Chapter 362 Has a Purpose
After the supply and marketing cooperative in the city received the handmade cloth shoes from the 16th Regiment, they put the shoes on the shelves.
This is the perfect season for cloth shoes. These shoes don't require cloth coupons, so selling them for 1.2 yuan isn't cheap, considering that amount of money can buy more than a pound of meat. However, these shoes can be worn for a long time, and there are quite a few unmarried men who don't know how to make shoes. Since they were recently put on the shelves, we've been selling more than thirty pairs almost every day.
Only a little over 600 pairs of shoes were received in total. At this rate, the supply and marketing cooperative can only sell them for a maximum of 20 days.
After compiling the statistics, Song Hai felt he needed to remind the 16th Regiment to speed up the production of more shoes, as a batch of goods needed to be delivered every month.
The shoes were selling like hotcakes at the supply and marketing cooperative in the city. In the 16th Regiment, Yang Xiu'e, with the help of Wei Zhao, convened a meeting at the regiment for the women's federation cadres of each company, who were also the group leaders of the shoe-making teams.
The main topic of today's meeting was to inform everyone that from now on, each pair of shoes will be paid one cent.
The team leaders were excited upon hearing this.
Everyone was willing to do it when they were given one cent, let alone ten cents.
Two cents can buy a pound of sweet potatoes. Making three pairs of shoes a month can earn you 30 cents, which can buy 15 pounds of sweet potatoes. So, 60 cents is a pretty good amount of money.
As everyone whispered among themselves, Yang Xiu'e said, "There were only a little over a hundred people involved before. You all go back and spread the word, encouraging more people to join us, so that our shoe-making class can grow bigger and bigger..."
After Yang Xiue finished speaking, she said to Zhao Hongying, "Please emphasize again what the shoes should look like, and tell everyone the things to pay attention to."
Zhao Hongying, without any stage fright, held up the pair of shoes that had been returned and the high-quality shoes she had chosen, and waved them in front of the group leaders.
"Look everyone, I'm holding good shoes in my left hand, and shoes that were returned from the supply and marketing cooperative in the city last time in my right hand. Can you tell the difference?"
After the document was passed around, Zhao Hongying explained the standards for purchasing goods from the city's supply and marketing cooperatives, as well as her experience in making shoes. She also emphasized the shoe-buying standards and the issue of compensation for wasted materials.
Having said what she needed to say, Yang Xiue went on stage and said to everyone, "Raising the reward for a pair of shoes to one cent was Comrade Song's suggestion. Last time we went to deliver goods, Comrade Song helped raise the price. If it weren't for Comrade Song, none of us would have received a cent."
Someone asked, "Who is Comrade Song?"
Yang Xiue said, "Comrade Song's name is Song Lubai. She is the wife of the commander of our 16th Regiment. You should have seen her at the supply and marketing cooperative. She did not participate in our shoe-making team, but she was willing to help us. After we receive the first batch of payment, I want to apply to the regiment to give her a reward."
Some people want to know just how much of a contribution Song Lubai made.
Yang Xiu'e knew that the purchase price couldn't be revealed, so she glossed over it.
Fearing that some people might feel resentful, Zhao Hongying raised her voice and said, "Originally, the troupe planned to give everyone one cent, but Comrade Song raised the purchase price by 25 cents, so the troupe agreed to raise it to 10 cents. If the purchase price were low, everyone wouldn't be able to get such a high price."
Once the matter was made clear, the whispering below finally stopped.
After the meeting ended and the group leaders took the fabric and left, Zhao Hongying sincerely said to Yang Xiue, "Sister Xiue, how come you don't take any credit? You are such a good person."
If someone else had said those words, Yang Xiu'e would have thought they were being sarcastic or sarcastic towards her.
But Yang Xiu'e knew that Zhao Hongying and Song Lubai had a good relationship, and Zhao Hongying had never said a bad word about Song Lubai in front of others.
Yang Xiue smiled and said, "I really don't have the ability to negotiate the price down to one yuan. If it weren't for Xiao Song, our shoemaking team wouldn't have earned so much more. Xiao Song made this contribution, so I have to let everyone know and also let the troupe give her this reward. It's all only right. Besides, I still have to learn from her in the future."
