Today is the weekend. Workers in the city strictly follow the 886 work system and all have a day off.
There is no such thing as a day off for the members of rural communes, and they still work hard in the fields.
Although it was already autumn, the weather was still hot. Liu Changyi couldn't bear it after hoeing for a while.
The coarse cloth was soaked with sweat and clung to his body, causing the skin to ache from friction. The sweat on his face fell into the corners of his eyes, and there was a lake in front of him.
The most unbearable thing for Liu Changyi was the huge pain in his waist, which was like a needle passing through his waist.
Despite this, Liu Changyi only straightened up slightly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the tattered towel hanging around his neck.
After his vision became clear and the pain in his waist eased slightly, he bent down again, picked up the heavy hoe, and continued to dig away the weeds in the fields.
Liu Changshun, who had been working behind him, felt sorry for his younger brother. He straightened up and greeted him: "Changyi, take a rest. It's still early. We can finish hoeing this land this morning."
"Brother, I have finished hoeing this piece of land, and the piece by the river. I have to hoe both pieces of land today." Liu Changyi was talking, but his hands were not idle at all, and he continued to hoe the land without raising his head. .
Liu Changshun frowned and squinted at the sun in the sky, "Why are you working so hard? The commune's work cannot be done by one person, so you have to take your time when you work."
"Brother, I'm not stupid, I just want to be the front row of our commune." Liu Changyi bent down and picked off a weed that was too close to the wheat roots. He threw the weed into the ridge of the field and looked back at Liu Changshun: "One of our communes A strong laborer can earn ten work points, which is too little. Even if our three strong laborers plus my mother can only earn thirty-five work points a day, when the commune settles accounts at the end of the year, the food distributed will basically be It doesn't cost much to get points.
As long as I work hard enough, I can be in the front row and earn 15 work points a day. At the end of the year, when the commune slaughters pigs, I will also be given a piece of pig intestines. In this way, I can earn thirty or forty more a year. Block!
If you work for three or four years, you will be able to save enough money to find a wife for you.
Brother, you are over 20 years old, it’s time to get married.
"
Liu Changshun was stunned by these words, and the corners of his eyes gradually became moist. He didn't expect that his brother, who usually didn't like to talk, would be so considerate of him.
But things were not as simple as Liu Changyi thought. He had just gone on a blind date with Xiaofang from a neighboring village not long ago. She was a round-faced girl, strong and with a black braid.
Liu Changshun fell in love with Xiaofang, and Xiaofang also found Liu Changshun very pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that a beautiful marriage was about to be made, Xiaofang's father stepped forward and made conditions.
If you want to marry Xiaofang, you must come up with a gift of fifty yuan and build a new house.
How could the Liu family have so much money? Liu Changshun wanted to retaliate against Xiaofang's father on the spot. But the crux of the matter is that the two conditions raised by Xiaofang's father are not to embarrass him.
Xiaofang has a younger brother, and his younger brother will also marry a wife in the future.
In Liujiagou, the betrothal money earned by the elder sister was used as betrothal gift for the younger brother to marry him.
Then the woman's bride price is given to the woman's brother as a bride price, and the cycle repeats, forming a perfect closed loop.
The only fly in the ointment is that the Liu family only has two sons and no one to earn betrothal gifts for them.
As for the house, that’s even more reasonable.
The Liu family now has an adobe house with only three rooms, one main room and two side rooms.
Liu Yuankui and his wife live in the east wing, and the two brothers Liu Changshun and Liu Changyi live in the west wing. When Liu Changshun marries a wife in the future, the young couple cannot live together with his younger brother.
Nowadays, when building a house in a rural area, although neighbors will come to help, you only need to take care of food, tobacco and alcohol, and it doesn't cost a lot of money.
But the materials for building a house, such as tiles, wooden beams, etc., still need to be purchased. After all, building three houses will cost at least a hundred yuan. That's why Liu Changyi had the idea of being in the front row.
This is a good thing for Liu Changshun, but he knows that it is not so easy to be in the front row.
They have to get up to work at three or four o'clock every day, and don't rest until seven or eight o'clock in the evening. On heavy rainy days, other members of the commune have a rest, and the front row has to carry shovels to the ditches in the fields.
In recent years, there have been many people in the front row of the village who died from exhaustion in the fields.
Liu Changshun couldn't watch his younger brother embark on this path. After thinking about it, he threw away his hoe and ran to Liu Changyi, snatching his hoe away: "You want to die, don't you?"
