Chapter 73
Speaking of the allocation of mat quotas, Chen Qiusheng shuddered in the cold wind: "My wife said that last time everyone made too much and too fast, and the supply and marketing cooperative didn't want to accept it. So this time, no matter what, we can't exceed the supply and marketing cooperative's task. She and An Baoling will go to each family and yard every day to check the number."
Divide the money, and give it to the women immediately. Xia Juhua had only this thought in her mind. If she didn't give everyone money, she would be sorry to Zhao Xianzhi and the others who were so thoughtful.
This time, when the money was distributed, there was no need for the women to line up in the production line. Chen Qiu Sheng himself ran to the yard with the table in his hand. When he read out a name, a woman stood up to receive the money. After counting the money, he put it in his pocket and sat back in his seat without saying a word to continue weaving mats.
In the yard, there was no sound of laughter or chatter except the sound of Chen Qiu Sheng reading out his name. There was only the crackling of broken reed skins and the rustling of mats being woven. Xia Juhua felt indescribably moved.
Are you happy to get the money? You can tell from the smiles on their faces that they are happy. But they are suppressing their joy in order to complete the heavy orders and get more money next time.
Could you say that everyone was greedy?
When I was working hard to move forward, I felt great to have someone by my side to help me clear away obstacles. It was so great that Xia Juhua blurted out, "Everyone has worked hard during this period. After we finish weaving this batch of mats, why don't we take a few days off and go to the county town together?"
Chen Qiu Sheng almost couldn't hold the money in his hand after hearing this: "Captain, you women are going to the county town together, what should we do?" What he wanted to ask more was, Captain, do you know that if the men hear this news, will they scold me to death?
Even Zhang Cuiping didn't care whether Chen Qiu Sheng would be scolded by the men. Everyone was attracted by Xia Juhua's proposal.
Go to the county town. In the past, if women wanted to buy something, they would go to the commune or the market in other villages. Many people had never been to the county town except to buy fabrics before getting married.
The key is that this time the captain wants to take everyone along, not just a few people who get along well with him, but everyone together!
The women, who were excited at the thought, finally started to talk, almost drowning out Chen Qiusheng's voice when he read out his name. Seeing that Xia Juhua had no intention of answering his question, Chen Qiusheng thought it would be better for him to pretend that he didn't know.
This is what the captain discussed with the women. Isn't it normal for him not to know? As for the men blaming him, isn't that something he should worry about ten days later? What if after ten days, the men are too tired to bother him?
The men were too busy looking for Chen Qiusheng's troubles. They were all waiting for Chen Qiusheng to line up and use the pulping machine. Yes, the pulping machine could only hold 200 kilograms of sweet potatoes at a time, and it could only pulp them but not produce pulp. But it was still easier than smashing them by yourself.
Go home and pour water over the mashed sweet potatoes, and the sweet potato pulp will come out. Originally, you could only mash 100 kilograms of sweet potatoes a day, which was tiring enough. Now you can mash 200 kilograms of sweet potatoes a day. Are you still not satisfied?
By the time Technician Xue showed up in Ping'an Village with a modified pulping machine and several sets of cutting tools, nearly half of the households in Ping'an Village had already pulped the first batch of sweet potatoes.
The improved pulping machine can still only load 200 kilograms of sweet potatoes at a time, but the pulping speed is faster and the crawler is easier to pull up. Xia Juhua is a person who only cares about the results. She did not ask Technician Xue how to improve it, but only helped Chen Qiusheng arrange the distribution of the two pulping machines.
The people of Ping An Village were very excited. A pulping machine that could only pulp sweet potatoes had saved them a lot of effort. Two more user-friendly pulping machines could even save them half the bagging process, giving them more time to dry the starch and drain the flour.
With excitement, everyone worked harder. Just when Director Lin came with cash to collect the Four Seasons Peace Feast, the nearly 100,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes that Qi Weidong had brought were all pulped into pulp. Some of them had been drained into vermicelli and hung up to dry, while others were placed on the kang to wait for drying.
