Chapter 290 Did it thunder?
After looking around the room and not seeing her favorite great-grandfather, Xiao Taozi got dressed and went out.
When I arrived in the living room, I saw that Mr. Lu was already dressed and sitting at the dining table, with the cuffs of his army green Mao suit rolled up, peeling an apple with great concentration.
"Are you awake, Little Taozi?" Grandpa Lu cut an apple into small pieces and placed them in an enamel bowl. "Hurry up and have breakfast. After breakfast, Grandpa will take you to make a phone call."
Little Taozi immediately perked up, ran to the table wearing her floral cotton shoes, climbed onto the chair and prepared to eat.
Meanwhile, Jincheng.
Jiang Haitang was standing in her yard, waiting for Aunt Cai to arrive.
"Aunt Cai! You are finally here!" Seeing Zhao Dashan accompanying Aunt Cai, Jiang Haitang stepped forward happily.
"Haitang, I heard you were pregnant, so I quickly packed my things and came here," Aunt Cai said with a smile, carrying a large bag. "I brought some dates and walnuts that I grew at home to nourish you."
"There are also some millets and so on. Anyway, your Uncle Dashan carried them all to you." Aunt Cai held Jiang Haitang's hand and said repeatedly.
"Auntie, I don't feel comfortable doing this. These are all good things. You can just keep them for your family. I have everything here." Jiang Haitang said gratefully, but she also felt embarrassed that Auntie Cai was like this.
"What you have is yours. Even though what I gave you isn't much, it's a token of my appreciation. You don't have to worry about our lives. Ever since Dazhu went to work in the city, our family's life is one of the best in the brigade. I don't know how many people envy us."
Speaking of this, Aunt Cai became extremely energetic. Their family could be what it is today because of their good relationship with Jiang Haitang, right?
If Haitang hadn't stepped in, how could they, a country girl, get a job in the city?
"Haitang, I will always remember your kindness to our family."
Jiang Haitang pulled Aunt Cai into the house and said, "Come in and rest. You must be tired from the journey. Let's not talk about this anymore. Besides, Dazhu is successful because of his own ability. If he doesn't do his best, I can't help him even if I want to."
The two of them entered the house and sat down. Aunt Cai looked around the neat and tidy house and sighed, "Haitang, seeing that you are living a good life now, I am relieved. You have suffered for more than ten years, and now you can finally enjoy happiness after all the hardships."
"Aunt Cai, if you hadn't secretly helped me during those years, I might have starved to death."
"Pooh, pooh, pooh, you shouldn't say these things. We are living well now, so we should say auspicious words." Aunt Cai slowly stopped Jiang Haitang from speaking any further.
"Auntie, can you stay here to take care of me? Can you go to the brigade?"
Individuals cannot move freely now. If the brigade does not agree, Aunt Cai can only go back to earn work points.
"When the captain heard you wanted me to take care of you for a while, he was so happy that he immediately gave me a certificate."
Aunt Cai covered her mouth and smiled: "Now, you are the first honor of our brigade. Because of you, our brigade has face in the whole commune."
When Jiang Haitang heard this, she was actually a little embarrassed. Because of the Li family, she did not actually provide any help to the Qingshuigou Brigade.
At best, we just purchased some soil when the factory needed it.
"Auntie, do the people in the brigade have any complaints against me?"
"What's there to complain about? You made your own way. If they had helped you when you returned to the village, why are you in this situation now?"
It was because Haitang was kind-hearted. Otherwise, with her abilities, the Qingshuigou Brigade could have been suppressed by the commune with just a few hints. How could they be taken care of everywhere like they are now?
Aunt Cai suddenly patted her head and took out a few exquisite small clothes from her bundle: "Look, I made some clothes for the baby in your belly. The material is not expensive, but it is all good cotton and very soft!"
Jiang Haitang took the small dress and was surprised to find that it was embroidered with exquisite patterns and the stitches were fine and neat. "Auntie, your craftsmanship is really good! It's as good as the old craftsmen in our factory!"
They were always together before, and Jiang Haitang never realized that Aunt Cai had this ability.
Aunt Cai smiled sheepishly: "Who among the women in our village doesn't know a little needlework? To be honest, I learned to embroider when I was young, but it's not popular these days. My hands are numb."
"Are you just not good at it? Your craftsmanship is truly amazing!" Jiang Haitang's eyes lit up. "Our factory's wool sweaters would be even more valuable if they were embroidered with hand-embroidered labels."
Aunt Cai didn't take it seriously and said directly: "What bid? Is it difficult? Can I do it? If I can, leave it to me."
Jiang Haitang sat up straight, and an idea flashed in her mind: "Auntie, are there many people in our village who have craftsmanship like you?"
Aunt Cai thought for a while and said, "Not much, but not a few either! Let me think about it, those who have similar cooking skills to me include Zhao San's daughter-in-law, Wang Wu's wife, and..." Aunt Cai began to count on her fingers.
Jiang Haitang listened and found that quite a few people could do it.
