Chapter 179
After not being home for a few days, the house was covered with a layer of dust. Zhou Jiani lit the stove, boiled water, and cleaned the house. Seeing that no one was paying attention outside the window, she took out the washed and dried sheets from the warehouse, picked up the one currently on the bed, put it into the warehouse, and threw it into the washing machine. She took the quilt out and hung it on the clothesline, beat it with a broom, and let it dry for a while before carrying it back into the house and folding it again.
She didn't prepare dinner, but fried a dozen eggs in a frying pan, saving one for later and putting the rest on a plate on the fresh-keeping shelf to eat as she pleased.
I took a box of hot and sour noodles from the warehouse.
She didn't use the paper tube she brought with her to make tea. Instead, she took out a large teapot, put the powder and seasoning into the teapot, poured in boiling water, covered it with a lid and waited.
She closed the lid of the paper tube and put it in the warehouse, using it as a storage box to help her organize some small items.
After the hot and sour noodles were soaked, she took a twisted dough stick from the warehouse, broke it into pieces and soaked it in the noodles, then put the fried egg on top, making a full bowl.
Finally, I took out some fried meat, which still retained the texture of being freshly out of the pan, fragrant and crispy.
After finishing the meal, Zhou Jiani was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She pulled all the curtains on the doors and windows, took off her cotton trousers and cotton jacket, changed into coral fleece pajamas, went back to the stove, set the table and started studying.
She had already carefully studied the set of books in her hands and had finished copying them by hand.
During the study process, she also kept a notebook for wrong questions. Now she wants to review the questions in the notebook again, and then go through the textbooks and test papers collected in the past two years. In the one or two months before the college entrance examination, she will focus on the things that need to be memorized and recited.
Zhou Jiani made a plan and began to study in an orderly manner. She then practiced sketching for more than an hour. It was not until eleven o'clock that she sealed the stove and went to bed.
After the meeting, she did have a lot more peace and quiet. Although there were still family members greeting her when she came in and out, they were not as eager to chase her as they were in the past few days.
Zhou Jiani presented the revised recruitment plan to County Magistrate Wang, who gave her feedback two days later. He approved her idea of "letting young people from rural areas come out," but the allocation of quotas still needed to be discussed in another meeting.
The goal of letting the young people in the village come out is not limited to Xihe Commune, but to all the communes in Bin County.
County Magistrate Wang understood Zhou Jiani's desire to help the children in the village, but it was opposed by many people.
At an internal meeting, one cadre refuted this, saying, "I disagree. There are many unemployed young people in the city, and we can definitely solve their employment problems first. At the same time, we also need to consider those educated youth who went to the countryside to work on construction projects. We can use this opportunity to recruit workers and bring back some of the children from these families."
Zhou Jiani: "It is precisely because of these two considerations that I only applied for a small number..."
After being reminded by County Magistrate Wang, Zhou Jiani realized that the implementation of the plan might not be as easy as she had thought. She also realized that some of her ideas were too simple, so she reduced the number again and again.
"Team Leader Zhou, you've applied for a small portion of the temporary workers, but don't forget that half of the regular worker positions are allocated to the weavers from the various brigades, and they're all rural children."
Zhou Jiani: "That can't be compared. Those are the talents we brought in exceptionally hard, and they are our technical backbone. Without them, the factory would be delayed for several months, or even half a year, before it can be put into normal operation. They are the key to the factory."
County Magistrate Wang said, "Technicians will not participate in the proportional distribution."
No one else said anything.
There were people who opposed it, but there were also a small number of people who supported it. Zhou Jiani later asked Qian Hai about it, and found out that those who supported her were basically those who had come from the countryside through their own efforts.
Some of those who opposed her came from rural areas, but their ancestors went back one or two generations.
In short, the first internal discussion meeting did not result in a final version. It was discussed repeatedly several times afterwards, and both sides took a step back. Zhou Jiani lowered the proportion again, and the other side expressed their agreement.
Afterwards, the county held a full-year summary meeting, which was a summary of the work of all communes in the county in the past year, as well as a commendation meeting for outstanding communes, outstanding brigades, and outstanding individuals.
Zhou Jiani met Zhai Xiangqiang, Tan Dehai, Zhang Baosheng, Bai Haoyang, Zhao Yuzhen, Song Chao and others.
It was the same meeting, and the faces were still the same ones seen in previous years, but this year she was sitting here as a county official, which was a little different.
Zhou Jiani went over to say hello to Zhai Xiangqiang and the others, but she couldn't chat endlessly like before, as she also had to be careful about the impact.
Just as I came to greet my old leader, many people were looking at me, either openly or covertly.
Indeed, many people were following Zhou Jiani. It had nothing to do with anything else, but because all the communes had heard a rumor that the county weaving factory had some vacancies for agricultural household registration in its recruitment, so that the children of farmers could come out.
Every commune wants to fight for a few such places. Many people are worried that Zhou Jiani is from Xihe Commune and will be too biased towards Xihe Commune, thus pulling all the places there.
Although Zhou Jiani had helped to secure this proposal, when it came time to distribute the quotas, everyone hoped that their commune could get more benefits.
