Chapter 41
The village is going to set up a weaving workshop?
Not only do we need to recruit a group of weaving apprentices, but today's work also needs to undergo major adjustments.
The team's main work now is to dry wheat seeds, dig up corn stubble, and sorghum stubble. They are spread out on the ground to dry for a whole morning, and the soil on the stubble is shaken off. They are then transported to the site and distributed after they are completely dried.
After clearing the stubble, the land needs to be plowed again to level it and prepare for planting wheat.
There is work, but it's not as busy.
The number of people working in each family has been reduced a little. They are busy with things in their private plots and instruct their children to go to the public fields to pick sweet potatoes and peanuts.
If you're lucky, you can get enough food for one person for the day.
I collected peanuts and saved them up, then took them to the oil mill to exchange them for oil, earning a profit of one ounce for every ounce exchanged.
The members of the cooperative were also prepared. Like in previous years, after the wheat was planted, the slack season would arrive. If they wanted to earn some work points, they had to be more careful, go to the team more often, and obey the assignments.
Although they would complain about being tired when they were exhausted, they would look forward to having some work in the team after the slack season.
So, when the team announced through the loudspeaker that they were going to set up a workshop and recruit people, the members were stunned at first, and then they ran to the yard and listened attentively.
"What kind of workshop? What kind of workshop should our team set up?"
The speakers are accompanied by electric current sounds that are sometimes strong and sometimes weak, and you have to hold your breath to hear them clearly.
The loudspeaker continues.
"...Comrade Zhou Jiani not only helped our village secure the right to deliver food to state-owned restaurants, but now, Comrade Zhou Jiani and Comrade Qiu Zeming have also brought our village's woven baskets to the provincial capital and into the Provincial Department Store. From now on, we will be collaborating with the Provincial Department Store!"
Zhang Baosheng spoke passionately.
Many members have not yet come to their senses.
An old lady asked her family, puzzled, "Why are there so few woven baskets in the city? Isn't there anyone selling them back home?"
Otherwise, how can we purchase goods from their village?
What the younger people were concerned about was that the two newly arrived educated youth brought their brigade’s belongings to the provincial capital and even entered the department store.
Many people ran out of their homes and exchanged information with their neighbors, fearing that they had heard it wrong.
Someone asked Zhang Laosi's family and learned that the village had organized craftsmen to weave a batch of baskets a few days ago, and Zhou Jiani and Qiu Zeming took them away when they went to the provincial capital.
In previous years, the village also organized the collection of goods, and everyone was used to it. But after the finished products were produced, they would go to other teams to find the sellers to take them out to sell.
This year, the village handed over the goods to the two young educated youths, and they also sold their brigade's goods to the provincial capital, and now they are going to cooperate with the provincial department store.
"Comrade Xiao Zhou has really contributed to our team. He first proposed the plastic greenhouse, helped us sell vegetables, and now he's helping us sell baskets."
"Did Zhang Baosheng assign Comrade Xiao Zhou the task of selling baskets because she was doing well selling vegetables?"
"You can't just send someone out on this mission. You need the ability to do it. Comrade Xiao Zhou really has that ability."
"And that young man, he must have contributed too."
"Yes, after all these years, since the first batch of educated youth came here, we can finally see some people doing practical work."
"There are only one or two educated youth like this among us."
It was difficult for the members to calm down, as it was a large unit in the provincial capital.
The state-owned restaurant in a town already made everyone feel out of reach, and now they are even connected to the provincial department store.
After some communication, it seemed as if the fact was confirmed, and the whole village became excited. Everyone ran to the team without any prior arrangement, wanting to ask for clarification in person.
The old and new educated youth have not had to work early these two days, especially the new educated youth, who can finally sleep a little longer in the morning, wake up around seven o'clock, eat something and then go to work.
The old educated youth were fine, as the educated youth center was independent. Some of them heard the loudspeaker but didn't pay attention. They turned over, covered their heads with the quilt and continued to sleep, completely unaware that they were being disliked by the local villagers.
