Chapter 54 Seeking Truth from Facts
The sharp blade of the planer rubbed back and forth on the camphor wood. Cheng Cunzhi hunched his back, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead onto the brand new dowry box. A set of newly made camphor wood tables, chairs and benches were neatly stacked in the corner, and the unpainted wood grain had a warm luster.
Aunt Liu, who was passing by, came in with a bamboo basket on her shoulder and exclaimed: "Old Cheng, the dowry you prepared for your daughter is probably more decent than what is sold in the county department store!"
Cheng Cunzhi straightened up, wiped his face with his rough hands, and said with a smile: "Xinxin has suffered a lot since she was a child. As a father, I don't have much ability. I can only work harder on the wood. No matter how poor she is, I have to let her marry off in a dignified manner."
Xu Fengxia walked out of the house, holding a wet rag in her hand, gently wiping the sawdust on the table, and said with a smile: "You are just busying yourself, and you don't even take a break."
Suddenly, there were chaotic footsteps and noisy discussions outside the yard. More than 20 members squeezed in, with Zhao Tiezhu walking in front.
"Captain," Zhao Tiezhu pleaded, "The commune has given us three days to live. The corn we have stored can be sold for another half a month! My parents can't do farm work because of their disability. I have borrowed money from everywhere to support my two children to go to school. We have finally found a way to make money. Now the commune doesn't allow us to do it. Isn't this going to kill us?"
Behind him, Widow Li was holding her coughing child, and Old Man Zhao was squatting on the doorstep smoking his pipe, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Everyone in the courtyard was talking at the same time, and Cheng Cunzhi was overwhelmed by the noise.
Cheng Cunzhi hurriedly put down the plane, and glanced at the red face of the child in Widow Li's arms: "Everyone, don't be anxious, listen to me,"
"We are not the ones who are anxious!" The old bachelor squeezed to the front row, "Zhou Qiang from the next team bought a bicycle by selling seafood and got married. I am over 30 years old and still have no wife. Captain, you can't force us into a dead end!" His words drew everyone's murmured agreement, and several single members couldn't help but nod.
Zhang Mazi fanned the flames with his hoarse voice: "You are the leader elected by everyone. You can't just feed your family and ignore the lives of the members."
Cheng Cunzhi persuaded him earnestly: "We need to save the corn for seeds, and we can't sell it all. We still need to eat and drink, and we have to plan for next year. Making quick money is like walking on the road at night. If you slip and fall, you will have no place to cry. Those who buy and sell are worried all day long. You only see the thief eating the meat, but you don't see the thief being beaten."
Hu Gou Wa shouted in the crowd: "This money comes quickly. We can earn as much as we can while the commune is not paying attention. If we miss this opportunity, we will miss this opportunity..."
Cheng Cunzhi scratched his head, his smile still showing persistence: "I know it's not easy for everyone, and we want to make more money." He walked to the corner, stroked the polished table legs, and said in a gentle but firm voice, "Just like when I make a dowry for my daughter, I have to use solid wood and polish it slowly, without rushing. It's the same when we do business, we have to be steady."
As soon as Cheng Xin returned to the team from the commune, she heard that a group of people had gone to her house, so she hurried home with her bag on her back.
"Dad, what are you doing?" She stood at the door, panting.
Cheng Cunzhi looked at his daughter at the door, his eyes full of pride: "My daughter has found a solution for us. We can make bamboo weaving. Now there are foreign traders who like to buy handicrafts. The bamboo in the back mountain is ready. We can plant the land during the busy farming season and work during the slack season. I have calculated that as long as everyone works together, it will last much longer than doing it secretly."
Cheng Xin understood immediately. She and her father had already thought that there must be someone who would be reluctant to give up the popcorn business that made quick money, so they made plans in advance.
She took out a notebook from her bag. "This is the plan for building a bamboo weaving factory. It contains the orders from foreign traders, the approval documents from the commune, and the layout of the factory."
