Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 466: Sausages Make Safer Gifts Than Embroidery

Chapter 466: Chapter 466: Sausages Make Safer Gifts Than Embroidery

Yi Chichi, along with Qin Jiu, was living a life full of challenges.

In a similar situation was Yi Chichi, who went with the team leader to the commune to meet the secretary. She didn’t find the distinctive features of Baoshan County through the county records but still took on the task of designing hats.

There were a total of twenty designs, and she was only responsible for the designing. The secretary found someone else to handle the production.

She produced two designs on-site, and the remaining eighteen needed to be submitted before December.

The requirement wasn’t difficult, so Yi Chichi didn’t refuse.

The secretary then proposed to pay for the design work, but because the commune was poor, the financial allocations were nearly nonexistent, and they couldn’t afford a high price.

They could only offer ten yuan per design, with additional coupons.

Twenty designs equated to two hundred yuan.

This amount was not insignificant; many workers earned only a little more than this in a year.

However, Yi Chichi didn’t charge money, only asked for the coupons, considering the design fee as a contribution to the commune.

Apparently, not expecting her to forgo the design fee, the secretary, after a brief pause, asked, "Are you sure you don’t want it?"

"I don’t want the money, but the coupons must not be less."

She corrected sternly, "I need the coupons."

Money was indeed not an issue.

Her savings had already reached over twenty thousand, not counting what Wen’s mother had given her.

She also had ongoing income, and two hundred yuan couldn’t compare to a good name.

"Besides, when spring comes, the commune distributes fertilizer, you know."

She pointed to the team leader, the implication was very clear.

The secretary and the team leader instantly understood, and after exchanging a glance, the team leader smiled broadly, clapping Yi Chichi’s shoulder strongly with his large hand, "Good girl."

Before he finished speaking, he looked at the secretary, "You see, our girl has already spoken this much, shouldn’t you give us an approval."

The secretary’s mouth twitched slightly, "Alright, we’ll allocate more to Kao Shan Village next spring."

Saying this, he took the two design sketches and looked at them again, then advised Yi Chichi, "Remember, the remaining designs must be well drawn. Whether we can earn this money to ease our financial strain depends on this cooperation."

"Rest assured, since I’ve taken the task, I’ll definitely give it my all!"

Thus, this topic reached a satisfying result for all three parties.

Then, Yi Chichi took the thick stack of various coupons given by the secretary and bid farewell to the team leader, leaving the commune.

Passing the post office, she went in to call Wen Shi. The department said he was out, with no set date to return.

Helpless, Yi Chichi left, carrying a sense of disappointment.

On the way back, the team leader asked her, "Girl, why didn’t you take the two hundred yuan?"

"The commune doesn’t have money."

She responded succinctly, "Our family doesn’t lack that bit of money, having a good reputation in the commune benefits Kao Shan Village."

"Besides,"

Turning to look at the team leader, she asked a soul-piercing question, "Uncle, don’t you want to get a new tractor for the team?"

The tractor in Kao Shan Village was old and worn, making noises everywhere, consuming fuel, and prone to breakdowns.

Breakdowns during busy farming seasons were truly disastrous.

She had heard the team leader and others say numerous times about getting a new one if they had a quota.

"When the spring tractor quotas come down, Uncle, you can mention it to the secretary."

The team leader’s eyes lit up, but recalling the quota struggles of past years, he felt despair, "It’s too hard, every year different teams nearly battle for tractor quotas. Kao Shan Village at least has one; some teams don’t have any."

The implication: even if the commune allocated quotas, they had to prioritize teams with none.

Yi Chichi thought he wasn’t thinking straight, "The quota is limited, but we can trade."

The team leader finally came to his senses, blurting out, "You kid, why are you so..."

The words "heartless" were swallowed under her seemingly ferocious gaze, and he grinned, changing his words to, "Clever!"

Before she could respond, he quietly added, "You think it will work?"

"Don’t know, but it’s worth a try."

After all, not every team could afford to buy a tractor.

Without money, even having a quota was useless.

The team leader thought it made sense, deciding to try when the quotas came down.

After all, they weren’t taking them for free; they were trading the old tractor.

Thinking this, his mood improved, and he even began to hum a tune.

The singing was loud and full of energy.

The lyrics were bold and heroic, earning applause from Yi Chichi for singing well.

As they walked, two figures came into view ahead.

Yi Chichi thought one of the figures looked familiar, staring for a while before nudging the team leader, "Uncle, doesn’t that tall person up ahead look like Tangtang?"

"Which Tangtang?"

Wrapped up like a bear, the team leader didn’t recognize them, feeling the name was unfamiliar coming from her mouth.

"Yu Ritang, Aunt Ma’s niece."

"Hmm?"

The team leader made a questioning sound, looking intently but couldn’t see how she resembled Yu Ritang, puzzling over it, "Wrapped like a bear and waddling like a duck, how did you see that it’s my niece?"

"Body shape and gait."

Yi Chichi pointed to her own eyes, confident she couldn’t be mistaken with her excellent eyesight.

"Uncle, you’ll see, if I call out, you’ll know if it’s her."

Before she finished speaking, she yelled out Yu Ritang’s name.

The two struggling figures ahead stopped simultaneously, turning to look back.

The distance between them had closed significantly, and as Yu Ritang pulled down her scarf, her face came into view. The team leader exclaimed, "It really is her."

He snapped the reins, sped up the sled dogs, and in no time reached Yu Ritang.

"Uncle, Chichi, what are you doing here?"

Yu Ritang looked delighted, and the team leader laughed, "Chichi and I had some business at the commune, hurry and get on with your friend, let’s go home, it’s freezing outside!"

Indeed, it was cold. Yu Ritang’s face was red from frostbite just from removing her scarf briefly.

She pulled along a fellow woman around her age onto the sled, sitting beside Yi Chichi, and sighed with relief, "Finally, I can relax a bit."

"Why are you here at this hour?" Isn’t it nice to stay at home enjoying the warmth?

"I came to find you."

Pointing to her companion, Yu Ritang introduced them, then explained her purpose, "Qingru wants to buy an embroidery from you."

The team leader’s ears twitched slightly, softly reminding, "Buying is fine, but remember to hide it once bought. Let me say this upfront, if any trouble arises, don’t drag Chichi into it."

Yi Chichi was moved to tears, "Uncle, you’re so good to me."

Yu Ritang was almost driven mad by her uncle-in-law’s words, and said exasperatedly, "So, Chichi is your real child and I’m adopted, Uncle?"

"Of course not!"

The team leader defended, "Both you and Chichi are dear to me, but you know, given the current circumstances, embroidery outside of the Friendship Store tends to cause trouble."

This was true.

As the concerned party, Tang Qingru understood his worries, and explained, "It’s not for private collection, but to be gifted by overseas personnel visiting the provincial capital next year."

The team leader blurted out, "You can gift sausage, it’s more reliable than embroidery."

And less likely to cause trouble.