Chapter 112
Qiu Zeming was carrying a bag on his back and holding a briefcase in his hand as he followed the crowd out of the train. He immediately saw the person waiting there.
Zhou Jiani tied her hair into a bun with a light brown hairband, wore a military coat, a long scarf, a pair of cotton muffs, and black half-length cotton boots.
She was dressed in a familiar, everyday outfit from head to toe, but Qiu Zeming just thought his girlfriend was good-looking. He spotted her at first sight even when she was standing in the crowd.
Qiu Zeming smiled widely, but still a little shy, with the tips of his ears slightly hot. He stepped forward and said, "Jia Ni!"
When this name was called out to him in person, Qiu Zeming felt his heart tremble slightly. Just now, only the tips of his ears were red, but now his cheeks felt a little hot. He was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do with his free hand.
Zhou Jiani was a bit embarrassed, but she managed to hold herself together. At least on the surface, she appeared as calm as an old dog. She smiled and said, "Did the journey go smoothly? Are you tired?"
But I don't know whether the overly polite greeting reveals her inner tension at the moment.
"I'm fine, not tired." Qiu Zeming's heart was pounding, he looked at Zhou Jiani with a gentle and affectionate gaze, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, his tone was low and gentle.
How could he be tired? The young iron tree has just blossomed. Right now, he wants to go out and run 3,000 meters and then do a standing spread to show off his good qualities in front of Comrade Xiao Zhou.
"Well, let's go out first?" Zhou Jiani said to Qiu Zeming who was looking at her with a silly smile.
"Okay!" Qiu Zeming nodded and walked out. Although his feet were moving, his eyes were glued to the person's face and he couldn't tear them away. He took two steps with his head tilted and almost bumped into someone.
Zhou Jiani chuckled, reached out and pulled him, and her tone gradually became normal: "Watch the road!"
"Okay!" Comrade Qiu Zeming seemed to have shut down his language system and could only say this one word.
The two of them didn't say anything else, nor did they notice that the corners of their mouths were slightly raised. They walked out side by side. Qiu Zeming glanced at Comrade Xiao Zhou from time to time. His girlfriend was really beautiful.
"Well, how about we take a group photo later?" After leaving the station, Qiu Zeming's boiling heart finally calmed down a little and he suggested.
Zhou Jiani looked at him, a little surprised: "Hasn't it been filmed before?"
I took a photo of myself in the provincial capital before, and also a group photo with others.
"That's different."
Qiu Zeming felt that the situation was different. They were colleagues back then, and now they were lovers, and he had some other little tricks up his sleeve.
Zhou Jiani didn't care and said with a smile: "Okay, let's take a picture."
When they arrived at the photo studio, Zhou Jiani knew why he insisted on taking pictures - he opened his bag and took out two long scarves made of soft material, of the same style and print.
It was a foreign brand. When unfolded, it was wider than the one she wore, and about the same length, with an English trademark printed on it.
Qiu Zeming's eyes were blazing, and he whispered, "Let's wear the same scarf."
This way people will know that they are a couple.
Zhou Jiani raised her eyebrows, quite good at it.
She took off her outer military coat, revealing her new woolen coat.
Since she came to pick up her boyfriend today, she had to take it seriously. So she put on the tweed coat that Zhao Mei had just made for her. It looked pretty good with the printed scarf.
With smiles on their faces, the two took the first photo after officially confirming their relationship.
After taking the photos, they went to the state-owned restaurant for dinner. Now they were familiar with the state-owned restaurants in the county. After dinner, they temporarily stored their food here and went to see a movie.
In the cinema, after Zhou Jiani adjusted to the dim light, she counted and found that Qiu Zeming had reached out to her at least ten times.
Whenever his hand was about to touch hers, he would retract it and strategically raise his hand to lift his hair, or touch the tip of his nose, or adjust his clothes.
Seeing that the movie was about to end, Zhou Jiani took a deep breath, grabbed his hand, and whispered, "Be honest."
In the dim light, Qiu Zeming's face was hot and his heart was beating fast. He clenched it tightly with his backhand and grinned slowly: "Okay!"
The two started dating and agreed not to get married for the time being and to focus on their careers.
After eating roast duck and pea yellow, Comrade Qiu helped her choose two types of floral fabric samples. Since they were used in a weaving factory, it was a public-to-public relationship. However, since he was Qiu Zeming's connection, he took on the job.
