Chapter 37: Director Zhao has a side job.

The money in the old wooden box is the family’s entire fortune.

Yu Xiulan could hardly eat a single meal.

Zhao Feng, as the lowest in the family hierarchy, was incredibly curious. After the meal, he quietly leaned close to Zhao Ke and asked, “Jie, how much money does our family have?”

Zhao Ke pinched his ear, “Stay away. Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t. It doesn’t concern you much.”

“I’m earning work points like an adult man now. The family’s money has my contribution too, so why shouldn’t I ask?”

Yu Xiulan appeared behind him, gritting her teeth, “Your little work points are just enough to cover your meals. Look at which young man eats as much as you? Just growing tall but not growing a brain!”

Zhao Feng had grown another centimeter in the past two months, reaching 1.8 meters.

Looking across the entire Zhao Village Production Team, there was no one with better absorption than him. Even eating coarse grain meals every day, he could grow this tall.

But when he should be cowardly, he was. He laughed dryly twice and slipped away.

Seeing his behavior, Yu Xiulan’s anger did not subside but increased. “At his age, others are already married with children, but all he knows is eating. There’s nothing else in his brain.”

Zhao Ke thought to herself: It’s not just eating; he also knows how to pick others’ cabbages.

After finishing scolding Zhao Feng, Yu Xiulan turned to Zhao Ke, “Why aren’t you going to the Production Team?”

Zhao Ke instantly lost her leisurely demeanor, oiled her feet, and disappeared from Comrade Yu Xiulan’s sight.

It was only 7:30 now, so she wasn’t in a hurry to leave. She went back to her room, opened her notebook, and started writing and drawing with a pen.

At 7:50, Zhao Mian knocked on the window to remind her. Zhao Ke immediately closed the notebook, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed to the team committee office.

Three minutes later, Zhao Ke entered the courtyard of the team committee.

Team Leader Zhao Xinshan, Deputy Team Leader Xu, and Accountant Niu were all sitting under the eaves. Each had an enamel mug in front of them, and they were all holding dry tobacco, puffing away.

Zhao Ke greeted them one by one, then said to Zhao Xinshan, “Team Leader, I have something to discuss with you.”

Her tone was so formal that Zhao Xinshan pointed to the spot in front of him with his hand holding the cigarette, “Sit down and talk.”

Zhao Ke went into the house, took a small stool, placed it in the space left for her by Deputy Team Leader Xu and Accountant Niu, and said as she took out her notebook, “Previously, the team leader led the Production Team members to back up my Jie and helped my family secure my Jie’s compensation. Our family discussed it and decided to repay the team…”

Zhao Xinshan finished his last puff and pressed the cigarette butt directly into the ground. “That’s how it should be. How could we let the daughters of our Production Team be bullied by people from other villages?”

Zhao Ke smiled, “Mainly, my mom has a high level of ideological awareness and considers building the countryside her lifelong career. As the new Women’s Director, I can’t fall behind.”

Accountant Niu joked with a laugh, “Comrade Yu Xiulan shines and radiates wherever she goes.”

She visited households daily, receiving plenty of complaints from the team members.

But her dedication was genuine, unlike many team members who were no longer diligent at work.

Zhao Ke said, “The 300 yuan compensation my Jie received, my Jie agreed to take it out and lend it to the team to develop side occupations.”

The gazes of all three fell on Zhao Ke, their expressions turning serious.

Zhao Xinshan said, “Explain in detail.”

Zhao Ke opened her notebook.

The other three all fixed their gaze on her notebook. As soon as he saw the writing on it, Accountant Niu laughed, “This is way too sloppy.”

Twenty minutes of writing whatever came to mind, and the faster she wrote, the messier her handwriting became. Only she could decipher what it said.

Zhao Ke smiled sheepishly and got to the main point: “I lack experience with rural side occupations. If there’s anything inappropriate, you uncles can feel free to point it out.”

“Go ahead.”

