Chapter 122
Zhou Jiani had lunch at Su Meiqiao's house and received a red envelope.
When Su Meiqiao was preparing to cook, she remembered the things Zhou Jiani brought. She scolded her a few times, opened the box, and exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, where did you buy this vegetable?"
Two cucumbers, four or five green peppers, a little mutton, rice noodles, vermicelli and dried kelp.
Her family's Xiao Mingliang was the director of the supply and marketing cooperative, so they certainly had plenty of rare things at home. But even she found these fresh vegetables and mutton rare. She smiled and said, "Don't take things when you come to visit next time. Since we have a relationship with your aunt, you don't have to be so polite to your Aunt Su."
He looked at the piece of mutton again and said, "This mutton is really good."
Zhou Peilan: "This was given to Jiani by her boyfriend the day before yesterday."
At that time, her sister-in-law wanted to give her family a sheep, but Zhou Peilan refused, saying, "If we want to eat, we can come here and eat. If we take it back, we won't be able to finish it by the time we leave. Isn't it a waste for others?"
If this was a sensible sister-in-law or mother-in-law, she would be willing to respect them, but with this kind of character, screw them.
Yu Huifang didn't hesitate and said, "Then please take some time to help me deal with it. We'll dry it and take some with you when you return to Jincheng."
This time Zhou Peilan did not refuse.
Su Meiqiao was diverted to another topic: "Are you dating? Where is he from? How old is he..."
Another chat.
Before leaving, Zhou Peilan solemnly entrusted her, "Meiqiao, please pay close attention to this matter. If it works out, see if you can contact the provincial capital's newspaper and have us publish a report on it."
He smiled again and said, "Nini gave several presentations in their local area years ago, from the commune to the county and then to the city. Their commune's greenhouse vegetables were even featured in the newspaper. Look, those vegetables are grown by the village itself, and Nini has contributed to this. Putting aside other things, this child is really dedicated to promoting the development of the local village. I think this is something worthy of praise."
"Don't worry, Peilan. I'll make the arrangements when the time comes." Su Meiqiao agreed, holding the phone number and address Zhou Jiani had left for her, and said, "I'll call you when I have news."
"Okay, thank you Aunt Su."
When they were going out, they met Xiao Mingliang coming back with his two children. Zhou Peilan brought Zhou Jiani to stay for a while, greeted Xiao Mingliang, and introduced the two sides to each other.
Su Meiqiao's eldest daughter is Xiao Min, and her son Xiao Chenggong is only eleven years old this year.
Su Meiqiao got married earlier than Zhou Peilan and had children earlier. Her daughter also graduated this year. If she cannot find a job, she will also face the problem of going to the countryside.
While chatting, Su Meiqiao suddenly thought that if she couldn't make arrangements for her daughter, she would think of a way to get Xiao Min to go to the countryside where Zhou Jiani went, so that she would have someone to take care of her.
After seeing off Zhou Peilan and her aunt and niece, Su Meiqiao told Lao Xiao about her idea.
"Without leaving the province, and with Perrin's niece here, it should be better than going somewhere else."
Xiao Mingliang thought about it and nodded: "Then, let's ask the supply and marketing cooperative to sell some of their woven baskets to help Zhou Peilan and her niece improve their business..."
Su Meiqiao chuckled and said, "You're dreaming, but the department store can't even get any goods."
She didn't just say she was paying attention casually, she really paid attention and understood the situation.
Xiao Mingliang was surprised: "It's selling so well?"
Su Mei smiled sweetly and said, "What do you think? These are the baskets I was interested in, the ones I selected for export. If you want to buy some, you'll have to ask them for help."
"Hey!" Xiao Mingliang smiled and turned to call his daughter, "Minmin, if you can't find a job this year, I'll send you to the place where that sister went to the countryside and weave baskets for me."
…
Starting from the seventh day of the first lunar month, Zhou Jiani rarely stayed at home. Until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, she went to the surrounding counties and districts every day to buy goods on the black market. She also attended several temple fairs and had a great harvest. She almost filled the shelves in the warehouse.
We gathered together to form a large group.
The dried cowpeas, rice noodles, vermicelli, insoles, loofahs, gourd ladles, hair flowers and cooking brooms that were collected before the New Year but have not been sold.
After the New Year, we bought rubber-soled cloth shoes, large baskets, small baskets, steamer grates, lid curtains, enamel pots, basins, plates, spittoons, handkerchiefs, kang sweeping brooms, large brooms, tin thermoses, bamboo thermoses, aluminum lunch boxes, plastic mirrors, etc. from the supply and marketing cooperatives in various districts and counties.
