Chapter 61
After leaving the Fifth Master's courtyard, Liu Zhishuang lowered his head and asked, "Mom, did that man come back with us?"
Is there any need to ask this? Xia Juhua turned her head to look at Liu Zhishuang and smiled at him: "It's okay, even if I came back with you, there's nothing to be afraid of. It also saves me from going to the county tomorrow."
After she said that, Liu Zhishuang blamed himself even more: "It's all my fault. I should have walked around the county twice before coming back. Or I should have walked to Sunjiazhuang and come back after dark."
Listen, the only places Liu Zhishuang is familiar with are Ping'an Village and Sun's Village, and at most Xia's Village. How can Xia Juhua blame him?
To put it bluntly, before going to the black market to sell wheat, Liu Zhishuang was just a smart farmer who had only been to the county town a few times, and he was also a young farmer who lacked life experience.
"They are determined to buy what we have. Even if you want to take a detour, they won't send more people to follow you." What Xia Juhua was thinking now was that the man was able to let Liu Zhishuang and the other two return to Ping'an Village safely, which was already good enough. Otherwise, he would intercept them halfway. Besides agreeing to his conditions, would Xia Juhua dare to report to the police or the Red Team?
It was for this reason that Xia Juhua decided to meet that person. But she didn't know if her wish to make some money with vermicelli could be realized now that the initiative was in his hands.
As soon as they entered the house, Xia Juhua asked Liu Zhiquan and his wife to stay in the east wing, and asked several nephews to stay in the west wing, and not to come out no matter what they heard in the main room. Then she asked Liu Zhishuang to wait at the gate of the courtyard, and she went back to her room to wait.
"Brother, you are not from Guawow Shop, but from Pingan Village." After a while, someone was heard to greet Liu Zhishuang. Without asking, Liu Daxi had already brought the person here.
Xia Juhua took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her hands were shaking as she picked up the kettle and poured water into the cup. It was not until she poured the third cup that her hands felt better. It was also when she finished pouring the third cup that Liu Zhishuang led people in.
"Mom, there are guests." Liu Zhishuang still tried to hide the fact that Xia Juhua knew that he went to the black market to sell vermicelli. Xia Juhua suddenly felt warm in her heart.
No matter what, she was quite content that her son was still thinking about protecting his mother. She also smiled at the person who came in with Liu Zhishuang. She held the water cup steadily in her hands and smiled and said to the guest: "You are here. Come and sit down. It must be cold. Drink some water to warm yourself up."
A series of warm greetings, coupled with smiling faces, not only Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi were stunned, but Qi Weidong who came in after them was also stunned for a moment and looked at Liu Zhishuang suspiciously.
Liu Zhishuang didn't expect his mother to be so calm. He smiled at Qi Weidong and followed Xia Juhua's instructions: "Sit down, Brother Qi, take a seat."
While delivering water to someone, Xia Juhua asked with a smile: "Your last name is Qi? Zhishuang, when did you meet Comrade Qi? Why haven't I heard you mention him before? Comrade Qi's clothes show that he is not from the countryside. Where is he from?"
Qi Weidong looked at the chattering rural woman in front of him, took the water with a smile on his face, and responded: "Yeah, Zhishuang and I have only known each other for two days, and I thought that since the New Year is coming soon, I would like to come to my house to visit. My family is in the county town. When you go to the county town, come to our house and visit us."
"That's great. I haven't been to the county for several years. My family is poor. What should I do in the county if I have no money?" Xia Juhua sighed half-truthfully.
Qi Weidong once again looked at the rural woman in front of him, trying to tell from her expression whether what she heard was true or not, but her tone was sincere and even her eyes were filled with sadness, and it sounded and looked like that.
So Qi Weidong looked at Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxixi again, and saw varying degrees of guilt on their faces. He felt that Xia Juhua might really not know what they were doing outside.
That's right. These two people are already adults. Naturally, they are smarter than the rural women who have only known how to farm all their lives. They are probably afraid that their family members will worry or object, so they do the business secretly at home.
