After the employee who replaced Song Qi at the clothing store was confirmed, Liu Meiyun focused on the factory production line. As for the contracted land, she really didn't have any ideas for the time being.
The main reason was that she knew nothing about planting trees, so she had to find a reliable person to help manage the trees, but she couldn't decide on the right person for a while.
The village chief wanted to recommend people from their village, but none of them knew what "cherries" were. They just thought they were all fruit trees. They could grow apples and pears, so why wouldn't someone who didn't know what cherry was be able to grow one?
Since Liu Meiyu herself doesn't understand it, she has to find someone who knows about it to help her manage it. Otherwise, with such a huge investment in the later stages, if the money is thrown in and there is no splash, she will be heartbroken.
"I can help you find someone."
Lu Changzheng had just finished training that day and was cooking in the kitchen. Mother Wu had not been feeling well in the past two days, so he was responsible for cooking at home.
"Who is it?" Liu Meiyu took a cucumber from the chopping board, broke it in half, and motioned for him to continue.
"One of my former comrades"
Lu Changzheng simply put down the kitchen knife and wiped his hands on his apron. "There are quite a few people like this over there. If you need them, I'll send a telegram to see if there's anyone in his hometown."
"Okay, if there are any, help me find two more." Liu Meiyu was more than happy to accept.
So, about half a month after Lu Changzheng sent the telegram to her comrade's hometown, she saw several men in plain clothes at the door of the Huamei flagship store, carrying luggage bags and looking exhausted.
The two girls in the store, Zhao Hemei and Yu Cuicui, were startled.
"Sister Meiyun, they said they are here to look for you and Brother Lu."
When Zhao Hemei saw Liu Meiyu coming, his eyes lit up and he immediately told her that he saw these grown men guarding the door of the store when he opened the door early in the morning.
"Are you, sister-in-law?" The leading man looked at Liu Meiyu and asked cautiously.
Liu Meiyun nodded, and when she saw the obvious scar on the man's face, she immediately responded, "Are you Brother Zhong?"
Within two days after Lu Changzheng sent the telegram, his comrade-in-arms replied, saying that they could bring five or six people with them. Liu Meiyu asked casually and found out that his comrade-in-arms was also a retired soldier. During a camping mission, he got a long cut on his face by a tree branch, leaving a scar. He was a few months older than Lu Changzheng, but because he was tall and strong, and the scar on his face looked a bit scary, he had not yet married.
"Yes, yes, I'm Zhong Xingguo."
The man nodded repeatedly, wiped his hands on his clothes, stretched out his hand awkwardly with a nervous look on his face, afraid that he would see disgust and hatred in other people's eyes.
They bought standing tickets for this trip and stood in the crowded carriage for two days. They could even smell the odor on their bodies. They originally wanted to find a guesthouse to get themselves ready after getting off the train, but Beijing was too big and it was almost midnight when they arrived. After wandering around for a while, it was almost dawn. They happened to see the clothing store that Lu Changzheng mentioned on the phone, so they simply squatted at the door for half the night.
"Comrade Zhong Xingguo, hello!"
To the man's surprise, Lu Changzheng's wife not only did not show any disgust, but also saluted him with a standard military gesture, and then shook hands with him. He even saw sincere respect in her eyes.
"I heard from Changzheng that you were an advanced model soldier in his company. We are so grateful that you can come to help us this time. If you had told us the time when the train would arrive earlier, Changzheng and I could have gone to the station to pick you up."
Liu Meiyu also admires these people from the bottom of her heart. Although they have taken off their military uniforms, the integrity of a soldier is still engraved in their bones and can never be erased.
The scars on their bodies should be their medals of honor, not marks that can be looked down upon.
"What's there to answer? We are grown men!"
Zhong Xingguo suddenly relaxed, and his tense face finally became less serious. He greeted Liu Meiyu with a smile and introduced the people he brought with him one by one.
"This is Tiger, Pillar, Wealth, and Root..."
Zhong Xingguo brought a total of six people this time, all of whom were young people from their village who had experience in planting. If Lu Changzheng had not sent that telegram, they would have gone to the south to find work.
There is no other way. There is a severe drought at home this year and the harvest is poor. If they don't go out to find a job, they will have to rely on the crops in the fields. I'm afraid that everyone in their village will have to rely on digging wild vegetables and collecting relief food to survive.
