Chapter 64
Wang Caifeng looked at Chen Qiu Sheng in confusion: "Don't mention this to my mother, or she will think I don't want to help her." You can't learn a skill just by watching with your eyes. You can only be considered to have learned the skill when you get the hang of it.
Have you seen it? As expected of the captain's daughter-in-law, she has the same high level of ideological awareness as the captain, and has a heart that serves the members wholeheartedly. Chen Qiusheng thought so and said so to Wang Caifeng, completely forgetting that there were not only Wang Caifeng in the kitchen, but also several people including Liu Zhiquan.
After he left with the peanuts, Liu Zhiquan asked, "Did he bump into something?" Otherwise, why would he praise his wife so much?
Wang Caifeng was focused on the peanuts in the pot: "No matter if I bump into something or not, when mom comes back, you have to testify for me that I didn't mention the work points to him."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. We will all testify for you." Mantun and his friends have been eating the meals cooked by their sister-in-law these days. They feel that their sister-in-law really cares about them, and they all expressed their determination to Wang Caifeng.
Chen Qiu Sheng is a reliable person. Since he promised not to mention the matter of recording work points for Wang Caifeng to Xia Juhua, he really didn't mention it at all - mainly because he didn't have time to mention it, because Director Lin brought more than just an order for 400 seats this time.
Although Director Lin asked Xia Juhua and others not to call him Director as soon as they met - he only purchased for the deputy team leader after arriving at the county supply and marketing cooperative - Xia Juhua ignored him and continued to call him Director Lin.
Since she called him that, Chen Qiu Sheng would naturally follow suit. The most important thing was that Chen Qiu Sheng had to calculate whether the remaining reeds in the Pingan Village production team were enough to complete the task required by Director Lin. Of course, he had no time to talk about recording work points for Wang Caifeng.
Xia Juhua was also completely shocked by the number of 800 seats that Director Lin requested. When she heard that 200 of them would be seats with the word "happiness" (double happiness) in them and the other 600 seats would all be seats with the word "blessing" (fu), she had a concrete idea of the popularity of the two types of seats.
"Although this time the demand is large, there won't be many left in the county." Director Lin said to Xia Juhua with a smile, "The district needs 500 "Fu" seats and 100 "Double Happiness" seats at once, so there won't be many left in the county."
Xia Juhua certainly would not comment on how the county and regional supply and marketing cooperatives distributed the mats woven by Ping'anzhuang - it didn't matter who wanted them, as long as the price was right and the quantity was better - they said they were short of raw materials, but with the experience of purchasing reed stalks from other production teams last time, Ping'anzhuang did not have a problem of shortage of reed stalks.
"Then it's still the original price, right?"
Director Lin didn't think Xia Juhua should ask this, so he smiled and answered, "Because the quantity needed this time is large, the county supply and marketing cooperative hopes to have a good start. I have also reported to the leaders about your difficulties in procuring raw materials, so I will increase the price by 10 cents per seat."
Good news, great news. Even Chen Qiusheng's eyes lit up when he heard it - Cuiping was very tough in words, but she was really good at her job. Chen Qiusheng knew that, not counting the tasks she completed in the yard, they had three lucky mats in their own home.
"Qiu Sheng, go back and find Bao Ling and ask her for the new mat I made two days ago. Bring it to Director Lin to see."
When Director Lin heard that it was a new mat woven by Xia Juhua, his eyes lit up: "You've come up with something new?"
Xia Juhua nodded: "This time the pattern is Four Seasons of Peace. Director Lin, you know that I don't know how to read. I memorized these words after reading them many times."
Director Lin and Chen Qiu Sheng nodded secretly after hearing this. They all knew that the words "double happiness", "blessings" and "four seasons of peace" appeared in large numbers and should have appeared before the movement. Almost ten years had passed, but Xia Juhua still remembered them and even wove them into the reed mat. Her dedication was evident.
