Back to 1978

Chapter 177: Preparing for Transfer

Xie Hushan did not rush to the third team headquarters to meet Ma Laowu, but slowly returned home first. When he opened the gate, he saw his grandmother slowly scrubbing a small pile of mustard greens and radish heads for making pickles in the yard.

Although Xie Hushan did the farm work in the fields quite well, he could barely be considered a mediocre farmer and the main laborer.

But he and his peers are still far behind the elderly in many delicate tasks in the countryside. For example, he still cannot distinguish between mustard greens and radishes simply by relying on his eyesight.

It is necessary to use other methods of judgment. When you are a child, you have to find an opportunity to take a bite. The astringent and spicy ones are mustard greens, and the juicy and delicious ones are radishes. When you grow up, you have to look at the leaves.

If he only looked at the roots and rhizomes without smelling them like he is doing now, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart at all.

But old men and women like grandma can tell them apart at a glance from a distance, and the most amazing thing is that they can further subdivide them, such as directly calling out names like turnip heads, mustard greens, Chinese mustard, and indigo. I don’t know how they can identify them.

"Don't we start pickling vegetables in autumn every year? Why is it so early this year?" Xie Hushan pulled a stool over and sat next to his grandmother, helping her wash the mustard greens. He asked, "Is Taozi not at home?"

"Taozi was called to the headquarters of the third team by the fourth girl." Grandma looked up at her grandson with a smile:

"This is what your second wife Meng sent to me for help to pickle. A child of her relative who lives more than ten miles away was admitted to university, and she wanted to pickle some pickles so that the child can take them to school to eat with meals when school starts. I plan to wash them and dry them today. Tomorrow, I will teach Taozi, Daxiu, and a few other girls from Team 3 who want to learn how to pickle pickles. This way, when autumn comes, Taozi will learn to pickle the jar in our house, and Daxiu will learn to pickle the jar in your uncle's house. Girls are growing up, and they need to learn some of this kind of delicate housework."

Xie Hushan used his hands to help wash off the dirt on the radishes. Generally, in Zhongping Brigade, pickles are made in autumn.

After all, autumn is the season when many vegetables are harvested, and there are more types of pickled vegetables. In addition to the mustard greens and radish, you can also pickle eggplant buns, ginger and other vegetables. In this way, there will be no shortage of pickles to eat with meals at home in winter and early spring.

After listening to his grandmother, Xie Hushan finally understood that someone in Ma Saner's grandmother's family had been admitted to university. Nowadays, rural students who go to study in other places, whether it is a technical secondary school or a high school, all bring their own pickles to save money on meals. It seems that the university is also planning to continue this practice. No wonder they started pickling so early.

"It doesn't matter whether Taozi is taught or not, but it's Daxiu who should be taught. If you don't want to teach her, let Second Aunt teach her. Don't wait for Aunt to teach Daxiu. If Aunt teaches her, it will be all over." After hearing his grandmother say that she would start teaching Taozi, Daxiu and other girls of the right age to pickle pickles tomorrow, Xie Hushan nodded repeatedly.

This is not my grandmother saying bad things about Auntie behind her back. Auntie is good in every way except pickling vegetables. Her husband, Comrade Xie Qimao, said:

"Did you pickle these pickles in a jar? Why do they taste like you pickled them in cotton shoes that have been used to cover your sweaty feet for a whole winter? They stink like feet. Even a donkey wearing rubber shoes pulling a millstone all day would not stink as bad as these pickles."

The fact that the old man insisted on telling the truth under the pressure from the old lady shows how bad the pickles she made are.

Grandma had tried to teach her before, but she just couldn't learn it. After Second Aunt became a master, she also tried to teach her, but she still couldn't learn it. As a result, grandma and Second Aunt had to help pickle the pickles for Grandpa's family over the years.

Xie Hushan had seen it with his own eyes: Dahei, who was not picky about food and could eat shit when he was extremely hungry, would not eat the pickles made by the aunt.

Pickling pickles sounds like a simple job. It involves washing and drying mustard greens and Chinese mustard, putting them into a jar, and then mixing them with coarse salt. In fact, it requires skill. The taste of the pickles will vary greatly depending on the individual's operation methods.

