Chapter 91 (1)
Speaking of the teachers at the school, Li Changshun got even more angry: "I told those two educated youth to become private teachers, but neither of them agreed. I don't know where the gossip came from, but those two relied on their high school graduation and studied hard every day, saying that they wanted to take the college entrance examination. The college entrance examination has been suspended for several years. Can they take it whenever they want?"
What kind of people did he meet? Those who wanted to be team leaders were unwilling to even come to the team headquarters, and those who wanted to be private teachers all refused to do so - in other teams, the educated youth fought tooth and nail for a position as a private teacher.
Perhaps out of sympathy for Li Changshun's situation, Liu Liqun consoled him: "You are just asking for too much. There are people who want to be the emperor, but you don't let them be."
"Do those who want to be teachers really want to teach children to study? They just want to avoid labor. People like that can't teach good children. They will only make them lazy and cunning people." Li Changshun still felt that he was right and that teachers should be chosen with good character.
Liu Liqun stopped talking and returned to his silent self. Li Changshun had a rare chance to talk to him and didn't want to let him off the hook: "What do you think Xia Juhua is thinking? Liu Zhishuang has been divorced for a year, and he's still not trying to find a new wife."
Is this the team leader I know? Liu Liqun looked up and wondered if he should organize the militia to patrol. After all, the harvest of Ping'anzhuang Brigade was better than that of other brigades. Everyone in the Red Star Commune knew it. Don't let anyone who is desperate steal the granary of any production team at night.
"Chun Ya from the Chang family is such a good daughter. She is good-looking and capable, and her family doesn't ask for any dowry. Why doesn't she agree?" Li Changshun couldn't understand.
Liu Zhishuang looked at the rough bowl in front of him and couldn't figure it out. Standing in front of him was an unfamiliar girl, smiling and holding a bowl of hot water, waiting for Liu Zhishuang to take it.
The girl had big eyes, black and bright, looking straight at Liu Zhishuang. Her face was also quite white, and she didn't look like someone who often worked in the fields. Liu Zhishuang didn't dare to look at anything else, let alone take the rough bowl that was about to hit his chin.
"Liu Zhishuang, what are you doing? Hurry up and ask someone to unload the truck." Xia Juhua yelled from a distance, saving her son from embarrassment. Liu Zhishuang responded hurriedly and ran away.
Curiosity flashed in the girl's eyes. She looked towards the person who was shouting and saw a woman following Xia Long and others, talking about something. Those people seemed to be very happy.
"Aunt, is that the female captain of the Ping'an Village production team?" The girl put down the rough bowl that had not been delivered and asked a woman next to her who was about the same age as Xia Juhua.
Her aunt nodded repeatedly, her tone full of envy: "That's right, it's her. We all thought her husband died early, what a pity. Who knew she was so capable? You, the Ping'an Village Brigade, are all honored by her."
It was a blessing, a big blessing, otherwise my father wouldn't want me to marry into the Liu family. I thought Liu Zhishuang had been divorced once, so this matter could be settled once I talked about it, but who knew it would be delayed for almost a year and there was still no response. If she hadn't happened to come to her grandmother's house today, she wouldn't have seen Liu Zhishuang and Xia Juhua.
When Chang Chunya saw Liu Zhishuang in person, she admitted that he was pretty. When he didn't dare to take the water she handed him, Chang Chunya felt that he didn't seem like who wanted a divorce. Then when Liu Zhishuang ran away someone without hesitation, Chang Chunya felt an inexplicable emotion in her heart:
Does he dislike my looks, or does he think I'm too proactive and not like a good girl who stays contented and obeys her husband?
Liu Zhishuang had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead as he ran far away - ever since Sun Hongmei, he had been wary of any young woman who approached him actively, and he never thought that he had already created ripples in that girl's heart.
It is better to work, you can earn work points by working, and your mother will also look good on you. As for the opportunity to talk to young girls, it is better to leave it to those fools who have never married. When they know how quickly women change their faces, they will regret their naivety now.
Liu. Philosopher. Zhishuang quickly climbed onto the oxcart and shoveled coal down one shovel at a time. Xu Hongcui felt distressed when she saw him. "Sister, Zhishuang came all the way with you to haul the coal, why are you letting him unload it? A full warehouse can be unloaded in just a few seconds."