Of course, Zhou Jiani would not let those eyes stay on her and the people from Xihe Commune for too long. After she greeted them, she greeted the leaders of each commune one by one.
Zhou Jiani finally breathed a sigh of relief after everyone had taken their seats.
Socializing is also a laborious and tiring job, not easy at all.
At the beginning of the meeting, Xihe Commune was still the one to be commended this year, after all, its achievements were there.
The excellent brigade is still named the Advance Brigade. Although other brigades have also started the weaving industry and achieved good results, they still lag behind in innovation.
Moreover, the performance of the plastic greenhouses of the Qianjin Brigade is still far ahead, and now there is a leading trend in breeding. It would be unreasonable not to give it an excellent rating.
Many brigade officials privately complained, wondering if the Qianjin Brigade had secretly changed its feng shui. Why did all the good things always start there?
Of course, there were also some good ones in other brigades, and they were commended in the commune, but not enough to be commended by the county.
It is said that Xihe Commune’s own commendation meeting this year was very lively, and the people in charge of giving out prizes were so busy that their hands were full.
At the beginning of the meeting, each leader gave a speech, then looked back on the development made in the county that year and commented on and commended the achievements of each commune.
As the dazzling secretary of Xihe Commune, Zhai Xiangqiang delivered a speech, reporting on the development of Xihe Commune over the past year and setting development goals for the new year...
Zhang Baosheng walked onto the stage wearing a neatly-made Zhongshan suit. He was much calmer and more composed than before. He reported the achievements of the Qianjin Brigade in the past year in an orderly manner and also set development goals for the coming year.
Bai Haoyang, as the director of the weaving factory, also delivered a speech.
After the speech, County Magistrate Wang officially announced the county weaving factory’s recruitment plan for the new year.
The method of recruiting formal workers remains unchanged. Half of the vacancies are given to skilled workers, selected from various brigades; the other part is given to those who perform well after recruitment training and assessment, and they need to fight for it themselves.
In addition to the fixed number of technical personnel, the remaining part was given to the lower-level communes to recruit workers from the rural areas.
The requirement is that the household registration must be rural. Whether it is given to a local member or an educated youth in the village is determined by everyone.
There was a slight excitement in the audience.
Everyone was waiting nervously for the quota to be allocated.
Soon, County Magistrate Wang announced the quota allocation, with each commune being given three rural recruitment quotas.
Zhou Jiani originally thought that everyone would be disappointed to hear this number, but she never expected that all she heard was the sound of happy relief.
A commune cadre who was close to her chuckled and said, "Team Leader Zhou, I heard that you fought for this part on behalf of everyone. On behalf of our Daquan Commune, I want to thank you, Team Leader Zhou."
Zhou Jiani quickly shook her head and said, "You're welcome. This is also due to the support of the county leaders."
The cadre of Daquan Commune had a clear mind and whispered, "Thank you."
I heard that in order to get more places, Team Leader Zhou made some cadres so angry that their faces turned red and their necks became thick during the meeting.
There are a few cadres in the county who are unwilling to give any quota. If weaving did not require technology and ready-made skilled craftsmen, I am afraid that none of the regular worker quotas would be given to the lower-level communes.
Zhai Xiangqiang and the others naturally would not be disappointed. As a commune secretary, he knew it would not be that easy when he heard Zhou Jiani's proposal, and he had already prepared himself mentally.
Moreover, the future "factory pillars" are all permanent employees, and most of them are almost ready to be directly labeled as Xihe Commune employees. He dare not be happy for fear of being jealous of others.
Zhang Baosheng didn't think these things through at first, and he had some wishful thinking. He thought that one village could get several quotas. But after Zhai Xiangqiang analyzed it for him, he woke up from his dream and realized that Zhou Jiani's move would not be so smooth.
But three vacancies in one commune is not bad. Besides, Jiani has found other projects for him. If they are completed, they can provide him with a few more jobs, although they are not formal positions.
As soon as the meeting ended, County Magistrate Wang asked Zhai Xiangqiang, Zhang Baosheng and Bai Haoyang to stay alone for a talk to discuss the preparations for post-New Year technical training.
In this regard, Xihe Commune had held a meeting in advance to discuss this issue, so when County Magistrate Wang asked about it, they also explained the response arrangements in an orderly manner.
County Magistrate Wang was very satisfied.
Then the topic of raw material planting was mentioned. Although the county has already formulated a purchase plan, the county must also take advantage of its terrain advantages to carry out large-scale planting to ensure the demand for raw materials.
The original materials were all wild and not consumed much. Later, when the Qianjin Brigade started the weaving industry, there was not enough raw materials. In addition to purchasing, they started planting, and the survival rate was very high. This year, they also allocated a part of the land to plant the needed raw materials.
As for Bin County as a whole, the Qianjin Brigade is once again at the forefront in this regard. County Magistrate Wang has now proposed a county-wide planting plan and hopes Zhang Baosheng will arrange for the relevant technical personnel to provide county-wide technical experience guidance after the spring...
Zhang Baosheng quickly agreed, feeling that the burden on his shoulders was a bit heavy, but also felt an indescribable sense of heroism, with his chest slightly heaving.
