Chapter 123
Zhou Jiani simply borrowed an ox cart from the village to take the items back for inventory.
There are seven bamboo baskets of different sizes and styles, six bamboo baskets of different sizes and styles, and six katydid cages; thirty bamboo hats; one dustpan; and eighty-six bamboo cups.
Zhang Baosheng followed and said, "Jiani, I sent it to the factory for everyone to learn from. You can ask the factory to reimburse you."
"good!"
Lu Zhaoliang, a purchasing agent for the village supply and marketing cooperative, heard the news and came over. He called out at the door and only entered after being allowed in. He asked with a smile, "Comrade Zhou, do you still have this purchasing method?"
Zhou Jiani wasn't familiar with Lu Zhaoliang, so she spoke in a businesslike manner. She smiled and said, "It's not a purchase. My neighbor's sister sent it from out of town."
Lu Zhaoliang scratched his head. He dealt mostly with gay men and could chat with them for half a day just by passing a cigarette, but he had no luck with female lesbians. However, he was envious of the things on the ground because they were not sold here.
The baskets and other items were in short supply, so it was hard to get them. But there were plenty of bamboo cups and bamboo hats. So he smiled and asked directly, "Comrade Zhou, can we discuss how to distribute some of these bamboo hats and bamboo cups to the supply and marketing cooperative?"
Zhou Jiani was just looking for Zhang Gong's public purchase certificate. The purchase certificate from the supply and marketing cooperative was clear at a glance and more useful than the one from the village. If she asked the village to issue it, she would have to explain herself if she really encountered someone who was picky about it.
But you can't respond so readily.
She glanced at Lu Zhaoliang, and with an embarrassed look on her face, she said jokingly, "Comrade Lu, we finally managed to get something rare, and you're already thinking about it?"
"You're a professional buyer, so you shouldn't be interested in these things, right?"
Lu Zhaoliang waved his hands and said, "No, no, I dare not. I'm just a small buyer. If we really talk about knowledge, I may not be able to compare with Comrade Zhou. Please help me. These things are really rare for me."
He was only a commune-level purchasing officer, responsible for transferring and adjusting goods within the city, or purchasing supplies. He had few opportunities to travel far away, and secondly, he could not go wherever he wanted.
If he could have put on airs in the past, the situation in the village was different now. Moreover, Comrade Zhou was the one who could deliver goods to the Provincial Department Store and the Friendship Store. In front of Lu Zhaoliang, she had to be called a capable person, so he unconsciously lowered his attitude.
But Zhou Jiani didn't respond immediately. Instead, she looked at Zhang Baosheng and asked for his opinion: "Captain, we exchanged samples for the factory. The weaving method of this hat is different from our ordinary straw hats and straw hats. The purpose is to let everyone in the factory take it apart and learn from it, so you have the final say on this matter."
He then pretended to be serious and said, "I'll keep the bamboo tube for gifts and for friends. It doesn't matter who the rest is given to. But the bamboo hat and the others are samples for the factory to learn from."
Lu Zhaoliang looked at Zhang Baosheng with a big smile on his face: "Uncle..."
He handed Zhang Baosheng a cigarette.
In fact, ever since the village's weaving industry started to pick up momentum, Lu Zhaoliang lowered his noble head and called Zhang Baosheng "uncle" every time he saw him.
In the past, the villagers had to beg him for help. The purchase of fertilizers and seeds had to go through him. He couldn't have the final say on when to be assigned to the Qianjin Brigade, but he had a certain say. Whenever they met on the road, Zhang Baosheng would take the initiative to greet them.
Now it's completely the other way around.
Especially in the winter before the New Year, Zhou Jiani brought back several pieces of defective cloth to the village, and Lu Zhaoliang was called in for questioning by the director because of this.
He is a professional buyer, but his purchasing volume is not as large as Zhou Jiani's, who is not a professional. He needs to be more attentive.
Lu Zhaoliang was criticized by his leader once and is now much more humble.
