Chapter 62 (1)
Brother Qi is Brother Qi. Xie Hongbing and Li Lin admired the back of Qi Weidong riding his bike. He rode steadily and without any shaking, as if he was not riding on a country road in the dark, but on a flat road in the county.
But this soup is really delicious. They worked until late at night, and when it was just dawn, Fei Jinbali delivered sweet potatoes to Ping'an Village by the truckload. Xie Hongbing and Li Lin drank the simple version of hot and sour noodles while looking at Xia Juhua who was talking to Qi Weidong under the window.
If you are incompetent and not recognized by men, you will not be called that. Although it is not really a compliment for a woman to be called a young lady.
Qi Weidong also finished a bowl of hot and sour noodles, and said to Xia Juhua with a half-smile: "Auntie, your cooking skills are really not cheap."
"Look at what you said, kid, what kind of cooking skill is this?" Xia Juhua was as humble as ever in front of Qi Weidong: "Isn't it just to fill my stomach? If the food tastes better, everyone will be happy."
How could I not be happy? Qi Weidong took a deep breath and uttered through his teeth: "Auntie wants to fill her stomach, but she can't let me go hungry, right?"
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "You are a city dweller. You are supplied with food every month. How can you be hungry? But you are too polite. You give so many things to auntie, and I don't even have anything to say in return." After saying that, she looked at the four canned fruit bottles and two bottles of maltose neatly placed on the windowsill.
This gift comes so strangely!
Xia Juhua knew from the beginning that Qi Weidong would definitely ask about her situation, but she didn't expect him to find out so quickly. Not only that, but after knowing her situation, Xia Juhua expected him to continue the cooperation. However, with all these things given to her alone, Xia Juhua was really unsure.
Qi Weidong, however, looked unconvinced, smiled and said, "My aunt is willing to exchange vermicelli for me personally, which is the best gift in return. If I ask for other gifts in return, wouldn't I be a greedy person?"
This was half true and half false. Even if Xia Juhua didn't know that Qi Weidong could get sweet potatoes for only four cents per kilogram, he dared to ask for seven kilograms of sweet potatoes in exchange for one kilogram of vermicelli, which showed that he made money from this transaction. Not only did he make money, but he could make a lot of money.
Xia Juhua had no interest in knowing how much money Qi Weidong made. The people in Ping'an Village could earn two kilograms of sweet potatoes for every kilogram of vermicelli this time, and Xia Juhua was already very satisfied. As for Qi Weidong's offer to personally exchange the vermicelli for her, Xia Juhua didn't take it seriously at all.
Getting the sweet potatoes is the most reassuring thing. Qi Weidong felt that he had been cheated and was unhappy. He wanted to criticize himself if he wanted to.
After Qi Weidong finished speaking, he kept waiting for Xia Juhua's answer, but what he waited for was the same expression he had seen last night. Xia Juhua's almost wooden expression made him feel like he had punched a cotton field.
Why do I feel so aggrieved ever since I started dealing with this rural woman?
Qi Weidong was unwilling to give up: "I heard that Auntie is pretty good at frying peanuts. Even the supply and marketing cooperatives are vying for Auntie's help. Why don't you fry some for me? I'll pay five cents for one pound of processing fee."
This is much cheaper than exchanging sweet potatoes for vermicelli, isn't it? The rural woman in front of me can still refuse it. If she accepts it, will she dare to treat me like this in the future?
Xia Juhua shook her head: "You are making fun of Auntie again. You city people have seen all kinds of good things, and you still want those peanuts fried by Auntie. Besides, eating too much of that will make you get irritated. If your relatives really like it, you should persuade them to eat less."
OK, I understand. You just want to make money from selling vermicelli and make it look like you are selling vermicelli for yourself. Is it just a favor between friends? Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua in silence. He couldn't understand why Xia Juhua was not tempted when the conditions he proposed later were more profitable and only her family could get them.
