Chapter 83 (1)
The director became happier as he listened, and immediately said, "Let's go to the Ping'anzhuang production team one day. We can't just give them a title and leave them alone, lest someone embarrasses their production team." He knew the people below him too well, and knew what they would do if they wanted to embarrass a small production team leader.
Uncle Qi smiled and said, "She is in my office right now. If the director wants to know the situation, I will call her over right now."
"No, I'll go to your office." The director stood up and walked out, saying as he walked, "Don't think it's you who decided to let Ping An Manor leak vermicelli, but if they don't work hard to cooperate, your decision alone won't save those sweet potatoes in the granary."
Then he shook his head and said, "If you had told me earlier, the sweet potatoes in the county grain station would have been wasted a lot less."
Uncle Qi opened his mouth and swallowed the words that were about to come out of him - although the director was criticized by his superiors for only pulling the cart with his head down and not looking at the road, in reality he was mostly in charge of politics, and he didn't dare to take this risk with the food supply of the entire county.
Xia Juhua, who was waiting in Uncle Qi's office, was a little restless. Please don't blame her for being impatient. As a rural woman who was the most powerful official she had ever met in her two lives, Deputy Director Qi, she couldn't imagine who Uncle Qi was reporting to, and whether he could put the farmers' food first like Uncle Qi.
If people think that Ping An Zhuang only cares about production and not politics, not only will they not buy the remaining materials for digging wells, they may even force Ping An Zhuang to fill up the wells that have been dug.
That was a well that everyone dug day and night for four days before water came out. Whether the surrounding dozens of acres of land can have a harvest this year depends on it. If the leader really makes such a decision, Xia Juhua is ready to obey in public but disobey in private - anyway, the leader can't live in Ping'an Village forever, so she will take people to fill a few baskets of soil first, and then dig again after they leave!
Just as she was thinking hard, the office door was pushed open, and a leader she had never seen before stood at the door, looking at Xia Juhua with a smile.
"It's Captain Xia, right? You have led the members of the Ping'an Village production team to develop agricultural production. Thank you for your hard work." The director took two steps forward and still stretched out his hand to Xia Juhua with a smile.
The expression on Xia Juhua's face became even more confused. She couldn't help but look at Uncle Qi who followed in. She didn't know how to deal with the hand stretched out in front of her.
Uncle Qi smiled and introduced the director of the county revolutionary committee to Xia Juhua. Xia Juhua shook hands with him briefly and stood there without saying a word or moving.
The director noticed her nervousness and kindly asked about the current production priorities of Ping'an Village and the growth of sweet potatoes. Finally, the topic came to the well dug in Ping'an Village.
Xia Juhua answered the director's questions very carefully. As for Uncle Yu Qi's statements that had already been beautified for Ping'an Village, Xia Juhua could almost think of how to respond to the second sentence as soon as the director mentioned it, so there was no problem.
Uncle Qi was worried that Xia Juhua's answer would be different from what he reported to the director. Unexpectedly, Xia Juhua's answer was more cautious than his own. She directly defined the original intention of Ping An Village's leaking vermicelli as the worry that her production team's sweet potatoes were not properly stored and food was wasted. The director praised her for her strong work initiative.
"So how many more wells do you think can be drilled in Ping'an Village, and how many more wells can be drilled in Xiajia Village?" the director finally asked Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua counted the wells in Ping'an Village in her mind. When she was waiting for her uncle to arrive, she recalled the wells in Xiajia Village. She said confidently, "We have almost completed half of the canal in Ping'an Village. I think we can dig five more wells in the remaining land and one more well for the village to drink, and we will be able to handle it."
After saying the word "deal with", Xia Juhua looked at the director with some embarrassment. She was afraid that the leader would not like to hear such a word. Unexpectedly, the director just nodded to signal Xia Juhua to continue, so she continued:
"As for my mother's village, they are far away from the Xihe River and have not built a canal yet, so they have to dig at least seven wells in the field." She wanted to say ten, but when she recalled it just now, she could only remember the exact location of seven wells. Xia Juhua simply said the ones she was sure of.