And the rattles, earthen baskets, kitchen knives, scissors, axes, sickles, shovels, wooden chopping boards, iron chains, wooden crutches, and feather dusters I bought from the temple fair...
When the group sale started that night, red envelopes were sent out five or six times, and this was after all the products that could be combined were combined.
Before the New Year, the balance in her piggy bank exceeded 50,000 yuan. After this wave of groups was launched, leaving aside all costs and conversion fees, the overall profit exceeded 10,000 yuan, and the balance in the piggy bank soared to over 60,000 yuan.
The shelves were almost cleared out. Except for her own things and the stamps that had not been sold, the stock she had accumulated for so long was completely gone.
The only tickets collected during this period were food coupons, oil coupons, cake coupons, kerosene coupons, and match coupons. The rest were all exchanged for goods and then converted into income through group buying groups.
After the Lantern Festival, she sent her aunt and her family on the train. Li Yan came to say goodbye to her. Zhou Jiani gave her twenty yuan and asked her to help buy things.
Li Yan was a little stunned and said, "Jia Ni, how much do you want? These twenty yuan can buy you something older."
Zhou Jiani smiled, "You don't have to buy it all at once and send it back. Just order a small amount for the first batch. This kind of thing doesn't count as speculation. But if you order a large quantity, it would be best to have proof of a business-to-business transaction. If we can develop a business-to-business relationship in the future, wouldn't that be a good thing for you? Take it first. If it's not enough, I'll mail it to you."
Li Yan understood and nodded heavily: "Okay, Jiani, I'll take note of it, thank you!" If it really became a public-to-public matter, she would be helping the local area develop, which would also be her achievement.
Li Yan sewed the money into her clothes pocket and left with her luggage in a car.
Zhou Jiani also needs to prepare to return to the Qianjin Brigade.
During this period, Qiu Zeming came to the provincial capital to deliver goods and went home to play for a day. This time he brought some suitcase samples. In addition to those placed in the department store, there were also some placed in the Friendship Store. Zhou Jiani called Director Zou and went to the Friendship Store. She placed the suitcase samples there without much effort.
She also brought the one she had ordered a few years ago and gave it to Comrade Zhou Wanli first to satisfy his craving, and then she went to the factory to order one herself.
Her father was so happy.
On the morning of the 17th day of the first lunar month, I met Sun Ping at the station and squeezed onto the train back to the Qianjin Brigade.
After the car started, Sun Ping leaned forward and waved hard outside the car.
Zhou Jiani also waved to her parents and said, "Go back..." Maybe she would be back in two days.
When she could no longer see anyone, Sun Ping sat back down, leaning her head against Zhou Jiani, humming and saying, "It's so comfortable at home. I really don't want to leave."
But she quickly straightened up and said, "I also brought my textbook. I can do a few math problems to relieve my boredom when I'm bored."
I also brought Chinese and history textbooks, and was a little influenced by Zhou Jiani's enthusiasm for learning.
Zhou Jiani said, "It's always good to review more and read more books."
I feel that Sun Ping is influenced by me. Not only will her partner change, but other aspects of her life will also shift.
What if I get into university in the future?
Sun Ping asked Zhou Jiani about her New Year's celebrations, "Do you have many relatives? How many of them have you visited?"
"Not much, I just hang out with my aunt's family more."
Only her mother took the twins to visit her aunt, but she didn't go.
Sun Ping rambled on about the New Year's holiday, curling her lips and saying, "My relatives are really amazing. I didn't eat a single meal from them, and everyone who saw me would ask me how much food I brought back for the New Year. They told me to be more attentive at home and work harder..."
"Especially my grandma. She would stare at me if I took one more bite. It makes me so angry. Fortunately, I don't live with her normally, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to stay here until now."
Zhou Jiani listened to her complaints all the way.
We finally arrived in Bin County, and as soon as we got off the car, we saw Comrade Xiao Qiu waiting there.
Sun Ping smiled and said, "Happy New Year, Comrade Qiu!"
Qiu Zeming: "Happy New Year!"
Sun Ping belatedly realized this and whispered to Zhou Jiani, "Did Comrade Qiu visit your house during the Chinese New Year?"
She had forgotten all about it.
Zhou Jiani smiled and nodded: "Yes, I went and stayed in the provincial capital for two days."
Sun Ping: "That's great, so you two are officially set?"
Zhou Jiani: "It can only be considered as meeting the parents..."
Qiu Zeming hurriedly said, "I haven't met my parents yet."
Zhou Jiani gave him a sidelong glance.
Sun Ping felt that the atmosphere was not right. Why did she change the subject?
