Chapter Ninety-six Cell Phone

  The first batch of vegetables planted in the 10 vegetable greenhouses built in Huacun Village have matured. As it is now the season for a large number of vegetables to be on the market, the prices of these vegetables are similar to those grown by farmers. Due to the attention from the Huaian Municipal Committee and Government, as well as support from many municipal units, all the vegetables were sold out, earning over 2,000 yuan in cash. Although this cannot be compared with the investment, the first batch of greenhouses was originally for demonstration purposes only, and it was not expected to produce a large yield during the season. The second batch of vegetables planted will truly demonstrate its power.

  Zhang Shao-cai had said earlier that the income from the vegetable greenhouse belongs to Xu Shao-jie, and the group company will not send anyone to manage it. The daily management work is all handed over to Xu Shao-jie. Xu Shao-jie cannot manage it in person, so he entrusts Liu Mu to be in charge. Of course, no one in Yudu District knows that the income from the vegetable greenhouse belongs to Xu Shao-jie.

  "Secretary Xu, all the money is here, a total of 2,650 yuan."

  "Did Liu Mu deduct wages and inputs?"

  "The investment has already been deducted, buying seeds doesn't cost much money, wages haven't been paid yet, I'm helping with the management, don't know how to set the wages, didn't mention this at the beginning either."

  "You've been participating in management all along, so tell me, how much salary should be paid?"

  "I think it's not necessary to pay a lot, the time is short, besides, the labor intensity is not high, and the farmers didn't delay their farm work at home. My suggestion is to give 50 yuan for the big greenhouse and 30 yuan for the small one, totaling 400 yuan in wages."

  "Alright, let's do it your way from now on. In the future, we'll deduct wages directly from income. The greenhouses in Huaguan Village are almost all completed and require a lot of labor. I went to take a look, harvesting vegetables is not an easy task. Nowadays, many men have gone out to work, so you can consider requiring households with greenhouses to leave one laborer behind to manage the greenhouse, or manage it jointly with several other households. After entering winter, vegetables will definitely sell for a good price. Don't delay on this matter, otherwise, it will be difficult to recover the investment."

  "Secretary Xu, I've already made arrangements. Some men from the farming households have returned and are preparing to take care of the greenhouses at home. It's almost October now, and the vegetables we planted will definitely sell for a good price. You don't know, some merchants have already contacted us, seeing the number of our greenhouses, they even want to sign a purchase and sales contract with us."

  "This is a good thing, it must be done well. The merchants know the market demand, you can negotiate with them to see which vegetables are more popular, in short, it's a principle that farmers should get income as soon as possible."

  "Secretary Xu, you really said it right. The merchants have made a request. The main vegetables are chili peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, dried beans and celery. We've already started planning."

  Xu Shaojie looked at the 2250 yuan, equivalent to his annual salary. This was the first extra income he had received since starting work. It wasn't really an extra income, but rather another gift from Zhang Shaocai. He thought of Tang Wanyu and Zhang Xiaoyu, and decided that he must buy each of them a good piece of clothing, otherwise it would be hard to justify.

  After a period of contact, Xu Shaojie discovered the preciousness of Tang Wanrou. Tang Wanrou is straightforward and doesn't have the airs of a young lady from a big family. She knows how to care for others and rarely thinks of herself. Such a girl from a cadre family background is hard to come by these days. The feelings between Xu Shaojie and Tang Wanrou are no longer the same as before, it can be said that they have now become true lovers.

  Zhang Shikui entered Xu Shaojie's office, carrying a black plastic bag in his hand.

  "Old Zhang, what are you bringing here? You're not trying to bribe me, are you? Haha, if you're willing to give it to me, I'll take it. Our relationship will be different from now on."

  Xu Shaojie handed Zhang Shiwei a cigarette, Zhang Shiwei took the cigarette without lighting it immediately, closed the office door, and pulled out a paper box from a plastic bag. Xu Shaojie saw at a glance that it was a mobile phone box.

  "Secretary Xu, this is a mobile phone specially equipped for you, and the card has been handled."

  "Old Zhang, this thing is quite expensive, spent a lot of money, right?"