Let's go to the south. They are unfamiliar with the place and few young people in the village can do the work on the construction site. So when they heard Lu Changzheng say that his wife had contracted a mountain and asked him to find some experienced workers to grow cherries, he immediately picked some honest and hardworking ones.
"Brother Zhong, let me take you to dinner first. We can talk about anything after we're full."
Liu Meiyu saw that the young men brought by Zhong Xingguo were all pale and thin, standing obediently behind Zhong Xingguo. She was so hungry that she couldn't move or say a word. She quickly took people to the restaurant and ordered a large table, and then called home.
Zhong Xingguo and others initially declined out of embarrassment, but they eventually discovered that Lu Changzheng's wife was more decisive than they were.
Whether you want to eat or not, I'll prepare a whole table for you anyway. You can't refund the money anyway, so if you don't want to eat, you can just keep it.
Several people were so hungry that they looked at the table full of delicious meat and dishes. The few dry biscuits left in their pockets suddenly didn't taste good anymore.
By the time Lu Changzheng received the call and rushed over from the army, Zhong Xingguo and his men had already wolfed down almost all the food on the table.
The old comrades reminisced about the past and certainly had a lot to talk about. Liu Meiyu booked three rooms in a nearby guesthouse for the young people to have a good rest first, thinking that she would take them to the village after Lu Changzheng took a vacation in two days.
When Zhong Xingguo heard this, he was like, how can that be possible?
They are here to work, not to eat and drink for free.
They felt embarrassed to have enough delicious food on the table, so how could they let Liu Meiyu pay for their accommodation, which would delay their stay for several days?
Zhong Xingguo refused to agree no matter what he said: "You can find someone to lead the way and we can go to the village by ourselves. It's still early, so we won't be late."
When the young people heard this, they immediately wiped their mouths, picked up their luggage and were ready to leave. There was no trace of impatience on their tired and weather-beaten faces.
"Brother Zhong, wait until tomorrow. It's useless for you to go there by yourself. You still have to negotiate with the village committee. Take a good rest in the guesthouse today. I will take you there tomorrow."
"Then we can just pay for the accommodation ourselves." Zhong Xingguo insisted on taking money out of his pocket, but was unexpectedly grabbed by Lu Changzheng next to him.
"Stop dithering. I'll always follow my wife's arrangements. Don't argue with her. If she's unhappy, I'll be the one to blame."
Lu Changzheng filled Zhong Xingguo's glass with wine, glanced at the young men, and said, "Why don't you change your old bad habits? They are not your soldiers. It's ok to make them stand on the train for two days, but you let them squat outside for half a night in this weather. Don't you see how you've tortured them? You let them go to open up wasteland without even letting them sleep? Do you really think you are not hated enough?"
Recalling that when he was in the army, Zhong Xingguo once earned the nickname "Iron Tiger". Those who trained with him were the most miserable, and if they wanted to rest, they had to look at his face.
Zhong Xingguo was about to make a few words to refute him when he heard Lu Changzheng say, "Besides, why don't you smell the odor on your body? You'll stink up my wife in the car again."
“…”
Just like that, Zhong Xingguo and others settled down in the guesthouse. Liu Meiyu asked them to have a good sleep and take a nice bath, and then go to the village together the next day after they had packed up.
Liu Meiyu originally wanted to postpone it for two more days. They had come from far away to help her, so one or two days wouldn't matter. At least it would give them enough rest. But seeing Zhong Xingguo's current attitude, he might feel uncomfortable staying for one more day.
"Wife, I want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative." Lu Changzheng suddenly said after coming out of the guesthouse.
"Buying things for Brother Zhong and the others?"
Lu Changzheng looked surprised: "How did you know?"
"What don't I know?" Liu Meiyu raised her eyebrows and directly pulled the man to the supply and marketing cooperative.
In fact, even if Lu Changzheng hadn't mentioned it, she had thought during the meal that she should prepare more daily necessities for Zhong Xingguo and the others.
Cultivation and planting is not an easy job, especially in the first two years when planting seedlings and applying fertilizers, which requires careful care. Moreover, she contracted a barren mountain, so the preliminary preparation work alone was a huge manpower project.
Moreover, there was a drought in Zhong Xingguo's hometown, and life was difficult at home. The little luggage they brought with them was visibly thin.
