Back to 1978

Chapter 45 Moving reinforcements

"I'm sorry, sir. The offal and steamed buns are all sold out. There's only one pot of soup left. If you come back next time, I'll cut more for you." Han Hongzhen explained to the customer apologetically, rubbing her wrist which was about to break after cutting the braised pork for the whole morning.

It was just past twelve o'clock and all the offal and steamed buns in the pot had been sold out. When the offal were sold out and only a dozen steamed buns were left, people bought up the remaining steamed buns at one cent a bowl.

Some people even asked tentatively if they could use five cents to buy a bowl of soup to soak their dry food and satisfy their cravings.

If Xie Hushan had not instructed not to sell the old soup, there might not be any left of this pot of soup. Now the pot is filled with greasy old soup, soaking the piece of first-class meat weighing more than two kilograms.

In the words of Xie Hushan, this piece of meat, called lobby manager, will be officially retired only when it is completely cooked and melted into the soup.

After packing up all the things, Han Hongzhen took out the money she earned today, counted it carefully, and handed it to Xie Hushan who was sitting next to her smoking: "Here, we sold about 270 to 280 bowls in total. This is 95.9 yuan. You are the team leader, you give it to Uncle Wu and Accountant Zhao."

Xie Hushan took it and counted it, then put it in his pocket: "Hurry up and close the stall. After that, you and Aunt Wu will have to continue braising the food."

Han Hongzhen thought Xie Hushan was a strange guy. You might say he was lazy, but he thought that women shouldn't do heavy work, so he would never let herself do it. For example, when it came to pulling a cart, he would definitely do the most mileage. Sometimes Lao Meng was in the mood to play and forgot to take his place, but he would never mention it.

But you say he is diligent, he doesn't do any of the work like washing dishes, setting up stalls and unloading cars, cleaning up dishes, and lighting fires and adding firewood. He would rather promise benefits and use candy melons to trick Lao Meng into washing dishes and chopsticks, or even if he sees that Lao Meng is too tired to lift his wrists, he will not come over to offer a hand. If you ask him to do some work, he will look aggrieved and disgusted.

When Xie Husan brought the meat yesterday, my mother-in-law whispered to me that Xie Husan was a smart kid who was spoiled by his grandmother. He had the character of a rich young master who wouldn't even help if an oil bottle fell over. Moreover, this kid's head was full of ideas about doing big things. It would be good if he succeeded, but it would be a big trouble if he failed. We are a small family and we have to stay away from such people.

While his grandmother was helping to stew the meat, his mother-in-law secretly rebuked Xie Hushan's grandmother for her original proposal. Han Hongzhen guessed that her grandmother must have told Xie Hushan last night, but Xie Hushan was still quite happy.

Today he specifically praised her for her good gossip, saying that his grandmother told him last night that Aunt Wu felt that this matter was inappropriate and that Aunt Wu had no vision. She was going to ask someone to help look for a place for her grandson in Xishan, and comforted him not to worry or get angry.

Looking at his happy behavior, it really seems like he is willing to be single for the rest of his life.

After closing the stall and returning to Zhongping, Xie Hushan asked Lao Meng and Han Hongzhen to pull the cart back first. He went to the brigade headquarters to find Han Laogou. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Han Laogou weaving hemp ropes while chatting with the accountant. The double harvest in autumn was about to come, and the hemp ropes for tying bags for food had to be prepared in advance.

Xie Hushan walked in and called out "Second Uncle". Then he sat down opposite Han Laogou, took out a box of Laodong cigarettes and put it in front of him.

Han Laogou glanced at the cigarette box, then looked at Xie Hushan, his hands moved differently, and he said with a smile:

"Hu San'er, you asked me to do something for you. If I can't do it well, you have to take back even a cigarette. This time you just took out a box of cigarettes. I dare not smoke unless you explain clearly. Did you make trouble?"

"Don't worry about smoking. Today, my sideline group in Team 3 made more than 90 yuan. After deducting various other things, I estimate that the team will have less than 20 yuan left. We are not short of money now." "Are you dealing in opium, kid? What kind of wontons can make so much money?" When Han Laogou heard the number, he thought Xie Hushan was joking with him.

