PCJ – Chapter 335 Changes in Meizi’ao

The maternity ward was completed, the machines were being tested, and the training for using the machines was going smoothly. However, Zhang Youping started to feel worried.

“Where will the money for buying tea leaves come from? I thought I could get a loan, so I invested all my money into the construction. Who knew the loan wouldn’t come through?” Zhang Youping puffed on his cigarette.

“What are you so anxious about? Brother Luo is working on a solution,” Liu Qiaoye reassured him.

“I can’t count on Brother Luo,” Zhang Youping shook his head.

Luo Changjun wasn’t the head decision-maker. Having just taken office, he didn’t have much power. Even though he was in charge of the tea industry development plan, he couldn’t make decisions on his own; everything had to be approved.

“Dad, Mom, don’t worry about the money. I have a stash of money saved up,” Zhang Jiaohua suddenly put down his pen.

“What?” Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye both exclaimed in unison.

“Money. I’ve hidden a whole box of it,” Zhang Jiaohua said as he pulled a box out from under the bed.

“When did you hide a box under your bed?” Liu Qiaoye was shocked. She had never seen anything like that while cleaning. It was a big box; she wasn’t blind. How could she have missed it?

“Mom, if you could easily find the things a water master hides, then I wouldn’t be a very good water master,” Zhang Jiaohua said proudly.

“Where did this box come from? You didn’t steal it from someone, did you?” Liu Qiaoye glanced outside and lowered her voice.

“No one can get into the garden. The leopards are guarding it,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

“Meow!” The fat cat suddenly meowed, clearly dissatisfied at being ignored by Zhang Jiaohua.

“This guy always loves to take credit,” Liu Qiaoye giggled.

Zhang Youping spoke sternly, “Jiaohua, stop dodging the question. Tell us where this box came from.”

“The box was a gift from Uncle Luo. But he told me not to tell anyone,” Zhang Jiaohua said as he unzipped the box and opened the lid.

“Oh my goodness!” Zhang Youping gasped in shock; it was his first time seeing so much money.

“Where… where did all this money come from?” Liu Qiaoye quickly ran to close the door, her voice trembling.

There were tens of thousands of cash, with bundles of hundred-yuan bills rarely seen in daily life. There were also many valuable items. The total could easily exceed a million.

“Tell us quickly, where did this come from?” Zhang Youping’s expression became very serious.

“Don’t worry. One time I helped Uncle Luo solve a case…” Zhang Jiaohua explained how he obtained the money.

“You’re so bold, how could you accept this money?” Liu Qiaoye poked Zhang Jiaohua on the forehead.

Zhang Youping wiped the sweat from his own forehead, “Brother Luo shouldn’t have let Jiaohua take this kind of money.”

“Back then, our family was struggling. He just wanted to help us,” Liu Qiaoye said.

“But what should we do with this money now?” Zhang Youping didn’t dare to use the money to buy tea leaves.

“Of course, take part of it to buy tea leaves,” Zhang Jiaohua said nonchalantly.

“I can’t use your money to buy tea leaves; this is dirty money,” Zhang Youping replied grumpily.

“It’s not dirty. Just don’t use the old money, use the new bills,” Zhang Jiaohua handed over a bundle of crisp new notes.

Liu Qiaoye burst out laughing, “You mischievous boy! I think, since this money was stolen by corrupt officials from the hardworking people, we can borrow it for now. Once the tea factory makes a profit, we’ll use the money to fix the roads.”

A penny can trip a hero. Given Zhang Youping’s principles, he would never spend this money, but with the tea harvest season approaching and insufficient funds, the tea factory wouldn’t be able to operate. He was already stressed about paying wages for over a dozen workers. If there wasn’t enough money to purchase tea leaves, the investment would be wasted.

The next day, Luo Changjun brought good news. The authorities had approved changing the bamboo black tea’s manufacturer to Meizi’ao Tea Factory. It was officially announced that bamboo black tea would no longer be affiliated with Zijiang Tea Factory. Zijiang Tea Factory’s product, Meishan Maojian, had also been selected to participate in an international competition.

Although Zijiang Tea Factory was no longer purchasing tea from Xintian County, it had expanded production and pre-ordered large amounts of tea from several neighboring counties in Wuxi City. Fei Zhenglu, a native of Shiqi County in Wuxi, was particularly pleased with this, as his home county was a major tea producer with a similar output to Xintian County. However, the purchase price had dropped slightly from last year, which was a source of pride for him.

“The city tea factory has already made it clear that they won’t be buying any tea from Xintian County this year. The county leaders are furious and are hoping our local tea factories can take up the challenge and show up the city factory,” said Luo Changjun.

