Stepmother Reborn: Dad, my mom hasn't hit me for three days

Zhang Xiuhua quickly came up with a good idea, so she went to find Li Jiandang.

Li Jiandang is the leader of their team. He has connections in the village and should be able to convince the villagers.

She held Zhuzhu and took the two children to Li Jiandang's house, put Zhuzhu down, and let her learn to walk slowly by herself while holding on to the table.

Then he asked his sister-in-law Xu Chunying, "Where is my brother?"

"The team is looking for him to discuss the firewood issue."

Xu Chunying is a rural woman who works quickly. She chats with her mouth while her hands are constantly moving. She is making cotton shoes, which is a strenuous job. Zhang Xiuhua is clumsy and cannot do this.

After asking carefully, Zhang Xiuhua found out that it was not enough to just distribute the corn, but also the corn stalks and soybean stalks. These had to be dried completely before they could be distributed according to population and work points.

"You have something to do with her?"

Zhang Xiuhua thought it would be okay to tell Xu Chunying about this, so she lowered her voice and told the story again, "Cotton is grown in our hometown. I know a man named Caixiang who can ship quilts from the south. He asked if I wanted some. The more you buy, the cheaper he'll give you."

When Xu Chunying heard her say it could be cheaper, she looked up at her and asked, "How much?"

Zhang Xiuhua held up two fingers and said, "Eight kilograms of cotton, both the quilt cover and the quilt lining are covered, twenty for a quilt."

Xu Chunying almost cried out in shock. She grabbed Zhang Xiuhua's hand and shook it several times, "Really?"

She clenched her arm so hard that Zhang Xiuhua hissed. Xu Chunying realized it belatedly and quickly loosened her hand, but still asked, "Really?"

Zhang Xiuhua nodded, "Of course it's true."

Xu Chunying pulled Zhang Xiuhua's arm, but this time she didn't dare to use force. Instead, she urged her urgently, "Where is your fellow villager? Let's go buy two beds?"

Cotton is in short supply, especially in the Northeast, where quilts are most needed. No matter how much is transported here, it is not enough. The people in the city have no firewood or kang, so they rely on quilts to keep warm.

Rural people have firewood, but it is limited and there is no ban on burning it. Every year, several elderly people freeze to death in the Wuxing Commune.

Someone also froze to death in Lijiatun two years ago.

Even if you don't freeze to death, your face, hands and legs will be frozen and cracked.

Zhang Xiuhua saw how anxious she was and hurriedly pulled her back. "It's not easy for ordinary people to get a cotton quilt. How could he show up? I'm the only one who can contact him. Ask your brother to talk to some brigade cadres and ask them if they want to buy cotton seeds."

Xu Chunying was a little unhappy, fearing that the quilt would be snatched away by them and her family would not get it later, so she blamed her, "This kind of good thing can be enjoyed secretly by your family, why do you have to call them?"

Zhang Xiuhua lowered her voice and said, "If I help him sell it, he can give me a little commission. I will also share some with you and most of the cadres later."

When Xu Chunying heard about the bribe, her eyes lit up surprisingly, and she didn't blame her for meddling in other people's business. "Okay. I'll ask your eldest brother to discuss it with the brigade cadres. Let everyone in our village buy a bed."

"Yes. The whole village is buying it, so we won't notice it." Zhang Xiuhua reminded in a low voice, "We have to do this secretly. Let all the villagers put their fingerprints on it. If anyone leaks it, everyone will be held responsible."

Xu Chunhua immediately understood that Xiuhua was afraid that someone would become jealous and report her, which would cause her second brother to lose his job again.

She nodded, "Okay!"

This is a promising approach, better than the previous one.

Li Jiandang couldn't come back for a while, and Zhang Xiuhua had other things to do, so she left her three children to the care of her mother-in-law and went to the mountain to continue collecting firewood.

Zhang Xiuhua came back with a large bundle of firewood on her back, and her back and waist ached. She pounded her arms while thinking of a solution. She couldn't treat herself badly like this. She had to let the children help her collect firewood.

So when the children came back from school, Zhang Xiuhua sent them all to the mountain to collect firewood. "You can get two candies for every bundle you pick up."

The meal today was very poor, with only a plate of stir-fried vegetables and pickles, sweet potatoes as the staple food, and no rice.

This candy was the only sweet thing. In order to get the fruit candy, the children ran up the mountain happily holding the rope.

Not long after the children left, a meeting was held in the village.

Aunt Wang asked Zhang Xiuhua to go with her. She was holding a rope in her hand and swinging it high. Seeing that Zhang Xiuhua didn't take the rope, she was a little surprised. "Today we must be dividing the corn stalks. You have nothing in your hands. How are you going to get them back?"

Zhang Xiuhua shook her head, "Don't worry. Let me see what's going on first."

