Chapter 79
Liu Xiaoya got up early the next day and went back to her production team. Before leaving, she quietly told Xia Juhua that she did not plan to return to Ping'an Village on the second day of the new year, and asked Xia Juhua to let her know if she had any problems.
Xia Juhua didn't think Liu Xiaoya was so cruel. Just look at where her in-laws lived and you will know how perfunctory the in-laws that Sun found for her were. This time, Liu Xiaoya was embarrassed in front of her nephew and his wife. It would be strange if she was willing to go back to Ping'anzhuang.
Not only did Liu Xiaoya not want to bother with Sun and the others, Xia Juhua also unkindly gave the task assigned to Sun and Liu Sizhuang to Chen Qiusheng. Could Chen Qiusheng push it to someone else? It was obviously impossible, so he didn't bother to do it. Sun asked her to clean the pig pen with Chen Lusheng to prepare for the production team to raise pigs.
Liu Sizhuang was even better. He would give him all the manure collected from each household. As for Sun Guizhi, she was willing to speak. There were still five cows in the village. If she was given the job of feeding the cows in the cowshed, she could instigate the five cows to stop working.
When they heard about the work they were assigned, the Sun family members wanted to object but didn't know who to talk to: Just ask Xia Juhua, she has been discussing the spring ploughing matters with the two technicians Xue Lin these days. Before they even got close, some members stopped them for fear that they would disrupt the work and delay the work.
They wanted Liu Erzhuang to stand up for them, but Liu Erzhuang acted as if he could not hear or see Sun's crying and cursing. He went to work on time and went back to the east room to stay there after work, without even leaving the door.
After several rounds of trouble, Sun knew that Liu Erzhuang didn't like her as his own mother either, so she calmed down instead - Chen Lusheng didn't treat her as a human being. As long as she showed up in the pigpen on time every day, Sun could sit by the pigpen all day and Chen Lusheng wouldn't say a word.
Apart from being a little cold, it was no different from sitting on the kang, so Sun Shi became completely obedient. Sun Shi became obedient, so Liu Sizhuang and Sun Guizhi also became obedient without any more trouble.
Ping'an Village finally regained the peace and quiet it had when the four members of the Sun family were still in class, but Xia Juhua's heart was once again in suspense: even though the land had been turned over and the grass had grown above her feet, drought conditions were beginning to appear, and there was still no water for the first crop of sweet potato planting.
"Captain, do you want us to connect our canal and river now?" Chen Qiu Sheng, Xia Juhua, and Wu Ye had been standing by the bank of the Xihe River for most of the day, but he still disagreed with Xia Juhua's decision.
Wu Ye also felt that it was a little early to open the canal now: "We have only repaired half of it. If we open it now, it will be difficult to block the river if the water level rises. If there are two heavy rains in the summer and the fields are flooded, the sweet potatoes will be planted in vain." Originally, the seedling raising method was changed this year, and since so few sweet potatoes were used, Wu Ye felt it was unreliable.
Xia Juhua knew what the two men were worried about. She also knew that the high water level in the river would not occur this year - if there was no rain at all, the water level in the river would only become less and less, and in the end there would be only enough food for the people and livestock. How could there be extra water to flood the fields?
So she said very firmly: "Not only must it be opened, but the water supply must start tomorrow."
Each production team had to break through the barriers between the canals and the river, but it was not entirely up to them, because according to the planning of the commune and the brigade, the canals of each production team would eventually be connected together.
If a production team opens its own canal but fails to notify its neighboring production team in time, once the barrier between the two production teams is not strong, it will easily destroy the canal of the other production team.
Adjacent to Ping'an Village are Xiaozhuangtou and Team 3. The progress of the canal repair in Xiaozhuangtou is almost the same as that in Ping'an. Both teams have water outlets connected to the river. Whether Ping'an Village opens the waterway or not has little impact on Xiaozhuangtou.
However, the third team needed to connect to the canal of Ping'an Village and then connect to the river through the canal of Ping'an Village. There was still nearly two miles between the canals of the two teams, so even if a flood really occurred after the canal of Ping'an Village was opened, it would be a long time before the third team would be flooded.
