Chapter 120
In Ye Manzhi's imagination, the dance program organized by the unit should be similar to that of the art troupe.
It's the kind of folk dance where people wear uniform clothes and dance to the "Washing Song", or the timeless red silk dance. If all else fails, they can still dance the "Lotus Dance" while waving a fan.
Anyway, they are all dances with graceful movements.
However, when she and Peng Jiayin were called to the compound to gather for rehearsal, they were both dumbfounded!
Deputy Director Hao from the office actually said to everyone, "This time we're going to perform the Flower Drum Dance!"
There were more than a dozen waist drums placed on the ground. There were 14 female comrades participating in the dance program. Each of them led a waist drum and practiced together.
Peng Jiayin muttered beside him, "Is it too late for me to regret now?"
"It seems like it's too late. When Director Xia asked us if we could dance, we said we could dance ballroom dancing..."
Ye Manzhi also regretted it. If she had known it was a flower drum dance, she would not have signed up!
There's nothing wrong with the Flower Drum Dance, but it was more popular in the first two years after liberation. In recent years, Flower Drum Dance performances are rarely seen except during parades and celebrations.
This kind of dance has almost disappeared from the repertoires of song and dance troupes and art troupes.
To put it bluntly, it is outdated.
Peng Jiayin took the drumsticks, twisted the silk cloth around the end with her fingers, and chuckled softly, "Why did Director Hao choose the flower drum dance? I was afraid I'd burst into laughter while dancing."
"Haha, I'm afraid of laughing too."
Judging from their ages, the flower drum dance was popular when Director Hao and Director Guo were young.
Maybe the leader thinks the flower drum dance is quite fashionable!
Ye Manzhi received a waist drum and asked Chen Li Na, who was helping distribute the drumsticks, "Li Na, aren't you participating in the dance program? I see you have a great figure, so you should dance beautifully."
“Haha, I can’t dance.”
Shen Lina had performed group dances in school and had originally wanted to participate in the unit's group activities, but she was close to the office and had already known that Director Guo and Director Hao had chosen "Supporting the Army Flower Drum."
So when her boss asked her, she simply said that she couldn't dance.
Ye Manzhi looked at her enviously, then sighed silently and tied the waist drum around her body.
Now that you have signed up, just dance well. The waist drum dance is actually quite impressive if performed in unison.
She prepared herself mentally and followed the dance teacher invited by Director Hao for nearly an hour.
Director Hao attached great importance to this program. After the teaching, he asked the team members to take the waist drum home and practice in their spare time.
When Lin Qingmei saw her playing the waist drum at home, she almost died of laughter.
"Hahahaha, what's going on in your unit? Who still performs waist drum dance now?"
"Hey, it's the leader's request, what can I do?"
Ye Manzhi ordered her daughter: "Baby, go break off a banana for your godmother."
Little Wu Yuzhuo was riding a wooden horse nearby. When he heard his mother's instructions, he answered clearly.
Then he turned around and pushed Kuihua, who was sitting behind him, off the wooden horse, and then he struggled to carry Lihua, who was squatting on the horse's head, down.
After settling her two friends, she jumped off the pony, stepped on the bench, and broke off a banana from the plate on the dining table.
Lin Qingmei took the banana, touched her soft little face and said thank you, then sighed: "You two planned it very well. You had a child while you were in college. Now that you have started your new job, you don't have to worry about raising the child."
"It's good for you to give birth this year," Ye Manzhi comforted her. "You can participate in the selection for transfer students in the spring of next year. By the time you go to college, the baby will be weaned, so you won't be delayed in anything."
"Why not delay it? If I wasn't pregnant with this," Lin Qingmei pointed at her bulging belly, "I might be able to go to college this year."
In the past two years, the city has been recommending transfer students. With her six years of work experience, she had a good chance of being selected this year.
But she got married last year and became pregnant within two months, so she missed the opportunity to register this year.
"This means that the child is destined to be with you. Stop complaining and give birth to the child first before you worry about anything else."
Lin Qingmei nodded and said, "By the way, you have to leave me a few of Youyan's childhood clothes!"
"I found them for you a long time ago." Ye Manzhi took out a small bundle. "They are all clean. When you go back, rinse them again and dry them in the sun."