The couple went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought several large bags of daily necessities, such as towels, toothbrushes, durable Jiefang shoes, and wheat, rice and flour. They also bought some of each, mainly because there would be no food in the first few days, so they could just buy from the villagers later.
Now the policy is getting better and better. As long as God is not in a bad mood, basically every household will have enough food.
Moreover, Uncle Li's village had plenty of surplus grain, a vast land and sparse population. The young people all went out to work, leaving only a few people at home. So after paying the public rations every year, there was still some surplus that could be taken to the grain station to sell.
So the next day, when Zhong Xingguo and others saw the large and small bags of daily necessities that Lu Changzheng and his wife had prepared for them, they were stunned and didn't know what to say for a while.
I could only silently make up my mind to grow cherries well and not let others down with their kindness.
Liu Meiyu brought people to Lijia Village, first went to find Uncle Li, and then found the village chief.
The village chief was shocked to see that Liu Meiyu had found so many people to help, and all of them were strong and capable. He pulled Liu Meiyu aside and asked in a low voice: "Xiao Liu, didn't you say you would find people to work in our village? You promised me that before we signed the contract."
When Liu Meiyun saw that the village chief had misunderstood, she quickly explained: "Village chief, they all have planting experience in their hometown. Cherries are not like other fruit trees. They are not easy to grow. No one in our village can grow cherries, so I found a few people who can grow them to help manage it. I have such a large piece of land, and these few people are definitely not enough. After things stabilize, I will trouble you to find a few people to learn planting experience from them. There will definitely be a lot of work to do later."
The village chief is worried that Liu Meiyu will not create more employment opportunities for the village, and Liu Meiyu is also worried that they will not be able to handle the work.
During the autumn harvest and spring planting season every year, the people working in the fields would be exhausted, so who would have the time to take care of the seedlings on the mountain?
When the village chief heard what Liu Meiyu said, he nodded, took a few people to the village committee to get acquainted, and even lent them an old house at the foot of the mountain where firewood was stored for them to live in.
"Brother Zhong, I'll give you full authority to manage this area. I'm an outsider anyway. I'll give you 60 yuan a month, and the others 40 yuan a month. Is that okay with you?"
For so long, Zhong Xingguo and his group never even mentioned any salary. But he brought his people here just after receiving a telegram from Lu Changzheng, which shows how honest he is. Moreover, since they are Lu Changzheng's "old comrade-in-arms", Liu Meiyu naturally trusts Zhong Xingguo.
The salary offered is almost the same as that of a management level employee in the factory.
"This is too much. No, no."
Zhong Xingguo took a deep breath and was really shocked by Liu Meiyu's "high salary".
A formal employee of a factory outside only earns 38 to 48 yuan a month, but they help plant fruit trees on the mountain and get more than the employees of the state-owned factory. Zhong Xingguo thinks that this is definitely because Lu Changzheng and his wife are taking care of them.
Liu Meiyu is really not as generous as Zhong Xingguo thought. She doesn't know if she has the aura of the "Virgin Mary" around her. Why does everyone seem to think that she is generous, kind-hearted and helpful? Song Qi was like this, and now Zhong Xingguo is like this too.
But she really paid them salaries from a businessman's perspective. To her, Lu Changzheng's reputation was not as important as his actual ability.
"Brother Zhong, please stop making excuses. I have a lot of responsibilities here. We are just starting now, so we don't need to plant that large an area. But I hope to finish planting these 500 mu of forest land by this time next year. The sooner we plant, the sooner we will get the benefits."
"Besides, I'm usually busy with my clothing business, so I can't take care of this. You have to help me with hiring people to plant seedlings, fertilize, and manage the plants. I'll just take care of it. I won't care about the process, I'll only look at the results. I've also informed the village chief and others, so if there's anything, just come to you for advice."
Liu Meiyu felt like she had made a fortune because she could hire a reliable manager who was knowledgeable about planting for only 60 yuan a month.
It saves trouble, worry and money.
When Zhong Xingguo wanted to say something, he received a look from Lu Changzheng next to him and glared back.
"And fruit seedlings." Liu Meiyu took out another 5,000 yuan from her bag and gave it to Zhong Xingguo, and continued, "Let's plant seedlings on 100 acres this time. Changzheng said that you know someone, so I won't go looking for another one. I'll keep these 5,000 yuan with you first. Just keep an account for my expenses. I'll come back to give you the money when the follow-up is settled."
