mtl008 Chapter 22 Hand over bamboo basket
Chapter 22 Hand over bamboo basket
"Brother Zhao, sister-in-law, I'm here."
The door wasn't closed, and as soon as Zhou Jiefang entered, he saw Zhao Yuan hunched over the table writing something, with Lin Fangfang sitting beside him.
"Jiefang, you've arrived. Please have a seat. I'll be done in a little while."
Zhao Yuan glanced up at Zhou Jiefang, then lowered his head to continue writing. A pile of... on the table beside him...
Stack the paper.
"Jiefang, please sit down."
Lin Fangfang brought over a long bench.
Zhou Jiefang sat down on the bench. He saw Lin Fangfang go to make tea again.
"Sister-in-law, I can do it myself."
As he spoke, Zhou Jiefang went to the table in the main room, took a cup, and poured himself a glass of water.
Soon, Zhao Yuan finished translating all the contents of the first chemistry book. He arranged all the translation papers according to the page numbers and then put them into a bag along with the book.
Zhao Yuan stood up, packed everything up, and handed it to Lin Fangfang to put away.
"Come on, Jiefang, help me move all these baskets outside, and I'll go pull the cart out."
Zhao Yuan said.
Zhou Jiefang got up and carried the stacks of baskets in the main room to the door. Zhao Yuan pulled the cart to the front of the door, and then the two of them carried the bamboo baskets onto the cart together and secured them with straw ropes. The 200 bamboo baskets were stacked a bit high, and they swayed a little when walking.
"Fangfang, I'm going with Jiefang to deliver bamboo baskets. We won't be back until evening."
Before leaving, Zhao Yuan went back inside and said goodbye to Lin Fangfang.
"Okay, be careful on the road. I put some paper-wrapped candy in my bag for you and Jiefang to eat when you get tired on the road."
As she spoke, Lin Fangfang handed Zhao Yuan the bag he had taken out.
Zhao Yuan took the bag, slung it over his shoulder, and pulled the cart away.
Lin Fangfang stood at the door watching Zhao Yuan and the others drag the cart away. Zhao Yuan was pulling the cart in front, while Zhou Jiefang was behind, holding a bamboo basket in one hand and pushing the cart with the other.
The road was full of potholes and bumps, making it quite difficult to drive, and we almost overturned several times.
Upon reaching the village, the road became much easier to travel because vehicles frequently passed by the XXX military factory. The two switched places. Zhou Jiefang pulled the cart in front, while Zhao Yuan supported the bamboo basket with one hand and pushed the cart with the other.
To get to the XXX military factory, you have to pass by He Sihai's house.
"Zhou Jiefang, wait for me here. I'm going to the village to see my old relatives. I'll be back in a bit."
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan stopped the cart by the roadside, told Zhou Jiefang to sit down and rest for a while, and then walked quickly toward the village.
"He Sihai".
Zhao Yuan saw He Sihai sitting on a stone at the entrance of the village, so he went over to greet him.
"Zhaoyuan, you have time to come over today? How about we have some drinks this afternoon?"
When He Sihai saw Zhao Yuan coming over, he stood up happily.
Is your hand better yet?
Zhao Yuan asked.
"The stitches have been removed, but it still hurts a bit, and I don't dare to touch the bamboo strips yet."
He Sihai said.
"I'm delivering bamboo baskets to XXX factory today. I won't be weaving baskets starting next month. Do you want me to weave more or continue weaving 100? If you want to weave more, I'll give you the task. If you're too busy, I'll quit this job when I deliver the bamboo baskets today."
Zhao Yuan said.
"If you're not going to weave anymore, give me the task. You can't be so confused that you're not even going to weave bamboo baskets anymore, can you? I'll have a drink with you tonight."
He Sihai said.
"No need, I just came to tell you that I won't be weaving bamboo baskets next month. I have things to do this afternoon, and my brother Zhou is waiting for me at the village entrance. I'll go first. I'll talk to Brother Li later and ask him to deliver the bamboo baskets to me in the future."
With that, Zhao Yuan waved to He Sihai and quickly left.
Zhao Yuan pulled the cart, and Zhou Jiefang pushed it.
The two quickly arrived at the gate of the XXX military factory, where they were stopped.
"Uncle Lu, I'm Zhaoyuan, here to deliver the bamboo basket."
Zhao Yuan walked over and knocked on the window. Seeing that the window was open, Zhao Yuan quickly said something and then took out two cigarettes from his cigarette case and handed them to the people inside the house.
"Oh, Zhaoyuan has come to deliver the bamboo basket. Come in."
A man who looked to be about 60 years old came out of the small house, walked to the front door, and opened it.
Zhao Yuan pulled the cart, and Zhou Jiefang pushed the cart into the XXX military factory.
The military factory was located in a valley. From the outside, it appeared as just a narrow passageway. But beyond that gate lay a completely different world—a vast and spacious place with factories, schools, canteens, shops... it had everything, like a small county town, much more bustling and impressive than any rural village. A group of children were chasing and playing.
After entering the main gate of the military factory, walking about 30 meters, turning left onto a road, and walking about 50 meters further, Zhao Yuan parked the car in front of a large building.
