Chapter 63 A desperate gamble to achieve merit, a bicycle can become a motorcycle. ...

Before the busy "Three Summers" wheat harvest season, Zhong Ying, with the help of Li Linshi, worked hard and successfully transformed a double-wheeled plow into a harvester, truly proving the saying, "Take a chance, and you can turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."

The production team's old yellow ox was harnessed to the front, and the ox, as was its habit, started to pull forward. Zhong Ying reached out and grabbed the plow pull rod on the left side of the harvester, controlling the direction of movement. The rotating wheels generated power, which drove the mechanical connecting rod to transform the rotational motion of the crank wheel into the parallel back-and-forth movement of the blades, which were like small scissors, mounted on the front harvesting platform. The wheat in the field was easily cut down, and the cut wheat stalks were collected on the wooden board behind the blades.

In no time at all, Zhong Ying and the old ox finished harvesting a batch of wheat. She happily pulled the pile of wheat stalks on the cutter into her arms, picked them up in one go, and turned to look at the commune members who were watching.

Zhong Ying's eyes were filled with the joy of success, shining brightly.

Praise be to the great humankind! Indeed, the fundamental difference between humans and all other creatures is the ability to create and use tools!

The other members of the Tonggan production team looked much more stunned, almost everyone had a dumbfounded expression. What did they see? How could they have harvested all the wheat in one go?

Anyone who has only ever seen a bicycle would be shocked to suddenly see a motorcycle.

Li Ming was the first to come to his senses, overjoyed, and repeatedly said "Good, good, good, Yingni'er has done a great job this time!"

The reason why the "Three Summers" (summer harvest, summer planting, and summer management) are so rushed and urgent is summed up in one word: "race against time." It's a race against nature; the goal is to harvest the ripe wheat as quickly as possible before the rains, then dry it, and rush to plant corn seedlings. Time is tight and the task is heavy; it's a race against time. After all, if it rains, whether it's wheat in the fields or wheat drying in the threshing ground, it's all for nothing.

Now that we have such a time-saving, labor-saving, and efficient wheat harvesting tool, Li Ming can foresee that this year's "Three Summers" will not be so difficult, and the Tonggan Production Team will be able to hold onto its grain!

The other members of the production team naturally expected this, and they all rushed forward to surround Zhong Ying and the modified harvester next to her.

Liu Qiang looked at the cut wheat stalks that Zhong Ying was holding and couldn't help but exclaim, "This is no different from wheat stalks that a person cuts with a sickle."

His youngest daughter, Liu Ximei, chimed in, "And we don't have to worry about cutting ourselves with the sickle!"

Deng Xia looked at her daughter with a face full of pride and surprise, "How did you know how to modify this machine?"

“I revised it based on Li Linshi’s notes; it’s not entirely my doing,” Zhong Ying said.

Li Linshi added from the side, "I also learned this from the teacher in class. This method of modifying harvesters with double-wheel plows was developed by the scientists at the Institute of Agricultural Mechanization of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

Zhong Ying repeated his words, only changing the subject, "Of course, he also learned from the teachers in class, and we should thank the scientists at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences..."

Others simply took Zhong Ying's words as modesty.

"Then you were able to understand it and actually modify it, which means you're amazing!" Lin Shuhong exclaimed.

Hu asked jokingly, "Did the fourth son of the Li family appear in your dream and teach you something in your dream?"

"Teaching requires students to be able to learn," Auntie San said with a smile.

Zhong Ying: ...You guessed pretty close. It wasn't taught in a dream, but in reality.

The modified harvester was put into actual production and put into use. Everyone was working hard. When someone got tired, someone else would take over, and the others followed behind the harvester to pick up the harvested wheat. After a day's work, they harvested nearly nineteen acres of land!

As the poorest production team under Liuzhang Commune, Tonggan Production Team had few people and not much land. It had a total of 110 mu of arable land, of which 90 mu were used to grow wheat, and the rest were used to grow peanuts and vegetables. At the efficiency of the harvester, which could harvest 19 mu of land a day, the wheat could be harvested in less than five days!

You should know that last year, it took more than half a month to harvest everything by hand.

Now it only takes five days!

The wheat can be harvested in five days and then immediately dried!

The rain couldn't keep up with the speed at which they were harvesting and drying the wheat!

Just one day later, Zhong Ying felt that the gazes of the people in the production team were becoming even more intense. If there were a game system broadcasting, she would probably hear the "Reputation Value +1" notification incessantly.