Zhang Baosheng didn't take on too much responsibility. He knew that these things were bought by Zhou Jiani, so he didn't want to make the decision for her directly. So he said, "I'll ask Zhang Laosi later to see how many the factory needs. I'll get back to you then."
"Okay, uncle, thank you for your concern," Lu Zhaoliang said with a smile. "These hats are different from the ones we bought from outside. They are quite unique and beautiful. Please help me get them. I promise to arrange the first batch of fertilizer after the spring to our village first."
"I'll save a few of the rare fertilizer bags for you."
In the past, if you wanted fertilizer in the village, you had to bring your own gear. The bags would be opened and poured into your own baskets. They wouldn't even give you the fertilizer bags. Especially with imported fertilizer, the bags could be made into pants, but it was hard for ordinary people to get a pair. Those bastards at the supply and marketing cooperatives either kept them for themselves or gave them to their superiors. Who could wear urea pants in the summer and raise their chins to the sky with pride?
Even a mediocre team leader like him has never won a single one.
Zhang Baosheng felt refreshed and grinned, saying, "Okay, go do your thing. Jiani and I will finish the statistics and go to the factory for a meeting, then I'll send someone to call you."
If you don't look at anything else, just look at the fertilizer, it won't be difficult for this little bastard.
Lu Zhaoliang left. When he left, Zhang Baosheng couldn't help but laugh and scold him, "This brat, he used to call the village team leaders by their names, no matter how many years older they were. Now he respects them as 'team leader'."
Zhou Jiani smiled.
Zhang Baosheng asked again, "How much can these bamboo hats give to the supply and marketing cooperative?"
There are also bamboo tubes.
Zhou Jiani said, "Half and half. But I guess these goods are just the beginning. Maybe he wants this channel."
Zhang Baosheng shook his head and almost cursed, saying, "This bastard, he really knows how to take advantage of others."
He doesn't have to travel far to find the way, with ready-made transportation routes and ready-made remote buyers, so he can get this performance for free.
Zhou Jiani began to weigh the pros and cons, but it was also a good thing for Li Yan and she would not suffer any loss either.
Zhou Jiani said, "I'll ask Zeming later to see what his attitude is. If I really let him use it, the transportation team will probably charge a different price. Let him apply for it himself from the supply and marketing cooperative. If I need a purchase order, he has to help me make one."
This way, it will be more convenient for her to carry goods in the future.
Otherwise, if she asked for so many things every time, she might have doubts from the transport team. After all, it wasn't Qiu Zeming's buddy every time.
"become!"
Zhang Baosheng hadn't come here just for the bamboo products. He said with a cheerful look on his face, "The road construction will officially begin next Monday. I think there's hope for the primary school as well. Director Zhai said he's mentioned it to the higher-ups, but the commune's original plan to start construction hasn't moved forward. Do you think we should move it to our village?"
Zhou Jiani was stunned. Yes, there was no news about the teacher recruitment that was supposed to come after the Chinese New Year.
It seems that Zhai Xiangqiang really changed his mind.
Zhang Baosheng said happily, "I'm going to go to the factory, then return to the village to hold a meeting and discuss with others where to choose a location if we really want to build a primary school. Of course, we don't want to leak the news yet. What if it doesn't work out? We can just make plans in advance."
He stood up and carried the baskets to the factory. He also took a few bamboo hats and put two bamboo cups given to him by Zhou Jiani in his pocket, which he rarely used.
Zhou Jiani put these things away and took out the kombucha fungus she had grown before. After ten days or so, a thick layer of it grew and it came back to life.
He took out a few sterilized cans, filtered the bacterial liquid into them one by one, made new sugar tea, put them on the shelf to cool down, and then grew them.
She first tasted the bacterial liquid without adding water, and it tasted sour, a little sweet, but mainly sour.
The longer this thing is kept, the sourer it becomes, and it tastes like apple cider vinegar.
I poured some into the teacup, scooped in two spoonfuls of honey, added some hot water, poured it into the kettle, and carried it to the greenhouse.