It can’t be entirely blamed on the aunt’s poor comprehension. Xie Hushan didn’t understand how to pickle pickles anyway, because the techniques that grandma told the aunt and the second aunt were actually the same two sentences: when pickling radishes, you should be careful not to produce soup, but when pickling mustard greens, you must produce soup.

Just these two sentences, absolutely no hiding anything.

If these two sentences were spoken separately, Xie Hushan could understand that radish has more water content, so you should add less water to the jar when pickling it. Mustard greens have less water content, so you should add more water to the jar when pickling it.

But who can understand if you put them together? Who would specially prepare several jars of pickles?

We all use a pickle jar and pickle radishes, mustard greens, and even eggplants together. We pickle them all in the same jar with more or less water. So, should we add more or less water?

Not only was the old lady confused, but Xie Hushan also couldn't understand it.

Therefore, only Second Aunt inherited Grandma's legacy of pickling pickles, and Grandma was rather pretentious. Normal people would use well water and coarse salt to pickle pickles, but Grandma would first boil water with spices such as pepper, aniseed, cinnamon, fennel, etc., and then use this water with seasoning packets and coarse salt to pickle the pickles. Not only does it taste salty, but it also has the aroma of spices.

In my aunt’s words, it’s only because the policies are good now that they are that way. Otherwise, in the past when the class distinction issue was at its most serious, if my grandmother had made pickles like that, she would have easily been classified as a landlord or a rich peasant.

"It's not time for dinner yet, how come you have time to come back? Don't you usually come back after dinner?" Seeing Xie Hushan helping to wash mustard greens and not letting her do it again, grandma didn't insist. She wiped her hands, took the cattail fan stuck on the grape vine, and gently fanned her grandson.

"Ma Laowu asked the fourth girl to call me to the team headquarters. When Er Mianfei saw me, his eyes lit up as if he saw a capitalist. I thought he was up to no good, so I left him alone." Xie Hushan quickly helped wash the pickled cabbage and said to grandma, "Grandma, stop fanning me. I'm not hot. I'll get you an electric fan later."

"No, don't install that thing for me. It will waste electricity and it gives me a headache because of the buzzing. Don't bring it home. That factory belongs to the production team. Do you want to be a big shot and be stabbed in the back by everyone?" Upon hearing that her grandson wanted to install a floor fan for her, the grandmother immediately refused and told her grandson not to take advantage of the public.

Xie Hushan climbed up the wall swiftly and picked two ripe apricots from the apricot tree growing on the wall of the neighbor's house next door: "Aunt Qi, I'm thirsty, pick two apricots to eat!"

After shouting, he didn't wait for the other party to reply. He wiped the apricot and put it into his mouth. Then he frowned and said with his mouth open:
"It's already what month, why are the apricots still so sour!"

Then he jumped down from the wall while biting a sour apricot. "Grandma, why did Taozi go to the team headquarters? What kind of meeting did she attend? What could happen to Team 3? I can go alone. Why did you ask Taozi to go as well?"

"I heard from the fourth girl that it was the team that helped Taozi move her household registration from Yakou." When grandma talked about this, she couldn't stop smiling.

Moving her household registration to the Xie family meant that in the eyes of everyone in the Zhongping Team 3, Taozi was the daughter-in-law of the Xie family. The production team had her land, and she would not have to go back to Yakou to avoid suspicion during the busy farming season. When rations and dividends were distributed, Taozi would also get her fair share.

It can be said that except for the time before she got married, when Taozi had to go back to her parents' home before the New Year, she was basically the granddaughter-in-law of the Xie family.

"Change your household registration? You didn't tell me about this?" Xie Hushan looked confused when he heard his grandmother talk about this.

Grandma placed the washed mustard greens and radishes in the basin on the flower wall one by one: "I guess Lao Wu came to you because of this matter. This is a good thing."

"When did he find the peaches?" Xie Hushan thought for a while and suddenly asked his grandmother.

Grandma looked at the sun and said, "I just left a while ago."

"I've been holding my fart in for a long time. Ma Laowu has a good plan, otherwise this old man wouldn't be able to give birth to a son." Xie Hushan finished eating the apricots and walked outside muttering to himself.