Thinking of this, Qi Weidong smiled more sincerely at Xia Juhua: "Zhishuang is a capable person. Are you still worried that you won't have the opportunity to go to the county town in the future?"
Xia Juhua sighed, "What can he do? He's nowhere to be found at home every day, and I can't count on him for work." At this point, she remembered that the person sitting there was a friend who came to visit her son, and she couldn't let him lose face in front of his friends, so she smiled at Qi Weidong awkwardly:
"But now it's winter and the production team doesn't have much work. If he wants to run, let him run for two days. If he still runs around like this in the spring, he will miss out on earning work points."
Since he knew that Liu Zhishuang and his partner didn't want their family to know what they had done, Qi Weidong thought that he had something on them, so he would not let Xia Juhua's words go unnoticed and nodded in agreement.
The two of them kept chatting about topics that were not very interesting. After more than ten minutes, Xia Juhua finally remembered to ask, "Oh, I'm getting more and more confused as I get older. I didn't even ask Comrade Qi if you had dinner when you came over so late at night. Wait, I'll go cook for you."
Qi Weidong repeatedly told Xia Juhua not to bother, claiming that he had already eaten. But no amount of persuasion could stop a down-to-earth farmer from asking to cook for a guest, so he had no choice but to let Xia Juhua go to the kitchen.
As soon as Xia Juhua left, Qi Weidong couldn't hold back his smile: "Brother Zhishuang, you never told me the truth. I'm wondering, your aunt is so honest, why don't you learn from her?"
Liu Zhishuang wanted to tell Qi Weidong that his mother had never talked to anyone for such a long time, so how did he know that she was really here? But he was the one who provoked her, so he could only apologize to Qi Weidong again with a red face:
"Brother Qi, you can see that we are real farmers. We have some money at home and we want to make some money during the New Year. But we are also afraid of the place we are going to... Look, I just went home for a while and you came to find me, Brother Qi."
Don't just think that we don't tell the truth, but also that what you do is not authentic.
Qi Weidong didn't expect that Liu Zhishuang would still have something to say to him even though he had already found the door. He felt a little embarrassed: "I'm just thinking about doing business with you..."
"Brother Qi." Liu Zhishuang looked outside the door nervously, with some cruelty in his eyes, as if he would break up with Qi Weidong if he continued talking.
Not to mention Qi Weidong, even Xia Juhua, who was holding a bowl, was startled by Liu Zhishuang's sudden cold voice. I really can't tell that my old son is so smart that he actually understood the purpose of my chat with Qi Weidong just now and cooperated so well.
Since her son cooperated, Xia Juhua naturally couldn't let Liu Zhishuang and Qi Weidong really fall out in her own home. She said as she walked in, "Comrade Qi, are you getting impatient waiting?" Qi Weidong thought that he was only focusing on blaming Liu Zhishuang and didn't hear the sound of Xia Juhua leaving the kitchen, and that Liu Zhishuang heard it and spoke up to stop him.
He seems to be a cautious person. Nowadays, those who dare to do business in the black market are very brave, but it is hard to find people who are both brave and cautious. It is time to seriously consider the long-term cooperation with this young farmer.
While thinking, Qi Weidong smelled a sour and spicy aroma with the aroma of green onions, which stimulated his taste buds. He couldn't help but look at the bowl that Xia Juhua brought: the bowl was an old coarse porcelain bowl commonly used in rural areas. There was red chili oil floating on the dark brown soup inside, sprinkled with finely chopped green onions, and the vermicelli sticking out of the soup seemed to be the one he had been thinking about.
But the taste can really whet one's appetite.
"What are you making, auntie? It smells so good." Qi Weidong smiled, stood up and took the bowl from Xia Juhua's hand.
"What good things can there be in the countryside? They are just some old vermicelli. I thought it was quite cold so I gave you something warm to eat to cool you down. Don't complain about Aunt Qi's poor cooking skills."
