Chapter 111
Making insoles was not a problem for Wu Meiyun. She had ready-made aprons, linen thread, embroidery thread, and white cotton, blue cotton, pink cotton, and yellow cotton. She had quite a complete range.
She likes to do embroidery and usually likes to collect these things. Now she can make them directly when they are ready.
Wu Meiyun was not very literate and could only write her own name, but she could trace patterns. She traced a few patterns on the spot for Zhou Jiani to see.
Flowers, birds, auspicious clouds, double happiness, etc.
"I can also embroider the dragon and phoenix, but I don't have all the thread I need. I'll ask my eldest son to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some more."
Zhou Jiani helped her decide on the size and pattern, then lowered her head to trace on the paper. "For this floral pattern, add the words 'safe travels'. I'll trace it, and you can embroider along the edges."
Wu Meiyun took a quick look and said, "That's not difficult."
As for pricing, Wu Meiyun carefully quoted 27 and 25 cents for men's and women's styles. The all-inclusive package was 27 cents for women and 29 cents for men. Then she asked worriedly, "Isn't that too expensive?"
The base she mentioned was made of colored cloth, with colored threads embroidered on top.
Another option is white cotton cloth, which uses white as the base and then embroidered with colored threads. A circle of colored cloth can be added to the edge.
White cotton cloth is cheaper than blue cloth, red cloth, and yellow cloth, so the price cannot be higher than these.
Zhou Jiani said, "Bai Haoyang and his friends bought a pair of felt insoles from the capital for 40 cents..."
What she didn't say was that the goods were sold for 40 cents outside, but they used their connections to buy a batch of goods and got them for 15 cents. Later, his other friend's family found out, gathered all the parents together, and scolded them, and that was the end of the story.
Bai Haoyang told her this, mainly to complain about Qiu Zeming. He said, "Brother Qiu is such a cunning guy. He wasn't on the front lines, but was commanding from the back, so he wasn't caught red-handed. He's the only one who didn't get scolded."
He added, "Of course, Brother Qiu took less, but the initial capital was provided by Brother Qiu."
What it means is that you can complain, but you don’t really have any complaints.
After all, without Qiu Zeming's capital, they would not be able to make money.
Seeing Wu Meiyun's lack of confidence, Zhou Jiani suggested, "For the embroidery on a white background, the pattern can be simpler. I'll quote you 30 cents, and the buyer will definitely have to negotiate. Let's leave some room for flexibility."
"The colored base has embroidery, and the bottom thread is 30 cents. I'm quoting 37 or 40 cents. I'll lower it based on customer response. What do you think?"
Wu Meiyun said kindly, "Okay, I'll do as you say." She raised her hand and made a 'two' sign, saying, "Give me two cents of the profit from each pair, and the rest is yours."
Wu Meiyu knew clearly that it would be useless to make the shoes if she couldn't sell them. Her son had gone to the market before and could only sell two pairs at most after spending the whole afternoon there, and the people there were very aggressive in bargaining.
Is there anyone in the village who can make insoles?
As for her beautiful embroidery, who would notice it if she put it in the shoes? In this day and age, even if you can save a penny, you can buy a piece of candy to sweeten your mouth. Who would want to spend an extra penny or two on a pair of beautiful insoles?
Her sons all said that if she took the things she made to the city to sell, she could get a good price, but she couldn't expect to sell them at the village fair. Not to mention a high price, even a low price would be hard to sell.
But going to the city, wouldn't it cost money to go there? I don't know the place well, and I start to feel daunted the moment I step into the city.
Now that Comrade Xiao Zhou is willing to help her carry the goods and sell them, she immediately thinks of giving up part of the profits.
Zhou Jiani was startled and cried out, "Ouch!" She said, "You're shortening my life. No thanks. These insoles are yours no matter how much you sell them for. It's just that the price of the same insoles may vary depending on the customer you target."
Zhou Jiani definitely cannot give the same price, that would be too uniform. Maybe this pair is two points higher and that pair is one point lower.
Wu Meiyun said: "No, no, I won't let you work in vain."
"I have a salary, so we don't need to calculate this. Just listen to me." Zhou Jiani also reminded her, saying with a smile, "You have to be careful too. Earning money is one thing, but don't always keep your head down and work. If you keep your head down for a long time, don't stand up immediately. Flex your neck before standing up."
