Chapter 110
After eating roast duck, Qiu Zeming went to Ge Junhui's house, which was also his aunt's house. When he returned to the compound, it was already 9:30 in the evening.
When I entered, the lights were on in the living room. Du Yunxin and Qiu Dongshu, who had just returned from the army, were sitting on the sofa waiting.
When Qiu Dongshu saw his youngest son come in, he said angrily, "You little brat, it's been so long, and you didn't even bother to have a meal with the family when you came back."
Du Yunxin patted her husband and said, "Don't say anything." Then she looked at her son with a smile. "You said on the phone this afternoon that you were looking for a partner. I came back and asked your grandfather, and he said, 'Are you really looking for a partner? The educated youth from Qiyang? Do you have a photo?'"
Qiu Zeming tried to be serious but couldn't. The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, and he said with a smile, "Yes!"
But he didn't put the photo in his wallet. The photo was too big to fit in his wallet, so he put it in a book. This time he also put it in his bag when he came back.
Qiu Zeming walked briskly back to the room, carefully took out the photo and handed it to Du Yunxin, saying, "Mom, please don't get it dirty."
This earned him an unpleasant eye roll from his mother.
It’s not that Du Yunxin hasn’t seen beautiful girls before. There was the daughter of the old Jing family in the compound, and there were also some outstanding-looking female doctors and nurses in the hospital, but she was still stunned by the girl in the photo.
The girl in the photo was not only beautiful, but also had a heroic spirit between her eyebrows and eyes. Her eyes were bright and lively. It immediately touched her heart. She smiled like a flower and said, "Oh, this girl is really beautiful."
Qiu Zeming smiled.
Du Yunxin liked the photo, but she snapped it shut, looked upstairs, then looked at Old Qiu next to her. Her face was full of anger, but she kept her mouth shut.
But the "bang" made Qiu Zeming tremble. He reached out to move his mother's hand away, carefully pulled the photo back, and said dissatisfiedly: "Mom, be gentle, or the photo will be broken again..."
Du Yunxin: ...
Qiu Dongshu didn't notice his wife's expression. He just glanced at the girl in the photo and nodded in approval, but said, "She looks nice, but we can talk about it, but don't rush into marriage."
Qiu Dongshu didn't have any other ideas. He was watching the wind and planned to transfer his youngest son back home after a while. But if he got married in the countryside, it would be difficult to transfer him back.
"After winter, the number of educated youth returning home has increased significantly compared to the middle of the year. I've also observed that the policy on going to the countryside is not as strict as before. I think..."
Du Yunxin stopped him angrily and said, "What do you think? Go back to your room and sleep. I'm going to talk to my son."
He glanced upstairs again without any expression.
"Look at you..." Qiu Dongshu said with a good-natured smile, "Okay, okay, I'll go back to the house and you and your mother can talk for a while."
Qiu Dongshu returned to his room. Du Yunxin went straight to her son's room, closed the door, and said in a low voice, "Your father is such a fool. He takes after your grandmother..."
After complaining, he said seriously, "Actually, what your father said is also my idea. We should not let the girl down, but if we get married now, it will be too disadvantageous for you. Let's wait for two years. We will quietly work hard to transfer both of you back to the city. It won't be too late to get married then. If you get married now, it won't be so easy to transfer back to the city..."
But I know this matter well. But Qiu Dongshu is sitting in the living room and chattering. Doesn't he know that there are a pair of restless eyes in the house?
Du Yunxin inhaled and exhaled, not angry. Qiu Dongshu was stubborn and he didn't believe some of the things she said, and she didn't count on him. Fortunately, her son should know what she was talking about.
Qiu Zeming: "It wasn't easy for me to be transferred back, but it wasn't difficult for my partner to regain his urban hukou. My partner is so outstanding."
In fact, Zhai Xiangqiang had half-jokingly tried several times to transfer Comrade Xiao Zhou to work in the commune, but he was worried that the foundation of the Qianjin Brigade was not stable. After all, whether it was the weaving industry or the plastic greenhouse, the original initiator was Comrade Xiao Zhou.
Zhai Xiangqiang admired Comrade Xiao Zhou's abilities, but he didn't dare to withdraw him.