"This is Ping'an Manor's work, how can we let Mantun and the others do it?" Xia Juhua explained clearly: "Ping'an Manor didn't give work points to Mantun and the others." If any work points were given, they would only be given to Uncle San.
Xu Hongcui pulled Xia Juhua's sleeve and asked her to move away from the crowd before whispering, "Third Uncle said that we should bring Mandun and the others with us to make bricks this time. How can we learn a skill if we don't put in some effort? Besides, wasn't it Zhishuang and his brothers who helped to make our vermicelli last year?"
Before Xia Juhua could answer, Uncle San came over and said, "This coal is enough for your production team to burn bricks, but it's a little short of enough for burning tiles."
After finally getting the mold back from the Red Team, Xia Juhua couldn't even make tiles. She felt like someone had drained her spirit away. She said weakly, "Then I'll think of another way."
The noodle factory was definitely out of the question, so she had to go to the county town again. Xia Juhua suddenly missed her past life, when she could buy anything she wanted anytime and anywhere. The sellers always begged the buyers, and there was no such thing as not being able to buy something with money.
"Don't be discouraged, think of a solution slowly." Seeing that Xia Juhua lost her spirit after he finished speaking, the Third Uncle advised her self-reproachfully.
Xia Juhua didn't want the old man to worry about her, so she said with all her heart: "It's okay, Uncle San, can you calculate for me how much coal is needed to burn it, and how many watts should we use?"
Uncle San was counting on his fingers, just like a fortune teller. Xia Juhua and Xu Hongcui looked at each other, held back their laughter, and waited for his answer together.
Fortunately, tiles require much less coal than bricks, so only one and a half tons of coal are enough to start a kiln. Xia Juhua took a deep breath when she heard Uncle San's request. Uncle San said, "It takes some time to make tiles, so you can find coal." If four tons can be found, one and a half tons shouldn't be a big deal.
Mancang came over cleverly and said, "Third Master, you take my brother to watch the fire, and I will help my aunt to lay the tiles. Otherwise, how about you teach me how to lay the tiles today?"
The third master looked at Mancang kindly and said, "Teach, teach me everything."
Xu Hongcui said happily: "You must follow my instructions carefully and don't make your Third Master angry."
"And me, and me." Manwu and Manyi of Xia Hu's family heard it and ran over to pull Sanye: "Sanye, you are going to teach me too, right?"
The Third Master nodded, but Xia Juhua frowned. Seeing her elder sister frowning, Xu Hongcui thought that she didn't want so many children to learn together, so as not to delay Ping'an Village's tile-laying work, so she asked carefully, "Sister, if there are too many people, let Mantun and Manwu learn with the Third Uncle together, and let Mancang and Manyi wait first?"
Xia Juhua shook her head and said, "I don't think there are too many children learning, I just think Mancang and Manyi are too young. They should go to school and learn a few words."
Xu Hongcui deeply understands how much her sister-in-law values helping children learn to read, but her difficulty is: "There are only two teachers in our brigade primary school, both of them are educated youth. I heard that they don't think about teaching every day, but only think about going to the commune to ask about job recruitment."
Even so, it's still better than Ping An Village, you know?
Xia Juhua only asked: "Do they teach the children?"
"teach."
"Do you grade the children's homework?"
"Judge."
"Why don't you let the children go to school and make them work outside every day?" Xia Juhua really wanted to ask Xu Hongcui, can Xu Hongcui teach the children the things that the teacher whom she despised so much taught them?
"Sister, after the New Year, Fengling and I will send Mancang and Manyi to school." Seeing her sister-in-law's increasingly wrinkled brows, Xu Hongcui clapped her hands and said, "Sister, you are doing this for their own good, I know."
Xia Juhua smiled: "Don't think that it's useless for children to learn to read nowadays. But look at the factories recruiting workers and the soldiers. Who wants illiterate people? I may have been too controlling. I'm afraid that the children will have opportunities in the future but will be delayed because of not knowing how to read. I will regret it."
