Chapter 170
When we got off the bus in Qiyang, everyone shuddered. Two days later, the first light snow fell here.
Zhou Jiani did not go back with them. She first sent Yu Wanxia and her group away, and stayed at home for two days before returning to Bin County.
Not long after she returned to the Qianjin Brigade, Liu Yan knocked on the door carrying a bundle of fresh shepherd's purse. Standing at the doorway, he handed it to her and said with a smile, "Team Leader Zhou, this shepherd's purse is out of season. Come and try it. Comrade Qiu previously instructed that if we plant shepherd's purse in the fall and winter, we will definitely give you a bundle."
Zhou Jiani had completely forgotten about this matter. Her heart suddenly felt sore. She took it with a smile and said, "Thank you, Comrade Liu. I'll get the money for you..."
"No, no, no, you'd be slapping me in the face if you pay me." Liu Yan was worried that Zhou Jiani would go back to the greenhouse to make up for the debt, so he said hurriedly, "Forget it this time. If you want more in the future, we'll just deal with it."
Zhou Jiani didn't hesitate and accepted it after thanking her.
In addition to delivering the food, Liu Yan also brought a parcel list and said, "It arrived the day before yesterday. You should go pick it up tomorrow."
Zhou Jiani thanked him and waited until Liu Yan left before taking a closer look. It was mailed from the capital, so she guessed it must be something sent to her by Ze Ming's mother.
In the evening, I had shepherd's purse dumplings with Yu Wanxia and others.
The next day, I went to work at the commune and picked up a package at the post office at noon. It was a heavy package. In it, besides some dried fruits and snacks, there was a cashmere coat and a letter hoping that she would visit the capital for a few days when she was free.
After get off work in the evening, he took a detour to Zhao Hai's house to get the dried cowpeas he had saved during this period, and settled the accounts with him by the way.
Zhao Hai brought up two bulging large sacks from the cellar, rubbed his hands sheepishly, and said with a smile, "Isn't that a bit much?"
Zhou Jiani waved her hand. "Not much, not at all. If there's any left, keep collecting it for me. You don't know I've been staying in Qiyang for two days since I came back, and I've been asking about it every day." She made a pretentious estimate and said, "I'm afraid there won't be enough to go around." Then she glanced at Zhao Hai's yard, where they had already started making rice noodle and vermicelli. "Leave me a hundred pounds of that as well."
Then he said, "We also want peanuts, walnuts, dried dates, etc."
Then he waved his hand and said, "Let's weigh it. After you settle the bill, help me find two boards to tie to the back seat. I'll take it back."
Sister-in-law Zhao Mei said enthusiastically, "Jia Ni, come back after dinner and ask your brother Zhao to push the cart back for you."
When she was not busy, Zhou Jiani helped her find some manual work. She didn't earn much, but it was income she had never had before.
Zhou Jiani had no plans to let Zhao Hai deliver the goods, and she had no plans to bring the goods in.
It gets dark early at this time, and now it's a little dark. It's also lunchtime, so there aren't many people on the road. She deliberately chose this time difference so that she could avoid people while still being able to travel in the dark. So she waved her hand to refuse, and patted the back seat: "It's okay, you guys have been busy all day and it's hard enough. My car can take you."
Seeing that she insisted, Zhao Hai tied her to the bike first to try, and tried to persuade her to stay again and again. Seeing that Zhou Jiani still refused, he helped her push the bike up. Seeing that she was wobbling on the bike at first, and then gradually became steady, he whispered a few words of advice and watched Zhou Jiani disappear from the corner before turning back.
Zhou Jiani left the village and saw that there was no one around, so she put her things into the warehouse, dismantled the boards and ropes, and returned to the village with light luggage.
When I entered the room, Yu Wanxia and the others had already prepared dinner, and Sun Ping was bringing the cooked porridge into the house.
She doesn't live here, but she brought some of her own food rations here and slept with them at night.
Xiao Min, too, received her monthly rations from the commune, but that wasn't enough to fill her every meal, and it wasn't enough to eat oil or water. But her family was well off, and Aunt Su and her husband often sent their daughter money and tickets. She also bought food privately from fellow villagers, and she loved fine grains. But eating alone at the educated youth camp wasn't easy, so sharing a meal with Sister Jiani and the others was just right.
