Chapter 94
Qi Weidong was a little puzzled, and Li Changshun also felt that Xia Juhua only had one granddaughter and one grandson, so it was a bit of a waste to buy so many things. When Xia Juhua said that she wanted to find a few women in the production team to look after the children, the two of them understood her idea.
Even Wang Caifeng, who came out to pour water for Qi Weidong, was stunned by what she said, and she started to think about going to the kindergarten to see the child again. She had made up her mind to let Liu Zhiquan take care of the child tonight. She wanted to listen to what Liu Lizhu said, learn a few more words, and learn the poem that her mother-in-law said, so that she could go to the kindergarten, right?
Li Changshun also felt that what Xia Juhua said was a solution: it was okay during the winter, except for Ping'an Village, the other four production teams did not seem to be short of manpower. But when they started farming, the production team leaders did not dare to let people take leave easily, otherwise it would delay the weather.
"Can your production team pick out those people?" Li Changshun asked uncertainly.
Xia Juhua had just thought about this and had some general ideas: "I think we can have two people assigned to look after the older children. For the breastfeeding children, if the family can trust them, they can be sent there; if they cannot, they can be taken care of at home. The women who send the children will take turns to look after them; if they don't get a turn, they can work; if they don't want to work, they can take a break." They are all her own children, so she doesn't have to worry about them neglecting them when the children are old enough to breastfeed.
"Will you still charge for it?" This is what Li Changshun was concerned about.
Xia Juhua shook her head: "It's actually like everyone is exchanging jobs. Except for the two fixed people who record the work points, other people's children are just like our own adults looking after them. Why should we charge any money?"
Okay, Li Changshun nodded and said to Xia Juhua, "Then you should think about it carefully. If you have a detailed idea, tell me and I will ask those production teams whether they will follow your example."
After saying that, he stood up and said to Qi Weidong, "Xiao Qi, you have seen the situation in Ping'an Village Brigade. None of our members are lazy. Women with infants are trying to go to work. When you go back and see Deputy Director Qi, can you report it for us?"
After seeing Qi Weidong's expression change, Li Changshun was discharged from the hospital with his hands behind his back. Qi Weidong said with a little grievance: "Auntie, what do you think of your captain? I am just...do I have any right to react to people in the county?"
"Captain Li feels that the reason why the entire Ping'an Village team was able to escape the attack last winter was all thanks to you. He thinks you are a capable person and you often interact with us, so he is not shy with you." Xia Juhua said with a smile on her face in a soothing tone.
Qi Weidong felt that he was not comforted, but he had no choice but to eat three bowls of sweet potato noodles before leaving Ping'anzhuang.
Xia Juhua called Liu Hongling over and told her not to rush to weave the red balls and wait until Qi Weidong really found the bells. Liu Hongling heard Qi Weidong's suggestion and exclaimed: "That man is really capable. Not only did he think of using bells, he was also able to buy them for us. We never dared to think of it before."
There are many things that I dare not think about. When Xia Juhua discussed with Liu Lizhu about him going to the brigade primary school, Liu Lizhu felt that he had not expected it: "Captain, are you really going to let me be a private teacher?"
"You are the one who studies the most in our production team. If you don't do it, who else will? It's just right that you can take the kids with you on your commute to get off work every day, so they won't get naughty on the way."
Going to and from get off work is a sacred word in this era. Farmers use "going to work" and "going to the fields". Liu Lizhu tried to appear calm, but his wife Ma Xiaoqin wiped away her tears: "Captain, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't dare to think that our family could live such a good life."
Xia Juhua and Liu Lizhu both persuaded Ma Xiaoqin that good days were still ahead, and finally she stopped crying. She only notified her and she cried. Xia Juhua decided that if something like this happened again, she would let Chen Qiusheng notify her.
As a result, within two days, Chen Qiusheng came running to find Xia Juhua and said, "Captain, the captain said that today's meeting is to convey important instructions from the commune. Director Zhang from the commune is also here. I can't go. You must attend."