Therefore, once the foundation of the Qianjin Brigade's sideline business is established, if there is a suitable opportunity, Comrade Xiao Zhou might be transferred away.
Du Yunxin: ...
Why didn't she realize that this kid had the potential to be a troublemaker?
He said unhappily, "Your iron tree has finally blossomed, but it's not at all attractive."
For Ms. Du Yunxin, her son's search for a girlfriend is as difficult as finding one on a fertile land. Although this boy has been popular with girls since he was young, he has never played with girls since he was young.
When he was in elementary school, there was an activity in school and he was the only boy participating. After the activity, the teacher arranged for several classmates to take a group photo. He was so close to the girl next to him that two more people could fit in.
The photographer asked him to get closer, but he refused to move. When the girl moved closer to him, he moved away. In the end, he had no choice but to take a photo of her with a gap in her eyes.
When he was in junior high school, other parents were worried about their children falling in love too early, but they were not worried at all. No matter which girl talked to him, his face would automatically freeze. He would not smile when he met a girl. Even if he spoke in a stiff voice, his eyes would look elsewhere, as if the girl had thorns on her body and one more look would prick him.
So when other parents start to worry about their children falling in love early, she starts to worry about how she will find a wife in the future with such a personality.
The daughter of Lao Jing in the courtyard had a lot of ideas about her son, and he was also good-looking. At that time, he was facing the problem of going to the countryside. Lao Jing's wife came to me and suggested that it would be better to let the two children start a family so that her son would not have to go to the countryside.
In the end, she just tried it out, and the brat went ahead and registered.
Unexpectedly, in just a few months, her honeysuckle has bloomed, and it is so dazzling.
"You have to farm."
The iron tree must be planted in the ground.
Du Yunxin returned to the house. Qiu Dongshu looked at her and asked in confusion, "Why? You don't want your son to come back?"
Why did she interrupt him the moment he mentioned his wife?
Du Yunxin rolled her eyes and didn't bother to pay attention to him.
Ever since she suspected her stepson of playing tricks on her about going to the countryside, and Old Qiu said "impossible", she no longer wanted to confide in her husband.
The stepson has been growing up with his mother-in-law. His mother-in-law is a narrow-minded person. Maybe she has heard too many stories about vicious stepmothers and is afraid that he will harm her precious grandson. So after he married Qiu Dongshu, his mother-in-law has been very wary of her and insisted on raising Qiu Zexun herself.
Then she would be happy to have some peace and quiet.
But it would be fine if my mother-in-law lived to be a hundred years old. She could continue to keep her eldest grandson as a child and take care of him for another ten or even dozens of years. But she passed away just when Qiu Zexun became an adult.
The child has grown up, and his values have been solidified by his grandmother. He has his own ideas. If she suddenly takes over, it will only be awkward.
In addition, her mother-in-law doesn't like her, so you can imagine what she will say when educating her stepson.
The mother-in-law actually liked the previous daughter-in-law, who she chose for her son personally. However, her son went on a secret mission and had no news for a year. When he came back, she had become someone else's daughter-in-law.
She and Qiu Dongshu fell in love freely later. It was because of her hero complex. He was injured and hospitalized, and she was an intern doctor. She married him on a whim, and found that there were still some troubles in their love. Even if she didn't live with her mother-in-law, she couldn't stop her from making things difficult for her.
At that time, the mother-in-law wanted to intervene and stop him, preparing to choose someone she liked for her son to marry. Qiu Dongshu disagreed and refuted his mother in a domineering manner. As a result, he got married but was not in the eyes of his mother-in-law.
Old Qiu is a stubborn person sometimes, but mostly he is a good person. He loves his wife and children, and he is not a lazy guy at home.
Only the mother-in-law and stepson were standing in the middle.
My stepson's condition had already been determined when he was sent here, so fortunately everyone was still able to maintain politeness on the surface.
But when it came to going to the countryside, she discovered something unusual - how come she injured her arm by chance?
In fact, she had no intention of sending her stepson to the countryside. She was afraid of being criticized for sending him there a few years after he came back.
