Chapter 25: Well Done
Gu Wenbo hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly either. The Transportation Team didn’t suffer any loss; on the contrary, they made a profit because there were not only leafy greens from above but also half a basket of eggs.
And obviously, the remaining eggs at the Neighborhood Committee were prepared for internal digestion.
Gu Wenbo completely let out a sigh of relief. Qiao Ge handled this matter beautifully. During the noisy time with many people, she didn’t deliberately vie for credit or show off. After the family members left, she quietly helped with cleaning and arranging trivial matters.
Whose personality was this like? He remembered that Uncle and Lu Zhiguo weren’t like this either.
Gu Wenbo drove away with peace of mind.
At this time, Director Hu and the others had already invited Brigade Leader Lin inside to drink tea.
Brigade Leader Lin saw so many cadres and was still very tense.
He said he still needed to go back to distribute things to the members, so Huang Juan took the few pieces of paper that Lu Qiaoling had noted and the items received by the Neighborhood Committee and began checking the accounts.
It looked tedious, but it was actually very simple because the daily necessities were only more, not less.
In the end, they loaded a full large horse-drawn cart. Not to mention anything else, Brigade Leader Lin felt that just the matches alone meant that every household in Guzi Village basically wouldn’t need to buy any for half a year.
There was also soy sauce, vinegar, white sugar, brown sugar, and packets of salt.
These were all things the members couldn’t afford to buy.
The Neighborhood Committee was generous and gave him some extra daily necessities. He didn’t even know what to say to express his gratitude.
But he was thanked repeatedly by the Neighborhood Committee cadres and invited to drink tea. Brigade Leader Lin felt very proud and moved.
Meanwhile, at the Neighborhood Committee, there were family members who had just received the news and rushed over, but the truck had already driven away.
With Director Hu there, it wasn’t good to complain. After all, supplies weren’t abundant these days, and buying things relied on grabbing them.
Lu Qiaoge saw Director Hu and Huang Juan talking together, so she walked over with a smile: “Leaders, I’ve completed my task. If there’s no problem, I’ll send Brigade Leader Lin out of the compound and then go home.”
Naturally, it was top leader Old Hu who spoke first. He smiled and said: “Qiao Ge, you send the Brigade Leader out, but come by the office for work this afternoon. We’ll have a chat.”
Lu Qiaoge glanced at the Neighborhood Committee cadres all smiling at her and nodded obediently. She got on the Brigade Leader’s horse-drawn cart and headed toward the main entrance.
By the time Lu Qiaoge got home, it was also time to get off work. She ran into acquaintances on the road, and they all deliberately stopped to talk to her.
“Qiao Ge, next time there’s vegetable swapping, remember to tell your aunt. I even held you when you were little.”
“When you came to play at my house, I gave you sugar. If there’s something like this again, tell me in advance…”
Lu Qiaoge agreed with a generous smile every time.
At the Neighborhood Committee main entrance, she tried to minimize her presence.
It was enough for those cadres to know what she had done.
But in private, there was no need to pretend.
Still, she had a full face of smiles, particularly obedient: “Aunts, just remember to listen to the Neighborhood Committee’s notices. If I know in advance, I’ll have my mom tell you.”
“What if there’s no more swapping later?”
Lu Qiaoge’s glance flickered slightly, and she said confidently: “There won’t be no more swapping. As long as the leafy greens in our family courtyard aren’t enough to eat, there will still be such activities.”
Just now at the main door, she had deliberately reminded Brigade Leader Lin that he could first go to the Commune and report today’s situation to the Head of Commune. Such a large Commune had who knows how many villages below it. Now every household had been allocated private plots, especially in northern rural areas where land was vast and people sparse, every household’s vegetable garden was very large. Now they were even encouraged to raise chickens and ducks. No one would not plant leafy greens.
Hearing this, the neighbors left fully satisfied.
Lu Qiaoge returned home to face the loving gazes from her family members who almost wanted to hug her.
Even Old Mrs. Zhao silently recited Amitabha Buddha many times in her heart for blessings.
