Lin Ying wandered around the commune but couldn't buy anything. Just as she was thinking of going to the supply and marketing cooperative, she saw a few people coming to Uncle Wu's shop to buy straw mats.
"All reactionaries are paper tigers! Comrade, how much is this straw mat?"
"When the military and the people are united as one, who in the world can stand against us! Eight cents!"
"We will not attack unless we are attacked; if we are attacked, we will retaliate! Comrade, we want to order 200, can you give us a discount?"
When Village Chief Wu heard "200," he was stunned and even forgot his saying: "Why, why so many?"
Lin Ying frowned as she looked at the group and quickly added, "Long live the people! If it's 200, it'll only cost you 150. They're all handmade by rural people who work hard to make them."
Village Chief Wu broke out in a cold sweat: "Embezzlement and waste are heinous crimes! Yes, yes, 150 will do."
That person probably wasn't looking to cause trouble; he simply asked if they had any in stock, since they had arrived in a horse-drawn carriage and could take it away immediately.
Village Chief Wu didn't actually have that many, so he could only have them pay half the deposit. They took what they had and will come back tomorrow to pick up the rest.
After a long period of busy work, Village Chief Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Girl, thanks to you, otherwise I would have made a mistake."
Lin Ying smiled but didn't say anything. At this time, she couldn't even say something unintentionally, because it would be disrespectful to the leader.
Village Chief Wu was in a hurry to get back and arrange for everyone to continue making straw mats, so he left in a rush.
Seeing that she couldn't find what she wanted there, Lin Ying prepared to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. Unexpectedly, she was stopped by the commune director.
"Comrade Lin Ying, I just saw you counting money and doing arithmetic very quickly. Look at this cold weather, the villagers are still queuing up outside, it's not easy for them. Since Old Wu has some free time, I was thinking of setting up a temporary purchasing point here. Could you help me with the purchasing?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ying quickly waved her hand: "I've never done this before, what if I mess it up?"
The director quickly replied, "It's alright. Your main responsibility is collecting money and keeping accounts. I'll also assign three people to assist you. You can ask them any questions you may have."
Seeing that Lin Ying still refused, the director simply said, "How about this, I'll stay here and keep an eye on things. If you need any help, I'll come over. It's over minus thirty degrees Celsius outside, and we need to ship this batch of goods as soon as possible. We're really in a bit of a hurry."
Hearing this, Lin Ying wasn't in a hurry to buy anything, so she simply agreed: "Okay."
The director breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lin Ying agree. These days, everyone here is hibernating, only coming out to shop one day a month. This means that usually there are hardly any people here, but today it was packed with people.
Last month was a little better, but I didn't expect so many people to come this month. If one stall has to collect all the goods, it'll probably be packed up all night. If the people cause trouble again, that will be his problem.
Seeing that Lin Ying agreed, the commune director hurriedly ordered people to make arrangements, including setting up large and small scales, and preparing money boxes, account books, pens, and abacuses for Lin Ying.
Lin Ying's job was simply to have someone bring over something, have the staff weigh it, and then call out what it was and how many kilograms it was. She had to record this in a register, and also convert any items the person wanted to exchange for. If they wanted money, she would give them money; if they wanted ration coupons, she would give them coupons. If they wanted grain, they would write down what kind of grain and how many kilograms it was in the grain register next to them, and the person could collect it themselves.
Before starting, Lin Ying opened the money box in front of the director, counted all the money and tickets inside, and marked them clearly in the ledger before having people assigned to this area.
I heard that another receiving point has opened here, and everyone is rushing over here.
The director sat at the table watching. Although Lin Ying looked unfamiliar, no one would suspect that it was fake.
Lin Ying was a little slow to get the hang of things at the beginning because she wasn't very skilled yet, but after a few people, she quickly got the hang of it.
In particular, the commune director discovered that Lin Ying didn't need an abacus at all; as long as someone gave her a number, she could quickly calculate the answer.
In the past, the time spent on the ledger section was usually longer, but now, Lin Ying has to wait for the other side to bear the weight.
Lin Ying was also very clever. While the previous person was carrying the load, she would ask the person waiting what they wanted to sell, and she would register the names of the items in advance. Who would have thought that this would be the most time-consuming thing for her?
For a moment, even the commune director was stunned and forgot to leave.
Lin Ying's speed made the whole queue move much faster. After about half an hour, Lin Ying saw several familiar faces.
Su Yun and the others were all incredulous to see Lin Ying there, but after learning from Cheng Jiaojiao's lesson last time, they didn't dare to make wild accusations, lest their men be punished.
So, although everyone was very curious about why Lin Ying was here, they acted like nothing had happened, like quails.
Lin Ying pretended not to see them. She never liked causing trouble, and unless someone bothered her, she would ignore them. Many people had disliked her growing up, and she truly looked down on them.
These people dared not cause trouble here, but privately they couldn't help but speculate:
"You mean Lin Ying was assigned to work here? Weren't there supposed to be no placements available?"
"Yeah, even if there were a spot available, it shouldn't have been given to her. She's... well, you know."
"They're so perceptive. She must have found out something and donated all the food and drink in her home to the army. Of course they would think of her."
"Isn't this using connections?"
"Exactly, why should she be the only one among our military wives who can write? Xiangxiu can too, isn't she? She's even a primary school teacher."
Xiangxiu's real name was Han Xiangxiu. She was the wife of the political instructor of the Second Regiment, and both of them were educated people. At that time, she, along with Li Yue'e and Qin Xueping, a member of the military dependents' supply and marketing cooperative, were among the first batch of people to come and accompany the army.
Because Qin Xueping's family was really poor, and because she was literate, they made her a shop assistant.
Han Xiangxiu, on the other hand, earned her place as a teacher at the town's primary school through her own abilities. However, due to the revolutionary activities of the past two years, schools were closed, and she was essentially unemployed.
"Yes, didn't Minister Zhang forbid us from causing trouble outside? Then let's go back and ask him! Why did she get such a good job!"
"Yes, we'll get to the bottom of this when we get back!"
Lin Ying was busy until after 10 a.m. Keep in mind, in the Great Northern Wilderness, it gets light as early as 3 a.m. This was already considered noon.
Because Lin Ying's calculation speed is fast, she can finish things that might not take a whole day in half a day. For the rest of the time, all they need to do is have their own employees waiting. At this time, even if more people come, there won't be more than in the morning.
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