Children these days rarely wear new clothes, especially since the cloth coupon quota has been halved in the past two years. Some newborn babies don't wear clothes, while others get old clothes from relatives and friends.
Comrade Wu Yuzhuo is the only girl of the Wu family's generation. She has never worn old clothes from outsiders since she was born.
Grandpa Wu, Grandma Wu, and Wu Zhengrong's fabric quotas were all used to make clothes for her.
Ye Manzhi also took apart several of her own clothes and altered them into blazers or pants for her.
If she hadn't had a close relationship with her childhood sweetheart, she wouldn't have been willing to give away her own child's childhood clothes!
Lin Qingmei put away her bag and, glancing at the waist drum on her waist, couldn't help laughing again: "Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by other colleagues when you're rehearsing at work?"
"I've been laughed at before," Ye Manzhi sighed. "Luckily Wu Zhengrong isn't at home, otherwise I'd be too embarrassed to practice at home!"
"Hahaha, can you guys give your boss a suggestion and change the program? I'm in the Cultural Bureau, and I haven't seen the flower drum dance in years. Young women still look good doing folk dances. Mongolian and Uyghur dances are also quite popular. Why the flower drum dance?"
Ye Manzhi actually wanted to offer some suggestions, but she had just arrived at the new unit and was not familiar with the temperament of the unit leaders.
If you rashly oppose your leader's decision and offend someone, the result will be more harm than good.
Just make do with the performance.
She didn't dare to fire off any shot, but the sperms in the unit never disappointed her.
After just three days of practicing the Flower Drum Dance, Liu Wenli from the Personnel Department brought back some gossip she had heard.
The Department of Commerce is also preparing a flower drum dance program, and both men and women will participate.
Ye Manzhi once suspected that she had fabricated a false news in order to avoid the flower-drum dance.
But Liu Wenli said that the dance program of the Commercial Hall was managed by their Director Zhao.
Ye Manzhi believed it immediately.
Female leaders of this age group seem to be very fond of flower encouragement!
With sufficient reasons, the members of the dance team unanimously suggested to the leader to change the program.
Hao Chunmei frowned and said, "The performance is in a month. What kind of program can we change at the last minute?"
Everyone took off their waist drums and started talking about ideas.
Some suggested dancing to "Socialism is Good", some said dancing to "Song of the Red Detachment of Women", and some even mentioned "Let's Row the Boat Together".
Ye Manzhi no longer lay dormant and actively raised his hand to speak.
"Director Hao, how about we do a Uyghur dance? Minority dances are very popular now. We can do 'Xinjiang is Good', which will just be a good response to the provincial call to mobilize young intellectuals to support border construction!"
When dancing Xinjiang dance, you can wear beautiful big skirts and the dance moves are also graceful.
She finally got a chance to participate in a dance performance, so of course she had to dance well!
This time, Hao Chunmei solicited everyone's opinions and held a vote within the dance team. "Song of the Red Detachment of Women" received 7 votes, "Xinjiang is Good" received 5 votes, and "Socialism is Good" received 2 votes.
However, "Song of the Red Detachment of Women" is a new song from last year and is used by many units.
According to the information Liu Wenli brought back, this song was used in the musical of the Ministry of Finance and the female chorus of the Infrastructure Commission.
Therefore, the dance chosen by the Department of Industry is "Good Xinjiang". Let's learn Xinjiang dance together!
Ye Manzhi was very active in practicing dance this time. During lunch break, she even reviewed the dance moves with Peng Jiayin in the corridor.
Deputy Director Qin had just returned from the Provincial Infrastructure Commission with 50 tons of steel. He hummed a tune as he walked up the stairs. When he saw them in the corridor, he cheerfully encouraged them, "Xiao Peng, Xiao Ye, you two should practice hard. I look forward to your wonderful performance!"
Ye Manzhi agreed enthusiastically and prepared to practice twice more in a good mood. However, Shen Lina from the office came with a stack of letters from the people.
"Hasn't this month's letters from the people been delivered? Why is there another letter?" Ye Manyi asked.
"This is transferred from the Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Please sign for it."
Ye Manzhi signed the registration book, took the letter and quickly read it.
All fifteen letters were forwarded from the supply and marketing cooperative, and the time span was quite large. The earliest one was from November last year, and the most recent one was from last month.
The content of the letter was all about asking whether the supply of milk powder could be increased.
