Chapter 173 The Lighthouse's Disappearing Blanket
A corner of her heart collapsed, like a small landslide, like dry and white land being soaked by rain, becoming especially soft and moist.
Is she moved?
Zhu Yingning couldn't distinguish the delicate, complex and tangled feelings in her heart.
She reached out her hand, then withdrew it, holding it in the air for a long moment. Finally, she simply used her fingertips to gently touch the tuft of hair sticking up from the top of his head. The hair bent under the force of her fingers like a blade of grass, and when she removed her fingers, his hair stubbornly bounced back.
She chuckled softly, but without waking him, she turned and returned to her room. She pulled a thin blanket from her suitcase—a must-have for traveling to other places for internships, competitions, and other practical activities during her college years. It looked thin, felt warm, and didn't take up much space, so she could cover herself with it anytime, anywhere. She carried the blanket outside and stood before Xu Sirui, demonstrating how to hold it in place, controlling her grip and trying to drape it over him without waking him.
This action sounds easy but is difficult to do. By the time she finished covering herself with the blanket, she was sweating profusely. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm, took a deep breath of fresh air, and then went back to her room and lay back on the bed to sleep.
She originally thought that after going through so many things today, she might need to lie down for a while before falling asleep, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep in less than two or three minutes and had a sound sleep.
The next morning, Zhu Yingning and Shen Fei took the high-speed rail back to Province G, and Xu Sirui flew back to Shanghai. They parted at the hotel entrance and went to their respective workplaces.
There were no sentimental scenes at the farewell; everything was so calm and natural that it was only when everyone was already on the high-speed train that Zhu Yingning sat up and exclaimed, "My blanket!"
"?"
Shen Fei was startled by her, looked up from his laptop and pushed his glasses, "Huh?"
"…It's okay, I'm just crazy."
She reclined back in her chair and sighed, thinking this was just a token of her gratitude for his help throughout the day. It was just that the blanket was really nice to cover herself with…never mind, it didn't matter. She consoled herself, found her phone, and dug through her shopping history to place a new order.
**
After returning to the village and completing all the procedures for the business trip, Zhu Yingning plunged into his busy daily affairs again.
The investigation was successful, but if this success could not be translated into actual action, it would remain just empty talk. The first challenge they faced was to convince the villagers to join the collective farming.
At first glance, it seems that all you need to do is go into the villagers' homes and present the benefits to everyone, but the reality is not that simple at all.
The villagers were accustomed to producing and selling their own produce. Even without joining the cooperative, they could still raise their few pigs and provide for themselves and their families. They simply couldn't see the need to take the risk of joining a cooperative and moving their pigs there. They feared that this so-called cooperative was just a spur-of-the-moment decision made by village officials, leaving them, as villagers, to bear the risk.
Even though Wang Shengju and the village party secretaries of several other villages were invited to do ideological work together, everyone still had great doubts about the cooperative.
There was no shortcut to convincing the masses, so Zhu Yingning could only go there every day and talk to them every day, finding different ways to explain to the villagers the benefits of the cooperative - unified procurement to reduce costs, unified management and control to prevent diseases, unified sales to expand the market, and even the hope of opening up the online market for online sales. Everyone could share profits and bear risks together, earning more and losing less than going it alone.
The villagers couldn't understand the high-end professional terms, so she used easy-to-understand dialect. At the same time, they also understood why the previous village work teams helped the villagers sweep the floor. Ultimately, this was a way to play the emotional card and narrow the distance.
When they were at their wit's end, she, Shen Fei, and Wen Wenxu would compete to sweep the ground and compost the villagers. She even heard Wen Wenxu bragging to his family on the phone about how he'd become a master manure collector. As for herself, whether it was from talking too much or getting too impatient, she developed several mouth ulcers.
While she was trying to convince the villagers, the cooperative was also being established. After two weeks, everyone was growing annoyed by her nagging, but they also became interested in her constant emphasis on "high profits, low losses," as well as the government's welfare policies for cooperatives. Several households initially agreed to contribute a few piglets to the cooperative. That day, Zhu Yingning was so excited that she practically knelt down to burn incense. She immediately went home and celebrated with hot pot with Shen Fei and Wen Wenxu.