"Captain Xia, didn't you prepare a few extra mats this time?" After Director Lin counted the mats, Xia Juhua was a little uncomfortable with not taking out any extra mats.
Xia Juhua's expression was calm: "How dare we make more mats? Didn't you say last time that you wouldn't accept any extra mats?"
"That's not right, Captain Xia, how come I saw Four Seasons Peaceful Seat in the commune supply and marketing cooperative?" Director Lin had been to the commune before, and he was not someone that could be fooled by Xia Juhua's words.
Xia Juhua was not embarrassed to be exposed: "Yes, we sent the ones to the commune. Didn't I tell you last time that I made 50 mats for Caixia and her family? At that time, I promised Caixia in front of you that I would make some of the patterns that the county supply and marketing cooperative had. But don't worry, she only has 50 mats, which will not affect the sales of the county supply and marketing cooperative."
People should never forget their roots, and Xia Juhua is a person who knows how to be grateful. Even though the task of the county supply and marketing cooperative was heavy this time, Xia Juhua still organized people to send fifty four-season peace seats to Wang Caixia and her supply and marketing cooperative.
Wang Caixia did not treat Pingan Village unfairly, and bought the 50 seats that appeared for nothing at the purchase price of the county supply and marketing cooperative. Xia Juhua would certainly strengthen her cooperation with Wang Caixia for her trustworthy behavior. There was no reason for her to set aside the Red Star Supply and Marketing Cooperative after hooking up with the county supply and marketing cooperative.
Director Lin was not angry at Xia Juhua's reason. Instead, he smiled and nodded: "Well, it really won't affect the sales of the county supply and marketing cooperative. But many people are asking about the Four Seasons Peace Seats. We need to make another 1,000 seats for the next batch."
Are you using reed mats to burn fire in your supply and marketing cooperative?
People are not machines and they always need time to rest. Even the pulping machine made by Technician Xue needs to replace and sharpen the blade from time to time.
Could Director Lin not notice the fatigue of Xia Juhua and the others? He had worked in the commune supply and marketing cooperative before he went to the county supply and marketing cooperative. He knew too well that the winter was a time for the members to rest and recuperate, and to prepare for the next spring ploughing.
But this year, the women in Pingan Village have been weaving mats and did not return to their parents' homes on the second day of the Chinese New Year. Even though the money they earn is not a small amount compared to the regular workers in the county, it is also a fact that they are exhausted and have no energy at all.
Director Lin said slowly, "The leadership has taken into consideration the fact that you will soon start spring ploughing, so the time required this time is very lenient. You only need to complete it within a month."
It sounds very relaxed, but seeing that the reed stacks were once again empty, Xia Juhua still bargained with Director Lin: "Director Lin, I have promised the members that after the orders are submitted this time, I will give them a holiday and let them go to the county to buy some things. You know, everyone didn't go back to their parents' home during the Spring Festival because of the orders. Now that they are free, they must go back to their parents' home to visit."
Director Lin, who had experience dealing with Xia Juhua, asked evasively, "Do the female members of your village want to go to the county together? What do you want to buy? Our supply and marketing cooperative just happened to have a batch of processed products. Do you want me to talk to the leaders and save some for you?"
Is it really okay for you to blatantly seduce people like this? Xia Juhua said helplessly, "Then I'll discuss it with the members."
Speaking of discussing, would the women disagree with what Xia Juhua said? They had been weaving mats for four or five months, and it was their morning habit to go into the yard every day to pick up reed skins and make a mat bit by bit. Now they could continue weaving, so of course they urged Xia Juhua to agree quickly.
Zhao Xianzhi said it most bluntly: "Captain, let's make it up. If we make it up, our women won't have to go to the fields in the spring. How great is that."
"If they don't go to the fields, the men will be exhausted just from plowing the soil. If they can't cook for them while weaving mats, the girls will have to go to the fields to work too. Who will take care of the family?" Chang Xiancao would often hit Zhao Xianzhi.