The director looked at Uncle Qi who was also standing there seriously and said, "Deputy Director Qi, I think the members of the Ping'anzhuang production team took the initiative to fight the disaster and set a good example for all the production teams in the county. In order to commend them for this behavior, can you help them solve the problem of the funds for digging wells?"
Was it a blessing from heaven? Xia Juhua thought she was hallucinating, and finally looked up and looked at the director: "Solve our funding problem? No need for the director, just provide us with materials. Our production team members are strong, and we can give work points to the well diggers ourselves."
"Haha," the director laughed and said to Uncle Qi, "The peasants are too simple. Since they want to be self-reliant, then Deputy Director Qi, I will leave it to you to solve the material problem for the Ping'anzhuang Production Team and the Xiajiazhuang Production Team."
Uncle Qi nodded quickly: "Okay, Director. I think we can ask the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau to issue a notice and have them notify all communes, production brigades, and production teams. For those who want to dig wells and produce water to fight drought, the materials can be uniformly allocated by the County Agriculture and Forestry Bureau."
This suggestion would undoubtedly change the support for Pingan Village to an encouragement for all production teams in the county to dig wells, but it sounds like it would cost a lot of money. Xia Juhua thought the director would disagree, but unexpectedly he nodded:
"I think it's OK. The Bureau of Agriculture and Forestry's budget for this year should not have been used yet. It is indeed more convenient for them to allocate materials than to let each production team purchase them on their own. Besides, they take the money and give it to those people... it is better to let each production team dig wells."
The omitted words in the middle were obviously not what Xia Juhua should have heard. She pretended not to understand and asked Uncle Qi: "Director Qi, can our production team go to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau to ask for materials today? Where is their bureau?"
The director was already walking towards the office door. When he heard Xia Juhua's question, he stopped and said to Director Qi, "Why don't you take Captain Xia to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau so that she won't be unable to find the place to get the materials next time. By the way, Captain Xia, can you bring so many materials back to the production team by yourself?"
Xia Juhua quickly thanked the leader for his concern and said, "Technician Xue from our commune's agricultural machinery station is driving a tractor. He is only hauling materials from three wells, so there will be no problem." If there are any problems, they can also find Qi Weidong, and there is no need to let such a senior leader as the director know.
The director extended his hand to Xia Juhua again, and this time Xia Juhua shook it vigorously. She heard the director's earnest words to her: "Captain Xia, you have ideas and abilities, and you have managed the production of the Ping'anzhuang production team very well, but your vision cannot be limited to the Ping'anzhuang production team."
What does that mean? Xia Juhua didn't know when and how the director left. She stared at Uncle Qi blankly: I just didn't want to see the familiar people in Ping An Manor go hungry again, so I had to become the leader of the production team of Ping An Manor.
Uncle Qi sent the director to the door, and what he saw was Xia Juhua staring at him with a surprised expression, as if she had not yet digested what the director had just said. In fact, Uncle Qi himself had the same idea in his mind when he heard about what Xia Juhua had done with the Ping'an Village production team.
He just didn't say it because he thought that although he was the deputy director in charge of agriculture, it was not good for him to directly interfere in the work of a brigade, so he didn't say it. Now that the director said it himself, Uncle Qi was a little excited.
"Captain Xia, let's go to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau first." Uncle Qi held back his smile and called out to Xia Juhua.
Could Xia Juhua ask Uncle Qi if the director's words were what she thought? Not to mention that she just wanted to quietly make some money with the people of Ping'an Manor, even if she wanted to "become an official", asking like this seemed too eager.
Just pretend that I didn't hear it. Xia Juhua encouraged herself in her heart, smiled at Uncle Qi with a guilty conscience, and followed him out of the County Revolutionary Committee. After leaving the door, she remembered to say, "Director Qi, Technician Xue is still waiting for me at Xiao Qi's place, and the tractor is also parked at the entrance of Xiao Qi's alley."
