Chapter 64 Dividends When Cheng Xin opened her eyes in a daze,...
When Cheng Xin opened her eyes dazedly, Geng Yunye's body temperature was no longer on the other side of the pillow. The stove in the room was still warm, making the whole bedroom cozy.
She sat up, rubbing her aching waist. Since getting married, she had been getting up later and later, even though she had gotten up very early before getting married. She recalled how they had been wrapped in a quilt and stuck together like glutinous rice balls last night, kissing each other and whispering to each other, as if they had endless things to say, until the window was pale and they fell asleep.
Her cheeks were hot, and her fingers unconsciously stroked the corner of the quilt. She didn't know how other newlyweds got along, but during the days since she got married, Geng Yunye always loved to hold her tightly, saying that she was like a soft and sticky rice cake. At this moment, the empty pillow still had a faint scent of soapberry, which made her feel itchy.
Pumpkin porridge was bubbling in the aluminum pot on the stove. Geng Yunye had left breakfast on the stove before he went out. There were two coarse porcelain plates on the table, one with steamed bamboo shoots with pickled mustard greens and the other with stewed vegetables with vinegar. The salted duck egg in the enamel dish was cut in half, and the orange-red, oily yolk made people very hungry.
She suddenly noticed a piece of straw paper under the enamel pot: "If the porridge gets cold, add some firewood to the stove to heat it up. I have something to do at the brigade headquarters."
Cheng Xin scooped up a spoonful of pumpkin porridge and put it into her mouth. The soft, sweet taste instantly soothed her stomach. The salty fragrance of the salted duck eggs and the freshness of the side dishes made her unable to help but eat half a bowl more.
Just as I put down my bowl and chopsticks, I heard a crisp shout from outside the courtyard gate. A little boy in his early teens rushed in with a head full of grass and fresh mud on the knees of his cotton pants: "Sister-in-law! Brother Geng asked me to pass on a message!"
Bench panted and took out a crumpled piece of paper. "He said the brigade is in need of someone who can do the abacus calculations for the dividends, so he asked you to go over there quickly."
The note was written in Geng Yunye's sloppy handwriting, with a crooked smiley face drawn at the end. Cheng Xin's fingertips felt hot and she quickly stuffed the note into her pocket.
The yard of the brigade headquarters was crowded with men, and a pile of account books were spread out on the long table.
Geng Yunye stood under the eaves and waved when he saw her: "I've been waiting for you."
He handed her the abacus, his fingertips brushing her palm inadvertently, and whispered, "Are you tired last night? Is your waist still sore?" He leaned forward slightly as he spoke, his eyelashes casting tiny shadows under his eyelids, and a mischievous smile played at the corner of his mouth.
Cheng Xin's face flushed all the way to her ears. He actually said such a thing in public! She hurriedly looked down at the account book, and caught a glimpse of the smile hidden in his eyes. She twisted his arm in shame and annoyance, which in return made him laugh.
"We sold 3,000 sets of autumn clothes and autumn trousers. The cost was 5 yuan and the selling price was 20 yuan." Geng Yunye tapped the account book with a pencil and continued, "We sold 5,000 sets of underwear. The cost was 18 yuan and the selling price was 38 yuan."
Cheng Xin's fingers trembled slightly. The four-month turnover of the underwear factory was higher than the annual income of her mother's brigade. She looked at Geng Yunye in disbelief. The mischievous smile in his eyes showed that he was not short of money.
"Are you scared?" Geng Yunye tapped the top of her head with the end of a pencil. "When a man says he will support you, how can he just say it?" His voice was low and mixed with the fragrance of pine wood and rushed into her ears.
The crowd exclaimed in amazement. The wages of workers in the county's state-owned factories were only 30 or 40 yuan, while the profits of the underwear factory were huge.
Geng Dazhuang squatted in the corner and slapped his thigh hard, then grimaced in pain.
"Everyone come over here, let's start calculating the dividends!" Geng Mancang knocked on the table, "The underwear factory made a total of 170,000 yuan. According to the rules, 40% should be reserved for the collective."
There were three tin boxes on the stone table. Geng Mancang put his hands behind his back and said, "The red box contains 5,100 yuan of housing fund to buy sewing machines and fabrics; the green box contains 1,700 yuan of public welfare fund to repair the leaky eaves of the brigade headquarters and replace the glass windows; the remaining yellow box contains 102,000 yuan to distribute to everyone."