"Brother, I'm fine, I'm very strong." Liu Changyi was afraid that she wouldn't believe it, so he patted the bulging muscles on his arms.
"You can't even be strong. I will find a way to get a wife..."
The two brothers were arguing when a crisp ringing of bells came from the distance.
Liu Changshun covered his eyes with his hands and saw a young man riding a shiny bicycle, waving to them.
"This seems to be my uncle's son, Hong Chang!"
After watching for a while, Liu Changshun recognized the person, and he quickly ran over.
"Hong Chang, why are you back today?"
"It's not the weekend today, so I just wanted to come back and see you."
Liu Hongchang grew up in Liujiagou and had a deep relationship with the two brothers Liu Changyi and Liu Changshun. As he spoke, he took out the soda he bought from the supply and marketing cooperative and handed it to them.
"Tsk, tsk, why did you buy this thing? It's too expensive." Liu Changyi held the smooth soda bottle and felt a little distressed.
Liu Changshun glared at him: "This is Hong Chang's wish. Drink it quickly."
After drinking the cool soda, several people burped comfortably, came to the edge of the field, and sat down on the grass.
Liu Changshun looked at Wang Weidong and smiled: "Hong Chang, I heard from dad that you divorced that college student?"
"Divorced, but yesterday I married another one." Wang Weidong raised his eyes and looked at the blue sky.
Liu Changshun was stunned for a long time before he recovered and gave him a thumbs up: "....You still have the ability."
Liu Changyi also smiled and said: "That's right, we brothers are crazy about marrying a wife, and no one will marry us."
Wang Weidong picked up a piece of garbage and threw it away, and whispered: "There is a job now. I wonder if you have the guts to do it?"
"Job? What job?" Liu Changshun held down the excited Liu Changyi, looked around, and asked cautiously when he saw no one was there.
"Through my connections, I got a batch of special cucumbers from the south, and I want you two to go to Nancheng in Ningzhou City to sell them."
Wang Weidong told his purpose.
In this age, naturally he can't just be a hot bed with his wife and children. He will definitely do big things in the future.
Doing big things will definitely require funds, and selling peaches and cucumbers can be used as a way to accumulate initial funds.
When spring comes, he will have the capital to flex his muscles.
After all, private stall sales are still not very legal. His repeated appearances in Nancheng will definitely attract others' attention.
Moreover, he is now the cook in the second canteen and has to work every day, so he cannot be off duty all day.
Even if Director Yao is his biological mother, she can't spoil him like this.
Liu Changshun and Liu Changyi have no such worries. They are the most upright and members of the commune. Even if they are caught, the goods will only be confiscated.
After hearing Wang Weidong's plan, Liu Changyi was the first to speak. He patted his chest and said, "Hongchang, aren't you just selling something? I did it. Old Liu Tou from the west end of the village often collects eggs from the village and takes them to Nancheng. Go sell it.”
Liu Changshun hesitated: "Changyi, we still have to work..."
If you delay working, you will have no way to earn work points. Wang Weidong naturally knows this. He smiled and said: "Don't worry, your help will not be in vain. No matter how many cucumbers you sell every day, I will give you 1 yuan."
"What, 1 yuan!" Liu Changshun, who was sitting on the hoe, felt his feet weak and fell off the hoe, almost spraining his feet. He didn't even bother to pat the grass leaves on his pants and squatted in front of Wang Weidong: "Hong Chang , are you telling the truth? Do you really want to give our brother 1 yuan for two?"
Wang Weidong smiled and shook his head: "I'm not giving 1 yuan to you two, I'm giving 1 yuan to each of you!"
"Hiss..." Liu Changshun took a breath, looking in disbelief.
No wonder he didn't believe it. Workers in the city now only earn more than 20 yuan a month.
Wang Weidong actually offered them a salary of thirty yuan.
They worked hard in the fields every day and could only earn less than five cents. Suddenly they could earn twenty times the salary.
Liu Changyi didn't say anything. Anyway, Hong Chang was his cousin. Even if Hong Chang didn't give him a penny, he would still help. Even if Hong Chang offered him a hundred yuan, he would accept it calmly.
Wang Weidong knew Liu Changshun's character. He was always cautious, so he took out a pile of banknotes from his pocket, counted out a few, and handed them to Liu Changshun and Liu Changyi respectively.
"Here are ten dollars. You can take it first and start buying cucumbers tomorrow. I may be busy with work and won't go. You can also buy some food at noon."
Liu Changyi said: "Hongchang, you don't need to buy food. We can just bring a few Wowotou from home and a pot of water."