Uncle Qi understood, and as he and Xia Juhua walked toward Qi Weidong's house, he said, "Weidong is a bit unreliable. After meeting Captain Xia, he did some bad things."
Parents always feel that their children are not good enough, but they can say things they dislike, which others cannot. Xia Juhua knew this very well, so she did not respond to her uncle's words.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Li Lin standing there looking at them. He probably didn't expect Uncle Qi to come with Xia Juhua. After seeing the two of them clearly, he turned around and ran into the alley.
"Stop right there." Uncle Qi shouted at Li Lin. His voice was so stern. It was the first time Xia Juhua heard him speak to someone like that.
Li Lin stopped immediately, turned around and smiled at Uncle Xiang Qi in a flattering manner: "Brother-in-law."
What's going on? Li Lin, who followed Qi Weidong to the black market, called Uncle Qi his brother-in-law? Xia Juhua was really frightened today, otherwise she would ask Uncle Qi if the people in your family had contracted the black market.
Fortunately, Xia Juhua was still rational and did not ask. When she arrived at Qi Weidong's house, she listened to Uncle Qi scolding his nephew and brother-in-law, then she took Technician Xue and Uncle Qi and got on the tractor.
"Why don't you two come with us to move the things? Do you want me and Captain Xia to do it?" Uncle Qi yelled at Qi Weidong and Li Lin, who were obviously relieved, and yelled them both into the tractor. Then he angrily gave directions to Technician Xue.
Qi Weidong leaned over to Xia Juhua's ear and whispered, "Auntie, why did my uncle come with you? Why did he take you to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau?"
When Qi Weidong heard that Uncle Qi was going to take Xia Juhua to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau to get materials for digging a well, he immediately changed his expression to one of gloating: "It's his fault. Wang from the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau only knows how to curry favor with those rebels in the Revolutionary Committee. He always gives subsidies to the Red Team members so that they dare not take the director's words seriously. This time he has no money, I wonder if those people will still curry favor with him."
Well, Qi Weidong had said all the things that the director had just said in Uncle Qi's office. Xia Juhua asked without any psychological burden, "Will he be able to give us the things without hesitation?"
"The director and deputy director have spoken, why shouldn't he give it to them? Those rebels don't even dare to show their tails now, how dare a dog like him show his teeth?!"
Indeed, I dare not show my teeth. Looking at the tractor full of materials, Xia Juhua gave such an evaluation in her heart. However, she still politely said goodbye to Director Wang and asked him to go to Ping'an Village to check the use of materials when he had time.
Uncle Qi was reminded and continued to assign tasks to Director Wang in a dignified manner: "Captain Xia's words remind me that you should set up a special inspection team to inspect the production teams that have received the materials. If no wells are drilled, the materials must be returned. If the materials cannot be returned, they must be converted into money to take them back."
Doing so can prevent someone from claiming materials falsely, and can also encourage each production team to find the right location for digging wells as much as possible, to prevent people from digging holes everywhere without caring about the materials because they see that the materials are free, which not only wastes materials but also damages the land.
Director Wang understood what Uncle Qi said, and said goodbye to Xia Juhua with a smile and a nod. He asked Xia Juhua to come to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to get the money she spent on the materials used to dig the first well and bring the receipt for reimbursement.
This really made Xia Juhua feel very embarrassed: "Director Wang, you know that we farmers don't have any habits to rely on when we buy things. If we buy something, it's bought. If we don't buy something, it's not bought."
Director Wang looked at Uncle Qi with an awkward expression: "Deputy Director Qi, if there is no evidence, it will be difficult for our bureau to handle this matter."
Uncle Qi thought for a moment and said, "The materials Captain Xia received today are for three wells. If you average them out, can't you figure out how much material is needed for each well? The wells of their production team have all produced water, so they can't fake it."
It's true, but didn't he just want to embarrass this rural woman? Director Wang's smile could no longer be maintained, and Qi Weidong turned his head away.
