Chapter 17 Section 17

Every morning, just after dawn, the old father-in-law and the old woman came to Simeizi's chicken farm one after another, cleaned up the dirt in the chicken farm, cleaned up, and then picked up water and ingredients, just like workers going to work in time.Sometimes when the old man came, she and Jianfeng were still sleeping soundly. When they heard the coughing sound of the old man deliberately disturbing them, they got up in a hurry, ran to the yard, opened the latch of the street gate, and welcomed the two old men who were waiting outside the door. Come, my heart is often very moved. Jianfeng washed his face, pushed the car, hurried out of the street gate, and rushed to the electrical repair shop he opened in Sangshu Town.

The fourth sister will rush to the southern construction site to sell eggs every other day or two.This southern construction site is actually an arsenal. At the beginning of its construction, it was the southern construction site of a construction company. After the factory was completed, the construction workers had already withdrawn. The local villagers are still not used to calling the arsenal. .A few years ago, when the fourth sister was selling eggs, she never dared to patronize the family courtyard of this arsenal. She would rather travel more than 20 miles to send them to a worker-inhabited area in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an where they were unfamiliar.There are guards at the gate of the South Construction Site, and there are often cadres sent by the supply and marketing cooperatives at the gate of the Family Home, who are specially on guard there to catch those who dare to steal and sell eggs... Now, on both sides of the concrete road outside the gate of the South Construction Site, there are It is the farmers who sell agricultural and sideline products in the neighboring villages. All kinds of seasonal vegetables, melons and fruits, fresh meat and fresh eggs are spread next to each other along the road.Some people built small houses on the side of the road and sold daily necessities; restaurants, barbershops, and pubs also opened for business.The fourth sister came here to sell eggs, and she no longer had to worry about the cadres of the supply and marketing cooperative confiscating the eggs.

She came to sell eggs every other day at most every two days, which was too time-consuming, and put all the heavy labor of the chicken farm on the shoulders of the two old people.She got acquainted with the buyer of the staff canteen at the South Construction Site, and reached an agreement to deliver 30 catties of eggs to the canteen every afternoon. The price per catty fluctuated with the market price, which was generally a dime lower than the market price.The cafeteria saves trouble, picks up cheap, and guarantees that you can eat the freshest eggs. The fourth sister also saves the trouble of sitting there all day long waiting for buyers. Both sides are satisfied. She will send eggs to the Nangong site in the next afternoon , I can take good care of the chicken farm in the morning and noon, and it can also make the two old people relax.In order to ensure the long-lasting relationship, Simeizi filled a box with 30 to 50 eggs and gave them to the buyer.

The fourth sister succeeded in raising chickens and gained eye-catching economic benefits. The news spread like wildfire and spread everywhere. Finally, one day, a stranger walked into the yard. The visitor introduced himself and said that his name was Xie Kan, so he might as well call him Xiaojie. He said that he was a reporter from a newspaper in the city, and he came here to interview her.The fourth sister listened to the introduction, and returned the press card he handed her to her. Looking at his fair face, he had a small beard, black and fluffy, and his hair was draped on the back of his neck. This is very modern. young man's attire.She suddenly raised her head and said to the old man who was mixing the ingredients: "Father! This comrade is looking for you!" As she spoke, she pulled the wooden shovel from the old man's hand.The old man looked puzzled at the young man, who was dressed too far from the country people, and sat at a small table under the shade of a tree. He greeted the guests to drink water, and watched him vigilantly as he took out a notebook and a pen in his pocket. , the fourth sister pretended not to pay attention to anything, and stirred the feed in the wooden basin, thinking in her heart that the old man is a supreme god at home, and the three sons, three daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren cannot disobey him. There is a majestic step between people, but facing such a young outsider, a reporter, in addition to vigilance and vigilance, there is also a look of fear in the eyes of the old man, which is a kind of feigned generosity The complicated expression below.She heard the old father-in-law and the little reporter answering questions in a difficult way——

