Chapter 34

It would be impossible for a farmer like Lu Che, who came from a poor family, to work in a state-owned factory like the Agricultural Machinery Repair Factory. However, his maintenance skills had been passed down to the level of "god" in several nearby communes.

Originally, the agricultural machinery repair factory was unaware of his existence, because the production team's tractors were in the "off-season" period some time ago. Before the rice harvest, the tractors were not used frequently and the maintenance rate was also low.

However, as the busy farming season was approaching, there were surprisingly few people coming to the farm machinery repair factory to repair tractors, and the workers who had already prepared to work overtime all left work on time.

In previous years, before the busy farming season, the production team would drive the tractors to the farm machinery repair shop for inspection in advance, and repair any that needed repairs would be done in advance to prevent them from breaking down during the busy farming season.

Director Hu from the repair shop felt something was wrong, so he went to the production team to find out what was going on.

The tractor drivers in every production team knew Director Hu. When they learned that he was coming to investigate, they all said that there was no problem with their tractors and so they did not go for repairs.

No one knows the level of the county's tractors better than Director Hu.

Forget about new tractors, even those second-hand tractors can be repaired once every two weeks. It is impossible for them to be in good condition for one or two months.

Since I couldn't find out the truth by asking myself, I had to send someone to investigate secretly.

After checking, I found out that there was a man named Lu Che in the Qingyuan Production Team who was very good at repairing tractors. Any tractor repaired by him could be used for at least three weeks to one month.

The quality of the repairs was guaranteed, and Lu Che had a good attitude and would teach the drivers how to use the tractor correctly to extend its service life. The workers at the farm machinery repair factory, however, relied on the fact that they were workers who ate commercial grain and were superior to the farmers. They would speak coldly to the farmers at best, and even scold them at worst.

Repairs have to be paid for anyway, so instead of giving money to be a grandson, it’s better to give money to be a grandfather.

Of course, everyone kept their mouths shut about the payment, only saying that they would give twenty eggs each time to avoid any harm to themselves and Lu Che.

Director Hu became upset after hearing this. It happened that the maintenance plant was recruiting, so he set his sights on Lu Che.

After watching him repairing a tractor tonight, he made up his mind to recruit him to the factory, so I talked to him directly.

"Then when are you going to work?" Jiang Yao asked hurriedly.

If Lu Che went to work in a factory, he wouldn't have to go to work in the future, and he wouldn't have to work so hard.

"It's not certain yet, and we can't just hire them. We need training, competition with others, and passing assessments before we can start working." Lu Che said, "The training will be arranged after the busy farming season, probably in the middle or late next month. We will let you know the specific time then."

"Oh, so we still can't escape the fate of having our crops harvested?" Jiang Yao was a little disappointed.

"You should say that you can just finish the rush harvest and earn a few more centimeters." Big Brother Lu was much more optimistic than her. "If I go to work, what will happen to you and your grandmother's share?"

"That's true." Jiang Yao nodded. "When the training comes, you should work hard and strive to compete. But you don't have to be nervous. I believe in your ability."

The next day, Lu Che rode his bicycle to the county town early in the morning. He first went to the agricultural machinery maintenance factory to find Director Hu, filled out the application form for the training, and then went to the provincial capital.

This was the last time to pick up goods before the busy farming season. Lu Che did not take cloth and cotton this time, but he bought a lot of malted milk, candy, etc.

It is already early winter here. The demand for fabrics and cotton has skyrocketed recently, and the prices have also risen accordingly. It would not be cost-effective for him to purchase now.

As for Chinese New Year delicacies such as malted milk and candy, their prices are relatively stable at present, but they will definitely increase in the month before the Spring Festival. He will purchase them now and wait for the price to rise.

Because he left late today, it was already past eight o'clock when Lu Che got home.

Jiang Yao had been waiting for him, and when he came back, she asked him to take a shower first, and went to the kitchen to heat up the food. She made fried ham slices with cucumber and fried eggs with tomatoes, and he picked up the bowl and ate it with big mouthfuls.

"You must not have eaten well on the road." Jiang Yao concluded as she saw him wolfing down his food.

"No, I ate all the eggs and sweet potatoes you made for me." Lu Che said, "It's just that the tomatoes and cucumbers grown at home tasted especially good, so I ate them a little too fast."

"It's delicious, but the weather has been cold recently and the harvest has dropped sharply. I guess the cucumbers will be gone after this crop is picked, and the tomatoes can be picked until February, but the quantity will definitely not be as much as before." Jiang Yao sighed, "Another way to make money has been lost."