……

Inside the third team headquarters, Ma Laowu looked at Taozi with a friendly face and said earnestly: "Taozi, your household registration has been completed. From today on, you are a member of our Zhongping Production Team 3."

Taozi smiled and nodded slightly but didn't say anything. She felt something was wrong since she came in. Han Hongzhen was sent away by Ma Laowu with an excuse. Then Ma Laowu and Liu Fenglian, the team leader of the third team who was in charge of women's work, started talking to her about household registration.

She was a daughter-in-law who had not yet married into the family. Although she had a good relationship with everyone, if there was any problem, Production Team 3 could not talk to her directly. They should talk to her third brother first.

Moreover, he walked around in circles for a long time, his eyes always looking outside. Was he saying something unpleasant that he didn't want to say, and was waiting for the person who was coming to speak?

Taozi kept her composure and made up her mind, if you guys keep beating around the bush, although I don't have the ability to accompany you in beating around the bush like Third Brother, I will just smile and not say anything.

So Ma Laowu and Liu Fenglian talked a lot, but Taozi didn't react much.

"If you have any problems in the future, you can come to the team to report it at any time. For example, if that bastard Hu Saner gets angry and dares to make you angry, don't be afraid, tell me and Uncle Wu will call the men of the third team to help you line up to deal with him and vent your anger!" Ma Laowu patted his chest and assured Taozi.

"Thank you, Uncle Five. If my Third Brother really makes me angry, I will ask Grandpa and Auntie to deal with him. If Grandpa and Auntie can't deal with him, I will ask you, Uncle Five, and the team." Taozi agreed.

Reminded by Ma Laowu's eyes, Liu Fenglian also spoke up: "Don't listen to your uncle's nonsense. Hu San'er is a good kid. He is not the kind of coward who has no ability to deal with outsiders and only dares to quarrel and fight with his wife."

Taozi smiled at Liu Fenglian, then looked at Ma Laowu who was constantly peeking out:

"Fifth Uncle, do you have anything else to say besides my settlement?"

Taozi didn't want to waste any more time. No matter what it was, she wanted to find out clearly first. She had to go back to help her grandma with work and couldn't stay here all the time.

"No, I just..." When Ma Laowu heard Taozi asking, he subconsciously said the word "no".

When Taozi heard that everything was fine, she turned around and was about to go outside: "Uncle Wu, Aunt Fenglian, you guys go ahead and do your work. I'll be going back first. My grandma is old..."

Seeing Taozi was about to leave, Ma Laowu quickly changed his words: "Yes, yes, yes...it's just a small matter."

Taozi then followed Ma Laowu's words and turned around, standing by the door against the wall, and said with a smile:

"I guessed that Uncle Five must have something to tell me. Just tell me if you have anything to say. Third brother told me that Uncle Five is a kind man. No matter big or small matters in the team, it is Uncle Five who has to make the decisions." Ma Laowu was very happy because of Taozi's words at first, but then he realized that this girl didn't learn anything good from Xie Hushan. She told him to tell me if he had anything to say, but didn't say whether she was willing to listen or not.

If she pretends not to hear anything, what's the point of saying a lot?

This young wife is not easy to fight with. Don't be fooled by her smiling face. If she doesn't agree with anything she says, she will be just like that little bastard Xie Hushan, and she will turn against her will and deny her promise. I have experienced this once before.

But now that things have come to this, there is no way to remain silent. Ma Laowu said with an awkward smile:
"Ah... it's like this. Our three teams have a spirit in their ancestral tombs. They gave birth to a capable man like Hu San'er. He is really capable. He runs a stewed pork stall, a brick factory, and even went to Hong Kong Island to wander around. He came back to run a steel rolling mill. This ability is more than enough for him to be a commune secretary. Taozi, you are lucky too. Following Hu San'er, your future will be better than being at the cliff, right? Days pass by..."

Ma Laowu was too embarrassed to get to the point, and Taozi didn't respond. She just kept smiling and let Ma Laowu talk to himself, which made Ma Laowu very embarrassed. Finally, he spoke:
"Well, Hu Saner mentioned before that he was considering letting his father-in-law take over the brick factory. In theory, the brick factory was arranged by Secretary Xiao Yang, and it was a joint business between the two brigades. There is nothing wrong with this arrangement, but...but..."