  "There isn't much money, but the sales of the cement factory are very good. Now, there is not enough space in the warehouse to store the cement. The sales personnel from the sales department have to guard the warehouse every day and try to get their allocated cement out as soon as possible. Everyone has thought about it, you must be equipped with a mobile phone for convenient contact. The base station of the mobile company has also been completed, and the district will soon open up telephone numbers. In the future, we can receive calls in the office too."

  "Haha, good thing, have you got a mobile phone? I declare in advance, if you don't get one, neither can I. You are the overall person in charge of the cement plant's preparation, and there will be more things to do in the future."

  "Secretary Xu can rest assured, I have purchased two of them, and I also have one."

  Xu Shaojie smiled and held his mobile phone, a flip Motorola phone, which was small and compact, fitting perfectly in his hand. After working for over a year, he finally owned a mobile phone, and Xu Shaojie was quite thrilled about it.

  Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shikui both don't know how to use mobile phones, so they immediately took out the instruction manual and studied it carefully. When the mobile company came to build a base station earlier, Xu Shaojie hadn't thought about it that much, even when they had dinner together, he didn't ask many questions about this aspect. Now that he has the phone, he realizes that this thing is quite complicated.

  "Old Zhang, how much is this mobile phone?"

  "Two mobile phones cost over 20,000 yuan."

  "Wow, mobile phones are so expensive! Who can afford them?"

  "Secretary Xu, you startled me. I just read the manual and understood a bit, but then forgot again."

  Xu Shaojie brought the phone in front of his eyes, looking at it carefully. This lump of iron costs over 10,000 yuan, what kind of precious things could it possibly contain?

  "Old Zhang, you said that if we could make mobile phones, this one phone would be worth ten thousand yuan. What's the point of running a cement factory then? The district government office could become a mint!"

  Zhang Shi-kui looked at Xu Shao-jie with suspicion in his eyes.

  "Secretary Xu, you can't be serious about making mobile phones, we don't have that capability."

  "Haha, joking aside, Old Zhang, you really are over the top. If we can make mobile phones, I reckon the city will be able to make rockets next, and then rockets will fill the sky."

  The two of them continued to study the phone's usage while chatting and laughing. Xu Shaojie, being a university student, quickly learned how to operate the phone. Zhang Shiqiu's learning ability was slightly weaker, so Xu Shaojie started holding the instruction manual, operating the phone while explaining it to Zhang Shiqiu, and before they knew it, time had passed.

  "Old Zhang, you're hungry, a mobile phone can't be eaten as food."

  Looking at Zhang Shiqiu's excited appearance, Xu Shaojie couldn't help but remind him.

  "Don't worry, wait a minute, I'll figure it out and then talk about it. Later, I'll invite you to dinner, we can go out to eat."

  It just so happened that the manager of the municipal mobile company arrived at the district office.

  According to the usual practice, Xu Shaojie would not have come forward to receive them, but today was different. Xu Shaojie had just received his mobile phone and wanted to thoroughly understand how to use it, so he and Zhang Shiqiu jointly received the manager of China Mobile.

  The manager had not thought of it, originally he came to tell the leaders of the district government office that the base station was in trial operation and everything was fine, and could be officially put into use. In other words, Yu Du District Government Office area can use mobile phones from now on, of course, villages are not yet available, need to develop slowly later. The manager saw Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shiqiu's mobile phone, overjoyed, just in time to try it out, so Xu Shaojie's first call was made to Zhang Shiqiu, the two face-to-face feeding, both the voice inside the mobile phone and the spoken words were heard.

  Xu Shaojie eagerly asked the manager about the mobile phone usage method, but unexpectedly, the manager was not very clear either. His task was to manage, and operating the mobile phone was the business staff's responsibility. Fortunately, a business staff member who followed the manager explained the mobile phone usage method in detail and demonstrated it. Xu Shaojie quickly memorized it, and his operation became more skilled, while Zhang Shiqiu was still a bit slower.

  After dinner, Xu Shaojie decided to send the manager of the mobile company back to the city. The other party had taken a bus down and it was already Friday. Xu Shaojie also wanted to rest at home for another day.

