Chapter 141 Educated Youth in the 1970s (Part 5) I Want to Build! I Want to Learn...

"Is Comrade Song here? Comrade Song Ce?"

The shouts outside interrupted Song Ce's thoughts. He pushed open the door and saw a young man standing there, grinning sheepishly at him.

"I'm here, and you are..."

Upon hearing this, the young man scratched his head and laughed, "I'm Captain Qin's son, you can just call me Tiezhu. My dad sent me to deliver a message, saying that you should report to the wheat field at the west end first thing tomorrow morning. My dad will arrange the work for you, you can just go directly to the brigade to repair the tractor."

"Okay, thank you, Tiezhu." Song Ce replied with a smile, took out a few shrimp crisps wrapped in red packaging from his pocket and handed them to Qin Tiezhu, saying gently, "Here, I don't like sweets, you can have these."

Qin Tiezhu's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands vigorously on his clothes before taking the candy, and chuckled, "Thank you, Brother Song! I won't be polite then! My mother is waiting for me to go home and fetch water, so I'll head back now!"

"Hey, Tiezhu, drive carefully," Song Ce said with a smile.

After Qin Tiezhu had walked away, Song Ce took out a nearly new notebook and pencil from his schoolbag, squatted down by the wooden bed, and began to scribble. About an hour later, Jiang Zhangjun returned carrying a blue cloth bundle.

As soon as he entered the room, he was drawn to the drawings spread out at Song Ce's feet. Putting his package on the bed, Jiang Zhangjun leaned over to take a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Song Ce, what are you drawing? It looks so complicated!"

Without looking up, Song Ce replied, "It's a parts distribution diagram for the tractor."

"Tractors? You can fix tractors?"

“Hmm.” Song Ce nodded. “Our village has a tractor. If we can fix it, it will save the villagers a lot of effort.” As he spoke, he made annotations and explanations under the parts.

Seeing Song Ce's focused concentration, Jiang Zhangjun's surprise gradually turned into anticipation. He squatted down, reached out and touched the edge of the blueprint, and said with envy, "Song Ce, you know so much! If the village's tractor is really fixed, it will be much more convenient for plowing and hauling grain! We can also benefit from it, and maybe we can even finish work earlier!"

After saying this, Jiang Zhangjun pulled out a large jar of pickled vegetables from the package and said with a smile, "My mother sent me some homemade pickled mustard tubers, saying that we should eat them with porridge and cornbread."

Song Ce looked up and smiled slightly, "That's great! Please thank Auntie for me! The mustard greens, shredded and mixed with chili powder, are delicious!"

Jiang Zhangjun nodded in strong agreement, his eyes shining as he looked at Song Ce.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the loudspeaker announced the start of work.

"Hey, hey, hey, educated youth, please pay attention! Assemble at the edge of the round field immediately! Assemble at the edge of the round field immediately!"

Yuan'ertian is the field where the educated youth harvested wheat yesterday.

Upon hearing the broadcast, the group of educated youth quickly grabbed their water bottles and farm tools and hurried towards the fields, fearing that the brigade leader would deduct their work points if they were late.

Seeing the educated youth arrive at the field on time, Qin Guangde nodded with great satisfaction.

“When we assign farm work in Xinhe Village, I will try my best to coordinate the labor intensity of different groups so that everyone can do their best. So, for the next month, Comrade Qi Ziling, Comrade Wu Wangliu, and Comrade Jian Fangning, your task is to harvest wheat! The area west of the river ditch is your task! Can you complete it?”

The three of them said in unison, "Yes!"

"Good! Comrade Chen Shi and Comrade Zhang Shuda, your task is to collect manure at the outer beach. Comrade Lü Sangui is waiting for you there! Are you confident?"

Chen Shi and Zhang Shuda choked for a moment upon hearing this, exchanged a glance, and then replied, "We are confident."

"Very good! Comrade Jiang Zhangjun, you will go with Comrade Xu Asan to the village later to dig and build ponds!"

"Yes, Captain! I guarantee the mission will be accomplished!" Jiang Zhangjun replied loudly.

"Alright! As for Comrade Song Ce..." Qin Guangde paused, then said with a smile, "Your task is to go with Aunt Huo and the others to harvest corn stalks! The cornfield at the east end of the village is your task!"

Qin Guangde's words immediately caused a huge uproar, with Chen Shi and Zhang Shuda both exploding in anger.