Seeing her elder sister-in-law smile, Xu Hongcui also smiled: "We wish we could let you take care of us." The elder sister-in-law said that if we sold less surplus grain, the family would have no shortage of grain this year. She also said that many people had come to her house to ask Xia Long to teach them how to make flour. She also said that if they dug a well, Xiajiazhuang would have a harvest even though it was so dry this year...
If I don't listen to my elder sister-in-law, who should I listen to? My elder sister-in-law is good at managing the family and she is good at managing the family. It would be best if she could manage the Xia family every day.
Xia Juhua could tell that Xu Hongcui's words came from the heart, so she became even happier and said more: "You will know later, there is a big difference between a child who can read and one who can't."
Xu Hongcui nodded in agreement. Although she didn't know what she agreed with, she knew she had to express her opinion! The second thing she did after expressing her opinion was to take her elder sister-in-law home for dinner, but Xia Juhua refused: "I have to go to the commune tomorrow, and I have to arrange some things tonight."
Xu Hongcui said goodbye to Xia Juhua with regret. She watched Xia Juhua riding her bike with ease and said to Zhang Fengling who was rushing over with envy: "It will be worth it if we can live like her."
Zhang Fengling thought it was a bit difficult: "My elder sister is very brave. She dares to go anywhere and talk to anyone. But we can't do that."
Xu Hongcui had an idea: "My eldest sister wasn't like this before. I think she became like this after she learned to read. Just now, my eldest sister told me to send Mancang and Manyi to school to learn to read. I said I would send them there after the New Year. What do you think?"
"Send them, can I still harm them?" Zhang Fengling said without hesitation: "Maybe in the future they will be like me and dare to go anywhere."
The members of Pingan Village also had blind trust in Xia Juhua. When they saw the lights on in the production team at night, they quietly asked around and found out that Chen Qiusheng and Xia Juhua were calculating the annual accounts. They immediately smiled and said, "It's time to share the dividends. This year's work points may be higher than last year's."
There were pessimistic people who said, "Dream on. The production team hasn't even paid the public rations this year, so how much dividend can they get?" Although everyone felt uncomfortable after hearing this, they also felt that it made sense, and their eyes dimmed as they looked at the production team.
Zhao Xianzhi, who couldn't bear to hear people say that Xia Juhua was bad, stood up and looked at the pessimistic person: "Last year, everyone's flour was leaked in vain, the pigs were sold for nothing, and the time we made mats and baskets for a year was in vain?"
That’s right. His eyes, which had just dimmed, brightened up again. But he said stubbornly, “The money from the leaked powder belonged to me at that time. The production team didn’t get a penny.”
"Yes, you also know that the production team didn't want a cent. If the production team had accepted it, could it be distributed to everyone as dividends now?" Zhang Cuiping and Zhao Xianzhi were on the same front, and they were equally aggressive: "I've distributed all the dividends to you in advance, but you're still not satisfied. Don't ask for it when the dividends are really distributed."
"Why shouldn't I?" the pessimist insisted, "I also helped to weave mats and baskets."
"Next year, you'd better not follow the class. If you don't hope for good things in the production team every day, you will always cause trouble in the hospital." Zhao Xianzhi glanced at the pessimist and said a fatal word.
The pessimist immediately shut up. You must be kidding. If I don't go to the yard to weave mats, I will be out of the team of women in Ping An Village. How can I do that?
The discussions outside did not slow down the two people who were doing the accounting in the room. Even though they had a rough idea in mind, they had to take into account everyone's work points and subtract the work points for food. The work was cumbersome and required them to concentrate.
"Captain, I've figured it out. Each work point is now worth 1.2 cents." Chen Qiu Sheng's voice trembled, and his hand trembled slightly as he pointed at the account book.
I can't help but shudder. Last year was a normal year, and the work point value of Ping'an Village was only 1.1 cents after paying the public grain. This year, the weather is so dry, and the public grain has not been paid yet, but the work point value has reached 1.2 cents. What will happen after paying the public grain?
Besides, this year Xia Juhua allowed him to exchange food for 1,500 work points per person, instead of 2,000 last year. The reason was that the grain production was reduced this year, so the grain distributed to everyone was not as much as in previous years.