He was stuck but was too embarrassed to open his mouth, for fear that what he said would make Taozi unhappy and embarrass him.

At this moment, Xie Hushan's voice sounded outside the door:
"But, my father-in-law has never been in charge of the brick factory's accounts and business before. It has always been the fourth girl who has been in charge. If the entire work of the brick factory is handed over to my father-in-law in the future, then my father-in-law will be able to completely understand how much money the brick factory has earned. Now the workers at Yakou are very happy to earn work points plus a subsidy of 1.5 cents, but if you know that our third team can earn 1,000 or 2,000 yuan a month in the brick factory, there will definitely be a commotion, especially after knowing that I am in charge of the steel rolling mill."

Then the door curtain was lifted, and Xie Hushan walked in from outside. He handed an apricot that he had specially left to Taozi beside the door, and sat down on Ma Laowu's desk and continued to say to Ma Laowu:

"So, why not sign my wife's household registration over and let her be in charge of the brick factory in name? She is now a member of the Zhongping Third Team and her parents are from Yakou. It is reasonable for her to manage the brick factory. Even if my father-in-law knows that he is making money and wants to change his mind and split it in half between the two families, he dare not ask for it. The girl is in our team. Don't be afraid that our Third Team will make things difficult for your girl. Just break up. Is that what you mean? Ma Laowu, you are always thinking about scheming against our family?"

Seeing Xie Hushan's behavior, Ma Laowu was so angry that he slammed the table and glared at Xie Hushan and cursed:
"You bastard! I told you to come earlier, earlier, because I had something important to do. I even asked Xiao Han to notify you first and Taozi later. But Taozi came a long time ago, and you just arrived. You don't take the notice from the team seriously. Why, have you forgotten your roots just because you're a factory director?"

In fact, Ma Laowu was not angry because Xie Hushan was late. He was angry to cover up his embarrassment because Xie Hushan guessed what he was thinking.

This was the idea he had in mind when he first suggested to Han Laogou that he help Taozi to register her household registration here in advance.

He and Accountant Zhao had already realized at that time that Xie Hushan was a capable guy. He opened the steel mill as soon as he said it. The steel mill was a big business, and if he was asked to manage the brick factory, Xie Hushan would definitely be too busy, and the brick factory would have to be handed over to someone else sooner or later.

But who among the three teams should be in charge?

No one, no matter who it is, it won’t work. Xie Hushan’s name can shock people.

Especially since although he is from Zhongping, he is also the son-in-law of Yakou. If someone else is in charge, there will definitely be problems. Those who are planning to steal the business dare not provoke Xie Hushan, and they dare not try the quality of the latecomer?

Ma Laowu is not afraid of a fight. If people like Han Laoer and Ma Saner are thrown over, they will definitely fight fearlessly and act tough, and fight with others happily.

But now it is not the same situation as when Xie Hushan first went to Yakou. If people from other teams come to grab business, Han Laoer and his team can fight, but what if someone in Yakou refuses to obey? What if they go against the newcomers under the banner of retaining Xie Hushan?
Once a fight breaks out, Lingguanying Commune and Zhongping Commune will definitely intervene and ask both sides to sit down for mediation. What if the people at Yakou insist on recognizing Xie Hushan to death?
Based on Ma Laowu and Accountant Zhao's understanding of the commune, they definitely hope for mediation, with both sides taking a step back. Otherwise, Yakou and Zhongping might send people to jointly manage the brick factory. Wouldn't the business of one or two thousand yuan a month be ruined?
If the farmers in Yakou knew that they worked so hard but in the end most of the profits went to Zhongping, they would definitely demand redistribution.

So Ma Laowu and the accountant thought over and over and felt that Taozi was the best candidate. Her household registration was in Zhongping, her maiden home was in Yakou, and most importantly, she was Xie Hushan's wife. If anyone dared to make trouble under the banner of claiming that she only recognized Xie Hushan, Team Three would dare to say that whoever dared to make trouble would be beaten, and they would be in the right.

Ma Laowu's original intention was to make things clear with Xie Hushan first, and then let Xie Hushan do some ideological work on Taozi so that the young couple would be less cautious when speaking.

