I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 256: Want to Install Wiring in the Factory

Wu Xianglan was a bit surprised when she delivered the goods. It was like plucking feathers from a stingy iron rooster. But seeing her sincerity, Shen Meng did not refuse and accepted them directly.

The night before, Shen Meng had a hot pot dinner with the kids, who were delighted and wanted to have it again tonight, each of them patting their seats at the table, their eyes shining brightly at Shen Meng.

There was no way they could have hot pot again as it was not prepared in advance. However, they still had some rice noodles that Lu Zhenping brought back from Diannan. They could each have a bowl, which was convenient, simple, and quick, saving the trouble of making something else.

She started preparing the side dishes straight after soaking the rice noodles—bean sprouts, leafy vegetables, kelp shreds, tofu skin shreds. Then, she added the big bone broth from her space, followed by a spoonful of chili oil. Sizzling—very tasty.

"Tonight we are having rice noodles. If you want hot pot, wait until your dad comes back next time. Eating such strong flavors all the time is not good for your health; it’s easy to get inflamed."

"Mom, today we went to the Head Flower Factory to see the construction. It’s going up really fast. My third aunt hired a lot of people. But some of the old men in our village are cursing you and the village cadres, saying that with so many people coming to work and earn money, it will interfere with farming."

"I’ve heard it too. I think that old man, sigh, so spicy—he saw me and purposely spoke in front of me, huh, I guessed his intentions right away."

Ming Fang began to speak after her two brothers finished. She opened her mouth but said nothing. They were all children, and these were things that the adults argued about. Those who gossiped behind their mother’s back were usually those whose families didn’t have anyone working in the Head Flower Factory. They were envious of others earning money and couldn’t themselves.

"Their words may sound unpleasant, but they’re probably sour inside. Mom, don’t be angry."

Shen Meng listened to Ming Kai trying to comfort her, feeling somewhat surprised. This child seemed to have suddenly become much more sensible these days, always saying surprising things.

"Mom’s not angry. But if you hear villagers say these things, just pretend you didn’t. Some older people have a deep love for the land and crops. A few decades ago, people often didn’t have enough to eat or warm clothes, and many starved to death. So it’s complicated for them seeing so many going to work in the Head Flower Factory. On one hand, they are happy to see everyone earning money, but on the other hand, they worry there will be fewer people to tend the crops and no one to work during the busy farming seasons. It’s very understandable."

Even though Ming Liang was sizzling from the spice, he finished all the soup in his bowl, set it down, and said to Shen Meng, "Mom, now that you’ve explained it like this, next time I hear the old men and women in the village gossiping, I won’t secretly curse them. It’s quite pitiful."

Shen Meng: "....."

Yeah right, next time you see them, you probably still won’t be able to resist retorting!!!

After dinner, before she had a chance to clean up the dishes and take them to the kitchen, the courtyard door was knocked on. Director Guo arrived holding a stack of documents, followed by Lu Debang and Zhang Hongfa.

"Xiao Meng, hehe, we’ve come to bring you some good news. Oh, did you just have dinner?"

"What are you talking about? Good news or not, I just had dinner. Have you eaten? There is still some in the pot. I boiled some rice noodles. If you haven’t eaten, I can boil a couple of bowls for you. Zhenping brought them over from Diannan as a specialty, so you can try them."

"No hurry, let’s talk about business first, please take a seat."

Since Lu Debang said so, Shen Meng had to put down the dishes she was holding. She took the documents handed over by Director Guo and looked at them carefully.

"These are the new workers in the factory; they are making the most basic styles. The slightly more complicated ones are being done by people who are already trained. The heavy head flowers are being made by our skilled workers and the group leaders. Right now, everyone is working overtime to rush the order. The last few pages show the categories and amounts of head flowers that have been inspected and approved. At this pace, we will definitely complete the order before the end of the month."

"Not bad, the new factory building has also been completed, so everyone doesn’t have to crowd into the big yard to work anymore."

"Everything is stable for now, just waiting to complete the order and deliver the goods!"

Shen Meng glanced over the documents and put them on the table, nodding her head. No wonder people from the 70s are known to be the most hardworking generation; their initiative is off the charts.

"That’s very good; everyone has really worked hard during this period. There’s an issue I wanted to raise; leaders, please discuss for a moment. I’ll go boil some rice noodles. It won’t take long, and it’s time for dinner. You can’t skip a meal—people are iron, food is steel, you’ll be hungry if you miss one."

"What?"

Shen Meng picked up the dishes from the table again.

"It’s like this: the official papers for building our factory will come down in a couple of days, and we need to install electrical wiring. Our orders will only get larger, and though the factory has expanded, if we don’t do the wiring, we won’t be able to handle sudden increases in orders from clients just by working during the day."

Hearing about the wiring installation, the brows of the leaders furrowed enough to catch flies. For years now, the commune had installed only one line of electricity. Their Lu Family Village had been given one because of their good harvests in recent years. Normally, it was never used for anything significant due to the cost of electricity. Who could afford it?

If a factory installed electric wiring, it would have to buy light bulbs. For needle and thread work, was it truly necessary to install electricity?

Shen Meng took the dishes to the kitchen. She reheated the stove and began to boil the rice noodles.

With all the ingredients ready, she filled three large clay bowls with side dishes and seasoning, poured hot soup over them, placed the boiled rice noodles into the clay bowls, and sprinkled on some green onions and cilantro. The rice noodles were ready.

She brought the three bowls to the main hall and also brought the vinegar and chili oil from the stove.

"Chili and vinegar, add them if you can handle it. No need to rush. Think about it while you eat. If you think it’s feasible, mention it to Director Feng and see what he says. Keep this in mind for now, and after we deliver the first batch of goods and John pays the balance, bring it up then. It will be more persuasive."

"That’s right, that’s right. We’ve only received the deposit for now. Once we get the final payment at the end of the month, let’s discuss it. I think Xiao Meng makes sense. Once the news spreads about us earning foreign exchange, and it’s published in the newspapers, who knows how many units will be scrambling for our head flowers!"

Director Guo picked up a chopstick of rice noodles, wholeheartedly agreeing with the proposal. After all, it was for the good of the factory and the village. Oh boy, aren’t these rice noodles delicious?

Lu Debang and Zhang Hongfa also nodded frequently, the aroma captivating them. Who had time to think about the factory with such delicious food? The most important thing was eating!