Chapter 138
The reed poles were transported from the Cheng'an District Supply and Marketing Cooperative, which was a different region from the Chengping District of Pingde County, and a long distance in those days. Chen Qiusheng naturally had to come in person, inviting the three drivers to the production team for tea and a chat, and also called in strong laborers from the powder leaking room to help unload the trucks.
Liu Erxi and his friends were still pushing Zhao Xianzhi: "Team Leader Zhao, you always say that women hold up half the sky, but why do you think of us when you unload the truck? Is your half of the sky going to collapse?"
"The division of labor in the revolution is different. We don't need you anymore at this time. I'm afraid your wife will think you are useless and kick you out." Zhao Xianzhi spoke without thinking, making Liu Erxi blush.
There is strength in numbers. In less than two hours, the three carts of reed poles were piled up into a tall pile. Zhao Xianzhi was so happy that he said, "That's good. Even if we use only reed poles, we can still hold out for a while."
However, An Baoling felt that she could not give up using wheat straw: "I think it is convenient to use wheat straw to weave decorations and small things. Who knows if the next batch of reed stalks will be delivered, so I'd better keep these to weave mats." The true meaning of life is to live a long life.
"That's easy. You go back and prepare the money. We have to settle the bill first." Chen Qiu Sheng came over to remind Zhao Xianzhi.
"Where's Hongcui?" Zhao Xianzhi asked someone to call Hongcui. It turned out that since last year, the weaving team had set up their own account because Zhao Xianzhi had to go out from time to time to buy reed stalks and also had to give the women monthly subsidies for exceeding the quota. The monthly payment received was only handed over to the production team according to the quota, and the rest of the money was collected by the weaving team itself and handed over to the production team at the end of the year.
Originally they wanted Zhang Cuiping to be the accountant, but she declined. In the end, Hong Cui learned from her elder sister Hong Ling for a while and became the actual accountant of the editing team. Only by finding her could we get the money of the editing team.
After a while, Chen Qiu Sheng returned to the production team and had already settled the bill with the visitor: three truckloads of reed poles weighing 35,000 jin cost 350 yuan, and the freight for three truckloads was 90 yuan, which added up to 440 yuan.
After settling the accounts, the driver surnamed Chen who was leading the team said a little embarrassedly: "Captain Chen, we are all surnamed Chen, and we have been one family for five hundred years. Today, the reed poles were delivered without prior notice. It was my fault that I did not handle the matter clearly. Normally, I should have let your production team prepare in advance, but the leader urged me to do so, and I had no choice..."
Driver Chen often went to the countryside to transport goods, so he naturally knew that the current production teams were not very rich, and it was a bit difficult to ask Ping An Zhuang to take out more than four hundred yuan all at once.
But the leader urged them to come to Ping'an Village quickly to avoid being preempted by reeds sent from other areas. He also specifically instructed them to get the money on the spot. Driver Chen had to talk to Chen Qiu Sheng about his family background, hoping that he would not make things difficult for him.
If he didn't want to embarrass himself, he would have to embarrass Chen Qiusheng. Driver Chen was a little speechless. Unexpectedly, Chen Qiusheng smiled and said, "Of course, of course. Brother, you can send the reed poles to us, which will save us a lot of trouble."
"Hong Cui." Chen Qiu Sheng called out, and Hong Cui came in boldly and said to Chen Qiu Sheng in a crisp voice: "Captain, I'm ready. How much is it?"
Could this be the accountant of Ping An Manor? Driver Chen and the other two carefully looked at the girl in front of them and saw that she was standing upright, with a round face, white and clean, dark almond-shaped eyes, and two braids on her shoulders, combed neatly. She was wearing a blue shirt with white flowers on the upper body and black pants on the lower body. The trouser line was not obvious, but it was very straight. She looked like a tall white poplar, making people feel a little unbelievable that she was a rural girl.
What surprised the three men the most was that the girl's clothes were brand new, without a single patch on them, which was very different from the impression they had of a rural girl.
Do the people in Ping An Village live such a good life?
Thinking back, when they arrived at Ping'an Village and met the members, no matter adults or children, there were really few who had patches on their bodies. Driver Chen couldn't help but believe what Hong Cui said she had prepared.