Finally, due to Uncle Qi's concern, Director Wang could not let Xia Juhua go to the county town again the next day, and had to give her the money for the first batch of materials.
Even after the tractor left the county, Xia Juhua still felt like she was dreaming. She asked Technician Xue, "I really didn't spend any money on these materials, did I?"
Although Technician Xue also felt that he had learned something new, he accepted it much better than Xia Juhua: "Not only did you not spend any money on the materials today, but you won't have to go around asking people to buy materials for your next well drilling in the future."
The members of Ping An Village who had been waiting to help Xia Juhua unload the materials came over to greet the tractor. Chen Qiusheng smiled and asked, "Captain, you came back much earlier today than last time. It seems that buying materials went smoothly."
Xia Juhua got off the tractor, nodded to Chen Qiusheng, and waved to the captain of the third team who was waiting on the side to let him come over. The captain of the third team knew that there were materials from his production team inside, but he wanted Ping'anzhuang to unload them first, and he and his men continued to wait.
Seeing Xia Juhua calling him, he came up to her and thanked her for her hard work, but didn't even ask how much it cost. Xia Juhua took out the 200 yuan she had received yesterday and gave it to him: "Today's materials were issued by the County Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, and I didn't spend a penny."
The captain of the third team was also amazed. This young man Xia was so capable. How could he bring back so many materials from the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau for nothing?
Chen Qiu Sheng also didn't believe it, but the big knife that Xia Juhua took out couldn't be fake, and she was not the one who bought the materials for the third team out of her own pocket.
"Forget it, let's go to the brigade together." Xia Juhua thought about it and decided to tell Li Changshun about this matter - the sooner the news is known, the sooner the materials can be collected. Otherwise, if all the communes and brigades go to collect the materials, the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau will not be able to produce so many materials at once.
The leader of Team 3 had almost reached the point where he believed everything Xia Juhua said. He told the members of his production team to wait until the materials from Pingan Village were unloaded before getting the materials from Team 3. After getting the materials, they should immediately carry them back to the production team and happily follow Xia Juhua to the brigade.
Everyone knew that Xia Juhua was not a boaster and that the materials for digging wells in Ping'an Village and Team 3 had been brought back. However, Li Changshun and the captains of the remaining three production teams still couldn't believe it and asked, "The County Agriculture and Forestry Bureau will provide us with materials to dig wells?"
How did they know that we were going to dig a well? How did Xia Xiao know the people from the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, and how did he get them to give the production team materials for free? For many years, farmers had to pay public grain and work as laborers. At most, they would get some relief grain when they had no food to eat. They had never received materials for free.
Xia Juhua had to explain to everyone: "The county agriculture and forestry bureau not only provides materials to our Ping'anzhuang brigade, but also to all production teams that want to dig wells. However, they said that if no water can be pumped out, the materials must be returned or converted into money to pay them back."
Li Daniu was almost jealous of the captain of the third team: "You are so good, Lao Niu, why did you think of buying materials with Captain Xia? They even had to bring them back from the county for you, you got a great deal."
The captain of the third team couldn't help but be proud: "From now on, I won't believe anyone but Captain Xia. You see, we are making money by leaking powder with Ping An Zhuang. We are also making money by selling reed poles to Ping An Zhuang. Yesterday, I thought that since Ping An Zhuang dared to dig a well, our production team couldn't be much worse than Ping An Zhuang, and couldn't fall too far behind Captain Xia. So today..."
The other three production team leaders: I really want to beat this guy to death.
Li Changshun didn't have any objection to the captain of the third team saying that he would only listen to Xia Juhua in the future. He smiled and said to the three production captains, "See, I told you that Captain Niu is the most clear-headed among you, but you still don't want to listen. Come on, go back and calculate how many wells your production team needs to dig, and then calculate how much materials are needed. If you can't figure it out, go ask Chen Qiusheng, that guy remembers the accounts clearly."