That's right, Qi Weidong was sure that when he came to pick up the vermicelli that Xia Juhua had "replaced" (forget about that) for him in the evening, it must have included a lot of vermicelli from other shops in Ping'anzhuang.
Qi Weidong, unwilling to accept defeat, grinned again and said, "Auntie, the New Year is coming soon, and my family needs to make new clothes. If you are willing to help me fry peanuts, no matter how much cloth you need or what kind of cloth you need, just tell me. I promise not to take your money."
Xia Juhua looked at Qi Weidong strangely. Qi Weidong had never seen such a look in Xia Juhua's eyes before. For some reason, it made him feel uneasy.
"Really? Any kind of cloth will do. I'll have as much as you want?" Xia Juhua suddenly spoke.
Qi Weidong shuddered, and his uneasiness grew even stronger: "You can't say how many you want, there are only a few people in my aunt's family."
After saying this, Qi Weidong slapped himself in his heart: since he started trading in the black market, he has never taken back what he said! This is also the reason why Qi Weidong continued the cooperation yesterday even though he knew that he was not the one who fooled Xia Juhua, but she fooled him without knowing it.
After doing a few deals, Qi Weidong has already learned the importance of honesty. But now he really wants to take back what he just said. Not only does he want to think about it, he has already started to do it!
It was impossible to take it back, not even in front of Xia Juhua. She also grinned like Qi Weidong: "Well, although there are not many people in our family, we have many relatives. Who wouldn't make new clothes for their children during the New Year?"
Qi Weidong especially wished that he had not met Xia Juhua yesterday, and that the person he had been dealing with was Liu Zhishuang. That way, he could not only make money, but also make more money by controlling people, and he would not have to be trapped by his own words just to make the rural woman in front of him suffer.
Like Qi Weidong, he doesn't steal, rob houses, or beat people up. He just wants to make some money. Why is it so difficult?
Qi Weidong's voice was a little trembling: "Auntie, how many relatives do you have in your family?"
Xia Juhua waved her hand over the sky above Pingan Village and said, "You should have asked around. Most of the people in Pingan Village have the surname Liu. Zhishuang has to call him either uncle or brother. No matter which one he chooses, he will be blamed."
Aren't you Liu Zhishuang's friend? Didn't I help you exchange vermicelli from someone else yesterday because you two are friends?
"Forget it, I thought about it and realized that greed will lead to fattening. I'd better not bother my aunt to fry peanuts." Qi Weidong decided to put integrity aside for now. Protecting his own interests was the most important thing.
Xia Juhua glanced at him and sighed, "Okay, Auntie won't make things difficult for you."
So easy to talk to? Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua in disbelief, and then heard someone say, "In fact, our relatives are very quick. The sweet potatoes you sent should be sold out before the New Year."
Qi Weidong quickly calculated the difference between the cloth that made no money and the vermicelli he might get, but he was still firm in his thinking.
"I am the production team leader of Ping'an Village." Xia Juhua suddenly said, "I can still decide what and how much to plant in the fields of our village next spring."
You are so cruel!
Qi Weidong's expression changed twice, and he pulled the corners of his mouth to the sides to smile: "Auntie, I'm going to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. I can guarantee that I won't make a penny from your family's cloth. But you can see that I'm not the only one doing this business. Those who work with me should also earn a few extra New Year's gifts."
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "How come you think your aunt is so easy to take advantage of? Even though your aunt is just a rural woman, how can she always take advantage of you? You are Zhishuang's friend."
No, I never thought of being friends with Liu Zhishuang.
Xia Juhua was still chattering with a smile: "Since you are Zhishuang's friend, his relatives are almost the same as your own relatives. But friends are close or distant, and relatives are thick or thin. No matter what my aunt says, I can't let you suffer a loss."
"Auntie, you've thought it through. The cloth has to be at least 20 cents more expensive per foot than the one sold at the supply and marketing cooperative. Only then can you make money, right?"
