"I have no objections."
Tian Jing shook her head. "Captain Ou, have you considered the market situation? A small number of people following suit is fine, but if everyone sees the income and starts planting in large quantities, the market will be saturated, and they won't be able to sell. What happens then? If they can't sell, and the watermelons rot or are sold at a low price, what then?"
Captain Ou was stunned. "What should we do?"
Tian Jing smiled. "I'm asking you?"
"You must have a solution."
Tian Jing no longer indulged Captain Ou's evasion. She pointed him elsewhere. "I don't have a solution. Go ask Secretary Ji and see if he wants to purchase them all, like cotton, for unified transport and sale."
Tian Jing worried that if the members of Kushanli Production Team earned money from watermelons again, other production teams would be even more envious. Then the watermelons would truly rot in the fields. She did not want to be responsible for that. Sudan Novel Network.
"Then, do you sell watermelon seedlings?"
"Yes, two mao each. The captain can count them later. I won't cultivate too many."
"Good, good. I'll go to the commune right away." Captain Ou turned to leave.
"By the way," Tian Jing called out to Captain Ou, "while you're there, please ask if my work points can be exchanged for land. Doesn't the team still have one hundred mu of land? Or can our private plots and the barren land be returned to us as private property?"
The production team was about to become a village, and accounts would definitely be settled. Her family's large number of work points would be useful then.
"This matter definitely needs to go through the secretary. I estimate no immediate answer can be given."
"It's fine, I can wait."
Captain Ou felt something was amiss, but he couldn't figure it out.
When he rode his bicycle to the commune and explained the situation to Secretary Ji, Secretary Ji understood immediately.
"Old Ou, you've been completely tricked."
"What's wrong?"
Secretary Ji chuckled. "The team clearly has no assets left, so why did Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing allow the team to record their work points?"
"Are those two or three wild boars divided during festivals easy to get? They not only got meat to eat, but they also held your lifeline."
"Ah?" Captain Ou slapped his thigh. "These two little rascals, aren't they trying to trick me?"
The wild boars were collective property, and the land was also collective property. They exchanged collective for collective, and the work points ultimately belonged to them privately.
"Forget it, forget it," Secretary Ji waved his hand. "I've never known how to compensate them for their contributions. Since they've seized upon the loophole in the work point system, let's settle the accounts from those one hundred mu."
"When you return, immediately call a meeting of the members. I don't have time to come to the countryside for now. You can lead people to clear up all the accounts of the production team."
"The meeting's agenda will cover the issue of watermelons... the issue of the three mu of private plots at the entrance... the issue of the old residential land... the issue of the new residential land..."
"Although Kshanli has developed to over sixty households, it is still a small village. Therefore, if anyone wants to buy residential land in advance for their sons, that's also possible. This is preferential treatment for Kshanli. Other production teams are not allowed to buy residential land in advance."
"Also, the original canteen and the educated youth point, those two dilapidated houses, if anyone wants to buy them, they will be handled at the price of residential land."
Captain Ou nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I'll go back and organize the meeting content right away. We'll have the meeting tomorrow morning."
...
At noon, Ouyang Meihua came back to pick up lunch and brought back Da Mai.
Tian Jing was startled. "What happened to Da Mai?"
"It's nothing. She got her period and her pants got dirty. Teach her how."
Tian Jing was relieved. Da Mai and Xiao Mai had grown quite a bit in the past three years.
While her mother-in-law was pleased, she also worried about Da Mai's health. Da Mai's body was too depleted, and she was only slightly taller than Xiao Mai.
Since she was thirteen last year and hadn't started menstruating, her mother-in-law had been anxious. She often gave her tonics and even took her to see Doctor Yang, where she drank a lot of herbal medicine. If Doctor Yang hadn't said she was fine, her mother-in-law would still have made Da Mai drink medicine.
"Okay, the food is in the kitchen. Xiao Mai has prepared it, go pick it up."
After speaking, Tian Jing pulled Da Mai into the east room, found the sanitary pads her mother-in-law had sewn, and the sanitary belts that had been prepared long ago, and explained their use to Da Mai one by one.
