Chapter 60
Needless to say, it was because Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi were too obvious in the black market, and their real purpose was discovered by someone with ulterior motives. Wu Ye and Xia Juhua did not blame Liu Zhishuang and the others - they were just authentic farmers, and they dared to go to the black market to inquire about the market, which was much better than others.
"Okay, you've been running around all day. Your aunt has left some food for you. Go and have a bite." Master Wu knocked on his tobacco pot and asked Liu Daxi to take Liu Zhishuang to their house for dinner.
Liu Zhishuang felt that he had messed up and was too embarrassed to eat at Wuye's house: "No need, Grandpa, our family has left some food for me."
The Fifth Master snorted softly: "Your mother always eats at my place. Who in your family leaves food for you? You don't even have a wife."
Wu Ye rudely drove away Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi, then turned to Xia Juhua and said, "Ask Qiu Sheng to come over."
Chen Qiu Sheng has now become the spokesperson for the Chen family. He is careful and comprehensive in considering issues. He is indeed a good candidate for consultation. Xia Juhua naturally agreed and went to find Chen Qiu Sheng in person.
After listening to Xia Juhua's message, Chen Qiusheng did not directly express his opinion, but asked inquiringly: "Fifth Master, what do you think?"
"You say what you want." Master Wu sucked on his pipe.
Chen Qiusheng paused for a moment and said, "Then let me tell you. Now everyone in the village knows that we want to sell the vermicelli, so we have to do it. Since there are people selling sweet potatoes, we can give them 70% if the quantity is large, so we can buy as much as we can. As for the vermicelli, it would be best if we can sell it all at once. If we really can't sell it all at once, let Zhishuang try to sell it slowly."
"Can he do it alone?" Xia Juhua still didn't quite believe Liu Zhishuang. It was true that her son was smart, but he wasn't very good at judging people or having a long-term vision.
Chen Qiusheng smiled: "What's wrong with that? We're not trying to get him to sell as much as he wants." Seeing Xia Juhua looking at him, Chen Qiusheng grinned at Xia Juhua: "There's another person who wants to trade sweet potatoes with Zhishuang."
Wu Ye's eyes lit up and he looked at Xia Juhua.
Thanks to Liu Zhishuang's mission today, which is to inquire about the price, I dare not make an independent decision, otherwise I will be tricked by others with just a few words.
Xia Juhua asked worriedly: "What if Zhishuang takes the vermicelli to sell, will people think that I am stealing his business and making trouble for Zhishuang?" Her son is a worry-inducing person and he is her own, so Xia Juhua still doesn't want anything to happen to him.
Wu Ye shook his head and said, "If Zhishuang only brought five or six kilograms of vermicelli at a time, that person would be tempted by him. If he brought thirty kilograms at a time, that person probably wouldn't do that."
Yes, few people in the city know how vermicelli is made. The person who asked the question about the vermicelli leaking should be considered an expert. He probably has either participated in the vermicelli leaking or has come into contact with people who have done so. The person said that he exchanged sweet potatoes for vermicelli with Liu Zhishuang. The possibility of him participating in the vermicelli leaking is not high. It is more likely that he has seen it when buying vermicelli from others.
If Liu Zhishuang brought less vermicelli every day, people would think he was just doing it for fun, and would just sell it, which would not affect other people's business. But if Liu Zhishuang brought 30 kilograms of vermicelli to the black market every day, people would be restless.
He himself was also a swindler in the black market, and it would be no good for him to report Liu Zhishuang. Therefore, if he didn't want to be influenced by Liu Zhishuang in his transactions, the best way was to prevent Liu Zhishuang from appearing in the black market again, or to prevent him from selling vermicelli if he appeared in the black market. The most direct way was of course to cooperate with Liu Zhishuang, and at that time, Ping An Zhuang could take the initiative.
Of course there is another possibility, that is, that person is directly using Liu Zhishuang to rob his fellow robbers. Xia Juhua thought about it and denied it again: at this time, those who dare to sell things in the black market have someone supporting them behind them. On the contrary, they will not be like those who really can't make a living and take risks at every turn.