Moreover, he had a job at that time, although it was a temporary job, but he would not be demoted and replaced by his own son.
His behavior makes people uncomfortable.
She hadn't suspected anything originally, but Qiu Zexun had cleverly evaded her inspections several times, which made her think twice. She wasn't a fool; if she had any suspicions, she would just quietly inquire. Even without any concrete evidence, it confirmed her suspicions.
From that moment on, she realized that her stepson was a thoughtful person, and she had to be more careful when talking to him.
But Old Qiu didn't think so. She said Qiu Zexun looked like an honest child and asked her not to think too much about it.
"Huh..." Du Yunxin exhaled deeply and glanced at Qiu Dongshu sideways.
Qiu Dongshu wondered: "What happened again?"
Du Yunxin left him with a backhanded look, still wondering how she could transfer her son back without making a fuss.
The next morning, Qiu Zeming put on his sportswear and went out for a run.
When he came downstairs, Qiu Zexun was already reading a newspaper on the sofa in the living room. Seeing that he had returned to his usual familiar attire, he smiled in surprise and said, "It's rare for you to come back, and you're going out for a run?"
Qiu Zeming: "Well, it hasn't stopped in the countryside either."
Qiu Zexun said with a smile: "I will continue to exercise after my arm recovers. You go quickly."
Qiu Zeming nodded, opened the door and went out.
When Qiu Hongzhen came out of the house, Qiu Zexun quickly stood up and said respectfully, "Grandpa!"
He was a little scared of the old man.
His father was sent to carry out a secret mission that year, and his mother thought his father was dead, so she remarried six months after giving birth to him.
Later, his father remarried, and his grandmother was sent back to the countryside by his grandfather for various reasons, and took him away when she left.
Grandma said more than once with pride, "I threatened to die before I got that old man to agree. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to bring my eldest grandson back."
It was difficult for him to define the specific conflict between the old couple, but they just lived a bland life.
He came back occasionally. He didn't have many memories of his childhood, but after he did remember, every time he came back to this house, he and his stepmother felt awkward with each other, and he was even more reluctant to come back.
Later, his grandmother passed away, and after she left, he had no choice but to return to the Qiu family.
When my grandmother was alive, she said that he was the eldest son of the Qiu family and all the resources of the Qiu family belonged to him, but the hardship was that he did not have a mother to whisper in his father's ear, telling him to be more careful in everything, to learn to fight for it, and to keep the family resources in his own hands.
Everyone else was okay, polite to him. His stepmother wouldn't use her status as an elder to bully him, and his father was a gentle person. This younger brother... seemed to respect him, but there was a hazy fog between them that he couldn't quite see through. Of course, maybe he was just like that, a kid who grew up in a compound after all, always putting on a dignified front.
But every time my grandfather looked into those eagle-like eyes, he felt like someone had stabbed him from the chest to the back.
In front of his grandfather, he didn't dare reveal any of his thoughts.
Qiu Hongzhen nodded: "Zeming is out?"
Qiu Zexun said with a smile: "I went out for a run. When my arm is healed, I will start exercising too."
He doesn't like sports at all, but his grandfather likes it, and so do the kids from the compound. If he wants to fit in, he has to cater to their interests.
After Qiu Zeming came back, took a shower and changed his clothes, the family sat down to have breakfast.
After dinner, Qiu Zexun went to work. Before he left, Du Yunxin smiled and asked, "Zexun, have you told Meimei about your grandfather's birthday?"
Qiu Zexun smiled and said, "I told you, I'll pick her up when the time comes."
Du Yunxin: "That's good!"
Qiu Zexun went out, and the old man and Qiu Dongshu also went to the army. Du Yunxin looked at her son and said, "Are you free today? If you are free, please help me plan the menu..."
Qiu Zeming glanced at the time and said, "Something's going on. I'm going out for a walk."
He was busy, going to the factory to help Comrade Xiao Zhou find some nice floral fabrics. Ge Junhui also found him a way to get into the Friendship Store, where he planned to pick out a gift for his girlfriend.
I also planned to visit a teacher from the plastic greenhouse team. I called him before I came back, and he happened to be in the capital these two days.