"It's okay." Lu Che stuffed a piece of ham into her mouth and said, "I will strive to become a worker. Then I will have a monthly salary and food subsidy. It's okay if I don't give you this dish."

"Now that you have a chicken leg, you complain that the mosquito leg has no meat on it." Jiang Yao said deliberately.

"It's not that we are not satisfied with the small things, but we should spend our time on the most profitable work." Lu Che said, "In the past, we had no choice but to work harder to earn more money. If I can work in a repair shop in the future, I can have four days off a month, so I can go to the provincial capital four times. With the salary, it will be at least 100 yuan. I won't do those petty things anymore."

"Okay." Jiang Yao agreed.

In fact, the purpose of continuous efforts is to make one's life more and more comfortable. Now they are also moving in this beautiful direction, but she couldn't help feeling a little panicked.

It was probably because Lu Che was getting better and better, while she was still standing still.

Many people in this era believe that as long as a man has ability, it's fine. However, Jiang Yao, who has the vision of future generations, feels that she must be financially independent, no matter how outstanding and profitable Mr. Lu is.

The next day, the rush to harvest the last crop of rice began.

Before daybreak, many members of the production team had already started working in the fields.

The winter in Qingyuan is not too cold, especially when you get active and your whole body feels hot. Compared to the rush to harvest in the first crop under the scorching summer sun, the temperature in the last crop is obviously much more comfortable.

Lu Che is one of the most hardworking members. In order to save time, he does not go back to rest at noon and asks Jiang Yao to bring him food.

After working non-stop for seven or eight hours, he was exhausted, but when he ate the delicious meal prepared by his wife, he felt full of energy again.

There were many people eating by the fields at noon, but the food was average. It was either the cold sweet potatoes that they brought out in the morning, or the vegetable and sweet potato rice sent by their family. It was plain and without any oil.

Everyone ate the food with a tasteless taste, except Lu Che who ate it with gusto.

People were drooling just by smelling and watching it.

"Jiang Yao, what did you make for Lu Che that smells so good?" someone asked.

"Nothing." Jiang Yao said modestly, "Just fried eggs and vegetables. The fragrance might be coming from the soup. It's the carrot soup cooked with the ham my brother sent me last time."

"That's nothing. The New Year's meal we had was not as good as the simple meal you had."

"My Lu Che has to do the work of three people, so I have to improve his food, otherwise he won't have the energy to work."

Everyone was chatting away. When Lu Che finished his lunch, Jiang Yao was about to take his lunch box back home. Before leaving, she reminded him, "Don't rush to the fields right after you finish eating. Rest for a while before going."

"Okay." Only after Lu Che agreed did Jiang Yao feel relieved to go home.

Lu Che is a typical person who "suffer first and enjoy later". He would rather work harder at the beginning than be exhausted by the work at the end.

After resting for ten minutes, he got up and went to work in the fields.

After Jiang Yao returned home, she took a short nap and then got up to work. She didn't want to get up in this kind of weather. She couldn't let herself fall into depravity. Lu Che was working hard to harvest, so she had to work hard on her handicrafts.

The weather is nice today, the autumn air is clear and the winter sun feels warm on my body.

She and the old lady worked together to move the tables and chairs to the yard, where they basked in the sun and did some handicrafts.

The old lady is no longer like before and never touches handicrafts. She will do a little bit of the work, but every twenty or thirty minutes, she will stand up with Jiang Yao to stretch their muscles.

"Yaoyao, have you heard?" The old lady asked Jiang Yao in a low voice after she had just pasted a piece of paper.

Jiang Yao was a little confused and asked, "What did you hear?"

The old lady said: "I heard that there was a tractor driver from a production team in a commune in our county. His tractor driving skills were not up to par, so he drove his tractor into the lake. It happened that he couldn't swim, so he lost both the tractor and himself."

"Because of this, the county will have each production team arrange a few people to go to the county town to learn how to drive a tractor after the rush harvest. Whoever learns well will be able to drive a tractor in the production team and won't have to work in the fields."

Since the old lady, encouraged by Jiang Yao, visited the neighbors more often, she is now more informed about the news of the production team than she is. She really didn't know about this and asked, "I haven't heard of it, but isn't there someone driving a tractor in the production team now?"

"Yes, ever since Lu Zhisen went to jail, tractor drivers have become very popular, and everyone is vying for the job. Lu Dazhou may want to balance the different families in the village and strive to gain maximum support. Currently, the eldest son of the Li family and the second son of the Liang family take turns driving."

"But it's not reasonable for two people to drive a tractor. Lu Dazhou wants to take this opportunity to decide on one person, and then let the strength speak for itself. Whoever loses can only blame himself, not him."

