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Chapter 15 Ma Laowu's Living Illness

"Not counting the four ox carts that can't travel far, our team has seven donkey carts and mule carts. Why should we hire animals from other teams? It costs a lot to hire them each time." Han Hongbing also stood up and walked out, saying in confusion.

The livestock of the production team were either kept in the barn to enjoy themselves, except for helping to pull carts during the busy farming days. If they were really enjoying themselves, just a dozen or so animals would be enough to bankrupt the production team.

Therefore, the production team leader needs to be able to find money-making jobs for the livestock and carts in his team. Ma Laowu of the third team naturally does not have this ability. At present, the livestock and carts of most production teams in Zhongping Village rely on a job found by the secretary Han Laogou to make money, transporting blasted stones from the West Mountain to the county town as construction materials. A vehicle can make one trip a day and earn about three yuan a day. It doesn't sound like much, but it is actually a lot, equivalent to the daily work point income of three strong laborers in the Zhongping Brigade.

It can be said that most of the expenses for collecting extra manure, buying fertilizers, purchasing farm tools, and livestock for each production team were earned by the team's driver who drove the cart for daily transportation.

Xie Hushan had to hire livestock and carts from other teams. According to estimates, a round trip from the county seat to Zhongping Village would cost Xie Hushan at least RMB 1.67, even if it was a two-wheeled cart pulled by a donkey. If it was a four-wheeled cart pulled by a mule, it would probably cost two yuan per trip. This is why many production teams would rather wait in line for two more days even though their heads would hurt by the stench from the manure pit. Because once they hired a cart from another production team to help load manure, the cost of the manure would not just be five yuan per cart.

Xie Hushan pushed his bicycle outside and said as he walked, "We have to hire not only tonight but also tomorrow, otherwise it won't be enough. We must transport all the manure back in one day. If we delay, something bad will happen. How do you know that other production teams will not follow our example? We have to act quickly. When they want to do the same, they will be left with nothing but staring blankly. Don't think that farmers don't know how to do anything. They just don't have the courage to be the first to do something, not that they are stupid. When they see someone else doing it first and getting benefits, they will immediately copy it. At this critical moment, we can't ruin the big things just to save a little money."

Letting Han Hongbing wait for him at the school gate, Xie Hushan rode his bicycle into the commune compound at the east end of Zhongping Village. To Xie Hushan, the Armed Forces Department was no different from his own home. He was the platoon leader of the basic militia of Production Team 3, the squad leader of the armed militia company of Zhongping Production Brigade, and a militia elite who had won awards in the county competition and brought honor to the commune's armed forces department. Armed Forces Minister Zhang Cheng smiled every time he saw him. Xie Hushan had received his serious teaching of bayonet fighting, so he was considered to be his half-apprentice. If Xie Hushan had not been the only son in the countryside and could not join the army according to policy, Zhang Cheng would have asked his old unit to pick soldiers to take this kid away.

When Zhang Cheng heard Xie Hushan say that the school principal asked him to help contact the engineering battalion in the western suburbs of the county to organize a social event, he never thought that Xie Hushan was acting on his own initiative. After all, Xie Hushan was indeed a non-staff counselor for military training at Zhongping Primary School.

Zhang Cheng immediately called the engineering battalion headquarters, exchanged a few polite words about the close relationship between the military and the local government, and talked about their military experience and friendship. Finally, he mentioned the friendship party. After the engineering battalion expressed a warm welcome over the phone, the matter was settled. In their view, it was not a big deal. It was just a group of kids going to the military camp to see the world, and the armed forces department asked them to help with the reception.

Zhang Cheng put down the phone, unscrewed the pen and began to write a contact letter on official letterhead. He left a blank space after the number of people, signed and stamped it at the end, and handed it to Xie Hushan. The number of people was left blank for the convenience of the school. Usually, the leading teacher would fill in the number of people before departure the next day. In case a student was temporarily unable to join the army, or if several extra teachers went with the team, it would be too troublesome to have to rewrite the letter.

After returning to the school gate, he gave the letter to Han Hongbing and asked him to take the "imperial edict" to fool the principal. Then Xie Hushan found Ma Laowu, who was busy reinforcing the dirt road and leveling the ground with a group of members in preparation for the smooth transportation of grain by carts during the autumn harvest.

"Uncle Wu, I have made all the contacts today for the manure, and I will be able to go there tonight to transport eight trucks of manure. How about you give me the money for thirty trucks of manure at five yuan per truck? I will carry them on my body, and then return them to you if I can't use them all." Xie Hushan looked at Ma Laowu with a harmless expression.