Xia Juhua had more to say: "If we want to weave the mats, we have to go to the county town in two groups. I'll talk to Technician Xue about using his tractor. One tractor can carry half the people."
Everyone just nodded after hearing this. As for whether Xia Juhua would go to the county town with the first or second group, it was not even within the scope of the women's consideration: Anyway, there was no rush to make the mats this time, so couldn't the captain go to the county town on both days? Without the captain to lead them, what could they buy in the county town?
Xia Juhua didn't know how to tell Director Lin about the result, but he had already heard everything and took Siji Ping'anxi to say goodbye to Xia Juhua happily.
As soon as Director Lin left, Xia Juhua called An Baoling, Zhao Xianzhi, Chang Xiancao and Zhang Cuiping to discuss how to divide the banquet money: The women were too active and proactive this time, so the rewards must keep up.
Finally, it was decided that, in addition to the old rule that whoever made the mats would get paid, the women who made the mats in the yard would each receive a separate mat fee. Xia Juhua said:
"Everyone got up early this time to make mats. If you had worked quietly at home, you would have been able to make a mat. Those who have daughters at home seem to have gotten a bit of an advantage. Those who don't have daughters can use the money from the mats to buy something in the county town."
Even though their family didn't pay for the meal, they were still able to get a meal fee. The women wanted to pick up Xia Juhua and throw her into the sky: How lucky they were to have such a captain who only cared about the members.
Next time, no matter what the production team has to do, they will have to do it well like they did this time, because the team leader will definitely not treat them unfairly.
Unlike the women who were jubilant, the men who heard the news looked at Xia Juhua with disbelief and resentment in their eyes: Captain, are only women your members, and not us men who have leaked powder?
We have also been missing powder for almost two months. The women can at least sit down while weaving mats, but we don't even have space to sit down.
Xia Juhua had no choice but to go and see the two pulping machines that had been moved to the production team's yard. The men followed her gaze and no longer dared to look at Xia Juhua with that look.
Chen Qiusheng asked in a desperate tone, "Captain, if we run out of vermicelli, can you give us a day off so we can go around the county?"
Xia Juhua had no objection, but the men wanted to beat Chen Qiu Sheng to death: "What kind of rich men have you seen wandering around the county town in groups? Aren't you afraid that people will mistake you for a vagrant and arrest you?"
Besides, women go shopping with money for making mats, but do men go shopping with just a handful of vermicelli? !
No matter how many Alpaca horses were galloping through the men's hearts, Xia Juhua still happily took the women and sat on the tractor driven by Technician Xue and headed towards the county town.
This time, not only half of the women in the yard came, but also the ladies brought their daughters with them. Although it was very cold and sitting in a tractor without any shelter could freeze people into popsicles, everyone was excited.
"Captain, what do you want to buy today?" Zhao Xianzhi would not let anyone sit closer to Xia Juhua than her, making it convenient for her to ask questions.
"The New Year has passed, and I can't think of anything to buy." Xia Juhua told the truth and pulled her thick military coat.
Technician Xue insisted on selling this coat to her. If Xia Juhua didn't buy it, he would refuse to continue to eat at the Liu family's table. Knowing that Technician Xue wanted to borrow this military coat to repay her favor and that she really needed a coat to keep warm, Xia Juhua bought it without hesitation.
Technician Xue only charged 15 yuan for the brand new military coat, which made Liu Zhiquan and Liu Zhishuang envious. Fortunately, they knew the price in their hearts, so neither of them dared to ask Technician Xue if he had any more military coats to sell, otherwise they would definitely be slapped away by their mother.
Zhao Xianzhi also looked at Xia Juhua's military coat with envy: "If the supply and marketing cooperative has such a coat, I will buy one for Li Changwang too."
You see, this is the simple emotion of rural women. When they have good things, the first thing they think of is not themselves, but their men. When the men are armed, they think of their children, and finally think of themselves.
