Chapter 101
The rows of spinach in the greenhouse are green and lush and particularly pleasing to the eye.
Previously, some villagers came to Zhang Baosheng and asked whether the vegetables in the greenhouse could be distributed. Isn’t there a grain distribution at the end of the year? The villagers were coveting these vegetables and wanted the team to distribute them according to the number of people.
They were reluctant to buy it. The price of spinach was the same in autumn when it grew wildly, but now it is a rarity and the price has doubled. They felt it was unreasonable, but they still wanted to taste it fresh, so they went to Zhang Baosheng one by one to ask.
Zhang Baosheng just said, "Are you going to pay back the money we owe to the cement and brick factories? Are you going to reimburse us for the plastic sheeting we invested in? Are you going to pay back the extra work points we earned from building the greenhouse? We're just selling it, not sharing it!"
Someone also came to Qiu Zeming and said that it was his son's first time visiting his mother-in-law's house, and if he could bring a bundle of fresh green vegetables, it would be more honorable than bringing a piece of meat.
No matter how expensive spinach is at this time, it will not be more expensive than meat. However, compared with autumn, the price has increased more than ten times. They are still reluctant to pay for it, so they want Xiao Qiu to mobilize the villagers to distribute a batch.
Liu Jingguo happened to be nearby at the time and said in a gruff voice, "If the brigade doesn't build greenhouses this year, your son won't visit his mother-in-law's house? Cabbages are vegetables too. Giving your in-laws a couple of cabbages will give you some face."
The angry aunt pointed at his nose and scolded him.
Qiu Zeming smiled and said, "Auntie, this half acre of land is definitely not going to be shared. We still need it to build our brand. We're going to expand soon, and once we have more, the price will definitely be cheaper than the first batch. Maybe we can buy fresh and cheap vegetables during the Chinese New Year."
A signboard is more effective than any other reason.
Now the people who are helping to put up the sign are here, aren’t they?
Zou Kai from the state-owned restaurant asked his superior for approval - he had to get a note, because the price of green vegetables during this heavy snowfall must be higher than in summer and autumn. Without his superior's approval, he could only watch with envy.
Zhai Xiangqiang was different. He was a leader himself, and he was planning to pay for it out of his own pocket. He simply wanted to remind them not to give all the money to the state-owned restaurants in town, but to explore other channels and spread their reputation.
Zhang Baosheng couldn't help laughing at first. It was only half an acre of land, and the expanded piece next to it hadn't been completed yet. He didn't need to make a name for himself and there would be no worries about selling it.
But Zhai Xiangqiang thought long-term.
The reputation of the brigade under Xihe Commune has spread, and the county will take a closer look at any resource allocation in the future, which is beneficial to the development of the entire commune.
He was going to a meeting in the county tomorrow, so he planned to bring a bundle of spinach with him and let Sang Fox from Donghe Commune take a look at it, waiting for the fox to come to him.
He definitely wouldn't give it as a gift. He couldn't bear to give such an expensive dish to Old Sang. However, he planned to take it to the county's state-owned restaurant for lunch and have them prepare and add a dish so that the other cadres attending the meeting could have a taste of it.
They can also pretend to be envious of the county's state-owned restaurants. As for whether they come or not, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the vegetables in this half acre of land are not enough for them to share.
Just look at Zou Kai. Before Comrade Xiao Zhou and the others came, he asked for a large portion of the land. Not just a large portion of these rows of spinach, but a large portion of this half acre of land.
The outside is covered in snow. Not only is the shed warm, but it is also full of fresh green vegetables, which makes people happy just by looking at them.
After some discussion, Zou Kai decided to have two rows of spinach. He would cut one row today and leave the other row to grow longer before cutting it.
Director Zhai bought three pounds for himself and had a meal at home in the evening. He would take the rest to the county tomorrow to tempt that guy Sang Chongfeng.
It’s okay for the villagers to get what they want, as long as they are willing to pay.
