Chapter 52

All the women weaving mats in the yard felt that Xia Juhua had a sullen face and was in a bad mood.

Because Xia Juhua had so many reasons to be in a bad mood: being framed every day, and her own mother-in-law and brother-in-law taking turns to blame her, how could she be fine? The women took care of themselves and no longer cared about the Liu family. But Li Daya and An Baoling had been helping to weave mats in the yard.

Li Daya and An Baoling had actually been feeling anxious for the whole morning, and they had also heard people's whispers. They had already stopped weaving the mats in their hands, but they had to keep them in their hands to pretend they were done, for fear that people would notice. Now they finally saw Xia Juhua, and before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they noticed that she had a stern face, and the two looked at each other anxiously.

An Baoling suppressed her uneasiness and greeted Xia Juhua with a smile: "Sister-in-law, why are you here just now?"

Before Xia Juhua could react, Li Changwang's family snorted twice and rolled their eyes at An Baoling: Why are you pretending? Why did the captain come just now? Don't you, the Liu family, know what's going on?

Xia Juhua could guess why Li Changwang's family was humming. She glanced at her and responded to An Baoling's words first: "The captain just talked to me about something, so I'm late. How are your seats going?" After that, she walked to An Baoling and patted her on the shoulder.

An Baoling felt a warmth flowing from her sister-in-law's hand into her heart, and the corners of her mouth lifted up involuntarily: "It's almost done, I think several people have almost finished weaving their first mat, and Zhaodi has already started the second one."

"Well," Xia Juhua said to her, "Try to pick out the reed stems with darker colors, and be careful when you break them. We are relying on these reed stems to stand out."

An Baoling responded loudly, and even deliberately glanced at Li Changwang's face, who looked unhappy. Li Changwang pouted like a child, and continued to weave mats with droopy eyelids.

Xia Juhua saw all of this and thought to herself that she would have to have a good talk with Li Changwang's wife later - this woman is too quick to talk. It's good for controlling people, but it can easily cause conflicts. Now everyone's mind is still on learning new tricks. When the enthusiasm is over, if Li Changwang's wife still can't control her mouth and says whatever she wants, it will cause dissatisfaction among the women.

Whether I can do a good job as a production team leader depends entirely on these women.

"Sister-in-law?" Li Daya spoke to An Baoling when she saw Xia Juhua coming. She felt even more uneasy. After Xia Juhua left yesterday, she had a big quarrel with Liu Erzhuang. However, Liu Erzhuang didn't say anything else except one sentence: She is my mother, how can I really ignore her?

This morning, Liu Erzhuang actually had the nerve to not go to work. If his sister-in-law knew about this, she would think that Liu Erzhuang was being disrespectful to her! Just for that old lady, is it worth it? !

After calling "sister-in-law", Li Daya felt her whole body tense up. She didn't know whether Xia Juhua would pay attention to her and with what attitude she would pay attention to her.

Xia Juhua's attitude was the same as usual when she talked to Li Daya. She looked aside for a moment before asking her in a low voice, "After I left yesterday, Er Zhuang didn't get mad at you, did he?"

It was impossible to think about it, but Xia Juhua was willing to think of Liu Erzhuang with the greatest kindness. Because when the three of them were in the most difficult time, Liu Erzhuang helped them more than once, and she believed that Liu Erzhuang was a kind person in his heart.

It's just that honest people are too prone to making mistakes sometimes.

Li Daya was so ashamed that she didn't even want to look at Xia Juhua. "Why isn't there any trouble? He's obsessed with his mother. He was angry with me today and even refused to go to work. I would just let him get his mother back. He should also study hard."

Do you think the Red Team's study class is really for people to learn from? Xia Juhua looked at Li Daya helplessly: "If he really lets him exchange the old lady back, will you bear it?"