As a result, Taozi had been there for a long time, but Xie Hushan didn't show up. After finally coming, he just spoke directly, leaving Ma Laowu at a loss as to how to respond. He could only get angry and use the reason that Xie Hushan was late to cover up the embarrassment.

"Hey, hey, hey, be nicer. I'm a team leader, and I don't have any rules. Don't take off your shoes, don't take off your shoes. I was wrong... It smells so bad, I don't even need to use the soles to whip it, it will be suffocating to death." Seeing that Ma Laowu was about to take off his shoes and use the soles to talk to him, Xie Hushan adjusted his tone and said:
"My grandma was very happy. She told me that your fifth uncle was very good to our family. He got Taozi's household registration early and she can get dividends at the end of the year. I guessed that there was something fishy going on."

"That's it! Anyway, if you don't care about the brick factory, Taozi will have to take care of it. Otherwise, if someone else takes over and doesn't buy it and gets into trouble, we'll have to deal with it again! Otherwise, I'll arrange Xiao Han, Lao Meng, Ma Saner and the others to go back, and everything will be back to normal." Ma Laowu was so angry that he was gasping for breath and glared at Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan took out a cigarette and handed it to Ma Laowu: "I didn't say I disagree. The team must have a purpose for making this arrangement. I just want to ask, our Taozi is the leader of the sideline group of the third team, can't he work for nothing?"

"When did I say that Taozi would be the leader of the third team's sideline group?" Ma Laowu asked while looking at Xie Hushan while taking the cigarette.

Wow, this little bastard promoted his wife so quickly. He just said that he wanted Taozi to be the nominal manager of the brick factory, but he turned it into Taozi being the leader of the third team's sideline group.

"Not allowed? What else are you going to say? Come on, Taozi, come home with me." Xie Hushan pretended to jump off the desk and leave.

Ma Laowu was so angry that he rubbed his head. "Dangdangdang! You are in the brigade now anyway, and you don't participate much in the specific work of the third team. You might as well get out of the sideline group and let Taozi be the leader of the third team's sideline group and take over your shift. Is that okay? I have the final say. It's settled."

"Uncle Wu, let me light it for you." Xie Hushan took out a lighter and helped Ma Laowu light the cigarette:
"Actually, I'm telling you, I don't have any selfish motives. The reason why I let Taozi be the leader of the sideline group is because I know what's going on."

Ma Laowu took a puff of his cigarette and snorted, "You have no idea. Since the steel mill started operation, I haven't seen you every day."

"Just nod your head, because whether Taozi manages the brick kiln or not, I can deal with the people at Yakou. They dare not make trouble. Do you know why? Now that we have a steel mill, we have no shortage of coal. We don't need to waste manpower and wood to burn green bricks. We can run a red brick factory. If the people at Yakou take the opportunity to make trouble because of the change of management, we will immediately back off and leave the kiln."

"Of course, it's a bit unethical to do this and leave Old Yang behind. We'll try not to do this. So, let my father-in-law be in charge of the brick factory. Tell the people at Yakou that we don't need a brick factory in Zhongping Team 3. We're continuing to run it out of pity for you. Otherwise, you would have gone back to burning red bricks. Then send Ma San, Wang Chong, and Wu Shuanzi over to teach the workers selected by my father-in-law how to keep an eye on the fire and give them some hope."

"What if they learn to do it themselves?"

"Stealing my wife's business? Whoever does it will definitely destroy the other's kiln. You can't just scare people, right?" Xie Hushan said with a smile.

Ma Laowu reacted and smiled with satisfaction: "In terms of being a worthless person, you are still the best in our third team."

After dealing with Ma Laowu, Xie Hushan took Taozi home. Taozi twisted the ends of a strand of hair with her fingers as she walked and asked:
"Third brother, you said that Uncle Wu and his men registered my household registration here because of the brick factory?"

"No, don't overthink it. Only 30% is because of the brick factory, and the rest is mostly because of your character. If he agreed just because of the brick factory, it would be impossible for the three teams to agree. It's because of what you do that the three teams recognize you and treat you as one of their own." Xie Hushan turned his head to look at Taozi:
"Don't worry about the brick factory. Let your dad take care of it. I bought a bunch of books and will move them home. You can read more books at home when you have nothing to do. When I can get a passport, I will take you to see the world. No matter how good a girl is, if she stays around the stove all day and her man is out there, she will become useless sooner or later."