This amount of money is definitely not enough to plant one hundred acres of cherry trees, not to mention the money for fertilizers. Even the money for seedlings is probably too high.
Zhong Xingguo, who saw so much money for the first time in his life, was completely stunned by Lu Changzheng and his wife.
Not only was the salary high, but he also had to pay so much money at once. This heavy trust made the burden and responsibility on his shoulders heavier than ever before.
"Don't worry, I will do my best!"
Zhong Xingguo couldn't guarantee anything else, but he was sure he could take care of such a large area of mountains.
Seeing the face that had reappeared the high-spirited face he had when he was in the army, Lu Changzheng's mouth twitched. He put a hand on his shoulder and couldn't help but sympathize with the young men brought out by Zhong Xingguo: "Xingguo, take it easy. Don't make this place look like a training ground."
Lu Changzheng didn't know, and it would have been better if he hadn't said this. As soon as he said it, Zhong Xingguo quickly came up with a militarized management method in his mind.
As a young person, you can't be so delicate. You should train yourself well while you are young, otherwise you won't be able to handle the responsibilities when you become a father in the future.
“…”
After handing over the contracted land to Zhong Xingguo, Liu Meiyu felt relieved.
From now on, she just needs to concentrate on running the clothing store and wait for the spring clothes to be on the market to make back the funds.
"Wife, I think it's a good idea for you to be a self-employed person."
On the way back to the city, Lu Changzheng suddenly couldn't help but sigh.
"What's wrong?" Liu Meiyu raised her eyebrows, sensing that the man had something else in his words.
Lu Changzheng felt uncomfortable being stared at by her. He coughed twice and first praised his wife: "It can not only make money, but also increase employment opportunities. Xingguo and the people in Lijia Village will definitely live better and better if they follow you in the future..."
"Just tell me directly. Who do you want me to assign a job to?" As soon as the man opened his mouth, Liu Meiyu could guess what he wanted to say.
Lu Changzheng laughed and defended himself: "Every time I recommended someone to you, you were never disappointed. I was just considering it for you, but in the end, you still make the decision, right?"
"Well, that's a good performance." Liu Meiyun nodded and agreed completely: "You want to find something for Zhao Heping to do, right?"
Lu Changzheng's eyes widened: "How do you know?"
Liu Meiyu thought to herself, she knew all the little tricks in your mind clearly before we got married, and now we have been married for many years, there is nothing she doesn't know.
Just two days ago, the man went to Zhao Heping's house.
Zhao Heping's sister now works in her clothing store. Her monthly salary plus commission is quite a lot, so the brother and sister must be living a much better life than before.
If it's not the difficulties in life, then it must be something else.
"Is Zhao Heping getting married?" Liu Meiyu guessed.
Lu Changzheng was even more surprised: "Wife, how did you know? Did his sister tell you?"
"I guess."
“…”
Well, Lu Changzheng didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Zhao Heping is getting married, and the girl's family conditions are not very good. Besides, the job of hauling coal for others is getting more and more unstable. I was thinking, can I let him find a job here? The salary doesn't need to be too high, just enough for him to support his family."
Liu Meiyu thought for a while and said to the man, "Brother Yao just bought a warehouse. Let him go to the warehouse to help. He doesn't need to put any goods in it, just help watch it. He can write and read and do some inventory management."
In fact, even if Lu Changzheng didn't mention it, Liu Meiyu was planning to tell Zhao Hemei in a few days to ask her brother to come over to help look after the warehouse.
You don't have to do any heavy work, just focus on safety and the accounting issues of transferring goods when the quantity increases in the future.
"The warehouse is good! It suits him!" Lu Changzheng smiled and said impatiently, "I'll go to his house and tell him when I get back."
"Don't say any more." Liu Meiyu interrupted him: "Once you say that, he will probably feel like he owes you a favor or something. Wasn't it you who introduced her sister here?"
"I can just tell Kazumi tomorrow."
Liu Meiyu finally realized that Lu Changzheng's comrades were all more honest than each other and would rather suffer hardship themselves than take advantage of others.
She could imagine that if Lu Changzheng were to talk to him, Zhao Heping would definitely make all kinds of excuses. It would be better for her to go find Zhao Hemei and let her talk to her brother directly.
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Lu Changzheng nodded.
With such a beautiful, gentle, considerate and thoughtful daughter-in-law, he has to listen to whatever she says!
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