This alone meant that each person who earned work points received an extra 60 yuan! If this amount was averaged out to the work points, it would amount to 15 or 16 cents.
Chen Qiusheng, who didn't dare to think further, looked at Xia Juhua and said, "Should we really distribute dividends to everyone tomorrow? What if the commune suddenly notifies us to pay public grain?"
Xia Juhua thinks the two are not contradictory: "Even if we have to pay the public rations, we have three to five days to prepare. We have already set aside some. However, I think we may not have to pay the public rations this year."
If the district director had a little bit of the conscience he showed in Ping'an Village, he would not have asked the farmers who were severely affected by the disaster to pay public grain.
Chen Qiusheng, who didn't know what Xia Juhua was thinking, couldn't believe it: "The production volume of our Ping'an Village is known to the whole commune."
So what if the commune knew about it? Xia Juhua thought this was not a problem: "Red Star Commune has more than just Ping'an Village as a production team. If the whole commune had to pay public grain just because Ping'an Village had a harvest, why would Director Zhang be so worried?"
Well, who told me not to see Director Zhang's worried look? Chen Qiu Sheng thought he should listen to the captain, otherwise he would have to sleep in the yard when he went home - his wife Zhang Cuiping, now that she had something to do with the captain, was simply unreasonable.
"Tomorrow night, I'll go buy some bran and you go get the change. By the way, have you put away the money for the bran? Have you included the money for the bran?"
Chen Qiusheng quickly denied it: "It's not included in the calculation. I have also reserved some for the levy. It is still based on the money from selling pigs last year. Even if the task pigs are delivered this year, there is no need to reserve any more."
That's good, because the money distributed to the members is real. Xia Juhua calculated her dividends for the year with a slight smile on her face - although she had to worry more this year than in previous years, she still got 10 work points every day, 1,500 points for food, and 2,100 work points (based on 360 days a year), which was 252 yuan.
Double the amount than last year!
It is always a pleasure to be rewarded for your efforts. After returning home, Xia Juhua told Liu Zhishuang: "Go to the commune tomorrow and buy two pounds of meat. Ask your sister-in-law to stew it for us tonight."
Liu Zhishuang had to remind his mother: "Mom, I have to help pull wheat bran tomorrow." His brother was now assigned to Xiajiazhuang to follow the third master to burn bricks, and whenever there was any work to be done in the production team, his mother always thought of him first.
Xia Juhua glared and said, "The noodle factory is not far from the commune. After you load the car, you can just ride my bicycle to the commune."
In addition to nodding, Liu Zhishuang also had a question: "Then why did you come back, mother?"
"Who will carry the load when you leave? If I don't carry it, it will come back by itself." Xia Juhua, who was ready to deal with the noodle factory for the last time, asked Chen Qiusheng to save enough money to buy wheat bran, ready to buy as much as possible. It doesn't matter if the ox cart is not enough, Ping'an Village has no shortage of people, just carry it back.
"That won't do, mom. You go buy the meat and I'll pick out the bran." Liu Zhishuang didn't want everyone in Ping'an Village to blame him. Now he had a clear idea of his own position.
Xia Juhua was getting impatient: "If I go to buy meat, I have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Caixia, and she will definitely not let me pay for the meat. You should go, Caixia's life is not easy either."
"Ahh." Lele, who was held in Wang Caifeng's arms, suddenly cried out twice, attracting Xia Juhua's attention: "Little rascal, did you know that grandma is going to distribute dividends, so you are anxious to get the good things?"
Wang Caifeng forced a smile: "Maybe she needs to pee. Now she hums before peeing."
Xia Juhua, who has taken care of many children, could not tell that the sound a child makes when he wants to pee is different from the sound he makes when he is in pain? Looking at Wang Caifeng's face, Xia Juhua just said, "Then you go help her pee."
As soon as Wang Caifeng left, Liu Zhishuang spoke up: "Mom, why do I feel like my sister-in-law is unhappy?"
Of course he was not happy. Last year, he was the one who got full work points every day as long as he went to the fields. This year, he can only watch others get paid. It would be strange if he was happy. Xia Juhua had a plan in mind and said to Liu Zhishuang, "After we finish transporting the bran, go and take your brother's place."
