Just as mothers understand their own children, how can children not understand their own mothers? Li Daya was clearly sure that Xia Juhua would not find Liu Hongling's words offensive, so she started to learn wholeheartedly. Liu Hongling herself was no longer worried and continued to chat and laugh with Liu Hongcui while learning to weave mats. The room was filled with laughter again.
Xia Juhua was still very relaxed when she only taught Li Daya and her two daughters, but they had just learned the beginning, and they would have to consolidate the finishing and weaving of characters tomorrow night. This was enough to make Li Daya and her daughter thank Xia Juhua again and again, and Xia Juhua was almost unable to bear it.
Li Daya had never been such a polite person before. Xia Juhua knew in her heart that she felt that the Liu family owed her too much.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua taught Li Daya some lessons in the evening: by noon the next day, she had finished weaving the new mat in her hands. She would take the new mat to the supply and marketing cooperative to have Director Lin inspect it. If the supply and marketing cooperative approved it, the women of Ping'an Village could start weaving new mats according to the new pattern.
The result of the acceptance naturally made both parties happy. After Xia Juhua got Director Lin's guarantee that he would definitely purchase the goods, she also guaranteed to him that she would deliver the goods on time. She left the new mat at the supply and marketing cooperative and went home with satisfaction.
When passing by the hotel, Xia Juhua unexpectedly saw Liu Hongjuan standing at the door of the hotel, craning her neck to look inside. She was very puzzled: How could Liu Hongjuan, who was only eight years old, come to the commune by herself and stand at the door of the hotel?
However, Xia Juhua was not a curious person, and because of Liu Hongjuan's performances several times, she realized that the child had started to grow crooked from then on, so she simply walked past Liu Hongjuan as if she didn't see anything.
Liu Hongjuan also saw Xia Juhua and stared at her with undisguised hatred in her eyes. Xia Juhua felt as if she was being stared at by a young snake: although the snake was still young, it could not conceal the cold aura it released.
"Don't be so conceited. Your good days are over." Liu Hongjuan suddenly said this when Xia Juhua passed by.
Looking back, Sun was holding a small bundle in her hand, which was still emitting heat. Liu Hongjuan did not answer her, but stared at the bundle and asked: "Grandma, how many meat buns did you buy? Give me one."
"Bah, you lost money and still want to eat buns?" Sun's preference for boys over girls was extremely serious. He hugged the bundle and asked Liu Hongjuan, "Who did you talk to just now? Didn't I tell you not to talk to anyone casually when you go out? Otherwise, the beggars will beat you away. I won't look for you."
Liu Hongjuan turned and pointed in the direction of Xia Juhua, and Xia Juhua met Sun's eyes. What kind of look was that? Contempt, disdain, hatred mixed with inexplicable pleasure, which should not appear in the eyes of people who have lived under the same roof for more than ten years.
But she appeared alive, Xia Juhua couldn't help but shudder. Sun Shi spat at the air again: "Let's see how long she can jump around. Go quickly, your parents are still waiting for us in the Red Team."
It turned out that it was Sun who brought Liu Hongjuan to visit Liu Sizhuang and his wife. Xia Juhua was a little puzzled. Liu Sizhuang had been in the study class for several days, and Sun had been taking care of Liu Erzhuang at home. Why did she come to see him in person today?
Did she think that the pigs were being taken back to the production team and wanted Liu Sizhuang to get them back for her? Xia Juhua turned around and rejected her idea: Liu Sizhuang couldn't even take care of himself, how could he care about what was happening outside the class?
After all, the joy of having just made an agreement with the supply and marketing cooperative to prepare another 200 seats prevailed. After returning to Ping'an Village, Xia Juhua did not even go home, but went directly to the yard to announce the good news to the women.
Although everyone had always shown an inexplicable trust in Xia Juhua, they still couldn't help but cheer a little when they heard the confirmed news, and they were all eager to start weaving the mats immediately.
Xia Juhua calculated that it took a dozen people around them ten days to weave the original 200 mats. Now there are almost twice as many people in the yard as before, so more than 30 people can finish the work in seven or eight days.
This calculation still takes into account the time that the novices need to learn on the job. By the time this batch of mats is finished, the novices will be able to weave mats independently, and it will also be the time for each family to get busy with the New Year.
Just right, nothing will be delayed.
Xia Juhua had a debt in her heart, and so did the women. Hearing that Xia Juhua still asked the experienced people to teach the newbies carefully, the newbies all smiled and said nice things to their "master", wishing they could compile their parts for the "master".
Who told them that when they came, they would take away the original mat weaver's job - they could earn ten days' work points, but now they can only earn seven days' work points at most, and they have to spare time to teach themselves how to weave mats. If you don't say good things, and come to a petty "master", and say a few words less about the key steps, and the mats you weave are not up to standard, then don't even think about weaving mats next time.
