Chapter 82 Target
Liu Yuanshan was horrified as she watched from the side. Ai Li likes Tao Nanfeng so much, what should she do?
Ai Li held Tao Nanfeng's hand and sighed, "I used to think that career women competed with men for status, and that they were idle and idle. Now it seems that I was narrow-minded. There are indeed women in this world who are born strong, and they should go out and work on their careers. It would be a waste if you were asked to stay at home to take care of your husband and children."
Tao Nanfeng was not used to being overly close to others, so he broke away from Ai Li's hand and put his hands behind his back.
She smiled and said, "There was nothing we could do. The farm leaders were incompetent and bullied us educated youth everywhere. What could we do if we didn't work hard?"
Miao Jing interjected: "You are naturally strong, otherwise you would not be able to survive in such a harsh environment."
Tao Nanfeng turned to look at his father, and they smiled at each other.
——Escape from the desperate situation.
Ai Li looked at Tao Nanfeng curiously: "I really don't know where you get so much strength from, little girl. My Miao Jing practices Tongzi Kung Fu, the ancestral Miao family Kung Fu, but he can't even beat you."
Liu Yuanshan sneered: "That's because Brother Miao Jing gave in to her."
Ai Li frowned: "Whenever the Miao family encounters a competition, they will definitely go all out and will never give in to anyone. You don't understand Miao Jing at all."
Miao Jing saw that there was a chance, so he immediately held his mother's shoulders and said, "Mom, you are right, she doesn't understand me at all. Don't force anyone on me anymore and tell everyone you catch is my fiancée."
Liu Yuanshan's face turned red and white, and she felt a little embarrassed.
Ai Li glanced at her son in a reproachful manner: "You are almost thirty and still haven't started a family. I am worried. I watched Yuan Shan grow up. It's good to know her inside out. If you don't understand her, then you can get to know her slowly."
The group walked and talked as they slowly returned to the field office.
Wang Xiaoxi had been waiting for a long time and hosted a banquet in the cafeteria to entertain the guests.
In Kyoto, Liu Yuanshan and Ai Li ate in Western restaurants and high-end restaurants and went to foreign exchange stores. They had tried all kinds of high-end food, so how could they get used to eating farm-style meals prepared on the farm?
The two of them politely took a few bites with their chopsticks and then stopped moving. Miao Jing, on the other hand, ate happily, and while eating he taught his mother: "Mom, I was on a mission in the army, and I had to eat compressed biscuits for two or three days. Xiangbei and I were lying in the trenches listening to the gunfire, and at that time I was thinking that if I could have a full meal, I would be willing to die."
Ai Li felt heartbroken and almost burst into tears.
She took out a white silk handkerchief from her pocket, wiped the tears from her eyes, and choked up, "Miao Jing, Xiangbei, you two have suffered..."
There was a smell of oil smoke in the air of the cafeteria, the table top felt greasy, and the food was served in large coarse porcelain bowls. All this made Ai Li and Liu Yuanshan lose their appetite.
But when she thought about the story she had just heard, Ai Li felt a little ashamed of what her son said. She gestured to Liu Yuanshan to pick up the chopsticks and the bowl, and started to eat the food, suppressing her uncomfortable feeling.
After getting over the awkward feeling, Ai Li began to taste the unique aroma of the farm dishes. She put down her chopsticks after finishing a bowl of rice without realizing it.
Tao Shouxin watched from the side and found it interesting. No wonder Xiangbei arranged this visit, to recall the past and reflect on the present, to reform one's thoughts, and to do things silently. This is a powerful move.
Tao Nanfeng leaned close to Xiangbei's ear and whispered, "Why did you bring them back?"
Xiangbei smiled and said, "The Ai Li family is very powerful in the Ministry of Commerce. We happened to meet them in the provincial capital this time, so we might as well invite them to come and inspect the farm. In the future, if we want to find a sales channel for cigarettes, we can look for them."
Tao Nanfeng pursed his lips and smiled: "Taking advantage of the situation, is this a conspiracy?"
Looking north, I see that her face is beautiful and her smile is as bright as the starry sky. I really want to kiss her. Unfortunately, he didn't dare to do it in public, so he could only reach his hand under the table, interlocked his fingers with hers, touched their knuckles, and touched their skin.
Tao Shouxin coughed and looked at Xiangbei with a hint of warning in his eyes.
Xiangbei lowered his head and said nothing, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
Ai Li watched from the side and asked Tao Shouxin curiously: "Professor Tao, you teach architecture at the university, how could you bear to send your daughter to the farm to suffer?"
Tao Shouxin felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest and didn't know how to respond for a moment. Should we tell the truth and say that Feng Chun'e and Feng You set up a trap to drive their own daughter Tao Nanfeng out of the house?
Miao Jing tried to smooth things over: "Mom, you and my dad both didn't want me to join the army, but I still went to fight in the war, didn't I?"
When Ai Li heard this, she looked at Tao Shouxin with a hint of sympathy in her eyes: "Alas, it's not easy for you either. The child has grown up and it's beyond the control of the parents."
She glared at Miao Jing and said, "You, you, if it weren't for Xiangbei, we would have to send our son to his grave. Have you ever thought about the worries of your father and I? When you become a father, you will understand your parents' painstaking efforts."
Liu Yuanshan consoled him, "Brother Miao Jing is blessed by heaven, don't worry, Aunt Ai."
After lunch, how to accommodate Liu Yuanshan and Ai Li became a problem.
There is no guesthouse on the farm, and the best rooms are on the second floor of the farm.
It is said to be the best room, but in fact it is just a spacious single room with blue-gray tiles on the floor, whitewashed walls, and beige paint on the wooden window frames. There is no toilet in the house. If you want to go to the toilet, you have to go to the public toilet near the stairwell.