Uncle Zhang squatted at the door with his ears perked up: "Bamboo weaving? This thing is labor-intensive and can't be sold at a high price." He was the best bamboo weaver in the brigade, and people from the neighboring commune came to him to make bamboo baskets and backpacks.
"Grandpa Zhang, this time is different." Cheng Xin explained patiently, "We weave beautiful fruit baskets and storage boxes, and foreign traders pay high prices." Her face was full of seriousness, "If we invest next year's corn seeds for this little money, if something goes wrong, everyone will go hungry."
She ran back to the house and took out a bamboo basket embroidered with flowers. "Grandpa Zhang, what do you think of this fruit basket?"
Uncle Zhang came over, picked up the fruit basket, and turned it over and over. "This pattern requires thin strips three fingers wide, which takes a lot of effort." He paused with his skinny fingers. "But if I can pass on the skills to the young people, it can be regarded as leaving a legacy for bamboo weavers."
Cheng Xin flipped open the price list of bamboo products in her notebook. "I went to the county town to investigate. An ordinary bamboo basket sells for fifty cents, while a fruit basket purchased by a foreign trader sells for three yuan." She looked up at Zhao Tiezhu. "Brother Erzhu, I remember you drove a tractor before. You are responsible for maintaining the machine. I will give you an extra twenty yuan allowance every month."
There was silence in the yard for a long time.
Xu Fengxia patted Zhao Tiezhu on the shoulder and said, "Erzhu, Xinxin has always had her own ideas. What she figures out will definitely work out well. The bamboo weaving factory pays by piecework, and the more you work, the more you earn. It's more reliable than selling popcorn with fear and anxiety."
Cheng Cunzhi took the approval document from his daughter. The words "Pilot Project for Bamboo Weaving Industry" on the red seal were particularly eye-catching. "This is the approval document that Cheng Xin and I spent three days running around to get. The commune allows us to pilot for three months. If we make a profit, we can continue. It is a collective enterprise of our brigade and is not considered speculation. I am not preventing everyone from making money. I want everyone to make money for a long time."
Liang Yongqiang pointed to the "Villagers' Shareholding Agreement" on the paper and said, "Old Cheng, if I use the bamboo from my private mountain as shares, how much dividend can I get at the end of the year?"
Cheng Xin put her hands behind her back and said, "Uncle Yongqiang, we will convert the cost into market price, and distribute dividends according to shares after making a profit. If you buy shares, you can get priority in receiving orders."
Cheng Xin's few words calmed everyone's restless mood. Cheng Cunzhi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as usual: "Since everyone trusts me, let's run the bamboo weaving factory together. Instead of selling it secretly, it's better to build a factory openly."
He wants to give his daughter a stable future, and also lead everyone on a solid road to wealth.
After the meeting, the members left in twos and threes. Zhao Tiezhu stayed behind and took out twenty yuan wrapped in red paper from his pocket and stuffed it into Cheng Cunzhi's hand, "Old Cheng, consider this money as a dowry for your daughter. Please give us a few more days of leniency. I swear I will stop after the last week." He collected some corn from his wife's parents' home, hoping to make some money at the last moment.
Cheng Cunzhi's face darkened. He pushed the money back and pointed to the portrait of the great man on the wall with the slogan "Seek truth from facts" written on it.
He scolded sternly: "Tiezhu, tell me how to pronounce these words? If you can do it secretly today, others can embezzle the payment behind the commune's back tomorrow. If this is the case, will the rules of the brigade still be enforced in the future?"
Zhao Tiezhu froze in place, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
After Cheng Cunzhi sounded the alarm, he slowed down his tone and said, "If you want money, just follow the others and work honestly. If the bamboo weaving factory is established, your two boys may be able to become technicians in the future, without having to rely on connections to find jobs. I am not Wang Fugui, and I don't accept bribes. People should be able to withstand criticism and do their duty. I will pretend that I don't know this time, so don't give me money anymore."
Zhao Tiezhu had a complicated expression on his face. He put the money away with a wry smile and said, "I'm sorry, Old Cheng. I was too impatient."
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