“We all come from the countryside, so we know how difficult life is there. With your thin arms and legs, how can you do farm work?”
"Going to the countryside now means staying there for several years before I can come back. Are you willing to let me go?"
Bai Rongjun quickly shook her head, but if the job was given to her, how would Rong Hui return to the city in the future?
————
Song Qing and his group then went to the furniture factory in Lizicun.
It was called a factory, but it was really just a group of villagers gathered together, some peeling corn, some planing wood, and it was quite lively inside.
"Hello comrade, we'd like to inquire about ordering furniture."
"Team leader, someone's here to buy furniture." The wood-planing man called out a few times, and soon a tall, burly man ran over.
"Are you looking to buy furniture? Come in and take a look."
The team leader, Chen Dingsheng, was exceptionally enthusiastic and led them to the furniture factory's showroom.
The showroom is actually a large house filled with various furniture and a lot of unprocessed wood.
Various kinds of furniture and wood were placed on the ground, none of them particularly exquisite, but all simple and elegant.
"Comrades, what kind of style do you want?"
This team leader, Chen, was very enthusiastic. They had already completed the orders they had placed with the furniture market, but no new orders had come in. Now the villagers were sitting together, without any wages or work points.
Therefore, everyone who buys furniture from them now is an important customer, and Team Leader Chen is eager for Song Qing and his team to take all the furniture from the showroom.
“Our furniture is supplied to the furniture market in the city. The rest of these are from the same batch as the order. If you want them, we can give you a discount.”
"We have wood, can you make furniture by customization?"
They have wood? Well, Chen Dingsheng was thinking they could make more money by buying ready-made furniture, but he didn't expect they actually had wood.
Judging from their accents, they were clearly not locals; they must be family members who had come to accompany the military. It's amazing that they even had wood.
The trees now belong to the collective. Basically, each household in each brigade under the commune has a quota of trees, which is generally not enough for everyone.
"How much wood do you have? What do you plan to do with it?"
When the factory has a lot of orders, Chen Dingsheng would definitely ignore them, but now that it's freezing cold, it's okay to earn some wages.
Lu Yang only said that he hoped to bring someone over to take a look, because some of the wood might not be usable, and if there wasn't enough wood, they would buy ready-made pieces.
"Then I'll go with you and take a look."
Lu Yang led Chen Dingsheng to pick up Uncle Lao Gen in Yanghe Village, and the group headed towards the military region. Chen Dingsheng was stunned when he saw the logs.
"Your wood is quite good. Although it's not very precious, it's enough to make furniture." Chen Dingsheng exclaimed in amazement. This large pile of wood could make quite a few things.
While Team Leader Chen was still outside rummaging through the timber, Lu Yang led Uncle Lao Gen into the main room first.
"Uncle Lao Gen, we want to build a kang (heated brick bed) in the north room, and also build these two walls."
Could you also check if the kang (heated brick bed) in the south room is still usable? If not, we'll tear it down.
Building a kang (heated brick bed) and repairing the walls were no challenge for Uncle Lao Gen; he could build a kang in a day.
However, the kang (heated brick bed) will need to be heated for two more days before it can be used, and it will probably take him two or three days to build these two walls by himself.
The guesthouse was inconvenient to stay in, and Song Qing hoped that the place could be renovated as soon as possible.
“This kang (heated brick bed) is quite old. It can still be used with difficulty, but I suggest we just tear it down.”
Since you're in such a hurry, I'll find someone else.
Of course, they couldn't spend money to hire people to do the work now. Originally, Lu Yang thought of giving them grain coupons and industrial coupons, which would not be spending money but exchanging them. Unexpectedly, Secretary Liu said they were overthinking it.
They set up a construction team in Yanghe Village, which would come over to help the military region build houses. Uncle Laogen was a member of the construction team.
So Lu Yang can just give the money to the village, and the village accountant can then pay Uncle Lao Gen and the others their wages.
Furniture is even simpler, as the furniture factory originally belonged to the village collective industry.
Lu Yang and Party Secretary Liu agreed that Lu Yang would be paid three yuan per person per day, and considering their situation, lunch would not be provided.
Once he had assessed the situation, Uncle Lao Gen immediately picked up a shovel and started digging at the ground.
We'll level the ground today, and he'll start working tomorrow.
Song Qing wanted to build two kang cabinets, several large wardrobes, and a cabinet in the kitchen. If there were any extras, she would also need to build a cabinet in the side room for storage, and of course, she would also need a few tables.
She was initially worried that there wouldn't be enough wood, but Chen Dingsheng asked her what else she needed besides these.
"You guys start working on it first, and if there's any extra wood, we'll think of something else."
“Okay, we’ll have someone come and take the wood away in a bit, but you’ll have to wait for us at the gate, we can’t come in.” There were sentries standing guard at the gate, and Lu Yang agreed.
Chen Dingsheng didn't waste any time. After he finished looking at the general situation, he walked away with his hands behind his back. He could earn about a hundred yuan this time, which would be enough to buy some planes and other tools for the factory.
Uncle Lao Gen used a wooden shovel to scrape the ground and then swept it clean.
"We need some more yellow clay, do you have any?"
I saw it in the new district yesterday.
Uncle Lao Gen left quickly, and Lu Yang and the others didn't waste any time. One went to dig up yellow mud, while the other fiddled with the stove in the kitchen, which had already collapsed.
Song Qing carefully knocked the bricks off with a piece of wood, and then shoveled the remaining clods of mud outside.
"The kitchen and the side rooms don't have electrical wiring, and one of the light bulbs in the main room is broken. We have to rewire them."
"I'll pull it together once it's all set up."
Lu Yang hauled two truckloads of yellow mud.
"The more I do, the more work there is," Song Qing couldn't help but sigh. As he worked, he found that there was even more work waiting for him.
"Hmm," Lu Yang chuckled. Not only was the work plentiful and the money expensive, but he was still willing to do it if he could get the job done.
An'an was bored. The yard was a mess, and she didn't want to stay in the main room, so she simply sat at the front door.
————
At the Lu family home, Lu Weiguo was reading the newspaper when He Shuyue snatched it away.
"The Song family sent their daughter to the Northeast. They were unwilling to go before, but now they're eager to go."
Lu Weiguo said seriously, "The place where Lu Yang stayed before is not suitable for them, mother and daughter. Song Qing and her son have been married for so many years, you should put aside your prejudices."
"Prejudice? If it weren't for the Song family, I would have married Rong Jun's sister to my son. Besides, aren't you disgusted by what happened between Song Qing and that Chen family kid?"
"What's bothering you? It's just a young girl dating normally. An'an is all grown up now, stop thinking about those things. Besides, wasn't it you who agreed to this marriage?"
After Lu Weiguo finished speaking, he left with his hands behind his back, and Bai Rongjun went over and sat down next to He Shuyue.
"Aunt He, don't be angry. Maybe Sister Song Qing has come to terms with it."
“They’ve been so indifferent all these years, how could they suddenly change their ways?”
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