Cheng Maixiang nodded.
When Hong Yunlei was young, he worked in a brick kiln factory in another place and could be said to be an expert in making bricks.
He earned some money working in other places, and after returning home to get married, he stayed at home. He always said that the soil of Xiaoqingshan was most suitable for making bricks, and the bricks and tiles made were of no worse quality than those made by the county brick and tile factory.
However, at the beginning, no one paid attention to him. In addition, the country did not allow private factories. Even if he wanted to do it, he did not have the conditions.
Later, when he was elected as the team leader, he immediately took his men to dig a brick kiln at the foot of the small green hill. Unfortunately, before he could light the fire, he was reported. Not only was the brick kiln closed, but he was also punished by his superiors.
"Uncle Hong has gone through so much hardship for this brick kiln, yet he hasn't given up yet. It's remarkable," Cheng Maixiang said with a smile. "Since Uncle Hong is guiding us, I'm sure we won't have to worry about the quality of the bricks and tiles. But have you made any plans for the rest, brother?"
"What else?" Cheng Maiqing asked casually while wiping his sweat with a towel.
Cheng Maixiang curled her lips. Her silly brother would not just think about how to make bricks without considering the most basic issues of running a brick factory, such as where the raw materials would come from, how to calculate the villagers' wages, and what the sales channels would be.
"Brother, you didn't think anything through and just rushed into opening a brick and tile factory?" Cheng Maixiang was anxious and said to him, counting on her fingers, "Let me ask you, how many trucks of coal, how many trucks of mud, and how many workers are needed to make a kiln of bricks? How many bricks can be made from one truck of mud, and how much coal is needed to make each brick?
Okay, mud is readily available. Xiaoqingshan's soil is good and can be used as raw material. But what about coal? Where are you going to get it from? And where are you going to sell the bricks? What are the initial costs of starting a factory? Does the brigade have enough funds to support it?
When Cheng Maiqing heard that his sister was asking this, he couldn't help but laugh.
This sister is indeed a good businesswoman.
When others heard that he wanted to build a brick factory, the first thing they worried about was whether the commune would agree. After all, it was the commune that brought a working group to seal off the brick kiln.
But she was different. As soon as she started talking, she started talking about the sources of raw materials, the sales channels of finished products, and the costs of manpower and material resources, which were professional terms that made people feel dizzy. It turned out that people who studied in big cities had different perspectives from others.
From now on, his two children must go out no matter what. They cannot be like him, staying in Shuangshui Village all their lives.
Cheng Maixiang saw her brother looking at her, grinning foolishly but not answering her. She couldn't help but shake him anxiously, "Brother, you are stupid, say something!"
Cheng Maiqing looked up at the sky. It was almost noon and time for lunch.
He stood up and called to the villagers who were working, "Alright, go home and eat. Bring your rakes and dustpans this afternoon so we can level the ground around the brick kiln. Uncle Hong, bring your tools too and take a few people with you to repair the chimney and clear it properly."
"Okay." Hong Yunlei came over with a sickle. "Qingzi, don't worry. Uncle Hong will make sure this chimney is repaired to its original state."
Cheng Maixiang finally saw him and stood up hurriedly, "Uncle Hong, you're so old now, you can just guide them from the side. You don't need to work so hard with the young people."
"What's the matter? Do you look down on your Uncle Hong? Do you think that Uncle Hong is too old and can only watch from the sidelines, wondering how you young people can build this brick kiln?" Hong Yunlei understood Cheng Maixiang's good intentions, but deliberately joked with her, "This man is too old to even be qualified to work?"
"Who said that? Uncle Hong is still strong and healthy. He works much better than us young people. I just mowed less than one square meter of grass, but Uncle Hong mowed nearly three square meters. It's really amazing."
Lin Jiayu walked over with a sickle.
"Hey, this is the son-in-law of our Shuangshui Village. He is hardworking and capable, and most importantly, he has vision."
Hong Yunlei was so happy when he was praised by him that he patted Lin Jiayu's shoulder and nodded.
"Uncle Hong, we'll go back first." Cheng Maiqing said hello to Hong Yunlei and left with the four of them.
Cheng's mother had said long ago that after Maizi's family came back, all the Cheng family members would have their first meal at her house, so the group went straight to Cheng's mother's house.
As soon as I entered the yard, I smelled the aroma of food wafting out from the kitchen. Aijun and Aimin were chasing and playing in the yard.
Cheng Maixiang saw Aijun waving a set of boys' clothes in his hand, and Aimin was chasing him, shouting and yelling, as if he wanted to snatch the clothes away. When he saw her and Lin Jiayu come in, he didn't even say hello.
Buckwheat put his hands on his hips, pointed at the two people and cursed, "Are you two blind? Old aunt and uncle are here, and you can't see it? Believe it or not, I will tell grandma to scold you two severely, and then you will know how powerful I am."
Although Qiaomai was young, she was full of aura. Not only Aimin, but even Aijun, who was older than her, was a little afraid of her. After hearing what she said, the two of them could only call out, "Hello, old aunt and father."
After saying hello, the two of them were afraid that Qiaomai would still chase them, so they slipped out of the yard together and went outside to play.
Cheng Maixiang recognized that it was the gift she brought for Ai Min. She and Lin Jiayu had clearly left the house, but their bags had been turned inside out and their clothes had been taken out.
She believed that Cheng's mother and Cheng's sister-in-law would never do such a thing. It must be her lazy second brother and sister-in-law who heard that she was back and wanted to take advantage of her.
How can this be?
Cheng Maixiang immediately became angry and started walking towards the main hall, but was grabbed by Lin Jiayu. "Let them take it, there's no need to get angry over such a small matter as soon as they arrive home. Anyway, those things were originally given to them."
Cheng Maixiang naturally understood what she meant. It was a rare opportunity for them to go home, and they must not make Cheng's mother angry.
The group arrived at the main hall. Sure enough, Cheng Erge and Cheng Ersao were rummaging through their bags. Seeing them come in, they smiled awkwardly and said, "We just wanted to see what goodies Maizi brought back from the provincial capital."
Cheng Maixiang had a cold expression on her face as she quickly packed up her bag. "My second brother and his wife have seen it, and they've even given the clothes to Aijun. What else do you want to see?"
Cheng Ersao was a tough girl. She pretended not to hear what Cheng Maixiang said so embarrassingly, and instead asked Lin Jiayu with a smile when they arrived home.
Cheng Maixiang couldn't help rolling her eyes, but there was nothing she could do, so she had to go to the kitchen to help.
Seeing her come in, Sister Cheng hurriedly said, "Maizi, go sit in the main room. We're almost done here and don't need you. Take Sister Lin out as well and tell her that she doesn't need you. She must come in to help. No matter how much you persuade her, it's useless."
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