Chen Qiu Sheng even thought he knew why the captain was so anxious when she heard that the children in Ping'an Village did not go to school. The captain herself had benefited from knowing how to read, and with her selfless character, she naturally hoped that all the children could get this benefit.
Xia Juhua, who was selfless, was still discussing with Director Lin how to solve the problem of the possible shortage of reed stalks. Chen Qiusheng had already brought the mat back. Spreading it on the table, the white reed mat had the words "four seasons of peace" woven into the four corners. Because of the different characters, it was more lively than the mat with the word "Fu", but it was not as exaggerated as the "double happiness" mat. Overall, it looked better than the first two mats.
Director Lin has already made a judgment in his mind that once the Four Seasons Peace Mat is handed over, Ping An Village will have to make this kind of mat for a long time.
"Captain Xia, you have to guarantee that this kind of seats will only be provided to the county supply and marketing cooperative." Director Lin wanted to get Xia Juhua's guarantee as soon as he opened his mouth.
Xia Juhua understood how popular the Fu character banquet was from the fact that Director Lin took the initiative to raise the price. She nodded and shook her head, and said under Director Lin's somewhat anxious gaze:
"Director Lin, you can see that each character in the Four Seasons Peace Seat is different. It takes too much time for everyone to compile it, and the production team will have to give everyone more work points."
This is indeed a practical problem. Director Lin thought for a moment and said, "I'll take this seat back first. Is that okay? I'll report it to the leader and see what he says."
How could Xia Juhua not understand Director Lin's difficulties? She only said what she knew: "In the past, I could weave a double happiness or blessing mat in two days. But this four-season peace mat took me three and a half days to weave. I am considered quick, but it takes most members at least three days to weave a double happiness or four-season peace mat. They haven't started learning the four-season peace mat yet. I estimated that, not counting the time when they just started learning, it takes them four and a half to five days to weave a mat."
"Qiu Sheng, how much is one work point in our production team this year?" Xia Juhua smiled at Director Lin a little embarrassedly: "When the dividends were distributed, I was still an ordinary member. I got whatever the team gave me. I forgot."
Chen Qiusheng was stunned: Captain, you are lying. My wife clearly needs to weave one mat in two days in the yard. She told me that you can weave one mat in a day!
But could he dismantle Xia Juhua's platform? Would he dare to dismantle Xia Juhua's platform? He could only honestly say, "This year, our production team's wages are 1.1 yuan per worker, and the women weaving mats in the yard are recorded as six hours a day."
Director Lin naturally knew that it was impossible for the production team to distribute all the money from making reed mats to the members. He had never heard of a production team like Ping'anzhuang that could give the women six working days in the winter, which meant that except for the money from making reed stalks, the rest was given to the women who made the mats.
So he nodded in understanding: "Okay, I will report your actual situation to the leader. Captain Xia, do you still have someone organizing the meeting now?"
Xia Juhua understood what he meant and said frankly, "When Director Lin came to arrange the mats last time, he promised me that the county supply and marketing cooperative had an order for 400 mats. I thought that since has nothing to do, and we have the reeds you helped everyone us collect, I decided to let everyone make mats with the word 'Fu' on them."
Director Lin, who was flattered a little, heard that Ping'an Village had never stopped making mats, and asked with great interest: "How many mats with the word "Fu" on them do you have now?" If he could send some mats with the word "Fu" on them to other regions before the New Year, he would be kicked out of the county supply and marketing cooperative.
"Probably about 300." Xia Juhua had never really counted them. She mentally calculated the existing mats in the yard and the ones woven by the women at home before giving Director Lin a number.
This was enough to make Director Lin happy. He couldn't sit still in the production team and had to go to the yard to see it in person. When he stood in the yard and looked at the women weaving mats, he understood why Xia Juhua had just emphasized to him that it took time for women to weave mats.
It was too cold. From the laughter they heard before entering the reed wall, they could tell that the women were very enthusiastic about weaving mats, but enthusiasm alone could not resist the cold. Unfortunately, inside the reed wall were only reed mats and reed poles, both of which could not be exposed to open flames. The women weaving mats had no other means of keeping out the cold except to wear as thick clothes as possible.