A sideline group can earn less than 20 yuan a day. What a concept! All the animals in a production team's horse and cart group can only earn this much a day if they pull the carts, dig up grass and chew fodder.

Can his sideline group of two or three people be equivalent to a production team of more than a dozen drivers and a dozen animals?

"Our team leader didn't tell you that the commune veterinary station added a small canteen and asked our team to help sell some vegetables to them and arrange someone to cook for them. They didn't want to pay, so they took some worthless offal left in the canteen as wages. Our team was responsible for making the worthless offal into delicious food and taking it to the market to make money."

"This is a good thing. People who come to the market have to bring a few cents with them, so they will definitely want to eat some meat. With less than twenty yuan a day, you can earn enough to buy a calf in four or five days! This is because your third team is lucky, and God is forcing money into the hands of the third team!" Han Laogou was very happy after hearing what Xie Hushan said, and nodded repeatedly.

He is the brigade secretary. No matter which production team's sideline business develops well, as long as it does not delay labor production, he will be happy for them from the bottom of his heart.

"What's good about it? Someone started a fight on the first day, otherwise why would I come here? Our team leader Ma Laowu is a soft-hearted person. If I tell him, he will definitely advise me to back down. I'm afraid that if I back down, people will bully me and become more aggressive. So I didn't dare to look for him. I might as well come to you directly to give me some advice." Xie Hushan opened a labor cigarette and gave one to Han Laogou. He then helped the other party light it up and said aggrievedly.

"Is there anyone who dares to pick a fight with you?" Han Laogou stopped braiding the hemp rope, took out the cigarette from his mouth, and looked at Xie Hushan:

"Why don't I believe it? What's going on?"

"Hey, there was a steamed bun stall opened by a member of the Lijiazhai Brigade. They were able to use their connections to find cheap meat, and they sold meat buns and meatballs. That business was good, with long lines every day. But we sold offal, which was cheaper than theirs, and we took their business away. So they bullied us and found an excuse that we had taken their place. They said that at the market in Lijiazhai tomorrow, if you people from Zhongping Village try to set up a stall again, your stall will be overturned." Xie Hushan rubbed his hands, looking like an angry young wife, and described the matter to Han Laogou:

"Second uncle, you said that when setting up a stall, the seats are on a first-come, first-served basis. Isn't it unreasonable for them to do this? We can't just do this because our team has good business. I can't afford to offend them. They have four strong men. My team consists of my fourth sister, Aunt Wu, and an extra-staff member, Lao Meng. Aunt Wu has difficulty walking, so she stays at home to make cakes and cook for the veterinary station. If they really fight, I only have a widow and a stupid boy under my command. They are all old, weak, and disabled. If we set up the stall tomorrow and start a fight..."

Han Laogou's face darkened. The location of the market was not fixed to begin with, and stalls were set up on a first-come-first-served basis. As for whether the business was good or not, that depended on each person's ability. The other party threatened to go back to the village to deal with them just because their position was occupied by the sideline group of his third team. This was already unreasonable enough. What's more, these people were all orphans, widows, the elderly, the weak and the disabled, while there were four strong laborers. This was clearly bullying.

Seeing Han Laogou's expression change, Xie Hushan immediately continued to make trouble for him:
"Also, didn't I just start going to the market with the sideline group yesterday? Those four guys were talking dirty yesterday, saying that Fourth Sister, a widow, had affairs with me. But I'm a grown man who hasn't married yet, and I have to protect my reputation. If this gets out, which girl will dare to marry me? I'm so young and I have this reputation, who would dare to propose to me? Will I be single for the rest of my life?

"They flirted with several old ladies at the market, and they had the nerve to accuse others. Second Uncle, you said that I should start with Han Lao Er. His fourth sister is my fourth sister. It doesn't matter if my reputation is ruined and I remain single, but they keep saying such mean things. Fourth sister must be uncomfortable. If one day she becomes petty and can't let go..."

"Fuck you! People from Zhongping are lucky not to bully others, how can they let others bully them?" Han Laogou dropped the hemp rope, took a few puffs of cigarette, and waved his hand at Xie Hushan:

"Okay, you go back first. I understand. You should go out to the stall tomorrow. Don't worry, as long as you don't take the initiative to cause trouble, I want to see who dares to cause trouble for our Zhongping Brigade tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)