The door to the big house was open. Zhao Yuan ran into the house, greeted the people inside, and then ran out to start untying the straw ropes and unloading the bamboo baskets.
Zhao Yuan and Zhou Jiefang carried all the bamboo baskets into the house after several rounds of carrying. There, a middle-aged man was seen counting the bamboo baskets with a piece of paper and a pen.
"Brother Li, I brought over He Sihai's bamboo baskets this time, a total of 200. Please count them."
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan took two cigarettes from the cigarette box and handed them to Brother Li.
Brother Li took the cigarette and casually hung it behind his ear, continuing to count the bamboo baskets.
"Yes, there are 200 in total. Should I issue two receipts or one together?"
Brother Li asked Zhao Yuan.
"Just open one, then I'll go to the finance department to settle the bill."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Ok."
Brother Li wrote on a piece of paper: "Received 200 bamboo baskets today, all qualified." He wrote the date, signed his name, and stamped it with a large red seal. Then he blew on the paper to make sure the seal was almost dry before handing it to Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan took the paper, looked at it, and then put it in his bag.
"Thank you, Brother Li. From now on, Zhao Sihai will deliver the bamboo baskets."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Zhou Jiefang, wait here for me. I'm going to the finance office. I'll be right back."
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan ran towards the back of the house, turned a corner, and disappeared.
About the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Zhao Yuan returned happily.
"Let's go, everything's done, let's go back."
Zhao Yuan folded the straw rope and tied it to the cart, then pulled the cart with Zhou Jiefang in the direction of home.
We arrived at the intersection near the Honghonghuo Fireworks Factory.
"Jiefang, I need to go to the Honghonghuo Fireworks Factory. It will take about half an hour to an hour. Do you want to go back first or wait for me here?"
Zhao Yuan asked.
"I'll wait for you here. It's not good to drag a cart to the factory."
As he spoke, Zhou Jiefang dragged the cart to a relatively wide roadside and sat on it.
"Here, this is some paper-wrapped candy your sister-in-law prepared for us. Take it."
Zhao Yuan handed Zhou Jiefang a handful of paper-wrapped candy, then walked towards the Honghonghuo Fireworks Factory.
The gatekeeper already recognized Zhao Yuan and opened the gate when he saw him approaching. Zhao Yuan went to the door of Director Lu's office on the second floor and knocked.
"You're here, come in quickly."
Lu Tiejun opened the door and, seeing it was Zhaoyuan, quickly welcomed him in and then brewed him a cup of fennel tea.
There were several people sitting in the office, two of whom were unfamiliar faces, Zhao Yuan thought, presumably from the printing factory or the finance department.
Zhao Yuan took the tea, took a sip, and then placed it on the table.
"Here, this was just formatted this morning. Take a look and see if there are any errors."
As he spoke, Lu Tiejun handed over a stack of wrapping paper.
Zhao Yuan took the wrapping paper and sat down at the table to look at it seriously.
"Bring me a pen. Who is in charge of printing?"
Zhao Yuan said.
"Yes, that's me. Tell me if there are any changes you want."
A middle-aged man of medium build walked over.
Lu Tiejun handed Zhao Yuan a pen.
Zhao Yuan took the pen, marked the parts that needed to be modified on the packaging paper, and wrote down the correct printing content.
I had just finished revising one page when I saw another unfamiliar face leave with wrapping paper.
After carefully reading through each page and making all the necessary changes,
"Has the export price list been released yet? I want to take a look."
Zhao Yuan asked.
"Here, this is the price list, take a look."
Lu Tiejun handed Zhao Yuan a form.
"Director Lu, is this marked in yuan or rice/knife?"
Zhao Yuan took the price list, looked it over, and then asked a question.
"Rice knife".
Lu Tiejun answered.
Zhao Yuan picked up a pen and translated the entire form into English, then handed it to Lu Tiejun.
Everyone drank another cup of tea and chatted for a while.
"Comrade Zhao, this is the revised version based on your suggestion. Please check if there are any errors."
Zhao Yuan took the wrapping paper and checked it carefully again to confirm that there were no mistakes.
"Okay."
Zhao Yuan said.
Zhao Yuan got up, preparing to leave.
"Brother Zhao, please wait a moment. The price list will be printed soon. Could you please check it for us again?"
Lu Tiejun said.
"Ok."
Zhao Yuan had no choice but to sit down and drink tea again.
After a while, someone from the finance department came in with the newly printed price list and handed it to Zhaoyuan.
Zhao Yuan checked it again in detail and confirmed that there were no problems.
"Director Lu, your factory is really efficient."
Zhao Yuan exclaimed in admiration.
"There's no other way. The county committee is pressing us hard, and I'm afraid you'll be very busy in the future. If I don't hurry, I don't know when it will be finished."
Lu Tiejun said.
"Director Lu, I need to rush back; I still have a bunch of documents to translate."
Zhao Yuan stood up, ready to leave.
"Okay, thank you."
Lu Tiejun escorted Zhao Yuan to the factory gate.
After waving goodbye to Lu Tiejun, Zhao Yuan headed home.