The fourth phase of the greenhouse project is also being expanded. Zhang Baosheng and his team intend to build another shed before the spring plowing and not expand it for the time being.
A door was opened in the wall connecting Phases 1 and 2, bringing them together. Qiu Zeming used a firewood stick to write a large "1" on the wall, and it is now called Shed No. 1.
The previous Phase III shed was written with '2', and the Phase IV shed is now Shed No. 3. It cannot be called a shed yet as the foundation is being laid.
Qiu Zeming was not wearing a cotton jacket, only a sweater. He rolled up his sleeves and was making adobe bricks, sweating profusely.
Seeing Zhou Jiani coming over, he lifted the towel around his neck and wiped the sweat off his face.
"It's still cold now. You'll easily catch a cold if you wear this and sweat all over." Zhou Jiani said.
Qiu Zeming took the coat next to him and put it on, then handed the tools in his hand to the person next to him and said with a smile: "If I don't work, I will go back to Shed No. 2."
He took Zhou Jiani to greenhouse No. 2, took the kettle she handed over, unscrewed the bottle without thinking, tilted his head back and took a sip, then frowned instantly.
Zhou Jiani laughed: "Is it very sour? It's all diluted with water."
Qiu Zeming put it under his nose and sniffed it, smacking his lips as he savored it. The overall taste was sour and sweet, but the sourness still made him shudder when he first took a sip: "What is this?"
“I grow my own kombucha.”
Kombucha has been around for a long time. It's not something that only appeared in the 1980s. It was just popular for a while back then. Every household was raising it and even borrowed strains from each other.
Even if there is no strain of fungus, she can grow it herself, so Zhou Jiani did not hide it.
It’s just that it’s not very common now, so maybe not many people know about it.
Qiu Zeming shook his head: "This is the first time I've heard of this kind of thing, but it tastes very good."
He took another sip and smacked his lips: "Delicious!"
Zhou Jiani looked at him with a smile in her eyes: "Do you really think it tastes good or are you just trying to show your support?"
"It tastes really good, better than orange juice." Qiu Zeming was full of curiosity and drank half the pot in one sip after another.
While he was drinking, Zhou Jiani told him what she suspected Lu Zhao was interested in, saying, "If he really wanted to establish this connection, would it have any impact on you or the transport team?"
"No, but we have to let the transport team earn some extra money from him." Qiu Zeming raised an eyebrow. "Brother Xiao will come over in half a month. If that kid surnamed Lu really wants to do this, let Brother Xiao talk to him."
There will always be some bleeding.
Seeing the workers hidden behind a cucumber rack, Qiu Zeming wanted to reach out and take his girlfriend's hand, ready to take her to see the tomatoes. Just as he reached out, he heard a sound coming from the village loudspeaker. To be more precise, it was the sound of Zhang Baosheng, who was a little dizzy with excitement.
"Comrade Zhou Jiani, please come to the brigade immediately after hearing the broadcast. Comrade Jiani, please come immediately after hearing the broadcast."
Zhou Jiani was stunned and thought, if I can't speak elementary school, then it will be approved, right?
She looked down and saw Qiu Zeming's hand frozen not far from her. She smiled and shook it, saying, "I'm going to the village committee."
Qiu Zeming sighed, "Okay." He added, "I've saved two of the biggest tomatoes for you. Pick them when they're fully ripe and mix them with sugar."
Zhou Jiani swallowed and said, "Okay!"
The tomatoes at this time are particularly flavorful, especially the naturally ripe ones. Cut them into pieces and sprinkle them with sugar, they are especially delicious.
She went to the village committee and met a few members on the way. They asked her, "Jiani, what's the big deal?"
Without any definite information, Zhou Jiani was not sure what to say. She smiled and said, "I don't know. I'll go over and take a look."
It was like this: the village was holding a meeting, and other village cadres were immersed in the joy of the possibility of building a primary school in the village, when the phone rang nearby.
At first I thought it was someone calling to place an order, but it turned out to be: the export was successful!
