Chapter 66: Reclaiming the Wasteland – Taking the First Step in Conquering the Land. ...

"After I finish eating, I'll go find Captain Li to get letters of introduction for your sister-in-law and Guoqiang. Do you want to be included?" Zhong Cheng once again probed indirectly, subtly asking Zhong Ying: Sis, are you coming with me?

Zhong Ying felt utterly helpless. "Leave me alone, I'm really not leaving."

Her brother was quite persistent, asking Zhong Ying every day, and then "torturing" her every time he went back to Li Lin, always in different ways.

Li Linshi applied what he learned from Zhong Ying, using everything he learned in her, and even mastering it on his own without a teacher.

Including but not limited to: Li Linshi using the same water-controlling dishwashing technique on Zhong Ying, turning her into the dish being repeatedly rinsed; stopping when Zhong Ying was about to reach the top and starting to ask questions for answers; Zhong Ying needing a break to catch her breath, but Li Linshi pretending his ears were blocked by her thighs and thus couldn't hear her, and then pushing her up in one go...

Zhong Ying was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and felt like she was being completely drained.

She's just hoping Zhong Cheng will leave soon.

However, Zhong Cheng was indeed leaving soon. He had been back for seven days. He had originally planned to lend a hand in the fields, but the harvester was more effective than him, who currently only had one arm to use. Zhong Cheng had nothing else to do. These days, besides handling the procedures for his wife and son's household registration and grain ration transfer, he had been talking to Zhong Ying.

Even now, Zhong Cheng hasn't given up. "My unit is stationed in a coastal city. You've never seen the sea before, have you? Would you like to go see it?"

Abandon the river, embrace the sea!

"The sea? Do you want to see it?" Li Linshi propped his head up with one hand and looked at Zhong Ying from the side, while his other hand held and played with her fingers. His slender fingers seemed to inadvertently slip between her fingers, forming a ten-finger interlocking that seemed to lock her in place.

Zhong Ying's university is just a few stops away from the river, and her company is by the sea; she's seen it all.

"I won't go." Zhong Ying coldly refused, then her face fell, and she pleaded, "Brother, my dear brother, please let me go! I really won't go with you. I'm going to be the production team leader's woman!"

The Zhong family members, who had been treating the siblings' "performance" as a dish at the dinner table, immediately looked surprised.

Deng Xia's eyes widened as she looked at her daughter. "What did you say? You want to be the production team leader?"

Old Man Zhong was so surprised by Zhong Ying's lofty ambitions that he was speechless for a moment.

Miao Suyun was surprised, but quickly accepted it; her sister-in-law had always been bold and decisive.

Zhong Xin opened his mouth in surprise, "Sister..."

Only the still naive Guoqiang excitedly tapped his chopsticks on the table, shouting with delight, "Auntie, Captain!"

"You want to be the captain? But you're a woman." Zhong Cheng was surprised at first, but then he quickly realized something. "Oh, wait, there was a female general among the founding generals."

So his sister's ambition wasn't really that extraordinary; it was just a small production team leader, and Yingni'er didn't want much.

Zhong Ying was also surprised, "Didn't I tell you?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

"Then who did I tell—" Zhong Ying began, but suddenly stopped speaking. Who else could she have told?

The others immediately understood as well.

Deng Xia lamented, "He's forgotten his mother now that he's with a man..."

Zhong Chunsheng frowned, his face full of disapproval. "You didn't tell your family about something this big? Does that mean you're becoming distant?"

Zhong Ying smiled awkwardly, "I haven't become one yet, have I? I'm still working hard, how can I go around shouting about it before I've succeeded?"

Zhong Cheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly seemed to realize something, "So you weren't forced by that kid to do things and modify farm tools?"

Zhong Ying looked at her brother in surprise again, "No, why would you think that?"

Only Li Lin remained calm, a calmness that betrayed a numbness born from being the scapegoat so many times.

The family talked at the dinner table and that's when they learned about Zhong Ying's goals.

“None of the production teams have ever had a female team leader…” Deng Xia was worried and felt that the hope was slim.

Old Zhong nodded in agreement with his wife, "I've only ever heard of women's team leaders."

Zhong Xin only dared to dream of being an accountant or scorekeeper in the production team, while his sister was already aiming for the position of "top leader" of the production team. He couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Zhong Ying.

“If I haven’t done it before, then I’ll be the first one.” Zhong Ying said casually, then raised her hand and patted her brother’s shoulder next to her, her tone becoming serious, “So, Comrade Zhong Cheng, if you keep working hard and try to get promoted, you’ll be helping me.”