"How can this be done? Selling cucumbers is not a day and a half effort. You still have to eat." Seeing that it was getting late, Wang Weidong stood up and said: "Remember, we will meet outside the city at five o'clock tomorrow morning. I will I’ll give you the cucumber.”
"Don't worry, we won't forget it." After taking the money, Liu Changshun was relieved. With 1 yuan a day, he could marry Xiaofang home in half a year.
"Then I'll go back first." Wang Weidong took two steps on his bicycle, then thought of something and turned back.
He took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed them into Liu Changshun's hand: "Selling cucumbers may take several days. You have to ask for leave from the commune and take these two packs of cigarettes with you. By the way, get two tickets to enter the city."
In this day and age, people need a letter of introduction when going out, and entering the city is no exception. You need an entry permit issued by the commune.
Although the inspections are not so strict now, in order to avoid trouble for you, it is better to carry it with you as much as possible.
"Don't worry, the correspondent in the commune is from our old Liu family. If I tell him, it will definitely work." Liu Changshun put the cigarette in his pocket, grinning from ear to ear.
Wang Weidong didn't say much, got on his bicycle and left.
Looking at Wang Weidong's back gradually disappearing at the end of the road, Liu Changshun scratched his head: "I'm just selling cucumbers for 1 yuan a day. What the hell is Hong Chang doing?"
If it weren't for the money and cigarettes in his pocket, Liu Changshun would really not be able to believe what just happened.
Liu Changyi put the hoe on his shoulder and patted Liu Changshun on the back: "Brother, although Hong Chang is one year younger than me, he has always had ideas since he was a child. Let's not speculate blindly. It will be fine if we follow Hong Chang."
"No, I can't trust Hong Chang. I'm afraid he'll lose money. Think about it, he's just a cook, he doesn't know how to sell vegetables." Liu Changshun smiled awkwardly.
"We are selling cucumbers, not vegetables!"
The two of them talked and entered the village. When they returned home, Liu Changshun told Liu Yuankui everything in detail for your convenience.
Liu Yuankui didn't know what Liu Hongchang was doing, but he still stared at Liu Changshun and said, "Shunzi, whether Hong Chang pays or not, you have to do your job well. He is your cousin!"
"I know, I know, how can I be the kind of person who speculates? I'm going to the commune now to finish what Hong Chang told me."
As Liu Changshun spoke, he stood up and walked to the commune.
"Wait, remember to give those two packs of cigarettes to Liu Erchui." Liu Yuankui stood up and stuffed the cigarettes on the table into Liu Changshun's pocket.
"Dad, there's no need. Liu Erchui is our close neighbor. He's worshiping an ancestor. I'm asking him to do something. Is this necessary? This is the front door. The supply and marketing cooperative sells it for 80 cents a bag. If we take it, we can exchange it for about ten kilograms of salt, which is enough for our family to eat for more than half a year."
Seeing Liu Changshun's reluctance, Liu Yuankui rubbed his hair and said with a straight face: "Otherwise, you wouldn't be as thoughtful as Hong Chang! It's true that Er Chui is our close neighbor. I used to talk to you when I was young. We play together, but after all, he has played in the fifth server and is not a relative of ours. Besides, Hong Chang asked you to deliver cigarettes. In fact, he wanted you to have good relations with the people in the commune. To the village chief, do you understand?"
"Hey, people in the city are really clever!" Liu Changshun scratched his head, "I'm convinced."
Liu Yuankui smiled and said: "I always feel that this is an opportunity for you two brothers. That boy Hong Chang has been reliable in doing things since he was a child. Maybe you can take this opportunity to become city residents!"
City people? ? Liu Changshun smiled bitterly, shook his head, and walked out of the yard with a cigarette. People in the city were something he couldn't even think about.
Liu Yuankui also became excited when his two sons had good things. He shouted into the room: "My dear mother, I can't do anything better today. When you cook porridge at night, boil an egg."
....
The other side.
Wang Weidong had returned to Ningzhou City at this time and was buying gifts with Yang Maixiang.
Yang's father and Yang's mother sympathized with Li Li. Although they blamed their daughter for stealing the household registration book, they didn't say anything more when they knew that she was married to Liu Hongchang.
They had met Liu Hongchang before and knew that he was a chef.
This profession is a big plus. You know, since ancient times, there has been a saying that a cook will never die of hunger in a famine year.
In addition, Liu Hongchang looks honest, and the couple is relieved.
....