In addition, I also want to get together with a few good friends.
But before leaving, he called the Qianjin Brigade. Liu Tong answered the phone again. Qiu Zeming said, "Accountant Liu is busy at the village committee again."
Why is it you again?
Liu Tong didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt as if Comrade Qiu disliked him. He smiled and said, "I come to the village committee every day and stay for a while before going to the factory. What instructions does Comrade Qiu have?"
Qiu Zeming said, "It's okay. It's snowing here. Has it snowed in our village?"
Liu Tong: "Oh, you're worried that the snow will damage the greenhouse, right? Don't worry, the snow is light here, and Liu Jingguo is just sweeping it."
Qiu Zeming: "That's good. We're just afraid of snow right now. First, because of the greenhouses in the village, and second, because of delivering goods. Heavy snow blocks the roads, so delivering goods becomes a problem. What does Comrade Xiao Zhou say about this?"
Liu Tong: "What? Comrade Xiao Zhou? Comrade Xiao Zhou can't predict whether this light snow will turn into heavy snow. Let's wait and see."
Qiu Zeming: "That's true. Then please write down my home phone number. If the snow blocks the road and Comrade Zhou needs to make deliveries again, tell her to call me if she encounters any difficulties."
Liu Tong hung up the phone, feeling something was amiss.
Can Comrade Qiu shovel snow remotely?
Du Yunxin, who was about to leave, glanced at her son in surprise and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou is your partner?"
Qiu Zeming looked horrified: "I didn't even tell you my partner's name?"
Du Yunxin snorted coldly, "You're just showing off. You keep calling me 'my girlfriend'. Your grandfather almost slapped you yesterday."
On Zhou Jiani's side, the creature "object" is a little weakened in her eyes. She is very excited to help Yu Wanxia make small knitted pendants, bag charms and key pendants.
She can do it herself. She learned it from a certain audio platform in her previous life. She also exchanges ideas with her neighbors. She can crochet cartoon pendants, particularly fashionable hats, coasters, mobile phone bags, etc.
Yu Wanxia has a good foundation, so she teaches her and lets the girl earn some pocket money, and she can also earn some pocket money.
But wool is not as easy to buy as rags, and the price is also high, so she makes high-quality products and cannot mass-produce them. She makes some in her spare time to enrich the products she sells in the group.
The real money-makers are still dried cowpeas, vegetables, and rice noodles.
Zhao Hai sent her another batch of rice noodle and vermicelli noodles these past two days, as well as 40 to 50 kilograms of dried cowpeas. He said, "I went to another commune to collect them. They said they were sending them to relatives out of town. Each family got two or three kilograms. It took several villages to collect them. Comrade Zhou, don't worry, it's absolutely safe."
Zhou Jiani was pleasantly surprised to find that Zhao Hai had the potential to do business.
More surprises are yet to come. Zhao Hai said that he started learning how to make rice paper from others.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "That's a good idea. As long as you can guarantee good quality, I'll definitely consider you first if I need anything in this area."
Zhao Hai scratched his head and smiled, "I have to thank Comrade Zhou very much. If you hadn't asked me to help you collect fans, I wouldn't have been able to contact Brother Gao, nor would I have been able to establish a relationship with him, let alone think that I could do this. Comrade Zhou, everything you say now is empty talk. I will thank you properly after we officially start."
Zhou Jiani waved her hand and said, "It's because you're hardworking and willing to think hard. If you work hard, maybe you can build your own business in the future."
Zhao Hai didn't think about the scale of the business, but he could learn a skill. Even if Comrade Xiao Zhou didn't want it, he could send it to the supply and marketing cooperative or the county rice noodle factory, which could also help supplement the family income.
Thinking of this, my blood boiled. I had never felt that this bumpy dirt road under my feet was so spacious.
Zhao Mei was also excited. Because of Comrade Xiao Zhou, both she and her family benefited a lot, and their lives were better than in previous years.
After returning from Zhao Mei's house, I was correcting Yu Wanxia's needlework when there was a knock on the door.
Zhou Jiani went out and asked through the door, "Who is it?"
"Jiani, it's me."
