Chapter 117: Factory in Place

　　Qiu Fang, covered in rain, ran into the Women's Federation office, shocking Director Li and the others. Director Li hurriedly got her a towel.

　　Qiu Fang didn't care. She spread out the newspaper in her hand. The newspaper was not wet at all. She pushed the article in front of Director Li and said, "Is this the article you wrote? Is this the article you wrote?"

　　"I wrote it. I wrote it. Comrade, if you have any questions, please tell us and we will help you."

　　This was the most beautiful words Qiu Fang had heard in more than four years. She couldn't help but squat down and burst into tears.

　　Director Li stayed with her the whole time. After Qiu Fang had finished crying and calmed down, she started talking about her own story.

　　After listening to her, Director Li asked the staff of the Women's Federation to find some clothes for her to change, and then took her to the Public Security Bureau.

　　Zheng Zilong is suspected of trafficking in women, which is illegal.

　　Director Li's hands were soft and warm, which warmed Qiu Fang's heart as well.

　　She said she wanted a divorce, and Director Li said she would help her. This was the first person who supported her without hesitation when she said she wanted a divorce. Others, even her parents, would persuade her first when she said she wanted a divorce.

　　They advised her to be patient for the sake of the child, and to wait a little longer. Everything would be fine when the child grew up. Even if she had to be sold to someone else by Zheng Zilong as a reproductive tool, they would not allow her to divorce, saying that Zheng Zilong would not be such a bastard.

　　Qiu Fang's heart had long been cold towards her parents. The love she thought of as a child was nothing when it came to their face. As long as they didn't lose face, what did her life or death matter?

　　Jiang Youtao was very happy when she learned from the melon-eating system that Qiu Fang had gone to see Director Li.

　　She hoped that Qiu Fang could start a new life. It was not worth it to sacrifice herself for revenge on Zhao Yaqing.

　　Jiang Youtao hopes that Zheng Zilong will get the retribution he deserves, and that Zhao Yaqing will pay the price for what she has done. She hopes that Qiu Fang will have a good life in the future, and that she will not be controlled by Zheng Zilong's two children and live a more independent life.

　　The sky cleared up. After Jiang Youtao finished her last class in the afternoon, she came out of the teaching building and saw Xu Dazui and Liu Manzhu waiting in the playground.

　　Jiang Youtao hurried towards them: "Uncle, aunt, why are you here?"

　　It's only three o'clock now, and Xu Dazui and the others probably left home as soon as the rain stopped.

　　"We were supposed to come this morning, but it rained heavily, so we had to postpone it until now." Xu Dazui brought a lot of things from home to Jiang Youtao and the others, including fruits, vegetables and everything else, a whole sack.

　　Liu Manzhu had to carry it to lift it. Jiang Youtao was helpless: "Aunt, why are you bringing me food again? I haven't eaten the food you brought yesterday."

　　Yesterday, Xu Dazui came to deliver mooncakes and also brought some vegetables, such as potatoes and pumpkins, which can withstand being stored away.

　　"They are grown in our garden at home. They are not valuable. When I came here before, I didn't know you didn't have a garden. Manqiu said everything was fine when she went home and that you had everything you needed. So I didn't send you any leafy vegetables. All I brought today are leafy vegetables. If you can't finish them, you can share some with your colleagues. We have too much of this stuff at home. We can't finish it all. I'll send you more when it's gone after a while."

　　"It won't be delivered for long. Once it freezes, there will be no green leafy vegetables to eat."

　　The vegetables were picked by the couple from the garden after the rain stopped. They were very fresh and juicy.

　　"Thank you, Auntie." Since they had already brought the things, Jiang Youtao couldn't ask them to take them back.

　　Liu Manzhu took out a small bag of sunflower seeds from the basket. The seeds were plump and the flesh inside was thick.

　　Liu Manzhu looked at Jiang Youtao with an uneasy expression: "Jiang Zhiqing, these are the sunflower seeds our village planted this year. Take a look at the quality."

　　These sunflower seeds are not included in the production plan. As long as the money is sold, it belongs to everyone, so we are extra careful when taking care of these ten acres of sunflower seeds.

　　As a result, the harvest was good and the sunflower seeds were all over the hands. Everyone couldn't stand it.

　　Jiang Youtao grabbed a handful and cracked a few more before saying, "The quality is very good."