"Then let Zhishuang try it first?" Xia Juhua asked Master Wu.
After hearing this, Master Wu narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't let Zhishuang go alone. In addition to letting Daxi accompany him, ask someone to carry some extra vermicelli for them. Don't go to the black market together. Just stay away and wait."
Xia Juhua had to admit that old ginger is still spicy.
At dawn the next day, Xia Juhua got up and dressed Liu Zhishuang up: he wore an old cotton jacket with cotton showing through it, cotton trousers with patches on top of patches, smeared a little dust on his face, and put on an old felt hat left by Liu Zhishuang's father in his early years, which made Liu Zhishuang look like a man in his forties.
"Mom, isn't this a little too scary?" Liu Zhishuang didn't need to look at his face, he could guess what he looked like just by looking at his clothes.
Xia Juhua slapped him in the face and said, "You are going there to sell things, not for a blind date. Just don't let people recognize you." After that, she was still worried and told him, "Be smart. If you see others running, run quickly, no matter whether they are really running or not. Just throw the vermicelli on the ground, and if someone asks, just say you want to buy some things for the New Year, okay?" As long as both the person and the goods are not arrested, there is room for debate.
"Mom, you've said this several times." Liu Zhishuang looked at his mother and laughed. He wondered if his mother was really getting old and was nagging more than before. But he was willing to listen to his mother nagging like this.
Xia Juhua pretended to be impatient and said, "If it didn't concern the vermicelli of the whole village, I wouldn't bother to say anything to you."
Liu Zhishuang listened and smiled, pretending that he didn't hear the worry behind the rejection.
Xia Juhua was indeed very worried, and was a little absent-minded when weaving mats. She dismissed all the women who came to ask her for advice with a few words. Gradually, the whole yard became quiet, and weaved mats silently, looking at each other from time to time, with worry in their eyes.
"Captain, if there is something wrong at home, you should go back first." Li Changwang's family couldn't stand the silence anymore, so they walked up to Xia Juhua and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
It can be said that Li Changwang's family has changed a lot during this period. When talking to people, they no longer have to find faults in others to make them unhappy, and their relationships with women have eased a lot.
Especially the relationship with Li Changman's family, which makes people angry and funny: when Li Changwang's family has to talk to Li Changman's family, it is obvious that she still dislikes the other party, but she always pinches her nose and forces a smile, and calls sister-in-law before speaking.
Li Changmanjia had told the women he was close to more than once that whenever Li Changwangjia spoke to her like this, she felt uneasy and wanted to agree to whatever she said immediately just to avoid seeing Li Changwangjia's uncomfortable smile.
Xia Juhua didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this, but even though things seemed peaceful on the surface, they were still peaceful. Li Changwang's family had done such a thing, could Xia Juhua still say that they were wrong?
Now all the women in the courtyard tacitly acknowledged that Li Changwang's family was Xia Juhua's spokesperson. Even An Baoling, Xia Juhua's sister-in-law, had no objection.
There was no way. Who could have made Li Changwang's family so shameless? They didn't even try to hide the fact that they wanted to be the gun in Xia Juhua's hand, shooting wherever they pointed, even if they didn't point at the target. An Baoling asked herself if she couldn't do it, so why did she object?
Just because the Liu family had wronged Xia Juhua several times and they were willing to turn against them, but now they still took them with them wherever they did things, Li Daya and An Baoling were already very content - even though it was the Sun family and Liu Sizhuang's family who had wronged Xia Juhua, didn't they still live in the same yard?
A person with a narrow mind might think, living in the same courtyard, what are Sun's family and Liu Sizhuang's family doing? How could Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang's families not know about it? Even if they didn't know, could they keep an eye on them and prevent them from committing suicide?
Moreover, Liu Erzhuang has appeared now. Did he speak human language when the Red Team came that day? Although he is now also showing off like the men in the village, and sometimes helps secretly, he is not standing in front of everything like before. What does Xia Juhua think?