Xia Juhua, who originally wanted to go with other production team leaders, was kept back by Li Changshun. She was very upset: this old man always left her alone to make things difficult for her. Now Xia Juhua wished she could meet Li Changshun.
"Come on, it's as if I've ever troubled you." Seeing Xia Juhua looking at him warily, Li Changshun asked her to sit down with a smile and asked, "Does the county really say that it can't produce water? Do we have to return the materials?"
Xia Juhua thought this was an answer: "Well, I heard Director Qi and Director Wang say this. I also think this is the right way to do it. Otherwise, each production team would just dig holes in the ground when they have nothing to do. How much material would be needed?"
"How many more wells does your production team plan to drill?"
"I thought that after I finish drilling these two wells, if it doesn't rain yet, I will drill four more. If it rains, I will drill two less." Xia Juhua told her plan.
Li Changshun knocked on the table and asked again: "Then do you know where to dig the well?"
Xia Juhua nodded: "I have discussed it with Technicians Xue and Lin and have decided on a few locations. But it depends on whether these two wells can produce water."
Li Changshun felt that Xia Juhua was still safe: "You think so, it's a good idea. But you have also seen those team leaders, they are not as careful as you, nor do they have as many ideas as you. I can't do anything anymore, so you have to lead their production teams in the future."
What are you all thinking about? Xia Juhua really wanted to ask Li Changshun whether he had secretly met with the director of the county revolutionary committee. Why did everyone say such things?
She shook her head at Li Changshun and said, "Captain, who in our brigade is more prestigious than you? The production captains all listen to you. You can't say you can't do it anymore. With your physique, I think you can do it for another ten or eight years without any problem."
Li Changshun was amused by her: "I am only six or seven years younger than Fifth Master. He is waiting for someone to serve him at home every day. Do you still want me to work for him for ten or eight years? Do you want to tire me to death?"
Indeed, Li Changshun looks strong, but he is already in his sixties. According to the current life expectancy, he has already entered the ranks of the elderly. But he is usually so energetic that people often ignore his age, and he is still worried about everyone in the Ping'an Village Brigade.
This could not help but move Xia Juhua, and she smiled: "Captain, please don't say that. If I say you can work for another ten years, then you can work for another ten years."
"Alas, I also want to work for another ten years, but my thinking can't keep up. I think many things are wrong, but you have done them, and everyone is living a good life." Li Changshun's expression was a little sad: "Dear Dazhuang, don't think that I sometimes favor those production teams."
"In my opinion, the entire Ping An Zhuang team is just like my own children. I feel unbearable for anyone who has a bad life. I think I can help them if they are doing well."
"You were unwilling to help other production teams these few times. I thought about it later. It's not that you don't care about human feelings, but I was wrong. The people in your production team didn't work together so well from the beginning, nor did they listen to you in everything. You have to rely on your own ability to gain recognition from the members. If you don't protect the people in the Ping'an Village production team and only help other production teams, why would they listen to you?"
"So I thought, since you have this ability, I will give you a bigger place to use your ability, so that everyone in Ping An Village can benefit from you."
Xia Juhua's face turned green: "Captain, I don't have that ability."
"You have." Li Changshun said confidently: "Have you seen the captain of the third team? Now he is trying to do whatever you do in Ping'an Village. He is more active than me in doing anything. Even Li Daniu and the other two can't save face. You wait and see. When the time comes, they will come to you and ask you to find a place to dig a well for them without me saying anything."
Xia Juhua left the brigade with her steps treading on cotton balls. After walking for half a mile, she remembered that she had left her bicycle at the brigade, so she went back to get it. After getting it back, she did not ride it, but pushed the bicycle slowly towards Pingan Village.
In her previous life, she had not been to the brigade headquarters many times, and she always used the wells she passed by to measure how far she had walked and how far she was from the brigade headquarters, so she had some idea of which wells could produce water among the places she passed by.
But Xia Juhua didn't want to say it, because she was afraid that if she said it, Li Changshun would not give up the idea of letting her lead those production teams. She was just a rural woman, and she wanted to live her life again so that she would no longer be talked about, no longer be called the best, and then save some money for retirement, so that she could live a quiet life without anyone relying on her.