Qi Weidong laughed after hearing this: "How could that be possible? This is the first time I eat vermicelli like this." Then he started to sniff rudely.
This was when Xia Juhua went to the market in her previous life. There was a food stall selling hot and sour noodles. She didn't like spicy food and didn't want to eat it, and she was reluctant to spend money, but she couldn't resist Liu Baoguo's cravings.
A bowl of hot and sour noodles is only a few yuan, but Xia Juhua can't afford it if she has too many children. So she took the excuse of buying something from a food stall and learned the basics of it by looking left and right.
Hot and sour noodles are delicious only with good soup. Now Xia Juhua didn't have much soup, and looked at Qi Weidong worriedly, wanting to know what he would think of this bowl of noodles that was not available in the local area.
Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi looked at Xia Juhua with some resentment. If Qi Weidong was not still there, they would have wanted to ask her if she remembered that Qi Weidong came to Ping'an Village by bicycle, while the two of them had to walk, which made them more tired and hungrier!
"Auntie, you are such a great cook!" Qi Weidong gave Xia Juhua a thumbs up after finishing the meal: "I'm thinking about learning how to cook from Auntie, and letting my mother try it when I get home. You don't know, my mother loves spicy food the most."
"That's not difficult." Xia Juhua was determined in her heart, with a warm smile on her face: "There are a lot of vermicelli missing at home. When you leave later, let Zhishuang fill some more for you."
The other three people in the room looked at Xia Juhua at the same time.
"Mom." Liu Zhishuang called out with some dissatisfaction, and then looked at Qi Weidong, as if blaming Xia Juhua for telling the family secret to an outsider so defenselessly.
Xia Juhua glanced at Liu Zhishuang in a reproachful manner: "Isn't Comrade Qi your friend? Besides, the sweet potatoes in our house were distributed by the production team, and we didn't steal or rob them. It's just that the elders have this skill. If you want to eat something fresh during the New Year, you can't miss the noodles, right?"
"Yes, of course." Qi Weidong likes to talk to Xia Juhua now: "Auntie, if you want to eat something fresh during the New Year, you can save some for yourself. We want to eat it, but we have to get up early and queue up at the supply and marketing cooperative, but we can't even buy it." After saying this, he deliberately sighed.
Xia Juhua was a little hesitant: "Is it so difficult to buy?"
Qi Weidong nodded seriously.
Xia Juhua's expression became more hesitant. "Normally, you are Zhishuang's friend, and your family wants to eat it, so I should give you more. But I'm not afraid of you making fun of me, nephew. We farmers rely on the little food distributed by the production team all year round. If we weren't worried that the sweet potatoes would go bad if we couldn't finish them in the spring, who would bother making vermicelli? Vermicelli tastes good, but it's not as filling as sweet potatoes."
Qi Weidong's eyes sparkled: "Auntie, if you are worried that vermicelli is not as filling as sweet potatoes, why don't I exchange the sweet potatoes with you? Otherwise, I will feel bad if I take your vermicelli for nothing."
"That won't do," Xia Juhua said to Qi Weidong very seriously, "Our brigade and production team have taught us not to engage in speculation."
Qi Weidong looked at Liu Zhishuang knowingly and found that Liu Zhishuang didn't dare to look at him at all. Even Liu Daxi turned his head away. It was obvious that these two people didn't dare to let the village woman know that they went to the black market, which also explained why they didn't agree to his proposal to exchange sweet potatoes for vermicelli.
It seems that we have to start with summer chrysanthemums.
Qi Weidong's face was full of smiles: "Auntie, you misunderstood this. Buying low and selling high without going through the supply and marketing cooperative is called speculation. But Zhishuang and I are such good friends. If I bring some sweet potatoes, please help me squeeze out some vermicelli. Auntie, can you not do me this favor?"
"We should help. We should help." Qi Weidong's words confused Xia Juhua, who agreed with him helplessly.
