Chapter 98 (1)
When Qi Weidong heard Xia Juhua suddenly asked him what he talked about with Liu Zhiquan, his face blushed for a rare moment: "Nothing, nothing, I was just chatting with my elder brother." As he came to the Liu family more and more often, Qi Weidong had become familiar with the Liu Zhiquan brothers and treated them as brothers.
It would be strange if Xia Juhua could trust him: "It's fine as long as it's nothing. Zhiquan is simple-minded and soft-hearted. He takes everything people say seriously. So even though he has two children, he still needs me to give him advice when something happens."
So, don't think that what Liu Zhiquan has agreed to is set in stone. I have the final say on whether it will work or not.
Although the words were not explained, Qi Weidong understood them and his face turned green. He complained, "Auntie, how come you see everything so clearly? How can others dare to deal with you?"
Xia Juhua just looked at him quietly, which made Qi Weidong feel guilty: "Auntie, why are you looking at me?"
Xia Juhua still didn't say anything, so Qi Weidong could only confess that Xia Juhua was not at home after he arrived, so Wang Caifeng called Liu Zhiquan back so that he could talk to him. Liu Zhiquan himself was not good at speaking, so he just listened to Qi Weidong bragging about his brilliant achievements in the black market.
Qi Weidong became happier the more he talked, and suddenly he told Liu Zhiquan about how he made money from selling vermicelli last year. Liu Zhiquan only knew that he could earn processing fees by selling vermicelli, but he didn't expect that selling vermicelli would earn him more money than earning processing fees, so he asked if vermicelli was easy to sell and whether he was afraid of losing money.
Qi Weidong didn't think much about it and just talked about how he was proud of himself. However, Liu Zhiquan became more and more excited as he listened, and asked if he could make money by selling vermicelli with Qi Weidong. Qi Weidong was very puzzled. Based on his understanding of the Liu family, even if someone wanted to make money by selling vermicelli with him, it should be Liu Zhishuang instead of Liu Zhiquan. So he asked Liu Zhiquan why he suddenly wanted to sell vermicelli with him.
It turned out that Liu Zhiquan was stimulated by the incident on the day of the dividend distribution. He felt bad that his two children had to rely on their mother and brothers to pay for their food. He wanted to follow Qi Weidong to sell vermicelli on the black market so that he could make money as soon as possible to return it to his mother and brothers. This would also save him from having to rely on his mother and brothers to support him every year.
Qi Weidong thought that it was okay for him to take Liu Zhiquan with him - Liu Zhiquan was a way for me to make money, and Xia Juhua's burden would be much lighter in the future, so how could Xia Juhua not be willing? As a result, Liu Zhiquan reminded Qi Weidong that Xia Juhua was now the captain of the Ping'an Village Brigade, and she even refused to accept two eggs from the production team, so it was better not to let she knows.
Qi Weidong patted his chest and assured Liu Zhiquan that if Liu Zhiquan wanted to work with him, he would make Liu Zhiquan earn a lot of money and eat the best food and drink the spicy drinks. By the time Xia Juhua came back, Liu Zhiquan was already confused and he became dizzy and showed scars after Xia Juhua entered the hospital.
It was all because Liu Zhiquan was so determined in the east room that he felt guilty when he saw his mother, and Xia Juhua noticed something was wrong. Qi Weidong said with some regret: "Auntie, if Zhiquan follows me, I dare not say more, but I will let him earn in two months the same amount of bonus as he would in your production team in a year, and there will be no problem at all."
Xia Juhua naturally believed this, but she had to ask these two people what they wanted to do. If she didn't ask, she wouldn't know. Once she asked, she realized that Qi Weidong had a big appetite. He not only focused on the vermicelli from Ping'an Village, but also included the vermicelli from the four production teams.
"I thought of asking Zhiquan to quietly collect vermicelli from each production team, and I would give him five cents per pound as a running errand fee." Under Xia Juhua's gaze, Qi Weidong told Xia Juhua everything he had discussed with Liu Zhiquan.
After finishing speaking, Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua with a guilty conscience, fearing that if she was unhappy, she would not even sell Pingan Manor's vermicelli to him. But Xia Juhua lowered her head and could not see her expression at all, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Xia Juhua didn't even raise her head until Liu Zhiquan called Chen Qiu Sheng over, but Qi Weidong was so frightened that even the way he looked at Liu Zhiquan became strange, thinking that he had been implicated by him.