Zhou Jiani recognized that it was a grandmother from the Liu family who was very good at embroidery. When she was making a hairband, this grandmother added some decorative patterns herself. Because she was not sure whether it was acceptable, she came to her on tiptoe to ask.
What I told her at that time was that I could add as much as I wanted, and the price for this hair band was almost one cent higher than other hair bands.
Because the embroidery thread is provided by themselves, and the pattern is matched according to the color of the hairband fabric, it really looks good.
She sold those for more than three yuan in the group.
The fabric was a bit of a letdown, otherwise she could have raised the price.
"Oh, Grandma Wu, please come in." Zhou Jiani quickly opened the door and let the person in.
Wu Meiyun's husband has passed away, and her sons have divided the family property. Because the family house is spacious, although it was agreed that the eldest son would take care of her in her old age, she is not living with him for the time being. She lives in a small courtyard by herself and feels comfortable.
When it’s time to eat, she goes to her son’s house to eat with him, and then goes back to her own place after eating, so as to avoid conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Wu Meiyun has bound feet and usually walks with a cane, but she is adept at her manual work and has quick thinking and reaction when speaking. She is a neat old lady.
In the past few days, many wives in the village came to see Zhou Jiani, and she beat them back with Tai Chi. Grandma Wu didn't come, but she understood the situation and knew that this good thing was ruined by those bad apples.
She came here tonight not to persuade Zhou Jiani to continue leading everyone to do it. After she got angry about this, who would be willing to meddle in this matter?
She heard that the village weaving factory was going to make a good seat cover for the storage stool, so she wanted to ask if it should be embroidered.
The old lady was a little obsessed with earning pocket money, and posting on social media wasn't working, so she was thinking of looking for other ways.
I heard that in addition to seat covers, cloth also needs to be added to woven baskets. Let's see if there is any work she can do.
Zhou Jiani helped the old lady into the house. Yu Wanxia greeted her with a smile: "Grandma Wu is here? Sit by the stove, it's warm."
Wu Meiyun smiled and said, "I thought about coming during the day, but I was afraid of causing gossip. So I thought I'd come after dark." She patted Zhou Jiani's hand, "You lead everyone to make money to supplement the family income. What a great thing. I didn't expect to cause any trouble and feel wronged."
Zhou Jiani helped the old lady sit down, went to get a bowl and scooped two small spoons of honey into it, picked up the thermos and filled it with water, and said with a smile: "This is how it is when there are so many people."
Wu Meiyu also sighed.
After chatting for a while, she got down to business and asked Zhou Jiani if the factory had any needs in this regard.
Zhou Jiani's eyes suddenly lit up.
It is said that people have to master some skills. No matter when, craftsmen can earn a living with their abilities, and their development opportunities are wider than others.
She immediately said, "Yes, your idea has opened up my mind. I will think about it."
Wu Meiyu held the honey water, with excitement in her eyes.
She hadn't expected Comrade Zhou to be so easy to talk to after such an injustice. Before coming, she had been prepared to be rejected.
She thought it was okay to refuse, but if she didn't ask, she would always feel uneasy. If she asked, even if the other party didn't consider it, she would feel relieved and wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
I didn't expect Comrade Zhou to agree so readily.
Wu Meiyu lowered her head and drank some honey water, which was sweet with a floral scent. She thought to herself, those people in the village are really... such a good comrade, yet they hurt his feelings.
Although not everyone is like this, just a few bad apples have messed up the entire forward brigade.
Zhou Jiani happened to have a different idea. She sat down beside him and said, "Grandma Wu, I need to carefully select some embroidered fabric. We're short on supply right now, so we won't have any work for a while. But you know how to embroider...why don't you embroider two pairs of insoles? I can take them with me when I go out. Whether I'm on the bus or in a department store, I'll definitely be able to sell them."
Wu Meiyun was stunned for a moment, her lips trembling with excitement as she asked, "Ni, are you still willing to carry the goods for us?"
"Hmm..." Zhou Jiani said thoughtfully, "From now on, I will only carry high-quality items."
She will definitely not play with those who do their work poorly and are picky and complain about this and that.
But she also needs the skills of these people she likes.
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