"Pah!" The director slapped the table excitedly: "We two have the same idea. I also think we can weave mats with different patterns." I didn't think of it before, and all the kang mats were the same color. But now Xia Juhua can weave new patterns, and of course the more patterns the better.
"If you can really weave a mat with the word 'Fu' on it, how about the supply and marketing cooperative ordering another 200 mats, still at 2 yuan a piece?"
"Okay, thank you so much, Director. You are helping to improve the status of the women in our production team." Xia Juhua was so happy that she could hardly stop laughing. She thanked the director wholeheartedly - the more mats they made, the more work points they could earn. If the women had more work points, they would have more power to speak with at home. What Xia Juhua said was not an exaggeration.
The director waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't thank me, how can I help you? You should have helped me." Then the director told Xia Juhua that he had taken the mat she had woven last time to the director of the county supply and marketing cooperative to look at, and the director asked for several hundred sheets at once. It was he who said that the women in Ping'an Village could not weave so many, and the commune had to keep some to sell to its own members. Only then did the county supply and marketing cooperative agree to keep fifty sheets for the commune.
"So Captain Xia, you've made me famous in the county supply and marketing cooperative. The director has already said that I'll be one of the advanced individuals in the supply and marketing system this year. I'll have to thank you then, so don't be polite to me."
Xia Juhua didn't expect that the mats she made would be liked not only by the commune supply and marketing cooperative, but also by the county supply and marketing cooperative. However, she thought of a problem and asked nervously: "Director, although it is the first time I thought of making words on the mats, experienced mat weavers will be able to figure it out by themselves after reading it a few times. By then..." If others also follow suit, will the supply and marketing cooperative still buy Ping'an Village's mats at the current price?
Xia Juhua's worries were not unreasonable, because no one stipulated that the supply and marketing cooperative would only accept the mats woven by her Ping'an Village production team. She had reason to suspect that if other production teams wove the same mats but only wanted the price of mats without words, the supply and marketing cooperative would accept theirs.
Unexpectedly, the director gave Xia Juhua a reassurance: "Don't worry, even if those old editors have learned it, they can only edit one or two sheets themselves, or at most teach their family members. How many sheets can they edit at a time? Our supply and marketing cooperative hands in tasks to the county supply and marketing, and we have to hand in hundreds of sheets each time. Of course we have to collect them all at once." It is impossible to collect one or two sheets at a time.
He dared to give Xia Juhua this guarantee, not because of his bad relationship with other brigades or production teams, but because he was telling the truth: even if Xia Juhua could not come up with any new ideas, Ping'an Village could still produce 200 seats with inscriptions at a time, which was an advantage that other brigades or production teams did not have.
Because none of the other production teams who knew how to make mats could teach others like Xia Juhua did without reservation. As for whether the other brigades would have any objections to the supply and marketing cooperative giving priority to the Ping'anzhuang production team, the director did not take it seriously: he did not say that he would not accept plain mats without patterns, but the price was high without words.
Judging from Xia Juhua's appearance, she would probably come up with more than one new trick in the future, so why not just settle it with her first.
Xia Juhua expressed her gratitude and said, "The director is very supportive of our production team. I will ask our accountant to write a letter of praise to our supply and marketing cooperative when I return."
In her previous life, Xia Juhua had heard that when civil servants received letters of commendation, especially those written spontaneously by grassroots groups, they would publicize them with great fanfare. So she put forward her own idea: if the director showed disdain, she would not write next time and would just give something tangible.
The director smiled brightly: "I just did what I was supposed to do. How can it be worth you writing a special letter of praise?"
Even the most dull-witted person could see that the director was pleased. Xia Juhua, who was actively learning to read people's expressions, saw it clearly. She thought that she could make a bigger splash when sending the letter of commendation.
When Xia Juhua returned to Wang Caixia's counter, she was still thinking about how she had made such a fuss to send the director a letter of commendation, so she initially thought she had misheard: "What did you say, Sun Hongmei took Liu Zhishuang's money?"