"Alas, it's a pity that I'm stuck at home now. Besides doing farm work, I'm taking care of the kids. My craft skills are almost gone."
Jiang Haitang excitedly shook Aunt Cai's hand and said, "Aunt, I have an idea! The factory has some odd jobs. What if we ask the aunts and ladies in the village to help? We can pay them according to how much work they do. Do you think they would be willing to do it?"
"Working at home?"
Jiang Haitang nodded.
"Yes, working at home."
"Why not? I can work at home and earn money. Where else can I find such a good thing? Haitang, you are not trying to trick me, are you? Can such a good thing really happen?"
"How could I lie to you?" Jiang Haitang spoke with increasing excitement. "If our factory needs to process trademarks and can't find a suitable machine, hand embroidery is the best option. The brigade has people ready, and it can also allow the women to make some money. Isn't that a good thing?"
Aunt Cai thought for a moment and also became excited: "Haitang, this is a great idea! You don't know how many wives and daughters in the village are looking forward to having a proper job and not having to rely entirely on the men's work points!"
"If you can help the women in the brigade accomplish this, I wonder how many people will thank you."
"There's no need to thank me or anything like that. I just thought it would be best to work with people I know well."
Jiang Haitang dared to have such an idea because he had been purchasing kaolin from the people in the team during this period. The people in the team were able to sift it cleanly every time and even break up large pieces of clay.
The two of them got along better and better as they talked. Jiang Haitang found a pen and paper and began to draft a plan.
Zhao Dashan was listening on the side and felt a little anxious. Wasn't his old woman here to take care of Haitang, so why was she planning to start a side job?
But Aunt Cai and Jiang Haitang ignored him and just asked him to drink some water, and then they both got busy nervously.
Jiang Haitang's pencil rustled on the paper, sketching out one idea after another.
"Auntie, do you think this would work?" Jiang Haitang pointed to a flowchart on a piece of paper. "The factory will send the raw materials for the embroidery labels to the brigade. You organize people to pay them by piece, and then send them back to the factory after the embroidery is complete."
"That's a great idea! It's just like getting work at the cooperative before. It doesn't interfere with farming, and I can earn extra money! But I can't do it."
Jiang Haitang was a little surprised when she heard it.
"Auntie, why can't you do it? I think it's fine for you to do it."
Aunt Cai continued to shake her head: "Right now, your health is the most important thing. In the next few days, I will do nothing but take care of you!"
Jiang Haitang was about to object, but Aunt Cai said, "Let's discuss this matter with the team leader. If we need someone to take charge, let's find Wang Wu's family. Don't underestimate her carefree appearance. She has some real skills and is also a good embroiderer."
In fact, Jiang Haitang was more willing to believe Aunt Cai, but since Aunt Cai mentioned Wang Wu's family, Jiang Haitang did not intend to offend Aunt Cai.
The two continued, "It's not just about embroidering logos. If your skills are really good, you can also take on embroidering lace, or even embroidering entire garments. Our handmade embroidery is very popular internationally!"
"International? You mean foreign countries?" Aunt Cai's hands trembled, and she almost dropped the enamel pot she had just picked up.
Jiang Haitang nodded seriously.
"Haitang, you are too ambitious! Can the skills of us country women be sold abroad?" Aunt Cai shook her head repeatedly. She really thought they were not capable enough.
"Why not?" Jiang Haitang held Aunt Cai's hand and pointed at the lifelike peony on the small dress she brought. "This peony you embroidered is just as good as the export embroidery I saw in department stores!"
Without waiting for Aunt Cai to say anything, Jiang Haitang pulled out a sample book from the factory and pointed at the pattern on it: "Look at this simple trademark. How many can one person embroider in a day?"
Aunt Cai examined them carefully. "If they were experienced, twenty or thirty wouldn't be a problem. As for novices... a dozen or so would be enough."
Jiang Haitang quickly calculated, "At five cents a pop, a skilled worker can earn over a dollar a day, which is over thirty dollars a month!"
"Thirty, over thirty?" Aunt Cai's eyes widened. "Higher than the wages of workers in the city? My Dazhu only makes thirty yuan a month now."
"That's just a conservative estimate," Jiang Haitang said with a smile. "If it's a complex embroidery, the wages could be even higher."
Aunt Cai was so excited that she paced back and forth in the room, as if she had seen a lot of money placed in front of her.
"Haitang, if this really works out, you'll be a great benefactor to the women in our brigade! Do you know how many work points a strong laborer earns a day these days? By the end of the year, ten yuan would be good!"
Jiang Haitang nodded.
She knew very well that in an agricultural cooperative, being able to have enough to eat was a blessing, and making money was something she couldn't even imagine.
"Aunt, I'll discuss this with Liangchen tonight. If this can be done, we'll have the captain come over. This matter definitely won't work without his approval."
Aunt Cai nodded repeatedly: "I won't say a word, I won't say a word! Haitang, don't worry, I won't say a word until this is done!"
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