After the meeting, Zhou Jiani escorted Secretary Zhai and the others out. Secretary Zhai smiled and said, "You must have suffered a lot when fighting for the quota, right?"
Zhou Jiani reflected frankly: "I thought it was too easy."
Zhang Baosheng said cheerfully, "Actually, everyone is very happy. This spot is also a good investment for them. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Zhou Jianxi smiled and said, "No, I just have a good attitude."
There are still a large number of college entrance examination candidates this year, and she cannot help much in recruiting workers. When the college entrance examination comes, she hopes to bring out as many people as possible, including those educated youth who are eager to return to the city. The college entrance examination is the most suitable channel.
Knowing that she would be spending the New Year in Bin County this year and hearing that her family would be coming over, Zhang Baosheng invited her: "Take your family to stay in our village for two days. They haven't been there yet."
Zhou Jiani nodded, a little embarrassedly saying: "Zeming's mother come over too."
Bai Haoyang was surprised: "Aunt Du is coming here to celebrate the New Year? Is Uncle Qiu coming?"
Zhou Jiani shook her head, and Bai Haoyang wailed, "Then I'll have to receive one less red envelope this year."
This made Zhang Baosheng slap him on the back of the head in anger.
He was very happy for Zhou Jiani and admired her in his heart, thinking that she was a sensible mother-in-law. No wonder she was able to educate Comrade Xiao Qiu so well.
As soon as the two got engaged, Qiu Zeming went to join the army. His mother must have been worried that Jiani's family would have opinions, or that someone would gossip about her, so she came to save face for Jiani.
He solemnly invited her again, "You don't have anything to do here on New Year's Day. Take your parents and Zeming's mother to see our weaving factory and plastic greenhouse. It was Zeming who built that greenhouse. Since his mother is here, why not come and see her son's achievements?"
Zhou Jiani thought about it and realized that this made sense. She said, "Then take them to the village to play when the time comes."
After seeing off Secretary Zhai and others, Zhou Jiani returned to the office.
Qian Hai knew that it was very tiring for the leader to attend the meeting, so he made her a cup of coffee, put today's meeting minutes on the table, closed the door and left.
Zhou Jiani flipped through today's meeting minutes and made a summary in her mind. Just then, her palm vibrated and she joined the group and clicked on a red envelope.
This red envelope was for beef jerky, so she bought five and then flipped through the purchase to see if she could get a bargain.
After searching for a long time, I bought two boxes of mangoes and three boxes of dried shrimps, each box weighing two kilograms.
I also bought a small box of almonds.
After looking through the boxes, Zhou Jiani found that the beef jerky was followed by vacuum-packed fish balls. She bought five bags.
She began to count the supplies for the New Year. Some were bought from grocery stores, some from the market, some were purchased from group purchases, and some were bought on the black market after she had kept herself well-preserved.
However, she was worried about the negative impact of being recognized, so she made a strict rule for herself not to go to the black market here and would do so only when she had the chance to go on a business trip.
There are fish, meat, eggs, and an ample supply of rice, flour, grain, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar. There is also no shortage of vegetables, rice noodles, and peanuts, melon seeds, and candies. Firecrackers for the New Year are also bought, and a small one is bought for the twins for them to open and set off.
On New Year's Eve, the whole family sat together to make dumplings and prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner... Well, she had to borrow a square table and four long benches.
When we were making the furniture, we didn't order the kind of octagonal table and chairs. We just ordered a small square table and a few wooden stools. We mainly ordered a wardrobe and a cabinet with locks.
After counting the things that still needed to be purchased, Zhou Jiani went to the unit’s logistics department to borrow an old table and four old stools, and pushed them back on a cart.
When they reached the door, Secretary Wang was just coming out to get some water. He helped her carry the table inside. Worried about the negative impact, he didn't linger for long. He quickly lifted the curtain and came out, standing outside to talk to Zhou Jiani: "Team Leader Zhou, I'm about to go out. I'll take this car over when you're done."
Zhou Jiani: "Thank you, Secretary Wang."
Secretary Wang: "You're welcome!"
He didn't leave after he finished speaking. He scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly, "Team Leader Zhou, didn't you bring that woven bag you carried that day to our county supply and marketing cooperative?"
"A shoulder bag? The county supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have it, but the city's Friendship Store has it, and the provincial capital's department store has it." Zhou Jiani asked with a smile, "Do you want to buy one?"
Secretary Wang blushed a little and said, "Can you buy me two?"
He is dating someone and wants to give one to her, and he also plans to buy one for his sister.
Zhou Jiani: "Then I'll call and order two for you, but I can't say when they'll arrive."
Secretary Wang smiled and said, "As long as I can buy it, I'm not in a hurry."
Before the holiday, Zhou Jiani gave the two shoulder bags to Secretary Wang. Secretary Wang thanked her repeatedly and paid the bill very promptly. Zhou Jiani would settle the bill with the village when she returned to Qianjin Brigade.
When the company was on holiday, Zhou Jiani cleaned this small 30-square-meter room carefully.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, she put all the things that needed to be taken out in advance into the cabinet and rode her bike to the station.
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