Ai Li and Liu Yuanshan frowned just by smelling the odor of the public toilet. If they were asked to live here, they would probably scream.
Wang Xiaoxi said to Xiangbei, "How about...let them rest in Expert Building No. 3?"
Wang Xiaoxi had previously brought Mr. Mei's family to the north, and arranged for the family of three to stay in the expert building. It was a row of three-story red brick houses built by the construction team when the farm was built. There were three dormitories in the middle and a kitchen and toilet at both ends.
There are five red brick houses in total. Although the decoration is simple, they are fully equipped with water and electricity. They were left by Xiangbei to attract talents, so they were named "Expert Buildings".
Now one building is occupied by Mr. Mei's family, one is prepared for factory director Gao Deshun to live in, and the other is vacant.
Xiangbei nodded: "Okay, then go and make the arrangements first."
Wang Xiaoxi is the office director and is most adept at handling such trivial matters. He arranged for people to make the beds, mop the floor, and wipe the dust, and cleaned the three single rooms thoroughly, and then invited Miao Jing and the other three distinguished guests in.
Miao Jing was very satisfied, but Liu Yuanshan was very unhappy.
"This room is damp and freezing. The quilts are not warm. How can people live here? And...what is that toilet? It's two wooden planks. It's scary to step on them! I don't want to live here. I want to go back to the provincial capital."
Ai Li also felt her scalp tingling when she saw that toilet.
She had never used such a horrible toilet in her life—a high, deep pit with two wooden boards on top, and people walked on the boards and then squatted down... The scene was terrifying just thinking about it.
Miao Jing pulled a long face and scolded Liu Yuanshan: "Who asked you to come with me? I told you before that the conditions on the farm are tough, and it's not a place for a rich lady like you to have fun. You insisted that I can come, so you can come. Now you complain about the bad conditions, what were you doing before?!"
Liu Yuanshan didn't dare to say anything else and turned to look at Ai Li.
Ai Li was a little embarrassed and hesitant.
Tao Nanfeng had a good impression of Ai Li. Some of her actions and habits were similar to those of Xu Xiqin. She was a lady from a noble family, had an elegant posture, and was very calm when eating and talking. It’s just that Xu Xiqin studied abroad and had to do everything by herself, so she was more independent and capable than Ai Li.
Tao Nanfeng looked at her gently and spoke to her in a tone as if he was coaxing a child.
"The conditions on the farm are tough, I'm sorry. If you're not used to it, we'll send you down the mountain to find a guesthouse. Next year we'll build a guesthouse with a private bathroom, and then we'll invite you to stay."
Seeing Tao Nanfeng's gentle attitude and saying that he would build a guesthouse next year, Ai Li felt a little sorry: "Well, it's not that I'm squeamish... I'm just not used to living here."
Tao Nanfeng smiled and said, "It's okay, I understand."
When he first came to the farm, Tao Nanfeng was most afraid of going to the toilet. Because there is no municipal water and electricity, the toilets here do not have flushing equipment and are all dry toilets.
Having lived in the city for a long time, it took her a long time to adapt to the dry toilets with accumulated feces and water.
Ai Li is an emotional person with a simple mind. When she heard Tao Nanfeng say "I understand", she suddenly remembered that she was also a city girl who lived in a university professor's building but was assigned to a hardship farm and suffered so much. She didn't know why she felt a little painful in her heart.
She could see that Tao Nanfeng was shy and didn't like being touched by others, so she reached out her hand and placed it lightly on Tao Nanfeng's arm.
"My child, you are very similar to Miao Jing of mine. You are willing to endure hardships. I can't help you with anything else, but your family has some connections in the Ministry of Commerce.
I heard that your farm is going to open a tobacco factory, which is a good thing. Since ancient times, tobacco, alcohol, tea and salt have all been highly profitable industries. As long as the cigarettes you produce are of good quality, I will help you open up sales. When you have money, you can improve your living conditions. I'll come and stay here when the time comes, okay? ”
Okay, why isn't it good? Of course!
Tao Nanfeng didn't expect that just by coaxing Ai Li a few words, he could elicit such a promise from her. It was really a pleasant surprise. He smiled and nodded: "Okay."
Miao Jing was overjoyed when he heard this. He put his arm around his mother's shoulders and said with a smile, "Mom, are you really willing to ask your uncles for help? But don't tell lies. The people on the farm are all honest people. They will believe what you say."
Could it be that her son was willing to act like a spoiled child? Ai Li's heart softened even more, and she gave Miao Jing a reproachful look.
"Of course it's true. It's not a big deal. Isn't it just allowing the sale of farm-produced cigarettes in major shopping malls in Kyoto? They're all selling cigarettes, so what kind of cigarettes are they?
You should also not sit idle. Let Xiangbei and the others contact the Tobacco Industry Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Light Industry to try to improve the quality of cigarettes and produce competitive cigarettes. Once the cigarette factory is built, there will be many opportunities to make money. ”
After all, she comes from a prominent family, and Ai Li's vision and level of business operations are far superior to others. She just casually gave a few pointers, and immediately people felt as if the clouds had been cleared and the light had been seen.
Xiangbei felt an endless fighting spirit in his heart.
"Thank you for your advice. I am not an expert in opening a tobacco factory. I just wanted to open one because the tobacco leaves from Xiufeng Mountain grow very well and have excellent quality."
Thanks to Gao Deshun leading the way and Miao Jing helping out, we were able to complete the relevant procedures for opening a tobacco factory smoothly. But Xiangbei actually had no idea what to do next.
Ai Li's words helped Xiangbei clarify his future goals.
——Contact the Tobacco Research Institute, strictly control the quality of cigarettes, make Xiufeng brand cigarettes a nationally renowned brand, and build the farm into a first-class tobacco base in the country!
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