Liu Zhiquan was already feeling guilty, and when Qi Weidong looked at him like that, his face turned pale, and he whispered, "Mom, Brother Qiu Sheng is here."
Xia Juhua then raised her head, without even looking at Liu Zhiquan, and asked Chen Qiusheng to sit on the edge of the kang, "How much flour has been leaked from these few days? Xiao Qi is waiting for it. It's agreed to be 75 cents per pound. I think the price is okay."
If you said the price was okay, then it was okay. Why did you suddenly look at Qi Weidong? Qi Weidong and Liu Zhiquan both shuddered. Even Li Lin and Xie Hongbing, who had been playing dumb, felt a chill down their spines.
Chen Qiusheng calculated in his mind for a while before saying, "I think if everyone puts their food together, we can have about 700 to 800 kilograms. But captain, everyone knows that Ping An Village has started to leak vermicelli. If we give all our vermicelli to Xiao Qi at once, and others ask about it..."
See, Chen Qiu Sheng is so thoughtful. Xia Juhua looked at him approvingly, then looked at Qi Weidong: "Tell Qiu Sheng what you just thought."
What was he thinking just now? Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua with a confused face, and found that she was looking at him teasingly. He suddenly realized what he had discussed with Liu Zhiquan in the east room.
Liu Zhiquan's face was too ugly to look at. Just now, when Xia Juhua asked him to call Chen Qiusheng, he was a little nervous. He was hoping that Qi Weidong, who had been in the black market for so many years, could hold out for a while. He didn't expect that Qi Weidong had sold him out in the short time he had been calling for help.
"Mom..." Liu Zhiquan's voice trembled.
"What do you think?"
Liu Zhiquan felt relieved when his mother called him by her name. He gritted his teeth and said, "Mom, Lele is still young, and Caifeng needs another two years to work in the fields. I can't let you and Zhishuang earn money for them every year - Zhishuang has to get married in the future. So I thought that Zhishuang and I can finish the sweet potatoes in our house in two days, and I want to earn some money with Xiaoqi in the rest of the time."
Chen Qiu Sheng looked at Liu Zhiquan in surprise, then at Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua was not as furious as she had imagined. She only asked, "You said you wanted to make money with Xiao Qi. You need to have money to collect vermicelli from others, and you can't let others know. You have to do it secretly at night. Can you bear the hardship?"
Chen Qiu Sheng wanted to leave the main house very much, but he sat there motionless as a mountain - the captain dared to let him listen to such private family affairs, which showed that he did not consider himself an outsider at all. If he left, he would never be able to step into the Liu family again.
So Chen Qiusheng sat very steadily, and even interrupted Liu Zhiquan to ask: "Zhiquan, if you don't have enough money, I can help you."
Liu Zhiquan smiled gratefully at Chen Qiusheng and said, "No need. I dare not charge too much at the beginning. I will charge as much as I can. Xiao Qi will not deduct money from me. I will continue to charge after I make some money."
After talking to Chen Qiu Sheng, he looked at Xia Juhua carefully.
Xia Juhua had just thought a lot, and now she told Liu Zhiquan bit by bit: "You can go and collect vermicelli if you want, but you can't go door to door. If you want to collect vermicelli from a production team, just go directly to the team leader of that production team."
Chen Qiusheng couldn't help but shout "Captain". Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he hurriedly said, "Let Zhiquan go find the captains of each production team. What if others think that you asked them to collect the crops?"
Xia Juhua chuckled: "As long as Liu Zhiquan collects the vermicelli, others will think that I asked him to do it. I thought about it. The dividends of the four production teams are too small. Let alone the New Year, I am afraid that everyone can't even afford a new bowl."
"I asked Zhiquan to go to the leaders of each production team because I was afraid that there would be people in each production team who were not honest and would talk nonsense. Even if the leaders of each production team had opinions about me, they knew the importance of them, and I also wanted to have everyone some money. When the members have a way out of vermicelli, they will thank their respective leaders, and Zhiquan will not be so conspicuous."
Liu Zhiquan was so excited: "Mom, don't worry, I will be careful."
