Chapter 13 (Catching Bugs)
It is impossible to be cheap. Without the leader's permission, the salesperson dare not change the price without permission.
Zhou Jiani asked for five printed words, the words were "Labor is Glorious", "Abundant Harvest", "Hard Struggle", etc., and the flower was a huge peony.
I asked for five more hats without any words or flowers on them.
We will see which one sells well at that time and then get more from other supply and marketing cooperatives later.
In addition to straw hats, the supply and marketing cooperative also has bamboo hats, which Zhang Laosi's family doesn't have. I asked the price and found that the ones painted with tung oil and with patterns were more than one yuan, while the ones without tung oil were more than 60 cents each.
Zhou Jiani resisted the urge to buy anything, but her eyes lit up when she saw the enamel pots on the counter and the enamel basins on the shelves.
Don’t buy the basins yet, and don’t buy them from here. But you can take a few teacups, and then buy a few more from there when you go to town to complete the order.
"Comrade, how much is this teacup?"
"One thirty-seven cents and half an industrial coupon."
Zhou Jiani brought the tickets with her. Her family had given her a large sum of money before she left. She took out the tickets and money and asked for four enamel pots.
She didn't take the net bag, but stacked up the hats, stuffed a jar in the middle, and put it on her belly. She held it in one hand and hooked the three enamel jars with the other hand and left the supply and marketing cooperative.
There were not many people outside at noon, and this was the time for a nap, which was convenient for Zhou Jiani to sort things out.
There were plenty of nooks and crannies in the village, so Zhou Jiani found a relatively secluded place, looked around carefully, opened her mobile phone and scanned it. The hat and teacup disappeared and appeared on the shelf in the warehouse.
He took out the braised eggs, opened all the boxes, scanned them and put them into the warehouse, then left like a thief.
The next morning, we saw Zhao Weiguo and his friends at the gathering point, looking very energetic.
These people rested for two days, went to the town for a day, and went to the mountains to play for a day yesterday. The rest time was secondary. They were more proud of their success in the struggle.
A few of them stood there chatting and laughing, still eagerly discussing their mountain climbing experience yesterday. Seeing Zhou Jiani approaching, he sneered, turned his head away, and said loudly, "Let's go hiking again when we have a break in a couple of days. It's a pity that we didn't catch that rabbit yesterday..."
Peng Guangrong, on the other hand, looked a little embarrassed.
Because none of them expected that Zhou Jiani would actually stick with it, not only not taking away the benefits they had fought for, but also pulling Sun Ping back.
Zhao Weiguo sneered: "You are sick yourself and you have to drag others along. Sun Ping is the same. I don't know what they are thinking!"
He shook his head and said that women should be gentle. No matter how beautiful a woman is, if she doesn't know how to save face for men in public, she will not be liked by men much.
Fortunately, he had some feelings for her before because she was pretty, but he stopped in time and was not really fascinated by her face. Otherwise, if she lost her temper regardless of the occasion in the future, his parents and his brothers would laugh at him.
When all the members arrived, Zhang Baosheng said a few simple words to everyone, asking them to work hard to harvest, hand in the public grain as soon as possible, and distribute the grain as soon as possible, and then began to make simple adjustments to the work.
He glanced at the crowd and picked out Zhou Jiani and the other new educated youth.
Zhou Jiani, Sun Ping, Yu Wanxia, Liu Ailing and others went to dry the sweet potato vines.
Qiu Zeming, Wang Qianjin and Bai Haoyang went to pick beans.
Zhao Weiguo and his colleagues, who had rested for two days and came back to work, all went to carry manure.
When the arrangement came out, Meng Jiandi and the others' faces turned green.
Zhao Weiguo protested, "Captain, there's so much work to do in the fields, why are you assigning us to carry manure?"
Zhang Baosheng raised his eyelids: "What did you call me?"
Zhao Weiguo thought he had addressed him incorrectly, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Captain."
Zhang Baosheng grinned: "So you know I'm the captain?"
He walked away with his hands behind his back, saying, "If you want to work, do it. If you don't want to work, go back and rest."
Peng Guangrong said angrily, "You are deliberately seeking revenge."
Zhang Baosheng stopped and turned to look at him: "Kid, if you think my arrangement is wrong, go to the commune and report it. It's useless to put this accusation on me in our Qianjin Brigade."
Zhao Weiguo and the others were dumbfounded.
Meng Jiandi burst into tears on the spot.
Liu Ailing came over to comfort them and said apologetically, "It's all my fault that I got you into trouble. If I hadn't fainted that day, you wouldn't have protested to the team."
None of Zhao Weiguo and his friends dared to admit this. Just as Zhou Jiani said that day, they had planned this before Liu Ailing fainted, but Liu Ailing's fainting made their emotions burst to a climax.
But he felt relieved after hearing this, and said with gratitude, "Comrade Ai Ling, this is not your fault."
