When everyone arrived at the drying ground of the village committee, they saw that the village chief and the village party secretary had already set up the table.
"Village chief, what's the matter? Tell us quickly. We've had a long day and we're waiting to go home for dinner."
"Exactly, if there's something you have to say here, why don't you just have someone pass on a message?"
The village chief ignored these people completely, and after gazing into the distance for a while, he spotted Gu An'an and quickly waved for them to come over.
“Gu Zhiqing, come here to me.”
Gu An'an: ...Can I not go?
Obviously not. Seeing that Gu An'an hadn't moved for a long time, the village chief lifted his foot to walk this way, and in doing so, he also drew everyone's attention this way.
Originally, she didn't want to stand out, but now she had no choice but to. So Gu An'an simply stepped forward and stood directly next to the village chief.
"Huh, why is Gu Zhiqing standing over there?"
"Could it be that this educated youth Gu caused trouble and the village chief criticized her at a general meeting?"
"Are you stupid? Didn't you see how much the village chief protected this young educated youth? The situation you described is completely impossible."
"Let me tell you, I know why the village chief's family treated Gu Zhiqing so well..."
Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue. Looking at all those heads huddled together, Gu An'an knew with her toes that she was the main character in the conversation.
But that doesn't matter, as long as she's not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.
"Quiet down! I've called you all here today to announce some good news."
The village chief had barely started speaking when the crowd below began to clamor again, "What good news is it? Hurry up and tell us! Why send a female educated youth up here? Isn't that just delaying things?"
The village chief's face fell, and he launched into a tirade against the person who had just spoken.
"Si Gou's wife, if you're in a hurry to go home and cook, you can go now."
The more the village chief said this, the less likely the crowd was to leave. If they missed out on something good because of this, they would regret it immensely.
Si Gou's wife wasn't embarrassed when the village chief pointed her out; she just laughed and joked for a few moments before shutting up.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, the village chief continued.
"The reason I've gathered everyone here today is because the food that Gu Zhiqing sent home is so good that a big factory in Shanghai wants to order a batch of supplies from our village."
"What? Order supplies? What good stuff does our village have?"
"What did Gu Zhiqing send back? It seems to be just some dried vegetables and dried mushrooms."
"And my family's smoked chicken."
“I gave my family’s preserved rabbit to Gu Zhiqing.”
"Does this mean that big factories in Shanghai specifically come here to order this kind of thing?"
The village chief was quite pleased with the surprise of the people. After everyone had finished speaking, he said, "That's right! It's all our farm produce. There's quite a lot of it. The reason I called everyone here today is to register how much each family has that they can exchange."
"As long as you provide supplies, the village will give you corresponding work points. If you have enough work points, you can exchange them for grain or money at the end of the year, which is up to you. However, the quality must be good. If anyone dares to ruin our village's reputation, see how I deal with you."
Everyone was excited. The dried vegetables and mushrooms at home could be exchanged for grain and money. What great news!
As for not having anything to eat if they lack these things, that's a minor matter. Cheap dried vegetables are no match for grains to fill one's stomach.
And the clever ones, who understood the village chief's implied meaning, quickly asked, "Village chief, do you mean there will be more good things like this in the future?"
If such a good thing really happened, they wouldn't be able to go back and forth between work and home anymore. They would have to go into the mountains more often to stock up on goods. Only with food and money could they feel at ease.
"Who can say for sure? If our products are good and people like them, they might send us another batch."
As for setting up a cooperative, there's no set plan yet for finding people to promote it, so the village chief didn't mention it here.
"I, I have one at home!"
"I have one too!"
"Village chief, I'll fill in the first one."
It's hard to say when the next batch will be, but this batch is lucky enough to be replaced. Everyone wants to be one of the lucky ones in this batch, and they are all scrambling to get ahead.
"Quiet down, line up one by one. Anyone who cuts in line will be considered to have given up their spot."
Upon hearing this, no one dared to speak.
The village secretary sat at the table and took notes one by one, noting the variety and approximate weight of each household. He remembered everything clearly.
This made those families who were usually diligent and liked to hoard supplies happy, while those who lived day to day were filled with regret upon seeing this scene.
It was an hour later that everyone had registered, and even then, Xiao Yuheng added another table next to the table because he was too busy.
"Alright, everyone who has goods at home, bring them here tomorrow. Gu Zhiqing will be in charge of checking the quality. Any items returned must not cause trouble, otherwise you can forget about such good things in the future."
Although some people still had some minor complaints, feeling that such an important job shouldn't be given to a newly arrived educated youth, they knew that the job was arranged by him, so they only dared to say a few words in their hearts.
More than anything, she felt grateful to Gu An'an.
To put it simply, what Gu An'an did added a touch of brilliance to the peaceful lives of these old farmers, and introduced another possibility.
Gu An'an was helping the village secretary tidy up the things on the table. In the midst of the commotion, she touched Xiao Yuheng's hand and quickly moved it away. They glanced at each other and then looked away.
The villagers, caught up in their excitement, didn't notice, but Lin Qingqing, who had been watching them intently, saw it all clearly. Her fingernails almost dug into her flesh. Why did that bitch Gu An'an have to steal the man she had finally set her sights on?
Gu An'an and the other person didn't notice Lin Qingqing in the corner at all. After they finished packing, Xiao Yuheng muttered to himself, "You're very capable."
Gu An'an reciprocated, saying, "Likewise."
Although they have different strengths, it doesn't stop the two young people from appreciating each other.
Xiao Yuheng wanted to say something more, but the village chief leaned over again, "We'll have to trouble you with Gu Zhiqing tomorrow."
"No trouble at all."
The village chief grinned as if he'd won the lottery. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Don't go back to cook, come eat at my house."
Gu An'an definitely didn't want to go. Why should she join in the fun of a family meal? "No need, Uncle. I have to go back and cook with Zhou Zhiqing."
The village chief then remembered Zhou Yue's presence, looked around for a moment, found her, and quickly called for people to come over.
"What does the village chief want with me?"
Zhou Yue's face was flushed; there was no doubt that she was excited.
"You and Gu Zhiqing go to my house for dinner."
Zhou Yue glanced at the village chief, then at Xiao Yuheng, who was gazing affectionately at Gu An'an, and decisively betrayed Gu An'an, "Great! I've been wanting to try Auntie's cooking!"
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