Chen Qiusheng had already told Hongcui the amount of money. Hongcui asked about the weight of the reed stalks, how much one pound cost, and how much the transportation fee was. She counted it on an abacus and said to Chen Qiusheng with a smile, "That's a total of 440 yuan, right?"
Chen Qiusheng nodded with satisfaction: "Yes. Your calculations are getting better and better."
Hong Cui was a little embarrassed by his praise, but she didn't show any shyness. She took out a wad of money from her backpack, counted out forty-four bills with her ten fingers, and handed them to driver Chen: "Please count them and see if you are right."
Driver Chen took the money and counted it. Not a cent was missing. He smiled gratefully and said to Chen Qiu Sheng, "Brother, I am indebted to you this time. Next time you go to Cheng'an, just come to the transport team to find me. I will treat you well."
Everyone can say polite words, but Chen Qiu Sheng not only said them but also did them. He refused to let the three drivers leave Ping An Zhuang hungry. He treated them to a meal of pork stewed with vermicelli and some substantial white flour steamed buns, which shocked the three drivers a little.
Driver Chen said with emotion: "Brother, you guys are having a really good time in Ping An Village."
Chen Qiusheng has always been modest: "Our lives have only gotten better in the past two years. It wasn't that easy before."
Driver Chen pulled him aside and whispered, "Brother, you said that you leaked the vermicelli yourself. I want to shamelessly trade some with you. Is that okay?"
This put Chen Qiusheng in a difficult position: "Brother, you know that the wheat is almost pulpy now, and there are no more sweet potatoes left. Our production team doesn't have any vermicelli left."
"I won't trade with you for more, just 20 to 30 kilograms will do. The main thing is that your vermicelli is resistant to cooking and tastes strong, much better than the ones I buy at the grocery store. Brother, I'm begging you today, you can't let me lose face next time."
It was really hard to refuse the driver's words. Chen Qiusheng had no choice but to give all the vermicelli he had saved at home to the driver, and refused to take his money no matter what.
Although Driver Chen was able to say something, he was not the type to take advantage of others. When the car started, he threw a roll of money at Chen Qiu Sheng through the window and said, "That's all I have. If you leak powder again in the fall, don't forget to leave some for me."
When Chen Qiusheng picked up the money and tried to stuff it back into the car, the car had already gone two miles away. How could he catch up? After counting the money in his hand, there were a total of 40 yuan. Chen Qiusheng knew that the brother he had just met did not give him the money casually.
Even though it was only driver Chen who asked for vermicelli, Chen Qiusheng, who was good at handling things, naturally would not really give it to only one person, but 20 kilograms for each of the three drivers. 60 kilograms of vermicelli cost 40 yuan, which was about the same price as when Qi Weidong took it away from Ping'an Village.
"Hongcui, ask your sister to come over." Chen Qiusheng said to Hongcui, and went back to the production team to wait. The vermicelli given to driver Chen was of course from the production team. He said in front of driver Chen that it was for his family to eat, but he was afraid that he would ask for too much. Now that the money had been paid, of course he had to ask Hongling to come over to settle the bill.
Now that the mat-weaving team had three carts of reed poles, they could naturally fill orders much faster. With Zhao Xianzhi, Zhang Cuiping and others watching over them, Xia Juhua returned her focus to the construction of the vermicelli factory.
Of course, the flour-leaking room of the Ping'anzhuang production team is still in production - the first batch of sweet potatoes coordinated by the troops has arrived. The earlier the production starts, the earlier the troops can be supplied. Xia Juhua is reluctant to waste time.
Fortunately, Technician Xue has been working in the vermicelli factory since his last visit, which saved Xia Juhua a lot of worries: he came with drawings, and many of the things had been tested and matured in Beijing, and now all he had to do was adjust the proportions according to the production scale of the Ping'anzhuang vermicelli factory.
With the experience of the previous five team leaders, the people of Ping'anzhuang Brigade were more obedient. Xia Juhua everyone asked to cooperate with Technician Xue's work. Everyone rushed to complete Technician Xue's instructions, and the cold storage was soon completed.