"I don't care whether you are careful or not, but you can't cheat others. You know better than me how much hardship we farmers have to endure when we leak a little flour, so you can't make money by cheating others."
Qi Weidong looked at Xia Juhua and wanted to say that he had never defeated Ping An Zhuang, but he could only open his mouth and swallow the words back into his stomach.
Liu Zhiquan was in charge of the other production teams, while Chen Qiusheng was in charge of the Pingan Village production team. After dinner, everyone started to work. Within two hours, each household in Pingan Village had delivered 600 kilograms of vermicelli, and they all promised that they had some in stock to cover up the truth.
Qi Weidong didn't expect it to be so smooth, and he smiled from ear to ear: "Auntie, did you see my scale just now? Is it enough?"
Xia Juhua nodded absentmindedly, listening to the movements on the street.
In winter, it gets dark early. After nine o'clock, there are no people walking on the street. You can hear any movement clearly. Half an hour later, the sound of a bicycle approaching in the distance was heard. Xie Hongbing ran out quickly and opened the gate.
"Haha, you two have collected quite a lot." His exclamation to Liu Zhiquan and Li Lin who were pushing their bicycles into the yard finally put Xia Juhua's heart at ease.
Wang Caifeng had also come out of the east room. She walked over to help Liu Zhiquan unload the vermicelli and asked, "Which team did you collect this from? Why is this one so old?"
Liu Zhiquan said with some pride: "We collected 220 kilograms from Team 3."
Liu Zhiquan, who weighed 220 kilograms and was out for only three hours, earned 11 yuan. Wang Caifeng looked at the vermicelli in front of her in disbelief, and was a little afraid to unload it - what if it broke and Xiao Qi didn't want it anymore?
Fortunately, Liu Zhiquan didn't think as much as Wang Caifeng did. He helped Li Lin and carried the vermicelli into the kitchen with his rough hands and feet. Then he ran to Xia Juhua happily to announce the good news: "Mom, Li Lin and I have harvested a total of 420 kilograms of vermicelli."
Xia Juhua and Qi Weidong heard the conversation between Liu Zhiquan and Wang Caifeng just now. They didn't expect that the number he said was different from what Wang Caifeng said, so Xia Juhua wanted to ask why.
Without asking Liu Zhiquan to speak, Li Lin told Xia Juhua directly: "Big brother is too polite. I just went with him to keep him company, but he insisted that the vermicelli belonged to both of us and whoever brought it back would own it. If I had known, I would not have gone with Big brother."
After hearing this, Qi Weidong hurriedly advised Liu Zhiquan: "Brother, I always share money with Li Lin and Xie Hongbing. These vermicelli we collect should be yours." Then he motioned to Xie Hongbing to give money to Liu Zhiquan.
Xia Juhua waved her hands at Qi Weidong and said, "Just do as Zhiquan said. He is right. If Li Lin hadn't gone with him, he could only bring back about 200 kilograms of vermicelli. The rest were brought back by Li Lin. Why should we give Zhiquan money?"
Liu Zhiquan and Wang Caifeng both nodded. Liu Zhishuang looked at the money in Xie Hongbing's hand with some envy, but did not interrupt. He saw that Qi Weidong was unable to defeat Xia Juhua and Liu Zhiquan, so he only paid Liu Zhiquan eleven yuan.
"That's more than a thousand kilograms of vermicelli in total. Can you three take it back?" Xia Juhua was a little worried for Qi Weidong.
Qi Weidong laughed and said, "If Auntie feels sorry for us and is afraid that we will get tired, then let Zhishuang go with us."
Four people and four bicycles, each weighing more than 200 kilograms, tied up and carried by the young and old, it was no problem. Liu Zhiquan said: "Why don't I take you back?"
Xia Juhua said, "Forget it. You must be tired after running all night. Let Zhishuang take them there."
The vermicelli that had just been unloaded was quietly tied to the bicycle. Liu Zhiquan shook the rear rack one by one and felt that it was tied firmly. He said to Liu Zhishuang: "Be careful when you ride your bike. Don't ride back alone in the middle of the night. Stay with Xiao Qiwei for a while and come back early tomorrow."