Director Zhang of the commune? Xia Juhua couldn't understand why Director Zhang attended the Ping'anzhuang Brigade meeting, but since Li Changshun had said so, she had no choice but to go, so she hurriedly pushed her bicycle out. When she arrived at the brigade headquarters, Li Daniu and his men had already arrived. As soon as they saw Xia Juhua, they asked:
"Did the captain tell you about the meeting?"
Xia Juhua, who was also confused, shook her head: "You came earlier than me, why are you asking about me?"
That means the team leader is willing to talk to you first. Several team leaders had the same idea in their minds, and only Team Leader Niu of Team 3 asked, "Captain Xia, do you think Secretary Zhang of the commune is here to talk to us about the payment of public grain?"
Xia Juhua also thought this was possible, because compared to previous years, there was still no notice to hand in the public rations. Everyone was worried every day, but there was no clear explanation, and the time was really dragging on for a long time. Xia Juhua neither nodded nor shook her head, but smiled and said, "Didn't you three teams set aside the public rations?"
What good would it do to leave it out? Every day the members would be around the granary. The morale of the production teams was not as good as that of Ping'an Village. The leaders of the patrol teams organized every night were a little skeptical. They were afraid that someone would dig a hole in the granary at night and they would become the sinners of the entire production team.
"Since everyone is here, let's have a meeting." Li Changshun quietly let Director Zhang into the brigade headquarters and announced with a gloomy face: "Director Zhang is here to give us important instructions today. Everyone welcomes him."
The sound of applause was sporadic, and Director Zhang pressed his hands downwards with no expression on his face: "No need to applaud, I know everyone is unsure when I come, so let's be brief."
Everyone's eyes were focused on Director Zhang's face. Xia Juhua found that Director Zhang looked in better spirits than when she met him in the commune. She hoped that his words would also cheer people up.
"Everyone has been thinking about the issue of paying the public grain. This year, there was a drought, and our Ping'an Village Brigade actively organized production to save itself, so at least there was still some output. But everyone has heard about the situation in other brigades and even the entire Pingde County. Nearly 70% of the crops were harvested, and the other 30% of the land near the Xihe River was barely able to harvest seeds."
"Under such circumstances, the collective did not forget the farmers and allocated relief rations to Pingde County." Having said this, Director Zhang finally looked at everyone, and with Li Changshun taking the lead, the team leaders applauded sparsely again.
Director Zhang did not stop the applause this time. The applause soon died down, and he tapped the table lightly: "But the relief food can only help temporarily and can only help some people. It is impossible to help all the farmers in Pingde County."
That's why everyone is worried.
Xia Juhua quickly looked up at Director Zhang's expression, which did not change much, and immediately lowered her head to listen to what he said next: "The county has a plan for the distribution of relief grain, which is that the teams that have a good harvest will not receive any, those with a small harvest will receive less, and those with no harvest at all will be guaranteed to have some in their bowls..."
"Director Zhang, our team has a harvest, but it is because we dug the wells ourselves and organized the members to water the crops day and night..." Li Daniu couldn't help but interrupt Director Zhang.
Li Changshun shouted at him angrily: "Li Daniu, do you have the right to speak?"
Xia Juhua also pulled Li Daniu's sleeve and said, "Director Zhang hasn't mentioned the public rations yet, so the Ping'anzhuang Brigade should not get involved in the relief rations issue."
Director Zhang obviously saw Xia Juhua pulling Li Daniu. He glanced at Li Changshun and found that he nodded slightly to him. Then he forced a smile and said, "Your team is carrying out production to save itself, but don't forget that the materials for digging the well were all transferred by the county without compensation."
Li Daniu, who was still snorting angrily after his sleeve was pulled, was suddenly speechless - although Xiaozhuangtou did not have as many wells as Ping'anzhuang, there were still three wells. If their production team was really asked to bear the responsibility of providing materials for drilling wells, they would not be able to produce them now, let alone at that time.