Wang Caixia sighed for Xia Juhua: "That day, the two of them quarreled in front of the commune gate. They quarreled for a long time and everyone heard it. Don't get angry. I heard that Sun Hongmei is not a good person. The money is gone, and it's better for your son to divorce her and not be burdened in the future."
How could she not think this way? Xia Juhua repeatedly advised herself to let her money go and live a peaceful life, but she was still heartbroken. She knew very well how much money Liu Zhiquan had, and Sun Hongmei took so much money without saying a word. Xia Juhua's last bit of sympathy for Sun Hongmei as a woman also disappeared completely.
Do you think you can live a good life with a little money in your hands? With the Sun couple around, Xia Juhua is not optimistic about Sun Hongmei's future life - they pushed their nephews and nieces to the Red Team in order to embezzle Liu Sizhuang's money. It would be strange if the Sun couple would let Sun Hongmei take the money for herself.
Seeing that Xia Juhua looked lost, Wang Caifeng sympathetically comforted her. Someone happened to come to buy something, so Wang Caifeng asked Xia Juhua to see what she wanted to buy while she went to deal with the customer.
With the experience of buying "disposable products" last time, Xia Juhua brought some money with her before coming, so she was very confident when she walked around the supply and marketing cooperative. Maybe it was the New Year, there were more goods on the counter than usual, but both grain coupons and industrial coupons were required. Xia Juhua, who had been somewhat confident, found that she still couldn't buy anything.
"Captain Xia." The salesperson at the grocery counter recognized Xia Juhua and took the initiative to greet her. He also addressed Xia Juhua by her current position, which made Xia Juhua feel embarrassed: "Hello, I am afraid to cause you trouble, so I am embarrassed to greet you. Please don't mind."
The salesperson smiled and shook his head: "I have heard about your great deeds. I can't learn from you. How can I be surprised?"
How come I don't know what she has accomplished? Xia Juhua looked at the salesperson in confusion. She was waving at her, and her friendliness was no less than that of Wang Caixia.
Xia Juhua rarely resisted others' initiative to show kindness to her now. Even though she was still thinking about Liu Zhishuang, she walked to the counter with a smile on her face and even made a joke that would have been impossible in her previous life: "What good thing do you want to take care of me again?"
The salesperson was very reserved when he saw Xia Juhua last time, but now he was joking with him. He felt that Xia Juhua had changed a lot. He just saw that Xia Juhua didn't care about things like other farmers when she bought things last time, so he wanted to give it a try. Now he feels more confident.
She whispered, "Didn't I buy some noodles for someone last time? Now the noodle factory has some broken noodle heads and asked me to ask if anyone wants them."
Why not? Xia Juhua thought that if she could buy more dried noodle pieces, it would be enough to make up for Liu Zhishuang's loss of money - after all, it was Liu Zhishuang's money, not hers.
The salesperson came up to Xia Juhua's ear and told her in detail who to talk to at the noodle factory and what to say. He also repeatedly told Xia Juhua to pay whatever the noodle factory asked for and not to bargain: "That's a benefit the noodle factory gives to its employees. They don't need these noodles, so they sell them."
Xia Juhua nodded repeatedly, said hello to Wang Caixia, and went to the gate of the commune to wait for Liu Daxi. The two of them came together, and they certainly couldn't keep such a good thing a secret. Besides, if Liu Daxi got the benefit, it would be the Fifth Master, who would know what was going on.
Xia Juhua didn't have to wait long before Liu Daxi came out, but his face was not looking good. Xia Juhua didn't ask him what happened, but told him about the possibility of buying a pimp.
Anyway, the faces of people who came out of the Red Team were not good, not to mention that Liu Daxi must have met Liu Sizhuang and his wife, it would be strange if he was in a good mood. Instead of letting him complain to me about Liu Sizhuang and his wife, it is better to let him be happy first. After listening to this, Liu Daxi's mouth curled up: "Sister-in-law, you are really capable."