"What is a passport?" Taozi asked curiously.

Xie Hushan looked at Taozi and said, "It's a tool that's similar to the knowledge in the book. It can help people go out and see many places. Read the book first. It's not easy to do it. By the way, tell your mother not to let Ertao work at home. Now that the house has been built, there is no shortage of food. Let Ertao find a way to go back to school. If the school doesn't want her, tell me and I'll make arrangements."

"Why did you remember that Ertao went to school?" Taozi asked in surprise.

"I want Er Tao to go back to school to finish junior high school and take the exam. No matter what score she gets, I will try to find someone on the railway to see if I can get an internal quota after she finishes junior high school and send her to Yaoshan Railway Locomotive Factory Technical School to study for two years. After graduation, she will be assigned a job as a proper railway worker." Xie Hushan grabbed Taozi's hand and said seriously:

"Third Fatty and Fourth Brother, your parents don't need to worry about you. I'm here. I've thought about it and know how to arrange it."

Taozi was holding the hand of Xie Hushan and lowered her head shyly. The third brother was very good to her. Before they even built a new house for their wedding, he helped his father-in-law to rebuild a large blue brick house. Now their own house was the number one luxury house at Yakou.

Not to mention that I am also making plans for my younger brothers and sisters.

Her third brother is so nice.

"Er Tao's in-laws are also in trouble. Last time I went to the home of a brother named Song Tiesheng for dinner, I mentioned it to him and his mother as a joke. I said I have a sister-in-law, who is sixteen years old, sensible, and pretty. It's because of my shitty reputation that no one dares to marry her. My wife said that whoever marries my sister-in-law will have to pay a dowry of one thousand yuan." Xie Hushan talked about Song Tiesheng, whom Taozi had never met:
"At that time, Tiesheng's mother was very interested and asked me to ask your mother for information on Tiesheng's behalf to see if she had any requests. His mother always thought that Tiesheng was stupid. Now Tiesheng can work as a public security officer in the Bingyang section of the Yaoshan Police District of the Tianjin Railway Public Security Bureau, thanks to my help in spending money. If we become brothers-in-law, we will really be a family."

Taozi was amused by Xie Hushan's description: "I have never seen Ertao, how can it be like what you said, Third Brother."

"Don't disbelieve it. She hasn't seen Ertao, nor you, but she has seen me. She believes me." Xie Hushan said to Taozi seriously.

Taozi slowly curled her fingers in Xie Hushan's palm, lowered her head and asked in a low voice: "Why?"

"Before they met me, Tiesheng and his buddies were like thugs all day long. After they met me, they all went to work obediently, and they were all activists and were praised every day, so their mother believed in me." Xie Hushan said.

"Why did I listen to you and go to work obediently?"

"They don't work in the engineering and train sections. I spent some money on behalf of their parents and sent them to the railway public security system to catch thieves." Xie Hushan pushed open the gate of his house:
"They can beat up hapless thieves every day. How can they not be active in legal fights? If I were their leader, I would also praise them and generate revenue by imposing fines every day."

An old man came to visit grandma's east room to chat, so Taozi and Xie Hushan returned to the west room. Xie Hushan thought for a moment and said to Taozi in a low voice:
"I want to tell you something. I may be arrested in a few days by Lao Feng and his men from the county bureau. Then someone will say that I was shot and it's fake. I will come back after the new factory is built. After I leave, if there are any rumors in the team, tell grandma secretly so that she won't worry about it. Don't tell anyone else."

"So where are you actually going, third brother?" Taozi looked at Xie Hushan and asked calmly.

Having known Xie Hushan for such a long time, Taozi already knew her man's character. The fact that he could tell her so openly meant that there was no danger in this matter and she didn't need to worry about it.

He would definitely not let himself and his grandmother know about the things that really worried them.

Xie Hushan said:
"I don't know. I'll probably take Tiesheng and his friends to Yanjing. I have a brother named Cheng who works at the Yanjing Railway Station. I'll introduce them to each other and see if we can establish some relationship. Also, last time I came back from Yanjing by train, Brother Cheng bought postcards and pancakes for me and Han Laoer. I was thinking that I could take some local specialties to him during my free time."

(End of this chapter)