But it was different for the new educated youth who were still living with their fellow villagers.
Several people were woken up by the cheers coming from outside.
Meng Jiandi woke up bleary-eyed and checked the time. It was only five o'clock. She muttered, "What are you doing..." and fell back down. Then, she gradually realized something was wrong. She threw on her clothes, got off the kang, opened the door, and looked at the cheerful Song Jiefang family. She asked, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
Sun Hongyu clapped her thigh with joy and said with a smile, "Zhou Jiani, who came with you, is truly a lucky star for our Qianjin Brigade."
Inside the room, Liu Ailing sat up suddenly. Was she having a nightmare? Why did she hear Zhou Jiani's name so early in the morning?
I listened intently as Sun Hongyu said, "How come that young comrade is so capable? They went to the provincial capital to buy plastic sheeting. Not only did they bring the vegetables we grew, they also brought baskets woven by Zhang Laosi and his team. They said they've partnered with the provincial department store and will be buying from our village in the future."
Meng Jiandi opened her mouth so wide that an egg could fit in it, and she didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
It was so early in the morning that she thought she was dreaming and kept asking, "Is this true?"
"It's already been announced on the loudspeaker, how could it be fake? The team is going to set up a workshop and recruit people to help weave baskets. Today we're also organizing people to go to the mountains to cut strips and other things. Don't sleep anymore, get up quickly and go to the team to check it out and sign up..."
Meng Jiandi turned around and saw Liu Ailing sitting on the kang, her eyes fixed on the ground. She wondered if she was seeing things, but why was Liu Ailing so pale? Did she dream of a demon?
It wasn't a dream about evil spirits. For Liu Ailing, what people outside were saying was not good news, but bad news.
How is that possible?
How could Zhou Jiani have that ability!
Weren't they going to the provincial capital to buy plastic sheeting? It would have been fine if they'd just brought some vegetables with them, but why did they bring the villager's woven baskets with them? And why did they even claim to have contacted the department store and collaborated with such a large organization?
Is it that the department store doesn’t sell these kind of woven baskets from the countryside, or are the department store managers ignorant?
Meng Jiandi exclaimed at the right moment: "Zhou Jiani and Qiu Zeming are so amazing."
Liu Ailing suddenly came back to her senses. Oh, yes, there is also Qiu Zeming.
It should be Qiu Zeming who talked about it, right?
He came from the capital. I once overheard Zhao Weiguo say that those who came from the capital seemed to have families with backgrounds.
Thinking of this, Liu Ailing felt a little relieved.
But I still feel a little sad. Although it was Qiu Zeming who talked about it, Zhou Jiani did benefit from it.
From the moment she prepared to go to the countryside, she had been planning how to make a name for herself. Not only did she want to make a name for herself, but she also wanted to help advance her father's career.
As a result, everything went wrong from the first day. All her plans were thrown into chaos by Zhou Jiani before they could even be implemented. Needless to say, the Zhou family in the provincial capital must have known the truth. Given Yu Huifang's temper, how could they not make a big fuss?
It goes without saying that this time she not only failed to help her family, but also brought trouble to the family.
She didn't even dare to write back and ask.
But now, Zhou Jiani has become the most dazzling person in the village.
Liu Ailing bit her lip, feeling unwilling.
At Zhang Kaishan's house, Zhao Mei was inexplicably excited and wiped away tears. How come Comrade Xiao Zhou is so outstanding?
She was sincerely happy for Zhou Jiani.
Sun Ping was a light sleeper, so she would wake up at this time. When she woke up, she heard something being broadcast over the loudspeaker. She half sat up and listened carefully. She instantly became alert and said to Yu Wanxia, who had also opened her eyes, "Oh my god, Comrade Jiani has done a great service."
"What's going on?" Yu Wanxia was still a little confused. "Didn't Jiani go back to the provincial capital? How did she accomplish anything meritorious?"