“This is what I’m thinking. Our village currently relies primarily on agriculture. As for experienced side occupations, we only have animal husbandry. However, the Production Team has just one cow and two pigs. Each family only raises a couple of chickens or ducks, so the additional income is very limited.”

The Production Team’s cow belonged to the collective. It had been bought three years ago and was in its prime. It was more valuable than a house, and sometimes they were reluctant to use it for heavy work.

As for the two pigs, one would be sold in the winter, and the other would be slaughtered and divided among the entire Production Team according to population. A total of 150 to 160 catties of meat meant that each person would get about half a catty.

Many families couldn’t bear to eat it and had to sell it instead.

Chickens and ducks were even less profitable. Accumulating a basket of eggs would take at least a month, and that required daily laying. Even if the entire summer and autumn egg production wasn’t eaten at all, selling it would only bring a few yuan at most.

“Our family’s 300 yuan, lent to the Production Team, could be used to buy another cow for breeding, two or three more pigs, and some chickens, ducks, and geese. This winter, team members could receive more dividends, and next year we could gradually expand the scale of livestock farming.”

Upon hearing this, Accountant Niu immediately praised, “This is a great idea! If there are more dividends, everyone could have a good New Year this winter. The whole Production Team would owe your family their thanks.”

Zhao Xinshan didn’t say anything. He silently took out cigarette paper, rolled a cigarette, and didn’t light it but sniffed it under his nose.

Deputy Team Leader Xu, being older and more conservative, and prone to acting like a senior, raised a concern: “Expanding the scale like this, 300 yuan won’t be enough to accomplish much.”

Three hundred yuan was a significant amount for a single household and enough to make villagers envious. But when it came to the entire Production Team, it indeed wouldn’t go far.

Even if Zhao Ke’s family could afford to put in more, she only planned to use the money everyone knew about openly.

As for taking the entire money box, that was purely to tease Comrade Yu Xiulan.

In response to Deputy Team Leader Xu’s comment, Zhao Ke said, “That’s why I was thinking, could we establish a production cooperative? If each household in the Production Team is willing to participate and invest a certain amount, several families could jointly buy a pig or raise some chickens and ducks collectively. At the end, profits would be distributed proportionally.”

Deputy Team Leader Xu frowned, “Not to mention whether team members would be willing to participate, they probably can’t gather much money for shares.”

“But necessary costs have to be invested,” Zhao Ke looked at Zhao Xinshan. “In the first year, we don’t need to force participation. Families willing to join can join. Those who don’t want to can still share in the profits after deducting our 300 yuan and costs.”

That wouldn’t leave much money.

“Next year, when everyone sees the returns, they’ll be motivated.”

After pondering for a long time, Zhao Xinshan asked, “If we establish a collective cooperative, your family won’t invest separately anymore?”

“We will, but after putting in 300 yuan, our family won’t have much left to invest further.”

The general income of Zhao Ke’s family was roughly known to the villagers. Zhao Xinshan knew she was telling the truth and fell silent again.

The three others didn’t speak, waiting for his decision.

After a long while, Zhao Xinshan finally spoke: “If it can increase income for the members, it’s certainly a good thing. This collective cooperative can be established, but how to run it still needs to be discussed. Since it’s for the collective, it’s not right to let only your family provide the funds. Here’s what we’ll do: as the team leader, I’ll lend 150 yuan from the team and personally invest an additional 50 yuan.”

With Zhao Xinshan’s approval, the cooperative was a certainty.

As for Zhao Xinshan’s family, they had a solid foundation and could put up 200 yuan. Deputy Team Leader Xu and Accountant Niu couldn’t match that. One contributed 50 yuan, and the other 80, but they weren’t loans—they were investments into the cooperative, entitling them to dividends later.

In total, just the four families raised 680 yuan. With this initial capital, it would be much easier to attract other members to join.

The first step of establishing the collective cooperative was agreed upon. Zhao Ke then proposed a new idea: “I hope that the entire livestock operation will be managed by the women of the Production Team.”