Director Zhang didn't want to argue with him, and said, "Of course, the county didn't just allocate well-drilling materials to Ping'anzhuang Brigade, but it's a fact that Ping'anzhuang Brigade has dug the most wells. Considering that you organized the well-drilling work yourself, the county's initial opinion is that Ping'anzhuang Brigade should pay half of the public grain this year as in previous years. However, there will be no share of the relief grain this time."
Li Changshun's face became even gloomier, but Xia Juhua, who had dealt with him a lot, still saw a hint of secret joy in the depths of his eyes. Xia Juhua also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart:
Only half of the public rations of the previous year did not have much impact on the disaster relief of the Ping'an Village Brigade. In fact, according to the output of each production team, the days were better than in previous years. However, Xia Juhua also put on the same heavy expression as Li Changshun, and asked with some hesitation and trepidation:
"Director Zhang, what is the purchase price of public grain this year?" Is it the same as in previous years?
Perhaps he had not expected that it was Xia Juhua who asked this question. Director Zhang was obviously stunned for a moment before he said, "It will still be based on the previous year's price."
Li Daniu was a little restless again. Captain Niu pressed his thigh hard under the table to prevent him from standing up, which made Li Daniu's face red and his neck thick. Li Changshun, who was sitting opposite Director Zhang, could see the obvious disapproval on the faces of several captains. After looking at each other, Li Changshun spoke:
"Come on, the collective has taken good care of our Ping'an Village Brigade, don't be ungrateful. Since we have already made a decision, from tomorrow on, each team will organize to pay the public rations." After saying this, he propped up the table with both hands and stood up: "Since we are paying the public rations, then everyone should put their consciences in order and no one should think about going against the collective."