Xia Juhua looked at Zhao Xianzhi with a smile, and buried her face in the collar of her coat. This made Zhao Xianzhi feel embarrassed and he didn't say a word to Xia Juhua along the way.
"Captain Xia, I'm going to the county agricultural machinery station to find someone. I'll come to pick you up at the gate in three hours." Technician Xue parked the tractor at the gate of the county supply and marketing cooperative without turning off the engine. He waited for the women to get out of the car with laughter, and then told Xia Juhua the time he would pick them up.
Xia Juhua originally wanted to invite Technician Xue to have a good meal in the county town, but when she heard that he was going to see someone, she hurriedly asked, "Who are you going to see? Is the relationship good? If the relationship is not good, you should have lunch with us at noon."
The natural and caring words not only did not make people feel noisy, but also made Technician Xue feel warm in his heart, and a smile appeared on his face: "He is my senior in college. He is a very nice person. He asked me to come to him a long time ago, but I didn't have time. It just so happens that I have time today, so I can have a good chat with him."
Senior from college? Xia Juhua really didn't know that Technician Xue was still a college student. She looked at him with awe. This was Xia Juhua's instinctive reaction as she had learned math, physics and chemistry well in her previous life and was not afraid of baptism in the world.
But in this era when intellectuals are regarded as the lowest class, Technician Xue hasn't been looked at in this way for many years. This is a look of respect for learned people and respect for knowledge.
Is it possible for a rural woman who can barely read and write to respect knowledge from the bottom of her heart?
If you hadn't experienced it yourself, Technician Xue would have told you it was impossible. But everything happened right before his eyes, and he had to believe it - if he didn't believe in the power of knowledge, which rural woman would hold on to vague hopes and run directly to the agricultural machinery station to seek help?
If it weren't for the heartfelt respect for educated people, which rural woman would take out the best things in her home to entertain a small technician from an agricultural machinery station who hadn't even tested the effectiveness of the machine?
Respect is mutual. Facing Xia Juhua's respect, Technician Xue's mentality of not wanting to owe her a favor quietly changed. His smile to Xia Juhua showed the kind of intimacy that one would have with an elder: "My senior brother will definitely take care of my lunch at noon, so I won't be hungry."
"Okay, as long as I'm not hungry." Xia Juhua nodded in relief. When she heard Zhao Xianzhi calling her, she waved to Technician Xue to do his own thing, and without looking back, she followed Zhao Xianzhi into the supply and marketing cooperative.
The unexpected action made Technician Xue burst into laughter, but this was exactly what Xia Juhua could do.
"Captain, look at this hot pot." Zhao Xianzhi kept holding Xia Juhua tightly and said, "Why is it more expensive than the one Director Lin brought to Ping'an Village?"
Xia Juhua wanted to cover her mouth: "Keep your voice down, what Director Lin took away are processed products, you know, processed products." If Director Lin hadn't brought things that were usually hard to buy, Xia Juhua would not have given in so easily and continued to weave mats.
"Untouched processed goods?" Zhao Xianzhi couldn't believe it when she heard it for the first time. However, she was very good at reading Xia Juhua's expression these days. Seeing that the captain didn't want her to talk any more, she immediately shut her mouth tightly and didn't ask any more questions. She was thinking quickly in her mind that the next time Director Lin brought "processed goods" to Ping'an Village, she would grab one no matter what it was.
It’s cheaper than what’s sold at the supply and marketing cooperatives, and you don’t need industrial coupons. If you can grab one, you’ll make a profit. If you don’t grab one, you’re a fool.
"Auntie?" Zhao Xianzhi was still wondering whether she should reserve a spot with Xia Juhua when someone on the other end called Xia Juhua, and it was none other than Qi Weidong.
Seeing that it was really Xia Juhua, Qi Weidong grinned almost to his ears: "Auntie, you have finished your work, you can come to the supply and marketing cooperative today if you are free. If you want something, why don't you just let Zhishuang tell me? Why don't you make a special trip yourself?"