Xia Juhua looked at the different expressions of the women in the yard, and knew what was going on. She whispered a few words to Li Changwang's family, who smiled, nodded at her, and shouted to everyone:
"Captain, we can't give the same work points to those who are already good at it and those who are new to it. We can do it quickly, and we have to teach the new learners how to do it. I won't do it if we give them the same work points."
"Yes, the new learners are so slow at weaving. I can weave two mats while they can weave one."
"If I didn't teach while I was weaving, I could have weaved three mats."
"Just brag. If the captain could make it up, I'd believe him, but you..."
The original weaving staff all agreed with Li Changwang's opinion, while the new learners were all embarrassed. Xia Juhua discovered an interesting phenomenon: the old people standing next to the new learners did not say anything, but only those who did not have new learners standing next to them spoke loudly and clearly.
"Well, I understand what you are thinking. How about this? The original mat weavers will still get six work points a day, but the number of mats they have to weave will remain the same, one mat must be woven in two and a half days. And if someone asks you about it, you can't just say that you weave mats yourself and won't teach others."
Being able to keep the six work points was what the original mat weaving women had always hoped for, so they all agreed.
The new learners didn't have any objections, and Li Daya was the first to say, "Okay, no objection. We didn't get any apprenticeship money when we learned the craft from you, so it's good enough to just give us work points."
With her words, those who had some ulterior motives in their hearts also narrowed their eyes: In the past, if you wanted to learn a craft, you had to be filial to your master, and then you had to do so much work for him for free. Now, not only can you learn it yourself, but you can also teach it secretly to your daughter or your mother's family at home. No matter how you look at it, you are getting an advantage.
Since no one had any objection, in order to improve efficiency, we simply made some division of labor, that is, separating the people who made mats and the people who broke the reeds. The people who made mats focused on making mats, and the people who broke the reeds focused on breaking the reeds.
The principle of practice makes perfect applies everywhere. With this division of labor, the speed of weaving mats and breaking reed skins has increased a lot. In one day, more than a dozen people have woven most of a new mat. At this speed, it is easy to finish a new mat in two days.
The increase in speed has also boosted the enthusiasm of the women. When they heard the whistle for the end of work, they were reluctant to leave and all looked as if they were eager to work all night.
Xia Juhua had no choice but to chase them away herself: "Okay, 200 mats are enough for you to weave. I will also think of some new patterns, and I guarantee that you will be bored with weaving. Now get off work, otherwise your men will come to me to ask for people, and I won't be able to resist."
As Sun Zhaodi and Xia Juhua were walking home, she smiled and said to her, "Sister-in-law, I think you are different now."
Xia Juhua paused for a moment, with no expression on her face: "What's the difference? Do you think I talk too much?"
"No, that's not the case." Sun Zhaodi said cheerfully, "You talk a lot more now than before, but every word you say is to the point. You laugh more than before, and many people who didn't dare to talk to you before now dare to joke with you."
Talking about her love of laughing, Xia Juhua admitted: "Maybe I have become more open-minded. My life is more comfortable than before. People have to be open-minded. Once they are open-minded, all the worries are no longer a problem."
After Sun Zhaodi finished sighing about Xia Juhua, she sighed about herself: "I don't know when I can live a life like you, sister-in-law. Oh, I'll have to wait until the third son gets married. Only when they all get married, I can relax as a mother."
After saying this, he suddenly remembered that although Xia Juhua's youngest son had married once, he was already divorced, so he said embarrassingly: "Sister-in-law, I am not..."
"I know." Xia Juhua knew that Sun Zhaodi was a little timid. If she didn't speak up right away, she would be worried and unable to sleep tonight. "As they say, every family has its own problems. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. We can't live with them for the rest of our lives."
Sun Zhaodi nodded, not knowing whether she had heard it or not.
It's a pity that I can't separate from these two guys yet. Xia Juhua counted the money in her two sons' pockets, and it seemed that they were still a long way from being able to build a house and live alone. She couldn't help but look at her two sons holding bowls of porridge with some resentment. When she saw Liu Zhiquan and Liu Zhishuang, she was shocked: Mother is getting weirder and weirder. She must feel pressured to look at them like this all the time.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua's sorrow came and went quickly. By the time Li Daya brought her two daughters to learn how to weave mats, it had passed. Several people were chatting and laughing while teaching and weaving. Even Liu Baoguo joined in the fun. The family was harmonious again.
Unfortunately, the harmony was soon broken by the sound of knocking on the door. The first thing Xia Juhua did was to cover her chest: the knocking was too fast and she was scared and broke into a cold sweat.