Liu Zhishuang was amused when he heard this. He turned around and looked at his mother. She nodded slightly at him with a smile on her face. Only her white teeth could be seen in the darkness, which was a bit weird.
Xia Juhua quickly whispered, "You guys should leave quickly. If you run into anyone on the road, ignore them. If they are from the Red Team, you'd rather give up your bike and noodles than have a conflict with them."
"Come on, auntie," Qi Weidong's white teeth were also exposed: "Go back to the house and have a rest. Those red teams dare not do anything to us."
Yes, how could I have forgotten that Qi Weidong was the one who could command the Red Team? Xia Juhua smiled to herself, and watched them quietly leave the house. When she heard no more movement on the street, she lay down to rest.
The next day, Liu Zhishuang knocked on the door at dawn. When Xia Juhua, who had not slept well, got up to open the door, she heard Liu Zhiquan had already let someone in. She asked, "Why are you back at this time? You didn't even say you wanted to sleep a little longer."
Liu Zhishuang said, "I'm afraid I'll be back late and someone will see me on the road. It's hard to tell. Mom hasn't woken up yet?"
Liu Zhiquan said gloomily, "Not yet. Second brother, I discussed with your sister-in-law. I was supposed to send Qi Weidong yesterday, but I asked you to go instead. So you have a share of the money earned yesterday. Here is five yuan, I'm taking one yuan off you."
Xia Juhua, who wanted to go out to inquire about the situation, stopped with her hand on the door bolt and pricked up her ears to listen to what Liu Zhishuang had to say.
Liu Zhishuang was about to explode: "Brother, do you look down on me, or do you think I am greedy for money? Xiao Qi has been collecting vermicelli from us because he is familiar with mother, so isn't it my duty to send them off? I am also mother's son."
Liu Zhiquan, who was not good at speaking, could not say anything except "No" and "I can't let you run in vain". The two brothers started to quarrel quietly in the yard.
Xia Juhua pulled the bolt and opened the door. The two brothers in the yard stopped what they were doing. Xia Juhua whispered, "Go to the streets and fight. Let everyone know what you two have become."
"Mom, that's not the case." Liu Zhiquan's face turned red.
Liu Zhishuang said with a smile: "My brother has to be distant with me, and I just don't want him to separate from me."
Liu Zhiquan got anxious when he heard this: "Who said they wanted to separate from you?"
"Then you and I are inseparable."
"Come in, everyone." Seeing that Liu Zhiquan was speechless because of Liu Zhishuang, Xia Juhua growled at the two of them in anger and amusement. The two of them lowered their heads at the same time and followed her into the house.
Xia Juhua had just gotten up in such a hurry that she didn't even draw the curtains. It was still a little dark when she entered the room. As she got on the kang and drew up the curtains, she asked, "When did you get to the county town yesterday? Did you meet anyone on the way?"
Liu Zhishuang's smile never faded: "I didn't run into anyone, and the journey was quiet. I arrived at Xiaoqi's house a little after ten o'clock, and I didn't miss my sleep."
Ten o'clock was not too late. Xia Juhua asked casually while folding the quilt: "How much did Xiao Qi give you for your hard work?"
Liu Zhishuang took out a bill from his pocket and handed it to his mother: "You gave me five dollars. I said no, but he said, Mom, you must know that he has to give me money, and you agreed to let me send him back so that I could take the money." Otherwise, would his mother have nodded to him when he left last night?
Liu Zhiquan asked in surprise: "Can Xiao Qi still make money?" The price of vermicelli was not low to begin with, and he gave himself a five-cent difference per pound. Liu Zhishuang also had to pay him five yuan for each errand he made, so he was losing money no matter how he calculated it.
He looked at Xia Juhua with some complaint: "Mom, do you really agree that the second son should accept this money?"
Seeing the two sons who handled things in different ways, Xia Juhua didn't mind explaining it to Liu Zhiquan: "Xiao Qi is a capable man. He was afraid that Zhishuang would feel uncomfortable if you made the money, so he had to let Zhishuang take them there. Otherwise, the three of you should tie up the vermicelli tightly, because you can't carry a thousand kilograms of vermicelli, right?"
Liu Zhiquan felt a little wronged: "I won't take all the money myself. How about letting Zhishuang collect the vermicelli for him next time."