"Grandma, do you also want Lu Che to sign up for tractor driving lessons?" After listening to this long passage, it was impossible for Jiang Yao not to understand what the old lady meant.

"Yes, Yaoyao, you are really smart." The old lady said, "Cheche has been smart since he was a child. He shouldn't work in the fields like a cow every day. He should do technical work. He can repair tractors now, so he can definitely drive one."

"Mrs. Zhang next door said that each production team can arrange for up to three people to study, and then choose one. Yaoyao, why don't you persuade Cheche to sign up. Because of his poor family background, he has always been reluctant to fight for good things in the government."

"I'm afraid I can't persuade you about this matter." Jiang Yao refused politely.

The old lady didn't expect her to react like this, and immediately said, "How do you know you can't persuade her if you haven't tried to persuade her... Driving a tractor is really great, don't you want to..."

Before she finished her words, she saw Jiang Yao smirking, and she was even more confused. "Yaoyao, what are you laughing at?"

"Grandma, don't worry." Jiang Yao leaned close to her ear and said, "After the rush harvest, Lu Che will go to the county's agricultural machinery repair factory for training. If he can pass the assessment, he can become an employee of the repair factory and work as a worker!"

"What?" The old lady's eyes widened, and after a long while she asked, "You... are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true." Jiang Yao said, "Lu Che and I wanted to tell you after it was finalized because we were afraid of being disappointed."

"No." The old lady said confidently: "Mr. Yue is a university professor and a great intellectual. Lu Che has been secretly studying with Mr. Yue for so many years, so he must have mastered a lot of skills. Those tractors that the repair shops couldn't fix, he fixed them in a short time. With such amazing skills, he will definitely pass the test."

"I think so, too." Jiang Yao said proudly, "But before things are confirmed, let's not tell anyone about it, so as not to arouse jealousy."

"Don't worry, grandma knows the situation. Lu Che has suffered a lot of injustice because of our family background. Before he successfully takes up the position, the news cannot leak out, otherwise someone will definitely bring up the issue of his background."

In the evening, Jiang Yao went to deliver food to Lu Che again.

He came up from the field, took the lunch box from her hand and said, "Now that the villagers are leaving work and there are many people on the road, you can go back with them."

Jiang Yao knew that he was worried about her safety, so she didn't insist on staying. She just whispered beside him, "Don't stay out too late at night. I'll make a midnight snack and wait for you to come back."

"Okay." Lu Che agreed. Although he wanted her to go to bed early, he hadn't spent much time with her all day, and he wanted to go back in the evening to have a good chat and kiss her.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, only a few people were still working in the rice fields. Lu Dazhou was afraid that they had worked too hard on the first day, so he walked through the rice fields with a loud speaker and shouted, "That's it for today. Everyone go back and rest and continue tomorrow."

"Captain, aren't there two tractor drivers? Why is there no one now? How are we going to transport the rice we harvested back to the granary?" Suddenly someone ran over and shouted, "We've been exhausted all day. It was fine before because we didn't have a tractor, but now that we have one, you can't just let us carry it all back."

"Li Xiang and Liang Ming, these two bastards, are running faster than each other. I told them to stay until the end." Lu Dazhou was so angry that he wanted to curse.

"Captain, go to their house and call them over."

"Old Li and Old Liang live far away. Let's go back and forth to call them. We can finish our work and go back to the granary and go home."

"This won't work, and that won't work. You can't just throw the rice on the edge of the field."

The remaining few people were talking at once, only Lu Che remained silent, doing the final finishing work.

"Lu Che." Lu Dazhou suddenly called out. Lu Che bent over and turned his head, asking, "What's the matter?"

Lu Dazhou said in a negotiating tone, "Last time when you were repairing the tractor, I tried driving it for a short distance. I think you have good skills. The distance from the field to the barn is not far. There is only one truckload of rice left. Why don't you drive the tractor to pull it back?"

"Yes, Lu Che, I was there when you drove last time. I think you drive better than Li Xiang and Liang Ming."

"Yes, there will definitely be no problem at this distance."

“…”

In order to avoid having to carry rice by themselves, they all tried their best to say good things. Lu Che didn't really care whether these words were good or not, but he thought that most of the people who had persisted to this point had come as early as he had and worked as hard as he did, so he agreed.

With his consent, everyone worked together to move the rice onto the tractor. Lu Che sat in the driver's seat and rumbled back to the granary.

Lu Dazhou was with him, watching him drive the tractor steadily, and couldn't help but sigh: "Lu Che, what kind of brain do you have? It seems that nothing can stump you, and you can learn everything without a teacher."