During the meal, Bai Haoyang mentioned the latest news about vegetable greenhouses to Zhou Jiani, saying, "Now, not only our city, but other cities are also developing vegetable greenhouses. However, few can achieve the same immediate success as we did last year. Many teams fail before they even start, and they come here specifically to learn from us and ask for our guidance."
"Most people would rather hire people from our team, but we only have a few technical backbones, and we can't divide them even if we split them into eight pieces. Besides, we have to take care of ourselves first. Liu Yan and the others are now very popular..."
Bai Haoyang's "our side" refers to other brigades under Xihe Commune that were influenced by the Qianjin Brigade and developed greenhouse technology earlier, as well as the surrounding Donghe Commune, Tianzizhuang Brigade, etc.
However, these are not 100% successful across the entire commune. Some are doing well, some are not, and some have already given up.
Zhou Jiani paused holding the chopsticks. Ever since Qiu Zeming left, she has paid much less attention to the vegetable greenhouse. She only knows that Liu Yan is in charge now.
"Our brigade's greenhouse vegetables are still the most famous. We just took away two truckloads yesterday. We have no trouble selling them. Didn't you see the smile on the brigade leader's face?"
Zhou Jiani asked Bai Haoyang: "Have you sent any goods to Qiyang recently? If so, please let me know in advance so I can bring some vegetables back home."
The goods from each brigade are gathered together and sent to the Qianjin Brigade.
While Li Jingdang was busy outside, Bai Haoyang was in charge of the entire factory. He was familiar with orders and shipments, so he spoke without hesitation: "The day after tomorrow morning, before 7 o'clock, you decide whether to pick them the night before or get up early..."
After thinking about it, he said, "There's no need to get up early. There are night shifts in the greenhouse. Just make a list of what you want and send it over. Let them pick it and I'll watch over the weighing."
Zhou Jiani nodded: "Okay, each person who picks vegetables will get an extra 10 cents as hard work fee." Seeing Bai Haoyang was about to say something, she said, "Although it is their normal work, it is not right to increase their workload."
As it turned out, Liu Jingguo was on duty that day. He picked two full baskets of vegetables as Zhou Jiani had instructed, but he refused to accept anything other than the money he was supposed to receive for the vegetables.
Zhou Jiani asked her family for 20 kilograms of shepherd's purse and 10 kilograms of dandelions. Shepherd's purse and dandelions are the most expensive. No one in other greenhouses would think of growing them. Qianjin Brigade is the only one that does this. If anyone gets the news late, they can only see the newly turned soil when they rush over. If they are lucky, they can only see the newly emerged sprouts, but they can't grab them at all.
Others include cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, celery, peppers, leeks, and spinach.
Zhou Jiani also asked about the price in detail and attached a letter, so that if any neighbors wanted it, her parents would have an idea of the price when they were dividing it.
She also agreed with Bai Haoyang that whenever he was going to deliver food to the capital, he should let her know in advance so that she could send a portion to Qiu Zeming's parents.
Qi Yang and Yu Huifang's eyes narrowed with joy when they received the two baskets of vegetables.
The shepherd's purse and bitter greens were especially rare. She didn't eat them all by herself, but evenly distributed the shepherd's purse among them. She also took out some of the other vegetables and gave one portion to Su Meiqiao, who had just returned to Qiyang. She also gave one portion to each of the leaders who had helped her daughter in the early days. Even the head chef in the kitchen of the Second Textile Factory got a handful of shepherd's purse. It was so delicious.
I shared the rest with my neighbors so they could enjoy some of the fresh food.
But they had a hearty meal of shepherd's purse dumplings at home, then washed the bitter herbs and dipped them in homemade soybean paste, which was so refreshing.
In Xihe Commune, with the return of Li Jingdang and the success of the second Canton Fair, the reputation of Qianjin Weaving Factory was once again established. Not only did it receive more export orders, but domestic orders also increased several times compared to after the Spring Canton Fair. The scale of the processing workshops in each brigade was expanded.