Is he really his own son? Why is there always so much work to do? If it weren't for the meat he could eat tomorrow, Liu Zhishuang would really want to ask this question.
Unfortunately, he didn't dare to ask. Not only did he not dare to ask, he had to keep smiling as he came to the noodle factory with more than 40 strong Ping An village workers, carrying shoulder poles. Along with them came the ox carts of four other production teams.
Li Daniu looked at Xia Juhua's posture and slapped his thigh: Why didn't I think of asking a few more members to carry some bran back? I just thought that two ox carts were not enough. Look, Ping'an Village and the Third Team not only have two ox carts, but also those old members, and everyone is carrying a shoulder pole.
The director of the noodle factory was even more eager to slap his thigh than Li Daniu. When he saw Xia Juhua and her group, tears almost dripped from his face: "Captain Xia, are you planning to move all our bran back to Ping'an Village?"
"How can that be possible?" Xia Juhua turned around and glanced at the people following her. "With so few of us, we can only pick so much. If the factory director lets some slip through, we won't be able to pick everything."
The captains of the four production teams: I saw a fake summer chrysanthemum.
The director of the noodle factory tried to hold back, but couldn't help saying, "The wheat bran in our noodle factory can't stand up to Captain Xia's nitpicking."
"We only come here once a year." Xia Juhua tried to make the factory manager understand that although many of them came, the frequency was low.
The people had already arrived, and he had spoken first. The factory director could only let Section Chief Chen come over to greet Xia Juhua and the others, and he went back to the office angrily. Section Chief Chen saw that the factory director was angry, and although his face was stern, there was a smile in his eyes. He gave a high price when weighing, and peeled the skin harshly when settling the bill.
Xia Juhua said softly, "Chief Chen, if you were the factory manager, I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble to buy some wheat bran."
Section Chief Chen smiled, glanced behind Xia Juhua, and then whispered, "The factory hasn't been operating much this year. It's only been open for a few days since we harvested some wheat. If you still want some noodles, go to the supply and marketing cooperative and find Xiao Man."
Xia Juhua nodded heavily, paid the money, and went out to check on the loading progress.
If the director of the noodle factory had been watching closely, he would have discovered that Xia Juhua brought more than just the Pinganzhuang production team, because the payment for the bran was divided into five parts. Who made the director lose his temper and return to the office early, so Xia Juhua and the others didn't reveal their true intentions?
After successfully exiting the noodle factory, the production team leaders looked for Xia Juhua and found that her bicycle was missing. The team leader of Team 3 even said, "I just saw Team Leader Xia. Why is she walking so fast?"
"Are you looking for our captain?" A member of Ping'an Village passed by them carrying a load on his shoulder and pointed at the leader and said, "Isn't that him?"
What? Xia is carrying the load again? The four production team leaders were all worried. It was all thanks to Li Changshun's weak legs that he didn't see it. If he saw Xia Juhua carrying the bran and them following the ox cart with their hands behind their backs, wouldn't they have to take whatever they could get and beat them up?
Without thinking twice, the captain of the third team quickly walked to the front of the Ping'an Village team and reached out to take Xia Juhua's shoulder pole: "Captain Xia, why are you carrying the bran yourself? I remember you didn't come here on a bicycle, right?"
Xia Juhua leaned to the side, letting the leader of the third team miss the shoulder pole, and then said, "I'll ask my son to go to the commune to do some work, and I'll take his shoulder pole back."
A load of bran weighs more than 100 kilograms, and even a strong man would have to rest after carrying it for a few miles. The leader of the third team insisted on holding out his hand to take the load: "You don't have to carry it, we can each carry a section of the way and we will reach Ping'an Village."
Li Daniu and his friends also came up and stretched out their hands to Xia Juhua. Xia Juhua didn't give anyone the shoulder pole, but said she would let someone else take over her shoulder when she was tired. Halfway through the journey, seeing that Xia Juhua still had no intention of letting someone else take over her shoulder, Li Daniu grabbed the shoulder pole without saying anything and said, "Give it to me."
Those team leaders gave Li Daniu a thumbs up in their hearts - although they didn't say it, they were still a little afraid of Xia Juhua. It was Xia Juhua who helped their production team to have a harvest this year.