Wu Meiyun: "Don't worry, I'll remember it."
When asked about profits again, Zhou Jiani did not respond. After sending the old lady out, she found out that her eldest son was waiting at the door.
"Why don't you go in?"
Wu Meiyu didn't let them in because there were two girls living there. Her eldest son was not familiar with them and was afraid that the two girls would be disgusted, so she asked him to wait at the door. It wouldn't be long anyway.
After watching the mother and daughter leave, Zhou Jiani closed the door, hissed and laughed, and went back to the house with her neck hunched. It was still warm in the house.
Yu Wanxia was still trying to draw the tiger's feet. Seeing her come in, she sighed and said, "If someone comes to ask for help again, will you still agree?"
She felt that Jiani was just too soft-hearted.
But she didn't know that Jiani earned money.
Zhou Jiani was thinking that she must put the insoles on the market to sell, but the price she paid to Grandma Wu could only be based on the current market price. She felt a little reluctant and could only find a way to compensate her from other places.
"That's not necessarily true. I choose the person."
The two talked for a while, propped the door shut with a stick, and went back to their rooms to sleep.
Zhou Jiani took out her pajamas and changed into them, then took out a set of semi-dry fleece thermal underwear from the warehouse and spread it on the kang to warm it up.
Every time she washed her coral fleece pajamas and fleece thermal underwear, she would hang them next to the stove to dry when Yu Wanxia was not at home. When Yu Wanxia came back, she would put them away and hang them up again when she had time.
I put the clothes on the kang to warm them up before going to bed at night. For this purpose, I specially put two clean woven bags on the kang and put half-dry clothes on them.
After finishing this, I took out the desk lamp and prepared to study. I checked the battery level and took out the power bank and connected it.
There was not much sunshine during this period, so the charging speed of the solar charging panel was much slower. Zhou Jiani came across a group of people who were selling power banks that day, so she bought a few large-capacity power banks. Together with the ones she bought before, they are now enough to power the desk lamp and hair dryer.
The anti-wolf artifact is only used occasionally to light the fire, and the battery is not used much. It has not been recharged yet.
I adjusted the position of the table, made myself more comfortable, and started reading.
She now studies one lesson a day and copies one or two in a separate notebook. Teacher Meng was so attentive when helping her that she plans to give her a copy of the handwritten series once the Gaokao results are released.
In her previous life, after entering the 1990s, she met Teacher Meng in the city. She learned that Teacher Meng had also signed up for the college entrance examination after it was resumed and was admitted to Qiyang University.
At the time, she was surprised that Teacher Meng would also take the college entrance examination. She remembered Teacher Meng laughing and saying, "You only studied in college for one year and then you couldn't continue. You have to take the exam again."
If you think about it carefully, when the college entrance examination was resumed, Teacher Meng was less than 30 years old and his family supported him. Why didn't he take the exam?
Teacher Meng also felt sorry for her, saying that she had good academic performance back then and should have taken the exam.
When talking about this topic, Zhou Jiani was filled with sadness.
When the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came out, she was cooking at Wang's house with a bulging belly. I remember that the educated youth there were very excited.
She also wanted to take the exam, but the notes she had just copied were thrown into the stove by Wang Bin. He and his mother took turns watching her day and night, not allowing her to go out or study.
On the day of the exam, there was no need to keep an eye on her. She hadn't registered and had just given birth. She still remembered Wang Bin's smug look, with his eyes slanted and his nonchalant voice saying, "Run, run!"
She picked up the thermos next to her and threw it at him. Wang Bin rushed over and kicked her, and the two of them started fighting.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jiani's expression suddenly froze. She suddenly remembered that Liu Ailing seemed to have sent her study materials in the past.
She didn't see the set of information. Wang Bin went to get it, threw it into the stove and burned it, and only told her after it was burned.
Why would Liu Ailing be so kind as to send her the information? And why did the information she sent to her end up in Wang Bin's hands?
Zhou Jiani held her breath and thought carefully about some details before and after the incident. Finally, she figured out that the information sent to her seemed to be written in Wang Bin's name. Did they want her to take the exam or not?
"Heh!" Zhou Jiani sneered, shook her head, and went back to reading.
Her previous life was over, and she had to seize the opportunity in this life to make up for her regrets.