Some people are reluctant to spend money, and some people do come to buy expensive vegetables, but the quantity is not large, just half a pound or a pound.
One member's daughter-in-law was pregnant, so she came over and bought two pounds of spinach.
Except for the row of spinach left for Zou Kai, the rest were plowed over and replanted in less than a day.
Qiu Zeming and his two friends bought two pounds and took them home to eat.
Zhou Jiani, Yu Wanxia and Sun Ping ordered four kilograms together. She suggested having hot pot with half of it in the evening and using the other half to make garlic spinach the next day.
"I'll go back and soak some vermicelli noodles, kelp, and black fungus. I'll also chop some cabbage and white radish, slice the frozen half a pound of pork belly into thin slices, and chop some sweet potatoes..." Zhou Jiani said, "I'm going to Aunt Fang's house to exchange for some chive sauce and dried chilies."
Although the dishes were mainly vegetarian, and the meat was just to add some oil and water, there wasn't enough to share, but Sun Ping couldn't help but drooling when she heard it. She said, "I know someone who has frozen tofu. I'll go buy some."
Zhou Jiani had bought sesame seeds from the market before, and she went to the workshop in town to exchange them for some sesame oil and sesame paste, which was just right for dipping.
Yu Wanxia said, "The bean sprouts in my room should be ready. I'll add a dish to it tonight."
Qiu Zeming came over and said with a smile: "Two pounds of mutton, apply to join the battle."
Zhou Jiani's eyes flashed with surprise. She couldn't help swallowing her saliva and asked, "Where did you get the mutton?"
Qiu Zeming smiled and said, "A friend of mine is coming from Inner Mongolia. He will probably pass by here the day after tomorrow."
The light in Zhou Jiani's eyes disappeared. She thought she could eat it tonight, but this guy... actually wanted to pay in advance?
Qiu Zeming motioned her to come over and talk, whispering, "I brought the ham you asked for last time. I got two. This time, I asked him to get two lambs. Just ask for as much as you want. Their bus is passing through the provincial capital this time, so they can bring some back for your uncle and aunt..."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I'll treat you to dinner tonight. I'll steam some rice for you."
Qiu Zeming smiled from ear to ear: "For Qianjin and Haoyang's share, let them pay with the food coupons."
That night, Qiu Zeming and the other two went to Zhou Jiani's place for a vegetarian hot pot. Well, the little meat they had was just used to make a soup base. The main theme was still vegetarian, but everyone thought it was better than their usual stir-fried dishes.
The three of them did not go empty-handed. They brought a cabbage and some potatoes, and paid for their staple food with food coupons.
The snow stopped for most of the day after two days, and then started snowing again in the evening. Snow was falling outside, and people were eating steaming hot pot in the house, with sweat on their foreheads.
While eating this meal, Zhou Jiani began to think about the next one: "When the mutton is delivered, we will make a mutton spine hot pot and cut some mutton slices for hot pot."
Have a proper meal.
But she was out of sesame paste, so today's meal cost her a bottle of sesame paste.
Wang Qianjin patted his chest loudly and said, "Leave it to me. I'll go to town tomorrow to buy some sesame oil."
I had mutton hotpot when I was in the capital, but I didn’t expect that the hotpot without mutton could be so delicious. The secret is to coat it with a thick layer of sesame paste.
That is, there is no peanut butter, otherwise it would be more fragrant with some peanut butter.
After eating and drinking, he helped to clean up conscientiously. Seeing that there was not much firewood left in the kitchen, Qiu Zeming went back and brought a bundle of chopped firewood and put it in their kitchen.
He picked up the broom and swept away the snow that had fallen last night. Seeing Zhou Jiani coming out, he said, "It looks like the snow won't stop tonight. Don't worry about it tomorrow morning. I'll come over to shovel the snow."
Without waiting for Zhou Jiani to say no, he continued, "I'll lend you some cloth so Sister Zhao Mei can make me another pair of cotton boots. I can wear them alternately."