Qi Weidong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had his own channels to get the cloth, and the purchase price was the same as the selling price of the supply and marketing cooperative. So when he calculated it this way, he didn't suffer any big loss.
Young people always have good wishes, but reality will teach them to grow up step by step. Xia Juhua became the person who helped Qi Weidong grow up: "You know, our relatives only have one foot of cloth coupons per person per year, and we can't give them more. So you see..."
Wait, when did your relatives become our relatives? Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua's mouth in disbelief, and realized how childish and ridiculous his idea of embarrassing Xia Juhua by giving her something was.
Are you here to embarrass others? You are clearly asking others to take advantage of you!
After leaving Ping An Manor, Qi Weidong heaved a sigh of relief and said to Xie Hongbing and Li Lin fiercely: "If any of you two don't persuade me or fail to persuade me, don't even think about making money from me again if I say I'm coming to Ping An Manor in the future."
Xie Hongbing and Li Lin: When you were leaving just now, didn't you say to your aunt with a smile that you would come back tomorrow morning to eat her hot and sour noodles?
Liu Zhishuang was also puzzled: "Mom, why did you say Qi Weidong would come again?" When Qi Weidong left just now, his face was so black.
Xia Juhua looked at the sweet potatoes piled up in the yard and the rising sun, and said with a smile in a good mood: "He was afraid that if he didn't come, the few things he sold would become the property of Ping An Village."
Liu Zhishuang was even more puzzled: "Mom, why do you believe Qi Weidong's words so much? If he doesn't send the cloth, what will others say about you?"
Why did he trust Qi Weidong so much? Xia Juhua couldn't tell Liu Zhishuang. She had heard some rumors about Qi Weidong in her previous life and knew that he was a man of his words. Among the first businessmen in the 1980s, he was often laughed at for being too stupid.
However, this man who was laughed at as a fool by others, his business grew bigger and bigger. In the 1990s, he left Pingde County and expanded his business to Chengping District. Many of those who laughed at him are still keeping their small businesses, and few of them really made a lot of money.
So ever since she was sure that Qi Weidong was the businessman with the surname Qi whom she had heard of, Xia Juhua had a kind of trust in him that she herself was not aware of - a person's character is predetermined, and unless subjected to a huge stimulus, there will not be much change.
"What are you afraid of? Even if we can't buy cloth, we have more sweet potatoes." Xia Juhua looked around and whispered, "Can I still earn five cents per pound for processing?"
Liu Zhishuang was stunned. Is this still his strict mother who is afraid that others will say no to her?
Regardless of whether it is true or not, you have to do the work for others. Liu Zhishuang asked in embarrassment: "Mom, we only have two pots at home. If the flour leaks out, everyone will know when you fry the peanuts."
Xia Juhua shook her head and said, "Today, you and your brother should first help your cousin to drain all the rice from your uncle's house. Before they go home, our family will not drain any rice."
Seeing Liu Zhishuang was puzzled, Xia Juhua had to explain to him: "It's not that mom doesn't trust your cousins, but they are still young. If they tell others, it will be a big disaster."
As the mother and the two were talking, Mantun and his friends came over after finishing their meal. Seeing the sweet potatoes on the ground, they asked curiously, "Aunt, whose family are you helping to make flour? It's hard to make flour for such old potatoes."
"That's right. I'm discussing this with your second brother. If not, let his second uncle and his family help. We will use up all your powder first."
Mandun was very embarrassed and said, "Why don't I take them back with me? I have learned almost everything anyway, so I will take them back with me to learn."
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "You want to go home, so I can do something for you." Then she took Mantun aside and told him to go home and ask his two brothers and their wives from his mother's side who they would make new clothes for this year and what color cloth they would use. She also told Mantun, "Tell your mother quietly that your second brother has a friend who is capable and can buy cloth without cloth coupons, but not too much."
Mantun, who had already felt shocked since arriving at his aunt's house, was shocked again. How come his aunt knew everything and could buy everything?