Liu Zhishuang said hurriedly, "I don't have time. I still have to learn accounting from Qiu Sheng. When the tractor comes, I will have to work on it. How can I have time to collect vermicelli for him every day?"
Xia Juhua was very relieved to hear this: "Well, Zhishuang knows that it's not easy for you to raise two children, so you don't have to feel bad. Also, tell Caifeng not to wash clothes for Zhishuang all the time. He's too old to wash two pieces of clothes by himself, right?"
Seeing his mother pointing the gun at him again, Liu Zhishuang did not dare to show any grievance: "Yes, brother, tell my sister-in-law that she is tired of taking care of two children and cooking every day, so don't do my laundry for her."
Liu Zhiquan couldn't understand why the topic suddenly turned to Wang Caifeng helping Liu Zhishuang with laundry when they were clearly talking about dividing the money. He said with some indifference: "She has nothing to do at home every day..."
Just when he said this, he felt a sharp gaze staring at him. He looked over and saw that it was his own mother looking at him with a sullen face as he continued speaking. How could he dare to continue? He stammered twice and shut up.
"Come on, let's all go back and wash up. Those who need to fetch water should fetch water and those who need to sweep the yard should sweep the yard. Zhiquan, if anyone from Xiaozhuangtou and Team 4 or 5 asks you about collecting vermicelli today, do you know what to say?" Xia Juhua was too lazy to say anything about her eldest son's machismo and only asked about the questions that worried her.
The topic kept jumping around, which really made Liu Zhiquan a little overwhelmed. He said in confusion: "Xiao Qi is not coming today, why are you still collecting vermicelli?"
Well, Xia Juhua nodded in her heart, and her face looked much better: "Although Captain Niu is strict, the people who sell vermicelli in their production team may not all be strict. You can just talk to them like you did just now."
Does it mean that his mother approved of his answer? Liu Zhiquan felt that he was answering his mother's question just now, instead of rehearsing how to respond to the other three production team leaders. How did his mother approve of it?
He needs to go back and think about it carefully, and if it doesn't work, he should discuss it with his wife.
Liu Zhiquan left with doubts, while Liu Zhishuang stayed in the main room. Xia Juhua looked at him puzzledly: "Why don't you go wash up quickly? If your sister-in-law doesn't have water to cook, don't blame me for scolding you."
Liu Zhishuang handed the five yuan to his mother again: "Mom, keep this money. Don't worry, my eldest brother has a heavy burden now. If he earns more money to raise the children, we can worry less in the end. I won't have any opinion on Xiaoqi or you because of this."
Do you have it? Xia Juhua looked at Liu Zhishuang with contempt and pushed the five yuan in front of her: "You can take your own hard-earned money. Xiao Qi can't afford it, and I don't need these five yuan to spend."
Liu Zhishuang did not refuse, he smiled and put the money away and said, "Okay, I'll treat mom to stewed meat tonight."
Xia Juhua didn't say no. Her son spent the money to treat the whole family to a good meal. There was no reason to refuse.
Liu Zhishuang, who had packed up his money, still didn't leave. Xia Juhua was really surprised: "Anything else?"
Liu Zhishuang rarely hesitated: "Mom, you said that it's not right to always let my sister-in-law wash my clothes for me, right?"
Of course it wasn't the case. Xia Juhua looked at Liu Zhishuang with a little vigilance: "Can't you be more diligent and not pile all the dirty clothes together, making your sister-in-law feel uncomfortable?"
"Mom, actually, you said what if, right?" Liu Zhishuang glanced at his mother, his face a little hot, and he didn't say it clearly.
Otherwise, she is my real mother. After hearing Liu Zhishuang's hesitation, Xia Juhua actually understood what he wanted to say: "Why, do you want to look at your wife again?"
By this time, the sky was already bright, and Liu Zhishuang's face was as red as a piece of red cloth. However, he still insisted on making his point clear: "I think that we live next door to each other, and we know each other's personalities and families very well. There is no need to cause any disturbance..."
"Wait a moment," Xia Juhua sensed something was wrong, "Who do you like?"
"That's right, it's Uncle Chen's Xiaoman." Liu Zhishuang gritted his teeth and made his words clear.