What I mean is, shoveling snow is a thank you.
What excuse did he make for shoveling snow the other day? Oh, because I gave him a soybean oil ticket.
Alas, she understood all these tricks, and it was hard to refuse. Zhou Jiani sighed inwardly and asked, "Are you still going to the greenhouse tonight?"
She still admires Comrade Xiao Qiu's serious and responsible attitude towards work.
When I saw that the snow was not falling properly that day, I ran to the greenhouse several times at night, fearing that the person on duty would fall asleep and the plastic shed would collapse under the weight of the snow.
"We have to go check it out. Liu Yan is on duty tonight. I'll go over there first and then check it out at night." Qiu Zeming said with a smile, "That guy is a terrible sleeper. Last time he was on duty, Uncle Liu went over and deliberately made some noise, but he didn't react at all, so Uncle Liu gave him a beating."
"Oh, be careful on the road, the snow is very slippery once you step on it..."
The two chatted idly, and after Qiu Zeming finished sweeping the yard, he started sweeping outside the door.
Wang Qianjin went to see Sun Ping off with a flashlight. When he came back, he shone a few beams of light over and found Qiu Zeming and Zhou Jiani standing at the door talking.
He said, "I say, aren't you two cold?"
Qiu Zeming ignored him and handed the broom to Zhou Jiani, saying, "The new one is a small size, which will fit you perfectly. I'll put the next one on duty in the greenhouse. Whoever is on duty at night will wear it. I also got two old ones for Uncle Baosheng and Uncle Si..."
Wang Qianjin came over and asked, "What's new or old?"
"I asked Brother Xiao to bring back the military coat." Qiu Zeming gently instructed Zhou Jiani, "Go back quickly. It's cold outside."
After watching Zhou Jiani close the door, he turned and walked towards them.
Wang Qianjin lifted Qiu Zeming's arm and whispered, "You got a women's military coat for Comrade Xiao Zhou? Your family knows about it, doesn't it?"
Qiu Zeming said, "I didn't intend to hide it." He paused again and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. Comrade Xiao Zhou and I are just ordinary friends."
Wang Qianjin curled his lips and said, "It's not shameful to say you haven't caught up yet. But if you get a women's military coat, your family will definitely ask about it."
Qiu Zeming held his forehead and said, "My family members are not that idle. Besides, Comrade Xiao Zhou is so outstanding. He is not someone to be ashamed of. Why should I be afraid to ask?"
But he still kicked Wang Qianjin.
Wang Qianjin: "What?"
Qiu Zeming: "You know too much. If the capital knew that I failed to catch up with the man, it must be because of you."
Wang Qianjin: ...
Soon, Wang Qianjin couldn't help but want to laugh again. His brother had spent a lot of time thinking about how to show his courtesy during this period. He was thinking about it eight hundred times a day to see which one would be useful.
Comrade Xiao Zhou would not accept the straightforward approach and could only find a roundabout way to open the screen.
His brother was secretly called the "flower of Gaoling" in the capital. They should all come and see that this "flower of Gaoling" was worse than a dogtail flower when it met Comrade Xiao Zhou.
In the room, Zhou Jiani was soaking her feet in hot water, slightly absent-minded. When she felt the water in the basin had become a little cold, she sighed and came back to her senses.
She was too lazy to go out and pour water, so she just opened the trash can and swept it away, leaving only an empty basin on the ground.
The scanning is very smart. I don’t know if it is connected to her brain waves or what, but among the multiple items, it will always accurately take away only the ones she wants to deal with, and other things within the scanning box will not be affected.
Now the kang is covered with the thick blanket she bought last time. Zhou Jiani changed into the coral fleece pajamas that she had washed and dried, and lay on the kang with a thick quilt, reading a book.
At first I lit candles, but later, after figuring there would be no movement in the west room, I switched to a desk lamp.
Then he took out a foldable and adjustable bedside computer desk, put the desk lamp on it, put the books on it, took out a notebook and pen, and began to study seriously.