Seventeen-year-old Mantun was already old enough to know the importance of things, so he didn't ask. Instead, without waiting for Xia Juhua's instructions, he said solemnly, "Don't worry, aunt, I won't tell anyone except my mother. I will also tell my mother. We can't scare away my second brother's friends all at once."
Xia Juhua patted Mantun's shoulder happily: "That's enough, go back quickly."
After Mantun left, Xia Juhua could not stay at home anymore. She had to go and discuss with Wu Ye and Chen Qiu Sheng how the sweet potatoes should be distributed and from whose house the vermicelli should be taken first. She also had to say hello to the women and ask them clearly what quantity and color of cloth they needed.
As for the texture, there is really no room for choice except for twill and plain weave with some flowers.
By the time things were almost discussed, a layer of suppressed excitement hung over Ping An Manor. The adults all smiled unconsciously, and the children would not be scolded for making small mistakes.
This was the scene Li Changshun saw when he arrived. He asked Wu Ye, who was walking on the street, in confusion, "What's wrong with the people in your production team? Why are they all so happy?"
The Fifth Master snorted from his calculator: "You are a bunch of shallow-eyed people. You couldn't help yourself when you heard that pigs were slaughtered on the day of the Little New Year. Now you are thinking about how to eat the dishes after the slaughter."
Can you be so happy just by eating a pig-killing dish? Li Changshun didn't believe it: "Why don't you see Da Zhuang's family?"
"She's busy." The Fifth Master raised his chin without changing his expression: "Don't you see that the kitchen in our Pingan Manor is full of men, and the women are all busy. Damn, what's going on?"
If you want to complain, would it be more credible if you put down your mouth? Li Changshun put his hands behind his back and limped towards the yard. The Fifth Master asked from behind: "Do you have something to do with Da Zhuang's family? If you have something, I will ask someone to call her. No matter how busy she is, can you ask the captain to go to her in person when he comes?"
Li Changshun heard that Fifth Master seemed to be really dissatisfied with Xia Juhua, so he turned around and advised him: "I know you feel that a woman as a production team leader must be unmotivated. At first I thought the same as you. But it's almost March now, and she's doing a good job. If she keeps doing this, your production team's dividends will not be bad next year."
Not only will the dividends for next year be good, but everyone will have a good New Year this year. The Fifth Master thought to himself, but his expression was still a little awkward: "Can we still rely on dividends to live? These old masters in Ping An Manor have lost all their face. They work in the kitchen every day. What kind of old masters are they?"
Li Changshun had to walk back and whispered: "If you ask me, the people in your production team are too honest. You have so many relatives. Whoever comes with sweet potatoes will help to leak the flour. How can you do the work of your own production team? If you delay the work of the production team, will you lose work points? It's just a ready-made saying, not..."
Considering his position as the team leader, Li Changshun really couldn't say the following words. Even this was enough to shock the Fifth Master: "Isn't it because the Dazhuang family is afraid of being reported, and they are also afraid that you guys think that our production team doesn't help the brother production team?"
Li Changshun was choked and speechless. After a while, he said, "Come on, let's go to your house and I'll talk to you about it."
By the time Xia Juhua was called over by Liu Qixi, Li Changshun and Wu Ye had already calmly discussed how to deal with the wheat bran purchased by each production team.
Xia Juhua was still a little scared, thinking that after Li Changshun left, she would discuss with Wuye and arrange two people at the entrance of the village to inform her in advance if they saw someone who was not from Ping'an Village. Otherwise, how could she be so lucky that every time a stranger like Li Changshun came, he would run into Wuye.
But now she had to ask: "Captain, is there any other mission?"
The Fifth Master had already lit the tobacco pipe, waiting to hear what Li Changshun wanted to say - he had been trying to find out what Li Changshun wanted to say, but Li Changshun hadn't revealed a single word.
Li Changshun glanced at the Fifth Master and said, "I have discussed this with the Fifth Master for a long time, but we can't come up with any good ideas. I have also been to those production teams, and they are all the same."
