Juhua happily, "Captain Xia, it's useless to just talk about it without practicing."
Liu Zhishuang threw the hoe to the bottom of the canal, and he jumped in with a splash. Xia Juhua was startled: "Second Brother?" Why did he jump just like that?
"Mom, I'm fine. I want to let the people in the small village see whether the masters of Ping'an Village are just talking and not doing."
The canal was cleared and Liu Zhiquan jumped to the bottom of the canal.
Plop, plop, Liu Erzhuang and Chen Dongsheng jumped down.
The people who had just been standing by the canal listening to Xia Juhua's words jumped to the bottom of the canal one after another. Without anyone dividing the area for them, they followed the edge of yesterday's excavation and frantically dug, dug, and filled...
Xia Juhua's heart was warmed. She glanced at Li Daniu and smiled: "Okay, Captain Li, let's practice together today between our two production teams." After that, she set up the small cart that was placed diagonally on the pile of earth and started loading earth into the wicker basket one shovel after another.
The man who was repairing the canal in Xiaozhuangtou hadn't even finished smoking half of his cigarette when the people on the other side disappeared. They all looked at Li Daniu in a daze. Li Daniu looked at the people from Pinganzhuang who were already working very hard, and threw the cigarette in his hand to the ground in anger, and shouted to his members: "What are you all standing there for? The people from Pinganzhuang want to practice with us, why don't you go down and dig the canal!"
The people in Pingan Village must be crazy. That young man Xia didn't say anything provocative, but they just jumped down and did their work without saying anything. Just like the people in their production team, wouldn't it be better if they could dawdle for a while, smoke a bag of cigarettes and chat, and then work quietly?
Even though he thought so, looking at the members who were still smoking slowly, Li Daniu was still furious and shouted, "Why are you still dawdling? Get down to work. If we really let the people from Ping An Village outsmart us, we will be worse than women."
His roar was so loud that the people in Xiaozhuang and Pinganzhuang heard it. Liu Erzhuang shouted upward from the bottom of the canal: "Sister-in-law, go back to the production team. I'm watching over here. We don't need the masters in Pinganzhuang, so you don't need to interfere."
"Yes, Captain, you go back. We must convince the little village chief today!" The canal diggers echoed Liu Erzhuang's words while frantically digging the land that had long been frozen. The progress was visible to the naked eye.
Xia Juhua listened to the persuasion coming from the bottom of the canal and smiled silently in her heart: Who wants to do such heavy work? She also wants to be a production team leader with an easy job. But today is her first day in office. If she doesn't show her ability, no one will respect her in the future.
Li Daniu had given her the opportunity to use his provocation. If she didn't use it, she would be a fool. In order to make the provocation more effective, Xia Juhua pushed five more carts of soil, and then reluctantly returned to the production team after everyone's persuasion.
The yard was also full of people working hard, and the leader was actually from Li Changwang's family. She ran around complaining that this one was not tied firmly, and that the reed stalks were not of the same thickness. There was a suspicious white edge around the corner of her mouth, and she didn't even realize it.
For the first time, Xia Juhua felt that Li Changwang's chatterbox was not a flaw. She happily watched her scold two people who had just learned to weave reed curtains. The two people even smiled at Li Changwang's family and called out, "Changwang's family."
"Hey." Li Changwang turned around and saw that it was Xia Juhua. He immediately put away his scolding face and replaced it with a friendly smile: "Captain, why are you back? Has everything been arranged over there? You don't have to worry about this. Everyone is studying very hard."
If you don't take it seriously, you'll be so unforgiving. Xia Juhua thanked Li Changwang's family solemnly: "Thank you for taking care of it for me, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to leave. Oh, by the way, find five or six people to boil a few pots of ginger soup and send them to the people who are repairing the canal."
"Why wouldn't they be so happy?" When Li Changwang's family heard that they were going to give ginger soup to the canal builders, their first reaction was that the canal builders were taking advantage of them: "Captain, you can't be soft-hearted, or they will definitely take advantage of you in the future."
Xia Juhua smiled and looked at Li Changwang's family who was stomping their feet without saying anything. Li Changwang's family stomped their feet more and more lightly, and finally stopped anxiously. Xia Juhua said softly: "Your family Changwang is also repairing the canal. Besides, it's so cold, we can drink some to warm ourselves up."
"Then whose house should we cook at? Who will provide the ginger? And is the firewood considered the team's or is it just someone else's for free?" What belongs to Li Changwang's family is Li Changwang's family. If it were anyone else, they would be embarrassed to ask directly.
Since Xia Juhua said she wanted to cook ginger soup, she had already planned all these things: "Let's go to our house and Zhaodi's house to cook together. It happens to be convenient since our two houses are next to each other. Let's use our ginger first."
"What?" Li Changwang's family looked at Xia Juhua like a fool: "You are so honest, how come you are really stupid. Other production team leaders would bring some things home, but why do you only want to put things in there?"
Xia Juhua smiled and looked at Li Changwang's family in silence, thinking that they had no temper. She called Sun Zhaodi and a few people who were good at weaving curtains, and went to cook ginger soup together.