She has already carefully read two books in that series, and her notes alone have filled several thick volumes.
The kang that was heated before going to bed is now warm and very comfortable.
Someone in the group sent a red envelope, which shocked her. Zhou Jiani stopped writing and went into the group to take a look.
I checked the time first. It was already 9:40 in the evening. How could someone still create a new group at this time?
After grabbing the red envelope and waiting for a while, a string of red apple pictures flashed across the screen. Zhou Jiani raised her eyebrows, waited for the link to appear, and quickly joined the group to grab two boxes.
After grabbing the apples, she climbed up the stairs and found her autumn sportswear.
Winter has begun here and autumn has begun over there. The most popular group chat these days is about mooncakes. Zhou Jiani even took a photo of a crispy mooncake to fill her stomach, and she has almost finished it.
The person just now started a grape group after apples, and Zhou Jiani took another order of grapes.
I don't dare buy too many grapes because they can't be stored well.
Then she started selling pears, which could also be stored, so Zhou Jiani bought two more boxes of pears.
I originally thought that if a new group was opened at this time, I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to sell out, but the speed of the chain increased rapidly and the fruit group was sold out very quickly.
Zhou Jiani got off the kang and took out the things, leaving behind a bunch of grapes and putting the rest into the warehouse. She then took out a plastic bucket and a plastic fruit bowl from the warehouse - these were things she had bought from the group.
There is always clean water in the bucket. She scoops water to wash the grapes, pours the dirty water into the trash can on the mobile phone, takes out a clean handkerchief to wipe the bottom of the basin, puts it on the computer desk, and continues to work on the questions while eating grapes.
Yu Wanxia got up early. She lit the stove and used hot water to make a bowl of fried noodles to drink as porridge. After they finished eating the ones Aunt Zhang sent them last time, they thought it was convenient and fried some for themselves.
He broke off a cold steamed bun made of two-grain flour and soaked it in water. He also added some of the kimchi that Jiani had bought to the porridge, making a bowl of stew. Just as he was about to eat, Zhou Jiani opened the door and came out, sleepily saying, "Why don't you coat the bun in egg liquid and fry it? And fry some canned meat together. Wouldn't that be better than this?"
Yu Wanxia was surprised and asked, "Why did you get up so early today?"
Is the sun starting to rise in the west?
Zhou Jiani ate a large bunch of grapes last night and couldn't hold it in any longer, but hearing Yu Wanxia busying around outside, she didn't want to go to the bathroom in the house, so she changed out of her pajamas, put on cotton pants and a jacket, and went out to the bathroom.
I came back, got some hot water, washed my hands and face, and went to make breakfast.
When the weather got cold, I asked someone to build a stove in the house, and I also collected industrial tickets to buy a small wok so that I could use it in the house.
Yu Wanxia was eating her own 'bowl of stew', watching her fry eggs, fry canned meat, and even put some kimchi in to fry?
The aroma was so strong that she couldn't eat the whole bowl of stew.
Zhou Jiani gave her half of the fried eggs and meat, cut the steamed bun made of two-grain flour in half, and steamed it with the remaining heat.
Instead of making fried noodles, she made a bowl of malted milk.
Qiu Zeming came to sweep the yard, and Yu Wanxia was so tired that she burped. While burping, she didn't forget to smile and glance at her. Even she could see that Brother Qiu treated Jiani a little differently.
Zhou Jiani pretended not to notice the ridicule in Yu Wanxia's eyes.
Two days later, the mutton still didn't arrive because the road was slippery and difficult to travel on. The car stopped in the next county and we had to wait another week before it arrived.
Fortunately, the weather is cold, and the jelly is hard and won’t go bad.
Most people in the village are not interested in mutton... It’s not that they are not interested, but these days everyone has little fat in their stomachs, so if they have that much money, they might as well buy fatty pork, which can be used to make some oil and increase the fat content.