It was already the coldest time of the year, and besides the reed walls that swayed from time to time in the wind, there was nothing above our heads. Director Lin saw many women blowing air on their frozen hands from time to time, rubbing them and continuing to weave mats, and her eyes actually turned red.
"Captain Xia, I didn't understand the situation before and the price I gave Wei Xi was too low." Director Lin said guiltily, "This time I will report the situation in detail to the leader, and if possible, I will ask the leader to come to Ping An Zhuang."
What? Xia Juhua could understand the first sentence, but the second sentence was a little confusing: "Please ask the leaders to come? Director Lin, tomorrow is the Little New Year. Our production team will kill the New Year pig tomorrow, and we may have to eat the pig slaughtering dishes together. If many leaders come..."
Please forgive Xia Juhua, a rural woman whose horizons have not yet been opened. Even if she lives her whole life, the highest-ranking official she has come into contact with is Director Zhang of the commune revolutionary committee. Therefore, she cannot imagine what benefits the leaders of the county supply and marketing cooperative will bring to Ping'anzhuang when they come to inspect it.
She was only worried that if many leaders came, she would not be able to use pig offal to entertain them. She would have to eat meat, and good meat. If the leaders ate more, the Ping An Zhuang members would have less meat to share.
Director Lin understood Xia Juhua's concerns, and still said with a smile: "Then let's wait until the day after tomorrow. I think the leaders will be willing to come."
How else could Xia Juhua refuse? There seemed to be no other way except to agree.
However, Director Lin's arrival brought Xia Juhua a new task, which was to count how many mats Pingan Village had woven. Apart from anything else, if the mats woven by the women at home were handed over to the county supply and marketing cooperative, all the families in Pingan Village would have a good New Year.
Of course, all the families do not include Zhao Tiedan's family with three bachelors. Anyway, Zhao Dagou not only helps others to leak fans during this period, but also helps his brother Zhao Ergou. The two of them can earn 40 cents a day, and their life is much better than in previous years.
Therefore, Xia Juhua counted the number of seats at each family without feeling any guilt towards Zhao Tiedan's family. She had to admire the members of Ping'an Village, especially the women, for their hard work.
Although it was hard work to weave mats in the yard all day, every woman took out at least two mats with the Chinese character "福" on them. Some families, like Li Daya's, who had a daughter who had learned the art of weaving mats, took out five mats.
"Daya, I'm telling you, no matter how many mats the children make for these five mats, you have to give them the money they deserve." Xia Juhua asked Chen Qiu Sheng to register how many mats each family sent, and instructed Li Daya worriedly.
Hongcui, who came with Li Daya to weave the mat, looked at her mother excitedly, then at her aunt, and slowly lowered her head - when weaving the mat, Li Daya had already told the two girls that their two brothers were going to get married, and the money from weaving the mats had to be saved as a dowry for them.
Even if the aunt asked her mother to share the money from weaving mats with her and Hongling, I'm afraid her mother would not agree.
Unexpectedly, Li Daya agreed immediately: "Okay, sister-in-law, since you said it, I will give them each a seat. " She only made one and a half of the five seats herself, and the rest were made by her two young ladies.
Hongcui couldn't believe her ears when she heard her aunt say, "That's right. The children can stay at home for a few more years. If they are not allowed to have a few days of comfortable life at their parents' home, it will be too tiring for them to manage a small family after they get married."
My dear aunt, this is definitely my dear aunt! Hongcui could not think of any other words, only this thought.
Not only Hong Cui, but other women who heard Xia Juhua's words were also touched: everyone has been a girl before, and life in their parents' home was hard at that time, but facing their own parents and brothers, no matter how cautious they were, they would still feel more comfortable than entering the unfamiliar home of their husbands-in-law.
"Captain, I'll give my daughter a share of the money, too."