However, Xia Juhua still rode her bicycle to the brigade headquarters to find Li Changshun and told him that the Ping'an Village production team wanted to open up the waterway. Li Changshun looked at Xia Juhua several times and asked, "Are you worried that it won't rain and you won't be able to water the sweet potatoes?"
Because the production teams themselves had proposed expanding the sweet potato planting area, Xia Juhua nodded without hesitation and said, "Captain, the two snowfalls in winter didn't even cover the ground. I'm afraid that if we don't open the waterway now, if the upper team starts diverting water in a few days, there will be no water in the Xihe River to flow into the fields of Ping'an Village."
Li Changshun was silent. He knew that sweet potatoes were drought-resistant, but they had to be watered when they were first planted, otherwise it would be useless no matter how well the seedlings were grown. So he asked Xia Juhua a question that had nothing to do with waterways: "How are your sweet potato seedlings growing?"
"It has already grown seven or eight leaves."
"If seven or eight leaves grow so early, will they survive if planted in the ground?" Li Changshun was a little worried. Even if the waterway was opened and the sweet potatoes were planted in the ground, the weather was still a bit cold and the sweet potatoes might survive.
The situation this year is not optimistic. Losing even a little bit of food is heartbreaking, and it is something that the production teams cannot afford. Therefore, Li Changshun wants to ask whether the sweet potato seedlings in Ping'an Village can really supply all the production teams in the brigade.
Xia Juhua had planted sweet potatoes in her previous life, so she nodded to Li Changshun with certainty and said, "I heard from Technician Lin that it is not the time to plant sweet potatoes yet. We have to wait until the sweet potato vines grow longer."
Since the sweet potato vines still need to grow, there is still time to clear the waterway. Li Changshun nodded: "Okay, I will also notify the small village head and let them work with you to clear the waterway. It's just that the third team is a problem. It can't be connected to the canal of your production team at all."
This made Xia Juhua feel awkward again. It was already spring ploughing time, not a good time to build a canal. Besides, the canal in Ping'an Village was built according to the plan of the brigade, not on its own initiative to build it towards the third team.
Li Changshun knew that Xia Juhua would not say anything she was not sure about, but he still warned her: "You have to be careful with the sweet potato seedlings. This is the first year I planted sweet potatoes like this, and I have no confidence at all."
Seeing Xia Juhua nod and leave, Li Changshun called her back again, and the look of wanting to speak but not knowing how to speak made Xia Juhua nervous: Li Changshun showed this expression several times, wanting Ping An Zhuang to share the benefits with other production teams. Ping An Zhuang was not stingy with the benefits it could share, and Xia Juhua also refused the benefits it could not share.
Could it be that they want Pinganzhuang to give up something now? Xia Juhua thought quickly about what else Pinganzhuang had that the brigade or other production teams would be interested in. She was afraid that it was only Technician Xue and the tractor he brought with him - using a tractor to turn the soil was too easy, and other production teams had already made sour comments.
Unexpectedly, Li Changshun asked after a while: "Did your Zhishuang see each other again?"
Xia Juhua was stunned by the question: "These days, I've been busy tilling the soil after I finished my powder leaking, so I don't have time to look after him. It's up to him. It's useless if I think he's good but he doesn't want to."
"How can we let him do it on his own?" Li Changshun disagreed: "Last time, he chose the girl himself. She was not someone who could live a good life. You are not careful this time. You married another girl like that. Are you still following them to hunt for gods?"
How did the topic change from a serious matter of clearing the waterway to a leader caring about his family's private affairs? Xia Juhua couldn't figure it out, so she could only say vaguely, "That's something that needs to be done. The production team is very busy right now, and Zhiquan's wife is in confinement after giving birth, so she can't take care of Zhishuang."
Li Changshun thought about it for a while, then he said with determination: "Someone asked me to ask, but I don't know if you agree or not."
What? The team leader wants to be a matchmaker for Liu Zhishuang? Xia Juhua was really scared and said quickly: "Team leader, there is no rush for this matter. Let's wait until we clear the waterway and plant the sweet potatoes. We can't let Zhishuang's personal problems delay the production team's work." After saying that, she didn't even bother to see if Li Changshun looked good or not, and rode her bicycle back to Ping'an Village.