I just didn’t expect that I would suddenly dream about the contents of the book at night.
[…Liao Qiuping stopped at the post office entrance. Liu Ailing jumped out of the car, smiled gently, and said, "You go to work. I'll walk back by myself later."
Liao Qiuping said, "Okay, go back early after you're done."
After watching her husband leave, Liu Ailing was about to turn around and go into the post office when someone called her, "Ailing, are you here to mail a letter?"
Liu Ailing laughed in surprise and said, "Aunt Huifang, are you here to send something to Jiani?" She picked up the things in her hand and said, "What a coincidence! I was just about to send some study materials to Jiani."
Yu Huifang's tears fell, and she was a little overwhelmed holding the book in her hand. She said, "Thank you for thinking about her so much. I, ah, I was worried. I wanted her to pass the exam, but I was afraid that she would be upset with me and refuse to accept the things I sent her. I really..."
Liu Ailing held Yu Huifang's hand and said gently, "Aunt Huifang, don't worry. Jiani has that kind of temper. Why don't you give me the things and I'll send them over together!"
Yu Huifang had been rejected twice by her daughter, and she was both anxious and disappointed. But at this turning point in her life, she didn't dare to gamble on whether her daughter was still upset, so she handed the letter to Liu Ailing, who took it to the post office.
"Comrade, I'm sending a package."
When filling in the information, Liu Ailing paused and wrote "Wang Bin" as the recipient.
Then a few comments flashed by:
[Who is Wang Bin? If you know, please give me a kick.]
Second floor reply: Zhou Jiani's husband doesn't understand why the heroine sent her information! 】
[Commenting on "Return of the Educated Youth in the 1970s" with *****4: It's hard for the heroine to still remember that troublemaker, but why put Wang Bin's name? Of the two troublemakers, I hate Wang Bin more.
Another reader replied on the second floor: The heroine was afraid that the people in the village didn’t know Zhou’s name, and worried that the postman wouldn’t be able to ask anyone. It would be more appropriate to write Wang Bin, a local villager. But I guess Wang Bin won’t let the troublemaker go, so tie them both up to death!
Third Floor: The heroine is so considerate, but I still don’t want that troublemaker to come out again! 】
Zhou Jiani felt that she had only read this much content, but when the text disappeared and she opened her eyes, it was already dawn, and her expression was surprised and puzzled.
Her heart was deeply hurt by the description of her mother in the text, and there was moisture in the corners of her eyes.
So among the documents that Wang Bin burned in her previous life, was the one that her mother helped her find?
Besides, when have you ever returned a letter to your family?
Unable to read the full text, she could only guess that Wang Bin must have returned the letter privately.
Zhou Jiani now suspects that the letters that actually fell into her hands were not necessarily written by her family members. The contents of those letters were heartbreaking. They said that she was embarrassing herself, that her bad reputation would bring trouble to her family, and that her parents' work would be affected. Or maybe it was telling her that she should stay in the countryside for the rest of her life and not go back to embarrass herself.
Naturally, her reply, written in a fit of anger, was as heartbreaking as it could be, and she spent her whole life in the countryside out of spite.
Later, on the few occasions she returned to the city, Wang Bin's involvement and disturbances had truly embarrassed her parents. Especially on her father's birthday, when her father, who was so good-tempered, was so angry that he flipped the table.
Jiaping and Jiaan were also strangers to her. They looked at her coldly and said, "Since you were so angry that you didn't come back, why are you coming back now? Do you really have to ruin Dad's birthday party?"
Zhou Jiani was furious at the time, but she also remembered that she was not the first to say that. She yelled at her two younger brothers: "Didn't you say you wouldn't let me come back? Weren't you the first to dislike me?..."
Jiaping was so angry that his face turned pale. He pointed at her and said, "You are so unreasonable. After all these years, you are still as unreasonable as before..."
The two brothers' wives looked at her with contempt, which made her feel ashamed and embarrassed. Before she could say anything, she was dragged away by Wang Bin, and they later cut off all contact.
On the way back, Wang Bin spat, "Your family just looks down on me, a farmer son-in-law, and your two brothers. Don't let me run into them next time. If I do, I'll beat them up."