Some mothers do not have enough nutrition and their milk supply is insufficient, so their babies have no milk to eat. When they go to stores and supply and marketing cooperatives to buy milk powder with special milk powder coupons, they are told that it is out of stock eight out of ten times.
Difficulty in feeding infants and young children has become a common problem.
Zhao Guilin took the letters, flipped through a few, and scoffed, saying, "The people are asking them to increase the supply, and the supply and marketing cooperatives should figure out a solution on their own. Why are they sending the letters to us?"
As a mother with young cubs at home and a cadre in charge of the food industry, Ye Manzhi has some understanding of this.
"The milk powder supplied in our province is basically locally produced. Milk powder is a scarce commodity in various provinces and cities. The Supply and Marketing Cooperative cannot purchase milk powder from other provinces, so we can only rely on milk powder from our local dairy factories. However, the production of milk powder in the province in the past two years is only half of what it was in 1959..."
Ye Manzhi now had to sigh in hindsight, no wonder Wong Tai Sin was in such a hurry to give birth to a child.
The food for children born in the past two years is indeed not as good as before.
Zhao Guilin said, "The low milk powder production is because there's a shortage of milk. If we follow the Supply and Marketing Cooperative's logic, then can't we forward these letters to the Department of Agriculture? Ask them to increase the supply of fresh milk?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
It's not impossible, but if we keep passing the buck to each other, the problem of milk powder shortage will probably go unresolved in the end.
"..." Zhao Guilin waved his hand and said, "Forget it, don't pass it around. Let's think of a solution."
After Ye Manzhi took over the task of handling letters from the people, he became more and more interested in the goods on the market.
Last time someone complained about the quality of matches and standard flour, she specially checked her own matches and flour. There was nothing wrong with the flour, but the quality of the matches was indeed uneven as described in the letter.
Since he couldn't come up with a better solution, Ye Manzhi followed precedent and transferred the matter to the local industrial bureau for handling.
This time the milk powder shortage involves the problem of infant food rations, and she still wants to try her best to think of a solution.
When it was almost time to get off work, Zhao Guilin came back from outside and asked, "Xiao Ye, can you go on a business trip tomorrow?"
"Yes, Chief, how long will it take?"
"Three days at most," Zhao Guilin, a well-known figure in the Chemical and Light Industry Department, said bluntly, "I've contacted someone I know in the Agricultural Management Department of the Department of Agriculture, and I've also called in the directors of the Binjiang Dairy and Dehua Milk Powder Factory. We're going to the pastoral area tomorrow to conduct a survey."
Ye Manzhi accepted the business trip and discussed with her daughter when she returned home that night about staying at her grandmother's or great-grandmother's house for three days.
In the end, she has the final say on where to go to play.
Wu Yuzhuo first asked if she could go on a business trip with her mother. After receiving a negative answer, she pouted and sulked for a while, then decisively chose to stay at her great-grandmother's house for three days.
The daughter almost never stayed at the Wu family's old house. At night, she either stayed with her parents or with her grandmother. Ye Manzhi thought she would choose her grandmother's house.
"Baby, why don't you choose grandma's house?" If Chang Yue'e knew about this, she would probably be sad.
Little Wu Yuzhuo was noisily unpicking the nine-linked rings and said as a matter of course, "Grandma's house is far from kindergarten. If I go to Grandma's house, I won't have to go to kindergarten!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Although he is young, he is quite smart.
She took three days off from the kindergarten, handed her child to the eagerly awaited elderly couple of the Wu family, and followed her leader to the pastoral area.
This was the first time Ye Manzhi saw so many cows. The white clouds served as tents and the ground served as beds. The black and white calves were wagging their tails comfortably in the pasture.
"This pastoral area boasts lush grass and water, and the cows' growth environment has been largely unaffected. Our milk powder factory's continued success is entirely due to the milk supply here. However, the number of dairy cows on the pasture is limited, and we need to supplement it with individual farmers," explained Li, the factory's director. "In the past two years, many individual farmers have stopped raising dairy cows. As a result, we haven't been able to collect enough milk, and naturally, our milk powder production can't increase."
Director Li led them to a commune near the ranch.
This was originally the largest milk supply base for the milk powder factory, but this year's milk supply is only one-third of that of the previous year.
It seriously affected the production progress.