Qi Weidong struck while the iron was hot: "It's just that we have a lot of relatives in our family, and there are even more people who like to eat this. It's almost the end of the year, auntie, can you do a good deed and let me take your vermicelli back first. Can you take the trouble to make vermicelli out of the sweet potatoes I brought and make up for the ones I brought?"
Xia Juhua was embarrassed when she heard this: "You have many relatives, how much do you need? I don't know if the ones we have are enough." She felt embarrassed and said: "Who made the production team distribute less sweet potatoes this year? If I had known that Zhishuang had a friend like you, I should have exchanged some sweet potatoes with the neighbors with other food and given you more."
Unconsciously, Xia Juhua had followed Qi Weidong's words and came to the conclusion that it was not that she couldn't exchange, but that she could exchange too little for him. Qi Weidong was secretly delighted and asked tentatively: "Auntie, I heard that there are many people who missed out on fans in your Ping An Manor. How about you take care of it for me and exchange some from others first?"
After hearing what he said, Liu Zhishuang and Liu Daxi obviously gave up resistance, and they didn't even sit on the edge of the kang, but squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands. Xia Juhua was still thinking about whether Qi Weidong's words were feasible, and didn't notice their little movements.
Qi Weidong saw that Xia Juhua was obviously moved, so he decided to get angry: "Auntie, if only our family needed your help, I would be embarrassed to say this. But don't we have many relatives? If I keep asking you and your neighbors to help for nothing, I would be too ignorant of myself as an outsider."
"Even if Zhishuang and I are friends, I can't take such a big advantage. Auntie, how about this? I'll bring some more sweet potatoes. As long as seven pounds of sweet potatoes can produce one pound of vermicelli." Aren't rural people all good at taking advantage of small things? Then let her take a little. After all, the vermicelli will be in her hands before the New Year, and she can decide how much to sell it for.
"Let me think about it again." Xia Juhua struggled even more weakly. She couldn't even utter a word of rebuttal. She looked frightened by the number Qi Weidong said.
"What are you thinking about, auntie? Let's make a deal. I'll send some sweet potatoes over tomorrow morning, and then quietly send another part over tomorrow night. I'll also take away the vermicelli that you replaced for me."
"But what about the Red Team?" Xia Juhua expressed her concerns.
Qi Weidong smiled indifferently: "The captain of the county Red Team is my buddy, Captain Xia of your commune Red Team. Auntie, you know that you have to behave yourself when you see me."
Xia Juhua's eyes lit up, and she looked at Qi Weidong with shock: "Do you know Captain Xia?"
Qi Weidong was delighted to see that his words worked. Rural people were really easy to scare. So he nominated a leader of the commune's Red Team, which dispelled all her doubts.
If he had known earlier, he should have mentioned Captain Xia first!
Qi Weidong's words indeed made Xia Juhua make the final decision: "Okay, let's do as you say. That is, how many sweet potatoes can you bring tomorrow?" What if there are too few and not enough for the members to share?
See, the rural people are ignorant, right? Qi Weidong calculated in his mind how many sweet potatoes he would get when he returned home in the evening, and deliberately said, "It won't be too much. I can bring about 7,000 to 8,000 kilograms tomorrow morning."
Xia Juhua looked at Qi Weidong and stopped talking, her eyes were blank and she didn't know what she was thinking. Qi Weidong was so proud, but halfway through he remembered that what he needed was a large amount of ready-made vermicelli. If Ping An Manor didn't collect enough, there would be no practical benefit in shocking Xia Juhua.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua's eyes finally focused: "Then I have to ask you carefully, and then let the people who come tomorrow morning tell you how many sweet potatoes to bring in the evening."
If Qi Weidong hadn’t had good self-control, he would have wanted to jump up and shout: Ping An Village actually has so many vermicelli, I can make a fortune before the New Year! You know, the sweet potatoes he bought were only four cents per pound! !