Xia Juhua waved the broom in her hand, then put it down helplessly: "Xiaoman is three years younger than you, and only a little older than Hongling." Xia Juhua stopped talking here, after all, three years younger is not much younger.
"Does Xiaoman know it himself?" This point is very important.
Liu Zhishuang wanted to pull up the corners of his mouth, but he resisted the urge to answer his mother's question: "That day Aunt Chen wanted Xiaoman to go to Xiaozhuangtou to see her, but she didn't want to, so she asked me."
I understand. Xia Juhua let out a sigh of relief and asked unhappily, "When did it happen?"
"It was about the day you went to buy the tractor." Liu Zhishuang finally couldn't help himself and raised his head to show his white teeth: "I didn't dare to tell her anything, so I came back to ask you."
What the hell are you asking? Xia Juhua vaguely remembered that when Chen Qiusheng was announced as the production team leader, the other girls gathered around her to talk, but Xiaoman didn't join Liu Hongling and the others. She just stood outside and looked at her.
It turned out that the little girl thought that Liu Zhishuang had told her at that time, so she didn't dare to face herself.
Xia Juhua couldn't help but sigh: "Your Uncle Chen and his family probably don't like you." You've been divorced once. Even when Xia Juhua was taking medicine in her previous life, divorce would still cause discussion in rural areas, not to mention in the 1970s when people's thinking was even more conservative.
Hearing this, Liu Zhishuang covered all his white teeth: "Mom, what do you say we should do?"
What can he do? Xia Juhua wanted to ask him: "What about you? Do you feel that Xiaoman has told you about it and you are too embarrassed to refuse, or do you really want to live a good life with Xiaoman?" Thinking of Liu Zhishuang's criminal record, Xia Juhua couldn't help but worry about this.
Liu Zhishuang looked up at his mother and said, "Mom, I think Xiaoman is very smart. He learns things very quickly from Uncle Lizhu. Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen are not troublesome people either."
You just really like the girl. Xia Juhua asked Liu Zhishuang to wash his clothes and think about it carefully. Liu Zhishuang was a little anxious: "Mom, I really think it through this time, and I won't... I don't think Xiaoman is a talkative person."
"I know, go brush your teeth." Xia Juhua impatiently rushed out. Wang Caifeng, who had not seen Xia Juhua leave, was boiling water to fill her thermos. She seemed to be angry with Liu Zhishuang, and she thought of what Liu Zhiquan had just said to her when he came back to the room, so she couldn't help but act as a peacemaker: "Mom, the water is boiled, I'll fill it for you?"
Liu Zhishuang looked at Xia Juhua pleadingly, but got no response, so he lowered his head and went out. Seeing Wang Caifeng looking at him worriedly, he called her sister-in-law embarrassedly and immediately went back to his room to get the washbasin.
"Mom, is Zhishuang still angry with Zhiquan?" Wang Caifeng asked uneasily, looking at Liu Zhishuang's back.
Xia Juhua's tone was still not good: "What is there for him to be angry about? It's good enough that he doesn't piss me off to death every day."
Wang Caifeng could tell that her mother-in-law was unhappy, but she didn't dare ask any more questions. After filling the hot pot, she went back to the room to take care of the children while wondering about it.
After dinner, Xia Juhua went to find Wu Ye. Although free love was advocated in the countryside at that time, no matter whether it was free love or not, there had to be a matchmaker at the wedding to make it formal and proper. In addition, Liu Zhishuang had been divorced, and he didn't know what Chen Dongsheng and his wife thought, so a matchmaker with high moral character was necessary to make it more meaningful.
The Fifth Master was quite happy to hear this: "Zhishuang has done well this year and looks energetic. Besides, she has a capable mother-in-law like you. Any daughter of any family will be lucky if she marries Zhishuang. Dongsheng and his wife will agree."
Xia Juhua was not as optimistic as Wuye: "If she likes Zhishuang, why would she let Xiaoman look at the boy from the village?"
The fifth master felt that Xia Juhua was belittling Liu Zhishuang too much, and said with some dissatisfaction: "Your family's conditions are there. Maybe the couple is afraid that they can't marry into your family, so they don't dare to consider Zhishuang." Are you still the mother? Why do you look down on your own son?
Could Xia Juhua tell Master Wu that she knew her youngest son was unreliable in her previous life? She could only ask Master Wu to quietly test Chen Dongsheng and his wife's intentions, and then she would hear the result after she returned from the brigade.