Xia Juhua was confused and looked at Li Changshun in confusion, waiting for him to explain more clearly. The Fifth Master took off his cigarette holder and asked, "You were not just talking nonsense to me just now, but you really want to turn the bran into something to eat?"
"How can I still have the energy to chat with you?" Li Changshun frowned, looking at the newly laid kang mat by Fifth Master, and said, "You are not really unable to walk. Can't you see the soil moisture in the land? We have been farming for so many years, and except for the severe drought in 1942, have we ever had a winter like this?"
"That's because you haven't been in the village since 1942." Fifth Master continued to puff on his cigarette. "There was another time in 1947, but you didn't catch up."
"Captain, isn't our Ping'an Village helping each production team to leak powder?" Xia Juhua asked carefully, also intending to pave the way for the fact that Ping'an Village was still leaking powder in the past two days.
The Fifth Master glared at Xia Juhua, then thought that she was not the kind of person who could lose her temper. She would not lower her eyelids just because Li Changshun said something about the black market.
Li Changshun sighed again: "Your production teams have similar outputs. Don't you know how many sweet potatoes each family got in the fall? How many meals can we eat if they turn into powder? It's better to fill our stomachs with steamed sweet potatoes."
Xia Juhua was speechless. Wasn't it because she shamelessly stuck to Qi Weidong that the people in Ping'an Manor could have more sweet potatoes? This method worked in Ping'an Manor because the people in Ping'an Manor were united and had received enough benefits from Xia Juhua.
What about other production teams? Xia Juhua didn't dare to test other people's hearts with her own safety, so she could only remain silent.
Li Changshun also knew that asking Xia Juhua to come up with an idea now would be embarrassing her, and he sighed again: "Dad Zhuang, I know your production team has been very busy recently. But who asked you to have so many ideas? If you have time, you can also think about how to use the wheat bran." After saying that, he supported the edge of the kang with one hand and slowly stood up.
Wu Ye and Xia Juhua stood up and escorted Li Changshun to the door. They also invited him to come to Ping An Manor to eat pig food on the day of the Little New Year. Li Changshun shook his head and said, "Even if you give me dragon meat now, I can't swallow it."
After hearing what he said, Wu Ye and Xia Juhua, who were happy at work, felt uncomfortable. Wu Ye asked Xia Juhua to do her own thing, and he stayed at home to think about it.
Xia Juhua was really busy, so she didn't bother to be polite with Fifth Master. She even advised him not to worry too much, saying that maybe there would be a road to get through the mountain, and the collective would be able to distribute relief food earlier next year.
The Fifth Master returned to his room with his hands behind his back, and said, "You don't even believe this, do you?"
I don't believe it, of course I don't believe it, but isn't there anything I can do? Xia Juhua, who has learned to put aside things that cannot be solved, wants to do things that she can do right away.
The women in the yard saw her coming and smiled at her while weaving mats. Xia Juhua knew what they were laughing at and pretended to be annoyed and said, "What are you laughing at? Let's see who's weaving unqualified mats and who didn't weave according to the schedule. Those who deserve to have their work points deducted will have their work points deducted."
Li Changwang's family came on call: "I have just looked at them all, and they are all pretty good. Although they are not as good as yours, the supply and marketing cooperative will definitely not find fault with them."
As soon as she finished speaking, the whole yard was filled with the women's cheerful laughter.
How can we not laugh? The good thing of exchanging seven pounds of sweet potatoes for one pound of vermicelli, every family can set up a stall, and every family can buy a few feet of cloth without cloth coupons, who dared to think before? Who brings good things, everyone knows it in their hearts. This person is standing in front of everyone, and will bring more good things to everyone, so we should laugh even more.
Xia Juhua couldn't hold it anymore and sat back in front of An Baoling. She found that she was holding a palm-sized piece of paper in her hand and had pinched a small piece of pencil tip, drawing symbols on the paper that Xia Juhua couldn't understand.