Xia Juhua naturally felt humbled, and the two of them quickened their pace and walked towards the noodle factory. Although the noodle factory was right next to the grain station, it was not a factory owned by the commune, but built by the county. The workers there were all formal state employees, and the gatekeepers looked at them with their noses: "Hey, you two stop, who are you looking for?"
Regardless of the other person's attitude, Xia Juhua kept her attitude low: "Brother, let's go find Chen Shusheng."
"Looking for Section Chief Chen. Who are you? How do you know Section Chief Yang? Who is he?" The old gatekeeper bombarded Xia Juhua with questions one after another.
Xia Juhua didn't expect that the person the salesperson asked her to find was actually a section chief. She said nervously, "He's from the supply and marketing cooperative..."
As soon as we arrived at the sales agency, the old man at the gate suddenly changed his attitude: "Oh, you are the relative of Section Chief Chen's niece, then go in, Section Chief Chen is in the production workshop. Just walk to the end of this road, and if you hear the machines, you will see Section Chief Chen there."
Liu Daxi was completely confused until he and Xia Juhua walked for a distance before he asked, "Sister-in-law, is that old man sick?" The change in attitude was too great.
Xia Juhua remembered that Wang Caixia had said last time that the salesperson's surname was Chen (really, Xia Juhua felt that she was not doing this well. Next time, no matter who she dealt with, she would remember their surnames). If she wanted to become a regular employee, she had to curry favor with the director of the supply and marketing cooperative.