"The old comrade's name?" "Lu Kejian." "How old are you? Are you in good health?" "Good! Over sixty." "When did you start thinking about starting a family chicken farm!" "Well... probably around the time of Chinese New Year." "Aren't you afraid of...'tail chopping'?" "What kind of tail-cut off?" "Tails of capitalism. Have you ever suffered from tail chopping?" "Then... of course I'm still afraid." "How did you overcome it?" "I……" The fourth sister saw that the old man was awkwardly rubbing the small cigarette pouch, stuttering, and fine beads of sweat emerged from the tip of his nose.He glanced at Fourth Sister as if asking for help, hoping that she would come out soon and answer the foreigner's inquiry.The fourth sister just pretended not to see, and continued to do her own thing.She heard that the reporter asked about technical matters, how to prevent the epidemic, how to feed, how to solve the problem of chick death... The old man finally stood up impatiently, took the wooden shovel from her, and said, "Go tell him go!"

She answered the reporter's questions and sent off the guests.Two days later, the director of the County Women's Federation and the director of the Women's Federation of the commune came to the door in a jeep to do research. The fourth sister led two or three female leaders to the old man and asked him to answer all the questions they were interested in, which made the old man even more uncomfortable. Excuse me.After the director of the Women's Federation expressed enough concern, he drove away. The old father-in-law couldn't wait to ask the fourth sister, "You little girl! The chicken farm you run, you should entertain people when they come! You push me in front of people." In fact, I don't know about the 'temperature', 'food intake', and 'survival rate', all of which made me suffer..."

The fourth sister raised her head, pretending to be stupid and said: "Whenever there are guests outside, you should treat them as an old man. This is the rule of our family. How can I be so talkative..." "Uh... Hey!" The old man choked, but couldn't speak.Only now did he understand the scheming of the third daughter-in-law, intending to avenge his rude reception of her second aunt.She has a lot of ideas.The old man was embarrassed to deny his family rules and traditions again, and started to smoke sullenly. The fourth sister was afraid that her father-in-law would really have a heart attack, so she pretended not to mind and said, "Dad! In fact, I deliberately let you get in touch with those cadres. I think you are always timid about those cadres. You have been in contact with them too much. I also understand that they are cadres, but they are also human beings, so there is nothing to be afraid of..."

As soon as the reporter's article was published in the newspaper, Simeizi's small courtyard became even more lively. Many organized delegations came to visit, and there was an endless stream from morning to night. The county party secretary and the county magistrate came to praise her They said that she was the first professional chicken farmer in Hekou County under their leadership, and she should be widely publicized. She opened up a way for women in the whole county to get rich, and she is undoubtedly a typical example.Someone asked her to introduce her experience, and someone wanted to summarize her latest material.Someone came to write her reportage.Someone asked her to fill out a form for the by-election of county people's representatives...

She was surrounded and pounded by waves of enthusiasm.She couldn't leave the courtyard anymore, and she couldn't do the delivery of eggs to the Nangongdi cafeteria, so the old father-in-law took the initiative. The first time the old man brought eggs to the Nangongdi cafeteria, he stuffed a piece of sugarcane for his grandson, then took money out of his underwear pocket and handed it to her.When she took the money from her husband, she suddenly remembered that when she first came to this family, her husband gave her five yuan and caused a family dispute because she spent it. Now, her husband has paid her the money.

That night, after dinner, the whole family was teasing the youngest son. The fourth sister took out fifty yuan from the drawer and said to her husband, "Dad! You and my mother have been helping me for a whole month. It is the wages I give you two old people, each at 25 yuan a month, which is 50 yuan. In the future, when the chicken farm develops, I will increase it for you... " The whole family was stunned.The old man looked at her, and said for a long time: "What is this? Ah? What is this! A family, and you are paid--salary? Then your mother and I have become your long-term employees?"