After all, people tend to follow the crowd. With the first person taking the lead, it is natural for other villagers to join.
The eleven pig-raising households in the village all had some piglets. Meanwhile, other villagers who didn't raise pigs saw how much they were mobilizing and were eager to join the effort. They came to ask Zhu Yingning, "Comrade Zhu, since we don't have pigs, are we just going to watch them make money?"
She said happily, "Of course not. Although you don't raise pigs, you can still invest money and get dividends after making a profit."
“Where do we get the funds?”
She started introducing farmers' loans to them like an insurance salesperson.
The results were slow but remarkable. By the end of November, the cooperative in their village had managed to gather around 300 pigs.
Zhu Yingning and Wang Shengju spearheaded the selection of several experienced farmers from the village, along with one or two hired technicians from outside, to form the farm's breeding team. Wen Wenxu, familiar with accounting, oversaw the cooperative's transparent accounting, while Chen Fei assisted the technical staff with technical support for the nighttime temperature control system. Zhu Yingning oversaw the overall direction and planned the cooperative's future development, including potential partnerships with meat processing plants and the establishment of the village's own online Taobao store.
On the day when everything was settled, Wang Shengju said he wanted to treat Zhu Yingning and the other three to a meal.
They worked non-stop for a whole month and hardly stopped to rest. They only avoided fainting from hypoglycemia thanks to the supplements and energy bars that Chen Fei's mother sent them.
The meal took place at Wang Shengju's home. He and his wife, Pan Changhong, cooked together in the kitchen. When the meal was ready, Wang Shengju jokingly said they were like beggars: "I'll give you each an empty bowl and squat at the village gate. Every passing dog will drop a few coins into your bowl."
Wen Wenxu laughed when he heard this and raised his glass to toast Wang Shengju.
This wine was brewed by the villagers themselves. Wang Shengju had lived here for many years and was used to it, so he could drink it in large quantities. Wen Wenxu was the typical example of someone who made a lot of noise but didn't get much done. He barely finished one glass before collapsing unconscious.
Fortunately, he was a decent drinker. After getting drunk, he would just sleep without going crazy or causing trouble. Wang Shengju hadn't finished drinking yet, so he raised his glass to the two girls and said, "Want a sip?"
When Zhu Yingning said "take a sip", he really just "take a sip", strictly controlling himself within the sober range and never giving himself the slightest chance to get drunk.
What shocked her was Shen Fei.
Chen Fei's alcohol tolerance was amazing. He drank cup after cup with Wang Shengju without showing any signs of being drunk. His expression was as calm as if he was drinking plain water. Wang Shengju was so happy that he kept praising the child for his promising future.
It was not until halfway through the meal that Zhu Yingning realized that Chen Fei fell down beside Wen Wenxu without any warning with a thud. She just couldn't get drunk, but that didn't mean she wouldn't get drunk.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and took two thin blankets from Pan Changhong and covered Chen Fei and Wen Wenxu respectively.
Pan Changhong scolded Wang Shengju: "Look at you, you are so shameless at your age and still bullying children like this! Stop drinking!" As he said that, he snatched Wang Shengju's wine glass, thought for a moment, and took away the dried fish that he had with his wine.
Wang Shengju stuck out his tongue at Zhu Yingning and muttered, "I can't afford to offend you."
She smiled.
Amidst the rich aroma of wine, Wang Shengju, who was sitting opposite her, took a spoonful of vegetables and put them into his mouth. He said to her, "Don't work this weekend. Just relax."
She shook her head decisively: "I still have to be on duty, Secretary, let Chen Fei and Wen Wenxu rest."
"It's no big deal. I'll just let Yan Zi switch with you." Wang Shengju tapped his chopsticks in the air. "Balance work and rest. How long has it been since you last rested? Xiao Zhu, I know you're proactive, but as a leader, you have to understand one thing. Your actions serve as an example and a beacon for Xiao Shen and Xiao Wen. If you don't rest, they won't be able to stop and rest either. Only when you rest can they truly relax. Do you understand?"
Zhu Yingning was stunned for a moment, then woke up and nodded blankly.
"You can go wherever you want this weekend, visit your family and friends, or go to the city to relax. We will take care of the village affairs, and if that doesn't work, your aunt can go over and help." Wang Shengju said.
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