But this year some people had earned wages and had more money, so after the slaughtered sheep were delivered, they and a few old educated youth who wanted to have a snack shared almost all of them, some weighing one kilogram, some weighing two kilograms.
Zhang Baosheng asked Liu Tong to buy the bones that were removed using the public account. Wearing his newly acquired old military coat, he arranged for people to light the fire and boil water with a happy face. He cooked a big pot of mutton bone soup, added more pepper powder, and carried it to the factory. Everyone had a big bowl of hot mutton bone soup, which warmed their bodies.
Comrade Xiao Qiu did not ask for money for the old military coat, but gave it to Zhang Laosi. Zhang Laosi was old and could not stand the cold weather. He had just caught a cold a few days ago and had not yet fully recovered.
But after seeing the old military coat, he became more energetic. Even his son wanted to try it on, but he raised his hand and swatted it away: "Don't get it dirty!"
The son was extremely jealous, but he still had to go to Qiu Zeming on behalf of his father to express his gratitude and invite him to take time off to have dinner at his home.
Zhou Jiani asked for 15 pounds of meat for herself, including two hind legs, 10 pounds of which were divided into one leg and a ham, and asked Qiu Zeming's friend to take it to the provincial capital.
Qiu Zeming gave an extra two catties. Seeing Zhou Jiani raise an eyebrow, he said, "We agreed that day that two catties of mutton would be used in the battle."
"Didn't you give us tickets and food?"
"That doesn't count. This is what we agreed on. Take it."
Zhou Jiani had no choice but to say, "How about another meal?"
I was already thinking about the mutton hotpot, so I had a mutton spine hotpot in the evening, which warmed my hands and feet.
After eating the mutton hotpot, Zhou Jiani had to go back to work - delivering goods to the city.
The last time Liu Ailing was planning to capture the market, someone came to her directly by following the scent and took twenty baskets directly from the factory and placed this batch of orders.
Now the factory has orders coming in one after another, and Zhou Jiani has also started to supply woven baskets to the supply and marketing cooperatives in the provincial capital's distribution circle.
The factory is simply too busy to handle the workload.
Zhang Baosheng asked Bai Haoyang to go with her.
Wasn't Bai Haoyang recommended by Qiu Zeming for training as a cadre? He has been hanging around in the factory all this time, relying on his sweet talk and good gab to get along well in the factory.
If nothing unexpected happens, his cadre position is basically secured, and he will be officially appointed after a period of observation.
This time we were delivering thirty lace baskets and twenty ingot-shaped baskets to the city. They were not worth sending on a truck, so we piled them up, tied them together with a thin hemp rope, and carried them on the bus.
Bai Haoyang was patting his chest loudly in front of his brother Qiu and said, "Don't worry, brother. I promise not to let Comrade Zhou take a single basket."
Comrade Xiao Zhou will never be tired.
Qiu Zeming nodded. Comrade Xiao Zhou would not suffer any loss either. They had originally planned to let him carry the 200-jin load.
He counted a roll of tickets and handed it over, saying, "If Comrade Xiao Zhou doesn't have enough tickets for something she likes, you can give her some."
Bai Haoyang took it: "I understand, brother."
The two of them set off with their things. Zhou Jiani, wrapped in a brand new military coat and carrying a cloth bag on one shoulder, walked in front with her hands folded in her pockets.
Bai Haoyang walked behind with a basket on a shoulder pole, panting.
I noticed that her cotton boots seemed different from everyone else's, so I asked, "Comrade Zhou, why are the tops of your cotton boots so high?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Because I am willing to use cotton and cloth."
She asked her sister-in-law Zhao Mei to help her make short snow boots in the style of later generations, which were warm and comfortable to wear.
"It looks quite warm." Bai Haoyang looked at her new military coat again, took two quick steps to keep pace with her, and asked in confusion, "Hey, let me ask you, what's going on between you and Old Qiu?"
Zhou Jiani leaned over and asked: "What could be going on between us?"
