Chapter 160 Drought

On the fourth day after Lin Qi arrived at Badong Farm, Grandpa Lu was already able to go out of the room to take a walk and bask in the sun.

"I'll bring you a batch of supplies tomorrow, and then I'll be going back." That evening, Lin Qi said to Grandpa Lu while he was having dinner.

Mr. Lu's hand holding the chopsticks froze, and he felt a little reluctant. He didn't know whether he was reluctant to give up the delicious meals he would have to eat three times a day, or reluctant to leave the little girl who always talked to him.

"Tell me what you need or what you want, and I'll see if I can get it for you." She had been here for a few days and had already figured out all the nearby brigades. If there was something that the nearby brigades didn't have, she could also go to the county to get it for him.

"I have everything." Mr. Lu shook his head. "You don't have to take risks for an old man like me."

Lin Qi thought for a moment, "Okay, I understand. I won't take any risks."

Just when Mr. Lu thought that Lin Qi would stay at Badong Farm obediently and leave quietly the day after tomorrow, he didn't expect that on the second night, in the dark, Lin Qi kept moving things into his room.

Mr. Lu was awakened by her and sat up from the bed.

"What are you moving?" Mr. Lu, who had experienced countless hardships, was a little panicked when he saw Lin Qi moving basket after basket into his room. Soon, there were more than a dozen large baskets piled up in the corner of his room.

Did this girl go to rob somewhere?

"Some food." Lin Qi replied in a calm tone, "You said you have everything you need, but I see you don't eat much. I'll bring you some more, and you can eat with your roommate."

She had been here for a few days and had not seen anyone from the farm bothering the old man. This showed that the management of the farm was relatively relaxed, so she dared to send so much food to the old man.

Most of the food she delivered was coarse grains, including corn, soybeans, sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes and the like, and she also took two baskets of unshelled rice.

In the end, there were a total of twenty-two baskets piled up in Grandpa Lu's room. Apart from the old man's bed, there was no room for the dining table, so the dining table was moved outside the door.

Mr. Lu was a little confused. "That's good. I won't have a roommate for a short time."

"If you want food friends, just send some food over." Lin Qi said indifferently.

Mr. Lu nodded and said, "Of course we have to send some. Everyone is in trouble, and I will help as much as I can. I hope you don't mind me giving these grains to everyone."

"If I mind, then you won't send me off?" Lin Qi asked back.

Mr. Lu choked and said helplessly, "Everyone is tightening their belts and drinking boiled water, but I have a room full of food. How can you let me bear it?"

What is there to be impatient about? In the end times, many people died of starvation, and everyone is used to it. Lin Qi thought to herself.

However, she didn't remember that even in the end times, when she saw people who were hungry, she couldn't help but stimulate the growth of some plants and give them as gifts. Even in this world, she had helped countless people.

Maybe those were just a piece of cake for her, insignificant, and she never even took them to heart.

But it is a fact that she helped and many people benefited from it.

When Lin Qi left Badong Farm, the entire Li family came to see her off.

"You really don't want to take your rabbit fur blanket with you. It's such a good thing..." Grandma Li said with mixed feelings. She wanted to get a blanket like that for her grandson, but she didn't want to covet Lin Qi's things.

"I don't need that thing, I'll give it to Binbin." Lin Qiyun said calmly.

"There's still a lot of rice and meat in that sack—"

"Leave it for Binbin to eat. I don't lack these things." It was still the same question and answer.

Lin Qi felt that what she said was the truth, but no one in the Li family believed it. Who doesn’t lack food these days? Even if you have money and tickets, you may not be able to buy the food you want!

The Li family believed that Lin Qi was lying, and the reason she lied was for their family’s sake.

Lin Qi was helpless. "One day when you are free, go to the Anliang Brigade of Jiahe Commune in Yao County and ask, and you will know."

This family doesn’t know how many things they left for Mr. Lu. If they knew, they wouldn’t be so entangled about these things.

I'm afraid I can only blame myself for leaving less for my family.

Lin Qi's worries did not come true. After she left, Grandma Li went to deliver breakfast to Grandpa Lu. When she saw the baskets in the room, she was indeed a little jealous, but she did not blame or complain.

"Qiqi said last night that since you have come, I will let you take a basket back." said Mr. Lu.

Grandma Li was startled, then said with a smile, "This little girl is actually playing tricks on us. Isn't she telling us clearly that if we don't come, she won't give us this basket of food? You'd better help her cover up a little bit!"

Old Master Lu also laughed, and after laughing twice, he started coughing. "This girl always makes people startled. I, an old man, have been scared by her several times. She never knows how to write the word politeness, and she even thinks I stink. I have to take a small revenge on her."