Afterwards, one of them returned to the vegetable garden in the greenhouse, and the other took the opportunity of delivering goods to run to the city and province, but they were connected to each other in their hearts. When Zhou Jiani called back from a business trip, the person who answered the phone was always Qiu Zeming. He said a few words in a soft voice and hung up the phone without hiding the smile on his face.
Zhang Baosheng and Liu Tong both sensed something was amiss, especially Liu Tong, who realized something was a little late. Finally, he couldn't help but ask directly that day, "Xiao Qiu, are you dating Xiao Zhou?"
Qiu Zeming raised the corner of his mouth and nodded, "Yes, we are dating."
Zhang Baosheng and Liu Tong were happy for them and asked when they would get married, hoping the village would help them with the arrangements. Qiu Zeming declined, saying, "Jia Ni and I are both young, so there's no rush. Let's wait two years before talking about marriage."
Zhang Baosheng was a little disappointed that there was no room for them to perform, but he was still happy from the bottom of his heart.
The two did not deliberately make it public. Before Zhang Baosheng and others found out, only a few close friends knew about it and they even cheered for them to have another hot pot meal.
However, Qiu Zeming went to help his girlfriend openly and even cooked two dishes. His cooking skills were surprisingly good.
Carrying water, sweeping the yard, and chopping firewood are no problem at all.
He also spread out a piece of the accumulated ash inside and outside the entrance of Zhou Jiani's yard so that she wouldn't slip even if it snowed or iced.
Bai Haoyang and Wang Qianjin, who were also waiting to pave the yard with ash, said: ...Brother Qiu, who was showing off his skills, was a little bit unkind!
What's even more inhumane is that he would cook a meal for Comrade Xiao Zhou separately and then come back to make their big pot meal.
Brothers Bai and Wang smelled the aroma of exquisite stir-fried dishes while eating a sloppy version of the big pot rice, and kept calling him a "beast".
But the fragrance has not been smelled these two days. Zhou Jiani went to the provincial capital and is now having dinner at her home there. As soon as dinner is over, she officially announced to her family that she has a partner.
This was so sudden that everyone was in complete silence. Yu Huifang was the first to react and asked in surprise, "Who is it? How old is that boy?"
Jiang Xinfeng also looked over and said, "Is he an educated youth or a child from a local villager's family?"
Zhou Wanli put down his bowl and said, "Nini, your mother and I are not in a hurry to find a partner. Are you willing?"
Yu Huifang rolled her eyes at Lao Zhou, thinking, "Look at your daughter's grinning face, can't you tell that she's doing this voluntarily? This isn't just about finding a partner; it's about falling in love."
Well, there is one way to simply look for a partner, and there is another way, which is to have a romantic partner. They are different after all.
However, when she heard that her daughter was dating, the first person that came to her mind was Comrade Qiu. This thought scared her, and she quickly threw the boy away. What if he was not her? How embarrassing would it be when she faced her real son-in-law in the future?
The twins were the only ones in the family who didn't seem to care much about their sister finding a partner. They were secretly touching the cookies their sister brought back while no one was paying attention.
Zhou Jiani didn't keep the secret any longer and said, "It's Comrade Xiao Qiu whom you met last time."
"Oh, it's him!" Yu Huifang suddenly felt relieved and said with a smile: "See what I said? I think it is, hahahaha."
Completely forget the denial just now.
Jiang Xinfeng couldn't help laughing and nodded repeatedly, saying, "That young man is not bad." She had a very good impression of him last time. He looked good, spoke and acted politely, and was steady and not rash.
When Zhou Wanli heard it was Qiu Zeming, he was also very impressed. The young man was not only good-looking, but also had a keen eye. However, he frowned and said, "I remember his family is from the capital, right?"
Zhou Jiani nodded.
"What if he just leaves one day? The capital is so big, where can we find him?" Zhou Wanli had heard some news recently and couldn't help but think of his daughter.
Just two days ago, he heard from his colleagues that there was a young man at the oil press factory who was recruited back from the countryside. His family arranged a blind date for him and set a date for the wedding. However, his wife from the countryside showed up with the child, causing a big fuss.
This can still be found. He heard that there are many rural wives who have no way to find their husbands after they return to the city.
Zhou Jiani said: "We are not thinking of getting married in a hurry. We want to focus on our careers first."