Fortunately, Xia Juhua is a broad-minded person and has never argued with Liu Erzhuang. Could it be that they can be arrogant just because they are broad-minded? Do they really think they are a dish? Therefore, Li Daya and An Baoling have arranged shifts for their children and do nothing else but keep an eye on Liu Zhiliang.
As long as you open your eyes, you won't let that kid have the chance to act alone, and there will be someone to "accompany" him wherever he goes. Liu Zhiliang is disgusted? Why are you so ungrateful? Isn't it because your parents are not at home and they are afraid that you will be scared alone, so Second Mother and Third Mother kindly let your brother and sister accompany you?
So without Xia Juhua knowing, Li Daya and An Baoling had already suppressed Liu Zhiliang, the "unstable factor", to ensure that no one from the Liu family would report Xia Juhua to the Red Team.
Although they didn't think of using this incident to show off to Xia Juhua, they still cared about her. After hearing Li Changwang's family persuaded Xia Juhua to go home and rest, Li Daya and An Baoling followed suit, and the surrounding people echoed her.
Xia Juhua really had a hard time weaving mats, so she stood up and said, "Then I'll go discuss something with Master Wu first. You guys should get off work on time. It takes more than one day to weave the mats."
It's no wonder she said this. The truth is that the women in Pingan Village are so obsessed with weaving mats that they can't wait to start weaving as soon as they open their eyes, and it would be best if they don't even have to sleep - the temptation of getting cash after weaving mats is too great, and no one can withstand this temptation.
Xia Juhua really wasn't trying to evade everyone when she said she wanted to discuss something with Fifth Master. She really went to Fifth Master's house and found the old man walking around in circles in the house. Although he still took a puff of his pipe from time to time, the pipe pot had stopped smoking a long time ago and he didn't even notice.
They were all anxious. Not long after, Chen Qiusheng came over. None of the three of them felt like talking, but it would be inappropriate to say nothing, so they started talking about farming next spring.
The fifth master said with some regret: "What are we going to plant? In previous years, the snow on the ground was half a foot thick at this time, but this year the ground has just been covered. It's useless to plant anything with this much moisture."
"We have to plant it." Xia Juhua had to cheer up: "It is said that hard work pays off, and not planting is even worse. Besides, there is public grain, and if we don't plant, what can we pay for it?"
Wu Ye angrily knocked on the tobacco pot and said, "Nothing can grow in the ground. Even if you force me to death, I can't pay it back."
"Fifth Master, there's no point in saying such things in anger." Chen Qiu Sheng bravely advised the old man: "We can plant all the grain that should be paid to the government, and then we can just go with the flow and see how it grows. As for the other land, we should plant as many crops that are more drought-resistant as possible, and maybe we can get some harvest."
Xia Juhua's eyes lit up: "Sweet potatoes are drought-resistant and easier to care for than other crops."
The most important thing is that everyone in Pingan Village knows how to make rice flour now, so no member would find it strange that the production team arranged for a variety of sweet potatoes. As for the brigade, just looking at Li Changshun's insistence on buying wheat bran for each production team, you can tell that he is also worried that the weather will be bad next year, so he will just turn a blind eye to Pingan Village's farming arrangements.
There is no other way. Now it’s all about collective production. Even what to plant on the land is determined by the superiors. The old farmers who have been farming all their lives have no say.
Being able to grow more sweet potatoes is already the biggest workaround.
Wu Ye and Chen Qiu Sheng both nodded: "Okay, it's better to grow sweet potatoes. Although they are drought-resistant, they are not afraid of more rain. Even if we harvest less other grains, we can still get flour. If the flour can really be sold..."
After all, the fans still have to be able to sell and make money.
Fortunately, Ping'an Village had several hundred acres of land. It took the three of them a lot of time just to plan how much wheat, corn and sorghum to plant to pay the public grain, and how much land to free up to plant sweet potatoes.
After the plan was completed, Liu Zhishuang, Liu Daxi and Chen Shusheng finally came back. Chen Shusheng was the one who carried an extra 30 kilograms of vermicelli to meet Liu Zhishuang and his companions. He didn't know what the situation was in the black market, so Liu Zhishuang was the main person who reported the situation, and Liu Daxi supplemented him.