"And me."
"The children all know how to help us weave mats at home. We can't just treat our daughter badly for the sake of our son."
None of the girls in Ping'an Manor had ever thought that just a few words from Xia Juhua would greatly alleviate the situation of favoring boys over girls in the manor in the future. Now, they were all immersed in the joy of earning money through labor for the first time in their lives.
Xia Juhua was also very happy - you wouldn't know until you counted, but once you counted, you would be shocked. Including the daily quota for everyone in the upper courtyard, Ping An Zhuang now has 340 seats with the word "Fu" on them, which means that the task of 200 seats with the word "Fu" added by Director Lin was completed ahead of schedule!
Xia Juhua was happy, and she wanted to make everyone happy too, so she told Director Lin about the 10 cent increase in the price of each mat with the Chinese character "Fu" on it. The women in Ping'an Village were excited again. Even though the price of each mat was only 10 cents more, they believed that the task of making mats with the team leader would continue. Was it still 10 cents?
"No, the mat I'm working on is almost finished, I'll go finish it and then go back to work." Li Changwang's wife was the first to react and ran to the yard. Several other women followed her and rushed to the yard, their mats also had to be finished.
If we make one more mat now, the supply and marketing cooperative will be able to take one more mat tomorrow, and the production team will get one more mat. Although the mats of the production team cannot be exchanged for cash, the women of Pingan Village will naturally choose to keep the money in the production team instead of in the supply and marketing cooperative.
That’s how you see the big picture!
Even the women who had not yet arrived at the end of the day could not stand still. As soon as Chen Qiu Sheng finished registering his own family and promised the ladies who had followed him that he would give them a share of the money for the mats, they all hurried back to make mats.
Xia Juhua looked at the back of the last person, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise. She turned her head and found that the Fifth Master was looking at her with a smile with his hands behind his back.
"Fifth Master, when did you come?" Xia Juhua didn't know how long the old man had been standing here. She was afraid that he couldn't bear it, so she followed him home.
Fifth Master put his tobacco pipe on his waist, put his hands behind his back and walked slowly, saying, "Da Zhuang, it's Juhua." It was the first time to call Xia Juhua's name, and the old man felt a little awkward. He coughed before saying,
"You have really opened the eyes of the grandfathers in Ping'an Manor." It also opened the eyes of this old man, so Fifth Master felt that at least Xia Juhua was worthy of being called Juhua instead of Da Zhuang's daughter.
Xia Juhua felt a little embarrassed by what Fifth Master said: "Fifth Master, I am forced to do this because of the rush of things."
How many people are also caught up in things, but do nothing except complain or say that there is nothing they can do? In the past, Ping An Village did not cut reeds to make mats, and there were also cases where the bride's family would leak rice flour, but did they ever interfere with other people's families?
Xia Juhua, there was only this Xia Juhua, so she took care of her, and the more she took care of her, the better she got!
Seeing that Fifth Master didn't say anything for a long time, Xia Juhua had no choice but to ask with a smile: "Fifth Master, shall we go take a look at those two pigs? Director Lin scared me just now. I'm afraid he will bring a bunch of leaders here tomorrow and they will eat half of the pigs."
Fifth Master hurriedly asked what was going on. Xia Juhua told him in detail how Director Lin wanted to bring the leaders of the county supply and marketing cooperative to Ping'an Village, but she had postponed the event to the day after tomorrow.
Angry, Master Wu reached for his pipe again and said, "When Director Lin was in the commune, you got along well with him. Why are you being so stupid now?"
Xia Juhua didn't know what she had done. She looked at Wu Ye in a daze. The old man wanted to take back his evaluation of her: "Did they say they wanted to bring the leader here because they saw how well we made banquets? They sympathize with the difficulty of making banquets for us and want the leader to raise the price after seeing us. If they raise the price by only one or two cents per banquet, how much meat will the leader eat?!"