Zhou Wanli glared: "Look at me... I'm not saying anything."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Dad, I haven't finished yet. It was me who suggested not getting married, not Qiu Zeming. He also expressed his intention. He said he would come visit us during the Chinese New Year, and after the spring planting is done, he would take some time off to take me to the capital to play and meet his family. Um... two days ago, he went back to celebrate his grandfather's birthday. When I called his house, his mother answered. He had already told his family about finding a partner."
Yu Huifang hurriedly asked, "How does his mother speak?"
"It's very kind. It gives me time to go to the capital with Qiu Zeming."
Jiang Xinfeng said: "If you have such an attitude, then it means you are still good."
My granddaughter has made a lot of progress since she returned to the village. She is becoming more and more independent and is no longer the easily influenced person she used to be. Now she is helping the team start a business and getting orders. She has gained a lot of experience and is no longer an ignorant person. If she thinks something is okay, then it will probably be right.
However, I still have to find an opportunity to give him a few words of advice. Since he has decided not to get married, he should keep a distance in his daily interactions with others. When he goes to visit Xiao Qiu's home, he should observe the situation at home and see if his parents are real people.
In the evening, Zhou Jiani was reading in her room. Yu Huifang came in with a smile on her face and said, "Nini, are you studying?"
Just now, her mother-in-law asked her to give a few suggestions. Although she felt a little embarrassed to say it, when she thought that this was related to Nini's future happiness, she suppressed her embarrassment and said a few words.
After talking vaguely for a long time, Zhou Jiani summed it up in one sentence: don't live together before marriage.
Seeing her mother stumbling, Zhou Jiani thought of the description in the book. She put her arms around Yu Huifang's shoulders, rubbed her head against hers affectionately, and said softly, "Don't worry, Mom. I won't be confused again."
Yu Huifang, still remembering the time when Liu Ailing led her into a mess, clapped her hands and said, "It's all in the past. Aren't you doing well now?"
Zhou Jiani nodded. These words could even comfort her from her past life. It was all in the past. Everything was fine now, and things would definitely get better and better in the future.
Zhou Jiani only stayed for one day this time. The next day at noon, she went to the Second Spinning Factory and asked the canteen if they wanted any vegetables.
"Of course, Nini, I heard about it last time and even asked your dad about it." Chef Qiu, the head chef at the Second Spinning Mill, said in a loud voice, his words resonating like a bell. "Yes, as many as you want."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "The second phase of the project only has three acres of land, so I can't give you much. The price will definitely be higher than in the fall."
"I know all this. Don't worry. At your price, a factory as big as ours can handle it."
If we harvest all the three acres of land, we can eat it all, but I'm afraid there won't be enough to go around.
However, Master Qiu also knew how rare fresh vegetables were at this time. The reason why Zhou Jiani was thinking about their canteen at this moment was because they had collected vegetables from that brigade last time.
If it weren't for that incident, he wouldn't have been able to get such a rare thing.
Hey, I never realized before that the girl from the Zhou family is so thoughtful.
We have already agreed with her, and her mother will take care of the matter at the neighbor's house. She can't give too much away, and the main thing is to give to the neighbors who bought vegetables from her last time.
If there is excess, expand outwards; if there is not excess, forget it.
Zhou Jiani returned to Bin County, and Qiu Zeming came to meet her at the station. As soon as they met, he handed her the thermos he had been holding in his arms, and reached out to take her bag. As they walked out, he said, "I didn't catch the bus. Wang Qianjin's sister and brother-in-law just left half an hour ago. They took their own car to the village to pick up woven baskets. I took his car to the county. Let's go to the restaurant to eat and then take the bus back."
It's quite tiring to ride a bullock cart in this season, it's not as good as taking a bus.
Zhou Jiani said, "Our baskets sell quite well in Qingshui County."
Qiu Zeming wanted to hold his girlfriend's hand, but because they were outside and worried about being caught and lectured by the auntie wearing a red armband, he had to suppress his urge and said, "They're selling fast. He placed an order for 200 baskets this time, a little of each style, and also asked for two storage stools."
He continued, "We'll have some frozen fish distributed to us in a few days. See how much you can keep. I'll have them distribute it in advance. The town's supply and marketing cooperative also got you some dried kelp. I've paid them, and I've also asked them to save a piece of tofu for me. I'll bring it back when you pass by later..."
Listening to his chatter, Zhou Jiani couldn't help laughing. She thought she had been away for a long time, but who would have thought that all these things would happen in just one or two days.