"Weeding corn? Captain, aren't you bullying us?" Zhang Shuda stiffened his neck, his face visibly turning red, and shouted, "Why is it that our job is to carry manure and dig ponds, while Song Ce gets to do such easy work as weeding corn? We're all new here, Captain, you can't be so biased!"

"That's right!" Chen Shi stepped forward, indignantly saying, "Captain, we're not convinced! You have to explain to us why Song Ce gets such preferential treatment!"

Qin Guangde waved his hand and raised his voice, "Stop arguing! This job is assigned according to everyone's skills. Comrade Song Ce can repair machines! Once he fixes the tractor in the team, he will be contributing to our whole village! If he can't fix it, he will be the first to take on any heavy or tiring work in the future!"

Zhang Shuda glanced at Chen Shi subconsciously, and heard him mutter under his breath, "Where are the work points..."

“Yes! Work points! Captain, Song Ce’s work is so easy, his work points can’t be the same as ours!” Zhang Shuda said indignantly.

“I understand what everyone is thinking. As for work points… you all get nine points, but Comrade Song Ce gets seven.” As soon as Qin Guangde said this, Zhang Shuda reluctantly shut his mouth and glared at Song Ce.

Seeing that the two of them had finally calmed down, Qin Guangde signaled the other educated youth to disperse and go to their assigned work sites.

After everyone left, Qin Guangde stepped forward and patted Song Ce on the shoulder, sighing, "Your aunt and Aunt Tiezhu did the corn weeding for you. Comrade Song, you should go to the brigade headquarters to fix the tractor! We've asked several mechanics before, but none of them could fix it. Now it's up to you!"

"Yes, Captain! Don't worry." Song Ce replied, then smiled and said, "I think Tie Zhu is quite clever. Why don't you let him come and help me out?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Guangde's eyes lit up, but he hesitated before speaking: "Is this appropriate? Tiezhu is still just a kid..."

Song Ce smiled and said, "Why not? Kids learn things quickly!"

Upon hearing the word "learn," Qin Guangde slapped his thigh and exclaimed heartily, "Alright, Comrade Xiao Song, I'll leave that kid Tie Zhu to you! If he dares to disobey you, don't tell me, just go ahead and beat him up!"

"Why!"

It's no wonder Qin Guangde was so excited. In this day and age, he was incredibly grateful that someone was willing to teach his child a skill. Even if Song Ce had beaten Qin Tiezhu so badly with a willow branch that he was crying his eyes out, Qin Guangde would still have to praise Song Ce for doing a good job!

When Qin Guangde brought Song Ce back to the brigade headquarters, Qin Tiezhu was already sitting next to the tractor with a small stool.

It seems that Qin Guangde's initial plan was simply for Qin Tiezhu to learn a few moves from Song Ce. Now that Song Ce was willing to take Qin Tiezhu along, Qin Guangde's smile extended to his eyes.

"Tiezhu, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and call him Master!" Qin Guangde picked up Qin Tiezhu and urged him.

Qin Tiezhu blushed and, somewhat embarrassed, hid behind Qin Guangde, shyly saying, "Master Song...!"

"You brat! You think you're teaching me how to flip a wok? Shout it again!"

"Master Song!" Qin Tiezhu called out in a clear and loud voice.

Song Ce waved his hand with a smile, "Captain, no need to be so formal. Tie Zhu can call me whatever you want." As he spoke, Song Ce squatted down, reached out and patted the tractor's outer shell, and smiled at Qin Tie Zhu, "Tie Zhu, come here and help me take the outer shell off this tractor."

"Yes, Master!" Qin Tiezhu immediately perked up and took a wrench from the toolbox next to him, handing it to Song Ce.

Seeing that Song Ce was genuinely teaching, Qin Guangde patted Qin Tiezhu on the head and instructed, "If you dare to talk back to your master, I'll teach you a lesson when we get home! You'd better learn from this!"

"Why!"

Looking at the tractor with its outer shell removed, Song Ce turned to Qin Guangde and asked, "Captain, how did this tractor break down?"

Guangde frowned and tried to recall: "A couple of years ago around this time, the tractor was having trouble starting. At first, everyone thought it was because they had used it too much and the machine was tired, so they just left it in the yard for a few days. But unexpectedly, the tractor broke down and wouldn't start no matter what we did."

Song Ce nodded, listening to Qin Guangde's description, it seemed to be an engine problem.

He picked up a flashlight and carefully inspected the tractor inside and out. Qin Tiezhu stood on tiptoe, his head pressed tightly against Song Ce's, his eyes unblinking.