The noise coming from outside brought Zhou Jiani back to her senses. She closed her eyes and took a breath. She felt something cold on her face. She raised her hand and touched it. It was covered with tears.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped his face, calmed himself down, reached out to grab the thermal underwear next to him and touched it, which was completely dry. He took off his pajamas and put them on, put the pajamas and woven bag into the warehouse, put on his cotton trousers and jacket, got off the kang, and took the spittoon out of the room.
Yu Wanxia had finished breakfast and went to work at the weaving factory. Zhou Jiani went to close the door, came back to get some water and washed up, took out a frying pan and put it on the stove, beat an egg and fried it, then took out a bamboo chopping board and a clean knife from the warehouse, cut a few thin slices of ham and put them in the pan.
When the eggs are fried and the ham is sizzling with oil, put them in a bowl next to it.
Then he took out a semi-finished scallion pancake from the warehouse and put it in the pan to fry slowly.
These scallion pancakes are the same few packs I bought last time. I haven’t finished them yet, but they are almost sold out. I can ask for more in the group, which is quite convenient.
After the scallion pancakes were baked, I put the eggs and ham on them, then took out the chili sauce that I had collected from the group a few days ago, opened it and brushed a layer on it, then heated up a box of milk. After eating the pancakes and drinking the milk, the depression in my heart dissipated a little.
Of course, she didn't leave happily. If she didn't think about it carefully, she wouldn't know how blind her eyes were, how blind her heart was, and how miserable her life was in her previous life.
"Stupid as hell!"
Zhou Jiani took out the toiletries, washed the pots and pans, and put them back on the shelves in the warehouse.
I added some charcoal to the stove and started cleaning the house.
I cleaned the house, opened the closet, took out my things, and sorted them out. Finally, I went out to sweep the light layer of snow in the yard, and my heart finally calmed down.
Let the foolish past go. She can't keep dwelling on the past life. She needs to look forward and focus on "money". She needs to find an opportunity to vent the anger in her heart.
I closed the stove and went out to check out the small vegetable patch. There were a few tomatoes ready to be picked. I'll come back at noon to make some tomato and egg soup, roll out some whole-grain noodles, pour the tomato and egg soup on top, and add some pickles. It looks delicious just thinking about it.
After locking the door, I walked towards the village. On the way, I met Liu Tong, who smiled and said, "It's a good thing the snow has stopped. If it were like the last two snowfalls, it would be difficult for us to deliver the goods."
Zhou Jiani pulled her scarf up above her nose. As she spoke, white air blew out from the seams of her scarf. She smiled and said, "That's right. The sky has cleared up, so the recent shipment shouldn't be delayed..."
Liu Tong: "Yes, Comrade Qiu is still worried about this even after returning to the capital. He called me yesterday and told me that if the road is blocked, I should contact him if I have any difficulties."
Zhou Jiani's heart skipped a beat and she almost slapped her thigh like the captain.
Oh my god, she forgot that she has a partner.
"Did Comrade Xiao Qiu leave his phone number?"
"I left it. I wrote it down and put it under the glass on the table. Can you reply to him? If you do, I'll give you the key. There's no one in the village committee."
Two keys, one for the office door and one for the telephone lock.
The phone was so precious that I asked someone to make a box for it. It was turned on when there was someone in the office, and locked when no one was watching. If I wanted to make a call, I had to get permission from my boss.
In fact, it is enough to lock the door when no one is there. Adding an extra lock is not very useful. However, Zhang Baosheng and others attach great importance to the ceremony of opening the lock multiple times and do not mind it at all.
"Go ahead, I'll fight you."
After getting the key, Zhou Jiani went to the village committee.
The moment the call was connected and the transfer was successful, Zhou Jiani suddenly realized that this could be the phone number from Qiu Zeming's home?
Just as I was about to hang up, the phone was picked up. A woman with a very pleasant voice said, "Hello, who is this?"
Zhou Jiani's brain was a little off, but she still said smoothly, "Hello, I'm looking for Comrade Qiu Zeming. Is he here?"
Then he added as if to make amends, "I'm from the Qianjin Brigade. I have something to ask Comrade Qiu."
Well, the strategic and official approach shouldn't seem too out of place.
A surprised, hearty laugh came from the phone: "Are you Comrade Xiao Zhou?"
Zhou Jiani's eyes slowly widened. Before she could say anything, the person on the other end of the phone smiled and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, come to my house with Ze Ming next time and let him take you around the capital... Wait a minute, he's here."