After eating at the restaurant here, they took a bus to the town, picked up tofu from the restaurant in the town, and walked back.
When they saw that there was no one around, they held hands and only let go when they were almost in the village.
This love story is a bit funny, but Zhou Jiani also feels sweet in her heart.
Qiu Zeming walked him all the way home, and when he passed by his door, he said, "I'll go back and get some soap and bring it to you later."
Zhou Jiani asked, "How many? Where did you get them?"
Even buying soap requires a ticket. Comrade Xiao Qiu was so generous that Zhou Jiani suspected that he had secretly gone out to collect the tickets.
Qiu Zeming smiled and said, "Do you still remember those buyers we met at the entrance of the plastics factory last time?"
Zhou Jiani nodded and listened as Qiu Zeming continued, "The yellow mailman from the soap factory sent me some soap and asked me to help him with some woolen fabrics. He's exchanging them for soap quotas."
Zhou Jiani raised her eyebrows. The last time she went to the guesthouse in the provincial capital to find Qiu Zeming, Qiu Zeming brought a package containing broken soaps, which were given to him by the salesperson from the soap factory.
She left the bag of soap crumbs at home, and Comrade Yu Huifang was very happy.
Some of the soaps sent by Xiao Huang were of good quality, while some were in broken pieces like last time. But the ones Qiu Zeming gave to Zhou Jiani were all good ones, enough for her to use for a while.
Zhou Jiani actually bought laundry detergent and soap in the group, but she didn't dare to use them openly because of the fragrance. She still used the soap at that time.
She took some time to visit Grandma Wu. Before going to the provincial capital, she took away six pairs of women's insoles, but they were still lying in the warehouse. However, that did not prevent her from claiming the money from Grandma Wu.
"The white embroidered women's insoles, they bargained with me and I sold them to 28 cents. The blue peony-edged pair, they got me down to 36 cents..."
To appear convincing, Zhou Jiani prepared the change in advance and said pretentiously, "This twenty-eight cents was given to me at the time. I counted it and returned it to the original size. It's exactly the same amount..."
Arrange them one by one and make sure they are clear.
Grandma Wu asked her to share the profits, but Zhou Jiani refused. This time, she took out two cents and insisted on giving it to her. Zhou Jiani pushed it back and said with a smile, "Grandma Wu, let's not argue about this."
Grandma Wu couldn't refuse, so she quickly went back to the house and got out a few eggs, and insisted that Zhou Jiani take them.
Zhou Jiani really didn't know how to push it. Seeing a small pile of dried loofahs in the corner of the room, she said with a guilty conscience, "How about you give me a loofah?"
Grandma Wu said, "Ouch," "How much is this thing worth? You kid..."
Are eggs not more valuable than loofah?
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Grandma Wu, give it to us. I'll take it back to my family when I return to the provincial capital. Don't underestimate this thing. In the city, if you don't have a yard to grow vegetables, you have to find someone to exchange for a loofah."
Grandma Wu didn't know what to say. She picked up four or five loofahs with both hands and said, "Give me a few more." When Zhou Jiani took them, she turned back into the house and took out two brooms made of sorghum ears. She said, "Give me two more brooms. My eldest son made them himself."
Luffa sponge is indeed worthless in the countryside at that time, but when she puts it in the group, it becomes a highly profitable item.
Just when I was worrying about how to generate income for the old lady, I saw the new broom that Grandma Wu brought over, which was also used for scrubbing pots.
I hurriedly asked, "Grandma Wu, do you still have this kind of sorghum ears at home? Otherwise, ask Uncle Dazhu to pick a few more. I will take them with me when I go out next time and ask in the city."
Grandma Wu’s eldest son is Liu Dazhui.
Wu Meiyun immediately felt embarrassed and said, "Jia Ni, you said you didn't want anything, but you still helped us..."
Zhou Jiani negotiated for a long time and both of them felt embarrassed.
After leaving Wu Meiyun's house, he walked for a while, saw that there was no one around, put the things into the warehouse, and went to Zhao Mei's place.
Zhao Mei was able to deliver the goods to her now. She had made a few new styles of hairbands for her some time ago. This time, Zhao Mei took out a cloth bag from the locked cupboard and poured it onto the kang. There were about twenty of them.
The wholesale circles are all large in scale, and all they use are the floral fabrics that Zhou Jiani left over from last time. There are three different types of fabrics in total, and they are not spliced together. Small decorations such as three-dimensional flowers, bows, and hearts are sewn on them. They are more complicated than the goods for the city and provincial capital.