As they walked out of the train station, Sun Ping sighed again, "It feels like a lifetime ago. The last time I left this station, I was so fascinated by the countryside I didn't even look around. I just remember you saying, 'Why is this station so shabby?'"
Zhou Jiani: ...
Can we please not mention the dark history?
Qiu Zeming next to him glanced sideways, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
On the way back to the village, Zhou Jiani asked, "Have Wanxia and the others returned?"
Qiu Zeming: "I'll be there at 10:00 am the day after tomorrow."
After returning to the brigade, Qiu Zeming took Zhou Jiani's luggage and keys back to help her pack. Zhou Jiani went to the village committee, greenhouse and factory one by one to say hello. It was dark when she finished all the greetings.
Zhao Mei asked her to go to her house for dinner, and Zhang Baosheng also asked her to go to her house for dinner, saying, "Call Xiao Qiu and ask your aunt to make dumplings for us."
Zhou Jiani made an appointment with Zhao Mei for tomorrow night, and then went to Zhang Baosheng's house with Qiu Zeming to eat dumplings. After the dumplings were served, she said, "The samples we took last time were sent to the foreign trade department for selection. My aunt's classmate is in charge of foreign trade selection. On the sixth day of the New Year, my aunt took me there. Aunt Su said she is very optimistic about our products, but whether they can be selected and how many models will be selected still need to be discussed in a meeting. From now on, we just have to wait for news."
Aunt Baosheng said from the side: "Oh, child, you have done something big again without making any noise?"
Zhang Baosheng was stunned for a long moment before reacting. He said angrily, "You should have told Xiao Qiu to buy two more pieces for your aunt's classmate." He added, "As for your aunt, even though she's a relative, she's done us such a big favor. How inappropriate would it be if we didn't show some appreciation?"
Zhou Jiani smiled: "A few days ago, when Ze Ming went to deliver the goods, I brought two baskets for my aunt..."
Qiu Zeming: "Jia Ni paid for the goods herself and gave them to Accountant Liu."
Zhang Baosheng said hurriedly, "That won't do. This has to be charged to the village. You kid, tell me, don't do this in the future. Ask the village to reimburse you for what you owe. When we ship to the provincial capital in a couple of days, send two more pieces for your aunt, and also your... Aunt Su, right? Give her a set."
Zhou Jiani agreed and said, "My aunt has returned to Jincheng. I'll find time to mail two items there. Oh, speaking of which, there's one more thing. I want to exchange some samples with a neighbor of mine. She's working in the countryside in Zhejiang Province, and there's a lot of bamboo weaving products there. I asked her to help mail some back, and I'll mail her some of our own products so we can learn from each other."
With this way, she now has one more excuse to send mails in the future.
Zhang Baosheng said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay, Jiani, just take care of the arrangements. Anyway, don't worry about anything. If the factory needs to report it, go directly to Liu Tong."
"good!"
Aunt Baosheng smiled and said, "Alright, alright, alright, let's stop talking about work and eat dumplings. Hurry and eat..."
After dinner, Zhou Jiani and Qiu Zeming walked back with flashlights. It was dark and there was no one on the road, so the two held hands.
After sending Zhou Jiani all the way to the door, Qiu Zeming said, "Go back and lock the door. Don't be afraid at night. I will come to patrol a few times."
He regretted going to Zhang Baosheng's house to eat dumplings, and even dipped the dumplings in garlic. Now he tried to keep a distance from Zhou Jiani and gave her detailed instructions.
"Okay!" Zhou Jiani suppressed a smile and said, "No need to get up to patrol at night. I'm very brave. The door is also doubly protected, and it's not far away. Go back and rest."
"Um!"
Qiu Zeming watched her enter, listened to her lock the door, and stood at the door for a moment before going back.
Sun Ping didn't come tonight. I can't just call her over and leave her home alone. Shouldn't she go to the captain's house to eat dumplings?
However, in the afternoon, Qiu Zeming came back and helped her light the stove, boiled water to fill all the thermoses, filled the jars and pots with water, and carried a bucket to the room where she slept. He also heated the kang before going to dinner, so she was not cold when she came in, and every step was in place.
Zhou Jiani went into the house, lit the light, propped the door shut with a stick, looked at the stove, sealed it again, went back to the inner room, bolted it, and propped the door shut with a stick. She didn't plan to come out again tonight.
She washed her hands and feet, scanned the waste water with her mobile phone, changed into pajamas, took out the desk lamp and turned it on, extinguished the kerosene lamp, and then took out the glass bottle from the shelf that she had taken the time to disinfect a few days ago.