"What are you writing about?"
An Baoling looked up at her and said as a matter of course, "Remember how much cloth someone wants."
Xia Juhua had a toothache, the worst toothache she had ever had: "Whose is this? How big does it want?" She pointed at a few ghostly symbols in the middle and asked An Baoling.
An Baoling examined it for a long time and said uncertainly, "It seems to be Zhao Huashan's family. They want seven feet and can provide three feet of cloth coupons."
Zhao Huashan's family happened to be sitting not far away. When he heard An Baoling mention him, he was afraid that he had bought the wrong one, so he hurriedly said, "Sanzhuang's family, I don't want seven feet, I want nine feet. The cloth coupons can give me three feet."
Xia Juhua finally understood how Li Changshun and Wu Ye felt when they sighed: "Forget it, let Qiu Sheng remember it later. Otherwise, it would be bad if we forget to remember such a good thing and make people unhappy."
An Baoling's face flushed: "Sister-in-law, I..."
"Don't take it personally. I'm just afraid of ruining a good thing." Xia Juhua quickly patted An Baoling's hand and said, "I'm not as good as you. Otherwise, I would have remembered it myself a long time ago."
After being comforted, An Baoling felt even more guilty - her sister-in-law asked her to remember which family needed what kind of cloth because she trusted her, but her sister-in-law had just left for such a short while that she had forgotten everything.
"If only I could read." An Baoling had never hated herself so much for not being able to read.
Who among the women in the courtyard could read? You must know that when Xia Juhua first taught everyone how to make the calligraphy mat, the most reworked part was the place where the calligraphy was made. In the end, everyone had to memorize the calligraphy correctly.
Hearing An Baoling's sigh, Xia Juhua suddenly remembered a problem: since she was reborn, she has never seen a child from Pingan Village go to school! !
You should know that the country has already had regulations on resuming classes. In her previous life, Xia Juhua's family didn't have children of school age, so she never noticed when the adults and children in Ping'an Village started to focus on studying. But this time, not a single child goes to school. What should she do in the future?
Since this matter was not urgent, Xia Juhua first asked Chen Qiusheng's family to call Chen Qiusheng over. After Chen Qiusheng came, he recorded the numbers reported by the women again. Chen Qiusheng's family looked at the man writing swiftly and their faces lit up.
While Chen Qiusheng was counting, Xia Juhua asked him, "Don't the children in our production team know how to read?"
Chen Qiusheng glanced at Xia Juhua, and thinking of their family's situation, he smiled and said, "There are a few who can read, but they have not been to school since the suspension of classes."
Xia Juhua hurriedly asked which children they were and how many years they had been in school. When Chen Qiusheng mentioned a name, the child's mother would respond from a distance, not knowing why Xia Juhua asked, and would praise her own child, as if their child really still wrote at home every day.
Li Changwang's wife suppressed her pout several times, and finally couldn't bear it anymore: "Why don't we call these kids over? Qiu Sheng is here anyway, let him test himself to see if he can remember a few words." She really thinks the captain is easy to fool, right? But Li Changwang's wife is not easy to fool.
The women who had just agreed lowered their heads one by one.
Xia Juhua couldn't even raise her head - who had taught her in her later years that the best way for rural children to escape from farming was to study? But Chen Qiusheng had just told her that there were only nine children in Pingan Village who could read, and only three of them had finished primary school.
If the natural disaster next year only affects Ping'an Village's harvest for one year, the fact that the children generally cannot read will affect the harvest of Ping'an Village for two or even three generations.
Think about it, in five or six years, the household contract responsibility system will be implemented. Can the people of Pingan Village still stay in the village and wait for the higher authorities to distribute fertilizers and pesticides? If they can't wait for the distribution, they will have to buy them themselves. If they can't read, they may buy fake products, and all the hard work they put into the fields that year will be wasted.
