Chapter 79
After the new house for the educated youth was built and the earthen kang was laid, Sun Ping began to pack up her things reluctantly.
They have lived there for such a long time, and the Zhang Kaishan family has taken special care of them. Their two roommates are also very nice. They will definitely be reluctant to move to the educated youth camp.
But we have to move out. Brother Kaishan is in poor health and can't live in a shed forever. Besides, Yu Wanxia and Zhou Jiani are moving soon.
Yu Wanxia asked, "Doesn't your house need to be aired out for a few days? Why are you in such a hurry to pack up?"
"Let's pack up in advance so we can just grab our bags and go." Sun Ping looked at the luggage on the lame stool and said, "Haven't you and Jiani finished packing too? I guess we're about the same time."
Yu Wanxia thought about it and it made sense. The house they rented had been renovated under Brother Qiu's close supervision, and all the doors and windows were built. However, the carpenter didn't have two extra hands, so the ordered furniture had not been made yet, but it did not affect their move-in.
Moreover, Brother Qiu even used his own industrial tickets to buy two large iron pots, one for each family. That was really thoughtful of him.
A large jar for storing water was also available. Wang Qianjin asked Uncle Zhang to drive an ox cart to the county town to buy it.
They could move right away when Jiani returned. It wouldn't be appropriate for Sun Ping to stay here alone then. She said, "If we move earlier than you, you can stay with us for a few days."
Who knows what the sun will be like in the next few days and how the drying process of the new house will progress? If it is cloudy for a long time, it will take them forever to move.
Before Sun Ping could respond, Zhou Hongbing came over to find her.
Zhou Hongbing looked at Yu Wanxia and smiled, "Some people are quite disappointed that you and Zhou Jiani aren't living in the educated youth camp."
Yu Wanxia asked in surprise: "Who is disappointed?"
Zhou Hongbing winked mischievously and said with a smile, "Those male educated youth, I heard that quite a few of them are obsessed with Comrade Zhou Jiani and are waiting to show their affection to her when she gets closer."
Yu Wanxia frowned and said, "Comrade Hongbing, you can't make such jokes."
Zhou Hongbing smiled: "I know, there are no outsiders here. I'm not familiar with Comrade Zhou Jiani, so it's hard to say these things. When she comes back, you should remind her."
Yu Wanxia nodded seriously.
Zhou Hongbing said this, maybe he was making fun of Jiani behind her back.
Maybe it was because they were close to Zhou Jiani, so no one said anything in front of them.
Zhou Hongbing came to discuss cooking with Sun Ping.
Sun Ping was shocked: "Are we starting to divide the work now?"
"What do you think?" Zhou Hongbing laughed. "Should we share the kitchen with the old educated youth or cook on our own? Don't we have to consider all these? If we share the kitchen with the old educated youth, we can pool our food and take turns cooking. If we separate from them, we'll have to find someone to run the stove and buy pots and pans."
Sun Ping felt a headache.
On the other side, Qiu Zeming also felt a headache when he saw Liu Ailing coming over.
He frowned and looked at Uncle Jingguo beside him.
Liu Jingguo was a renowned farmer in the village, one of the best. Qiu Zeming would discuss everything with him, drawing on his own knowledge to research the experimental fields.
I didn't expect that Liu Jingguo would come here today, followed by Liu Ailing.
Liu Jingguo said, "This girl said she wanted to learn farming and asked me to teach her, so I brought her here."
Liu Jingguo had no idea about the complicated conflicts between Liu Ailing and Zhou Jiani. It was this girl who was teaching his grandson to do homework under the big locust tree in the village that day. He greeted her politely. Later, when they met again and she called him uncle, he would nod.
I met them again on the way to work today. While chatting along the way, Liu Ailing mentioned that she was worried that she would be a burden during the busy farming season in the future, so she wanted to come and help them while they were experimenting with farming, and learn some farming techniques at the same time.
Liu Jingguo didn't think much about it, but thought it was a good thing that the educated youth who came were eager to learn, so he brought them over.
Liu Ailing looked at Qiu Zeming and said playfully, "Comrade Qiu, please don't be prejudiced against female comrades. We female comrades can do the same work that male comrades can do. The elders above have said that women hold up half the sky."
Qiu Zeming ignored her and turned to look at Liu Jingguo, "Have you reported this to the village officials?"
Zhang Baosheng went to the provincial capital, but there were other cadres.
When Liu Jingguo saw Qiu Zeming's serious expression, his heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself, "Is he going to do something wrong?"
Liu Ailing seemed oblivious to Qiu Zeming's cold expression and smiled brightly, "I just want to make my own contribution to the plastic greenhouse experiment and do my part to build a new countryside. Besides, I'm not staying home idle, so the village leaders shouldn't stop me. It doesn't matter where I work. Comrade Qiu, please don't be prejudiced against women and reject me!"
"No, we're short on manpower these past few days. Since Comrade Liu is willing to work, we certainly won't refuse." He kept putting his hat on his head, as if any refusal would imply prejudice against women. Qiu Zeming looked over with a slightly cold gaze. As the primary person in charge of the plastic greenhouse experiment, he was responsible for arranging all the related work. He said calmly, "Then follow Liu Yan and the others up the mountain to find vitex. They'll tell you the specifications."