生産隊長們哪怕心裏再覺得自己吃虧了，對交公糧還是有數的，紛紛表示一定會把最好的糧食用來交公糧，才算讓李長順臉上開了點兒晴：“你們心裏有數就行。平安莊生産隊我不怕，就怕你們幾個隊裏有難纏的，到時哪個生産隊出了簍子，哪個生産隊自己擦屁股。”
等領導一走，李大牛一把推開牛隊長按着他的手：“老牛，你們生産隊跟着平安莊，紅薯比我們種的多，過幾天漏粉也能多漏。可我們三個生産隊不一樣，紅薯都比你們少了一半，你憑啥不讓我問問，這樣的年景，咋還能按着過去的價格收公糧呢？”
牛隊長慢條斯理的卷了一根老旱煙，也不點着，捏在手裏問李大牛：“你問了張主任就不讓你們生産隊交公糧了？要是人家說讓你還按着往年的數交公糧，然後按着別的大隊的量給你發救濟糧，你幹嗎？”真當領導是沒脾氣呢。
那是不能幹。李大牛脾氣是不好，可腦子不笨，一下子明白過來，也不反駁牛隊長的話，轉頭就對夏菊花笑的一臉燦爛：“夏隊長，你們生産隊哪天交公糧，咱們兩隊離的這麽近，一塊搭伴呗。”
牛隊長三個就看瘋子一樣看李大牛，這前後轉變的太明顯，真讓人沒眼睛看。
夏菊花也讓李大牛笑的一臉蒙：“你們小莊頭要替平安莊挑糧食？”
李大牛臉上的笑凝固住了：“就是搭伴，搭個伴兒。”
牛隊長看不下去了，問夏菊花：“夏隊長，你今天騎自行車了沒，帶我一段行不？”氣的李大牛要翻白眼。
夏菊花也怕其他兩個隊長問出自己不好回答的話來，向牛隊長點頭說：“騎了，就是我技術不好，怕把你帶溝裏去。”
“沒事沒事，能少走點兒彎路，帶溝裏我也認了。”牛隊長一本正經的說。
等夏菊花打開自行車的鎖，推到大隊部門口的時候才發現，那三個生産隊長都沒走，全跟牛隊長站在一起等着她呢。
“我這自行車可帶不了這麽些人。”夏菊花把車把攥的緊緊的，一臉緊張的看着不肯邁步的幾個生産隊長。
五隊隊長樂了：“我們就是心裏不托底，想問問你們生産隊是按以前那麽交公糧，還是多交點紅薯，少交點兒別的糧食？”
夏菊花有些不解：“剛才當着大隊長不是說好了嘛，都把最好的糧食交公糧。當然是按着往年一樣該交啥交啥，咋能想着多交紅薯糊弄呢？”
五隊隊長有些不相信：“你們生産隊種那麽老些紅薯，小麥玉米啥的才打了多少？”
打了多少也不能全告訴你。
夏菊花抿了抿被風吹亂的頭發說：“不管我們打了多少，應下的事兒就得辦到。我覺得大隊和公社肯定已經替咱們争取了，要不跟牛隊長說的似的，按往年一樣交公糧，咱們交不上就成了欠糧站的，大家還不是一樣天天得啃紅薯。”
五隊隊長沒說話，李大牛有些不滿的看了他一眼問：“你啥意思，剛才當着張主任不說，現在跟夏隊長說管啥用？還是想讓平安莊多交紅薯，你跟在後頭撿現成的？”
別人咋想的夏菊花不管，招呼了一聲牛隊長，自己偏腿上了自行車，等牛隊長坐到後車架上，車子歪了兩下就歸于正軌，很快把另外三個生産隊長落在後頭。
牛隊長等看不着幾個人的身影了，才說：“夏隊長，我還是下來走着吧。”
“不用，也費不了多少事兒。”夏菊花上輩子用自行車送孩子，後車架子上一次坐兩個的時候都有，并不覺得太沉。
牛隊長嘆了一口氣說：“五隊長就是那樣的人，哪頭風大了他就倒到哪頭了，自己從來不敢出頭，你別往心裏去。他們生産隊今年的紅薯種的少，別的糧食也沒你們生産隊打的多，肯定是想着多交點紅薯，好多留點兒正經糧食。”
夏菊花想了想才說：“牛隊長，這年景哪個生産隊也不容易。我們生産隊的人出的是啥力，五隊隊長不清楚，你們生産隊跟我們地挨着地，還能不知道？”
正是因為知道，牛隊長現在才對平安莊心服口服：“咋能不知道呢。你別說，從知道你們生産隊的産量之後，我們生産隊的社員一個個下地都有精神了，還想着早點兒漏粉兒呢。”
這才是正經事兒。
夏菊花就跟牛隊長讨論起漏了粉條之後，應該咋做更好吃上來。話題安全，可說的也就多，直到到了平安莊，牛隊長還一臉意猶未盡：“夏隊長，等哪天我們生産隊殺了豬，就按你說的這麽做。”
夏菊花見到了地方，把車速放慢讓牛隊長跳下車子，自己也下了車說：“行，你試過之後就知道好吃了。”
“你又想着吃啥呢？”五爺的聲音猛地冒了出來，把夏菊花吓了一跳，扭頭發現七喜正扶着五爺，一臉笑嘻嘻的看着自己。
“七喜，你不說陪五爺在家裏呆着，讓他大冷天出來吹風，要是吹病了咋整？”夏菊花先責怪七喜。
五爺跟牛隊長點了點頭，才向夏菊花說：“我聽說你去大隊開會了，在家裏呆不住，才讓他跟我出來的。還不都是你，非得說我身邊離不開人了，這小子這些天可把我煩夠嗆。”
老人家，你嫌孫子麻煩的時候，是不是應該把嘴角耷拉下來？夏菊花看了低頭偷笑的七喜一眼，重新扭頭跟牛隊長告別，陪着五爺慢慢往回走，邊走邊說：“公社張主任來大隊了，說讓交公糧呢。”
老人擔心的一定就是這個，要不也不會大冷天在家裏呆不住。面對五爺，夏菊花覺得沒啥不能說的：“不過不是按着往年的量交，只交往年的一半。我覺得咱們生産隊留出來的糧食夠交了。”
夠是當然夠了，不過誰嫌自己手裏的糧食多呢。五爺的步子都慢了下來：“還是按原來的樣數交呀？”
“嗯，得按原來的樣數交，價格也跟去年一樣。”
“交吧，皇糧國稅，自古以來種地的哪有不交的。要不是今年縣裏給出了打井的材料，咱們也沒這些收成。對了，給咱們多少救濟糧？”五爺想得很開。