She is not a formal employee but can sell goods directly instead of cleaning. It can be seen that the person who arranged it is not simple, he must be capable and competent. Section Chief Chen can arrange a salesperson position for his niece in the supply and marketing cooperative. He has such a big face outside. How can an old man who is a gatekeeper in the noodle factory not flatter him?
果然，陳科長雖然也穿着藍色工裝，卻整潔挺刮，頭臉上更是沒有一點兒挂面廠職工常見的粉塵。他看人的時候頭微微揚起，眼皮往下耷拉一點兒，又不耷拉的過份到讓人反感。
聽完夏菊花的自我介紹，陳科長平淡的說：“是小蔓讓你們來的呀。”
“是，小蔓讓我們來找陳科長。”夏菊花不得不随着稱陳售貨員為小蔓，好讓陳科長相信，她跟陳售貨員不止買賣東西的關系。
陳科長點了點頭：“小蔓那孩子內向，不愛跟人打交道，我還以為你跟她年紀差得多，關系不會太好呢。”
夏菊花還在微笑：“陳科長心疼小蔓，才處處覺得小蔓還小呢。主任可沒少向跟我誇小蔓，說她工作認真積極主動，又是個熱心腸，說話辦事都是一等一的。”
沒有家長不愛聽人誇自家孩子，哪怕陳小蔓只是陳科長的侄女——如果不得楊科長的喜歡，也不會把她安排到供銷社。聽夏菊花說供銷社主任都誇過小蔓，陳科長的眼角微微挑了起來：“你跟林主任也挺熟？”
夏菊花心裏又鄙視了自己一下，頭卻點的十分幹脆：“也沒多熟，就是打過幾次交道。”
陳科長的眼角重新耷拉下來，審視似的看着夏菊花。夏菊花臉上的神情一點兒沒變，劉大喜卻緊張的想開口問夏菊花，咋不把自己替供銷社炒花生的事兒說出來。
好在他沒說，因為陳科長又開口了：“林主任那人我知道，要不是跟你熟悉，也不會當着你的面誇小蔓。既然大家都是熟人，我也不耽誤你的時間了，你跟我來。”
夏菊花示意劉大喜跟上，幾個人來到了一間屋子前頭。陳科長親自拿鑰匙打開門，擡了擡下巴，讓夏菊花自己進去看。
屋子足足有農村的三間房大小，裏頭是幾個高大的木頭架子，一摞一摞的挂面整齊的擺放在上頭。好幾個不起眼的布袋子堆在門邊上，夏菊花眼神轉了一圈，就知道自己的目标應該在這幾個布袋子之中。
“一袋十塊錢，你想買幾袋？”陳科長見夏菊花的目光沒有在木架子上停留多久，神情沒那麽嚴肅了，開口征求夏菊花的意見。
夏菊花小聲問了問劉大喜，他說自己只帶了十塊錢，夏菊花就做主，說是自己要買四袋。陳科長點了點頭，即沒因為夏菊花一個農村人能一下子拿出四十塊錢來吃驚，也沒有嫌棄她買的太多，只說：“這麽多，你們咋運回去。我倒是可以借給你們一輛推車，不過明天廠裏就要用。”
“那可太謝謝陳科長了。”夏菊花連忙說：“正好明天供銷社要去我們生産隊拉東西，我讓他們給你捎回來行嗎？”
她提起用供銷社拉貨車捎帶推車的口氣太過自然，陳科長更加認為夏菊花跟供銷社的關系，不是她自己說的只打過幾次交道那麽簡單，眼角已經撫平，語氣裏帶着不易察覺的笑音：
“行，只要明天能送來就行。就是不知道小蔓去過你們生産隊沒有，應該也讓她多到廣闊天地裏長長見識。”說完，他吆喝個人給推輛車過來，眼睛還看着夏菊花。
夏菊花點了點頭說：“你放心吧陳科長，小蔓那麽要求進步，會有機會的。雖然現在還是紅霞往我們生産隊去的多，等需要小蔓的時候，主任還能不派小蔓到我們生産隊去？”
聽聽，聽聽，要不是跟供銷社上上下下都熟悉，能說起供銷社的人跟說自己家裏人一樣？陳科長覺得自己剛才的判斷沒錯，更覺得侄女這次的事兒辦的漂亮。
別聽夏菊花總說生産隊，她一定不是個普通的生産隊社員！
為此陳科長竟把夏菊花兩人送到了廠門口，還揮着手目送他們走出老遠才回廠。看門老頭也跟着看走遠的兩人，決定下次這兩人再來的時候，自己态度更好一點兒。
“嫂子，這一袋子得有五六十斤，他們居然十塊錢一袋就賣了。”劉大喜還是不相信，自己推起來很沉重的推車上，裝的是四袋挂面頭子。
挂面可都是用白面做的，就算是挂面頭子那用的不也是白面嗎，十塊錢買五六十斤，一斤才合多少錢？也就比他們交公糧貴上一兩分錢吧？
他們交的公糧都是沒磨過的麥子，變成白面的損耗不算了？
被劉大喜這麽一說，夏菊花心裏又是一動，覺得自己回平安莊之後，可以先送劉大喜回家。
五爺的年紀已經不能下地了，春夏秋三季伺侯伺侯自家的自留地，冬天則躲在屋裏貓冬。聽說夏菊花來了，他還有些納悶，等看到劉大喜搬進屋的兩個口袋，吃驚的問：“這是從哪兒弄來的？”
劉大喜今年也三十多了，可是在五爺哪前還是笑的挺讨喜：“爺，這是嫂子帶我從挂面廠買的挂面頭子。”
“人家咋把這麽好的東西賣給你們了？”五爺不是不相信——東西都搬進屋了，還有什麽不相信的——只是單純的吃驚。
