Although Lu Kai humbly said that he was still young and needed to learn from his seniors, in practice he regarded himself as the successor to the director of the engineering department. He spoke to his colleagues of the same age in the engineering department with a somewhat condescending tone.
The other people in the engineering department either genuinely didn't mind or did, but considering Lu Kai's family background, they held back.
Only Lin Feng, that fool, actually listened to his father's words and diligently studied the technology. For this, he stayed in the workshop almost every day, eating and living with the workers.
Unlike Lu Kai, who has it so easy every day, only needing to draw design drafts in the office.
At this point, Lin Hong was still disappointed in her second brother, thinking he was too foolish.
Xu Ningyan, however, felt that both Lin's father and Lin Feng were men of great vision and were truly dedicated to the path of technical research.
His future achievements may not be any less than Lu Kai's!
After offering a few words of comfort, Lin Hong felt a little better. She thought that although her second brother didn't talk much anymore, he still seemed to love his job.
Perhaps, as Xu Ningyan said, this is what he likes and pursues, and what he thinks is the best!
Lin Hong is a very receptive person, and after being reminded by Xu Ningyan, she realized that she had been somewhat prejudiced before.
Once she understood, she couldn't help but hug Xu Ningyan, becoming even more affectionate: "Ayan, it's so great to know you and be your friend! Let's be best friends for life, okay?"
Looking at Lin Hong's earnest expression, Xu Ningyan knew that no matter what the future held for her, her desire to spend her life with him was the most sincere one.
A slight tremor ran through her heart, and she nodded earnestly: "As long as you don't betray me or do anything to hurt me in the future, we'll be best friends for life!"
On the stone bench under the shade of a tree, the two solemnly made a promise to be best friends for life, and even stamped their vows with their little fingers.
Xu Ningyan stayed in the county town for two more days this time. She saw that the hair ties were selling like hotcakes and were already sold out before the Dragon Boat Festival.
Many women who didn't manage to buy it came to ask when it would arrive.
Li Jianguo didn't expect the hair ties to sell so well. He originally thought it was a one-off deal, but now it seems that it might be a long-term business.
With Li Jianguo's connections, Xu Ningyan quickly settled the payment at the finance department. The total was 149.7 yuan, plus a few yuan for selling the zongzi leaves.
After deducting costs and excluding labor, I earned about 130 yuan on this trip, which should be enough to cover the expenses for the Tuanjie Brigade.
Xu Ningyan also went to the garment factory. This time, she didn't go to the section chief. Using Li Jianguo's connections for a few scraps of cloth was really overkill.
That's not how you use favors!
She went to find the gatekeeper of the garment factory, stuffed a pack of cigarettes into his hand, and was taken to the warehouse.
The warehouse manager from last time was still there. When I saw Xu Ningyan, I realized he was an acquaintance.
He handed over two packs of cigarettes, and the warehouse manager immediately got a receipt, paid the money, and smoothly dragged a bag of rag strips out of the warehouse.
Before leaving, the warehouse manager warmly told Xu Ningyan that if she needed anything in the future, she could just come to him directly, as he could handle such a small matter as scraps of cloth.
Since the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, Xu Ningyan picked up her salary and benefits for the month before going home.
The Dragon Boat Festival perks at the department store were comparable to those at the largest machinery factory in the county.
Each person receives four zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), five salted duck eggs, five preserved eggs, a pound of sesame oil, a pound of dried kelp, and an ounce of dried shrimp.
According to local custom, during the Dragon Boat Festival, the son-in-law must visit his mother-in-law's family to deliver Dragon Boat Festival gifts.
Bring zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), salted duck eggs, preserved eggs, and a bag of pastries.
The department store's perk provided almost everything needed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Xu Ningyan, having no mother-in-law, quickly collected all the welfare benefits, then dragged the tattered cloth strips back to the Tuanjie Brigade with the hundred-plus yuan and settlement receipts in his arms.
From the day Xu Ningyan brought the hair tie and zongzi leaves to the county town, the people of the Tuanjie Brigade have been restless.
Every day, she counts down the days until Xu Ningyan comes back.
People go to the village entrance every day to see if Xu Ningyan has returned.
When she appeared at the village entrance, she was immediately spotted.
Someone came up to us, seeing our large and small bags, and offered to help us carry them.
Some people even ran off to inform the brigade leader and the others.
When Xu Ningyan arrived at the brigade headquarters, she saw that Gu Zhiyuan had also rushed over after hearing the news. Unlike the others, his first question was whether the hair ties had been sold, how well they sold, and how much money they made.
Instead, he first checked Xu Ningyan's complexion. Seeing that she seemed fine, he said, "You must be tired from this trip! With so much stuff, why didn't you call the commune to tell our brigade to send someone to pick you up?"
The brigade leader and the village secretary blushed; they were so excited that they had forgotten about this.
Gu Zhiyuan couldn't stand them bullying Siya, his wife, so he called them out.
He forced a laugh and said, "Oh dear, it was our oversight! Thank you for your hard work, Siya! After you've explained the situation, go back and rest!"
Gu Zhiyuan was dissatisfied, but he didn't show it on his face. He just looked at Xu Ningyan inquiringly, as if to ask her if she was tired and if she could continue.
Xu Ningyan also wanted to finish the matter quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications and trouble.
He slammed the money and receipts he was carrying onto the table: "All the hair ties have been sold, and I've received my payment! A total of one thousand, 980 in total, the ordinary ones were 15 cents each, and the few bows that Chen Fangfang made were 18 cents each, 15 in total. I gave the other five to the sales clerks at the department store so they could attract customers!"
"So the hair tie cost a total of 149.7 yuan, and the bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) brought the total to 5 yuan."
"The money is all here, please count it in front of you! This is the receipt for the ribbons! Most of the bamboo leaves were sold to the department store employees' families for 3.5 yuan, no receipts! The remaining small portion was sold to the canteen for 1.5 yuan, receipts available!"
The accounts were crystal clear, and not only the captain heard them, but the team members outside also heard them.
An uproar ensued.
No one expected that the unassuming hair tie would sell for over 150 yuan!
Family members! Who would believe that?!
The captain was extremely excited. Even the accountant who was counting the money and tickets had trembling hands. He counted them several times, and only after confirming that there were no problems did he nod to the captain.
The brigade leader was almost in tears! Their united brigade finally had other sources of income besides selling grain!
The Party Secretary, however, was observant. Pointing to the large bundle of scraps of cloth, he asked, "And what's this?"
Xu Ningyan said calmly, "These are scraps of cloth and five hundred rubber bands. I thought the hair ties were selling well, so I made another batch. Although it might not be as popular as the previous batch, we can still make some novel designs, so sales shouldn't be a problem! So I ordered five hundred rubber bands and a bag of scraps of cloth first!"
Upon hearing this, not only the brigade leader but also the commune members outside all shouted in unison, "Yes! Of course we'll do it!"
That's all money!
Seeing that everyone agreed to do it, Xu Ningyan took out the receipts for the rubber bands and scraps of cloth from his pocket: "Since that's the case, let's settle the bill! I paid for all of this myself! And the travel expenses to and from here, and the three packs of cigarettes I gave away to buy the scraps of cloth, let's reimburse that too!"
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