There will also be a wave of migrant workers in the future. Illiterate people do the hardest work and earn the least money. What else can they do with that little money except renovate their own houses?
The more she thought about it, the worse it got. Xia Juhua's tone of voice became worse as she asked Chen Qiusheng, "Doesn't the brigade have a primary school? Why doesn't anyone send their children to school?"
Chen Qiusheng looked at Xia Juhua strangely and said, "That primary school is just a decoration. Since the movement, the teacher was overthrown and the higher-ups only sent a new teacher once. But the Red Team went to the school several times to cause trouble for the teacher, and the teacher couldn't stand it and was transferred to another place."
Is it a sin or not?!
Xia Juhua's face completely darkened. Although Chen Qiusheng couldn't understand why she was so unhappy, he still gave her some advice based on his instinct: "Although not many children can read, there are still a few of our age who can read. By the way, Liu Lizhu even went to junior high school."
Liu Lizhu? Xia Juhua remembered that he was in poor health, otherwise he would not have ended up as a debtor of Pingan Village. However, he only went to junior high school, so she had no impression of him.
Seeing Xia Juhua's thoughtful expression, Chen Qiu Sheng thought he might have hit on the point, and hurriedly said, "Li Zhu was actually a good student in school, otherwise he wouldn't be the only one among us who was admitted to junior high school. When the movement started, he didn't join in the fight to beat down the teacher, so he was beaten by the Red Team and suffered from a chronic illness."
Xia Juhua no longer thought about the evil done by the Red Team. She only asked, "If Liu Lizhu were allowed to teach the children to read, and the production team gave him work points, would he be willing?"
Of course I am willing! Chen Qiusheng agreed on behalf of Liu Lizhu without thinking: "In recent years, his family has relied on his wife to earn work points. If Lizhu can earn work points himself, why wouldn't he be willing?"
Suddenly, a suppressed cry was heard in the yard. Xia Juhua saw that it was Liu Lizhu's family, so she stood up and walked over: "Lizhu's family, if you don't want to, just say it. I just talked to Qiu Sheng about this, and I don't want Lizhu to agree."
"Auntie, I am willing. How can I not be willing?" Liu Lizhu's wife wiped away her tears. "I am happy for his father. He has always felt sorry for me these years. He kept saying that it would be great if he could earn work points. He also regretted that he should not have gone to school, saying that if he hadn't studied, he wouldn't have..."
Everyone in the yard was silent. What could they say? Seeing the captain's anxious look just now and the things An Baoling memorized, everyone knew the benefits of knowing how to read. But Liu Lizhu's illness was caused by reading.
"Okay, don't be too happy." Xia Juhua could only follow Liu Lizhu's family and said, "It's useless if you agree. You have to go back and ask Lizhu if he agrees. Go back quickly."
Liu Lizhu's wife choked up and agreed, and went home. Xia Juhua glanced at the women and said, "As you all saw just now, if Lizhu agrees, anyone who wants their children to learn to read can go to Qiu Sheng to sign up. It doesn't have to be children, adults who want to learn can also learn."
"Captain, I would like to learn, but I have to weave mats during the day, so I don't have the time." Li Changwang's family is always the first to react.
Xia Juhua smiled and said, "I remember that when we were doing the literacy campaign, we had to study at night. If that doesn't work, let Qiu Sheng work a little harder and teach the adults at night. Qiu Sheng, are you willing?"
Chen Qiu Sheng's family had been standing beside him and had not left. When they heard Xia Juhua asking Chen Qiu Sheng if he agreed, they squeezed him and made Chen Qiu Sheng nod with a grin.
They all lived in the same village, and they all knew about how each couple lived. A daughter-in-law who was about the same age as Chen Qiusheng teased Chen Qiusheng: "Accountant, you can't do this either. How come Cuiping didn't dare to say a word even when she was squeezed so hard that she turned blue? Are you used to being squeezed at home?"