Aunt Wang pointed at her and laughed, "That's right, you're a new married woman and have no experience. You will have experience in the future."

When they arrived at the threshing ground, the village cadres set up two tables and a group of members stood underneath. When everyone was present, the village cadres briefly explained the matter of the cotton quilt.

They told Zhang Xiuhua that a fellow villager could get a cotton quilt. This was done in private and could not be made public. They asked everyone not to tell anyone, "Just like in Yongding Village, this matter must be kept secret. If there is good news in the future, Xiuhua can still think of you. If anyone leaks this matter, he will be kicked out of Lijiatun."

When the villagers learned that they could buy eight kilograms of quilts for only 20 yuan, they were so happy that they were in an uproar and started whispering to each other about how many quilts they should buy.

Some want one bed, some want two beds, and some want three beds.

The noise from the crowd could not be suppressed, so the brigade cadres shouted several times, asking everyone to keep their voices down, and then held a piece of paper and asked them to come over one by one to put their fingerprints. "For villagers who want to buy cotton quilts, each household should send a representative to put their fingerprints here. As for how many pairs of quilts you want to buy, please come to me to register tomorrow afternoon."

When the villagers heard this, they all crowded over to put their fingerprints on it.

Some people also gathered around Zhang Xiuhua, asking her where she got the money from and how she transported it.

Zhang Xiuhua laughed and said, "How would I know? We are just fellow villagers. If I inquire about this, he would think I want to steal his business."

The villagers nodded repeatedly and asked no more questions.

On the way back, everyone gathered together to discuss the matter. Aunt Wang Er even pulled Zhang Xiuhua's arm and said, "Why didn't you tell me yesterday that you had this relationship? You made me so anxious yesterday."

Zhang Xiuhua also laughed, "I thought the price he gave me was too high and was a little unhappy. But after asking my aunt, I found out that he gave me a discount because we are from the same hometown."

Aunt Wang Er suddenly realized, "I told you."

So I secretly asked her how many beds she was buying this time.

Zhang Xiuhua did not answer, but asked her, "How many beds did you buy, aunt?"

Aunt Wang slapped her thigh and said, "I want one quilt for each of the two children, and one for us old couple, but we don't have enough money to buy three quilts at a time."

There was definitely money. You have to know that at that time, Northeast China was the granary of the motherland. After paying the public grain every year, some grain would be sold to the grain station and distributed to the members.

As long as there are two adults in the family who earn ten work points and do not take leave, they can at least get thirty or forty yuan by the end of the year.

Zhang Xiuhua guessed that she was worried about the money, so she didn't expose her.

She returned home, and the children came back too. The firewood was placed in the yard waiting for her to come back and inspect it.

The three children were circling around her. Baolin was the loudest, with two dirty little hands stretched out in front of her, "Mom, candy!"

Zhang Xiuhua glanced at the ground and nodded with satisfaction, "Okay!"

She gave each of the children two candies.

Then she let the children cook for themselves while she washed two bags of sweet potatoes.

When she finished washing, several children came running over, each carrying firewood. Zhang Xiuhua thought they were looking for Youcai to play, so she immediately shouted towards the kitchen, "Youcai! Your friends are looking for you!"

Youcai came out of the kitchen and looked at these little guys in confusion, "Are you looking for me?"

Jidong came out from behind him, "No! They're looking for me!"

The children put down the firewood and looked at Jidong eagerly.

Jidong called Zhang Xiuhua, "Aunt, Chaihe."

Zhang Xiuhua finally figured out that this was the child laborer hired by Jidong.

Zhang Xiuhua gave him eight candies according to the amount of firewood.

Jidong gave each of the four children one. They couldn't wait to put it in their mouths, but they were reluctant to leave. "Can we exchange it for candy tomorrow?"

Jidong nodded, "The more the better."

The children ran outside happily.

Zhang Xiuhua was stunned. This boy is only seven years old. Has he already started to behave like a capitalist at such a young age?

Youcai's face turned red with embarrassment. He pointed at Jidong and complained to Zhang Xiuhua, "Aunt Zhang, he cheated!"

Zhang Xiuhua touched Youcai's head and said, "I only look at the firewood. As long as your firewood comes from a legitimate source, I will give you candy."

Seeing Youcai getting angry, Jidong hugged his neck and said, "You know more children in the village than I do. You can definitely mobilize more people. This will be more beneficial to you. What are you dissatisfied with?!"

Youcai scratched his hair and thought, "That seems to be right." Jidong only called a few friends, but he has many friends.

He raised his eyebrows proudly, "I will mobilize a group of friends to help me find firewood tomorrow."

Jidong said with a smile, "Brother Youcai, you got so many candies, can you give me one? This idea was my idea, and you got all the benefits. Give me some."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"