Li Changshun looked at Xia Juhua, who seemed to be followed by someone, and shook his head helplessly. He said to the accountant who came out with him and watched Xia Juhua go away, "Xia Juhua may not be able to make decisions for her son. She ran away as soon as I mentioned it." He then asked, "Why did you choose Liu Zhishuang? He has been divorced once."
It turned out that the person Li Changshun wanted to introduce was the daughter of the brigade accountant. The brigade accountant himself had chosen Liu Zhishuang, but because he was not familiar with Xia Juhua, he asked Li Changshun to introduce her.
This was exactly what Li Changshun couldn't understand. The brigade accountant had been his partner for more than 20 years. He was a man who only spoke half of what he said and never spoke the full amount. He also loved young girls the most. Many people wanted to matchmake young girls for him, but he refused to accept any of them. Yet that day, the accountant asked him to matchmake the young girl with the divorced Liu Zhishuang.
When the accountant Chang Yuqing heard that things were not going well, he wanted Li Changshun to speak for him again. He sighed and said, "It's not just that I chose Liu Zhishuang, but mainly because Liu Zhishuang's mother is Xia Xiaohuo."
Only then did Li Changshun understand that Chang Yuqing first picked a capable mother-in-law for his daughter, and then chose Liu Zhishuang, who was divorced but had a rich family background. Yes, just hearing about Wang Caifeng's confinement, many people envied her for having a good mother-in-law. Those who really loved their daughters would definitely choose Liu Zhishuang - he was so good to his eldest daughter-in-law, so he would be no worse to his younger daughter-in-law.
Xia Juhua, who was riding a bicycle back to Ping'an Village, felt halfway that her behavior of almost running away was a little ridiculous - it is said that once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of the rope for ten years, but she could not let anyone introduce a girl to Liu Zhishuang, so she was so scared that she didn't even dare to ask who the girl was.
