I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 224: A Lot of Cunning Tricks

Villagers’ complaints are getting louder, now they’re truly afraid. They thought the Cooperative Society might keep them on board due to their good head flower work as before, but unexpectedly, they were outright rejected.

Moreover, regarding the Textile Factory, wasn’t Jiaojiao well-acquainted with them? How come they now can’t even provide fabric scraps? Without materials, how can they make head flowers, and without making head flowers, they lose their craftsmanship fee. They used to earn quite a bit every day making head flowers, now with this delay, they feel like money is slipping through their fingers.

"Jiaojiao, what’s going on? Hurry up and figure something out!"

"All this afternoon’s time, think about how much money we’ve lost. Jiaojiao, you need to resolve this quickly. We all got into this trouble because of you!"

"What’s going on now? Wasn’t it said that your Lu Jiaxuan was heavily favored by the Soviet Director? Wasn’t it said you knew the entire family of the director of the Textile Factory? Wasn’t it said that the Cooperative Society only needed to see good goods to accept them? What’s happening now? Not only have the village officials given up, even the higher-ups are not bothering anymore."

...

Zhou Jiaojiao didn’t expect such a situation either, she and Lu Jiaxuan had agreed, just as long as she could get the management role in the workshop, growing and strengthening it, which would later be extremely beneficial for his career.

But now, the village officials have all abandoned her, what is this situation, it’s clearly irresponsible behavior, what difference does it make if it’s her or Shen Meng managing the workshop?

"Don’t be scared, don’t be scared, I’ll go find the Soviet and Jiaxuan right now, and also the Textile Factory to find Director Li, she is in charge of our workshop’s fabric, it must be that she isn’t aware of this situation, that’s why the subordinates are so bold. Don’t worry, I’m going right now, right away."

"Hey, Jiaojiao, wait a moment, we’ll go with you, where are you running to with your big belly!"

"I’m going too, I’m going too, Jiaojiao is running around for our sake, we should all go together."

"It’s really biased of the village chief and them, just because the person managing the workshop isn’t Shen Meng anymore, they’ve stopped caring altogether, no sense of responsibility, no accountability whatsoever. When I reach the county, I definitely have to report them, and let the leaders above give them what for, hmph!"

...

Not everyone from the workshop followed Zhou Jiaojiao, some people put their things away and just left, their family members were all off to work, now’s the chance to go home and get some sleep, or use the money earned during this time to secretly buy something tasty for their child to hide away.

Today, it was clear, those who went with Zhou Jiaojiao were the same ones who caused the biggest trouble with Shen Meng the other day, during work no one checked, the head flowers they made, the silks were tangled, the stitches crooked, several even pocketed fabric scraps for themselves.

It was indeed a wise decision by the comrades at the Cooperative Society to spot today’s substandard goods, if those had been accepted, the reputation of Xiangyang Commune would’ve been truly tarnished!

"What are you standing around for? The eldest daughter-in-law and the youngest daughter-in-law of Lu Family are competing, and it’s us who suffer, tsk!"

"That can’t be said so simply, everyone has seen how Shen Meng works, fair and just. I heard just a few days ago she even secured a big order from the Provincial City, it was the son of the Textile Factory Director who personally mentioned it at a meeting Director Guo attended, Shen Meng didn’t take a single cent, her husband is a soldier, naturally, she has high moral standards. Besides, with Lu Zhenping at home, would Shen Meng really take any advantage if she wanted it?"

"Exactly, Shen Meng hasn’t offended anyone, hasn’t provoked anyone," Director Guo said. "When Shen Meng initially sought connections to establish this workshop, it was because she saw Mrs. Daya and Lianhua struggling, so she wanted to help the downtrodden sisters and daughters in the village to stand on their own feet."

"This is well said. Look at us in this room. Who amongst us is living an ideal life at her in-laws? Who amongst us is truly valued by her parents? It’s only these days in the workshop that I’ve felt like a human being."

"It’s all because of Zhou Jiaojiao. If this makes Shen Meng afraid to continue, and the village officials really quit, our good days will be over."

"It’s jealousy, all jealousy. Zhou Jiaojiao has always been jealous of Shen Meng living in a big house, and even schemed to get the Old Witch to drive her out. Now, it’s worse as she’s even trying to drive the workshop manager away. Sisters, we can’t really let her continue like this, otherwise our good days are gone."

...

The village was excited for a while, and Shen Meng’s side remained peaceful.

Mr. Lv, the manager of the food factory, personally received Shen Meng and couldn’t stop praising the pastries and spicy strips she brought. He kept pressing down on the price of grains but did not mention setting up a workshop in the Xiangyang Commune.

"This is not a one-time business. As long as the grain from that side is good, the price can be negotiated. But it cannot be higher than black market prices; that would be absolutely unacceptable. Our factory cannot afford it; it will be even harder for others. People don’t have money or food stamps. In a couple of months, as the weather warms up, if these grains aren’t sold, they would likely go to waste, which then becomes a real loss!"

"Director, I’ve mentioned this to them as well but they won’t budge. Besides, I now have a stable job and children. If it weren’t for seeing Sister Kong in such a difficult situation, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this at all. There’s really no need, right?"

Mr. Lv frowned slightly, and then continued, "I heard the Head Flower Workshop in Xiangyang Commune is doing well, and Director Kong said it’s all your doing. There must have been a lot of convincing involved, especially with that difficult person, using quite a bit of persuasion, right?"

Shen Meng smiled and said, "Not at all, not at all. Director Hu is very amiable. As soon as he heard it was for the welfare of our Commune’s members, he approved it immediately without any hesitation."

Mr. Lv: "....."

If I didn’t know him, I might have actually believed your nonsense!!!

"That’s great, that’s great. Thus, setting up a workshop at our food factory in the Xiangyang Commune isn’t out of the question. We just need to see some results, right? Well, regarding these spicy strips, if you can make them sell well, I can consider this."

"Hey, just you watch, it won’t disappoint. Oh right, our food factory just so happens to know a worker, named Cheng Ying. She could supervise the project after work, what do you think?"

Mr. Lv nodded. Supervising the project wasn’t really important; securing cheap grain was absolutely essential.

"Alright, Mr. Lv, let’s draft a document first. You need to stamp it to show your intent of starting a food line in our Xiangyang Commune. This would make it easier for me to report to our Soviet Director."

Mr. Lv: "....."

Rural women, they really are cunning, he can’t be fooled, can he?!!!