Zhang Baosheng was in a meeting until midnight last night. Maybe he was too excited, but he couldn't fall asleep in the second half of the night. He was constantly making work plans and member arrangements in his mind.
Next, based on the existing work, people need to be selected to work in the processing workshop. Even though it's just weaving a basket, it requires people with dexterity. If you are clumsy, you can't make a basket even if you break your fingers. Let Zhang Laosi and others do this job, as they are good at selecting artists.
We also have to arrange people to go to the mountain to get materials.
The team relies on weaving products to generate income every year, so they usually have the habit of stockpiling materials. What the team has stockpiled now can last for a while, but they also have to quickly organize people to cut materials.
The collected materials cannot be used directly and need to be processed first. It is time to prepare these tasks and try to ensure a continuous supply of food.
After holding it in for half the night and not being able to sleep, I simply went to the team to turn on the radio and wake everyone up early in the morning.
After the broadcast, Zhang Baosheng turned off the switch, lit his pipe, squinted his eyes and took a few puffs, grinned for a while, and then he heard some noise outside.
His expression became serious and he walked out with his hands behind his back.
Compared to those who were woken up by the captain's quarrel, Comrade Xiao Zhou felt much more comfortable today. He slept until eight o'clock, ate something, and talked with his grandmother at home for a while. At half past nine, he pushed the cart out of the house. Qiu Zeming was already waiting at the dormitory door. The two went to the post office to make a phone call first. Next, Zhou Jiani prepared to play the role of host and take Comrade Xiao Qiu to visit the scenic spots in the provincial capital.
The tourist attraction also includes the department store. Of course, if you don’t spend 100 or 200 yuan, you can go there to have fun even if you don’t discuss business. You can also check out whether the building is divided into the South Building and the North Building.
Qiu Zeming and Zhou Jiani passed by the cinema again. He said casually, "There's a new movie coming out during the National Day holiday. Tsk, it would be great if it came out now. Let's go see what's in it."
Zhou Jiani had also caught a glimpse of the shining red star just now. She knew what the performance was about, as she had seen it in her previous life. However, she was not as curious as Comrade Xiao Qiu.
Therefore, he said in a very unromantic way: "There will always be a chance to see it before the New Year. When the greenhouse in the village is completed and the processing workshop is on the right track, and if the county and town over there are also up and running, I will call Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia, and you call Bai Haoyang and the others, and we will go out for a walk and watch a movie together."
Qiu Zeming: ...
"Have you been to that movie theater before? Is it big?"
Zhou Jiani nodded: "Of course I have been there. I used to go to the movies there when I was a kid. It's close to home, and the size... is okay, not as big as the one near the First Department Store!"
Qiu Zeming made a final stand: "If I have the chance, I'll go visit both families."
Zhou Jiani asked curiously, "What market are you looking for?"
Qiu Zeming: ...
Forget it, it’s already great that I can go shopping in the department store and the park with Comrade Xiao Zhou today.
Qiu Zeming raised the corners of his mouth again.
But he underestimated Comrade Xiao Zhou's unexpected move.
After the two finished their phone call at around ten o'clock, they discussed business development with Zhang Baosheng, then went to visit the People's Park and went boating.
On the way to the Second Department Store, Comrade Xiao Zhou urgently called a halt. Qiu Zeming thought something had happened and quickly stopped beside him, asking nervously, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Jiani's eyes sparkled as she pointed to the scrap yard across the street and whispered, "Go take a look inside. Maybe you can find some useful notes or books."
She planned to go to the bookstore tomorrow to see if she could buy some useful books and materials. Just now, she suddenly saw the scrap collection station, and a light bulb went off in her head. Yes, how could she forget this attraction?
It's not just for the village, I also want to see if I can find some test questions and materials to prepare for the college entrance examination two years later.
There is no shortage of old notes and books at the purchasing station, and they may be more complete than those you can get from a bookstore.
Now Qiu Zeming was squatting in a pile of smelly waste, accompanying Comrade Xiao Zhou to look for books.
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