Wang Guangming is facing such a troublesome person as soon as he takes office, which is really giving him a headache.
He forced a smile and patiently comforted He Shujuan, telling her to stop wailing and to talk things out.
"Captain Wang, you see for yourself, all the vegetables I painstakingly planted are dead. But Lu Wanqing's land is lush and green. They must have ruined my land." He Shujuan's triangular eyes slanted upwards, and she dared to say any lie.
Lu Wanqing couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, saying sternly, "This riverbank land was originally a place where nothing could grow properly. It was only because Lin Ye improved the soil that we were able to have a bumper harvest. If you insist on going back, of course you'll exchange it for the land you had before. Do you think I borrowed a piece of iron and have to return a piece of gold to you?"
Wang Guangming was already on Lu Wanqing's side, and after hearing her explanation, he became even more convinced that He Shujuan was deliberately staging the accident.
“Auntie, if what Comrade Lu said is true, then you should consider fertilizing the land more. The Lin family’s land is so fertile because they have worked hard to fertilize it,” Wang Guangming advised.
He Shujuan spat on the ground and laughed, "Captain Wang, could you help me ask them for some fertilizer? It's such a big piece of land, it's such a waste to leave it barren!"
Wang Guangming was almost laughing in anger. If she was so capable, she should have asked for it herself. She was just making things difficult for him!
“Auntie, it’s a real shame that your land is lying fallow. Look at that huge stretch of riverbank land, still lying there uncultivated. It’s a real waste. My next goal is to develop that land so that everyone has more land to cultivate.” Wang Guangming wasn’t stupid; he wouldn’t be led by the nose.
At this point, Lu Wanqing finally understood Wang Guangming's ambition.
There are indeed many riverbanks here, at least twenty or thirty acres in size. If they were all developed, it would certainly increase production significantly. However, her fertilizer was something she had painstakingly prepared, and she couldn't let it benefit someone else.
In particular, she didn't want to give it to someone like He Shujuan.
Fortunately, Wang Guangming was a sensible person. He did not force Lu Wanqing to hand over the fertilizer formula. Instead, he discussed with her, "Comrade Lu, your fertilizer is the key. I want to promote it. I wonder how you plan to sell it?"
Lu Wanqing didn't stand on ceremony and told him directly that if he used her fertilizer, he had to give her 20% of the annual harvest from one acre of land.
Rice can be grown twice a year here. If the yield is 1,500 catties per mu, that's 3,000 catties a year, or 2600 catties per mu, which isn't much.
Wang Guangming thought it was a good idea and said he would discuss it with the other cadres later. He Shujuan, standing to the side, rolled her eyes disdainfully: "Pah! You're dreaming! You do nothing, just produce some fertilizer, and you want to get 20%? Why don't you just rob someone!"
“I earn money through my own abilities, why would I rob it? If you don’t want to use it, you don’t have to. Nobody forced you. I don’t know who was begging Captain Wang for fertilizer just now! Today, I’m making this clear: from now on, my fertilizer is for dogs and cats, but not for that guy surnamed He!” Lu Wanqing rattled off a string of words.
And believe it or not, in the whole brigade, she's the only one with the surname He. Can you believe how infuriating that is!
He Shujuan was rebuked and stormed off with her hoe on her back. She was going to find Secretary Yu; someone had to pay for such a huge loss!
She's becoming increasingly shameless. Knowing that Li Miaolian dislikes Xu Erlai, she instructs her to go find Yu Guanghui. Left with no other choice, Yu Guanghui gives Li Miaolian two or three yuan each time, and the family's meals immediately improve.
The saying goes, "It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality." Once they were allowed to eat meat, they could never go back to the days of eating pickled vegetables. Although Li Miaolian was unwilling, she visited Yu Guanghui more and more often.
After visiting the private plot, Wang Guangming returned to the brigade headquarters and began a meeting.
Lu Wanqing returned home and continued to arrange for Zhao Xiaolan to make cotton-padded jackets, while she herself began designing woolen coats.
Li Fang came over again soon after, picked up the yarn, and started knitting.
"When will you finish knitting that scarf?" Li Fang teased, seeing Lu Wanqing busy with other things.
"A new order has come in, I have to design it quickly! Making money is the most important thing!" Lu Wanqing smiled.
Actually, the scarf was almost finished. It would be done in a few more nights. She was too busy with this and that during the day to take up her daytime time.
Li Fang was different. There was less farm work in winter, so she didn't have to work or do anything else. She just visited each other's homes every day and chatted about everyday matters.
The topic of conversation these past two days has naturally included the new team leader, Wang Guangming.
Upon hearing Lu Wanqing say that they knew each other, Li Fang immediately perked up and started chattering away: "I heard that Captain Wang's family lives in Wangjia Brigade. How often does he come home? It's not good for a man to be away from home all the time; something bad could happen to him!"
Lu Wanqing listened half-heartedly, occasionally chiming in with, "He's bound to be busy right after taking office, but things will get better soon."
"Have you heard? Li Miaolian used to rarely show her face, but lately she's been hanging around here a lot. Wang Guangming should be careful; he might get seduced by her." Li Fang continued talking to herself.
As for what Lu Wanqing said, Wang Guangming was determined to develop the riverbank, but he wasn't that enthusiastic. He thought it was something for men to consider, and that she, an old woman, couldn't possibly manage it.
Lu Wanqing felt that Li Fang was someone she could get along with fairly well compared to others; they had some common ground but not much.
The two have different views, but that doesn't stop them from chatting together. No one is an island; everyone needs friends.
The next day, Li Fang, as her friend, came again, this time with a hint of righteous indignation.
"Wanqing, I bet I just heard something. Zhou Ling actually reported you to Captain Wang about your family raising crabs to make money. I don't know where she heard that. Your family raises crabs for a farm, how did it become making money?"
Lu Wanqing thought to herself, "We agreed to keep it as secret as possible from the farm, so Du Wenbing definitely wouldn't say anything. It's probably the driver who was loading the truck who let it slip after drinking."
I had informed Yu Guanghui about the crab farming project beforehand, but I was not informed about the payment.
So the people in the village always thought that the crabs raised in the forest were being raised on behalf of the farm, and the benefit was that they could keep a lot of crabs for themselves to eat.
The situation suddenly became tricky. How much did Zhou Ling actually know? If it was reported to the commune, would it be considered speculation and profiteering?
Even after Lin Ye returned from get off work, Lu Wanqing's heart was still pounding.
After all, in this day and age, being identified as a speculator or profiteer is severely punished; you might even be forced to eat peanuts.
After hearing her concerns, Lin Ye immediately decided to visit the farm. He reasoned that the farm must have relevant policies to support the foster care program since it was offering such a solution.
He needs to take control of public opinion.
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