I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 200: What Nonsense Are You Talking About?

Zhang Hongfa and Lu Debang held the first joint workshop meeting in the village office today. The theme of the meeting was about how to efficiently and effectively execute the head flower business plan for Lu Family Village. The attendees included Comrade Guo Xiuxin, the women’s director, Ms. Shen Meng, who is leading the business efforts, and many female workers.

A group of women carried their stools over and sat down in rows. Shen Meng sat at the other end, where there was a table. She had a cup of hot tea with two red dates next to her, clearly a notch above the treatment of the female workers sitting below.

Shen Meng held a big enamel jar, lifted the lid, blew on it, coughed twice, and took a sip of water. Her mannerisms were just like a seasoned cadre who had been in the village for many years. Zhang Hongfa and Lu Debang’s eyes widened as they looked at her, feeling that she was even more bureaucratic than themselves.

"I think our village office has been cleaned up, it looks much brighter than before."

"Well, yes, when Hongfa left this morning, he really took the initiative with the broom for once, I haven’t seen him work with such enthusiasm in years."

"What meeting are they having? They didn’t even give us a heads up; it looks quite serious."

"Why is Xiao Meng sitting at the top? Why did they only pick a few of us? Are others coming later?"

"My sister-in-law is up there; there must be something important she’s about to tell us, definitely something good. Otherwise, how could the village chief and the secretary, who are usually so stingy, provide her with red date tea, and not even the cheap kind? They must have spent some money on that."

"Really? You have sharp eyes, I didn’t notice it all, hahahaha..."

.......

Zhang Hongfa and Lu Debang listened to their unabashed conversation, their cheeks flushed with heat. Guo Xiuxin almost laughed out loud, but then remembered that today was the workshop’s first meeting and they needed to maintain some seriousness.

"Cough cough... Attention, attention, the meeting is about to start. Everyone, speak softer and quieter. Xiangxiang, close the door; the cold air is pouring in, and it’ll get unbearably cold if we don’t."

The village chief and the secretary really should have put more effort, knowing that there was a meeting today. Just sweeping the floor and providing a few cups of hot water seemed too simplistic.

The two village officials looked silently towards the sky; there was nothing they could do. The village’s accounts were already low on funds, with whatever liquid assets available being just Uncle Guai’s ox cart that he drives every day. The rest depended on Lord’s mercy.

"Zhenping’s wife... no, Comrade Shen Meng, let’s start now!"

"Alright, let’s start!"

Shen Meng began to act mysteriously, knowing that it was the village officials who should do most of the talking. She only needed to take the credit, for there would be many such opportunities in the future. She would rarely attend meetings later on, so maintaining a certain distance from everyone would make them respect and revere her more.

It’s not that she is overthinking, but if things remained the same as before, always being mixed up together without any proper organization, just wait and see. Not to mention getting things done, she would be too busy dealing with the messy affairs of all the distant relatives.

Zhang Hongfa glanced at Lu Debang and nodded at him before standing up excitedly and saying, "Comrades, the reason we gathered everyone today is to inform you about an extremely important matter. This achievement was solely made possible through the fearless and selfless efforts of Comrade Shen Meng, who has always kept the well-being of the people in her heart and moved forward bravely. She has been working on this matter before and after the New Year. Finally, at this time yesterday, she achieved the result. With the support from United Textile Factory, Cooperative Society, and even the County Party Secretary, our Lu Family Village is going to set up a Head Flower Workshop."

Shen Meng: "....."

People: "....."

What is he talking about? It makes no sense at all.

"Secretary, you may praise me, but please spare the idioms. Many of the sisters and aunts here are illiterate; just speak in plain language."

"Alright, alright, I was just too excited. To put it simply, Comrade Shen Meng negotiated with the textile factories. From now on, all the leftover fabric scraps and unsellable materials will be sent to our Lu Family Village. Our villagers will turn them into head flowers and sell them at the Cooperative Society. Naturally, everyone will receive a crafting fee for making these flowers. For instance, if Comrade Chen Jinling is assigned materials to make a head flower, she gets one cent of crafting fee for each piece she makes. After completion, they will be handed over to Director Guo here. If they pass quality control, payment will be settled; if not, they will need to be reworked. In a couple of days, the first batch of materials for the head flowers will arrive in Lu Family Village. If the first batch is well-made, in the future, they can not only be offered at the Cooperative Society in the commune and county, but possibly even in the Provincial City, other provinces, major cities, or even Shangjing. This initiative is supported by the Director of the Commune Revolutionary Committee and the County Party Secretary. Does everyone understand?"

After finishing, Zhang Hongfa wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking down at the people sitting below, he saw everyone’s mouths agape. He frowned, about to say something, but then he saw their disbelief followed by ripples of joy on their faces, and then glowing red as they started discussing energetically.

The most excited was surely Shirley, who had been considering taking a hospital job these past few days, thinking there was nothing else to do at home. She wanted to discuss with the village authorities about earning work points by helping out in the village in the evenings. Unexpectedly, she was called to attend this early morning meeting, and to her surprise, it was such good news. She surveyed the crowd around her; besides a few familiar with Shen Meng, most seemed to be the large daughters-in-law and young wives in the village who weren’t doing well.

And now, Director Guo would be in charge of this project. It seemed clear to her that Shen Meng had directed Director Guo towards these poor women.

"This matter has been confirmed and preparations are nearly complete; here are the samples of the head flowers. If you have any questions, you can ask Jinghao, who was the first person to make these flowers. From now on, she will be your team leader. When Director Guo isn’t here, she will take charge of everything. If the head flowers are not well-made, they must be reworked, and no amount of persuasion will help. If this project succeeds, our Lu Family Village will indeed thrive. Everyone will be able to live a prosperous life. If anyone tries to cheat or skimp on quality, delaying this important project and cutting off our fellow villagers’ future fortunes, that person will no longer belong to Lu Family Village. I, as the village chief, will directly convene a community meeting and expel this person from Lu Family Village."

Lu Debang, the village chief, always had a good reputation in Lu Family Village. He frequently sided with the villagers, even reporting to the higher authorities during bad harvest years to ensure that while fulfilling the grain quotas, the villagers could still have enough food. It was the first time he had spoken such harsh words.

Everyone knew the importance of this project and naturally assured they would do their best. A few girls and daughters-in-law were both excited and somewhat hesitant to speak.

"Xing’er, Xiao Yu, don’t be afraid. This is a major village affair. Your parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law have no say over you. And Shengnan, Ding Qing, the Secretary and I will talk to your mothers-in-law and husbands. Just focus on your work. No one should hinder this project; otherwise, it will be handled as the village chief said, and pleading will be useless."

"Ah, thank you Director Guo, thank you Director Guo."

Watching their joyful expressions, Shen Meng felt brightened inside. She loved seeing the girls smile, especially those like Shirley, who bravely resisted their shackles and sought a new lease on life.