"You are such a narrow-minded person, why do you still care about her?" Grandma Li scolded.

"Who made her so capable! Look at this room full of stuff. I told her I didn't want it the day before, but she listened to me and sent me more than 20 baskets the next day. I don't understand how a little girl like her managed to get such heavy stuff in without anyone noticing." Old Master Lu sighed with regret, "If it were in the past, I would have definitely accepted her. She is a natural soldier!"

"Please don't do that. A fair and tender little girl should be pampered." Grandma Li disagreed.

Mr. Lu insisted on his opinion, "She is not the type to stay at home obediently. She should go out and explore the world. Building a career is her destiny. What a great talent she is."

Grandma Li snorted twice, didn't argue with him, and changed the subject, "I'll take a basket of sweet potatoes and bring you two roasted sweet potatoes at noon."

There is so much food here, so she doesn't need to be polite.

"No need for you to bring it. I've already prepared it, just bake it yourself." Grandpa Lu said, and explained, "With so much food, I will definitely share it with everyone, and then we can eat it together. Don't bring me food, and don't come here too often."

"You've divided it all up, why don't you keep some for yourself?" Grandma Li felt distressed. "It's not easy for Qiqi to get so much for you."

They're all divided. This is just a waste of the girl's feelings.

"I'll keep four baskets for myself." Old Master Lu said. He had to stay alive so that he could find a way to help the girl's boyfriend get rid of the label of the five black categories.

How can I not repay the kindness I have received from a maid?

On the day Lin Qi left, Mr. Lu's room became bustling with activity. More than 20 baskets of food were moved away, but only five were left. Mr. Lu originally wanted to keep only four baskets, but in the end everyone left him five baskets.

"The number four is unlucky."

"I wanted to leave six baskets for you, but Lao Zhang used sweet potatoes to make porridge. It was so fragrant and sweet. Those guys secretly came and took another basket of sweet potatoes back."

"Not only sweet potatoes, but other foods are also delicious. We all had mixed grain rice at noon without any vegetables, but we were still full. Our stomachs were bloated, but we still wanted to eat more."

"We would like to ask you a question: where did you get all this food? Do you have any left after you finish eating it? Where can you buy more? Let's pool our money and buy a few more baskets to store."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Mr. Lu.

Mr. Lu shook his head and said, "I didn't ask."

There was a hint of regret in his tone.

If he knew that the food tasted so good, he would definitely ask the little girl.

"Then remember to ask clearly next time." Everyone said hopefully.

Mr. Lu was stunned. Will that little girl come a second time?

Lin Qi left Badong Farm early in the morning and returned to Anliang Brigade at noon. She went to the planting area first, stayed there until the evening, and then went to the brigade leader to cancel her leave.

"You've been outside a lot this winter, so you have to pay attention to the seeds," the team leader reminded.

Lin Qi raised her eyebrows, "Hasn't the seeds been handed in?"

"And sweet potatoes!" said the captain.

"Oh, well, when the time comes, you can just take the sweet potato vines directly from the ground, so you don't have to raise seedlings." Lin Qi said.

The captain glared, "Why didn't you say that a few years ago!"

"Forgot!" Lin Qi looked very innocent.

Captain: “........”

In May of 1968, there were several consecutive heavy rains. The members of the Anliang Brigade were worried, thinking that another flood disaster was coming.

Finally, in early June, the rain stopped.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this.

But they soon found that they had relaxed too early. From the beginning of June to July and August, there was no rain for three full months.

Three consecutive months of sunny weather are unbearable for plants and even humans.

Starting from June 16, the team leader began to organize team members to fetch water to water the crops. In June and July, more than 30 team members suffered from heatstroke.

In late August, all kinds of crops turned yellow, about ten days earlier than before.

"This year's production has been severely reduced, and the output is probably only 50% of previous years."

"Our brigade is still relatively good, with 50% left. The Shunliang brigade next door doesn't even have 50% left, so 20% is pretty good."

"During the severe drought and hot summer, our two brigades still had a river to support them, so they could irrigate the fields manually, while other brigades had no harvest at all."

“Is the terrible disaster year coming again?”

Thinking of the famine a few years ago, everyone couldn't help but panic. In July, some team members' families began to diet, cooking only seven or eight portions of rice per meal. By August, some team members' families even only had two meals a day.

At the end of August, the Anliang Brigade began to organize team members to carry out autumn harvest.

On the day of autumn harvest, one team member fainted due to hunger.

Captain Luo Feng felt very complicated when watching this scene. He could not blame these team members. It was not long since the disaster year had passed, and the scenes of people starving to death were still fresh in his mind.

But this is not a solution.

Luo Feng scratched his gray hair, his face full of worry.