Liu Ailing's triumphant smile froze on her face: "Does a plastic greenhouse still need vitex?"
Over there, Liu Yan and his men were about to go up the mountain with sickles in hand. Hearing this, they said, "Yes, we need some. Not only thorns, but also branches. We need them to build a shed. Let's go!"
Liu Ailing bit her lip and glanced at Qiu Zeming. Qiu Zeming had already gone to check on the growth of the seedlings after they were covered with plastic film a few days ago.
Liu Ailing took the sickle and followed Liu Yan and the others.
On the way, she asked several indirect questions about the plastic greenhouse experiment. How could Liu Yan and the others know anything about it? Apart from helping to build the walls, make adobe bricks, and help with branches, they had no other involvement.
Zhang Baosheng didn't know all this yet. He took a bus to the town with the official contract with the First Department Store and a photo of Comrade Xiao Zhou at the Friendship Store.
Report to the commune first and let Director Zhai see the official contract with the First Department Store and some of the details about the Friendship Store.
"We're planning to print a larger one and hang it on the wall of honor once the factory is built," Zhang Baosheng said with a smile. "Comrade Xiao Zhou said that once the sample is displayed at the Friendship Store, we should have Director Zou take a photo of it and hang it on the factory's wall of honor."
There were also photos of him signing a contract with a department store, but since it involved him, he didn't feel comfortable mentioning it.
Director Zhai nodded and pointed to the photo of Zhou Jiani talking with the Friendship Store leader. "Let's print an extra copy of this and hang it on the wall of our commune. When higher-ups come to give us guidance on our work, it'll be something to talk about."
Zhang Baosheng's horizons have broadened, and his courage has grown. Earlier, he hadn't been comfortable mentioning the idea of his photo being on the Wall of Honor, but upon hearing Director Zhai's plan, he chuckled and said, "Boss, when I signed the contract with Section Chief Wang of the First Department Store, Xiao Zhou also arranged for a photographer to take two photos of me. Our rural sideline business has been accepted into a major enterprise in the provincial capital. Shouldn't we also let the higher-ups see this symbol of honor?"
Director Zhai was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll hang your picture on the wall of our commune when the time comes." He added, "Comrade Xiao Zhou is truly thorough in her work. If it weren't for the fact that she wholeheartedly supported your side hustle, I'd even consider transferring her to the commune to be my secretary."
Zhao Hongchang, the new secretary, came in with a teacup: ...
Zhang Baosheng returned to the brigade with a grin on his face, and went to the processing workshop with the photos in his pocket. He did not hide the news and happily took out the photos to show everyone. With such a proud expression on his face, those who didn't know him would have thought he was holding some certificate.
In comparison, the contract with No. 1 Department Store is not so glorious.
He pointed to the photo taken at the counter and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou said these are woven products exported last year. Let me show you all..." He pointed to a woven product on the left side of the photo and introduced it, "I heard this product was created by an educated youth who had only been learning weaving for a year. Because of its beautiful shape, it was selected for import and export."
Zhang Laosi and his companions were truly shocked. Some of the woven products were no longer ordinary objects, but works of art for display and appreciation.
There is also a type of basket, which they think is very impractical, but Zhang Baosheng explained that it is used by foreigners to arrange flowers, and is no worse than using a ceramic vase.
The veteran craftsmen didn’t quite understand and were deeply shocked, but they all felt as if a floodgate had opened in their brains, letting out something that couldn’t be grasped by hand.
After looking at the new design drawings Zhou Jiani gave them, their expressions became more serious than ever.
Other people working in the workshop gathered around to look at the photo. In fact, they were not there to see Zhou Jiani, but to see the interior of the Friendship Store, which was not very large in the photo.
Almost everyone consciously ignored the figure above and only looked curiously at the items on the shelves in the background, which seemed a bit strange to them.
In the afternoon, the news that the processing workshop's products would be sold to the Friendship Store spread, and many villagers even ran to the brigade to ask Zhang Baosheng for photos.
Zhang Baosheng simply took an empty photo frame, put Comrade Xiao Zhou's photo in it and hung it on the wall of the village committee office to satisfy everyone's curiosity and allow the villagers to broaden their horizons with the help of the photo.
Zhou Jiani didn't know that her photo was on the wall. In the next five or six days, she ran around the post offices in several neighboring districts of Qiyang to buy sets of stamps.
Finally, she was able to collect a set of half of the 63 edition panda stamps.
In addition to the post office, when I arrived at a new place, I would also visit the supply and marketing cooperatives I had never been to and the newly discovered black market, rushing in and out and shopping along the way.
The shelves are becoming more and more fully stocked with supplies, and there is a lot of surplus food.
Six days later, she left ten kilograms of flour, five kilograms of rice, a dozen eggs, and a few cotton tickets for her family, and boarded the train back to Bin County.
Qiu Zeming personally drove a ox cart to pick her up. When he saw Comrade Xiao Zhou coming out, he breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past few days, he arranged for Liu Ailing to go up the mountain to cut brambles, cut brambles, and cut brambles. Finally, yesterday he asked Zhang Baosheng to step in and transfer her from the plastic greenhouse experiment team.
Now that Comrade Xiao Zhou has returned, he can also do the reporting work.
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