Xia Juhua was left alone to look after the courtyard. Her voice was not as high as Li Changwang's, and her voice was not as loud as Li Changwang's. Whoever she spoke to had to get closer and listen carefully, but the effect was better than Li Changwang's shouting.
慢慢的新來的婦女們都發現，夏菊花并不是印象中那麽不好接近，跟她說話就不那麽加着小心，問出來的問題也多了起來：“隊長，編這麽些簾子幹啥用？”
“隊長，我這手藝，能跟着你們一起編席嗎，哪怕少記兩個工分呢，也比一冬天在屋裏啥也不幹強。”
“隊長我從前不會編席，是不是多編簾子就能跟着學編席了？”
七嘴八舌的，讓人不知道先回答哪個問題好。夏菊花一邊手上不停，嘴上盡量只解答跟編葦簾有關的問題，直到那邊姜湯煮好，先送一鍋到場院，她才直起身來，招呼着大家一人先喝一碗。
“常旺家的你跟大家先編着，估量着夠把場院圍起來就不用編了。”夏菊花要帶着人去給修渠的人送姜湯，走前交待了李常旺家的一句。
“李嫂子，隊長的意思是不是這葦席是給場院編的？”大家夥都有些不敢相信。
李常旺家的一拍自己的大腿說：“肯定是呀。我就說吧，讓夏菊花當隊長，對咱們婦女肯定有好處。往年咱們也在這場院裏編席，四下來風嗖的伸不出手，誰管咱們來着。人家夏菊花頭一天就想着給咱們編葦席擋風，哪怕頭頂涼點兒，我心裏咋覺得這麽熱乎呢。”
誰心裏不熱乎呢，喝着姜湯的修渠人，一個個心裏也熱乎乎的呀。這個生産隊長算是選對了，就得女人來當生産隊長，幹活多少在其次，後勤保障的就讓人放心。
人家夏菊花都做到這個份上了，要是大家還不拼着命挖渠，萬一大隊說平安莊渠修的不過關，要把夏菊花拿下來，以後還能有姜湯喝嗎？！
沒的說，大家喝完姜湯，比喝下一碗酒還長力氣，放下碗又一個接一個跳下渠底，接着拼起命來。
對應的小莊頭人就不是滋味了，不時有人看一眼李大牛，嘆一口氣，有氣無力的踩一腳鐵鍬或是揮一下鋤頭。李大牛這個氣呀，這個夏小夥咋想的，就你能，還煮姜湯，這是收買人心！
憤憤的刨了一下邦硬的土，李大牛往手心裏吐一口吐沫，心裏恨恨的想：我看你能煮幾天姜湯。
夏菊花想到給修渠的人煮姜湯，是因為自己上輩子冰天雪地修渠的時候，就盼着能喝上一口姜湯暖和暖和，可沒想到被小莊頭的人攀比。
等到送湯的婦女們走了，夏菊花沒跟着一起回生産隊，而是接着推起土來。李大牛上來抽煙的時候，見夏菊花推起土來都不帶歇氣的，心裏也服氣她能幹。夏菊花越是能幹，越讓李大牛覺得，自己這個當老了生産隊長的人被她比下去了，心裏的別扭勁就別提了。
“你這是咋分配的活，咋就你一個人推土呢？”李長順背着手過來檢查兩個生産隊修渠情況，正碰着夏菊花推土，滿臉不高興的問。
他心裏想的是，婦女當生産隊長就是不行，看這活分的，這麽多的土一個人能推得過來？當生産隊長光自己能幹可不行，還得會分工才行。
夏菊花抹了一把汗，向李長順笑了一下說：“他們要先把渠挖完了再統一推土，怕我在渠底下礙事不讓我下渠。我想着自己能推兩車就推兩車，到時候他們就能少推兩車。”
實在樸實的話，讓李長順所有的訓斥都噎在嗓子眼裏說不出口，渠底下的人卻聽到了兩人的對話，劉二壯仰着頭看着李長順的褲腿說：
“大隊長，我嫂子就是個閑不住的，我們早讓她回去她都不聽。你放心，我們今天就能趕上小莊頭的進度。”
“屁。你們跟小莊頭這兩天都差……”李長順說不下去了，他只是半天沒看兩個生産隊的進度，突然發現平安莊竟然真快趕上小莊頭那邊挖的了。
這讓李長順有些不敢相信，畢竟進度是一天一天落下的，平安莊用半天的時間就追上了？別是放松了質量糊弄事兒吧。
李長順的眼睛挑剔的看向平安莊新開出來的渠——他幹大隊長的時間快二十年了，帶人修渠也不是一天兩天，誰想在質量上糊弄他，一眼就能看出來。
可是平安莊今天新挖的渠，不管是深度、寬度還是平整度，就沒有一樣不合格的，再挑剔的眼睛也不能昧着良心說不好。昨天平安莊的進度還跟螞蟻爬似的，今天就坐飛機了？不是瘋了吧。