Li Ming came to her with eager eyes, "Daughter, can you look into whether there are any farming tools for tilling the land? After we finish drying the wheat and harvesting the corn, we'll start tilling the land! We'll till outwards, turning all the land that hasn't been planted with grain into fertile fields! Next time we plant, we'll plant more wheat!"

Plant! Now that the harvesting speed has increased, let's plant even more land!

Even in his twilight years, Li Ming's ambition was rekindled. Increasing production was no longer a dream! A poor production team could become a prosperous one! Perhaps he would even live to see the Tonggan Production Team recognized as a "Red Flag Team"!

Because of a modified harvester, everyone in the Tonggan production team, from the team leader to the members, became excited.

Everyone was so focused and passionate that they forgot all about it—it was all about production!

Zhong Ying was also moved by the joy of the people and suddenly realized that improving farm tools was not only a stepping stone for her to rise to power, but also a tool that could help people live better lives.

She immediately understood Li Linshi's former ambitions.

It's all worth it to see joy, not poverty, on those simple faces.

Zhong Ying immersed herself in the research of agricultural tools such as spiked rollers and goose-shaped moving rakes used to break up soil and level the ground.

"...The spiked roller is a horizontally placed cylindrical shape with a hollow center. It can be made by a carpenter. It is also pulled by animals. One person can operate it and can work up to 60-70 acres a day. It is very efficient and has a strong ability to break up soil. However, it has a drawback: because it is too heavy, it is not flexible enough when turning."

As Zhong Ying listened, she took notes, her pen never stopping.

A chilling aura enveloped her from behind. Zhong Ying didn't even lift her eyes, letting the ghost hug her from behind, treating it like being wrapped in a cool air-conditioned blanket, which was just right to relieve the heat of June.

A sensation as if a piece of cold jade had gently touched my cheek.

Zhong Ying ignored him.

A moment later, a light kiss traveled along the path, about to land on his lips—Zhong Ying, a cold and ruthless woman, directly raised her hand and pushed Li Linshi's face away.

What's with the kissing? It's all over anyway.

It's like a plate of braised pork that looks and smells delicious, and looks very appealing, placed in front of Zhong Ying. She can smell the aroma, but eating it? No way.

Rather than letting desires be aroused, it's better to go all the way with Plato.

Sitting at her desk, Zhong Ying felt as upright as Ning Caichen, who was studying at Lanruo Temple at night. She firmly rejected the seduction of the male ghost Li Xiaolin, saying righteously, "Don't disturb my studies."

Li Linshi was stunned for a moment, then his gaze shifted from Zhong Ying's profile to the notebook in front of her, and suddenly became somewhat gloomy. He no longer cared about those living men, but he overlooked the fact that there were other inanimate objects competing with him.

Unlike him, who kept his thoughts to himself and was too embarrassed to speak them aloud, Zhong Ying was straightforward and honest, putting her heart and soul into whatever she wanted to do.

Li Linshi glanced down at his clothes: a dark red folded-edge short-sleeved shirt and black suit trousers. He had been wearing this outfit for almost two weeks.

He used to change into three different outfits a day, but now he's been wearing the same one for two weeks.

She is now mostly drawing structural diagrams of various farm tools.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhong Ying finally turned to look at Li Lin, wondering why he hadn't spoken for so long. "What does the '8.5' mark here mean? The spacing?"

Li Linshi suppressed his chaotic emotions and returned to the main point, "Yes, it's the distance between the nail teeth; the nails need to be arranged in a triangle..."

Don't overthink it. Maybe she's just busy learning new things and isn't intentionally ignoring him.

——

Zhong Ying thought that if she had a camera to film her current life and make a vlog video titled "A Day in the Life of a High-Energy Woman in the 1960s," she would definitely get a lot of views online.

At 5:30 a.m., the morning light shone into the room, and Zhong Ying was pulled up by Li Linshi like a limp noodle.

You can't blame her for sleeping in; at this hour, which modern person isn't still asleep?

At six o'clock, I had breakfast with the Li family.

After finishing her meal, Zhong Ying mentally composed a rhythmic background music commonly used in vlogs before heading to the daycare.

Nowadays, nurseries no longer distinguish between small and large classes; people in production teams mostly call them small classes and literacy classes.

Upon entering the former village school, now a nursery, Zhong Ying was warmly greeted by the children.