It also has a bit of the style that became popular in later generations.
When the first finished product came out, Zhao Mei thought it might be too big. Now that she is used to making it, it looks better and better. If she was not afraid that other people in the village would copy the pattern, she would have wanted to sew one for Huihui with the cloth at home, but in the end she resisted.
Zhou Jiani paid a high labor fee for this batch of goods. Zhao Mei held the money in her hand, and a smile appeared in her eyes unconsciously. She felt that if she continued like this, plus her salary, she should be able to pay off the debt in advance and also provide Huihui with nutritional supplements.
Compared with children of the same age, Huihui looks two or three years younger.
But the others who made hair bands were not so happy. Without Zhou Jiani as their leader, they started fighting among themselves. Everyone wanted to deliver more goods for the orders placed by the city department store.
In just a few days, Zhang Baosheng had mediated three conflicts.
Finally, a rule was drawn up to share the burden equally. If someone placed a small order, those who had delivered the goods this time would not deliver the goods next time, and the burden would be distributed to those who had not delivered the goods the previous time.
It’s similar to delivering vegetables to the town before.
They even said that if anyone made trouble again, the village would not take the order for them. This made everyone calm down a little.
However, the overall delivery volume has shrunk a lot compared to when Zhou Jiani was in charge.
Some people wanted Zhang Baosheng to weigh in, and even asked Xiao Zhou to take charge. Zhang Baosheng sneered, "Is your hairband more important, or next year's Canton Fair? The knitting factory is Comrade Zhou's main job. He used to help you sell goods, but now everyone's talking behind your back. Who dares to worry about you anymore?"
He added, "Since you don't have many orders left, why don't you all take turns going to the supply and marketing cooperative in the nearby commune to ask around? You can also experience the difficulty Comrade Xiao Zhou faces when he helps you sell goods and see who can make the most money out of it. Take turns going, everyone go and give it a try!"
Some people actually went out to try it. They were reluctant to spend money on taking the bus and didn't know how to ride a bicycle, so three or four of them teamed up and walked to the nearby commune to develop the market. When they arrived, they found that the supply and marketing cooperative had already put up their hair bands. The styles were not as many as theirs, but it was obvious that it would not be long before the few styles they knew would appear in the supply and marketing cooperative here.
Several people knew at a glance that this style was copied from them. They were so distressed that they started arguing with the person on the spot, saying, "How can you be so shameless as to copy our style?"
The people at the supply and marketing cooperative rolled their eyes and said, "What are you talking about? Everyone knows that you were taught this by that educated youth from the provincial capital? No one's saying anything, so why are you yelling? What are you yelling about?"
Those people were suddenly speechless and regretted it so much that they dragged out the person who had talked nonsense and scolded him again.
But they also have their own responsibilities. Although they didn't say anything along with the talk, they didn't stop it either. Not only did they listen seriously, they also tried to figure out how much money Zhou Jiani could make.
Zhou Jiani really didn't have the energy to manage so many people. The busy days passed quickly, and the year-end reporting work began.
The commune's commendation meeting was held a few days earlier than in previous years, and she was going to give a speech on stage, which was a very important part of the meeting.
Before the meeting officially began, Zhang Baosheng whispered to her that this year's commendation meeting was more lively than in previous years. The venue had been decorated with red silk and big red flowers. There were even two more stoves in the house than in previous years. He had counted them.
Thanks to Comrade Xiao Zhou, he had a seat at the front this year, and there was a table in front of him with a teacup on it. Secretary Xiao Zhao came with a thermos to pour him water.
In the past, I would always squeeze on the bench at the back, with my hands on my sleeves, my neck hunched, and a blank expression on my face as I listened to the leader's speech.
This year is different. The former secretary of the commune is now the deputy director of their village weaving factory. The new secretary came to pour him some water. When he came in just now, the cadres from all the brigades showered him with compliments without asking for anything in return. They shook hands with him until their arms were sore and their faces were numb from smiling.
Zhang Baosheng suppressed his excitement and continued to examine the area calmly. He lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, look in the northeast corner. There's a stack of notebooks and a teacup..." He craned his neck to look and added, "There's also a certificate!"
This year, there will definitely be one for their team.
Their team must also have a share of those prizes.
Zhang Baosheng straightened his back and sat upright on the floor. The commendation meeting was about to begin.
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