The old woman also agreed and said, "Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? You're so heartless!" Jianfeng didn't speak. The fourth sister said: "I can't let you two do it for nothing! The distribution principle of socialism is: get paid according to your work. You should be paid for what you do. This is a reasonable thing." "Ha! How can I earn my son's money?" the old man said, "What do I want money for? As long as you live well..." The fourth sister was unwavering: "If you don't accept the money, I won't be able to let your elder brother continue to work. I will hire another person in the village..." The old father-in-law was even more surprised and opened his eyes wide: "You don't dare to act recklessly! Although the current policy is lenient, hiring people is exploitation, and it is the number one thing the Communist Party opposes!" Since liberation, what he worried most was that he would be promoted to a landlord—exploitation class, and the chief sign of exploitation in the countryside is hired labour. "I'm not afraid." Fourth Sister said, "I pay people wages. I don't know if this is considered exploitation." "Since that's what you said, don't be in a hurry to hire someone else." The old man took the fifty yuan and said, "I'll accept this money so that you won't hire someone else. If anyone finds out about it in the future, I'll say yes to it." My son will help me, and I will take a step back..." A few days later, the journalist Xie came again and asked about the development of the chicken farm.The fourth sister thought that the reporters were well-informed, so she asked whether it was possible to hire workers and whether hiring workers was considered exploitation.The reporter seems to have not yet obtained an authoritative answer to this specific question, and spoke vaguely.This led to the fact that Si Meizi paid her father-in-law and mother-in-law. Reporter Xie was very interested and went to the bottom of it, so that Si Meizi couldn't answer the question.A few days later, there was a prominent headline in the newspaper—— Daughter-in-law pays salary to in-laws ——The Qualitative Change of Family Structure in Rural China The fourth sister received the newspaper from Xie Kan, read it, and seemed to understand it.She really convinced this pen-player, it's amazing for him to analyze so many meanings for such a trivial matter in her opinion! At the end of the year, the fourth sister made new clothes for the two old people and bought a TV set.On the evening of the New Year's Eve, a family of young and old gathered together, which is really "full of spring and happiness".After making the dumplings, the fourth sister talked about the development plan for the next year. She calculated the account of raising chickens and selling eggs. Although the profit was quite large, it was still not ideal.She wants to buy a machine for incubating chicks, and the profit is much better than raising chickens, mostly.She said that the government now promotes and encourages farmers to do a good job in family sideline business. Seeing that she has made a fortune raising chickens, many rural women feel itchy. The chicks next spring will undoubtedly be in short supply.The fourth sister said: "This move is right, and we need to start early. It is not a problem to earn tens of thousands of dollars just in the previous season." The husband couldn't help staring at the third daughter-in-law in a daze, secretly admiring her.This woman from northern Shaanxi is completely right about the hot sales of chickens that may appear next year, and she has a vision to take advantage of this opportunity to hatch chickens.He wanted to warmly affirm his daughter-in-law's "move of chess", but when he opened his mouth, he said something like this: "This move is right. Let me tell you! Why do you need so much money? Just three hundred hens , the income is enough to eat and wear, forget it! If you catch so much money at once, if there is a mistake in the policy in the future, too much money will become a disaster..." "Looking at the current situation, the government is calling on farmers to make money and make a fortune! The radio has been saying this from morning to night." Jianfeng interjected, "As for whether they will change their minds in the future, even a god can hardly predict." When he said this, he used a high-pitched tone of non-intervention, without obvious inclinations. "If you change your mind, let's talk about the plan to change your mind. Now that we are allowed to earn money, I will earn it." The fourth sister did not waver. , you are the fore-worker I hired!" The old man turned his head and smiled. "If you buy an incubator, you have to hire people." Si Meizi said, "Several people are needed!" "Don't dare!" The old man resolutely objected, "The Communist Party allows farmers to earn money, but they don't allow them to hire long-term workers! This is an obvious truth, so don't mess around." "Then what should I do?" The fourth sister didn't dare to insist, "But once the incubator is filled with eggs, people can't leave it day and night, the temperature must be controlled, and the eggs must be beaten. When the chicks come out, they must be fed and watered, and they can't be separated from others during the day and night. To check the hatching eggs..." "Let Jianfeng go home and help," said the mother-in-law. "I'm studying the technology of TV repair!" Jianfeng said, "I can't see those fluffy things! When I see chickens and eggs, I get annoyed, and when I hear hens crowing, my brain gets dizzy..." "Then... how about this, let your elder sister-in-law and second sister-in-law come and work, and those nephews and nieces can all work." The old man came up with a perfect plan, "First, it can avoid the suspicion of exploitation by hired workers, and second Come and fulfill your two elder brothers. Your life is going well, so help them too. Your elder brother earns the salary of teaching, now it seems that it is not as good as raising a brood of hens..." The fourth sister agreed.She couldn't disagree with the old man's words, he was a real brother after all! The New Year's bell is ringing, melodious and vigorous...