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. Xia Juhua said with a proud look on her face: "You are a city dweller. You can come to see Zhishuang so late at night. It shows that you have a very good relationship with Zhishuang. You are the first one in Ping Anzhuang and Zhishuang's generation to make friends with a city dweller."
“娘。”劉志雙帶着些不滿叫了一聲，又看了齊衛東一眼，仿佛埋怨夏菊花為啥把家裏的秘密，就這麽毫無防備的說給一個外人聽。
夏菊花嗔怪的看了劉志雙一眼：“齊同志不是你的朋友嗎，再說咱們家的紅薯是生産隊分的，又不偷不搶，不過是老輩有這份手藝，自己想過年吃個新鮮，還不能漏粉咋地？”
“能，那咋不能呢。”齊衛東現在就愛跟夏菊花說話：“嬸子你們過年想吃個新鮮，還能自己漏點兒。我們想吃，大起早到供銷社排隊都買不上呢。”說完故意嘆了一口氣。
夏菊花就有些躊躇：“那麽難買呀？”
齊衛東認真的點頭。
夏菊花臉上神情更加猶豫：“按說吧，你是志雙的朋友，又是自己家裏想吃，嬸子該給你多拿點兒。可是不怕大侄子你笑話，咱們農民一年到頭就指着生産隊分的那點兒糧食。要不是怕紅薯開春吃不完會爛，誰家費這個工夫漏粉條。這粉條好吃，它不如紅薯頂飽呀。”
齊衛東眼睛裏閃出精光來：“嬸子要怕粉條不如紅薯頂飽，不如我拿紅薯跟嬸子換得了，要不白拿嬸子的粉條，我自己心裏也過意不去。”
“那可不行，”夏菊花十分認真的對齊衛東說：“我們大隊和生産隊都教育了，不能搞投機倒把。”
齊衛東了然的看了劉志雙一眼，發現劉志雙根本不敢跟自己對視，就連劉大喜也把頭給扭到一邊。明顯這兩個人不光不敢讓眼前的村婦知道他們去黑市的事兒，也很好的解釋了他們為啥沒同意自己用紅薯換粉條的提議。
看來還是得從夏菊花入手。
齊衛東臉上眼裏全是笑呀：“嬸子，這你就理解錯了，不通過供銷社低買高賣，那才叫投機倒把呢。可是我和志雙是這麽好的朋友，要是拿點兒紅薯來，請嬸子你幫我漏點兒粉條，嬸子你還能不幫我這個忙？”
“該幫，是該幫。”齊衛東幾句話把夏菊花繞進去了，沒主意的附合着他的話。
齊衛東趁熱打鐵：“就是我們家的親戚有點兒多，愛吃這一口的人更多，又眼看着快到年根前了，嬸子你能不能好事做到底，讓我把你們家的粉條先拿回去。你辛苦一下，把我拿來的紅薯重新漏成粉條，補上我拿的？”
夏菊花一聽十分為難：“你們家的親戚多呀，那得需要多少呀，我們家漏的也不知道夠不夠。”說着自己都不好意思：“誰讓今年生産隊分的紅薯少呢。要是早知道志雙有你這麽個朋友，我應該拿別的糧食跟鄰居換點兒紅薯，多給你漏點兒。”
不知不覺間，夏菊花已經按着齊衛東的話，轉換到不是不能換、而是自己能換給他太少的思路上來。齊衛東心下暗喜，試探着問：“嬸子，聽說你們平安莊會漏粉的人不少，要不嬸子替我操點兒心，先從別人家也換一點兒？”
聽他說到這兒，劉志雙和劉大喜明顯放棄了抵抗，一個個連炕沿都不坐了，抱着頭蹲到地上。夏菊花還在想着齊衛東的話是不是可行，沒注意到他們兩個的小動作。
齊衛東看出夏菊花明顯心動了，決定一把火：“嬸子，要是光我們家自己需要嬸子幫忙的話，我也不好意思說這話。可這不是我們家親戚多嗎，要是一直讓嬸子和嬸子的鄰居白幫忙，我也太不拿自己當外人了。”
“就算我跟志雙是朋友，也不能占這麽大的便宜。嬸子，你看這樣行不行，我到時候多帶點兒紅薯來，只要七斤紅薯能出一斤粉條就行。”農村人不是都好占小便宜嗎，那就讓她占一點兒，反正年前粉條都抓在自己手裏，賣多少錢也由自己說了算。
“你讓我再想想。”夏菊花掙紮的更無力了，連反駁的話都說不出口，妥妥被齊衛東說出來的數字吓着的模樣。
“還想啥呢嬸子。咱們就這麽說定了，明天上午我就先送一部分紅薯過來，等明天晚上的時候再悄悄送一部分過來，順便把嬸子你先替我換的粉條拉走。”