It wasn't a canning bottle, but a large-capacity sealed bottle that she bought from the group.
He then took out three clean large enamel pots, white sugar, and black tea, estimated the amount of sugar and tea, and placed them aside to cool.
Zhou Jiani plans to grow the kombucha fungus she bought last time because she hasn’t done so yet.
After the sugar tea cools down, take out the kombucha from the fresh-keeping shelf, pour the bacterial film and liquid into the sterilized bottle, then filter the sugar tea in the teapot into it, seal it with a handkerchief, secure it with a rubber band, and put it on the ordinary shelf.
Ordinary shelves do not preserve freshness, and are in a normal room temperature environment, which is convenient for fermentation.
He threw away the tea leaves, cleaned the pot, put it away, tidied up, and got into bed.
After sitting on the train all day and being busy with social activities in the village in the afternoon, it was really not relaxing. Zhou Jiani yawned and was about to tuck in the quilt to go to sleep when she felt a vibration in her palm. She clicked on it and grabbed a red envelope. After grabbing it, she realized that someone was looking for her.
Red envelope: See the content on the withered vine!
Zhou Jiani waited patiently for this person's group purchase information.
[Roujia's essential oil hair mask is back! It's a resurgence. Is it good? See how quickly those who have used it grab it (Ku Teng is releasing another wave of wooden crutches and feather dusters). Today's group buy is at a discounted price...]
She didn't know what price to sell the wooden dragon head crutch for, so she tentatively set the price at 19.9 per piece. The goods didn't sell very quickly, but she didn't expect that someone would ask her to re-order them.
She didn't know much about the market for feather dusters, so she priced it at 9.9. She knew it was too cheap, so it sold out in seconds.
But the price has already been set, and I definitely can’t raise it for no reason next time. It’s still 9.9, but I have to wait until she gets more goods.
I'll make a note of it for now, and I don't plan to reply with a red envelope. I'll go to Grandma Wu's house and Zhao Mei's house tomorrow to check out the hair bands, insoles, and brooms. I'll take as many as I can, and then start a group chat and reply when I come back.
Another group leader started a group selling fish-flavored cakes, and Zhou Jiani clicked on it and grabbed two packs.
She kept her eyes open and looked for a while, but didn't see what she wanted, so she turned off the desk lamp, put it away, and slept until 7:30 in the morning.
As soon as Zhou Jiani sat up, she slipped back out again - she missed Comrade Yu Wanxia who got up early to light the stove.
Taking advantage of the warmth in the quilt, he put on his cotton trousers and cotton jacket, got off the kang with a hissing sound, and went out to poke the stove with his neck hunched. Fortunately, the fire was not extinguished, and soon the fire gradually became stronger.
Zhou Jiani washed up with hot water and prepared to go to the kitchen to cook on the big stove.
Just as she reached the middle of the yard, she heard Qiu Zeming calling her from outside: "Is Jiani up?"
Zhou Jiani rushed over to open the door: "Get up."
Qiu Zeming handed her two lunch boxes and said, "I made fish porridge and heated up a steamed bun. Come eat quickly. I'm going to the greenhouse first."
"Fish porridge?" Zhou Jiani's eyes curved. "Comrade Xiao Qiu is so kind. Thank you."
Qiu Zeming raised the corners of his mouth, his eyes were gentle, and his voice was tender: "It's my duty to take care of my Comrade Xiao Zhou!"
Zhou Jiani was delighted to hear this, a little overwhelmed. She quickly glanced outside, then stood on tiptoe and pecked him on the cheek: "Here's your reward!"
He took the lunch box, quickly closed the door, and bolted it.
Outside the door, Qiu Zeming's eyes widened as he touched the place where Comrade Xiao Zhou had just kissed him. After a while, he grinned, jumped high on the spot, turned around and happily went to the greenhouse.
In the room, Zhou Jiani was very satisfied with the meal, not only because it was thoughtful of her partner, but mainly because the food tasted really good.
She drank a full lunch box of porridge with papaya pickles that she had forgotten when she bought, ate a steamed bun, took out detergent to clean the lunch box, and put it aside.
Zhou Jiani put two handfuls of melon seeds into her pocket, grabbed a handful of fruit candies, and went to Grandma Wu's house carrying her cloth bag.
If she met a child who greeted her on the road, she would give him a piece of candy or a handful of melon seeds.
When they arrived at Grandma Wu's house, she put in a can of peaches and half a pound of dried shrimps.
"Grandma Wu, I wish you a happy new year." Zhou Jiani said with a smile, "I haven't had any free time since I came back yesterday, so I came to see you today."