Li Daya stopped talking. She was angry with Liu Erzhuang, but she still felt distressed. An Baoling was relieved to see Xia Juhua's attitude was the same as usual. She smiled and joked about Li Daya: "My second sister-in-law is stubborn. She usually doesn't dare to say a word against my second brother."

"Okay, go back and tell Erzhuang that the old lady is the old lady and you are you. Tell Erzhuang not to think about the old lady all the time. I'm counting on him to keep an eye on the canal construction for me." Xia Juhua once again reassured Li Daya.

Li Daya's temper was sometimes stubborn, but she could still tell the bad words were coming from him. Her eyes lit up: "Okay, sister-in-law, don't worry. If he still only cares about the old lady, I will let him go with her."

An Baoling lowered her head and couldn't help laughing. Xia Juhua also found it funny, but she could hold it back better than An Baoling. After saying a few more words to reassure the two sisters-in-law, Xia Juhua straightened up and waved towards Li Changwang's family.

Li Changwang was weaving mats while paying attention to Xia Juhua. Of course, he saw Xia Juhua's action at a glance. He put down the mat and stood up, deliberately looking at An Baoling. Unfortunately, An Baoling was talking to Li Daya and didn't see Li Changwang's show-off action, which made Li Changwang feel aggrieved again.

Since Li Changwang's family was going to be in charge of these women, Xia Juhua was careful not to embarrass her in front of others. She took her out of the reed wall and walked a few steps before stopping.

Seeing Xia Juhua so serious, Li Changwang's family's smugness slowly disappeared from their faces, and they looked at Xia Juhua with a bit of guilt. That cautious look reminded Xia Juhua of the scene they saw when they went to meet Liu Baoguo and his brothers in their previous life when they were called into the office by the teacher.

"Do you know why I asked you to come out today?" Xia Juhua's face regained its composure and she asked Li Changwang's family straight to the point.

Li Changwang's family was even more confused: "Captain, is there something I did wrong?"

Xia Juhua suppressed her expression even more: "You have been busy for me during this period of time. I remember it all." Seeing that Li Changwang's face was a little proud again, Xia Juhua didn't want to let her tail fly again:

"But it's no use if I just remember it. Do you know what the editors say?"

Li Changwang's wife was depressed after hearing this. How could she not know? Some of those gossiping women said that she only knew how to flatter Xia Juhua, some said that she was a dog trying to catch a rat, and some said that even if she tried to curry favor with Xia Juhua, she would not be taken seriously.

Precisely because she had heard these words, Li Changwang's wife wanted to act closer to Xia Juhua. She wanted to let those gossiping women see that she was not trying to curry favor with Xia Juhua, but that Xia Juhua needed her help.

It seemed that Xia Juhua really didn't need her help. Li Changwang's family lost all their strength and could hardly stand: If Xia Juhua really didn't need her help, those women would say even worse things. How could she still stay in the yard?

Seeing that Li Changwang's family had been silent for a long time, Xia Juhua asked her, "You actually did so much extra work and endured so much fatigue, but you didn't get any extra work points. Not only do I know this, but everyone else knows it. But why do they still say that about you?"

From Xia Juhua's tone, it didn't sound like she disliked him. Li Changwang looked up carefully at her and saw that she was smiling at him, which was completely different from her stern face just now. He felt even more embarrassed: "Captain, why do you say that?"

"Why? How can you not know why when you are so smart?" Xia Juhua was really amused by Li Changwang's family's anger: "It's all because of your mouth. You said you have done your job, can't you give in a little? It's not like they don't listen to you, they have done what you said, and you still have to make a joke of them at the end, how much meat can you grow?"

In the end, Li Changwang's family is a typical thankless type. She listens to Xia Juhua's instructions. When Xia Juhua asks her to assign tasks to the women, she would like to put down her own affairs and finish them. This person is not afraid of offending others. She scolds other women for being nagging. In fact, her chatterbox is worse than anyone else.

If someone doesn't follow her arrangement, she will expose any mistakes they made after marrying into Ping'an Manor. The worst thing is that she herself has made mistakes as a member of Li Changwang's family, and if someone is not satisfied, she will yell at her.