“可是紅小隊？”夏菊花說出自己的擔心。
齊衛東不在意的一樂：“縣紅小隊的隊長是我哥們兒，你們公社紅小隊的那個夏隊長，嬸子你知道吧，見了我都得規規矩矩的。”
夏菊花眼睛一亮，看向齊衛東的目光都是震驚：“你認識夏隊長？”
齊衛東見自己的話奏效，心裏樂開了花，農村人真是好吓唬，這才提了一個公社紅小隊的隊長，就把她所有疑慮都打消了。
早知道他應該先把夏隊長說出來的！
齊衛東的話，的确讓夏菊花下定了最後的決心：“行，就按你說的辦。就是，就是明天你帶的紅薯，能帶多少呀？”太少的話不夠社員們分的怎麽辦？
看吧，農村人沒見識吧？齊衛東心裏算了一下自己晚上回去，能收到手的紅薯，故意說：“也不會太多，明天上午能帶來個七八千斤吧。”
夏菊花看着齊衛東不說話了，眼神都放空不知道在想什麽。齊衛東心裏這個得意呀，得意到一半才想起來，自己需要的是大量現成的粉條，要是平安莊收不夠的話，再令夏菊花震驚也沒有實際利益。
好在夏菊花眼睛裏終于有了聚焦：“那我可得好好給你問問，再讓明天上午來的人告訴你，晚上帶多少紅薯過來。”
如果不是自控力好，齊衛東都想蹦起來歡呼一下：平安莊竟然真有這麽多粉條，年前可以好好掙上一筆了！要知道，他出面買的紅薯，一斤只有四分錢！！
“那行，天也不早了，我得早點兒回去，要不我娘該擔心了。”齊衛東得到了準信，生怕劉志雙出聲令夏菊花反悔，又想着趕緊回去準備紅薯，馬上向夏菊花提出告辭。
“志雙，你送送小齊。”夏菊花終于想起屋裏還有兩個大活人，開口讓劉志雙送客。
劉志雙肩膀抖動了一下，滿臉通紅的站了起來。齊衛東看得出他在用牙狠狠咬着腮幫子裏肉，心裏卻沒有一點兒愧疚感：做買賣嘛，能讓人買你的東西是本事，可是讓人心甘情願把手裏的東西賣給自己，同樣是本事。
至于賣的人是誰，是用什麽方法賣的，重要嗎？生氣有用嗎？氣的紅頭脹臉的，還不是得乖乖送自己到村口。
臨分別的時候，齊衛東拍了拍劉志雙的肩膀：“志雙兄弟，你也別怨哥哥忽悠嬸子，我這也是實在沒辦法不是。等嬸子掙了錢，那還不都是你的。”
劉志雙還有咬着牙，半天才擠出一句：“齊哥，兄弟服了。”說完頭也不回的往家走。
齊衛東不在意的吹了聲口哨，長腿一邁上了自行車，騎出一裏來地把車停下，也不下車，只一腳點地，沖着路邊一個柴火垛喊了聲：“走了，回家了。”
柴火垛底下的小洞處，很快爬出兩個人，一邊拍打着身上的草屑一邊問：“齊哥，真成了，我還以為成不了呢。”
“可不是，我聽說那個小子的娘是個生産隊長，也以為這事兒成不了。我們兩都商量好了，要是平安莊出來人去公社舉報的話，直接給攔下。”
齊衛東腦袋嗡的一聲：“啥生産隊長，你們說那個小子的娘是生産隊長？”有那麽好忽悠、還主動往自己嘴邊遞話的生産隊長？
“你聽誰說那小子的娘是生産隊長的？”他問頭一個說出消息的人。
謝紅兵也就是頭一個說消息的人，掀了下帽子，有點不自在的說：“齊哥，我姨家不是住在小莊頭嘛，我那時候想着你剛進平安莊，就去，看了看我姨。我這不也是想幫着打聽打聽那小子的情況嘛，一問，才知道他娘還挺有名的，外號叫夏小夥，前兩月才當上平安莊的生産隊長。”
呵呵，呵呵。
夏小夥！齊衛東心裏給自己一嘴巴，問謝紅兵：“你跟你姨說咱們來是幹啥的了？”
謝紅兵趕緊搖頭：“齊哥，我可真沒說。咱們是幹啥的我能不知道嘛，別說那就是個姨，就是我親娘我都沒說過。”
齊衛東狐疑的看着謝紅兵，心想老子剛才也以為劉志雙沒跟他親娘說過！
一個農村婦女，自己竟然讓一個農村婦女耍的團團轉！好在最後她答應跟自己換粉條了，要不自己就直接讓紅星公社的紅小隊抄了她家！
對呀，齊衛東有一下沒一下的按着自行車鈴铛，最終夏小夥也答應跟自己換粉條了，自己除了用去黑市拿捏劉志雙的目的沒實現以外，該掙的錢還是會掙到。
就是，這心裏咋這麽不痛快呢。
齊衛東不再按車鈴铛，腳下微微用力，自行車便開始向前滾動起來。那兩個剛從柴火垛爬出來的人手忙腳亂的從柴火垛後頭推出兩輛自行車，很快攆上了齊衛東。
“哥，咱們就這麽回去了？”
"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."