Zhang Baosheng was so excited at the time that his face looked different, which scared Liu Tong and the others, and they turned pale in confusion.
I thought, is the sky going to fall?
Their captain, in particular, had a cracked voice and just kept nodding as he held the microphone: "Okay, okay, I'll do it right away. I'll do it right away. Okay, okay, don't worry. Please don't worry. We will pay attention. Yes, yes, yes, we will pay attention."
The others' hearts were in their throats when they heard this.
Especially the old man, after hanging up the phone, fell into the chair behind him in a daze, with an expression as if he was about to die. His eyes were blank and he didn't say a word for a long time. When he spoke again, he raised his hands to cover his eyes and started to cry.
After crying for a long time, she slammed the table and said in a serious tone, word by word: "The graves of our ancestors are about to be filled with smoke!"
Liu Tong: Speak human language!
Zhang Baosheng sniffed, his cloudy old eyes sweeping over everyone present. He said in a deep voice, "Jia Ni helped us negotiate the export deal. I just received a call from the provincial capital saying that all the baskets from our village have been selected."
There was silence in the room, and then a burst of cheers broke out after a moment.
Several team leaders also raised their hands to wipe away their tears.
When Zhou Jiani arrived, she met a pair of red eyes and was stunned for a moment before saying, "Has the elementary school really been approved?"
"No!" Zhang Baosheng's lips trembled with excitement. "Jiani, your aunt called and said that all our samples were selected."
Zhou Jiani was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Oh, is that the case? You've been selected?"
Zhang Baosheng nodded.
The others also looked at her excitedly, but Zhou Jiani remained calm and said calmly, "What do we need to prepare? Should the export company come to visit? Or should we just go through the formalities directly?"
The others looked at Zhang Baosheng with red eyes, full of curiosity.
Zhang Baosheng said, "Yes, yes, yes. They said there was a... Oh, right, a reporter from the provincial newspaper was coming. Oh, I was so excited that I forgot about it."
He looked at the others with red eyes again: "Reporters from the provincial capital are coming to interview and report on the product. They said they want to understand the background. We will officially report on the product after the export procedures are completed and the product is officially exported."
"The reporter is here with the export company to take a look..."
Zhang Baosheng was so excited that he was a little incoherent, but Zhou Jiani still pieced together all the information and asked calmly, "Is my Aunt Su coming?"
"Come, come, there are still some formalities that need to be handled by the commune at the county level," Zhang Baosheng said. "I'll give the commune a call."
Zhou Jiani pushed him to sit on the chair and reached out to Liu Tong: "Accountant Liu, phone book."
She has her own phone book for all work-related contacts, and she also writes down a copy in the village phone book to prevent loss.
I called Aunt Su back and took detailed notes.
Then he calmly made arrangements: "The provincial government will be visiting next Monday. We'll be responsible for arranging their accommodations. Contact the commune guesthouse tomorrow and have them reserve a few rooms. Also, have the factory make preparations. We'll wrap up at 4 pm today and do a thorough cleaning. Then have Section Chief Zhao pack a few gifts..."
Section Chief Zhao is Zhao Mei. After the company expanded, some positions were added. Now Zhao Mei has been promoted to Section Chief of the Quality Inspection Section, and she usually helps Zhou Jiani.
Bai Haoyang also officially took office, replacing Qiu Zeming's position in the weaving factory. Qiu Zeming will only be in charge of the greenhouse in the future.
Not only was Zhang Baosheng unable to calm down, but no one else could calm down either. When the announcement was made in the factory, the entire workshop was in an uproar, and people from the materials workshop also gathered around.
that is……
Many people were happy but murmured: "It's just that the quantity is not that big."
"That's also the exit."
"Of course I knew it was for export, but I didn't expect the export orders to be so small."
It’s not even as big as the order from a city department store.
Zhou Jiani knew everyone's curiosity and said with a smile, "We only filled the export gap in this area last year, with an annual export volume of only 200 pieces. This year, it will definitely increase several times, but now we can evenly distribute 30 pieces, which is already very good."