When meeting the research team from the province, the commune secretary was particularly warm and polite, and arranged for the research team to visit two production teams that raised dairy cows.
And honestly, "The harvests have been poor over the past two years, so we have to feed the members first. The land that was originally used to grow grass is now used by the members to grow crops. The cows are running out of food, and they are all so skinny. How can they produce milk?"
Ye Manzhi walked behind with the materials provided by the commune and whispered to Zhao Guilin, "Section Chief, the mortality rate of dairy cows in their commune is quite high. Last year, 10 cows died of disease, and this year, 9 cows have already died of disease before the end."
Zhao Guilin cursed and muttered, "How could so many people die of illness? I guess they just found an excuse to eat them."
The group wandered around the two production teams for a day. When they returned to the guesthouse in the evening, Zhao Guilin called several members of the research team to hold a summary meeting.
There is actually nothing to summarize.
The bottom line is that there is a food shortage for dairy cows.
Cows and sheep are different from pigs. Pigs are omnivores and can grow fat by feeding them anything, but cows have to eat grass!
Zhao Guilin said, "I think we shouldn't rely on free-range farmers for now. Since the grass and water on the ranch are lush and the breeding conditions are suitable, we should expand the ranch and achieve economies of scale!"
Section Chief Qian from the Agriculture Department laughed and said, "You make it sound so easy. But where's the money coming from to expand? Their regional finance bureau is being incredibly stingy. They're prioritizing grain, not milk. There's plenty of grass for the ranches, so they can approve them at will. But where are the dairy cows coming from? Aren't dairy cows free? The credit unions and banks here offer short-term agricultural loans, which have to be repaid in six months. How can they afford to pay it back in six months?"
"Haha," Zhao Guilin gave Ye Manzhi a look, "Xiao Ye, you're a top student majoring in economics. Talk to Section Chief Qian about what we should do."
"The ranch may be short on cash, but the milk powder factory should be, right? Even if not, they can still get a commercial loan from the bank. After the milk powder factory buys the cows, they can have the pastoral area raise them, or they can simply open a ranch nearby and establish a milk source. The short-term effect may not be obvious, but in the long run, it will provide the milk powder factory with a safety net. If similar problems arise with free-range farmers in the future, the milk powder factory will not be helpless."
The two factory managers were stunned at the same time. "We are in the industrial sector. Are we allowed to run a ranch?"
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "The Binjiang Meat Processing Plant is also in the food industry, right? Didn't they also run a pig farm? They can't buy enough pigs, so what are they going to do if they don't run their own pig farm? The cities and prefectures have long said that raising more means eating more, raising less means eating less, and raising nothing means eating nothing. If you can't collect milk, you have to find a way to be self-reliant."
The two factory managers fell silent at the same time. An adult dairy cow costs several hundred yuan, and a calf costs hundreds more. The funds required to run a ranch are not a small amount.
Looking at the mortality rate of dairy cows in that commune today, if they really hand over their cows to outsiders for raising, and if their own cows also die of illness, who can they turn to for justice?
Zhao Guilin said, "The milk powder shortage has been going on for a long time. If any milk powder factory is willing to find a way to expand its milk supply, I will try to apply for technical improvement funds from the department. Similarly, the Department of Agriculture should also have corresponding financial support. Old Qian, does your Department of Agriculture have any?"
"You can try to apply for it from the office."
Director Li, a smooth-talking man, smiled and nodded, saying, "With such strong support from the province, we will definitely do our best to resolve the milk powder shortage. After this investigation is completed, I will immediately go back and organize a meeting to discuss the matter of opening a ranch."
As for the outcome of the meeting, it is hard to say.
The research team conducted research in a ranch and three communes for three days.
On the way back to Binjiang, Zhao Guilin muttered, "Why do I feel like those two old guys are unreliable?"
"As a factory director, I'd give them funding, and they'd be happy. But taking money out would be like asking for their lives, not to mention they might need a loan!" Ye Manyi thought for a moment and said, "Section Chief, starting a ranch or raising dairy cows takes time. If we want to see immediate results, I think we have to start with the free-range farmers and solve the cows' food problem first."
"Who says it isn't? The key issue is how to solve the food problem? Haven't you seen that the communes have planted crops on their vacant land?"
Ye Manzhi didn't have a good solution at the moment and could only provide a general idea.