Xia Juhua accidentally took over the position of the leader of the Ping'an Village production team. She had to use all her strength to avoid a repetition of the tragedy of her previous life. Now that she saw initial results, she was ready to retire after completing the task. Li Changshun asked her to lead the leaders of the production teams?
Can she lead them? Xia Juhua doesn't even know all the people in the production team, how can she expect them to agree with her ideas like the members of Ping An Village? No one cares about her ideas, so no matter how capable Xia Juhua is, she can't use them.
Besides, Xia Juhua never thought that she was a capable person. It was just that her life experience made her a little more knowledgeable than the people around her. She didn't think that just based on this little knowledge, she could let the whole Pinganzhuang team live a good life.
When Master Wu heard Xia Juhua complaining to him, his eyes lit up: "If you went to the brigade, wouldn't it be easier for our production team members to recruit workers or join the army?"
Xia Juhua looked at Fifth Master in an accusing manner. She had never expected that the old man would want to sell her out for a few quotas for recruitment and enlistment: "Fifth Master, the county hasn't recruited workers from the countryside for many years. There are still quotas for enlistment. A brigade only has six or seven a year, and there are thousands of people watching."
"That's right." Master Wu knocked on the tobacco pot with some regret. "It's better to choose the location of the two wells. Are you sure you can get water from those two places? They are not far from the third team's location."
Precisely because it is not far from the land of the Third Team, it is far from the Xian River, and the canal has not been built, so it is necessary to use well water to irrigate the crops.
Seeing Xia Juhua nod, the Fifth Master had nothing else to say. He let Xia Juhua take Chen Qiu Sheng to select the people to dig the well, and they just had to wait for the next day to start digging the second well in Ping'an Village.
Just after the arrangements were made, my mother-in-law came and said, "My dear, your brother from your mother's side is here, and he brought someone with him who he said was the captain of their brigade."
Xiajiazhuang and Ping'anzhuang are not in the same brigade. When Xia Juhua heard that the brigade leader of her mother's brigade had arrived, she had to think about it before she remembered that at that time, the Xiajiazhuang production team was still under the jurisdiction of the Xiawo Brigade, and the brigade leader was Xia Hongmin.
"Then captain, you should go back quickly. I will decide who will dig the well in which area." Seeing that Xia Juhua did not move, Chen Qiu Sheng hurriedly advised her to go home to entertain the guests.
As soon as they entered the yard, Liu Zhiquan and his brother, who had a break from digging a well a few days ago, were sitting on a bench and talking to Xia Long and someone who looked familiar. When they saw Xia Juhua coming back, several of them stood up and greeted her.
Xia Juhua naturally spoke to Xia Hongmin first: "Captain, why are you here? If you have anything to say, just let Xia Long come and tell me." After saying that, she glared at Xia Long again, leaving him confused.
The captain insisted that he come along to see the eldest sister, so how could he not come?
After Xia Hongmin sat down amid the polite invitation, he explained to Xia Juhua the purpose of his visit: in the afternoon he received a notice from the commune asking him to discuss with Xia Juhua how to dig a well for Xiajiazhuang.
Xia Juhua had never expected that the Xiawu Brigade would be notified so quickly. Even Xia Long asked in surprise, "Sister, do you know how to dig a well?"
"I don't know how to dig a well." Xia Juhua firmly refused such a reputation: "I just pay more attention to which piece of land is growing well and which piece of land is growing poorly, regardless of whether it is a year with a lot of rain or a year with little rain. That's why the first well in our Ping'an Village produced water."
"Then do you still remember which piece of land in our production team produced crops during drought?" Xia Long asked excitedly, and said to Xia Hongmin with pride: "My sister has been careful since she was young. None of us brothers can compare to her."