Then someone covered the phone, and after a few dull hissing sounds, Qiu Zeming's voice came over: "Ahem, Jia, Jiani?"
It was the first time that Qiu Zeming called Comrade Xiao Zhou's name directly. He was a little nervous, but he also felt sweet, and his ears turned slightly red.
He had practiced silently many times and should have been able to shout it out fluently. Why did he stutter just now?
Zhou Jiani on the other end no longer cared about what he was shouting. She was a little shocked just now, and now her mind had returned to its place. She asked in a low voice, "Who was that just now?"
What that meant was... the person who said it seemed like he knew that she and Qiu Zeming were dating, so Comrade Qiu went back and told her family?
“My mom!”
Zhou Jiani: ...
"Is it still snowing over there? Accountant Liu said it was snowing yesterday."
Zhou Jiani shuddered again and quickly pulled herself together to deal with the person she was dealing with: "Oh, it's stopped. Has it rained in the capital too?"
But her heart was in turmoil, thinking that Comrade Xiao Qiu was so serious, if she was not serious, wouldn't it seem too irresponsible?
I didn’t intend to tell my parents so soon. How about I mention it when I go back to deliver the goods in a couple of days?
"It's raining, pretty hard, and it hasn't stopped yet." Qiu Zeming noticed that Ms. Du Yunxin's ear was fixed on him, so he turned around, facing his mother, and whispered, "My train the day after tomorrow morning...will arrive around noon next Wednesday or Thursday. Can you go to the county town? We can have lunch there and then see a movie in the afternoon. There's a shining red star over there."
Still thinking about that movie, Zhou Jiani laughed and said, "I can go!"
Qiu Zeming said cheerfully, "Okay, you can take the bus that day. Don't rush. It's too cold to rush."
"Well, I'll pick you up at the station then. I'll hang up first."
Today was Grandpa's birthday, and the house was bustling with activity from the moment he woke up. He heard his aunt's family arriving outside, loudly greeting the neighbors in the compound. It wasn't a good time to talk on the phone, so he whispered, "Okay, stay warm and don't get cold. And start burning the charcoal; I've got plenty."
"good!"
After hanging up, Zhou Jiani locked the phone. Zhang Baosheng came in just in time, so she handed him the key and said, "I'm going to go look around the greenhouse. You can give it to Accountant Liu later."
Zhang Baosheng waved his hand and said, "Take these keys. Deputy Director Li is going to the commune to report on his work today, so I'll make two more."
Zhou Jiani put it into her pocket without hesitation.
Zhang Baosheng pointed to the chair next to her and asked her to sit down. "Deputy Director Li has already told me privately that the work report for the end of the year should be settled. Just keep this in mind. Then you can go up and talk to Comrade Xiao Qiu."
Zhou Jiani certainly wouldn't refuse such a thing, so she simply asked, "Will you also go on stage to speak?"
Zhang Baosheng said cheerfully, "Let me say a few words, mainly about you and Comrade Xiao Qiu. I estimate that in addition to the commune meeting, there will also be a county meeting. If everything goes well, maybe we can even go to the city meeting."
Zhou Jiani said, "Then I'll help you write the manuscript once it's finalized?"
Zhang Baosheng smiled: "That couldn't be better."
Since it was "perfect," Zhou Jiani also took the opportunity to talk to him about the second phase of greenhouse vegetables and said, "Give some to the Second Textile Factory."
Zhang Baosheng: "Of course we should. We should keep visiting each other. They helped us back then, so now that we have these fresh products, we must consider them. I'm also thinking about giving some to the leaders of those department stores and the Friendship Store as well. It would be a token of our appreciation, so they can try something new."
As for the transport team, they didn’t give much, just a token of their appreciation.
He had revealed this matter to Li Jingdang. If the commune asked about it, he should let Li Jingdang tell Director Zhai not to arrange it for them.
Zhang Baosheng asked about the post on social media again, and Zhou Jiani said that she would let them secure the line with the city department store and she would not get involved.
Zhang Baosheng expressed his understanding and comforted her.
On the day Comrade Xiao Qiu returned, Zhou Jiani got a letter of introduction and asked Uncle Zhang to drive a mule cart to take her to the commune, and then take a bus to the county town to pick up her partner.
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