"When I was working at the subdistrict office, I opened a farm there to raise pigs. At that time, I also thought of many ways to solve the problem of pig feed."
Zhao Guilin squinted his eyes and smiled, "No wonder the director said you have a rich resume. You even ran a farm. You have a very rich resume."
"Haha, the work of the neighborhood office is diverse. We do whatever the residents need. We used to feed pigs with lees from the liquor factory and bean dregs from the oil press. I'm thinking, can we feed cattle like we do with pigs, using some industrial or agricultural byproduct scraps?"
Zhao Guilin rubbed his chin and said, "I observed in those production teams that the cows didn't have to eat grass. They would also eat the carrots and cucumbers that the commune members pulled from the fields."
"Yes, the food industry produces quite a lot of waste. Canned fruits and vegetables also produce quite a lot of waste. I just don't know what cows like to eat. Do they have to eat fresh food..."
Ye Manzhi knew nothing about the habits of dairy cows, and she thought she should consult a professional.
Section Chief Qian, a professional, was nearby and said with a smile, "You can eat green grass or hay, corn, bean cakes, fruits, and even straw, peanut vines, and sweet potato vines. But humans can eat these too, so the production team wouldn't feed them to the cows..."
Ye Manzhi wrote down everything he said and planned to help the cows find food industry scraps when he returned.
*
It was her first time to go out for research, and she was gone for three days. After separating from the two leaders, she hurried to the Wu family's old house to pick up her children.
Little Wu Yuzhuo has been living at his great-grandmother's house since he was a child, and he has no difficulty adapting to the situation.
In order to comfort his great-granddaughter who was looking for her mother, Grandpa Wu also bought her a children's tricycle.
When Ye Manzhi brought the person home, he also got a luxury car.
The reason why it is called a luxury car is because it is priced the same as a bicycle before the price increase.
A small pink tricycle, 160 yuan.
It is said that Wu Yuzhuo chose the color himself.
Ye Manzhi felt that the old couple had spoiled their child too much. She would have to be stricter with her daughter in the future and cultivate her good character of hard work and simplicity.
However, that was all in the future. She sorted out the research materials and prepared to go to the unit tomorrow to write the research report.
Then, she let the child ride the cart in the house while she hung up the Xinjiang dance skirt that she had washed before her business trip but forgot to put away.
"Baby, is this skirt beautiful?" Ye Manyi held the clothes and compared them in front of the dressing mirror.
"Beautiful!" Wu Yuzhuo came over on his little cart, got under the skirt and said, "Mom, try it on and see."
Ye Manzhi put on the red skirt and Xinjiang cap as she was told, and even spun around twice on the spot, moving her neck.
"How about it?"
"nice."
The person outside the window answered.
Hearing this, the mother and daughter turned their heads at the same time to look at the open glass window.
After seeing who was coming, little Wu Yuzhuo's eyes widened, and he cheered in surprise, shouting, "Dad!"
Then she rode her little tricycle and rushed out in style to greet her long-lost father.
Ye Manzhi didn't go out in her dance dress to show off. She walked to the window and leaned on the windowsill to enjoy the reunion between father and daughter for a while. When the man looked over, he complained, "Why did you come back just now? It's been so long!"
He had never been away for so long on a business trip before.
Fortunately, this man knew to send a telegram back to reassure her.
Wu Zhengrong held his daughter in his arms and said to the person in the window, "Come closer and we'll talk."
"What's going on? Can't you just tell me? You're being so secretive!"
Thinking that he had some important news to share with her, Ye Manzhi supported herself on the windowsill with both hands and leaned her upper body out of the window.
Wu Zhengrong let his daughter lie on his shoulders, then held the back of Ye Laiya's head with one hand and leaned over to kiss her soft lips.
Ye Manzhi cried out in surprise and kissed him timidly by the window. Her eyes quickly swept outside the yard and she pushed his shoulder with a red face, "You've just come back and you're already going crazy. I thought you had something serious to do!"
"Come here, I haven't finished yet, I really have something serious to say."
"What serious business can you have?" Ye Manzhi was not fooled.
"This time it's real," Wu Zhengrong flicked her Xinjiang cap with her finger and said with a smile, "The organization may want to adjust my work, so I came back late this time."
"Ah!" Ye Manzhi's first thought was, "Do we have to move?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