The man who spoke smiled embarrassedly and said, "Chief Zhou, I know. I just wanted to say that the foreigners are too stingy. They don't export much at once, but they want some of our goods."
The others burst into laughter.
Zhou Jiani also smiled and said, "This is our first time, so we have to make a good start. The quality inspection of exported products is extremely strict. It's not just our opinion that it's okay. The export company has to inspect the goods again and say they are okay before they can be accepted."
"If our products sell well abroad, why should we worry about people not placing additional orders?"
The general cleaning was carried out after the work was completed. Zhou Jiani first arranged for people to repaint the fire prevention slogans with red paint and also repainted the no-smoking signs.
After receiving the call, Zhai Xiangqiang rushed over with his secretary Xiao Zhao, and his bicycle was almost sparking.
When the two of them arrived, the factory was painting fire prevention slogans.
Zhai Xiangqiang looked at him approvingly, waved to Zhang Baosheng, and walked over to ask about the details.
Zhang Baosheng waved to Zhou Jiani again, saying that Comrade Zhou had to handle this matter. He was so excited that he couldn't distinguish the primary from the secondary.
Zhou Jiani was reporting, and Secretary Xiao Zhao was taking notes beside her.
Zhai Xiangqiang said repeatedly: "Good, good, Comrade Zhou, you are not only a great contributor to Qianjin Village, but also a great contributor to our commune."
Then he looked at Zhang Baosheng and said, "Your application to build a primary school has been approved!"
Everyone in the workshop was still very excited and busy with their work, but they were all stunned when they heard this.
The person who was far away didn't hear clearly, so he asked the colleague next to him: "What was approved again?"
Someone nearby kept asking, "Director Zhai, build a primary school? Is that a school? Where should we build it?"
Zhai Xiangqiang turned around and smiled, "Your team leader applied to me years ago, wanting to build a primary school in the village. This will not only make it convenient for the children of your Qianjin Brigade to go to school, but also for the children of the nearby brigades to go to school nearby..."
Another cheer broke out in the workshop.
Zhang Baosheng was about to mention this to everyone, saying that it was Comrade Xiao Zhou's idea, when Zhou Jiani shook her head and whispered, "There's no need to explain everything. The main credit goes to you, for your quick decision and swift action."
She just opens her mouth and Zhang Baosheng has to run himself ragged.
But Zhang Baosheng knew that if Comrade Xiao Zhou hadn't mentioned it, he would never have thought of it.
The people in the Qianjin Brigade were extremely happy. Although the people in other brigades around them were also happy, they were mostly envious.
Although it is better for those who live nearby to go to school in Qianjin Brigade than to go to town, wouldn’t it be more convenient if they have a primary school in their own village?
But there is nothing we can do, because the Qianjin Brigade is lucky.
After Zhai Xiangqiang had learned in detail about the export matters and the work that required the commune's involvement and left, Sheng Manliang and his men came to find Zhang Baosheng and said with a smile, "Captain, how about we set off a few strings of firecrackers?"
Zhang Laosi also grinned: "Double happiness!"
There's still stock for the New Year.
Zhang Baosheng's blood was boiling as well. Not only did he want to set off a couple of firecrackers to liven things up, he also wanted to go to his ancestors' graves and chant a few words.
But he quickly suppressed his emotion and said calmly, "It won't be too late to release it after our baskets are officially shipped abroad and our village primary school is officially built. Keep a low profile, keep a low profile, and don't show off."
What if the boasting is gone?
At this time he was ready to pay attention to superstition.
Everyone went back, but everyone had a smile on their face, happier than during the Chinese New Year.
Soon, the news that a primary school was going to be built in the village spread. Many people thought the news was false, but they also hoped it was true, so they went to the village committee to ask.
Zhang Baosheng simply broadcast it through the loudspeaker, and mentioned in passing that the village's woven products were going to be exported. Finally, he seriously warned everyone that during this period, anyone who did anything to discredit or hinder the village would be the first one to be forgiven by him, Zhang Baosheng.