不管瘋沒瘋，人家活幹的漂亮，不表揚也不能繼續批評。李長順中氣十足的吼了一聲：“李大牛，你們生産隊的人沒吃飯嗎？”平安莊沒問題，那有問題的就是小莊頭，李長順不客氣的點了李大牛的名。
李大牛也很委屈呀，要不是怕沒面子，他都想問問平安莊的人是怎麽想的，那麽賣力氣的挖渠，還能多記幾個工分是咋地？
不管是李長順還是李大牛，都忘記這個年代雖然要求人們一大二公，可是人終究是有血有肉有感情的，也需要關心和溫暖，而夏菊花在冷冰冰的機械勞作之中，給了他們溫暖，他們當然要用樸實的勞動給予回報。
就這樣，平安莊的人在小莊頭人繼李大牛之後被李長順罵了一頓，士氣低迷的襯托之下，幹勁越來越足，恨不得中午飯都不回家吃，想接着挖渠。
還是陳秋生過來告訴大家，夏隊長說了，挖渠不是一天能挖成的，大家要做好長期抗戰的準備，不能一時圖快傷了身體。這下子平安莊的人回去吃飯倒象打了勝仗一樣，腳下輕的踩不住地。
他們走後，李大牛悄悄過來看了一下挖好的渠，跟李長順的感覺一樣一樣的：平安莊的人瘋了。
瘋了的平安莊人不止有挖渠的，還有編葦簾子的婦女們：她們可都聽李常旺家的那張大嘴巴說了，大家喝的姜湯都是人家夏菊花自家出的，連煮湯的柴火也是從夏菊花家抱的！
于是夏菊花計劃裏應該一天才能編好的葦簾，竟然半天的時間就編好了，讓她笑也不是惱也不是。
不過既然編好了葦席，夏菊花就重新分配了下午的活計：從往地裏運肥的男人中抽出十個人來，幫着打樁子圍葦牆，務必四下裏将場院給圍的嚴嚴實實。這樣婦女們再在場院裏編席，好歹能擋住直接往身上吹的風，手能伸出來幹活。
婦女們見葦簾子真的用到了場院，自然一疊聲的把夏菊花誇了又誇，誇完夏菊花還不忘誇一下自己的眼光好，要不咋最先提出選夏菊花當生産隊長的，不是男人而是婦女們呢。
平安莊的男人們：你們說的都對，你們總有理。
被大家誇獎的夏菊花，此時并不在平安莊，她又來到了公社，還不是一個人來的，而是被劉力群帶着直接進了公社的辦公地。
說是公社的辦公地還不太準确，應該是紅小隊的辦公地才對。紅小隊隊長見來的人竟是夏菊花也是一愣，夏菊花只好自己先跟他打招呼：“夏隊長，又見面了，我是來接劉四壯一家回平安莊的。”
“劉隊長，我們紅小隊要求平安莊生産隊和平安莊大隊幹部來接劉四壯一家，是為了交待劉四壯一家回生産隊勞動改造的具體要求，你帶個婦女過來幹什麽。”紅小人隊長理都沒理夏菊花的招呼，不客氣的沖劉力群嚷嚷起來。
劉力群的脾氣說不上多好，可是面對紅小隊的混人也不得不忍着氣說：“夏菊花同志現在就是平安莊生産隊的隊長。”
“她？”紅小隊隊長笑了，都不正眼看劉力群，直接不屑的問：“平安莊生産隊沒男人了，讓個婦女當生産隊長？你們大隊也由着他們生産隊胡鬧？”
夏菊花被他輕視，嘲笑，一點兒不自在或是羞愧的表情都沒有，好脾氣的說：“夏隊長，老人家教導我們說，婦女能頂半邊天，歧視婦女是不遵從老人家教導的表現。”
軟綿綿的語氣，得到了炸雷一樣的效果，紅小隊隊長眼珠子都氣鼓起來了，卻不敢說老人家說的不對，氣哼哼的沖自己的手下一擺手：“去，把那一家子帶上來。”
很快，兩個紅小隊就罵罵咧咧的把劉四壯和孫桂芝兩個人推搡進屋，劉志亮和劉紅娟倒沒人推他們，一臉惶恐不安的跟在後頭。
劉四壯的臉上有明顯的巴掌印子，孫桂芝嘴角幹的裂開血口子，兩個人身上的棉襖都扯破了，露出的棉花上面帶着草屑。
劉志亮劉紅娟身上臉上倒沒有被打的痕跡，可是臉髒髒的，一頭一身的草屑表明，他們的待遇也沒好到哪兒去，而他們的爹娘顯然只顧着把自己臉摩挲幹淨，卻沒管兩個孩子多狼狽。
夏菊花看着木呆呆的兩孩子，心裏嘆了口氣，不過沒有什麽感同身受或是不忍——這兩孩子上輩子長成什麽樣兒，夏菊花很有印象，所以對他們同情不起來。
When the four of them entered the house, Liu Sizhuang and his wife first smiled ingratiatingly at the leader of the Red Team, and Sun Guizhi even asked in a broken tin voice, "Captain Xia, is it because I have made a contribution by reporting the crime that I can go home now?"