　　A simple smile appeared on Liu Manzhu's honest face, and Xu Dazui couldn't help laughing.

　　The couple looked at Jiang Youtao with sparkling eyes.

　　Since everyone was so familiar with each other, Jiang Youtao didn't beat around the bush with them: "Uncle and aunt, you must have tasted the melon seeds I gave you yesterday. This stuff is quite scarce now. I made some before, but they were all small-scale. Now I want to expand the production. It happens that you have melon seeds, so I want to collect them from the nearby village."

　　After Xu Dazui took the melon seeds back, Jiang Youtao imagined two situations. One was that she collected all the sunflower seeds in Liushugou. The second was that Jiang Youtao built a small workshop in their village, and she provided the recipe and other materials and took the lion's share, making the cooperation with Liushugou a win-win situation.

　　After thinking about it, Jiang Youtao was inclined to the first option, where the money was paid and the goods were delivered, and no matter what was done afterwards, the two parties would not be too involved. The second option was suppressed by her as soon as it emerged.

　　The second method is thankless. Everything is collectively owned now. If she built a small workshop in Liushugou, it would not be known who would own it.

　　Moreover, the melon seeds industry has huge profits. Who wouldn't be tempted after a long time? What if she loses the recipe and the money? If something goes wrong, she will have to take the blame for the small workshop.

　　After hearing this, Liu Manzhu finally felt relieved. He said excitedly, "Thank you, thank you, Jiang Zhiqing."

　　"Uncle Manzhu, what are you talking about? I still have something to trouble you with. I need to have someone to sell these melon seeds, right? I want you to find someone I can trust to help me sell them."

　　"These melon seeds are sold at 6 to 7 cents per ounce in the county's movie theater. My cost to sell them is 4 cents per ounce. I'll give you 3.5 cents. You can sell them first and pay me later."

　　After Zhang Dezhen's sales increased, the two adjusted the amount. Her cinema could ship more than 200 kilograms a month, and the remaining 200 kilograms were given to people she knew.

　　It's not that she doesn't want more, she just has concerns and just wants to take it slow.

　　Liu Manzhu was stunned for a moment, then he fell into deep thought, while Xu Dazui's eyes suddenly lit up.

　　She loves eating melon seeds, especially while watching a fun event and gossiping. It feels so good.

　　Old ladies in the countryside love to eat melons the most. In the past, they always ate melons without any effort. At that time, they didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Now they realize that there is something missing in their mouths. (TL's Note: The melons being mentioned here is gossips/other people's stories or scandals.)

　　Besides, the melon seeds tasted so good, Xu Dazui was sure they would be sold. As soon as Jiang Youtao finished speaking, she made the decision: "Youtao, I'll take 20 kilograms."

　　Three cents and a half for one ounce, thirty-five cents for one pound, three yuan and a half for ten pounds, and seven yuan for twenty pounds. As the person in charge of the finances of a family, Xu Dazui could still afford this amount of money.

　　She counted out seven yuan and gave them to Jiang Youtao on the spot: "I want something sweet, and some garlic flavor."

　　Xu Dazui likes these three. The first two taste sweet, and the last one has a garlic flavor, which becomes more delicious the more you eat it.

　　Liu Manzhu didn't have time to stop it.

　　Jiang Youtao liked Xu Dazui's straightforwardness. She glanced at Liu Manzhu who was hesitant to speak and said, "Auntie, wait a minute."

　　Xu Dazui holds a high status in the family, and anything she says is set in stone.

　　Liu Manzhu is very strict with his words outside, but it's different at home.

　　Jiang Youtao knows exactly how the two of them get along.

　　Jiang Youtao went to the room where Xu Manqiu slept to fill some watermelon seeds for Xu Dazui. Xu Dazui rolled her eyes at Liu Manzhu and said, "I told you, you have a pig brain."

　　"Have you heard from Youtao that this stuff is sold for 6 or 7 cents per ounce in the county movie theater? Do you think people in the city are stupid? If it doesn't taste good, who would buy it?"

　　"We can't get such a good price in the countryside, but think about it, there are a lot of young people, don't they want to try the food that people in the city like to eat? If we can't sell it for 6 or 7 cents, we can always sell it for 5 cents, right?"

　　Xu Dazui was still optimistic about this business: "Besides, no one in our commune is selling yet. People in the commune eat commercial grain, so they must have some spare money, right?"