For example, what happened to the two educated youth a few years ago was a drag on the village.
Liu Ailing and Zhao Weiguo on the farm didn't know that after the New Year, they were dragged out by Zhang Baosheng again and whipped.
The village was full of joy.
At Zhang Desheng's house in the west of the village, the matchmaker's face was even more beaming.
Zhang Desheng's son had been matched with a wife. Today, the girl came to visit, and it just so happened that there were two happy events in the village. The matchmaker took the opportunity to say, "Why don't we add another happy event to the family and take advantage of the festivities to have two children."
The man was naturally overjoyed and looked at the girl's family with anticipation. The girl's family originally wanted to hold back, but after hearing that the village was developing so well, they were afraid that if they acted arrogantly, it would ruin the child's good fortune, so they looked at their own daughter.
The woman blushed and nodded slightly.
Zhang Desheng's wife hurried forward and took her future daughter-in-law's hand, saying with a smile, "That storage stool is popular in our village now. It's sold at the Friendship Store in the provincial capital. I'll take you to the factory to have a look. If you think it's good, we can get one too."
The girl's mother winked at the matchmaker, who understood and said with a smile, "Mother-in-law, if you are going to export the baskets, why don't you give the girl two more?"
Zhang Desheng's wife laughed and said, "Add more, add all!"
Some thoughtful educated youth also started to take action and went to the village committee to recommend themselves as teachers.
Zhang Baosheng didn't get carried away and didn't agree immediately. He said, "This matter will be decided by the commune. We'll see what Director Zhai thinks when the time comes."
And they certainly won’t recruit only from this village; they have to give educated youth from other brigades a chance.
The commune issued the document very quickly, and the notice was officially issued the next day, approving the construction of a primary school in the Qianjin Brigade, and at the same time recruiting private teachers for the educated youth in all the brigades under the commune.
They will be recommended and selected by each brigade, and then go to the commune for an examination. The examination will be held at the end of the month, and there will be about twenty days to prepare.
Originally, the educated youth in the Qianjin Brigade were secretly planning that this good thing would fall among them, but they didn't expect that it would involve all the educated youth in the entire commune. At the same time, they had to go through the selection of their own brigade first, and after passing the selection, they had to pass the exam.
The procedure is similar to that of the previous life.
But Zhou Jiani had no quota, just like in her previous life. Although she had no quota, the meaning was different.
In her previous life, she did not have a mass base and was not elected. In this life, she already holds an important position in the factory and certainly cannot strive to qualify as a private teacher. The factory is reluctant to let her go.
Somehow the news reached the farm.
A curious educated youth went to Zhao Weiguo and said, "That brigade you were in before is really great. They're going to build a primary school and are recruiting private teachers."
It is not open to farms.
The farm does not entirely fall under the jurisdiction of Xihe Commune.
Zhao Weiguo felt like he was struck by lightning. Since coming here, he never showed his regret in front of others. During the Chinese New Year, he missed home so much that his eyes were red, but he held on with his neck stiff. Today, he cried loudly for the first time in his life, and he completely blamed Liu Ailing in his heart.
It was indeed not Liu Ailing who directly instructed him to do so, but he was ultimately influenced by what Liu Ailing said and acted impulsively.
Now, even if we want to settle accounts with her, we cannot hold her responsible with a clear conscience.
On the other side, Liu Ailing also bit her lips and burst into tears after a while.
Similarly, Peng Guangrong, Meng Jiandi and others in the village received another heavy blow: they had no part in recruiting workers.
However, Yu Wanxia signed up happily.
Sun Ping was not qualified, but she accepted it calmly. The six-month blacklist period had not yet ended, and she was already very grateful that she could go back to visit her family during the Chinese New Year. Now she just had to work honestly and perform well, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
On Monday afternoon, county cadres took Zhai Xiangqiang, Zhang Baosheng, Zhou Jiani and others to the county railway station, picked up comrades from the province, and took a bus back to Xihe Commune together.
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