After all this trouble, Xia Juhua arrived at the brigade a little late. Li Changshun, Liu Liqun and other brigade cadres had already arrived. Others would not ask Xia Juhua why she was late, but Li Changshun could ask: "What happened in Ping'an Village?"
Xia Juhua shook her head: "No, it's that troublesome Zhishuang in my family who makes me angry every day."
"I think Zhishuang is a good guy. How could he make you angry?" Li Changshun didn't believe it. From the day he started paying attention to Xia Juhua, he also started paying attention to Xia Juhua's two sons. They were both good boys who worked hard.
After hearing what Li Changshun said, Xia Juhua began to doubt whether she was Liu Zhishuang's biological mother: "Captain, don't you know that kid..." Xia Juhua just said this, and felt that her family's troubles should not be discussed in the brigade headquarters, so she shook her head and stopped talking.
Accountant Chang, who was very optimistic about Liu Zhishuang, looked at Li Changshun anxiously, and when he saw him shaking his head slightly, he resisted the urge to ask. Li Changshun saw that Xia Juhua didn't want to talk, so he asked, "Last time I went to Ping'an Village, didn't you say you wanted to build a kindergarten? What's going on?"
"The candidate hasn't been decided yet, but I've asked several women with young children, and they are all willing to exchange jobs with others." Children sleep for a long time, so it will be enough if someone is there to watch over them. If the women help each other, they can free up their hands to do other things.
Li Changshun nodded and said, "I have also told the four production teams. Team 3 said they also want to follow Ping An Village's example and build one. The head of the small village and Team 4 are interested, but we need to ask those who have children. You know they are all big bosses, so it's not as convenient for you to ask them this question."
The more Xia Juhua listened, the more she felt something was wrong: "Captain, I remember that our brigade should have a women's director. Why is she nowhere to be seen?" If there was a women's director, then we wouldn't have to worry about the big bosses asking these questions.
Liu Liqun looked at Li Changshun with a smile, and found that his old face was a little red. He turned his head and pretended not to hear Xia Juhua's question. Accountant Chang felt that it was not right for the room to be so quiet, so he smiled and said, "There was a director of women's affairs in the past two years, but she was not very active in her work and was always busy with this and that. The team leader felt that he could do a good job without a director of women's affairs, so..."
I see, he just thinks women are too much trouble and hinder his actions. Xia Juhua looked at Li Changshun in confusion, and wanted to ask him why he had to let her, a woman, be the captain if he thought women were a hindrance?
However, it is not a good idea to have no one to serve as the director of women's affairs. Xia Juhua has reason to believe that if the position of the director of women's affairs of the brigade remains vacant, these people will definitely blame themselves if there are any problems concerning women's work in the future.
Her hunch was correct. Li Changshun had already said, "Why don't you go to the production teams and ask?"
Xia Juhua shook her head resolutely: "I wanted to ask Director Zhang today when the tractor could be delivered to us, but I don't have time."
Liu Liqun was trying hard to hold back his laughter again, and Accountant Chang turned his face away. Li Changshun said somewhat embarrassedly, "You've only been the team leader for two days." Why are you in such a hurry?
Xia Juhua said calmly, "Yes, I have only been the team leader for two days. I don't even know many people in the production teams. How can I know how old any child is?"
Li Changshun had nothing to say. Xia Juhua didn't want to stay here any longer, so she stood up and tried to leave the brigade, but Li Changshun caught up with her from behind and called her, "I see you're in a bad mood today. Did you really make Zhishuang angry?"
Her qualifications and age were there, and Xia Juhua didn't want to lose face in front of Li Changshun, so she simply talked about Liu Zhishuang and Xiaoman: "I'm not angry with him, I'm just afraid that if this doesn't work out, Zhaodi and I won't be able to see each other again." Sun Zhaodi was also a person who had been kind to Xia Juhua in her previous life, and Xia Juhua didn't want to be unable to get along well with her in this life.
Li Changshun felt bitter in his heart when he heard this, but he still had to persuade Xia Juhua: "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. If it really works out, it's his blessing. If it doesn't work out, Chen Dongsheng and his wife can't blame you - it's not Zhishuang who found Xiaoman first."