"Yeah, how can I blame you?" Wang Changzheng also said.
Liu Ailing said gently, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Don't worry, go to work first. I'll come over to help you pick it up when I'm done." She turned and called Zhou Jiani, who had just walked out a few steps, saying, "Jiani, we're all comrades who went to the countryside together. If there are any difficulties, let's help each other. Let's catch up and finish our work soon so that we can come and help Zhao Weiguo and the others."
Just as she was about to say something offensive, Zhou Jiani caught sight of the surrounding groups of commune members and the awkwardly-looking Zhao Weiguo, and said with a smile, "Okay, although Comrade Zhao Weiguo and Comrade Peng Guangrong ridiculed me in public the other day, as Comrade Ailing said, we are comrades who went to the countryside together after all. Even if they haven't apologized to me, I'll be magnanimous and let it go. I'll come over to help you carry the manure when I'm done."
Peng Guangrong said angrily, "Zhou Jiani, do you really need to be so sarcastic?"
Zhao Weiguo's face flushed red, and he was a little embarrassed and angry. He asked, "Who wants your help?"
Zhou Jiani said innocently, "Didn't Comrade Ai Ling say that if there are any difficulties, we should all work together... Oh, sorry, I didn't realize it for a moment. This isn't a big deal. It's just one of many tasks. Comrade Ai Ling, you're really offending me by saying that. Aren't you looking down on Comrade Zhao Weiguo? It's clearly just ordinary labor, so why do you make it a problem?"
She blinked. "You agree with what Comrade Peng Guangrong just said, that the captain was deliberately making things difficult for them. Do you have any objections to the captain's arrangements?"
Liu Ailing's expression changed drastically, and she cried out in a lost voice, "Jia Ni, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Zhou Jiani sneered: "Then look at what you are doing first!"
He turned around and dragged Sun Ping and the others away.
Liu Ailing's face turned pale with anger.
Zhao Weiguo said, "Comrade Ai Ling, don't be angry. Don't bother with people like her. She only has a pretty face, but nothing else. We all know what kind of person you are. Don't worry, you will always be our good comrade."
Liu Ailing shook her head: "I don't know what's wrong with her these past two days. She wasn't like this before."
Zhou Hongbing looked at Liu Ailing, then at Zhao Weiguo and the others. Without saying a word, he walked up to the scorekeeper and said, "Uncle, where are we going to pick up the manure?"
The scorer called out to Zhao Weiguo and the others, "Are you going to leave or not? If not, go back and rest."
Zhao Weiguo and the others gritted their teeth and walked over, enduring the humiliation.
Drying the sweet potato vines is an easy job, and no one is rushing to catch up with the progress. You just need to spread out the sweet potato vines that were just pulled yesterday, shake out the ones that were dried before, wait for the sun to come out to dry the moisture, and then start rubbing the sweet potato leaves. When the time comes, gather them together and mix them with sweet potato flour, which will be a good feed for pigs.
Just go into the venue and take a look from time to time.
In addition to them, there are several girls around ten years old who are also responsible for doing this.
In a field not far away, Qiu Zeming and his colleagues spread out piles of beans and beat them with farm tools.
The older people were peeling corn in the field next to them, chatting as they did so. When it was almost dark, they would go home and cook for the people working in the fields.
Zhou Jiani and the others also started working. She picked up the sweet potato vines with a large wooden fork and threw them into clumps far away. Sun Ping went over and used a rake to shake them open and spread them evenly.
Yu Wanxia picked it up and threw it to the other side. Liu Ailing, who arrived a few steps late, went over to fiddle with it with a sullen face. When it was almost time to finish her work, she threw away the farm tools in her hands, stood in front of Zhou Jiani, and asked seriously, "Jiani, did I offend you in some way? If I'm wrong, you can tell me in private, but can you please not embarrass me in front of everyone?"
Zhou Jiani stopped what she was doing, her large, wet eyes filled with confusion and grievance. She asked, "Ailing, what are you talking about? Are you referring to what happened just now? I'd be so sad if you think so." She wiped away the nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can't you hear that I was helping you just now?"
Liu Ailing was stunned.
She really didn't hear it.
Zhou Jiani grabbed her hand and said innocently, "Maybe my language organization skills are not good, and you misunderstood what I meant. But Ai Ling, you must know that my original intention is good, so please don't be angry with me, okay Ai Ling——"
She spoke these words so loudly that the grandmothers chatting nearby all listened attentively.
Bai Haoyang, who was patting beans over there, made a few "fart-hiss" sounds and motioned Qiu Zeming and the others to look over there, saying, "Hey, look quickly."
Qiu Zeming looked up and saw Zhou Jiani twisting her waist and stomping her feet exaggeratedly, then pulling Liu Ailing's arm and shaking her body back and forth.
“…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
