Chapter 32: Just Looking, Not Buying—Feeling Pleased
Cough cough! “Xiao He, sorry about that—I just drank too fast.”
You couldn’t blame Qian Huifang for reacting that way. What Su He had just said was simply too amusing.
Who didn’t know that Huaihua Commune was dirt poor? And they wanted to build a farm machinery factory?
To put it bluntly, they’d struggle even to build a chicken coop!
Su He knew exactly what was going through her mind and smiled. “Aunt Qian, come on, it’s you and me here—I know this sounds like a joke to you. Honestly, even I think it feels like we’re just playing house. But the leadership sent me to learn, and I can’t just ignore orders, right?
Besides, it gives me a chance to spend time with you. What a great opportunity!”
Qian Huifang’s eyes lit up. That was true.
“Aunt Qian, whether it works out or not, we still need to go through the motions. Look, my letter of introduction has a time limit. Could you get me a visitor pass for the machinery factory?”
This little favor was no trouble at all for Qian Huifang. In no time, she had it done.
“Xiao He, it’s lunchtime. Let’s go to the cafeteria!”
Su He didn’t play coy—she followed Qian Huifang to the canteen, calm and confident.
The cafeteria was bustling. Qian Huifang signed the guest book and had the head chef whip up two meat dishes just for them.
As they ate, Su He skillfully kept the conversation flowing, buttering Qian Huifang up. Qian smiled from ear to ear.
“Aunt Qian, I’d like to visit the various workshops this afternoon. If you’re busy, just let them know I’ll be coming—I can go on my own.”
Qian Huifang was busy that afternoon. She spotted several workshop supervisors eating nearby and took Su He over to introduce her.
When those supervisors heard Huaihua Commune wanted to start a farm machinery factory, they almost burst out laughing—just like Qian had.
As far as they were concerned, the only way to describe such an idea was: biting off more than they could chew.
But seeing that Su He was just a young, pretty girl, they couldn’t bring themselves to say anything too harsh and vaguely agreed.
That afternoon, Su He visited the foundry workshop.
The place was full of burly men, and the sudden appearance of a young girl had them all energized like they’d been injected with adrenaline.
Su He knew how to win people over. By the end of the workday, she was already blending in like a fish in water.
In fact, the foundry’s Director Pang even tried to recruit her.
“Xiao Su, your liaison role is just a title with no real substance. My workshop needs a statistician. If you can find a way to get officially hired, the job’s yours!”
Back then, a statistician was a cushy role—not manual labor, just some paperwork.
Su He thanked him sincerely and then said, “I understand the saying: people seek better opportunities, and water flows downhill. But I want to help the folks back in my hometown live better lives. So, I’d rather stay in Huaihua Commune and shine where I’m needed!”
Director Pang nodded repeatedly. Though she was young, her ideological awareness was remarkably high!
Compared to her, he felt a bit ashamed of himself.
From then on, he held her in much higher regard.
Su He left the foundry and returned to find Qian Huifang, only to see her frowning deeply.
Qian perked up when she saw Su He. “You’re back? How did it go?”
Su He nodded. “Pretty smooth—everyone’s been very helpful.”
Qian had only asked casually. She figured Su He was just going through the motions.
Su He asked with concern, “Aunt Qian, you don’t look so well. Did something happen?”
Qian sighed and explained.
In about a month, it would be the Dragon Boat Festival, and as usual, the union was supposed to distribute holiday goods to the workers.
This task was usually a sought-after job since it came with some perks.
But this year, it had turned into a hot potato. The factory wouldn’t allocate any industrial coupons, so the union had to figure it out on their own.
Money alone wasn’t enough in this era—everything required ration tickets.
Some people had had their eye on the deputy director position, and since Qian had gotten it, they were naturally resentful.
So today, during the work meeting, they deliberately maneuvered her into taking on this impossible task.
Qian sighed again. “Aren’t they just trying to set me up? Without coupons, even if I had divine powers, I couldn’t conjure up goods!”
Su He’s eyes sparkled. “Aunt Qian, I do have an idea. Not sure if it’s appropriate, though.”
Qian immediately grabbed her hand. “There’s no time for suspense—just tell me!”
“Most farming households have stockpiled some eggs, and this time of year there are plenty of wild greens. Couldn’t we collect those and distribute them to workers?”
Qian’s eyes lit up, then she frowned. “Directly buying from farmers would be against regulations. If someone reports it, I’ll be in trouble.”
Su He blinked. “Of course it’s not okay to do it directly. But what if the commune organized the purchasing and then sold the goods to the machinery factory?”
Qian’s eyes gleamed. “That would be fine. But would Huaihua Commune agree to help?”
Su He patted her chest. “Leave that to me!”
Qian was so excited she could hardly speak. But once she calmed down, she said, “Even if we collect eggs and greens, it’s still too meager. Maybe I’ll go talk to Engineer He and see if the textile factory could sell us some defective cloth again?”
Su He shook her head. “First, the textile factory barely has any scraps left. Second—pardon my bluntness—but the favor you owed them was settled last time. Engineer He might not be inclined to help again.”
Qian immediately deflated and looked at Su He with pleading eyes.
Su He had actually already come up with a plan, but she put on a thoughtful expression.
After a while, she said, “I heard the textile factory has plenty of fabric scraps. But handing out scraps doesn’t feel right.
So here’s what I propose: I’ll talk to Engineer He about collaborating with our commune.
They supply the scraps, our villagers sew them into chair cushions by hand, and the textile factory pays a small labor fee.
Then your factory buys the finished cushions—it boosts the textile factory’s income and solves your benefits problem.”
What Su He didn’t mention was that this would also give villagers a source of income, which would have the Huaihua Commune leadership ecstatic.
The best part? Once the textile factory gets a taste of this win-win setup, her next plans would go much more smoothly.
Qian, of course, didn’t think that far. Right now, she just wanted to hug Su He and kiss her!
She was truly a godsend!
With this, not only would she avoid criticism, she might even be commended.
She immediately told Su He to head back to the commune and get started on the project. But Su He said:
“Aunt Qian, it’s not that I don’t trust you—this project involves too many people. You should report it to leadership first.
If they approve the plan, I’ll bring our commune leaders over so we can sign a formal procurement agreement.
That way, both sides are protected by official documents, and no one can mess with it later.
Same with the textile factory—we’ve got to do this by the book.”
Qian nodded repeatedly and was about to go report it when Su He stopped her.
“Aunt Qian, no rush. I’ll first have the textile factory make a sample cushion. You can show it to the leaders—it’ll make your case stronger.”
As for the cushion designs? Easy. She’d just search the Exchange Market System—just look, don’t buy, and feel great about it!
Exchange Market System: “…Excuse me, could you be a little more polite?”