Sure enough, it lived up to that saying: having grain at home means no panic in the heart.
In this era, there were many differences from the era in Lu Qiaoge’s memory, but the general direction was still similar.
Individuals hadn’t appeared yet; everything was under public ownership, and sales were according to plan. Supplies were still very tight, and grain output hadn’t yet reached the time of significant increase.
Even if Meng Xia had some saved labor protection supplies and other daily necessities, it was impossible to set up a stall to sell them.
But today, her second daughter had actually swapped back so much grain and vegetables.
Without spending a single cent, all were things the family temporarily didn’t need and couldn’t sell for money.
They had a simple lunch, and in the evening they would make chive-stuffed dumplings.
She mysteriously told Old Mrs. Lu: “I feel like after Qiao Ge canceled the engagement, her mind cleared up, she became smarter, more sensible, and capable. Mom, do you think it’s Liang Aishu who clashed with our family’s Qiao Ge?”
Old Mrs. Lu nodded without thinking: “Exactly, it’s Liang Aishu who clashed. But this is just between us; don’t let others know.”
Lu Qiaoge, who had actually heard it all, hadn’t expected they could reach this conclusion.
Meng Xia happily went to sort the vegetables. The large baskets of leafy greens were stacked bundle by bundle. When she got to the bottom layer, Meng Xia was stunned—there were actually eggs inside.
“Qiao Ge, come here.”
Meng Xia called over Lu Qiaoge who was about to enter the room and said, surprised and worried: “Qiao Ge, how come there are eggs? Does the Neighborhood Committee know?”
Lu Qiaoge lowered her voice: “Brigade Leader Lin also swapped two baskets of eggs for the Neighborhood Committee. Normally, members sell eggs at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, seven cents per egg, but we gave nine cents each. Director Hu said eggs would be distributed last, otherwise there would be fights.”
“As for the grain, really, there’s no issue. Rubber shoes, flashlights, No. 1 batteries—these are all things the Brigade Office needs.”
Upon hearing that the Neighborhood Committee side also had eggs, Meng Xia finally felt relieved.
The Lu Family happily packed away the grain, vegetables, and more than thirty eggs. Meng Xia joyfully went to cook. Seeing Su Hui return, she unusually let her rest.
She also called to Lu Qiaoge: “Qiao Ge, rest for a bit. You have to go to the Neighborhood Committee to report in the afternoon, so be confident then.”
It would be fake if she wasn’t expectant—her second daughter was so capable; maybe she’d get hired.
Lu Qiaoge readily agreed, washed her face, and then sprawled out in the room to lie down.
She opened the back window, and there was a through breeze—indeed much cooler.
Lu Qiaoling just poked her head in for a look and then ran off giggling.
When people encounter happy events, their spirits lift.
This saying was indeed true.
Meng Xia looked at the fully packed storage room and felt a satisfaction she’d never had before.
She felt the sky today was bluer than yesterday’s.
Su Hui naturally felt too embarrassed to rest, but seeing so much grain, vegetables, and eggs left her stunned.
These days, these supplies weren’t easy to get.
Her second sister-in-law was really amazing.
Her maternal home was poor; they couldn’t even feed themselves, let alone care for her.
Now with so much grain, she felt like she could breathe easy again.
At this time, at Old Liang’s house, Old Liang puzzledly asked his wife Qian Li: “How come I never noticed Lu Qiaoge was so capable? Look at what she’s done these past few days—it feels like she’s a different person.”
Liang Aishu, who had a gloomy expression and was eating lunch with her head down, didn’t speak.
But she was clearly distracted…
Every time opening a new chapter is like opening a blind box—you don’t know what’s inside the box, so writing is an extremely emotional and intense profession, but it’s also very joyful, especially seeing the treasures’ support. Every time, I think to myself, having you all is truly wonderful!
Also, thanks to caroletu and book friend 202103017400531478 treasure for the rewards. Begging treasures for more nudges. Today is the third day of PK, anxious and uneasy…
