Aunt Chen was dissatisfied with them, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. My Erjin isn't good enough, and your son might not be either. If we had someone else, he might not even be able to get the farm machinery station open."

The brigade leader, annoyed by their noise, reprimanded them sternly: "Things have come to this point, and you're still arguing? Back then, everyone opposed letting Luo, the educated youth, drive the tractor, and you all had your own ideas. Now tell me, who among you has a way to get the tractor back? Where are your skills?" Her words were sarcastic, but her son was indeed disappointing.

After being reprimanded by the captain, the group was speechless. They were fine with talking and criticizing others, but when it came to actually handling things, they were completely helpless.

The captain glared at them angrily: "Weren't you all so capable a few days ago? Why are you all silent now? All you do is belittle others, oppose others, and worry that others won't do a good job. You guys go and do it yourselves! Where's that enthusiasm? Humph!"

These men, some in their fifties or sixties, were being reprimanded by the brigade leader, and they didn't dare utter a single word.

“Let me tell you, farming is just around the corner. Other brigades have already driven their vehicles into the fields and started using machines to plow the land. The commune leaders said that farming needs to be efficient. If we don’t complete our farming tasks within the stipulated time, this tractor will be taken back. If it’s taken back, our brigade can forget about ever having a tractor again. The tractor is broken now, so you guys need to think of a solution.”

"We? What can we do?" an older woman pouted. "How about we send someone else to learn now?"

"Is it too late? Do you think the people at the agricultural machinery station will teach you even if you go? Do you think they're there to serve you? Dream on! If you can't do anything, at least think of something for me. It's your own fault for not listening to me in the first place. Otherwise, if our brigade's production is delayed, I'll hold you responsible."

The group immediately started whispering and plotting. If the production in the brigade was not good, they would receive less grain. If the brigade leader blamed them, they would be in trouble.

They frowned for a while, then someone remembered Luo Jingyan and started discussing it with the others.

In an attempt to redeem her son, Aunt Chen quickly suggested to the brigade leader, "Brigade leader, isn't Luo, the educated youth in our team, someone who can drive and repair tractors? Isn't that a perfect candidate? Let her go."

"Yes, let that educated youth Luo go. Why are we still worrying about it?"

The brigade leader glared at them: "Now you remember Luo Zhiqing, and realize he's useful? You think Luo Zhiqing is just a rag, something you use when you want and discard when you don't? Back then, when I suggested sending Luo Zhiqing, you all disagreed, each one of you objecting. Let me tell you the truth, I just went to see Luo Zhiqing, and he said his skills are limited, and he's afraid you'll hold a grudge if he can't fix it, so he's afraid to go."

"We, we have no objections," said Aunt Chen, who took the lead in speaking.

"Won't you have any objections? Won't others have any?"

"No, no, I have no objection either. I support Luo Zhiqing."

"I have no objection either, let Luo Zhiqing go."

Almost everyone expressed their support for Luo Jingyan, a sentiment that was vastly different from when they had opposed her in the past.

The brigade leader said, "So, you've all submitted to Luo, the educated youth."

"I'm convinced."

"Since that's the case, you embarrassed them to their faces last time. Now you should go and explain things to them in person, and personally promise that you will never oppose them again. Only when they feel at ease will they be willing to take on this mess."

The group looked at each other for a moment, then decided to go with the captain to invite Luo Jingyan.

They arrived at the field, and the team leader told Aunt Chen to go first: "You had the most opinions last time, so you go first this time."

Aunt Chen was a little embarrassed at first, after all, so many people were watching, but she was also the most thick-skinned among them. She walked up to Luo Jingyan with a smile and said, "Girl, I didn't like what I said last time, please don't take it to heart. My good-for-nothing son of mine didn't learn how to drive a tractor and broke down our brigade's tractor on the way. Could you please go and fix it and drive it back?"

Luo Jingyan glanced at her, said nothing, and shifted her gaze to the people behind her.

Those people also began to speak hesitantly one after another.

“Luo Zhiqing, I shouldn’t have said that to you back then. I apologize to you. Go and bring our brigade’s tractor over here.”

“Luo Zhiqing, I apologize to you as well.”

“Luo, you are an educated youth, don’t argue with us uneducated bumpkins.”

At this time, other villagers who were watching the commotion had gathered around.

Luo Jingyan remained silent, instead turning her gaze to the captain.

The brigade leader walked over and asked the villagers, "Are there any of you who disagree with Luo Zhiqing? If so, raise your hand."

The fact that none of them raised their hands meant that no one opposed Luo Jingyan.

"Luo, what do you think?"

"Captain, make them promise that as long as I do something right, they won't have any complaints about me. Otherwise, you can find someone else."

"No, no, no, Luo Zhiqing, I've already taught them a lesson, they definitely won't dare to do it again." Then, he said to the villagers, "You all promise now that you won't point fingers at Luo Zhiqing or give her any unsolicited opinions in the future."

Only after the villagers all expressed their support did Luo Jingyan agree to go and repair the tractor.

The brigade leader hitched up an oxcart, and Luo Jingyan and he arrived at the place where the tractor had broken down. At this moment, Chen Erjin was standing in the middle of the road, looking at the broken tractor with a blank expression, not knowing what to do.

The brigade leader called out to him, "Chen Erjin, look at you! You managed to break a new tractor. You're really something else! You've really given our Victory Brigade Leader a lot of face."

This time, the other two neighboring brigades will definitely start laughing at their brigade.

Chen Erjin scratched his head sheepishly: "Captain, Captain, I didn't mean to. Who knew this machine would be destroyed halfway there?"

"It's all because you're not skilled enough and messed up the machine by driving it recklessly." The brigade leader sighed, "Luckily, our brigade has someone who knows how to repair tractors, so let Luo Zhiqing take a look and see what's wrong."

Luo Jingyan first asked Chen Erjin about the tractor driving situation, and then went to check the cause and part of the tractor that was broken.

Due to historical reasons, most of the technology at that time was copied from foreign countries, and there were many imperfections. New machines would malfunction, which was related to the driver's skills and the quality of the machine itself.

With current technology, it's rare for a new car to break down under normal driving conditions; it's more likely a problem with the driver's skill.

Since no other brigades experienced similar issues, the damage to the machine must have been caused by Chen Erjin's improper operation.

Actually, it was Chen Erjin's poor driving skills that caused the tractor to stall halfway. When he tried to restart the tractor with the crank, he didn't use enough force and it wouldn't start. In his haste, he cranked it in the opposite direction, causing the bearings to seize up.

But he had no idea that he had damaged the tractor because of his own operation.