"Okay, it's getting late, I have to go back early, otherwise my mother will worry." Qi Weidong got the news and was afraid that Liu Zhishuang would say something and make Xia Juhua regret it. He also wanted to go back quickly to prepare the sweet potatoes, so he immediately said goodbye to Xia Juhua.
"Zhishuang, please see Xiaoqi off." Xia Juhua finally remembered that there were two living people in the room, so she asked Liu Zhishuang to see the guests off.
Liu Zhishuang's shoulders trembled, and he stood up with a red face. Qi Weidong could see that he was biting the flesh of his cheeks with his teeth, but he didn't feel guilty at all: In business, it is a skill to get people to buy your things, but it is also a skill to get people to willingly sell their things to you.
As for who the seller is and how he sells it, does it matter? Is it useful to get angry? Even if you are angry and your face is red, you still have to send yourself to the village entrance.
Before they parted, Qi Weidong patted Liu Zhishuang on the shoulder and said, "Brother Zhishuang, don't blame me for fooling Auntie. I really had no choice. When Auntie makes money, it will all be yours."
Liu Zhishuang gritted his teeth and after a long while he managed to utter, "Brother Qi, I'm convinced." After that he walked home without looking back.
Qi Weidong whistled carelessly, stepped onto his bicycle with his long legs, rode a mile, stopped the bike, and without getting off, he just stepped on the ground and shouted to a pile of firewood on the side of the road, "Let's go, home."
Two people quickly crawled out of the small hole under the firewood pile, brushing off the grass debris on their bodies and asking, "Brother Qi, it really worked. I thought it wouldn't work."
"That's right. I heard that the boy's mother was a production team leader, and I thought this thing would not work. We both agreed that if someone from Ping'an Village reported to the commune, we would stop them directly."
Qi Weidong's head buzzed: "What production team leader? You said that boy's mother is the production team leader?" Is there a production team leader who is so easy to fool and would take the initiative to put words into his mouth?
"Who told you that boy's mother is the production team leader?" he asked the first person who told the news.
Xie Hongbing was the first person to share the news. He lifted his hat and said uncomfortably, "Brother Qi, my aunt lives in the small village. I thought you had just moved into Pingan Village, so I went to see my aunt. I also wanted to find out about the boy's situation. When I asked, I found out that his mother was quite famous. Her nickname was Xia Xiaohuo. She became the production team leader of Pingan Village two months ago."
Haha, haha.
Xia Xiaohuo! Qi Weidong slapped himself in his heart and asked Xie Hongbing: "What did you tell your aunt why we came here?"
Xie Hongbing shook his head quickly: "Brother Qi, I really didn't say that. How could I not know what we do? Not to mention that she is just an aunt, I didn't even tell my own mother."
Qi Weidong looked at Xie Hongbing suspiciously, thinking to himself, I also thought Liu Zhishuang hadn't told his mother!
A rural woman, I actually let a rural woman play tricks on me! Fortunately, she finally agreed to exchange vermicelli with me, otherwise I would have let the Red Team of the Red Star Commune raid her house!
Yes, Qi Weidong pressed the bicycle bell from time to time, and finally Xia Xiaogu agreed to exchange vermicelli with him. Although his purpose of going to the black market to control Liu Zhishuang was not achieved, he still got the money he deserved.
That's why I feel so unhappy.
Qi Weidong stopped pressing the bell and put some force on his feet, and the bike started to roll forward. The two people who had just climbed out of the firewood pile hurriedly pushed out two bicycles from behind the firewood pile and soon caught up with Qi Weidong.
"Brother, are we going back like this?"
"I still have to work. If I don't go back, who will do the work?"
"That boy's mother is the production team leader, and we are following them... This time it's no small matter. If they really catch us, a month's work will be in vain." Xie Hongbing still wanted to persuade Qi Weidong.
Unexpectedly, Qi Wei turned his head to the east and smiled at him: "What production captain or not, that's my aunt. My aunt's cooking skills are pretty good, tomorrow I'll show you my aunt's cooking skills."
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