Facing Qi Weidong, who had the face of a wealthy landlord, Xia Juhua didn't want to say a word: Even if you want Ping'anzhuang to reveal the vermicelli quickly, you don't have to be so obvious, right?
Qi Weidong saw that Xia Juhua was silent, so he was determined not to let the conversation remain silent. He asked with a grin, "Auntie, why did you get here? Have you eaten yet? I have to treat my auntie to lunch at noon. What do you want to eat?"
There was no way to get rid of it. Xia Juhua waited until Qi Weidong finally stopped, then she pulled him to a deserted place and asked, "Xiao Qi, are your vermicelli selling well?"
This sentence successfully made Qi Weidong's smile disappear. The corners of his mouth returned to their original positions from his ears, drooping suspiciously: "Auntie, if the vermicelli wasn't selling so well, I wouldn't be keeping an eye on our Ping An Village, right?"
Xia Juhua just looked at him without saying anything.
Qi Weidong's mouth corners not only drooped, but even his eyelids drooped to the ground, and he dared not look at Xia Juhua: "Auntie, nephew, please, after this batch of vermicelli is leaked, can you leak another batch?"
"Impossible." Xia Juhua refused resolutely.
Qi Weidong was about to cry: "If I had a way, I would not bother Auntie anymore. But I have no choice, right?" At this point, his eyes darted around, and when he realized that no one was paying attention to the two of them, he leaned over to Xia Juhua's ear and said:
"I was afraid that my aunt would worry last time, so I didn't dare tell her everything that happened. I thought that as long as I could grind the sweet potatoes into powder for them, the matter would be over."
Under Xia Juhua's fixed gaze, Qi Weidong's already low voice was almost inaudible: "Who knew that people had already discovered that it was Ping An Manor that was leaking powder, and they said that if I couldn't persuade Auntie Tong to continue to help, they would report it to the Red Team."
If looks could kill, Xia Juhua wouldn't mind dismembering Qi Weidong. Although Xia Juhua had realized that the secret of Pingan Manor might be lost when Qi Weidong brought the second batch of sweet potatoes, she didn't expect it to happen so soon.
It’s all Qi Weidong’s fault!
Xia Juhua knew that she was angry, but it was not easy for Ping An Village to get to where it is today. The entire production team had put in so much effort and sweat, but because of Qi Weidong's decision to sell more vermicelli, it was ruined. How could Xia Juhua not be angry? !
"Auntie?" Qi Weidong didn't dare to look at Xia Juhua's eyes. He called out weakly and said nothing else.
Xia Juhua tried hard to regulate her breathing and asked, "Who is that person and what is his relationship with the Red Team?" If he had no relationship, how could he command Captain Xia of the Red Star Commune?
Qi Weidong finally found his voice: "It's the deputy director of the county revolutionary committee." Seeing Xia Juhua's eyes widened in shock, he quickly explained in a low voice: "Don't worry, auntie, he is my uncle. He has never harmed anyone, and he has always been in charge of agricultural production."
There's no need to explain anymore. If you continue, Xia Juhua will start to suspect that Qi Weidong is kidding her.
She waved to Zhao Xianzhi who was standing by, and when she came over, Xia Juhua asked her to go with others to see what they needed to buy, and told her not to worry if she saw anything she liked, and to wait until she came back, as she had something to do with Qi Weidong.
Zhao Xianzhi was reluctant to leave. It was obvious that the boy was from the city. It was said that people from the city were very cunning. What would happen if the captain got hurt?
Fortunately, Qi Weidong didn't know what Zhao Xianzhi was thinking, otherwise he would have settled accounts with Zhao Xianzhi to find out who had suffered more losses since they started dealing with Xia Juhua.
But now it is obvious that Xia Juhua has to bear more. What else can Qi Weidong do except wait quietly for Xia Juhua's next move?
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