The situation is extremely encouraging!
The New Year is coming soon, and people in the county are preparing for the New Year early. More people are going to the black market than ever before, and the price of vermicelli has been fixed at 55 cents per pound. Liu Zhishuang and his friends were at the black market for less than an hour, and the 30 pounds of vermicelli they carried were all sold out. Liu Daxi had to find Chen Shusheng to take out the stock and sell it.
It was also when Liu Daxi went out to get the vermicelli that the seller who originally had the most vermicelli in the black market found Liu Zhishuang again and directly proposed that he could buy all the vermicelli in Liu Zhishuang's hands at a price of 55 cents per pound.
Although Liu Zhishuang was tempted, he still did not forget his mother's instructions. He shook his head and said that he did not have much stock on hand, so he could just sell a few and make some money for the New Year.
Seeing that Liu Zhishuang was not convinced, the man did not bother to argue and continued to sell his own things - he was different from Liu Zhishuang, he not only had vermicelli but also other goods, even a lot of various cloths. However, he had been observing Liu Zhishuang, and naturally he also noticed that Liu Zhishuang was still asking about the price of sweet potatoes.
When Liu Daxi appeared at the black market with another 30 kilograms of vermicelli, the man's face changed. He made several attempts to move towards Liu Zhishuang and his team, but then he pulled back. When Liu Zhishuang and his team sold out their vermicelli again, he stopped the two of them at the exit of the black market.
"Brother, what do you think about what I just discussed with you?"
Liu Zhishuang said puzzledly: "Didn't I tell you that I just want to make some money for the New Year. The vermicelli I have is just enough for me to sell myself, so I won't bother you, big brother."
"No." The man smiled, but his voice was a little cold: "I see that you have not been in our area for long, so you don't know some rules. If you are really just making trouble, I will not see you that year. But you still have it after selling it, and you still have it after selling it. It's not right to say that it is just a minor incident, right?"
After learning this, Liu Zhishuang deliberately wiped his forehead and said, "Mom, you didn't see that I was sweating coldly at that time."
Xia Juhua rolled her eyes at him and said, "Tell me what you are selling."
Is it so difficult to get praise from my mother? When I went out in the morning, she was so worried about myself. Was she worried about the 30 kilograms of vermicelli she was carrying?
Liu Zhishuang continued to learn helplessly: "At that time, I told him as my mother taught me, big brother, you are doing great things. Compared with your goods, my little vermicelli is just a small matter, right? My whole family depends on this little vermicelli to survive. I sell it to buy more sweet potatoes to fill my stomach."
"The man didn't sound so scary after hearing that. He blamed me for not telling him earlier. He said he could exchange sweet potatoes for my vermicelli. It's not six and a half pounds for one pound, it's seven pounds for one pound."
After saying that, Liu Zhishuang looked at his mother with admiration: "Mom, how did you know that he would trade sweet potatoes for our vermicelli just by saying that?"
How did he know? First, tell him that he is barefoot and is not afraid of him wearing shoes. Then tell him that he sells vermicelli in exchange for more sweet potatoes. He has been in the black market for a long time, so he naturally understands!
Xia Juhua looked at Liu Zhishuang with disdain. What's wrong? Is his cleverness not enough? But what she was more concerned about was: "How much is a pound of sweet potatoes now?"
"Some sell it for 8.5 cents, and some still sell it for 8 cents, but not many people buy it. The New Year is almost here, who wouldn't buy some good stuff, let alone sweet potatoes?" Liu Zhishuang said disapprovingly.
The fifth master asked: "The quantity you want is large, can it be 70%?"
Liu Daxi replied, "Yes, I think if you ask for more, maybe we can get it down to 65%. After all, there are not many people buying now, and sweet potatoes are very heavy. It's too conspicuous to carry them around, and no one wants to carry them around all the time."
Xia Juhua, Wu Ye and Chen Qiusheng looked at each other and asked, "Did that man tell us his last name, where he was from, and which village you were from?"