“Brother Luo, Meizi’ao Tea Factory is privately owned, and Xintian County Tea Factory is state-owned. I’m worried that during tea buying season, there might be unpleasant incidents,” Zhang Youping said with concern.

“Don’t worry about that. The county is relying on Jiaohua to help renovate the county’s tea farms. Besides, Jiaohua owns shares in all the tea farms he renovates. At the same price, he’ll naturally have priority. You can also sign purchase agreements with the tea farms before the picking season. The county will strongly support the tea factories. Once a contract is signed, the tea farms must honor it under any circumstances. The county doesn’t want the two tea factories to engage in unhealthy competition,” Luo Changjun relayed the county’s stance.

Every day, villagers were working at the horticulture farm. Meizi’ao Tea Factory’s packaging used a mix of pottery, wood, and bamboo, with the bamboo black tea naturally packed in bamboo tubes. Some materials needed to be purchased, but the wooden and bamboo components were handcrafted by the villagers, requiring a lot of labor. These tasks didn’t require much physical strength, so both young and old in the village could do the work with a bit of practice. Even those less skilled could handle simpler tasks. Zhang Youping and Liu Qiaoye were busy every day keeping track of piecework, as everyone’s wages were calculated based on the number of pieces they produced.

In the past, during the off-season, many people gathered at Liu Baoyi’s shop to play cards. Now, except for when they needed to buy something, no one went there. Everyone had flocked to the tea factory to earn wages.

“Where are you going?”

“Of course, to the tea factory to earn some work points!”

…

Such conversations could be heard everywhere on the road.

Making money in the countryside wasn’t easy. Even jobs that paid just five yuan a day had people competing for them. Those with slower hands earned five or six yuan a day at the tea factory, while faster workers could earn up to ten yuan. But in the countryside, where there was no need to worry about sun or rain, earning over a hundred yuan a month was rare. Before Zhang Shunlin became a full-time worker, he earned less than 100 yuan a month and was considered quite respectable in the village.

Now, old man Zhang Jiwang, in his fifties or sixties, could earn two or three hundred yuan a month. Zhang Jiwang was considered high-income in the village because he had skills. He was not only a carpenter but also skilled at carving. Carving on bamboo tubes alone earned him at least two hundred yuan a month. With this new opportunity, Zhang Jiwang no longer smoked cheap cigarettes and had started buying branded ones.

Recently, Zhang Jiwang was in great spirits. As he worked, he would sing:

“Red table with ivory edges, ten bowls of seaweed in the middle; Sister picks up the chopsticks and offers them, brother counts them, leading you last year to this year…”

“Uncle Jiwang, at this rate, every household in Meizi’ao will become a ten-thousand-yuan household,” said Zhang Shicai, who had lost sight in one eye and couldn’t find work in the factory, so he worked as a janitor. Hearing about the booming tea sales, he was also planning to start a horticultural farm at home to plant tea trees. His wife, Ma Yinxiu, stayed home today as well. After making some money last year, the couple planned to start a small planting and breeding business at home.

“That’s for sure. Some people can earn over a hundred a month, and if they’re quick, over two hundred. If you have skills, three to five hundred is no problem. Saving a thousand or two in a year is easy. In three to five years, every family in the village will be a ten-thousand-yuan household,” Zhang Jiwang said.

Although being a ten-thousand-yuan household wasn’t as rare as it used to be, in Meizi’ao, it was still something to be proud of.

“Did you know? People in other villages are jealous of us in Meizi’ao. Many are asking if the young men here are still looking for wives. I told them I didn’t know about the young men, but I’m watching over Zhang Dayun. Even though his family is so poor right now that mice are chewing on the walls, once his hundreds of acres of horticultural land are ready, he’ll definitely be one of the wealthiest in Meizi’ao,” said Zhang Jiwang, half-joking but also speaking the truth. If the tea market remained as good as it was for a few more years, what he said could indeed come true. However, just Meizi’ao Village alone was likely to add over a thousand acres of tea farms this year. Who knew how much more land would be added in the whole of Xintian County? By then, would the tea market still be this strong?

Zhang Benrui was now doing odd jobs at the tea factory, “Uncle Jiwang, are you taking on apprentices?”

“What? You’re too old to learn carpentry from me! I don’t take people with bad character,” Zhang Jiwang said bluntly.

Zhang Benrui felt embarrassed. He wanted to learn a skill, but at his age, it was too late. “I meant I want the mute to learn carpentry from you.”

“Isn’t the mute still in school? Why would you want him to stop school to learn carpentry from me? No way, no way. The mute is so close to Jiaohua, and if I take him on as an apprentice and stop him from going to school, Jiaohua would curse me to death,” Zhang Jiwang quickly shook his head.

“This… This is just ridiculous,” Zhang Benrui grumbled in frustration. He really wanted the mute to learn a trade and start earning money sooner.