Liu Zhishuang ran out to open the door, asking as he did so: "Who is that? Do you want to steal money? Why are you smashing someone's door like that?"
As soon as he opened the door and saw who was coming, Liu Zhishuang's voice was stuck in his neck and couldn't get out - there were at least six or seven people knocking on the door, and everyone had a red armband on their sleeves. They were the Red Squad of the commune.
"Where is Xia Juhua? Someone reported that she embezzled collective property." Captain Xia rushed into the yard and pushed Liu Zhishuang away.
Xia Juhua was confused. Why did someone report her every other day? Who did she offend?
Honest people are not without temper. When Xia Juhua put on her shoes and left the house, her face was extremely unhappy. Liu Zhiquan and Wang Caifeng wanted to help her, but Xia Juhua pushed them away: "Captain Xia, who reported me this time, and what did they report me for?"
Captain Xia saw the real boss come out, with a playful sneer on his face: "I don't know how you offended so many people. People report you every day. Our Red Team received a report that you, the production team leader, actually took the lead in taking the reeds from the production team to weave mats for your own use. Of course, we have to come and take a look."
Haha, Xia Juhua really sneered: "Okay, Captain Xia, you can do whatever you want. Our production team has accepted the task of continuing to weave mats from the supply and marketing cooperative. Because of the tight time and many tasks, all the women in the production team have been mobilized. Some women are learning to weave mats for the first time, and in order not to delay production, they asked to take some reed rods home to practice. No matter who took the reed rods, the accountant of our production team has registered it, and they have to return it to the production team the next day."
"As for myself," Xia Juhua patted her chest, "I didn't take a single reed back home. All the women in the production team can testify to this!"
Xia Juhua at this moment was different from the previous times Captain Xia had met her. She exuded a very firm aura, which made people believe what she said. Captain Xia's smile disappeared, and he said seriously: "Captain Xia, you see, I don't have to make things difficult for you. Someone reported it to us and we came to check it out. If you didn't make any mistakes, you are cleared."
"That's what I said." Xia Juhua refused to give in. "But if they check every other day, no one can stand it, right? I've been framed many times before. If I'm framed again this time, what do you think we should do, Captain Xia?"
Captain Xia looked a little annoyed, but because he had not caught Xia Juhua in the previous two times, and Xia Juhua was acting so confident now, he was unsure, so he had to say, "If the informant is framing you again, then our Red Team will not let him go."
Okay, Xia Juhua didn't want to let this person go either - let the women take the reed poles home to practice. Only the people weaving mats in the yard and Chen Qiu Sheng knew that the person who reported it should be among those people.
Thinking about how someone smiled and said nice things to her face, asking her to teach her how to weave mats, and then turned around and reported her to the Red Team, Xia Juhua felt so sick that she wanted to vomit.
Captain Xia of the Red Team waved his hand at the people who followed him, and several people entered the main room together. Li Daya and Xia Juhua just looked to see who was coming. There were only two sisters, Liu Hongcui and Liu Hongling, in the room. When they saw the Red Team rushing in like a ferocious monster, the two girls screamed in fright and stood there, not knowing what to do.
Captain Xia saw the half-woven mat on the kang at a glance. He picked it up and looked at it. He felt that it was different from the mats he usually saw. He shouted outside, "Captain Xia, where did you get this mat?"
Xia Juhua came in upon hearing his voice, and explained to him without any expression on her face: "This is made from the sorghum stalks that were distributed to our family, broken into strips, not the reed stalks that were shared by the collective."
As he said this, he handed the half-broken sorghum stalk to Captain Xia.
Although Captain Xia had been a member of the Red Team for several years, his whole family made a living in the countryside. He could still tell the difference between sorghum stalks and reed stalks. He weighed the sorghum stalks, swore a few words, and said to Xia Juhua, "It seems someone really has framed you."
Xia Juhua just looked at him without saying anything. Under such a gaze, Captain Xia actually felt as if he had been discovered. He could not help but put the blame on the informant: "Captain Xia, don't you want to know who reported you? Okay, I tell you, the person who reported you said it was your mother-in-law, and she brought along the girl you just brought back from Liu Sizhuang. How can I believe her?"
"Impossible, are they crazy?" It was Li Daya who shouted. It wasn't that she didn't believe the Red Team leader's words, nor did she think that Sun and Liu Hongjuan couldn't do such a thing, but she couldn't understand what benefit they could get from doing this!
You won't do such a thing if it harms others and does not benefit yourself.
Captain Xia only glanced at Li Daya and then turned his gaze back to Xia Juhua's face. He wanted to see how Xia Juhua would react when she heard that Liu Hongjuan had joined in reporting her.