If Xia Hongmin hadn't been watching, Xia Juhua would have given Xia Long a try. But now she could only smile awkwardly at Xia Hongmin and say, "Captain Xia, don't listen to my brother's nonsense. I only remember the things about Xiajiazhuang."
So why was it not the production captain of Xiajiazhuang who came to see him, but the captain of Xiakuo Brigade who came to see him?
Xia Hongmin's face showed some regret: "You can't remember the situation of the two production teams adjacent to Xiajiazhuang?"
Xia Juhua was really helpless: "Captain Xia, I married into Ping'an Village when I was 20 years old." So apart from the affairs of Xiajia Village, she really didn't know the situation of other production teams.
"It's good to remember the things about Xiajiazhuang." Xia Hongmin heard Xia Juhua's resistance and remembered the instructions he received when he received the notice. He stopped pursuing the problems of other production teams and asked Xia Juhua: "Then can you take the people from Xiajiazhuang production team to get materials tomorrow?"
"Do I still need to follow them when they go to fetch materials?" Xia Juhua thought this request was a bit ridiculous. "Deputy Director Qi has already told Director Wang of the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau today that no matter which production team goes to fetch materials, they can be directly distributed."
Xia Hongmin was not as optimistic as Xia Juhua: "You know, we old farmers can't find our way once we enter the county town, and we have to deal with such a big leader. I'm afraid that by then they won't even be able to explain what materials they want to use."
Xia Long also looked at Xia Juhua eagerly and called out as he did when he was a child: "Sister——"
You are so old, and you still call people like that. Aren't you afraid that others will get goosebumps? Xia Juhua glared at Xia Long unceremoniously and said to Xia Hongmin in embarrassment: "Captain, you know that our production team just brought back the materials today, and we are going to drill the second well tomorrow..."
"I know. Everyone in the surrounding villages knows how capable you are." Xia Hongmin praised Xia Juhua without hesitation: "You are so capable. You can arrange the production team's affairs clearly at any time. It doesn't matter if you spend a day or two, right?"
The Liu Zhiquan brothers were stunned by the obvious act of relying on Xia Juhua, and they didn't know how to help their mother. Xia Juhua thought that she had to go back to Xiajiazhuang no matter what, so she might as well go early, so that Xia Hongmin would not get a satisfactory answer today and then make things difficult for Xia Long and his brothers.
Xia Hongmin: I’m not, I don’t.
The next day, Xia Juhua not only took Xia Jiazhuang's production team leader to the Agriculture and Forestry Bureau to get materials, but also brought back a thank-you gift from Xia Jiazhuang: seven fluffy chickens.
The mother-in-law looked at the seven yellow balls and smiled happily: "I saw that your family didn't catch any chickens this year, so I was thinking of bringing you a few when my old hens are ready to nest. This way I can save some money."
Xia Juhua also laughed: "They insisted that I take it. If I didn't, they wouldn't let me go back to Ping An Village. It's just right to raise it now. When it grows up and lays eggs, Lele will have egg custard to eat."
Your grandson has no shortage of egg custard to eat now. The mother-in-law muttered in her heart, but she still smiled. It was her grandson who was asked to eat egg custard, and now she still had something to ask Xia Juhua.
"Well, dear, our production team leader came to see you today, but you were not at home, so he asked me to give you a message." The mother-in-law spoke thoughtfully.
Xia Juhua was afraid of hearing the message, but since it was her mother-in-law who was speaking, she had to listen: "Our production team leader wants to ask if you have time to come to our production team to help us see where to dig a well."
Knowing that this was what her mother-in-law was talking about, Xia Juhua had already prepared a response: "Mother-in-law, if I hadn't been too busy at home, I wouldn't have bothered you to take care of Caifeng during her confinement. Normally, your production team leader has come home, so I should have gone to your production team, but now there are so many things going on at home and outside, and I'm afraid I'll delay your production team's important task of digging a well."
The mother-in-law said with a somewhat embarrassed look on her face: "I told our production team leader at the time that you are so busy every day that you may not have time to go over, but he didn't believe me and insisted that I say this..."