夏菊花搖了搖頭說：“上頭說讓咱們交一半公糧已經是照顧咱們了，就不給平安莊救濟糧了。”怕五爺聽了上火，她補充了一句：“不光咱們平安莊不給，別的四個生産隊也都沒有救濟糧。”
“不給就不給吧。”五爺仍然很平靜的說：“就算不給救濟糧，咱們今年落到手裏的糧食，也比往年多。”說完自己神秘的笑了一下：“你忘了咱們還能從麥麸裏篩出點兒面來呢？”
按着春天篩出來的比例算，新買回來的麥麸還能篩出個三百來斤面來，五爺覺得完全是白賺的。
夏菊花聽了也是一笑：“那面我覺得還得留在生産隊裏。我想着是不是給超過六十五歲的老人，一人發上三斤，讓他們過年好好吃頓餃子。”
全都分下去，一人都合不上一斤，生産隊也不能一點兒正經糧食都不掌握，真遇到事兒了咋辦？
對此五爺連連點頭：“行，整個生産隊超過六十五的，也就我們這十幾多個老不死的，用不到一百斤就夠了。我那份不要，夏天收的新麥子我還沒吃完呢。”
七喜靜靜的走在五爺身後頭，一句話都不插。夏菊花忍不住回頭看了他一眼，小聲對五爺說：“五爺，這面你要是不拿的話，別人能吃得下去嘛。”并不是人人的兒孫，都跟五爺的子孫一樣，對老人的東西半點兒不惦記。
也就仗着這一年多來，五爺不時的在街上罵兩句閑街，平安莊才沒再出克扣老人吃食的事。
五爺想到這一點兒，有點兒兔死狐悲的說：“唉，老了成了廢物了，人家都不待見了。行，為了讓那些老哥們老姐們放心吃口餃子，這面我腆着臉要了。”
見夏菊花一直推着自行車跟自己爺爺走，一直沒出聲的七喜問：“嫂子，我去叫秋生？”
“去吧，我得問問明天生産隊的安排，看看哪天去交公糧合适。”夏菊花覺得七喜鬼精鬼精的，這句話插的太是時候。
等七喜跑開了，她才勸五爺：“你們家這幾個都挺孝順的，你可別老說自己成廢物的話，連我都不愛聽。要是你都是廢物，我都不知道該跟誰商量事兒了。”
“唉，”五爺又嘆了一口氣：“你也不想想，咱們平安莊還算好的，聽說孫家莊那邊誰家的老人喝藥了，我都不愛打聽。”
可不是不愛打聽嘛，這個時候喝藥是為啥，聽到的心裏都明鏡似的。夏菊花很快打起精神來，小聲說：“管別人幹啥，只要咱們平安莊的老人們都好好的就行。”
That's what he said, but the Fifth Master was still in a bad mood until Chen Qiu Sheng came. Chen Qiu Sheng thought that the old man was worried about the grain in the granary, so he persuaded him a lot and calculated for the Fifth Master, saying that after Ping An Manor produced public grain this year, each person would actually get 480 kilograms of grain, which was a loud number.
The Fifth Master was also happy when he heard this, but he didn't want to make everyone unhappy because of himself, so he smiled and said, "Then you have to watch out. Since we have to pay the public grain, we have to pay it well and not pay the bad ones."
"Don't worry, we at Ping An Village have never failed to deliver the public grain." Chen Qiusheng said poorly, and asked Xia Juhua: "There are about 6,000 kilograms of grain in total. An ox cart can only carry 4,000 kilograms, and we need 20 people to carry it."
Master Wu couldn't help but think of Technician Xue: "If Technician Xue was still here, he would have used a tractor to take us to the grain station."
Xia Juhua's eyes lit up when she heard this. This year, the members of Ping'an Village could save energy by using Technician Xue's tractor, and Xia Juhua had a bold idea.