Chen Qiusheng's already red face suddenly turned red, and he looked at his wife with a complaining look. Xia Juhua also found it funny: "It turns out that Qiusheng's family name is Cuiping, I think it sounds much better than Chen Qiusheng's family name."
Chen Qiusheng was so happy that he didn't even care about being embarrassed. He pulled Xia Juhua and asked, "Captain, do you really think my name is nice?"
Xia Juhua smiled and nodded.
Chen Qiusheng's family couldn't help but glance at the man, then turned to the women in the yard and announced loudly: "From now on, if anyone doesn't call me by my name but calls me Chen Qiusheng's family, I won't agree."
"You are so beautiful. It's like you are the only one with a name, and no one else has one?" People who are too proud are naturally easy to irritate others. Someone said something unconvinced. Chen, no, it was Zhang Cuiping who raised her head and said, "I don't know if you have a name, but the captain said my name is nice, so you have to call me by my name."
Chen Qiusheng...
The women in the yard were even more unconvinced. They reported their natal names one by one and insisted on asking Xia Juhua to judge whose name was nice and whose was ugly.
How could Xia Juhua compare with this? Even she, the elders, still called her Da Zhuangjia. Could she learn from Cuiping and not allow people to call her that?
Why not?! After hearing that there was a third woman named Zhaodi, Xia Juhua suddenly felt unfair: for many years, after a woman got married, except for her natal family and in-laws, the whole village only knew that she was someone's daughter-in-law, or someone's mother, and they didn't remember that she was an independent individual with a name of her own.
Yes, even if they once had their own names, their parents gave them perfunctorily, and Li Daya was not an exception. Some of them also carried strong disdain, such as those Zhaodi. But that was also a symbol of their own, not as obvious as "whose family" or "whose mother".
In her previous life, Xia Juhua was called Liu Dazhuang's daughter for decades, but she didn't feel anything. At that time, her biggest wish was to have a good relationship and balance with her two daughters-in-law. But after living again, Xia Juhua was not only called Liu Dazhuang's daughter, but also called Xia Xiaohuo and Xia Captain.
Especially the latter, Xia Juhua was respected and trusted by everyone in Pingan Village. When Cuiping casually said that her name was nice, she would not allow others to call her Chen Qiusheng's daughter. This made Xia Juhua realize that as long as women can stand up for themselves, they can get the same respect as men.
She can, and so can the other women in Ping An Village!
"Okay, have you finished weaving today's mats?" Xia Juhua looked at Cuiping with some helplessness, and decided to stop calling her Chen Qiusheng's wife from now on: "Cuiping, stop making noises, go and weave your mats."
Cuiping felt fulfilled when Xia Juhua called her name in person. She sat back in her seat with her neck raised proudly, and no longer paid attention to the other women.
She stopped talking, and the other women were still discussing: "Are we really going to call her Cuiping from now on?"
"If I call her by her name and let her call me Erxi's, then I will be at a loss."
"What's the harm? If she doesn't care about you calling her Zhaodi, then you don't have to pay any attention to her."
Chen Qiusheng: Who am I, where am I, and what do I hear? The women of Ping An Village are not rebelling against heaven, they are seeking to ascend to heaven!
Captain, these women all listen to you, why don't you do anything about it? Chen Qiusheng silently glanced at Xia Juhua and found that she was listening to the women's discussion with great interest. He wanted to remind his silly wife, but he knew that if he told her that the captain called her name, she would unilaterally cease fire and let others talk about her. I'm afraid the silly wife would think that he was trying to sow discord between her and the captain.
There was no way. Ever since the captain taught his wife how to weave mats, Chen Qiu Sheng had already realized the position of himself and the captain in his wife's heart.
Xia Juhua spoke only after the women's chatter died down: "Everyone thinks it's a bit awkward that Cuiping insists on you calling her by her name, right? But think about it, are we called someone's family when we are born? We have our own names, but we were called that for more than ten or twenty years before we became someone's family."
"It turns out that we women have little strength and cannot earn enough money.
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