Cheng Xin took a deep breath and stroked the abacus beads with her fingertips. She could feel the gazes from the people around her, some curious, some suspicious, and more distrustful. Could a woman figure out such a complicated account? She subconsciously looked at Geng Yunye, who stood in the crowd with his arms folded across his chest and nodded firmly at her.
When she wrote the word "lace", the pen tip suddenly hung in the air. She remembered the pronunciation of the two words, but she couldn't remember how to write them.
After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth, changed to a pencil, and added a twisted wire radical to the left side of "雷" and "斯", treating it as a self-created character.
Geng Yunye walked around behind her and tapped the wrong word on the account book with his knuckles. "You calculated this account more clearly than I do, but..." He deliberately dragged out his voice, looking at her suddenly tense shoulders, and raised the corners of his mouth, "Why did you make up two more words."
He held her wrist and turned the pen tip to the correct stroke, his warm breath brushed her earlobe, making her ear tip hot. His thumb gently pressed on the back of her hand, the calluses on his fingertips brushed against her skin, like a feather brushing against the tip of her heart.
Cheng Xin's heartbeat almost burst out of her chest. His palm was large and warm, wrapping her hand with irresistible strength. The gazes of the people around him seemed to disappear, and the only sound in the world was his breathing and the rustling sound of his pen writing.
Geng Aiguo took a look at the calculation result, sniffed his red nose and raised his voice: "There are 198 households in our brigade, and each household can get 515 yuan!"
"Don't worry, there's still a share for investors." Geng Mancang rubbed his cracked palms and circled Geng Yunye's name with a fountain pen. The ink was a little slow to soak up in the low temperature. "Yunye and the eight production team leaders and four clan elders hold 40% of the shares, a total of 40,800 yuan." He turned his head to look at Geng Yunye who was leaning against the pillar. "Yunye takes 70%, and the rest will be divided equally among everyone. Do you have any objections?"
Cheng Xin held her breath and stared at Geng Yunye. She knew he deserved it, but she couldn't help but feel proud of him. Seeing him standing calmly in the crowd and being recognized and respected by everyone, she suddenly felt that marrying him might be the best decision in her life.
Among the eight captains, the captain of the third team, Geng Guohua, exhaled white air: "Yun Ye went to Guangdong City to get the foreign trade orders, so he should get the lion's share."
Team Five Captain Geng Rengui flicked his cigarette ash onto the ground and said, "Let's just follow Yun Ye and drink some hot soup."
Fourth Uncle stroked his goatee and spoke slowly: "Yun Ye took the risk to sell the products, so he should get more."
Geng Dazhuang scratched his head and said in a muffled voice: "I was short-sighted at first and thought it was shameful to produce underwear, but now I am completely convinced." His ears were red from the cold and were particularly conspicuous in the crowd, like two pieces of red-hot iron sheets.
Geng Yunye walked through the crowd and took out two stacks of old and new banknotes from his canvas bag and placed them on the stone table: "These two thousand yuan are for replacing the glass windows and the stove for the elementary school."
Geng Mancang wiped his rough palms on his cotton jacket, and wrote the words "Donated by Geng Yunye" on the metal pen that was frozen to the bone.
After settling the bill and preparing to adjourn the meeting, Geng Yunye suddenly raised his hand and signaled: "Wait."
He looked around, his eyes sweeping over the only two women in the crowd, the women's director and Cheng Xin, and said loudly: "The underwear business makes money from women, but there is no female boss who has a say in dividends and style decisions. I suggest that in the future, female members and their families should be allowed to attend any meetings as well. They understand women best!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence in the yard at first, and then sporadic applause broke out.
Cheng Xin looked at Geng Yunye standing in the warm winter sun. He spoke with a firm look in his eyes, completely ignoring the frowns of several clan elders. She bit her lip, feeling like a lively rabbit in her heart. So this is what it feels like to be respected and seen.
Geng Yunye suddenly turned his head to look at her, and the moment their eyes met, he winked at her gently.
He walked up to her and gently squeezed her hand when no one was paying attention. Cheng Xin's eyes were hot, and she suddenly understood that he asked her to help with the accounts not because he was short of manpower, but because he wanted everyone to know that his wife was a woman who could hold up half the sky.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