Lu Che did not comment on this and smiled without saying anything.

In fact, he had never driven a tractor before. Perhaps it was because men are naturally more sensitive to machines. In addition, he was familiar with the structure of the tractor and had a good idea of ​​how to operate it.

After delivering the rice to the granary, Lu Che returned home at nine o'clock.

The first thing he did was to take a shower. He had been sweating all day, so he had to wash himself clean before hugging his wife.

When he finished his shower and returned to the room, Jiang Yao had already prepared the midnight snack and was waiting for him while knitting a sweater.

"I made you a bowl of braised egg noodles, eat it while it's hot."

Lu Che sat down and looked at the bowl of shiny noodle soup in front of him. He felt warm before he even ate it.

"Wife, thank you for your hard work." He reached out to pull her. She also missed him, so she sat in his arms.

He hugged her tightly, and she leaned on him and said, "It's not hard for me to make a bowl of noodles. You're tired after a whole day of harvesting."

"I'm not tired. I'm not tired as long as you're by my side." As he said that, he went to kiss her.

The kiss didn't last long because Jiang Yao couldn't bear to see him hungry and kept urging him to eat quickly.

After he ate, she said, "The person you should thank the most for this opportunity to go to the repair shop for training is Mr. Yue. The weather is getting colder and colder, and he lives in the cowshed. I want to make him a cotton coat."

Although the family usually secretly sends some delicious food to Mr. Yue, Jiang Yao wants to take better care of him as he is an old man living away from home.

"Sure, just do whatever you want." Lu Che continued eating without even raising his head.

"Okay, I'll give you a rough estimate of the size. If I go and measure it for him, he's sure he won't want it."

After Lu Che finished his midnight snack, the couple snuggled in bed, chatted for a while, kissed for a while, and then went to sleep.

The next day, Jiang Yao didn't know when Lu Che left the house, because when she got up, there was no one around. She touched his seat, and it was already cold, so he must have been at work for a long time.

When she got dressed and walked out, she saw the old lady coming in from the yard. When she saw her, she said, "Cheche, this fellow, not only does he get up early in the morning to go to work, but he also doesn't eat breakfast."

Jiang Yao also frowned when she heard this, "Grandma, how do you know he didn't eat it?"

"There's no breakfast in the pot. If he makes it for himself, there's no way he won't make it for us too."

"..." Jiang Yao cursed this man in her heart for not cherishing his body, but she couldn't bear to see him go hungry, so she said, "I still have some noodles left from last night. I'll cut a few slices of ham, fry two eggs, and make him some noodle soup."

"Okay." The old lady agreed and then said, "Yaoyao, isn't it... too extravagant to eat breakfast like this? The ham your brother sent you was all given to Lu Che at a discount."

"He is the father of my child, so it's cheap." Jiang Yao said with a smile.

The old lady also laughed when she heard this, "How lucky is my grandson to marry such a good wife."

Since there wasn't much noodles and Lu Che was a big eater, Jiang Yao only made one portion and cooked some sweet potatoes and eggs to eat with the old lady.

"Grandma, you eat breakfast first. I'll come back to eat after I deliver breakfast to Lu Che." After Jiang Yao said that, she went out with the lunch box.

At this point, all the laborers in the production team were at work and were busy in the rice fields.

Jiang Yao walked along the edge of the field and occasionally heard the voices of women chatting.

She had no intention of eavesdropping, but when she heard words like "son of a gangster", "second-rate guy", and "troublemaker", she couldn't help but prick up her ears.

But when she was about to hear the main point, she was discovered. Someone shouted, "Hey, isn't it still early? Why is Lu Che's wife here to deliver food?"

The noisy conversations stopped abruptly. Occasionally, a few people looked up at her. Although she couldn't see their expressions clearly because they were too far away, she could feel their wariness towards her.

After calling Lu Che up from the field, she saw that there was no one around, so she asked in a low voice: "What are those women saying about you again?"

"Nothing." Lu Che said, "Li Xiang and Liang Ming went back early last night, and Lu Dazhou asked me to drive a tractor to transport the rice back to the granary. Some people found out and said that I wanted to compete for the position of tractor driver."

"Who wants the position of a tractor driver? Isn't it nice to be a worker?" Jiang Yao was not convinced and her voice became louder unconsciously. Lu Che quickly pulled her aside and said, "I've heard worse things before. This is nothing. They can say whatever they want."

"That's right." Jiang Yao calmed down and kept her composure. She said, "When you become a worker in the repair shop, you will kill those who gossip about you."

In the next few days, the rumor that Lu Che wanted to get promoted and drive a tractor spread to everyone in the production team.