So she was convinced by what Xia Juhua said. She shook her head in frustration and said, "It's not that I can grow any more, but I feel upset watching them nagging me, and I can't help but want to say something."

Xia Juhua smiled, "Didn't we agree beforehand that the old mat weavers would work one mat every two and a half days, and would be recorded as six hours. The new learners would work one mat every three days, and would be recorded as four hours at first. If anyone is making trouble, why don't you just not record her work? Isn't that better than offending others by saying something?"

After saying this, he even tried to make amends with fear: "But we have to make it clear that you have to inspect together with Baoling and Zhaodi. Don't just not record someone's work because you don't like them. Do you understand?"

Hearing that he was still allowed to manage those women, Li Changwang nodded quickly: "Captain, don't worry, I'm not a petty person. I'm learning from you. As long as they do a good job of weaving mats, I won't bother them. I'm scolding those who don't do a good job of weaving mats and want to slack off to get work points for nothing."

"Well, just remember it. Also, you and your sister-in-law should not dislike each other every day, so that those men will think that we women are not united. Look at Daya and Baoling, they always say hello to me when they see me." Xia Juhua mentioned Li Changwang's family again.

There are only four or five Li families in Ping'an Village. Although Li Changwang and Li Changman are cousins, they are both the only sons of their respective families. The two brothers originally got along well with each other, but the two sisters-in-law just couldn't get along.

These two people are obviously quite capable, but they just don't like each other. Xia Juhua is not worried about the Liu family or the Chen family, but she has to find someone among the mixed family with a convincing statement.

從頭到尾，她都沒敢想讓李常旺家的做這件事，又怕自己找李常滿家的讓李常旺家的多想，只能先點她一句。

李常旺家的看來是真跟李常滿家的犯沖，聽到夏菊花提她就開始撇嘴，被夏菊花警告似的看一眼，心不甘情不願的說：“明明是她看我不順眼。她要是跟你似的有嫂子樣，我能那樣對她？”

“行了，你去讓她過來吧。你叫人的時候得跟人好好說，要是我看到她出來的時候不高興，今天就扣你的工分。”夏菊花不得不威脅李常旺家的一句。

沒錯，在雜姓的人裏面，夏菊花想找的人就是李常滿家的。不過當她看到李常滿家的一臉見了鬼的表情，就有些懷疑自己讓李常旺家的叫人，是不是錯了。

“劉嫂子，你剛才跟常旺家的說啥了？”

“咋了，她對你說不好聽的了？”夏菊花很想馬上去問問李常旺家的，是不是聽不懂話，自己剛跟她說完，又去惹李常滿家的。

李常滿家的趕緊搖頭說：“沒有，就是因為她今天說話太好聽了，我覺得渾身起雞皮疙瘩，別是她想什麽招兒要對付我呢吧。”

行，難怪李常旺家的常年對你沒一句好話。

夏菊花打量的看着李常滿家的，不知道自己應該不應該冒這個險。李常滿家的剛被李常旺家的吓了一回，現在又被夏菊花這麽打量，心裏那個毛呀，聲都打顫了：“劉嫂子，是不是我有哪兒做的不對，你說吧，只要還讓我編席，一天少記一個兩個工都行。”

這點兒出息勁兒！

夏菊花用餘光打量了一下周圍，确定沒有人能聽到她跟李常滿家的說話，示意她再站近點兒，才小聲說：“剛才大隊長找我，說是糧站號召大家交餘糧，主糧一斤比公糧高三分，雜糧高二分，你是咋想的？”

“高這麽多？”李常滿家的是過日子人，聽說正事就顧不得想李常旺家的詭異的态度，心裏算計着自己家能拿出多少餘糧來。

怎麽算，能拿得出二百斤已經是極限了，不過她是個有成算的，反問夏菊花：“隊長你交多少？”