The first batch of sweet potatoes brought by the troops weighed 20,000 kilograms and did not rot after being stored for more than ten days, proving that the construction of the cold storage was successful. This not only gave Xue the confidence himself, but also made the members of the Ping'anzhuang Brigade more motivated.
Think about it, our ancestors had to watch the sweet potatoes rot and be thrown away every spring, but now they can be preserved intact after the beginning of summer. Do you dare to say that Technician Xue is just talking nonsense?
So later on, Xia Juhua no longer needed to keep an eye on things every day, as the members would go to Technician Xue to get their tasks on their own initiative. And Xia Juhua really didn't have time to keep an eye on the vermicelli factory in recent days: Xiaoman was finally born.
On the third night after the cold storage was built, Xiaoman began to have regular contractions. At Xia Juhua's insistence, Liu Zhifu drove her to the county hospital on a tractor.
There was no other way. When Liu Zhishuang heard Xiaoman crying out in pain, his hands trembled so much that he couldn't hold the steering wheel and couldn't drive the tractor at all. Xia Juhua could only let him sit in the back of the truck and support Xiaoman.
Sun Zhaodi, who was sitting in the tractor with her at the time, said to Xia Juhua: "When we give birth to children, don't we always find a midwife? It's too much trouble to go to the hospital." The main reason was that Wang Caifeng gave birth to both of her children at home. What should Wang Caifeng do if she had an objection to her daughter giving birth in the hospital?
Xia Juhua, holding a bag filled with the children's clothes, jackets, and Xiaoman's spare clothes, did not take Sun Zhaodi's words seriously: "We didn't have the conditions before, but now that we have the conditions, of course we can do whatever insurance we want."
Xia Juhua certainly thought about whether Wang Caifeng would have any objections, but she still couldn't do anything to risk a young life - Xiaoman was taken care of better than when Wang Caifeng was pregnant with Lele. At seven months, her belly was as big as her nine-month-old belly. Xia Juhua was afraid that the fetus would be too big and cause dystocia, and it would be too late to go to the hospital then.
Such a judgment could not be said in front of Sun Zhaodi, her own mother, otherwise the sound in the car fight would not be Xiaoman crying because of pain. Wang Caifeng, who was sitting in the tractor with her, knew a little about Sun Zhaodi's thoughts. After Xia Juhua finished speaking, she said, "Auntie, the doctors in the hospital have seen a lot and are definitely better than the midwife. It's good for both adults and children to give birth there."
Sun Zhaodi certainly knew that the doctors in the hospital were better than the midwife. She said that just now because she was afraid that Wang Caifeng would feel uncomfortable. Now even Wang Caifeng said so, what else could she say?
When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor announced that the fetus was too large and in an abnormal position. Apart from being worried about the daughter-in-law, Sun Zhaodi was only grateful to Xia Juhua: if the daughter-in-law had married into another family, she wouldn't even be able to hire a midwife, let alone go to the hospital to give birth - nowadays, in order to save money, many families have the mother-in-law deliver the baby for their daughter-in-law, or the sisters-in-law help with the delivery.
But what about the daughter-in-law? As soon as Xia Juhua was mobilized, she arranged to send her to the hospital. Liu Zhishuang only cared about his wife and didn't care about anything else. It can be seen how much he cares about the daughter-in-law. Even his sister-in-law Wang Caifeng entrusted her two children to her mother and followed her to the hospital. Where else can you find such a family?
If the abnormal fetal position of her daughter had been discovered at home instead of in the hospital, Sun Zhaodi didn't dare to imagine what the consequences would be.
Fortunately, there was no danger, and Xiaoman gave birth to a big fat boy weighing 7.5 kg. Because of the episiotomy, she stayed in the hospital for three days to remove the stitches before returning to Ping An Village. Sun Zhaodi had already agreed to take care of her daughter during the confinement period, so she asked An Baoling for leave and could not work in the weaving group for the time being.
Sun Zhaodi's grandson had to call An Baoling "Third Grandma". How could she not agree? Not only did she agree, but she also sent a generous milk-inducing gift that day: two small quilts that had been made early, two pounds of brown sugar and thirty eggs.