As they were talking, Li Daniu suddenly hurried into the brigade headquarters. When he saw Li Changshun and Xia Juhua standing in the yard, he stopped and greeted them, "Brigade Commander." No one knew who he was calling.
Li Changshun saw that he came in a hurry, so he asked, "What happened to your production team? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Li Daniu glanced at Xia Juhua, who looked back at him in confusion, which made Li Daniu anxious. He ignored Li Changshun and asked, "Captain, I heard that Zhiquan went to the third team to collect vermicelli last night?"
"What?" Li Changshun followed Li Daniu to look at Xia Juhua, looking innocent: "Zhiquan went to the third team to collect vermicelli, how come I didn't know?"
Li Daniu was anxious when he saw that Xia Juhua refused to admit it: "Captain, we can't deny it. Yes, Niu Laobie follows Ping Anzhuang in everything, but we are also learning to do it. You can't just take care of Team 3 and ignore our production team."
Li Changshun just looked at Xia Juhua without saying a word.
Xia Juhua knew this was going to happen, so she kept her composure as if she was just listening to someone else's story: "Who told you that? Let him come over and we can talk it out face to face."
Li Daniu was silent for a moment. He was also digging for stubs when he heard people from the production team whispering that because of his strained relationship with Xia Juhua, the production team next to each other would rather accept vermicelli from the third team than from the small village. Li Daniu was anxious and ran to Xia Juhua to verify it.
If I really told Xia Juhua what happened and called those members who were gossiping about it to confront them, would Xia Juhua think that Xiao Zhuangtou was spreading rumors and would she really not care about Xiao Zhuangtou anymore?
This man sent both his mother-in-law and brother-in-law to remedial classes. It has been a year now, and Liu Sizhuang and his wife have not returned from the classes yet.
Li Changshun was so angry that he yelled at Li Daniu in a low voice: "You have no brains, you just believe whatever others say. You're collecting vermicelli. The sweet potatoes they grow in Ping'an Village are leaking vermicelli, how can they have the time to collect vermicelli from Team 3?"
Xia Juhua pretended she didn't hear Li Changshun's words of admonition and said to Li Daniu, "If Captain Li doesn't believe it and doesn't want to ask his own production team to come and explain it to me in person, then why don't we go to Team Three and take a look. According to what you said, Zhiquan took the vermicelli from Team Three, so Team Three must be out of vermicelli now. If there is any left, Captain Li should..."
Li Changshun slapped Li Daniu in the face, then turned to Xia Juhua and forced a smile: "If you just listen to his nonsense, you don't have to do anything else. Go and do your thing."
Xia Juhua looked at Li Daniu again and found that his head was almost down to his chest, so she pushed her bicycle out of the brigade. When she got on the bicycle, she heard Li Changshun scolding Li Daniu in a full-throated voice: "You have no brains!"
Li Daniu was a little unconvinced: "I'm just anxious. The work points this year are low, and we don't even have money for the New Year. Everyone heard that the vermicelli from Team 3 was taken away yesterday, and they were eager to find out when we can go to Xiaozhuang to collect the vermicelli."
"Then why are you questioning them in public? Xia Juhua owes you money, so why should she accept vermicelli from you? Besides, can this matter be discussed openly? If the people in your production team are talking about it, you should scold them and tell them to stop talking nonsense."
"How nice of you to come and ask for them. Even if they accept it in the future, will they dare to accept it from the small manor? Don't you think about it? Last year, no one could have guessed that Ping An Manor would definitely sell vermicelli, but did you see anyone from Ping An Manor come out and say anything? You can't even control your mouth, who would dare to deal with you?"
The more Li Daniu listened, the more he regretted it: "Captain, you think Xia Juhua won't really hate us, right? We just don't have any money, and I'm worried too."
"If you don't want others to hate you, then do what Xia Juhua asks you to do. She is a practical person. No matter how well you talk, she won't see it if you don't do the work in a practical way." If Li Changshun had a bad leg, he would have wanted to give Li Daniu a kick.
"Xia Juhua didn't tell us what to do." Li Daniu tried to recall what Xia Juhua said to him yesterday after she came to the village. From beginning to end, Xia Juhua said, "It depends on the situation."
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