At this time, one's identity and background are of utmost importance. No matter how strong one's personal abilities are, if one's family background is classified as one of the "five black categories," it will basically be a veto.

Fortunately, Zhong Ying doesn't need to worry about this. Her parents were both from poor peasant families, and her brother was in the army, so her background couldn't be more prestigious.

Not to mention that Zhong Cheng has now been promoted, and as his younger sister, Zhong Ying naturally benefits from it as well. That's why she said that the harder her brother works, the more he helps her.

Since Zhong Ying had said that, what could Zhong Cheng do? He could only try his best. After all, she was his only sister, with whom he had a love-hate relationship since childhood. He had to support her when needed, even if the way he supported her was not exactly what he had imagined.

Zhong Cheng touched his nose. He had originally planned to find a good partner for his sister.

In the end, Zhong Cheng only took his wife and son with him when he left.

The whole family took half a day off from work and saw him off all the way to the long-distance bus station in town.

Deng Xia handed the dry food she was carrying to Miao Suyun, "Miao'er, eat if you're hungry. The pancakes I made are bigger than usual, just in case there's not enough to eat on the road... There are also eggs in this bag, they're boiled..."

At this moment, Deng Xia was more talkative than usual, nagging and incessantly giving instructions. Miao Suyun could easily hear the reluctance in her voice, and she felt the same way.

Miao Suyun has been married for five years, and she has spent the most time with Deng Xia, Old Man Zhong, Zhong Ying, and Zhong Xin. In these five years, they have become her new family, even closer to her than her husband, Zhong Cheng.

Zhong Guoqiang, who was being held by Zhong Cheng, was looking around with curiosity and excitement, but when he saw the tearful eyes of his mother and grandmother, the young boy suddenly understood what "separation" meant.

Little Guoqiang burst into tears. Being only four years old, he stretched out his arms towards Zhong Ying without a care in the world, crying, "Auntie! Auntie, hold me! I want to go home—"

Miao Suyun looked at Zhong Ying with teary eyes, and couldn't help but hold her hand, looking reluctant to part.

Zhong Cheng hurriedly scooped up his son, who was thrashing about like a dehydrated fish, his forehead beaded with sweat. Looking at the scene before him, he turned to Zhong Ying and complained irritably, "My wife and son are going to be yours!"

Zhong Ying's eyes lit up, and she gripped her sister-in-law's hand even tighter, joking with a playful smile, "That's right, sister-in-law, why don't you and Guoqiang live with me in the future? I'm open to monogamy!"

While the others hadn't yet grasped the meaning of these words, Zhong Cheng, who was the quickest to understand when arguing with his sister, understood in the blink of an eye what Zhong Ying meant by "monogamy."

One husband—her deceased husband, the ghost of the dead.

One wife—his wife.

Zhong Cheng was so angry his eyes were blazing. "Don't even think about it! This is my wife!"

The two children's arguing had dispelled the sadness of parting, leaving only a headache. "You two are so grown up now, why are you still like you were when you were little, arguing every time you meet?"

Zhong Xin pursed his lips and chuckled to himself, but the more they argued, the better their relationship became, right? He had always envied his older brother and sister. The two of them were close in age, almost like twins, and were always so close. Unlike himself, who was so much older, it was as if an invisible chasm separated the three of them.

Zhong Xin lowered his eyelashes dejectedly and stood obediently to the side. He had always been the child with the weakest presence in the family.

"Send the letter," Zhong Cheng said, not forgetting to say goodbye to his younger brother. "Remember to write to me, and tell me anything that happens at home!"

Zhong Xin immediately raised his head again and nodded vigorously.

Watching the family of three walk into the bus station compound and disappear from sight, Zhong Ying sighed, then reached out and wrapped her arm around her younger brother's neck, "Now we're the only two left, siblings..."

Zhong Xin opened his mouth, unsure whether to ask his sister to let him go first, or to say that an only child usually refers to one person, not two.

Deng Xia also felt a void in her heart as the crowd thinned out. She turned her anger towards Zhong Ying, saying, "If you had married a normal man now, the house would be lively again in a couple of years after you had a child. Why did you marry such a deadbeat—"

“Mom,” Zhong Ying interrupted her, gesturing with her lips to the side, “I’m here.”

Deng Xia knew who she was talking about, and suddenly stopped talking as if she had been choked.

Old Man Zhong tried to smooth things over, saying, "Don't take it seriously, your mother is just feeling down right now."

Li Linshi knew he couldn't hear, but he still responded.