The milk-inducing gifts given by other people in the editing team were all generous. When the cadres of the brigade and the production team leaders heard that Xia Juhua had another grandson, they also received milk-inducing gifts from their housewives. Xia Juhua naturally did not go to the brigade, but stayed at home to greet the visitors. The reason why everyone gave such generous milk-inducing gifts was naturally not to give face to Liu Zhishuang and his wife, but to brigade leader Xia Juhua. It would be rude for her not to stay at home.
Because everyone kept asking what the child's name was, Xia Juhua asked Liu Zhishuang to name his son quickly. As a result, Liu Zhishuang started to act like a spoiled child again: "Mom, you named Lele, why don't you name my son?"
Thinking that the boy was so happy to have a son that he became silly, Xia Juhua was too lazy to care about it. She was also determined to make this life different from the previous one, so Xia Juhua named her grandson Liu Anguo, and his nickname was An An.
Unexpectedly, Liu Baoguo was unhappy again: "My brothers and sisters all have nicknames, but I don't have one."
Xia Juhua had no choice but to say, "You have a nickname, so let's call you Baobao. Since you are already a primary school student now, we all call you by your full name. After a while, you will forget that you have a nickname."
Liu Baoguo heard "Baobao" as "Baobao" and felt that it was embarrassing for a primary school student to be called "Baobao" every day, so he finally stopped talking.
While they were talking, Liu Zhiquan had already returned to Ping'an Village with a truck. It turned out that he had been assigned a position in the purchasing department of the provincial supply and marketing system. He was also assigned a tube-shaped building of less than 30 square meters and a car was specially sent for his moving.
The treatment is not bad.
It was just that they came in a hurry. Wang Caifeng complained to Liu Zhiquan: "Why didn't you send a message home so that I could prepare."
He had been gone for more than half a month, but Wang Caifeng still said she was not ready. Liu Zhiquan knew that his wife did not want to leave home. But he had been alone in the provincial capital for more than half a month, and he did not want to experience that lonely and lost feeling again.
In order to persuade Wang Caifeng to make up her mind to go to the provincial capital with him, Liu Zhiquan, who was always tongue-tied, told her how good the provincial capital was, how the leaders of the provincial supply and marketing system took care of his family, and how he heard that Wang Caifeng worked in the kindergarten of the production team, so he specially approved her to work as a contract worker in the kindergarten within the supply and marketing system, and how convenient the tube building was, what he had bought in it, and what he was undecided about. He talked about it all, which really made Wang Caifeng excited:
"If I go there, can I really work in a kindergarten under the supply and marketing system?"
Even Xia Juhua felt that the provincial supply and marketing system leaders were giving too much treatment: "Even Caifeng has been given a job?"
Liu Zhiquan was a little proud: "Deputy Director Gu met Caifeng and Lele in the hospital last time. When I reported for duty, Deputy Director Gu said that Caifeng taught Lele very well. I told him about Caifeng's work as a teacher in the production team kindergarten. Deputy Director Gu then asked the kindergarten and said that Caifeng could be allowed to try first. But she is a contract worker, different from a permanent employee like me."
At this time, there is also the concept of contract workers, but the management and treatment are not much different from those of permanent workers. Generally, there is no formal organization, and the name of contract workers is used when talents need to be arranged.
"Then Caifeng must work hard when she gets there. It would be great if she could get a permanent job." Wang Caifeng's mother was originally worried that her aunt would dislike her for going to the provincial capital with her and having no income. Unexpectedly, she got a job as soon as she was told.
Xia Juhua felt that she needed to make another call to Deputy Director Gu - recruiting both Liu Zhiquan brothers into the supply and marketing system was already an exception, and they arranged a job for Wang Caifeng, probably as compensation for her illness caused by exhaustion after returning from the expo.
Even though it is compensation, I cannot accept it so complacently. I have to express my gratitude to others.
Before she could tell him her plan, Liu Zhiquan said, "Mom, Deputy Director Gu said that he sent a car to help me move because he was worried that I had too much stuff and he also wanted you to go to the provincial capital."
Let me go to the provincial capital? Xia Juhua was a little confused: "What's the matter?" If it was an emergency, I should call Uncle Qi and let Uncle Qi notify me, which would be faster.