　　"Besides, these are agricultural and sideline products. Even if we sell them on the street, the Revolutionary Committee can't find fault with us." The state has regulations that farmers can sell agricultural and sideline products, and the Revolutionary Committee can't do anything about this.

　　Liu Manzhu shut up. He would never be able to win an argument with Xu Dazui.

　　Xu Dazui took the melon seeds, and Jiang Youtao made an appointment with Liu Manzhu to go and collect melon seeds around National Day, and then the couple left. They had to catch the last bus back.

　　After leaving the family compound, Xu Dazui and Liu Manzhu went to the cinema.

　　The two had been married for half their lives, but this was their first time in this place. They knew nothing and just stood there watching. After a while, they saw a few young people coming.

　　Two boys went to buy melon seeds, a small bag wrapped in oil paper. It looked like it contained less than one or two ounces of melon seeds, but they were selling for 6 cents. The young men bought it without blinking an eye.

　　Xu Manqiu and Liu Manzhu looked at each other, their eyes shining frighteningly brightly.

　　The two stood at the entrance of the cinema for half an hour. In just this half an hour, more than ten packets of melon seeds were sold, and the shelf behind the ticket seller selling melon seeds was suddenly half empty.

　　If they hadn't been in a hurry to get home, the couple could have watched it a little longer.

　　The couple had never done business before, so they just worked hard in the fields. But it was not that they didn't want to do it, but they didn't know how to do it. Now Jiang Youtao had put all the opportunities in front of them, and if they didn't take them, they deserved to be poor for the rest of their lives.

　　The couple was overwhelmed with emotion on their way home.

　　When Xu Dazui got home, he asked Liu Manzhu to cut newspapers. It costs money to buy oil paper, but there is no need for this when they use newspaper. There are piles of newspapers in the team headquarters, some of which are more than ten years old.

　　Normally, no one would look at this thing except village cadres like Liu Manzhu. If anyone wanted to paste some paper on the wall, they would go and ask them for some.

　　Liu Manzhu always drinks a little during festivals, and he has several cups of one or two liang of liquor at home.

　　Xu Dazui has absolute say in the family. No one dares to refute her decisions. After working all night, the family finally finished packing 20 kilograms of melon seeds, with 2 kilograms left. Xu Dazui was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

　　The next morning, Xu Dazui took her son to visit relatives. They first went to the commune, then walked all the way to her mother's house. After two round trips, the five kilograms of melon seeds they brought with them were gone.

　　She sold them for 5 cents per ounce, so 5 pounds was 2.5 yuan. She bought melon seeds from Jiang Youtao for 3.5 yuan per ounce, so 5 pounds was 1.75 yuan. After all this back and forth, they made a net profit of 7.5 yuan on 5 pounds of melon seeds. She still had 15 pounds left to sell. When she sold them all, her net profit would be 3 yuan!

　　Three yuan! Her eldest son got a full centimeter. Last year, a centimeter was only 1.5 cents a day. How many days did he have to work to earn these three yuan? She earned it just from this one round!

　　Xu Dazui and his son became more and more excited as they walked, and their faces were beaming when they returned home. Liu Manzhu had been particularly worried ever since they left, and now that he finally saw them coming back, looking at their expressions and their empty bags in the basket, Liu Manzhu finally felt relieved.

　　While Xu Dazui's family was immersed in the joy of making money, Jiang Youtao also rented a large house not far from the staff quarters with the help of the system. The house was located in the east of the county town, with a mountain in front of it, and the neighbors on both sides were a bit far away.

　　There are three main rooms and a very large yard. The walls are made of mud bricks and there is a well in the yard. The reason why it has never been rented out is that two people died in this house ten years ago and it is said to be haunted at night.

　　Jiang Youtao doesn't live here, so she is not afraid of this. Moreover, she has asked the melon-eating system and found that the room is very clean.

　　After renting a house, Jiang Youtao started thinking about conscripting men. She definitely couldn't do so much work by herself.

　　Jiang Youtao returned to the family compound and saw someone moving into Zhou Yuying's house. She didn't pay much attention and walked around them. Jiang Youtao saw Gu Nianwei and Fu Shaohua talking.

　　Jiang Youtao walked towards them with sparkling eyes.

　　Fu Shaohua is here too, saving her the trouble of looking for him. What is this called? Isn't this a free worker who came to your door!