"He said his last name was Qi." Liu Zhishuang thought for a moment and said, "He just said he was from the county seat, but didn't say where he lived. He also asked us which village we were from, but we didn't dare tell the truth."
You don't dare to tell the truth to others, and what others tell you may not be true. Xia Juhua knew in her previous life that there was a businessman in the county town in the early 1980s who was quite successful in business and even opened his own agricultural market. I think his surname was Qi.
If it really was that person, it would explain why people were able to take out large sums of money to do business and even open agricultural and trade markets as soon as the policy was relaxed last generation.
Even now, it is not certain whether the person Liu Zhishuang is talking about is the same person Xia Juhua heard about in her previous life. Even if it is the same person, it is still unknown whether he is trustworthy.
Until now, after a new life, Xia Juhua realized that she had thought things were too simple. Business was not that easy to do. Looking back, it was because her dealings with the supply and marketing cooperatives were too smooth, and the road to the noodle factory was also too smooth, which made her forget that these two places were formal units after all, and at most they did not deal with her and had a bad attitude.
Legitimate units would neither do nor bother to do things like black-eating-black, but people in the black market may not necessarily do so.
Why do I think that only people who can't afford to eat engage in robbing others? Liu Zhishuang and his people are taking away other people's business, which means they are stealing food from other people's bowls.
Alas, I have gained too little experience in my life.
The more Xia Juhua thought about it, the more scared she became. She regretted that she had informed the whole village so early. Now she was in a dilemma and had no choice but to sell the vermicelli. At this time, Master Wu asked, "Dad Zhuang, what do you think?"
Xia Juhua was silent for a long time. She had to sell the vermicelli. On the one hand, she had already notified the villagers and could not break her promise. But the more important reason was that she wanted to exchange more sweet potatoes for them.
She gritted her teeth and said, "I want to go with Zhishuang and the others tomorrow."
"No." Wu Ye and Liu Zhishuang said almost at the same time. Wu Ye shook his head and said nothing more, but Liu Zhishuang didn't care: "Mom, you can't go. I'm a grown man, if someone raids my house, I can just drop my things and run. But you..."
Chen Qiu Sheng also said: "Captain, you can't go. The production team is counting on you. What will the team do if something happens to you?" The Red Team wanted to catch you for speculation and profiteering several times. Have you forgotten?
As he was talking, Liu Qixi ran in and said, "Grandpa, there's a man coming to the village on a bicycle, asking who from our production team is going to the county town today."
"What?" Xia Juhua and the others were stunned. The Fifth Master hurriedly asked, "How old is that person and what does he look like?"
"He's about 30 years old. We can't tell for sure if he's from the city. He's wearing a military coat, his eyes aren't big, and he laughs when he talks, and that laugh makes people feel awkward."
Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi looked at each other and asked Liu Qixi: "Is there a small scar on your left eyebrow?"
Liu Qixi nodded.
Xia Juhua couldn't help but glance at Liu Zhishuang and the others. It was useless to blame them for being careless and not knowing that someone had caught up with them all the way back. The question was whether this person would see her or not.
"Da Xi, go and bring the person to our house." Xia Juhua made up her mind. It was she who came up with the idea of selling vermicelli, and she would not let Fifth Master and Chen Qiu Sheng be implicated.
Master Wu guessed her thoughts and shook his head: "No, just bring him to our house. He has already entered Ping An Manor, why should I be afraid of a young boy like him?"
It's not a matter of whether or not to be afraid. He dared to come to Ping An Zhuang alone, and said that there were no people following him but he just didn't show up. Who would believe it?
Xia Juhua smiled, asked Liu Zhishuang to stand up and go home with her, and said as they walked: "Fifth Master, you just relax and wait for good news." She spoke confidently, and her steps were brisk, as if she was not worried at all.
Liu Daxi looked at the Fifth Master for help. When he turned around, he saw Xia Juhua taking Liu Zhishuang out of the house. He didn't bother to wait for the Fifth Master's reaction and ran out with them.
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