"You should have taken it this morning." Ma Laowu didn't think too much about it. Since Xie Hushan promised not to give up and take on the job of collecting manure, it was only right that he should be paid. He looked up at the accountant Zhao Shuli and shouted, "Accountant Zhao, take the money for collecting manure and give it to Hu Saner. Then ask him to sign. He has to pull eight carts tonight."

Accountant Zhao trotted to get the money. Ma Laowu leaned on his shovel and looked at Xie Hushan: "What about our team's animals? Let's harness them tonight and go with you. Why did you choose night? The roads are not easy to travel at night. If you are not careful, the animals' legs may be injured."

"Only my sixth master will go with me in our team. The other trucks will be arranged tomorrow. I will hire the remaining seven trucks tonight. Our team will use them tomorrow. At nine o'clock in the evening, you ask eight strong laborers to get twenty or thirty flashlights from each family in our team, gather at the gate of Yaowang Temple, and set out on time to load manure with the trucks. You must work quickly." Xie Hushan said. "How much cheaper is the other party? Is it worth it for you to haul manure in the middle of the night? And hire a truck... You kid, you wait for the manure to be collected at 4.4 yuan per truck? 4.3 yuan? 4.2 yuan? It can't be 4 yuan! If it's 4 yuan, use all the trucks in our team tonight, take as many as you can, and bring them back overnight, so that the manure scooper won't regret it!" Ma Laowu was stunned when he heard that he had to hire a truck to transport manure overnight, and then a look of joy appeared on his face. He guessed how much the manure price was negotiated by Xie Hushan, and observed Xie Hushan's reaction.

First-class manure is the manure with the best quality and the least water. It is high-quality farm fertilizer that can be bought back and even unloaded in the production team's own manure pit and diluted with water for a second time. Of course, it is also the most expensive, selling for five yuan a carload. In Ma Laowu's opinion, if Xie Hushan can grind the price of first-class manure and the manure scoop to four yuan a carload, it would also be cost-effective to hire a car. Thirty carloads of first-class manure can be mixed into thirty-five carloads, and the car fare can offset more than half of the cost.

But after watching for a long time, he didn't see any clues from Xie Hushan's face, which made Ma Laowu feel a little nervous: "Hu San'er, tell me the truth, how much do you charge for a car? Tell me so that I can celebrate the New Year in advance and have fun."

"What are you asking about? Who will be held responsible if the information leaks out and cannot be brought back?" Xie Hushan deliberately frowned and scolded Ma Laowu: "Where did you learn the confidentiality regulations? Stop asking questions and clean up the manure pits in our team and wait for the manure to be collected!"

Ma Laowu was so angry that he nodded repeatedly, with a fierce smile on his face, his teeth almost broken, pointing at Xie Hushan: "Okay, fine, you are the one, Hu Saner, I won't ask anymore, you bastard, just wait, don't let me catch you when you are begging for help with diarrhea, if I catch you, I will squeeze the big intestine out of you!"

The accountant came over with an old-fashioned leather bag. Instead of taking out money first, he took out an account book from it. On a single page, the details of the withdrawals were written. He then handed the pen to Xie Hushan, watched Xie Hushan sign his name, took out a seal and asked him to press his fingerprints, put everything away, then began to unbutton his jacket, and finally took out a stack of half-damp bills from the seamed pocket of his vest, slowly and carefully twisted it in his hands, counted it again and again, and then handed it to Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan took the bills without counting them again, for he was afraid that the banknotes might fade if he counted them again. He could see clearly from the few times he counted them just now that there were ten ten-yuan bills, seven five-yuan bills, and fifteen one-yuan bills.

"Hu San'er, you have to pack the money well, and it's better to pack them separately, otherwise if they are lost, all will be lost." The accountant glanced at his own bicycle that looked like it had been in a fight with a tank. His lips trembled with heartache, but he still carefully reminded Xie Hushan to make sure to keep the money well.

Xie Hushan put the money in his trouser pocket, turned around, got on his bicycle and left: "Don't worry, it's okay."

His few steps made Accountant Zhao want to run after the bicycle, for fear that the money would fall out of Xie Hushan's pocket.

"Aren't you going to harness the horse? Where are you going now, kid?" Ma Laowu asked towards Xie Hushan's back.

Xie Hushan pedaled hard without even turning his head: "Why are you asking so many questions! I'm going to buy some wine and drink it with the shit. Can you come? I'll give you a hot cup."

Ma Laowu was so angry that he covered his forehead with his hands. He looked at Accountant Zhao who was still staring at the bicycle and sighed with a worried look on his face: "Fuck you! Why did I listen to Han Laogou and let him collect shit? Chunchun is just making himself sick!"

(End of this chapter)