Not all daughters raised by families are the same as the old Sun family. Birds of a feather flock together. People who can be introduced by Li Changshun must have a good relationship with him. Although Li Changshun sometimes has the idea of "robbing the rich to help the poor", his character is beyond reproach.
一路騎一路想，回到平安莊的夏菊花就把這事兒給抛到腦後去了——既然大隊已經同意平安莊打通水道，那就得快把事情落實了，才能心裏踏實。
水道的屏障不厚，二十幾個壯勞力沒用一個小時，就已經打通了。剛開春湙河的水不大，順着渠慢慢流來，很快就把平安莊連接的渠都給灌滿了。
連上前幾年修的水渠，平安莊足足有一半的地可以用上湙河水澆灌，夏菊花就算知道河水用不上多長時間，心裏也是高興的——有水浸潤着，水渠邊上的野菜也能比別處長得快長得久些，平安莊的人能多采上些糊弄幾頓。
就是現在劉家根本找不出挖野菜的人：夏菊花自己忙生産隊的事兒，劉志全兄弟兩個即得幹自己那份工，還得額外替親娘看着別人些，王彩鳳還有坐月子，劉保國？劉保國自己還得有人不時看着點兒呢。
“大娘，這是我跟紅翠兩個挖的曲麻菜，給大娘晚上蘸醬吃。”劉紅玲邊進院邊喊人，遞上一藍子已經摘淨洗好嫩生生的曲麻菜。
夏菊花忍不住說她：“你跟紅翠兩個能挖多少，都給我拿來了你們晚上吃什麽。”現在自留地裏的菜剛露出頭來，想吃口青菜，只能指望着孩子們在地裏挖的野菜。
紅玲笑着還往前遞藍子：“我們兩在去年修的水渠邊挖的，好大一片呢。大娘你以後別自己挖野菜去，我和紅翠倆能供上你吃。”
“紅玲，你也來啦。”小滿胳膊上挎着一個小小的藍子，見到紅玲臉上很高興的跟她打招呼：“你也是來給隊長送野菜的嗎？”
紅玲點頭，自己接過小滿手裏的藍子送到廚房裏，出來時候說：“正好，我挖的曲麻菜多，你這裏頭荠荠菜不少，能給我大娘換個樣兒。”
兩姑娘有來道去給安排的明明白白，夏菊花拒絕的話還沒想好呢，由着她們說完了，才囑咐道：“你們現在白天得下地幹活，晚上還得編席，有空了在家裏歇一會兒，別光挖野菜。”
說是這麽說，現在沒種上地的田裏、舊年修的水渠邊上，一行一行的人提着藍子，都在抓緊時間挖野菜，姑娘們是不可能在家裏沒菜吃的時候，留在家裏歇着的。
被夏菊花留下來伺候王彩鳳月子的親家母，從廚房裏把兩個空藍子提出來，邊笑邊遞給兩位姑娘：“都是細心的孩子，那菜摘的幹淨着呢。一看就洗了好幾遍，一點兒草葉兒都沒有。”
夏菊花跟着點頭說：“我們平安莊的姑娘們，都是細心孩子。”
親家母湊趣的笑着說：“可不是，現在別的生産隊的人，都想着娶平安莊的姑娘呢。”更想嫁進平安莊來，可惜這話在劉家有點兒忌諱，親家母才沒說出口。
前頭的話足以讓兩個姑娘紅了臉，搶過自己的藍子跑走了。夏菊花想到劉紅玲的年紀，還真到了該說親的時候，臉上有點兒恍惚：
“一眨眼紅玲都這麽大了。當初我有了志雙沒二年，大丫就生了紅玲。她進門兩年沒開懷，頭一個生的又是紅玲，可沒少被志全他奶奶罵，連月子都沒坐好。”
親家母覺得自己對這事兒很有發言權：“跟你似的看孫女比孫子還稀罕，可沒幾個。”家家都盼着孫子越多越好。
夏菊花沒法說上輩子的孫輩裏，樂樂因為從小身體不好自己分外疼她，所以長大後哪怕她娘老說奶奶不好，這丫頭也跟自己比別人親近。
現在只能笑着說：“咱們自己就是女的，要是嫌棄我孫女，不跟嫌棄我自己一樣。”
當然沒有人嫌棄夏菊花，現在平安莊的人提起夏菊花來人人稱一聲隊長，知道她家沒人挖野菜，每天都有人送挖好摘淨的野菜，生怕她家少了吃的。
夏菊花沒法拒絕大家的好意，只能跟親家母把多出來的野菜曬到大笸籮裏，以備沒菜吃的時候泡過可以頂一下——天氣越來越幹，開春後只零星下了兩場地皮都沒濕透的小雨，夏菊花一直擔心的旱災，越來越近了。
趙仙枝看着再次矮下去的葦垛，來找夏菊花：“隊長，咱們的葦席已經編夠數了，供銷社咋還不來拉？再有葦杆又用得差不多了，還買不買？”
夏菊花也覺得林主任這次來的太晚了，往常不等平安莊編完席，他就要跑兩回，看看自己啥時來拉席合适。這次老沒露面，萬一有點兒變故不收席了，平安莊婦女們好不容易調動起來的積極性，怕是要受挫。
因此馬上向趙仙枝點頭說：“暫時先不編了，葦杆也不急着買。那東西放一夏天就變色了，編出來的席發舊不好看。”
趙仙枝聽了有些為難的看夏菊花說：“從拆了葦牆，大家都等着供銷社來拉席呢，要是再不來的話，怕是大家都坐不住了。”
夏菊花自己也坐不住，第二天一大早就騎上自行車往縣城跑。走到半路上碰到從農機站加完油的薛技術員，他停下拖拉機問夏菊花去幹啥。聽說她要去縣城，非得要自己送夏菊花一趟，被夏菊花拒絕了：
“別看地都翻過了，可林技術員那兒還想試試你做的那個播種的東西好不好使，你快跟着他忙去吧。”要是那東西試着也管用，平安莊可就省大事兒了。