In other words, Zhao Ke, as the Women’s Director, would be in charge of the cooperative, and the work points for raising livestock would all go to the women.

The three exchanged looks. Accountant Niu didn’t say anything, and Zhao Xinshan’s expression remained neutral, making it hard to tell if he agreed or not.

Deputy Team Leader Xu directly objected: “This work isn’t easy. The village herdsman has always been Lao Ban’er. How could women manage it?”

“Fieldwork isn’t easy either. Some capable women are no less skilled than the adult male members.”

Even so, women’s work points were still one or two fewer than the men’s, which Zhao Ke found unfair. But her goal wasn’t fairness—it was to fight for their interests.

Zhao Ke looked at Zhao Xinshan and said, “This cooperative belongs to the Production Team collectively, but there also needs to be someone in charge. Since my family is providing the majority of the funds to get it started, I nominate myself to take charge in the initial stage. Is that acceptable?”

Zhao Xinshan frowned and thought for a while.

Deputy Team Leader Xu still wasn’t convinced. “You’re so young and lack experience. If something goes wrong with such a big undertaking, you won’t be able to handle it.”

Zhao Ke insisted: “No one in the Production Team has experience running a cooperative. Since it’s all starting from scratch, I believe I have an advantage.”

Who would take charge of the cooperative in the future was a matter for the future. In the initial stage, Zhao Ke was determined to take control; otherwise, her 300 yuan would be as good as wasted.

Zhao Ke shifted the topic and asked, “Uncle Xu, if you think I’m not suitable, then who is?”

Team Leader Zhao Xinshan was responsible for overseeing the entire Production Team. He could only steer the ship, not handle every detail.

Deputy Team Leader Xu was old and had limited energy.

The cooperative’s accountant would obviously be Accountant Niu, so there was no need to compete for that role.

Deputy Team Leader Xu didn’t respond directly. Instead, he turned to Zhao Xinshan and said, “When I step down, I want Xu Cheng to take my position. I think he’s suitable.”

Elections in the Production Team, though nominally fair, often involved significant manipulation.

For example, a successor could be groomed in advance, with the predecessor leveraging their connections and prestige to pave the way. Success was almost guaranteed.

An unexpected appointment like Zhao Ke’s as Women’s Director was rare in the region.

Xu Cheng was Deputy Team Leader Xu’s son. His statement implied that he was confident about positioning his son as the successor in the future.

A teaching role was one thing, but when it came to the cooperative, Zhao Ke absolutely wouldn’t let anyone else take the credit. “He hasn’t yet taken over your position, so he’s just an ordinary team member. His status can’t convince people. Unless you step down now and he gains the members’ approval to become Deputy Team Leader, I’m willing to compete with him fairly.”

She usually smiled and never fought for anything, always respectful of the elders. Her sudden assertiveness took everyone by surprise.

Zhao Xinshan looked at Zhao Ke thoughtfully.

Deputy Team Leader Xu’s expression darkened.

The groundwork wasn’t ready, and he couldn’t step down now. Moreover, his son might not even be able to outcompete Zhao Ke.

The atmosphere grew tense. Accountant Niu glanced at the two of them and smiled, trying to mediate. “The responsibility of being in charge of this cooperative is significant, and the person in charge must also be subject to constant supervision by the team committee and the members. The selection must be done carefully.”

Zhao Ke said, “The team leader mentioned before that we currently have an excess of labor in the Production Team. Why not free up some women from fieldwork to do other tasks? I’m the Women’s Director, and my family is putting up the majority of the funds to support the team’s side occupation. This position of responsibility is something I cannot let go of.”

It was a fact that Zhao Ke’s family was contributing the majority of the funds, which was convincing.

Zhao Xinshan directly made the decision. “For the first year, Zhao Ke will take charge, subject to the supervision of all members. If she performs well, she can continue. If she doesn’t, she must bear some of the risks and responsibilities.”

Deputy Team Leader Xu had nothing to say.