"Tiezhu, look, this is the tractor's engine. The engine is like our heart; if it malfunctions, the tractor won't move. There are many reasons for engine failure, such as low ambient temperature, a problem with the diesel fuel, a blocked fuel line, low cylinder pressure, and so on. We need to take it apart to check the specifics. See this bolt? Let's start from here..."

Listening to Song Ce's gentle teaching tone, Qin Guangde grinned, didn't linger, picked up the straw hat hanging on the door, and left.

The sun gradually rose overhead, its scorching rays making everyone's skin feel hot and burning. Qin Tiezhu squatted to the side, watching Song Ce spread the tractor parts all over the ground, and asked curiously, "Master, why are you taking all of this apart?"

Song Ce smiled and said, "Tiezhu, look carefully. You have to disassemble and assemble these parts in order, otherwise you will make mistakes when you put them back together."

Looking at the intricate jumble of parts on the floor, Qin Tiezhu gasped, "Master, this is far too complicated!"

Song Ce pointed to a slightly worn screw at the very front and said, "Even the most complex machine is made up of small parts. Once you understand the purpose of each small part, repairing any machine will be easy. Go and clean these parts; we'll inspect them carefully in a bit."

Qin Tiezhu nodded immediately, quickly grabbed a rag, and squatted down to wipe the surfaces carefully.

After he finished cleaning, Song Ce picked up a visibly rusty part and showed it to Qin Tiezhu: "Look, this tractor in our village has been sitting for a long time, and some parts are rusted. It might take us a while to find the parts. Tiezhu, do you know where the scrap metal recycling station is around here?"

Qin Tiezhu scratched his head and chuckled, "Master, I know!"

"Okay." Song Ce stood up, patted the dust off his trousers, and said with a smile, "Today I'll teach you how to identify the parts. Tomorrow you'll come to town with me, and we'll find the tractor parts as soon as possible."

"Yes, Master!"

As dusk approached, Qin Guangde and several villagers returned with sickles and water jugs.

Song Ce took off his gloves and placed them on the tractor. He said to Qin Guangde, "Captain, I need to ask for a day off tomorrow. I'm going to take Tiezhu to the county to buy some parts."

"Alright! Go! Tiezhu, follow your master closely tomorrow! Do you hear me?" Qin Guangde said.

“Guangde, what’s wrong with you…” one of the older men asked, fanning himself with his straw hat.

"It's nothing. Comrade Song went back to repair the machine. The tractor in our village is just sitting idle anyway, so I thought I'd let Comrade Song give it a try," Qin Guangde replied with a smile.

"Oh, this is great news!" the old man exclaimed leisurely.

Upon hearing this, the villagers exchanged glances, said nothing, simply greeted each other, and dispersed in twos and threes.

"Third Uncle, what do you think the brigade leader means by this?" A middle-aged man with a towel draped over his shoulder gestured toward the brigade headquarters and asked in a low voice.

"What could it possibly mean?" Uncle Qin rolled a pipe, lit it, and took a couple of puffs before saying, "The tractor has been sitting at our brigade headquarters for years. The brigade has been trying to fix it every year, but it's never been done. This educated youth is from the city, and I heard his father is a senior worker at a machinery factory. The brigade leader thought he might as well try anything!"

"I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about why Tiezhu keeps following that educated youth around like a shadow. I just heard Tiezhu calling that educated youth 'master'!" the middle-aged man complained.

"So what if you call out? What's it to you?" Uncle Qin asked, puzzled.

"Uncle, are you really unaware or just pretending? These days, who doesn't want their child to learn a trade? The brigade leader is only thinking about his son Tiezhu, why doesn't he think about the children in our families? Humph, back when Qin Guangde became the brigade leader, we all voted for him!" The middle-aged man became angrier and angrier as he spoke, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

After listening to the middle-aged man's complaints, Uncle Qin said slowly, "Guozhong, everyone has their own destiny. Don't be so narrow-minded. Besides, once Tiezhu and that educated youth fix the tractor, won't our team have less work to do? Your family will also benefit!"

The middle-aged man, however, disagreed, pulling a towel from his shoulder to wipe his forehead: "That's true, but who wouldn't want their own child to have this opportunity? I'm just afraid that in the future, when the brigade leader has something good to do, he won't think of everyone else, but only of his own Tiezhu!"

After saying that, the middle-aged man didn't wait for Uncle Qin and went home in silence.

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Author's Note: [Sunglasses]