"But Director Lin has already told me that he will give me 10 cents for each mat with the Chinese character 'Fu' on it. I haven't set the price for my new mats yet, but I also told him that it will take me three days to make them. I work ten times a day, so I should be paid at least three yuan for each mat."
You said it so smoothly that you would throw away the advantage you had taken. Does Director Lin know about this? Master Wu looked at Xia Juhua suspiciously. Seeing that she really cared about the two pigs in the production team, what else could Master Wu say?
When he saw the pig that would be eaten by all members tomorrow, Fifth Master finally understood why Xia Juhua was unwilling to let outsiders eat even a bite of meat: there were more than 500 people in Ping'an Village, and these two pigs could produce a good 300 kilograms of meat in total. The pig's blood, offal, and bones would be made into pig dish, and a large amount of potatoes and vermicelli would have to be added to it, so that everyone in Ping'an Village could have a small bowl of it.
It would be better if these two pigs were bigger. When Fifth Master looked at the two pigs of different sizes in the pen, he couldn't help but think of that wasteful old woman, Sun. If she hadn't withheld the pig feed, the pig should have had at least ten more pounds of meat!
Also cursing the Sun family were Sun Hongmei's family who lived far away in Sunjiazhuang. It wasn't that the Sun family valued friendship, but that they felt sorry for the Sun family and Liu Sizhuang's family of three who were still in the study class when the New Year was coming, or that they wanted to send them some food. Rather, the Red Team's visit to the old Sun family was reported by Sun.
The reason was very simple. The Red Team was seeing that the New Year's Eve was coming tomorrow, and they were unwilling to continue watching those bad elements who only needed an education. So they spread the word that they could make the bad elements pay some fines and go home on their own without the need for team leaders to pick them up.
After more than ten days of education, Sun was unwilling to stay in the class any longer and asked Liu Sizhuang to take out the money to pay the fine. When Liu Sizhuang ran to Sun's village in the middle of the night, he gave the money to Sun Hongmei's father, his eldest brother-in-law, for safekeeping. How could he take it out?
People like Sun who never get enough of taking advantage are always very sensitive to their peers. She immediately understood what the Sun family was planning. She first scolded Sun Guizhi, then cursed the Sun family's ancestors for eighteen generations, and then forced Sun Guizhi to send a message to her brother to send money quickly.
Ever since her brother pushed his two children to the Red Team, Sun Guizhi could no longer speak for her parents. She knew that her brother would not give her a penny even if she knelt down at the door and begged, let alone just asking someone to pass a message to her brother.
It was hard to say it, but Sun Guizhi had to say it under the constant scolding from Sun and Liu Sizhuang, which made Sun so angry that she passed out. What would happen when Sun woke up?
Report, you must report the old Sun family to the Red Team! This is why the Red Team entered the Sun Family Village again and directly raided the old Sun family.
They were not asking for money, they were really confiscating the family's property! Who made the Sun family see a penny as more important than a millstone? When the Red Team first arrived, they insisted that their family had not confiscated a single penny from Liu Sizhuang?
Then call the production team accountant and ask him how much dividend the Sun family received in the past year. Then copy out all the things and money in their house and compare them to see if it is what they deserve.
After this calculation, some people felt sympathy for the people of Sunjiazhuang, and no one pleaded for them to the Red Team: Sunjiazhuang's work points last year were only nine points, and the old Sun family had 4,620 work points a year. After deducting the 3,000 work points they exchanged for food, they could have 150 yuan in total.
The result is not a big deal. Just in terms of money, the Red Team managed to steal 425.6 yuan!
As for Sun Hongmei's father crying that the extra money was the betrothal gifts for her three sisters, the Red Team members were amused: "It's been so many years since the Four Olds Campaign, and you still dare to accept betrothal gifts. That's the result of feudal remnant thinking. It seems that the people really did not report your family wrongly. You should all go to a class and learn a lesson!"
Captain Xia smiled and stepped on Sun Hongmei's father's back and asked him, "How much do you sell your daughter for?"
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