夏菊花聲音還是剛好兩人能聽到：“我們家都是大人，吃的糧食多，拿不出多少餘糧來。再說一兩百斤糧食，多賣那麽幾十塊錢，真等到來年四五月接不上頓，大家又都把餘糧給交了，想找人買點兒都買不到，可咋整。”

李常滿家的沒說話，用眼睛一直打量着夏菊花。夏菊花心裏有些沒底，好在還能繃得住，一臉坦誠的任由李常滿家的打量。

“劉嫂子，你跟我說句實話，是不是你也信了陳秋生家的話？她真找會看的人看了，來年真有災？”

陳秋生家的！

夏菊花十分無奈的搖頭：“啥會看不會看的，咱們可都是革命社員，不能信迷信知道嗎？我就是算着自己家的人口，實在沒多餘的糧食。”

李常滿家的就若有所思的低下頭，又是好半會沒說話。夏菊花覺得自己已經盡力了，如果她真聽不進去的話，将來挨餓也怨不到自己頭上。

“得了，你看看陳秋生家的幹啥呢，讓她過來。”說不通夏菊花也不準備多說——會看的又被人提起，她必須得親自敲打陳秋生家的——真當紅小隊的人每次來平安莊是走過場呢？

李常滿家的聽話的轉身就走，走到葦牆那兒回頭看了夏菊花一眼，才進了場院。不一會兒陳秋生家的就過來了，她的表情十分興奮，老遠就沖着夏菊花喊：“隊長，你是不是有什麽任務交給我，你放心，我保證能完成好。”

你就是完成的太好了，把沒交給你的任務都完成了。夏菊花看着她靠近，看着她臉上的表情一點點由興奮變得忐忑，才問：“秋生家的，你是不是覺得日子太好過了，啥話都敢往外說？”

陳秋生家的明顯被吓着了：“我說啥了？”

“你說啥了，你說誰會看，那個會看的人在哪兒？”夏菊花沒留客氣，直接把話說明白了：“現在連大隊都知道你搞封建迷信，我看你咋辦。”

陳秋生家的臉一下子白了：“隊長，我那不是想着讓多點兒人信，省得你來年為難才說的嘛。大隊咋就知道了呢，這可咋辦呀，不會讓我進紅小隊的學習班吧，會不會不讓秋生當會計了？”

早知道怕，還敢往出說那話？夏菊花直接上手拍了她一下子：“大隊長說了，讓你這幾天小心點兒，不許再跟人說這個事兒。還有，糧站要收餘糧，別人家都能不交，你們家咋也得交上點兒。”

“憑啥？”陳秋生家的有些不服氣：“要是來年真有災，我家咋辦。”

“就憑你別的不說，非得說自己找人看了。你說你平時多精明個人，咋就不知道啥話不能說呢。”夏菊花心裏還是感激她的，所以把話都說得明明白白：“只要你交上點兒餘糧，村裏別人家不交或是交的少，有人想拿你說過的話當把柄，你就能堵住他們的嘴。”

“你想想，跟進學習班比，是挨兩頓餓好受還是讓人□□好？”

陳秋生家的傻眼了：“非得交呀？”她可聽陳秋生說了，隊長和五爺都在想能省糧食的法子呢，別人省還省不過來，他們家卻得往出交糧食，想想就心疼。

夏菊花還得接着囑咐她：“那話你真不能再說了，以前跟誰說過也得囑咐囑咐，跟外人別說漏了嘴。”

陳秋生家的木木的點了點頭，一步一挪的往葦牆走，要進去的時候回頭看夏菊花，可憐巴巴的問：“隊長，那你呢？”