Some curious people went to the Lu family to ask the old lady for news, but the old lady sent them all away with one sentence, "Our Lu Che only likes to repair tractors, not drive them."

Lu Che was still as calm as ever, so calm that Lu Dazhou secretly talked to him, "Do you want to sign up for training? If so, I recommend you to go."

Although he would be under considerable pressure, Lu Che was indeed a good candidate. The tractor was one of the most valuable assets of the production team, and he was worried about it falling into the hands of irresponsible people.

"Thank you, Captain, but I don't want to go."

“…”

After ten days of hard work by Lu Che, five-sixths of the rice fields that the Lu family was responsible for harvesting had been completed.

When Jiang Yao went to deliver food to Lu Che in the evening, she looked at the rice fields that had become bare and said, "Why don't we go back early tonight and work slowly over the next few days?"

She originally thought he would refuse, but he actually agreed and said, "I'll finish some finishing work, you go back first."

He was so straightforward that Jiang Yao was half-believing and half-doubting. Unexpectedly, when she came out of the shower at night and saw him come back, she believed it.

"You're back!" Jiang Yao smiled happily, "Did you have enough for dinner? If not, I'll make you some more."

"No, I'll go take a shower first." Lu Che took clothes from the closet and went out to take a shower.

It was rare for him to be at home so early tonight, so Jiang Yao took out a tape measure, paper and pen, intending to measure his size and make two new sets of clothes.

He only has two sets of presentable clothes, so he can't be too shabby when he becomes a worker.

Lu Che took a long time to take a bath. Jiang Yao waited for a long time before he came back drying his hair.

"Do you want me to help you dry your hair?" Jiang Yao asked.

"No need, my hair is short and will dry quickly." Lu Che said as he walked towards her.

Jiang Yao: "Then let me measure your size and make you two sets of clothes."

"Why are you making clothes for me? You can keep the cloth and make your own clothes. I have clothes to wear."

"Clothes make the man, and Buddhas depend on gold. When you go to work in a factory in the future, you can't always wear clothes full of patches." Jiang Yao ignored him and raised her hands to hug him.

She wanted to measure his chest, but before she could, he had already hugged her, his hot breath swirling in her ears, "Wife, you are three months old now."

"The first two days were enough, how come..." Before he could finish his words, Jiang Yao had already realized the underlying meaning of his words.

"Is it okay?" Lu Che asked with a hoarse voice.

"...Okay." Jiang Yao muttered softly, "But you have to take it easy, okay?"

"Okay, I'll pay attention."

The next day, Lu Che ate breakfast at home. The old lady looked at his full energy and said with a smile: "Cheche, if there is not much work left, don't rush to work these days. Look, I went to bed early last night, so I am in good spirits today."

"..." Jiang Yao couldn't help but complain in her heart after hearing that someone went to bed later than usual last night.

"Grandma, I understand." Lu Che said, "I had a delicious meal last night that I haven't had for a long time, so I'm in a particularly good mood."

"What delicious food are you eating that you haven't eaten for a long time?" the old lady asked curiously.

Jiang Yao's face flushed as she listened. She was afraid that Lu Che would say something shocking, so she immediately replied, "Nothing. He just eats too well recently. I made him a bowl of plain noodles last night and he thought it was delicious."

"I see."

“The noodles last night were quite plain, but at least I got to eat them.” Lu Che said with a curled lip.

"..." Jiang Yao pinched Lu Che's thigh with her hand under the table. Her strength was like a tickle to him, making him feel itchy. He put his hand under the table and held her hand.

After breakfast, Lu Che rode his bike to the county town.

It turned out that the reason he was late for work today was not because he wanted to rest, but because he wanted to go to the maintenance shop to find Director Hu to see if the time for reporting for training had been confirmed.

Jiang Yao hadn't been to the county town for a long time and was clamoring to go. Lu Che couldn't persuade her, so he had to wrap her up tightly before taking her out.

The repair shop is not far from the machinery factory, just three or four minutes’ drive away.

This was Lu Che's second visit. After registering at the gate, he took Jiang Yao to Director Hu's office as if he was familiar with the place.

"When did anyone get into this repair shop? Even the son of a gangster from Qingyuan Village could get in here."

Jiang Yao and Lu Che looked up at the same time, only to see a short man in his twenties walking towards them with a look of disdain on his face.

"Who is this?" Jiang Yao asked in a low voice.

Lu Che: "Do you still remember Chen Shuangyue?"

"Chen Shuangyue? Remember."

"He is Chen Shuangyue's son."

“…”

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The update will still be at 9pm tomorrow night.