The children felt that the title "Women's Team Leader" was too long, so some followed Zhong Guoqiang and called Zhong Ying "Auntie," while those who were close to Li Guangfu followed him and called her "Auntie." Forming cliques was in the nature of boys, so some even formed their own groups, with Nie Xiaojun leading the group and calling her "Auntie."

Zhong Ying reluctantly accepted these nephews and nieces, considering that Nie Xiaojun and Nie Xiaoyong's mother was Yao Dongxiu.

As a result, as soon as Zhong Ying arrived, the children were like monkeys from Flower Fruit Mountain seeing their Monkey King, calling out "Auntie," "Auntie," and "Auntie" non-stop. They just thought it was fun.

Zhong Ying's head ached from being yelled at, and she met Chen Zhiqing's somewhat gloating, smiling eyes standing to the side. Chen Lina was usually quite annoyed by these children, and only belatedly realized that Zhong Ying had dragged her onto this "pirate ship."

At eight o'clock in the morning, Zhong Ying observed the use of the harvester in the field while picking up the harvested wheat with the others.

At noon, following the flow of people, everyone went home for lunch;

In the afternoon, Zhong Ying went to the threshing ground to harvest grains; studying farm tools was something to be done in the evenings after work. At that time, regardless of the job or position, everyone in the production team was employed without leaving their posts. Production labor was considered a glorious and beneficial activity, and naturally, everyone had a share.

Last year, the people working at the threshing ground were mostly the elderly, weak, women, and children—people who weren't good at field work and were assigned to harvest the grain. This year, the wheat harvest is easier and more efficient, so fewer people are needed, hence the increased number of people at the threshing ground.

With many hands making light work, cutting the ears of grain became much easier. A group of women, young and old, sat on the stalks chatting without neglecting their work.

“You guys used to wonder why the fourth son of the Li family would risk his life to save Yingni’er, and how he ended up with Yingni’er,” Hu asked with an expression that said, “I know best.” “Don’t you think about it? The fourth son is so smart, how could he be interested in an ordinary girl? I always knew that Yingni’er was a clever girl since she was little!”

Lin Shuhong contradicted her, "When did you say that? I don't remember at all?"

Deng Xia rolled her eyes without any politeness. "Forget it. Do you think I don't know what everyone used to say about my daughter? 'Just like her mother, fierce and short-tempered,' 'spoiled beyond belief by her parents,' 'cunning, lazy, greedy, and sly,' 'a family that marries her is doomed.' Everyone knows who said it."

A group of women laughed awkwardly.

Miao Suyun was indignant and muttered to herself, speaking up for her sister-in-law, "Only close people can see the good in my sister."

Nie Ying's attitude was stubborn, but her words were conciliatory: "Who hasn't had misunderstandings and prejudices against others? When children are young, they think it's cunning, but they forget that it's actually a kind of cleverness."

"So, Lin Shi really did choose a smart girl," Li Lin Shi's third aunt, Li Chang Gui's mother Shan Shu Hui, concluded with a sigh. "It's just like the saying 'like father, like son.'"

Zhong Ying listened in astonishment. This kind of talk carried the self-deprecation of women under the influence of outdated ideas, but she did not argue with the older generation. In a way, she still gained some benefits.

Regardless of whether it's because of the logic that "Li Linshi is smart, and Li Linshi's interest in her means Zhong Ying is also smart," Zhong Ying's image in the public eye has been cleansed, and people have clearly transferred their goodwill towards Li Linshi to her.

This kind of advantage is something Zhong Ying has, but Li Gang doesn't.

Although Li Linshi is Li Gangshi's younger brother, people only think, "The younger brother is so successful, it's a pity the older brother isn't as capable."

As Zhong Ying thought about it, she couldn't help but feel a sense of smug satisfaction at having won a small victory.

Soon, another "bonus" that she had but Li Gang didn't receive came from nowhere.

Zhong Ying's brother suddenly returned, carrying with him the military merits he had earned.

Zhong Cheng earned a second-class merit in the self-defense counterattack in March. Although the price was that one of his arms had to be in a sling for several months to recover, he was promoted exceptionally and rose from a soldier to a deputy company commander at the junior officer level. This meant that he was finally able to submit a report to apply for his family to accompany him to the military.

This time, Zhong Cheng came back not only to take his wife Miao Suyun and son Zhong Guoqiang with him, but also to take his sister Zhong Ying with him.

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Author's note: Li Linshi: It can't be that the love has faded, right?

Zhong Cheng: I've come to take my sister away!

Li Linshi: ? ? ?