Xia Juhua's reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief - it was good that he wasn't the one weaving mats in the yard, otherwise she really wouldn't teach him new tricks next time.
Captain Xia was not satisfied with Xia Juhua's reaction: "Captain Xia, now that it has been proven that your mother-in-law and that girl are framing you, you can't stay in Ping'an Village anymore. We have to take you to the training class."
"Okay." Xia Juhua nodded calmly: "Captain Xia, you should know where Liu Sizhuang's home is. If you don't know, I will take you there."
Li Daya looked at her two daughters and shook their heads gently. She didn't want them to beg for favors to Sun and Liu Hongjuan. What favors were there to beg for? Those two could report Xia Juhua today, and they could report her, Li Daya, tomorrow. Liu Hongcui and the other two were scolded by Sun for paying money and goods every day, and they had no feelings for her. Seeing their mother shaking her head, no one said a word.
Liu Zhiquan heard Xia Juhua was going to lead the Red Team outside, and said to the house with some uneasiness: "Mom, it's getting dark, I'll lead the Red Team comrades."
Xia Juhua said, "No, it's not convenient for you to go. I'm the leader of the Ping'an Village production team. I should be there if there's a problem with a member."
After saying that, he was the first to leave the house. The Red Team members returned empty-handed again, and followed him out of the house with embarrassed expressions. Xia Juhua led the group, followed by the Red Team, and Li Daya's mother and three others and Liu Zhishuang were at the end. They walked in the dark street, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Someone's dog heard them and started barking.
"Captain Xia, we're here." Xia Juhua looked at the closed gate, said to the captain of the Red Team, and looked at Li Daya who was following behind. In the darkness, she couldn't see Li Daya's expression, but Xia Juhua knew she must be angry.
Just like the anger in my heart, I wish I was the one banging on the door.
The person who came out to open the door was Liu Erzhuang. When he saw the captain of the Red Team, he was stunned: "Captain Xia?" Why are you here again?
Captain Xia gave Liu Erzhuang a sneer with a crooked corner of his mouth: "Your mother went to the Red Team to report Captain Xia for stealing collective property. We just searched Captain Xia's home and found that it was not the case. Your mother framed Captain Xia. We, the Red Team, will never tolerate bad elements who frame the revolutionary masses. We will of course immediately bring the bad elements back to the Red Team for education."
Liu Erzhuang wished that he was the one who was beaten by Liu Sizhuang and had no reaction to the outside world. Why did he have to deal with such a woman? Why couldn't she just live a peaceful life?
He thought the same thing as Li Daya, that is, what good would it do for his mother if he reported Xia Juhua? Would the Red Team reward her?
Sun Shi obviously heard the Red Team knocking on the door. When she came out, she heard what the Red Team leader said. She was stunned: "Xia Juhua took the collective property privately. Li Daya has been to her house these past two days to learn how to weave mats. If there were no reeds, how could they weave? Captain Xia, don't be fooled by Xia Juhua. This woman is the best at lying."
Seeing her coming out, several members of the Red Team pushed aside Liu Erzhuang who was in the way and twisted Sun's arms behind her, causing her mother to scream in pain. Just as she was about to cry out, the leader of the Red Team spoke up: "Old lady, do you think we in the Red Team are easy to fool? We can't even tell the difference between sorghum stalks and reed stalks?"
"Sorghum stalks?" Sun Shi didn't believe it. "Xia Juhua would teach Li Daya about her own sorghum stalks. It's impossible. They must have deceived you together."
"And where's that little girl?" The leader of the Red Team was in no mood to listen to Sun's nonsense, so he asked directly where Liu Hongjuan was. Liu Hongjuan and Liu Zhiliang had been living with Sun these days, and they also moved out of the same house.
Hearing the conversation between the Red Team and Sun, Liu Hongjuan had already hidden in the shadows, but Liu Zhiliang pushed her at this time, and she staggered two steps and appeared in front of everyone. The Red Team didn't care about her age, and just like they did with Sun, they held her arms and carried her behind their backs, waiting for their captain's order.
"Tie them up." Captain Xia looked gloomily at Sun and Liu Hongjuan, who had embarrassed him again, and gave an order to the Red Team.
"Captain Xia, Captain Xia," Liu Erzhuang had to stand up at this time: "You see, my mother just doesn't understand the situation. She is old and talks nonsense, and Hongjuan is a child who knows nothing. She is just keeping her grandmother company. They really didn't mean to..."
"Liu Erzhuang, do you dare to stop the Red Team from catching bad elements?" Captain Xia did not give Liu Erzhuang any face. He himself had lost face in front of Xia Juhua today and he didn't know how to pick it up. Why should he give Liu Erzhuang this face?
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