Da Mai blushed. "Cousin, Third Aunt also mentioned it, but she just said it like that. I'm really confused."
"Then let's go to the toilet behind the house."
...
In the evening, the village loudspeaker sounded.
Li Zhengguo, who was busy non-stop, got a headache. "What kind of member meeting is this now?"
Grandpa Chen chuckled. "It's probably good news. There isn't much left of your mountain. We'll finish planting tomorrow morning, and then help at Rongguo's place in the afternoon."
Grandpa Chen's health was getting better and better. He followed his grandson to help at the Li family's during busy farming seasons.
"No, we have to hurry up and plant. The weather is getting hotter, and they can easily die from the sun. We also need to fetch water to irrigate. It's too busy. Let Tian Tian go to the meeting. Tomorrow, Mother and Xiao Mai will stay home to cook."
Mother Li agreed. "I'll stay home to cook and help in the afternoon."
"I'll switch with big sister, let big sister cook at home," Xiao Mai chimed in. Her elder sister had her period, and her cousin had said she was only allowed to do light work.
"Whatever," Li Zhengguo didn't care who cooked at home. His two nieces could take turns. The main thing was that there were many children at home and they needed one more person to watch them.
In the evening, Tian Jing finally told Li Zhengguo about Captain Ou's visit.
Li Zhengguo thought for a moment and said, "No matter the reason, try to acquire as much as possible. Things that can be bought with money now might not be obtainable with any amount of money later."
"I know. I'll try my best to spend lavishly."
"Spend as you wish." Li Zhengguo kissed the person in his arms.
...
The next day, Sister-in-law Niu came early to call Tian Jing to the meeting.
Only she from the Niu family went. These past two days, Brother Niu had been helping the Li family plant watermelon seedlings.
The two of them carried a stool.
Sister-in-law Niu's daughter-in-law, Yan Xiaoni, who was Li Weiguo's wife, caught up. "Sister-in-law, Tian Jing, let's go together."
Sister-in-law Niu stopped. "Don't you have any sense? We don't like being with you. The two of you can share one stool, don't bother us."
Sister-in-law Niu acted as if she hadn't heard. She looked at Tian Jing. "Tian Jing, let's go together."
Tian Jing's gaze turned cold. "Sister-in-law Niu understands me the best. But you always force me to say it myself that I don't like walking with you. Don't force me to take action against certain people again. Three years is enough. I've supported you for three years."
After speaking, Tian Jing turned and pulled Sister-in-law Niu away. It seemed that this year's watermelon seedlings would make certain people realize that she wasn't someone who easily gave in.
At first, she had promised Sister-in-law Niu that she wouldn't help Sister-in-law Niu's family. But Zhengguo had asked her to give them more leeway until the contract responsibility system was fully implemented.
The contract responsibility system had been in place for over a year. It was time for her to revert to her previous indifferent attitude.
Sister-in-law Niu stamped her foot in anger.
Yan Xiaoni tugged at her sleeve. "Forget it. Tian Jing has always disliked us."
"Hmph! What's so great about her? Isn't it just because she's skilled in martial arts and knows Ouyang Lei? Ouyang Lei hasn't been here for three years, and the market has completely opened up. Who still cares about Ouyang Lei's scarce supplies?"
"Is that so?"
A faint voice came. Sister-in-law Niu and Yan Xiaoni turned around and saw Ouyang Meihua, carrying a stool and radiating a fierce aura.
"Ou, Ouyang Meihua."
Sister-in-law Niu stammered. Ouyang Meihua was the most fierce, unruly, and unreasonable woman in Kshanli.
Whoever dared to say anything negative about Da Mai and Xiao Mai, she would immediately rush into their house and beat them up.
As the children said, she would beat the adults; as the adults said, she would beat the elderly; as the elderly said, she would beat the children; in short, she would beat them until they felt the pain.
Apologies were useless. She would beat people until they cried and begged for mercy, and only release them after she had had her fill of beating.