——

Thanks to the combine harvester, the Tonggan production team was able to finish the wheat harvest early this year. Team leader Li left some people at the threshing ground to winnow and dry the wheat, while the rest followed him to reclaim wasteland.

After the landlord surnamed Chen forcibly occupied Tonggan Village, the original villagers were driven away and chose to settle in Lawangou, five or six miles away. In addition to avoiding disaster, it was also related to the soil. So to this day, the farmland of the two production teams still surrounds their respective villages, with a large area of ​​land in between being wasteland.

Li Ming led his men to reclaim wasteland from the production team's farmland, taking a step towards conquering the land in the sweltering summer heat.

Clearing land is hard work. The surface of this wasteland is hard, compacted, and lacks granular structure, making it unsuitable for crop growth. So the first step in clearing land is to plow the land, turning it over and over again to break up the soil, remove weed roots, and dig out stones.

In the past, Li Ming would not have considered reclaiming wasteland. After all, it was the most tiring farm work. It required manual labor, working from dawn to dusk with picks and shovels, until hands were blistered and bleeding. It was time-consuming and laborious, and there was no output in the short term. It would also reduce the work points of the entire production team, so no one was happy about it.

But now, the wheat in the fields has been harvested, and people are just sitting around doing nothing.

Moreover...

The large cylindrical tube, covered with sharp iron nails, was pulled by oxen and rolled over the ground. As it turned, the hard, sticky soil broke into pieces, making it less tiring for people to loosen the soil and rake it with shovels.

With the help of tools, the pioneers could see the dawn of success and worked with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes, they would try to find humor in their situation by talking to those around them and encouraging each other.

"Thank goodness we had this spiky roller to loosen the soil first, otherwise it would have taken so much more effort!" Hu Dating wiped the sweat from his face, his tone full of relief, and then casually said, "If Yingni'er were a man, just based on all the practical things she did, I would definitely choose her if Captain Li stepped down!"

Those around them heard this and laughed and agreed.

"Me too."

"I'd love to!"

Everyone was joking, but Deng Xia wasn't happy about it. She straightened up, put her hands on her hips, and said, "You won't choose a woman? There was a female general among the founding generals!"

Everyone's reaction was exactly the same as Deng Xia's when she first heard her eldest son say that—they were all stunned.

Lin Shuhong asked curiously, "Are there really female generals?"

“Of course,” Deng Xia said with certainty, “that’s what my Chengzi said!”

What Zhong Cheng said must be true. Now that there was a female general, everyone readily accepted the idea of ​​a woman being the production team leader.

Of course, some people still can't accept it.

Lai Hunzi scoffed, "What kind of woman is a team leader? I don't believe it."

Fan Wu didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement.

However, two different viewpoints can spark a debate and turn into a hot topic.

One side said that Zhong Ying was a clever girl, and looking at what she had done recently, no one in the production team was more capable than her. They said she would definitely be a good production team leader if she became one. The other side said that no woman could be a team leader, and that they would be ashamed in front of other production teams.

Both sides held their own opinions and argued heatedly in private. Zhong Ying was delighted to see this; it wasn't an argument, it was generating buzz for her!

As more and more people talked about it, Li Ming, the current leader of the Tonggan production team, heard it.

When Li Ming heard this, he was taken aback. He hadn't thought of it, or more accurately, he hadn't expected it.

In fact, in Li Ming's heart, the best successor has always been his youngest son.

After Li Linshi returned from university, Li Ming was so happy that he had already planned to step down and hand over the reins the following year. But then an unexpected incident occurred...

Li Ming had been watching Zhong Ying's performance closely, and he had sighed inwardly many times. If his youngest son were still alive, he and Ying'er would have been a perfect pair, one as the team leader and the other as the women's team leader, one clever and the other quick-witted. They could have definitely made the Tonggan Production Team's future even brighter. What a pity...

It wasn't until he heard about the recent hot topic that Li Ming seemed to have a new perspective.

The production team members only knew that there were no female team leaders in the several production teams under Liuzhang Commune, but Li Ming knew that there were female team leaders in other communes and production teams. This was not a new thing, so he could naturally accept placing Zhong Ying in the list of candidates for team leader.

Li Ming thought of his son's shadow in these new farm tools. Ying Ni'er didn't take any credit; he knew who did what. Clearly, Si'er was already helping her with the work.

Li Ming thought about it and decided to switch the positions and change things up—it didn't seem like a bad idea.

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Author's Note: Therefore, the male protagonist must die! (A roar from a perverted author)

Make room for the female lead, act as a support...

The male protagonist only lost his life, but he gained love. (heart emoji)