Because they were afraid of Xia Juhua, even if they wanted to carry the shoulder pole for Xia Juhua, they did not have the courage like Li Daniu to grab it directly. They could only watch Li Daniu walk to the small village in one go and want to continue carrying the pole to Ping'an Village.
The captain of the third team felt that this was not going to work, so he stepped forward to take the carrying pole: "Captain Li, your production team has arrived. Please give me the carrying pole. I promise to help Captain Xia carry it to Ping'an Village."
Li Daniu glared at him and said, "If you really want to switch shoulders, then switch to someone from your production team. Can't you see they are all gasping for breath?"
Did this guy say that on purpose because he saw the team leader standing there? The three production team leaders saw Li Changshun standing at the entrance of Xiaozhuangtou Village with his hands behind his back, smiling, watching Li Daniu and the third team leader snatch the load.
Xia Juhua also saw it and quickly walked over to greet Li Changshun: "Captain, why are you standing here? We bought the bran."
Li Changshun saw the long line of people behind Xia Juhua, and recognized that there were three teams of about 20 people in it. He looked at Li Daniu with a look of disappointment, then smiled and said to Xia Juhua, "Okay, I told Zhishuang yesterday that I would have four teams each build five ditches for you. Do you have any objections?"
The last sentence was of course directed at Li Daniu and the other three. Even though Li Daniu still had wheat bran on his shoulders, he shook his head quickly: "No opinion, of course no opinion."
It was a good thing that someone helped Ping'an Village repair the canal. Xia Juhua still tried to be polite to the captains. Li Changshun interrupted her before she finished speaking: "Why should we be polite to them? They have not suffered any loss by following you."
Seeing that the production team leaders were getting more embarrassed than each other, Xia Juhua thought of something to divert their attention: "Captain, there is something that our production team only discovered later. At that time, other production teams had already distributed the bran, so I didn't tell them."
"What's the matter? Tell me quickly." Li Changshun wanted to hear Xia Juhua speak now, and urged her repeatedly.
Xia Juhua told them about how Ping'an Village had sifted flour from bran, and the regret on Li Changshun and Li Daniu's faces was almost palpable - why didn't they think of it?
But Xia Juhua would also comfort people: "The bran has been distributed to our own members, and it goes into the stomachs of the members."
"How can it be the same?" Li Changshun knew more than Li Daniu and the others: "I was wondering why the seventh aunt and the old boss of your production team always say that the new society is good. They can still eat white flour in such a drought year. I wonder if your production team is subsidizing them?"
Xia Juhua has always been brave enough to admit what she cannot deny: "Well, Grandma Qi and Uncle Dong are old, and they have no children and have worked hard all their lives. The collective will take care of them as much as possible. They don't eat much, so we only give them 30 kilograms of food each, and the members don't have any objections."
What opinions can you have? Who can guarantee that everything will go smoothly for him all his life? If we can take care of Grandma Qi and the old boss together now, we can take care of other people who are not doing so well in the future. In addition, Grandma Qi and the old boss are not the annoying people like Sun Shi, so no one in Ping An Manor said that they should not be given the selected flour as subsidies.
Li Changshun also nodded to Xia Juhua: "You did a good job on this matter. The people of Ping'an Village are all great. You guys should also listen and see which production team does not have five-guarantee households. Learn from Xia Juhua."
While they were talking, the people carrying the bran were not waiting. Seeing that the people were walking away, Xia Juhua was about to take over the shoulder pole from Li Daniu, but Li Daniu directly handed it to the third team leader: "Old Niu, you take it. You are so cunning. You have benefited the most today, and you still want to give up your responsibility?"
The third captain took the shoulder pole and said cheerfully, "Who told you not to ask Captain Xia? I'm diligent with my legs and my mouth, so I can get more credit."
It was calculated that Ping An Village had purchased 13,000 kilograms of wheat bran this time, which was really enviable. However, Team 3 also had more than 2,000 kilograms more than the other production teams, which was not as good as the others, but better than the others.
Xia Juhua didn't have to worry about where to unload the bran. Wang Caifeng had already stewed the meat when she got home. Liu Zhishuang ate two bowls of porridge and was about to go to Xiajiazhuang to replace Liu Zhiquan, but he had already pushed open the gate and returned.