夏菊花又把來龍去脈跟五爺念叨了一回，老頭兒都沖夏菊花豎了大拇指：“大壯家的，大家夥選你當生産隊長算是選對了。你跟供銷社打好關系，咱們來年開春的化肥就不用愁了，以後再想淘換點兒東西，也方便不是。”
這大壯家的平時看着不言不語的，沒想到到外頭說話辦事比自己看好的大孫子還強。看來以後大壯家的要是有什麽需要跑腿的事兒，還得讓大孫子跟着點兒。好處不好處的在其次，學學見什麽人怎麽說話就是長本事。
不過大壯家的是從誰那兒學來的呢？平時也沒見她跟別人打過交道，往前數二十年也沒見她這麽能說會道。
難道就是因為當了生産隊長？
五爺狐疑的看了夏菊花一眼，眼神之中的懷疑太明顯，夏菊花不能當看不見。她雖然不知道五爺為啥懷疑自己，可是自己重新活了一輩子的事兒誰也不能告訴，夏菊花就對着懷疑的五爺說：
“五爺，其實我今天來，主要是找你商量個事兒，這事兒也是我去買挂面頭子以後想到的。”
五爺只是點了點頭，夏菊花只當自己沒看到他懷疑的目光，說她自己的：“我去挂面廠後才知道，他們的白面都是自己加工的。既然能從他們那裏買出挂面頭子，說不定也能買出麥麸子。”
為什麽要買麥麸子，五爺一聽就懂，激動的兩眼放光：“能行？”
“我想試試。”
“說什麽也得試試。”五爺咬咬牙說：“不行咱們給供銷社主任送點兒東西，求他出面幫着說說情兒。”
五爺就是五爺，夏菊花覺得自己真是找對了人，不過也不敢把話說滿：“五爺放心，我這兩天編出新席來，就再去供銷社一趟。”
雖然五爺心裏覺得辦事宜早不宜遲，也知道不拿出真東西讓供銷社看上眼，人家主任可看不上農村人送上的那點兒東西。
于是他不再說麥麸的事兒，打開裝着挂面頭子的口袋，一看就抽了一口冷氣：“這真是十塊錢一袋買的？”
劉大喜沒聽懂麥麸的事兒，對挂面頭子卻很有發言權，咧着嘴說：“真是十塊錢一袋，這一袋子足有五十多斤。”當時都沒上稱，他可是撿裝的多的袋子挑的。
五爺又回頭狐疑的看了夏菊花一眼，見她正低眉順眼的也看袋子裏的挂面頭子，沒因為劉大喜搶話有什麽不高興的表情，心裏點了點頭。
跟原來不一樣就不一樣吧，又沒變壞，反而不斷的給平安莊帶來好處，那不就是給劉姓的社員帶好處嘛。現在這頭一份好處就有自己家的份，不錯，不錯。
“我不是就給了你十塊錢嗎？”五爺想起一個問題，問大孫子：“你扛進來的可是兩袋子。”
劉大喜有些不好意思的說：“當時嫂子問我的時候我和嫂子說了，只要一袋。可是嫂子二話不說就替我墊錢多買了一袋子。”
“大壯媳婦，你看這……”五爺跟着覺得不好意思了。
夏菊花這才從口袋上擡起頭來，嗯，都是好白面做出來的挂面，碎一點怕啥，整的進嘴也得嚼碎。擡起頭的夏菊花指着一個袋子說：“五爺，你家人口多，幾房一分一袋子就沒了。你和五奶歲數大了，總得留點兒自己吃，這一袋子就是我孝敬你的。”
五爺一輩子好的是面子，并不是貪晚輩的孝敬。夏菊花張口就送一袋挂面頭子給他，在五爺心裏就是夏菊花心裏看重他這個五爺，他老臉上有光。
別人給自己長臉，五爺自己也不是占便宜的人，他們家人口多要分的人多又是實情，所以最後還是硬塞給夏菊花十塊錢，夏菊花見他堅持也就收下了。
In this era, few people can afford a gift worth ten yuan, and even fewer feel comfortable accepting one. So when Xia Juhua went home and asked Liu Zhiquan to give five kilograms of rice to her father-in-law's family, Wang Caifeng herself felt distressed:
"Mom, you don't need to send so much, just enough for them to eat for one meal." It would be better to leave the rest for Baoguo to eat. After saying this, Wang Caifeng felt a little uneasy again. Would her mother-in-law think that she was reluctant to give something to her family, and would not respect her mother-in-law in the future? !