  After going home, everyone in the house was busy. Zhang Xiaoyu was working, and the little girl hadn't finished school yet. Xu Shaojie took out his phone, thought for a moment, and dialed Zhang Shaocai's number. Listening to Zhang Shaocai's Mandarin with a local accent, Xu Shaojie burst into loud laughter. Zhang Shaocai didn't know Xu Shaojie's phone number and must have thought it was someone calling about business. Not many people had mobile phones at that time. Hearing Xu Shaojie's laughter, Zhang Shaocai came to his senses and immediately changed his tone.

  Xu Shaojie rested at home for a while, and it was still early. The time for lunch in the afternoon was still long, and Tang Wanjou was also working, so she didn't want to disturb him. Therefore, Xu Shaojie thought about going out for a stroll. The weather had gradually cooled down, and walking on the street still felt comfortable and pleasant.

  While taking a walk, his mobile phone rang. Xu Shaojie hadn't gotten used to it yet, and the people around him heard the music sound, looking at Xu Shaojie. Xu Shaojie also looked at everyone, thinking who was carrying a tape recorder on the street? Suddenly, he remembered that it was probably his own mobile phone ringing. It was strange; no one knew the number.

  When Xujiaojie took out his mobile phone, the people around him looked at him with envy. Xujiaojie seemed to have done something wrong and covered his phone to answer the call.

  "Shao Jie, we're eating out this afternoon. I've already told Yu Huan and Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu will go pick up her daughter later. The location has been decided, I'll let you know, don't forget to invite Tang Wan Rou."

  "Big brother, can't you call the home phone? Why did you have to call my cell phone?"

  "I called home and everyone picked up, if you didn't have a cell phone, I wouldn't be able to find you."

  Xu Shaojie felt a bit annoyed, thinking that he wasn't at home and couldn't answer the phone. Xu Shaojie walked slowly to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, where Tang Wanjun was in the Political Department, with not much work to do. As he arrived at the door, he happened to meet Sun Zhiqiang, who had come to the municipal bureau. Sun Zhiqiang pulled Xu Shaojie along, wanting him to go to the Criminal Investigation Brigade for a chat. Xu Shaojie repeatedly shook his head, thinking that if he went, he wouldn't have a good afternoon. Sun Zhiqiang might have had something on his mind and didn't force the issue, smiling and saying they would drink well next time.

  After Sun Zhi's team went in, Xu Shaojie found that Tang Wanrou was standing at the door, staring at him with a smile.

  Two people were walking, Xu Shaojie's phone rang, this time it was Zhang Shaocai telling them where to eat.

  "Shao Jie, when did you get a cell phone? Let me take a look."

  Tang Wanrou took over the phone and operated it with ease, while Xu Shaojie looked on in amazement.

  "Shao Jie, if I hold your phone, would you say it looks like your secretary?"

  "Like, like, you're my secretary, so you have to listen to me, right?"

  "Whatever you say, if there are work instructions from our leader, I will definitely implement them."

  "Hehe, no need for any actual work, just a kiss on my face will do."

  Xu Shaojie found that Tang Wanrou didn't react, and hurriedly turned his head to look, only to find that Tang Wanrou's expression was a mixture of smile and not a smile. Xu Shaojie knew that something was wrong, every time Tang Wanrou had this kind of expression, it meant trouble.

  "Hum, in the future when you have a female secretary, will it be like this too?"

  "Hey, Xiaorou, where did you go? Assigning a female secretary is the leader's business in an enterprise company. Even if I'm qualified to have a secretary in the future, it'll be a male one. A man doing this would be unseemly."

  "I don't care, from now on I won't allow you to be paired with a female secretary."

  "Yes, resolutely not matching with a female secretary, and I don't even know if I have the qualifications for a secretary."

  At this time, Tang Wanrou suddenly hugged Xu Shaojie's arm and kissed him on the face. There were many people on the street, and Xu Shaojie was so scared that his face changed color. He didn't feel the tenderness of that moment at all. Tang Wanrou lowered her head, her face red, and the two did not speak for a while.

  While eating, Tang Wanrou regained her liveliness, chatting and laughing. In the private room, they ate without any disturbance. However, Xu Shaojie suddenly thought that if Tang Wanrou's parents knew about this matter, what would their opinion be?