薛技術員一向犟不過夏菊花，只好重新坐回駕駛座，大聲沖她喊：“隊長你別着急，要是有事兒就去縣農機站找我師兄。”
原來薛技術員的師兄也是農機站的，不過人家在縣農機站，薛技術員受家裏連累只能在紅星公社的農機站窩着。也幸虧他在公社農機站，要不平安莊還得不了這麽熱心技術員的幫助。
一路想着，車子騎的就快，兩邊田地裏的景象飛快的退後，仍然撲了夏菊花滿眼：遠遠掃着，地頭田角綠色漸深，一些小小的身影徘徊着，不時蹲下，是孩子們在挖野菜。田裏好些幹活的人，看上去勁頭都不大足，翻起地來有氣無力的。
還是平安莊的人幹活實在，哪怕有拖拉機幫着翻地，可拍土塊、打垅這些活就能看出大家幹活的勁頭十足，別的生産隊兩天能幹完的活兒，平安莊的人一天半就能幹完。
天時不好，人再不勤快着點兒，今年的日子怕是更難過。
夏菊花還沒來得及替別人擔心，人已經進了縣城。街上人比起年前年後來明顯見少，供銷社裏也沒有幾個買東西的。她是來過供銷社的人，知道林主任的辦公室在哪兒，想着不麻煩別人，自己直接找他就行了。
不想剛往辦公的地方邁，身後就有人不耐煩的喊住了夏菊花：“哎，那個女同志，辦公區禁止入內，你想買啥東西就在外頭挑。”
夏菊花回頭看向沖自己喊的售貨員說：“我不是來買東西的，是來找林組長有點兒事兒。”
“找林組長？”那個售貨員不相信的打量了夏菊花幾眼，猛然想起自己見過這個農村婦女：“你是那個平安莊生産隊的隊長吧？”說完臉上已經帶出笑模樣來。
被人認出來，夏菊花沒什麽可驕傲的，笑着向人點頭說：“是我，我是想來問問林組長，我們生産隊的席都編完了，啥時候去拉。”
那個售貨員臉就變了，拉着夏菊花走到沒人的地方，小聲對她說：“林組長好幾天都沒來上班了，聽說家裏出了點兒事兒。”
夏菊花聽了臉色也變了：“出了啥事兒？”
那個售貨員搖頭說不知道，夏菊花只好問：“那鄭主任在嗎？”最後一批訂單，鄭主任應該也知道。既然林主任不在，今天總得知道個準信兒。
售貨員聽了點頭說：“鄭主任倒是在，不過這幾天臉色也不太好。”
夏菊花聽了眉不由皺一下，由着售貨員指點找到了鄭主任辦公室，敲了下門，聽到裏頭讓進的時候自己推開：“鄭主任。”
鄭主任擡頭一看夏菊花，臉上帶着笑跟她打招呼，請她坐下才說：“你們等急了吧。林組長家裏出了點兒事，沒及時去你們生産隊拉席，我想你們就該着急了，正想着這兩天就讓人去你們生産隊拉席呢。”
夏菊花并不掩飾自己的急切：“可不是着急了。大家編了這老長時間，見供銷社一直不去拉席，心裏都沒底呢。”
供銷社也在等着這批席，鄭主任見夏菊花找來了，當即拍板說明後天一定派人去拉席。夏菊花正事說完，加着小心問：“鄭主任，不知道林組長家裏出了啥事兒，我聽說他好幾天不上班了。”
鄭主任往外看了一眼，自己站起來把門關上，才小聲說：“你跟林組長認識的時間不短了，知道他的為人，我才敢跟你說。”見夏菊花目不轉睛的看着自己，聲音更小了：
"His brother was arrested by the Red Team. I heard that he was caught with his belongings in the black market. Someone reported that the things his brother was selling were brought by Team Leader Lin while he was purchasing for the supply and marketing cooperative. I was afraid of the bad influence, so I let him rest at home for two days."
Xia Juhua blurted out: "Impossible, Team Leader Lin is not that kind of person." If he was really that kind of person, that thing should have been available on the black market when Xia Juhua was frying sugar-coated peanuts, otherwise Qi Weidong's fried peanuts would not have sold so well.
Director Zheng sighed: "Of course I know that Team Leader Lin is not that kind of person. If he were that kind of person, I could transfer him back to the county. But it's useless for me to believe in him. The people in the Red Team must believe in him too."
After hearing this, Xia Juhua asked Director Zheng thoughtfully, "Did his brother admit it?"