夏菊花除了向她點點頭，還能怎麽辦？剛才她跟李常滿家的說自己家不交糧，是給李常滿家的一個信號，可是做為生産隊長，這餘糧多少都得交點兒。

有了陳秋生家的這個會計家屬傳播封建迷信，夏菊花上交的餘糧，還得比她原計劃的多。

所以去挂面廠買麥麸，不光是李長順對夏菊花的要求，更成了她本人的迫切需要。人呀，真是什麽時候都不能把話說得太滿呀。

夏菊花多想當初李常旺家的帶頭推舉自己做生産隊長的時候，自己沒說出試試那兩個字，那樣不僅能保住自己家的糧食，得少操多少心！

就這麽後悔着，夏菊花還挺有勁的又跑到修渠的地頭，發現三十個人的修渠隊，在她兩天沒到場的情況下，竟然進展的還很順利。

“這兩天我沒來，有人給你們送姜湯水沒有？”夏菊花問正在推土的陳冬生。陳冬生呲牙一樂：“我們不讓她們送了。現在婦女們比我們還忙，哪兒好意思再讓她們特意給我們煮姜湯。”

有道理，看來平安莊婦女們的地位，有所提高呀。夏菊花笑着說：“喝了好幾天姜湯，突然不喝了，沒有不得勁的吧？”

“沒有。”劉志全劉志雙兄弟兩個在渠底下吼了一嗓子，就有人笑着罵他們：“知道你娘來了，用不着這麽大聲告訴你娘你幹活呢。”

劉志全嘿嘿兩聲就接着刨土，劉志雙接了一句：“我幹活還不能讓我娘看看，好讓她晚上給我做點兒好吃的。”

陳冬生聽了一樂，見夏菊花支起一輛推車，主動上前替她往筐裏裝土，小聲問：“隊長，秋生媳婦說的有譜不？”

夏菊花現在一點兒也不想聽人提起陳秋生媳婦，不耐煩的說：“自己想去。”

老實人陳冬生就是想不明白，才特意問夏菊花的。見她不耐煩，倒沒急着非得到答案，想的是等晚上讓自己媳婦去跟隊長問個實底。

誰讓他媳婦跟隊長關系好呢。

夏菊花推了七八車土，覺得自己要推不動了才停下，暗想自己這段時間重活幹的太少，回頭還是得多幹點兒——以前她能連續推上半天的土，現在才七八車就喘粗氣了。

“二壯沒來是吧？”夏菊花把氣喘勻了些，問一直跟自己推土的陳冬生。見陳冬生點頭，就說：“一會看着點兒天，不用等秋生吹哨你們就回生産隊，有事和大家說。”

想必，現在李常滿家的已經開始跟雜姓人家的主婦們，陳述利害了吧？就算是沒有，大家聽到糧站收餘糧的事兒，也會聯想到陳秋生家的突然說到的那個會看的。

自己是應該感謝陳秋生家的，還是埋怨她給自己添了隐患呢？夏菊花一時都分不清自己對陳秋生家的感情。不過這并不耽誤平安莊生産隊所有人提前收工，聚集到了生産隊院子裏。

"The brigade notified us today that the grain station will begin purchasing surplus grain from each household. The price of staple grain is three cents higher per catty than the public grain, and the price of miscellaneous grain is two cents higher per catty than the public grain. Everyone go back and calculate the food rations at home. If there is any surplus, take the initiative to go to the commune grain station to hand in the surplus grain. The production team will give everyone leave. If it is really inconvenient for you to take leave, wait for two days. The comrades from the grain station may come to the village to collect the grain." Xia Juhua announced the news to everyone calmly and said nothing else.

The women who had already received the news had some excited and some thoughtful expressions. Few men knew the news, and except for a few with the surname Liu, the rest all had excited expressions.

Although the fifth master did not go to work, he came over after hearing the news. Hearing the men discussing how much surplus food their families could pay, how much more money they could make from selling, and what they should use the money for, he could not help but snort:

"Think carefully, how many people are there in your family, how much food do you eat in one meal, how much grain do you need in a year, don't you have an idea in your mind?" They are a bunch of short-sighted people, saying every day that women have long hair and little knowledge, but in the end they are not as patient as those women.