She disagreed with some of the things her husband said, but she knew she had to thank those who had helped her. By doing so, she could live with herself.
At noon, Zhao Hongying returned to her neighborhood. Before even entering her own house, she went to Song Lubai's place.
At this moment, Song Lubai was pouring water.
The sweet potato water had already settled and was clearly separated when she got up in the morning, but she didn't have time to pour out the clear water on top in the morning. She would have time to do so when she came back at noon.
After the water was poured out, only a thick, grayish liquid remained at the bottom of the basin.
Zhao Hongying exclaimed, "Yesterday there was more than half a basin of it. After pouring it out, more than half of the top layer was gone. If it dries again, there won't be much left."
Song Lubai didn't expect the powder yield to be this low.
Five kilograms of sweet potatoes is quite a lot, but this is all the starch that settled out.
After drying it further, there won't be much left.
The craftswoman said to dry it in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place, so she placed the basin in front of the back window with the window open and propped it up with a stool.
After Song Lubai finished her work, Zhao Hongying told her about what had happened that morning.
Song Lubai thought Yang Xiue was indeed a very nice person.
She helped the shoemaking class to pave the way for Qiu Tian to start her own food workshop. If things went smoothly, the food workshop could also be successfully established. She didn't care whether Yang Xiu'e applied for an award for her or not.
But since the other person had this intention, she felt at ease.
After talking for a while, Zhao Hongying went home.
Just as Song Lubai started cooking, Wei Yang, covered in dust and dirt, rode back on his bicycle.
What happened to you?
After not seeing him for three days, Wei Yang looked like he had crawled out of a kiln.
Wei Yang mumbled, "There's a lot of dirt over there, and there are empty spaces underground. I accidentally fell into a pit."
He tried to pat the dust off his clothes many times, but he couldn't get them clean. Once inside, Wei Yang grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
Song Lubai was about to boil some hot water for him, but he couldn't wait and directly brought two buckets of cold water to start rinsing.
After leaving the armed forces canteen, Chen Yu pulled Sister Pang to a secluded spot.
Pang Juan wiped the sweat from her brow in front of the stove and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Chen?"
Chen Yu regretted bringing the people over as soon as he did.
Tang Xuewen is definitely not worthy of having a wife. Sister Pang Juan is so wonderful, Tang Xuewen is truly not good enough for her.
"It's nothing, I...I..."
Chen Yu racked his brains but couldn't come up with a reason.
Pang Juan was a straightforward person. She frowned and said, "Just say what's on your mind. Is another man harassing you? Who is it? I'll go and yell at him for you."
Chen Yu quickly shook her head, "No, no."
"What's wrong? Just tell me! What can't you tell me?"
Chen Yu could only stammer, "Sister Juan, do you know Tang Xuewen?"
Pang Juan frowned and asked, "The Tang Xuewen you're talking about, the one who beat his wife to miscarriage?"
Chen Yu nodded awkwardly.
"What's wrong? Did he bully you?"
Chen Yu quickly shook her head, "No, no, Sister Juan, do you want to find another man to marry?"
Pang Juan shook her head and said, "I injured my body when I gave birth, and I can't have any more children. It's not that no one has introduced me to anyone, but they all mind that I can't have children."
Pang Juan raised her eyelids slightly and asked, "You're not thinking of introducing Tang Xuewen to me, are you?"
Chen Yu was too embarrassed to speak.
"I'm sorry, Sister Juan, please pretend I didn't say anything. I was too naive. I thought someone like Tang Xuewen deserved to be taught a lesson..."
After hearing what Chen Yu said, Pang Juan did feel a little uncomfortable.
A man with such a "reputation" as Tang Xuewen would be suspected of looking down on anyone he introduced to.
"Chen Yu, who sent you to come and bring this up with me?"
Chen Yu quickly shook her head, "No one else, it's just that I think Sister Juan is very capable and can definitely intimidate people, I'm so sorry..."
Chen Yu blushed and couldn't stay still. Just as she was about to run away, Pang Juan grabbed her arm and said, "I want to see that person. Why don't you arrange it?"
Chen Yu, still in a panic, paused. "Huh?"
Pang Juan said irritably, "What do you mean 'huh'? Come find me when you've made the arrangements."
She can't have children, so men can't take advantage of her, but she can take advantage of men.
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