Liu Zhiquan shook his head to indicate that he didn't know, so Xia Juhua didn't ask any more questions - her son knew the answer well, and since Deputy Director Gu was unwilling to tell him the reason, he didn't have the courage to ask him why.
The favor she owed was too great, so it was hard to refuse the other person's request. Xia Juhua had no choice but to apologize to Sun Zhaodi: "Logically, I should have taken care of Xiaoman during her confinement, but..."
Sun Zhaodi asked for leave to take care of her because she was afraid that Xia Juhua would be too busy to take care of her. Naturally, she would not compare herself with Xia Juhua at this time: "The leader of the provincial supply and marketing cooperative is looking for you, it must be a big deal. I am at home, what else do you have to worry about?"
With the support of Sun Zhaodi and the fact that Liu Zhishuang and his wife had no objections, Xia Juhua began to arrange matters for the brigade. Fortunately, Liu Zhiquan had returned with a truck, and the news of his imminent move had already spread throughout the brigade, so no one was surprised to hear that Xia Juhua was going to the provincial capital with him.
The so-called arrangements were nothing more than that the vermicelli factory must be built according to Technician Xue's requirements, the quality of the orders from the weaving team must be closely monitored, each production team must not miss the farming season, and the chicken-raising plans of each member's family must be implemented as soon as possible.
Xia Juhua still felt a little sorry for Technician Xue: He came to Ping'an Village Brigade because of her phone call, but she ran away before the work was half done, leaving Technician Xue to work day and night. However, after Xia Juhua's understanding of Technician Xue, if she expressed her gratitude to him in person, Technician Xue would definitely feel awkward, so she simply said nothing, thinking that she would express her gratitude after he left.
However, she specifically asked Li Changshun to calm down Technician Xue from time to time, so that when she was away, some members would not listen to Technician Xue's instructions, which would be too unfair to him. Li Changshun directly assured Xia Juhua: "Now that the weather is getting hotter, I will live with Technician Xue in the vermicelli factory, and I will move back home when you come back."
"Can you handle it?" Xia Juhua looked at Li Changshun's injured leg with some concern. "You can come over during the day. The vermicelli factory has set up a tent and laid a layer of bed boards. Although it's hot now, Technician Xue is young and it's okay. I'm afraid you can't handle sleeping here."
Li Changshun waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's nothing. When we were young, we slept in snow nests. Now we have tents and bed boards. What's the problem? Besides, we have more and more materials now. I will be with Technician Xue, so I will have someone to take care of me at night."
Xia Juhua then thought of the safety issue and called Liu Liqun to have him lead the militia to patrol every night. Finally, Liu Liqun simply suggested that two militiamen be sent to the vermicelli factory every night to be on duty, so that Li Changshun would not have to accompany Technician Xue.
This idea made Xia Juhua feel more at ease than letting Li Changshun live in the tent, so she nodded in agreement. Li Changshun knew that they were all worried about their own health, so he did not insist, but he assured Xia Juhua that he would definitely keep an eye on the five production captains and that the same thing that happened to the first five captains would not happen again.
Accountant Chang also had to remind everyone that after the last shortage of money, Xia Juhua's proposal to increase investment was finally approved by the entire brigade. According to the original investment ratio, each production team and brigade doubled their investment, which should be enough to purchase all the machines needed for the vermicelli factory.
Because she didn't know why Deputy Director Gu asked her to go to the provincial capital, Xia Juhua wanted to thank him and thought the best gift was hot and sour rice noodles. Fortunately, Ping'anzhuang's rice noodle house had already started making improved rice noodles in large quantities, so Xia Juhua quickly prepared the seasonings and hand-sealed 100 bags of rice noodles, which she loaded onto the truck along with Liu Zhiquan's family's belongings.
There were many people seeing her off, and when they saw Xia Juhua sitting in the co-pilot's seat, they all waved goodbye to her, as if it was Xia Juhua who was moving away instead of Liu Zhiquan and his wife. Only Wang Caifeng's family members sincerely shed tears for Wang Caifeng who was sitting in the car.
"Auntie, your family is so popular in the production team." The truck driver looked at the retreating crowd with lingering fear and sighed.
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