"Tsk!" Bai Haoyang sneered, his face swaying with a look of 'don't think I can't see'. He shook his head and hummed, "He pursued you so much, I don't believe you couldn't see it. You didn't reject him either, don't think I couldn't see it. You two even exchanged tokens of love..."
Without waiting for him to finish, he ran forward with his shoulder pole.
He also knew that he would be beaten for saying this. Zhou Jiani chased after him and kicked him, but couldn't reach him. She ran two steps and stopped, saying angrily: "Bai Haoyang, stop talking nonsense."
When she was collecting the military coat, she was about to give him the money and the ticket, but Qiu Zeming's tone suddenly dropped, his eyes reddened with grievance, and he whispered in a pleading tone, "Can you please not give me the money? Don't be so serious with me?"
Zhou Jiani was really hit hard. It felt like someone kicked her in the heart, and she felt suffocated and uncomfortable.
But what would it mean to accept such an expensive gift?
She grabbed a thick blanket from the warehouse and gave it to Qiu Zeming after they had hot pot in the evening.
It's not a token of love, she just doesn't know what to do.
She went to the city today to see if she could still dream. She wanted to understand the contents of the book and what happened to Qiu Zeming in his previous life.
Bai Haoyang dared to joke because there was no one around, so no one would hear him. He smiled and said, "My brother Qiu is usually very reserved. It's not easy for him to fall in love after growing up. You have to teach him a lesson. Don't give in too soon. I want to see him flirting all day long."
Zhou Jiani: "...you guys are really good brothers."
After arriving at the county town, I grabbed two empty seats, but they were not next to each other. It was better not to be next to each other, otherwise I would have to listen to Bai Haoyang nagging all the way.
Maybe it was because of the cold weather and the car was not that hot, so the feeling of motion sickness was not that obvious this time. Zhou Jiani spread out her palms and browsed the group. Someone opened a milk ball again. After finishing the last batch, she bought two more boxes.
After looking for a while and finding nothing else interesting, I exited and went backstage to prepare for a group session.
After processing the things collected at the market last time, I sold a batch of dried cowpeas, forged kitchen knives customized from the town, peanuts, walnuts, rice noodles, and vermicelli. After winter came, I harvested some surplus cabbage and sold another batch of it.
The balance in the piggy bank is now over 30,000, not more than 31,000.
The harvest of dried cowpeas has decreased recently, so she did not let Zhao Hai expand further. She curbed her craving for money in time and stopped the cowpea harvesting for a while to avoid being too conspicuous and causing other problems.
Now I only collect some rice noodles sporadically and save them slowly.
There are only more than 70 kilograms of rice noodles and more than 30 kilograms of vermicelli on the shelves. The remaining few peanuts, dates and walnuts are all placed on her private shelves for her own consumption.
Then there is the loofah sponge that she took the time to prepare.
She hasn't sold a single loofah since she received them. She always takes time to process them. She also bought some hemp rope, cut it into pieces, poked a hole in the loofah with an awl, and added a small hanging rope.
During this long period of time, she and Zhao Hai had collected a total of 157 old loofahs. If they were cut in the middle, they would become 314 natural dishwashing tools.
In addition to the old loofahs, dozens of gourd ladles of various sizes were also collected. They were sawed open and polished to make water ladles. Holes were drilled in the handles with hot nails and hanging ropes were tied to them.
There are also a few pairs of cotton boots that have been accumulated.
Sell these in bulk and then save them slowly.
The loofah sponges are classified into packages of one, two, and three, with different prices. The price is a little higher if you buy them individually, 2.9 for one, 5 yuan for two, and 6.9 for three.
Three packs are 2.3 each.
Gourd ladles also come in several varieties, with different sizes, double bellies and single bellies. The small ones can be used to scoop rice or noodles, while the large ones can be used as water ladles.
Zhou Jiani glanced at the passenger next to her who wasn't paying much attention and quietly typed on her hands.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
