Chapter 51: Cheng Cunzhi, the new official, has not yet changed his status...
Cheng Cunzhi had not yet recovered from the shock of his change of identity, and looked at the enthusiastic villagers around him with a blank face. Cheng Xin took her father's arm and told him everything that had happened in the brigade during this period.
Cheng Cunzhi's expression gradually became solemn. He clenched his fists tightly, and listened to his daughter's story about how her family had been bullied by Wang Fugui and his son, his brows knitted together.
"Wang Fugui doesn't look like a good person on weekdays. I didn't expect that he would dare to bully our family like this when I was in the hospital!" He suppressed his anger, veins bulged on his neck, and his honest face turned red with anger.
Cheng Cunzhi realized the harm that the father and son of the Wang family had brought to the brigade, and his hatred for them spread in his heart. Since everyone trusted him, he must keep his position secure and never let Wang Fugui have the opportunity to come back and cause trouble again.
"I thought we couldn't just sit there and wait for death, so I started a popcorn business with everyone." Cheng Xin smiled proudly, her eyes sparkling. "I didn't expect it to be so successful. Now I can make a lot of money every day."
Cheng Cunzhi's mood eased a little. He looked at his daughter with satisfaction and gently touched her head with his rough hands: "My daughter is promising! Thanks to you for supporting the family during the time when Dad was in the hospital, and you also helped the villagers find a way to make money."
Having said that, thinking about how he was unable to help his family during his hospitalization and how he had burdened them, his eyes dimmed a little, and he murmured with self-blame, "It's all because of Dad's illness. You have to bear so much alone."
Cheng Xin quickly comforted him, "Dad, don't say that. It's not your fault that you're sick. Thanks to my uncle's family and Geng Yunye for helping our family. I remember all these favors. I really couldn't have handled the situation last time by myself."
Cheng Cunzhi raised his head, his eyes full of gratitude: "We must find a time to thank Comrade Geng. He is a great benefactor to our family and the entire brigade." He felt a chill on his back just listening to his daughter's description of the thrilling scene of blocking the pipe burst. The most important thing was that Geng Yunye took on the job of flood prevention for the Cheng family and discovered the danger in advance, not to mention that Geng Yunye personally took the risk.
Cheng Cunzhi looked at his fellow villagers, and a strong sense of responsibility surged in his heart. He must protect his family in the future and never let something like this happen again.
Cheng Cunzhi straightened his back and expressed his position to everyone with a firm look: "Since everyone trusts me and elects me as the team leader, I will definitely live up to everyone's expectations and lead you to live a prosperous life!"
Cheng Cunzhi had a clear plan in mind. He wanted to personally prepare a set of forty-eight legs of dowry for his daughter and marry her off in style.
Before Cheng Cunzhi came back, Cheng Xin, as the acting team leader, managed all the affairs of the production team in an orderly manner. She came to the drying yard early every day to check the production of popcorn and communicate with the responsible members. From the selection of corn, the temperature of frying to the details of packaging, she strictly controlled every item. When the villagers came back from the city in the evening, she organized a small meeting for everyone to share the sales experience of the day.
Cheng Cunzhi, the new official, sat at the simple desk of the brigade, holding a pen and staring at a blank notebook, not knowing where to start. Although he had a quick mind, he was troubled by the myriad of things he had to do to lead the brigade to prosperity.
After Cheng Xin finished her work outside, she walked into the house and saw her father looking worried.
She walked up to her father and asked softly, "Dad, what's wrong? Are you worried about the development plan of the brigade?"
Cheng Cunzhi raised his head and sighed helplessly: "My girl, the burden of the captain is not light. I want to plan it well, but I really don't know where to start."
Cheng Xin pulled a chair over and sat down next to her father. "Dad, let's work together to find a solution. Although the popcorn business makes a lot of money, the commune only gives us one month." She opened the account book she brought with her. "This is the cost and income of the brigade selling popcorn in recent days. The corn is consumed too quickly. If this continues, we won't even have seeds left for next year."
Cheng Cunzhi looked at the dark circles under his daughter's eyes. She had been running back and forth between the drying yard and the production team these days. He asked distressedly, "What do you think we should do?"
"The biggest assets of the brigade are the land and the mountains." Cheng Xin took out a sketch she had made when she was free, and pointed at the winding green area on the map. "Although we are close to the mountains, we are not far from the county town and the port. It takes only two hours to reach the dock by taking the winding mountain road. The bamboo forest in the back mountain extends from the border of the commune to the farmland. The area is larger than the three surrounding brigades combined."
"The neighboring commune has no conditions for development. We have a lot of gold and silver, so why don't we make use of it? We can mobilize the skilled uncles and aunts to weave bamboo baskets, bamboo mats and other bamboo handicrafts."
Cheng Cunzhi stared at the bamboo forest area circled on the sketch and said, "Girl, bamboo weaving won't sell for a good price at the market. Who among the elderly in our brigade doesn't know how to weave baskets? Every household can make it themselves, so who would spend money to buy it?"
"Everyone is now concentrating on making popcorn..." His voice was a little hesitant, and his eyes looked at the busy figures in the drying yard outside the window.
Cheng Xin pulled out a yellowed newspaper clipping from her notebook. This was an old newspaper from the previous issue that she had someone bring back from the recycling station. "Dad, times have changed. Foreigners really value handmade bamboo products."
She pointed to a translated foreign article on a newspaper clipping, "Environmental protection and natural lifestyles are popular in the West, and handmade products are seen as environmentally friendly and sustainable choices..."
"Do foreigners really like it?" Cheng Cunzhi was still a little hesitant. Uncle Zhang passed by the window carrying a bamboo basket.
"So we have to be meticulous." Cheng Xin scribbled on the notebook, "We won't make ordinary bamboo baskets, but hollow carved fruit baskets, painted storage boxes, and so on."
She lowered her voice, her tone filled with hidden excitement, "Yun Ye said that at the autumn trade fair in Yue City, foreigners rushed to buy bamboo handicrafts. Our brigade is not far from the port, so as long as the quality is up to standard, we will have no problem finding a market."
Cheng Xin closed the notebook, her tone as calm as ever, "Doing business is like cooking porridge. If you cook too fast, the pot will burn. Let's take good care of the crops first, so that everyone can have enough food to eat and then free up some people to do side jobs. Being content with a small fortune doesn't mean you have no ambition, it means you have a solid foundation so that you can go a long way in the future."
Cheng Cunzhi was persuaded by his daughter, "Can the members learn these new tricks?"
"Take your time." Cheng Xin put away the newspaper clippings. "First, let the old people with good skills try to weave samples, and then lead everyone to learn together. After this period of work is over, we will organize a bamboo weaving training class to combine traditional skills with new styles."
She circled the location of the factory on the sketch and said, "I can build a simple workshop to process the products during the slack season. This will not only save time for farming, but also increase income."
Cheng Cunzhi watched his daughter talking, and suddenly felt that she was no longer the little girl who needed his protection. The little girl with pigtails in his memory could now support the livelihood of the entire brigade.
He nodded heavily and closed his pen: "Okay, let's do as you say! After dinner, I will take people to the bamboo forest to survey and prepare enough raw materials first!"
The sunlight from outside the window shone obliquely into the room, casting the figures of the father and daughter on the pages filled with plans, interweaving into new hope.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