"Brother, you have a dog's nose, right? You came back as soon as the meat was stewed at home." Liu Zhishuang joked as he looked at Liu Zhiquan, whose face had turned dark.
Liu Baoguo imitated the words: "Dog nose, dog nose..."
Lele, who couldn't speak yet, probably understood a little bit. Seeing his brother happily imitating her, he sat in Wang Caifeng's arms and clapped his hands. Xia Juhua took Lele from Wang Caifeng's arms, and Wang Caifeng stood up to get water for the man to wash up. She also asked, "Mom said that after dinner, Zhishuang would go to take your place. Why are you back now?"
Liu Zhiquan was also a little surprised: "Didn't my mother send someone to tell me that the production team would be distributing dividends today and asked me to come back?"
Wang Caifeng turned around to look at Xia Juhua, who was tapping Lele's little chin to see if she had grown new teeth. She realized that her mother-in-law didn't pay attention to the couple's conversation, so she whispered, "Mom took some people to the noodle factory to pick up bran today, so she didn't have time to inform you."
Liu Zhiquan thought his wife was dumbfounded at home: "For such a small matter, who would dare not run errands for her if my mother told her? Why would my mother have to call me in person?"
"Who said that mother would call you herself? I meant that mother had no time to arrange anyone today." Wang Caifeng said a little irritably. Liu Zhiquan asked in confusion: "Whether it was mother who arranged it or not, why are you not happy that I came back? You are so angry that you don't even allow me to speak."
Wang Caifeng didn't know what was wrong with her. She felt unmotivated since she heard that the production team would share profits. Although her mother-in-law said that she had been working hard at home and was not having a free meal, she just couldn't be happy.
Xia Juhua heard the two people talking and looked up and asked, "Have you finished washing? If you have, come and eat." Wang Caifeng quickly came over to take Lele and said, "Mom, go to your production team if you have anything to do first."
After a while, Liu Zhishuang ran away after finishing his meal, leaving only Liu Zhiquan and his wife at home. Wang Caifeng couldn't help but say, "This year, our dividends will definitely not be as much as Zhishuang's."
"Don't you have to take care of Lele this year? When she is as old as Baoguo, you will be able to work in the fields. Why are you worried about not earning work points?" Liu Zhiquan hadn't eaten meat for a month or two, and he did not stop chewing meat even when talking to his wife.
Wang Caifeng felt that she couldn't make sense of him: "You all get dividends, but I always feel like I'm just eating for free. By the way, this year your work points alone have to be exchanged for food for the three of us mothers. I'm afraid it's not enough, right?"
"Silly wife, why don't you think about the fact that when food is distributed, one share in our family is for four people. Food is expensive this year, and many people can't buy food even if they have money."
This is reasonable, but I just can't help it. After Liu Zhiquan left, Wang Caifeng didn't even have the energy to clean up the table. She just sat on the bench, not knowing what she was thinking.
Liu Baoguo grabbed his mother's clothes and shouted, "Mom, clear the table." Lele thought her brother was talking to her. Her little mouth, like Hongling, mumbled words that no one could understand. Every time Liu Baoguo called out, she responded, which actually drove away a lot of the loneliness in the yard.
Wang Caifeng moved the small chair that Xia Juhua had specially made for Lele, put her on the seat with baffles on all sides, and said to Liu Baoguo, "Watch your sister carefully, don't let her fall."
Liu Baoguo nodded and walked around the small chair: "My sister has a chair, and I have a bench." After that, he moved a small bench over and sat down next to Lele in a proper manner.
Such a sensible son and such a well-behaved daughter make people want to stay by their side every day and never want to leave for a moment. Wang Caifeng thought that if she really had to go to work, she would definitely miss her children and it would be impossible for her to concentrate on working and earning ten work points as before.
But she felt it was worth it. What is life for? It's all about the children. If she was like Grandma Qi and Uncle Dong, who went in and out alone every day and had no one to talk to, what kind of life was that? It was nothing like Liu Baoguo, who asked her questions every day until she was so tired that her mouth was numb.