As they were talking, they heard Lele crying, and the mother-in-law took the opportunity to go into the room to see why her granddaughter was crying. Wang Caifeng saw her mother coming in, but her mother-in-law didn't follow behind. After waiting for a while and seeing no movement, she said, "Mom, didn't I tell you not to tell my mother-in-law about the captain's visit? Why are you still telling her?"
"I just thought that we are all relatives. If you can go to Xiajiazhuang, why can't you go to our production team? If our production team digs a well, the harvest in the fields will be saved, and you won't have to worry about us."
Wang Caifeng shook her head and said, "Mom, you always advised me before, but why are you so confused this time? My mother-in-law used to know how to concentrate on her work, and she doesn't know how to look for a place to dig a well. She has already said how she knows where to dig a well in Ping'an Village, but she has never seen what the crops in our production team look like. How can she point out a place when you ask her to do so?"
"It's fine if water comes out of the place we point to. But if water doesn't come out, the materials have been used up and the production team has to pay for it. How can they not blame my mother-in-law? If my mother-in-law is blamed, doesn't she think that our family is causing trouble?"
The mother-in-law understood all of a sudden and said with some fear: "Thanks to your mother-in-law for her good ideas. If someone with a soft face had agreed to me, your life would have been difficult in the future."
Wang Caifeng was relieved after hearing what her mother said. She whispered to her, "Think about it, mother. My mother-in-law is quite caring towards her relatives. If she hadn't asked me to go home and tell you to sell less surplus grain last year, would we have to eat thin rice soup now? My family and my mother-in-law's family are relatives, but what do other people in the production team have to do with my mother-in-law?"
It was a bit cold, but I had to admit that it was a good way to avoid trouble. So until Wang Caifeng's full month, Xia Juhua held a wedding for Lele, and her mother-in-law was going home, she didn't mention her production team leader again and came to Ping'an Village to look for her.
Xia Juhua thanked her mother-in-law for her help this month. Before she left, she gave her mother-in-law five pounds of peanut oil (she exchanged the raw peanuts she earned from frying peanuts with Qi Weidong) and a piece of cloth that could be used to make a jacket: "You know I don't have time to make clothes for you, so go home and make them yourself."
Looking at the return gift which was more than what she had brought for her daughter to increase her milk production, the mother-in-law didn't know what to say. She kept sighing that her daughter had married into a lucky family, and asked her to be filial to her mother-in-law, otherwise she, her own mother, would not let Wang Caifeng go.
After the confinement, Wang Caifeng deserved the title of "fat and white". When she smiled, she showed two dimples that were not noticeable before. "Mom, don't worry. I have to listen to my mom no matter who else I listen to."
The angry mother lamented that she had raised a concubine for nothing: "Mother-in-law, I gave birth to this girl in vain. Since you don't have a concubine, I'll give her to you."
Seeing that her mother-in-law had no grudges, Xia Juhua also joked with her, "Not only is your daughter-in-law given to me, but your granddaughter is also mine."
After seeing her mother-in-law off, Xia Juhua had to help with household chores, and she was extremely busy both at home and outside. Ever since that day when Li Changshun asked Xia Juhua to bring a few more production team leaders, no matter which production team he went to, he would go to Ping'anzhuang to ask Xia Juhua to go with him. If he couldn't come, he would ask Liu Liqun to call for help.
What could Xia Juhua do? She could only arrange the production team's work every day when she went to work, then go to the well digging site to see the progress, and then go to the fields to see the growth of sweet potatoes. She also had to go to the fields where other crops were planted. If there was a shortage of water, she had to ask Chen Qiu Sheng to arrange people to water the fields.
Often, before Xia Juhua had finished all her work, it was time for the brigade to come to Ping'an Village to look for someone.
The other three production teams were sure of where to get water out, and Xia Juhua had already pointed them out to them in order to reduce trouble. Team three was the first to get water out, and became the production team that trusted Xia Juhua the most.
Every time Lee
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