"Jia Ni, come quickly..." Grandma Wu greeted her warmly, bringing out melon seeds, peanuts, and red dates for her to eat, and asked kindly, "Is everything okay at home?"
"That's great. By the way, I have good news for you: the insoles and brooms are all sold out," Zhou Jiani said with a smile. "I have a neighbor who was also an educated youth. She went to the countryside in Zhejiang Province and came to me to get several pairs of shoes to give away. I asked me to order two more pairs for her from you. I'll send them along with the basket in a few days. I'll settle the bill with you once she mails it back."
The previous batch of accounts were settled before the New Year, and this batch sounds like the real thing.
But Grandma Wu was very happy and said, "Don't worry, don't worry. Thank you for your hard work, Jiani."
"It's not hard. It's just moving your mouth, so what's the hardship?" Zhou Jiani said, "If you have extra loofahs this fall, please save two for me."
Grandma Wu was embarrassed that Zhou Jiani only asked her for such a worthless thing, as if giving her a few loofahs would repay her favor. She said with a smile: "You child, what is the value of that thing?"
Zhou Jiani put down the canned food and dried shrimps. Grandma Wu refused again. Zhou Jiani said, "Then let Brother Wu help me saw a few more gourds. You see, I'm not polite when I ask you for things, so you don't have to be polite with me."
Grandma Wu: "Oh, you kid, you..."
After sitting at Grandma Wu's house for a while, he took fourteen pairs of insoles and ten brooms, and went to the factory.
Zhang Laosi and his friends have already mastered the new samples from the New Year, and they have made a few more, one for practice, and the other for Zhou Jiani to take out.
When Zhou Jiani ordered the suitcases again, she simply ordered six and would see if they could be sold in the group. If not, she could give them away sooner or later.
Next, I plan to study handbags with them.
"Handbag, like the kind with a basket?"
Zhou Jiani said, "The styles are different. See if you can mix straw and willow weaving, or just use willow weaving, choosing fine materials... Take a look at my drawings first."
She took out the blueprints she had drawn long ago and asked them to look at them first.
Li Jingdang came to find her, and Zhou Jiani went to the office.
Li Jingdang came to her mainly because the factory was hiring again. He smiled and said, "We need to buy materials again. Let's buy them from the nearby Donghe Commune."
Zhou Jiani asked: "How many orders do you have now?"
Li Jingdang smiled and said, "We still have an order for 300 baskets from the provincial capital. A few days ago, we received an order call from the supply and marketing cooperative near the Tiyu Subdistrict Office. They ordered 50 baskets and said that the director of their supply and marketing cooperative is your relative..."
Zhou Jiani knew who it was and said half-jokingly, "Oh, we have to do a good job on this order and deliver the goods as soon as possible. I'm counting on them to help us get export connections."
She told him about Aunt Su and her boyfriend, and Li Jingdang smiled and said, "Okay, okay, don't worry. I'll take the order and tell them to deliver a dozen in half a month."
Turning the subject back, he continued, "There are over 200 more in the city, in Qingshui County, Donghe Commune, our own county supply and marketing cooperative, and... you know Suchang County, right?"
Anyway, we have to recruit workers quickly and collect materials.
Zhou Jiani said, "Let's hire. When we built the workshop, we left room for further expansion. Let's recruit workers and buy materials first. We'll discuss other matters after we hear news from the export side and the Canton Fair."
Although he didn't say it explicitly, Li Jingdang had an idea. He estimated that Comrade Zhou was going to start preparing for the diversion.
This time, the recruitment was mainly for people with technical experience from other brigades, and a few trainees with good hands were also recruited. No more recruitment was done from the village. Zhang Baosheng also had to think about the spring plowing. Everyone went to work in the factory, and there was no one to farm.
This year we not only have to farm, but also grow the raw materials for weaving.
After the first month of the lunar year, Zhou Jiani changed from a thick cotton-padded jacket to a thin one. With the help of Qiu Zeming, she asked the transport team to bring the things and letters that Li Yan had collected for her.
Li Yan even called here before the goods were shipped.
It is very inconvenient to make phone calls where she lives, and she has to walk two hours along the mountain road to the local commune to make a call.
Zhou Jiani instructed her on the phone to write down the local selling prices of various baskets in the letter so that she could understand the market.
Various bamboo baskets, bamboo hats, and a sack of bamboo tubes.
When Zhou Jiani called her, she told her to get more bamboo tubes and asked her to buy them from her fellow villagers. Don't worry about whether they are valuable or not, you have to pay even a penny. Since she wants to achieve results, she should do the same as her and help her fellow villagers create some income.
So I just got her a sack, and Zhou Jiani was very happy.
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