Wang Caifeng thought while washing the dishes. By the time she finished washing the dishes, the slight anxiety in her heart had disappeared without a trace. She boiled water to give the two children a bath, played with them for a while, and then coaxed the two little ancestors to sleep.
Wang Caifeng was almost dozing off when she heard the gate of the courtyard ring and Liu Zhishuang say, "Mom, did you hear that everyone is thanking you? Only 1,500 labor days are deducted from each person's salary, which means each person gets an extra 60 yuan."
60 yuan for 500 jobs, that's... Wang Caifeng couldn't lie still any longer, and just as she stood up, she lay down again. Even if one job was 1.2 yuan, it had nothing to do with her, or even with their family: Liu Zhiquan had to account for 3,600 jobs, minus the food and work points for four people, and he still had to contribute money.
Fortunately, I didn't spend much of the money I earned from helping my mother-in-law fry peanuts last year and the dividends I received, otherwise they would have been in debt.
I wonder if my mother-in-law will still fry peanuts for others this year. If so, she will definitely help while Lele is sleeping so that she can save money for next year’s food.
Just as I was thinking, Xia Juhua's voice came: "Zhiquan, go back to your room and see if Baoguo and Lele are asleep. If they are, ask Caifeng to come to my room and we can talk about the dividends."
Soon, Liu Zhiquan entered the house in the dark and called softly: "Caifeng, are you asleep? Mother asked you to go to her room."
Wang Caifeng responded, got up and went to the main room with Liu Zhiquan, and found that her mother-in-law had already put the table on the bed, and on it were three piles of money, just like last year. She sat behind Liu Zhiquan and waited for her mother-in-law to speak.
Xia Juhua pointed to the money on the table and said, "Our family has done a good job this year. No one has missed a day's work, and has scored full work points." Wang Caifeng lowered her head after hearing this. Under the dim oil lamp, she saw that everyone the shadow of her hair was stretched very long, and it seemed that there was a curl in one place. Why didn't she make her hair smooth when she used her hands to comb it just now?
"Not only do those of us working outside do a good job, but Caifeng has also brought us a new member this year and has taken good care of the family. She has also worked hard and is worth the ten-day work."
Wang Caifeng was stunned for a moment before she remembered and said, "Mom, it's my responsibility to take care of the child."
"As a mother, it's your duty to take care of the children. But it's not your duty to cook for us who work outside without making any mistakes." Xia Juhua said without any doubt, and Liu Zhishuang echoed her.
Xia Juhua continued, "It's true that Zhiquan is the only one in your family who earns work points in the production team this year, but the production team doesn't give you work points for the work you do at home. Your mother will do it for you. This is what I think. Zhishuang and I will each carry one work point for Baoguo and Lele's food."
"Mom, that won't do." Liu Zhiquan refused to do it: "Didn't we agree last year that no matter who gets the dividend, half will be handed over to you for unified management, and the rest will belong to whoever earns it. Let's do it the same way this year."
This eldest son was too stubborn. Xia Juhua wanted to scold him: "You said you would give me half of the food, but did you put Baoguo and Lele's food there for the whole family to eat? The children only eat a few bites, so the rest shouldn't be eaten by the whole family?"
Your grandchildren certainly don't eat much coarse food. Every day they either drink noodle soup or eat egg custard. Their life is more comfortable than anyone else's. Liu Zhiquan didn't dare to say this, for fear that his mother would scold him for competing with the children for food.
Fortunately, when the children were eating, Wang Caifeng would also make a portion for Xia Juhua, and her mother would eat with her, and Liu Zhiquan would of course not say anything more. Now not only did his own children eat well every day, but his mother also said that she would give ten hours of work to his daughter-in-law, who was supposed to cook and take care of the children at home. For this reason, even Liu Zhishuang had to contribute to the food supply of one child. Liu Zhiquan felt that he had something to say:
"Mom, they said that the adults ate the children's food, but we also mixed wheat bran and sweet potato leaves into the food this year. How many bites of their food did they eat?"
Looking at her eldest son and daughter-in-law who were completely different from their previous lives, Xia Juhua was relieved. She was also very satisfied that Liu Zhishuang did not act cleverly. She waved her hand at Liu Zhiquan and said:
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