After several meetings and plans, Xihe Commune and Donghe Commune officially reached a cooperation agreement. People were selected from various brigades to study and train. After completing the training, they returned to specialize in processing small woven products, such as small flower baskets, wastepaper baskets, soap boxes, small woven key bags, and the most popular twelve zodiac ornaments at this Canton Fair.
In mid-December, before a heavy snowfall, Su Meiqiao came to see her daughter with a lot of luggage.
Zhou Jiani drove a mule cart with Xiao Min to the town to pick up someone. The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried in the cold wind. Zhou Jiani, wearing thick cotton gloves, silently helped Aunt Su move the luggage into the car.
After Xiao Min finished crying, she remembered Sister Jiani next to her and sniffed embarrassedly.
Su Meiqiao let go of her daughter and, with red eyes, stuffed a handful of national food coupons and money into Zhou Jiani's pocket. She said, "Jiani, Auntie Su won't be polite with you. You know a lot of people here. Please help me find some fellow villagers to buy some food. Both fine and coarse grains are needed."
Zhou Jiani was indeed not polite. With this as an excuse, she also went to her fellow villagers to buy some coarse grains, dry goods, etc. to fill her own small warehouse.
On the way, Su Meiqiao, hunching her neck and pulling up her sleeves, braved the cold wind and told Zhou Jiani about the shepherd's purse her mother had given her. She was still surprised at the moment and said, "How did you think of growing shepherd's purse in a greenhouse? Oh, it's rare to eat fresh vegetables in this season, and eating mouth-watering shepherd's purse is simply heaven. Can I buy some to take with me this time?"
Zhou Jiani pulled up her scarf, covering her mouth and nose tightly, and said with squinting eyes, "Auntie Su, you've come to the wrong stall. Wait for the next batch."
Su Meiqiao felt very regretful, but knowing that the greenhouse vegetables of the Qianjin Brigade were selling well, she was sincerely happy for them.
Su Meiqiao stayed at Zhou Jiani's place this time. Zhou Jiani discussed with Yu Wanxia and asked her to move to her place. Su Meiqiao and Xiao Min, mother and daughter, lived in Yu Wanxia's house.
The advantage of having an elder at home is that Yu Wanxia and Zhou Jiani have hot meals as soon as they open their eyes in the morning. If Zhou Jiani doesn't come home at noon, Yu Wanxia sometimes makes do with a quick meal, and sometimes she's busy lighting the stove. Now, when she gets home from get off work, she can eat a hot meal as soon as she walks in the door. The child is so touched that she said, "Aunt Su, why don't you stay until the New Year and then go back!"
Su Qiaoyun laughed heartily.
Of course, Xiao Min also came to eat. Although she was brought along, she was also very happy.
Su Meiqiao didn't stay for too long and returned after a week. Zhou Jiani gave her a woven handbag, a new women's handbag, and also picked some fresh vegetables and some rice noodles and vermicelli for her.
Xiao Min's eyes were red and she looked reluctant to leave. Su Meiqiao touched her daughter's face but was not satisfied. However, she still gave her a few urgent instructions, asking her to behave well and listen to Sister Jiani.
After seeing off Aunt Su, Zhou Jiani received the first letter from Qiu Zeming after he joined the company. The two also set a date and time for a phone call.
The call came a little after ten in the morning on a weekend. Zhou Jiani was on break, so she answered the call at the brigade headquarters. The moment the call went through, a north wind was howling outside. The fire in the brigade office was burning brightly. Liu Tong was using an iron hook to pry open the stove lid and place a large aluminum kettle filled with water on it, muttering, "The ice in the tank won't melt. I have to use the iron ladle to scoop it out. It's half water and half ice. I'm going to freeze to death today..."
He had been waiting for Comrade Xiao Zhou to respond, but before he could finish his words, he heard Comrade Xiao Zhou softly say, "Zeming?"
Liu Tong laughed and was embarrassed to listen to the young couple talking on the phone. He said loudly, "Say hello to Ze Ming for me." Then he put on his patched cotton hat, rolled up his sleeves, hunched his neck, opened the door and went out.
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