It rained at night, and while the people of Qijia Village could sleep peacefully, the people in the surrounding villages sighed, lamenting that their crops had been soaked and they would go hungry again this year.
Early the next morning, adults and children alike from Qijia Village rushed to the threshing ground. Although the grain had been covered with plastic sheeting the previous afternoon, people were still worried that the wind and rain during the night might have blown the sheeting up and soaked the grain. When they saw the plastic sheeting lifted, revealing the dry rice, they finally felt relieved.
No more hunger this winter!
Secretary Qi didn't sleep well last night. Now that people have arrived, he made arrangements, went to the canteen for a meal, and then went home to rest.
When Secretary Qi saw Qi Xiaoyan washing dishes in the dining hall, he quickly walked over and said, "Xiaoyan, thank you so much this time, otherwise..."
"Dad, don't rush to praise me. This is all thanks to you and those educated youth." Qi Xiaoyan wiped her hands and served her father rice. "Dad, eat something quickly. You didn't sleep well all night. After you finish eating, go and get some sleep over there!"
It's so wonderful that my daughter is so filial!
Secretary Qi picked up his rice bowl and ate heartily.
If it weren't for his daughter, he wouldn't be in the mood to eat so peacefully. If the food gets wet, there won't be any food left, so how can he eat?
Qi Xiaoyan was also very happy because she reminded her father that he had not made any mistakes and had done a great service, and the villagers would be more supportive of his decision.
The villagers were overjoyed because they had saved their grain.
Before noon, news spread that many villages in Taoyuan County, including Hujia Village and Wangjia Village, had not taken precautions and had not properly covered their rice before the rainstorm. Almost all the grain was soaked and left to thaw overnight, becoming warm inside.
I laid the grain out to dry early this morning, but some of it still spoiled.
Qijia Village also has many relatives from Hujia Village and Wangjia Village. At first, they were very happy to hear the news, but then they worried that their relatives would not have enough food and would definitely come to borrow some.
These days, food is life itself, even more valuable than money. If we lend it, we won't have enough to eat; if we don't, our relatives will probably starve to death.
After Secretary Qi woke up, he called all the villagers to a meeting at the threshing ground during his afternoon rest. Given yesterday's events, a village-wide meeting was necessary to summarize experiences and commend outstanding individuals.
"Do you know why our village was able to escape this rain?" Secretary Qi said loudly, standing on the high platform.
"The Party Secretary is truly wise!"
"Yes, if it weren't for the Party Secretary, we wouldn't have been able to avoid this..."
Everyone praised Secretary Qi for his skill.
Secretary Qi waved his hand and said with a smile, "This is not my achievement. It was my daughter Xiaoyan and Wang Lei, Zhang Qingshan and other educated youths who saw the ants marching in groups from low to high and the foam in the pond. These are all signs that it will rain, so I made preparations in advance and protected our village's grain. These people are great heroes of our village, so I am praising them at today's meeting."
"Oh, it's Xiao Yan!"
"Those educated youth were not bad either..."
"People who study are smart..."
In the past, everyone thought these educated youths were spoiled, but now that they hear Secretary Qi praising them, the villagers are convinced and give them a thumbs up.
Wang Lei and Zhang Qingshan also stood up, cupped their hands in greeting to the villagers, and said, "Although we are from out of town, now that we've been assigned to Qijia Village, we're practically half villagers of Qijia Village, so we naturally have something to say. If we say anything wrong, please don't mind, uncles, aunts, and elders!"
"It's okay if we're wrong about what we say, because we care about the food and our Qijia Village. We're not indiscriminate people," Qi Shuming laughed. "Yesterday was sunny, who knew it would rain! You all have scientific knowledge, so feel free to offer any good suggestions. If we're wrong, it'll just be a little more work, but preserving the food is better than anything else. Everyone, don't you agree?"
"That's right, that's right." Everyone echoed, and their opinion of the educated youth changed.
Secretary Qi added, "It's busy with farming now, so I won't say much more. We'll hold an awards ceremony after the harvest and then reward these educated youth properly."
"They deserve a good reward..."
Most villagers are reasonable; if someone has made a great contribution, then they should be rewarded.
After the threshing floor dried, the busy farming season proceeded steadily. After a rain, the weather remained fine until the last grain of rice was stored in the granary, when the sun was still shining brightly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Before the rain, the county commune sent people down to assess the damage caused by the heavy rain. Some villages that acted quickly managed to protect themselves, while others that acted slowly were completely soaked, suffering heavy losses. Arriving at the most remote Qijia Village, we received a pleasant surprise: not a single grain of food had been wet.
The person in charge of the inspection was very happy. This was a typical example of Taoyuan County's foresight! He told Secretary Qi directly that after the busy farming season, when he went to the commune to report on his work, County Chief Liu would personally commend Secretary Qi and Qijia Village.
Secretary Qi, carrying his account books and his precious black leather notebook, had Qi Ergou drive an oxcart to the county town for a meeting.
As the village party secretary, Secretary Qi led the village effectively, mitigating the losses suffered by the people. He was personally awarded by County Head Liu with a Hero brand fountain pen and a bottle of blue ink.
Qijia Village successfully completed its autumn harvest and received the most rewards: twenty straw hats, twenty towels, several washbasins, and a kettle.
After returning to the village, Secretary Qi, Zhao Dajiao, and other village cadres finalized the list of award recipients and held an awards ceremony, allowing outstanding individuals to go on stage to receive their awards.
Qi Xiaoyan, He Tiantian, Sister Wu, and Ye Xiaofan each received a new towel.
Wang Lei and Zhang Qingshan, each with a thermos.
Although these things were few, they allowed the villagers to get to know these educated youth in a new way, which was an unexpected bonus.
The rest were distributed to the village's model workers. Those who received the items were all hardworking and diligent, which was evident to all and generally acknowledged by everyone.
Don't even think about it if you're as cunning and deceitful as Lin Xiaoru!
Back at the educated youth settlement, Sister Wu took Wang Lei's kettle directly. She and Ye Xiaofan shared a room, using the kettle together. Wang Lei and Zhang Qingshan shared a room, also using the kettle.
Seeing that Sister Wu, Ye Xiaofan, and He Tiantian had received things, Lin Xiaoru was envious. They had also worked, so why did those people get things while she didn't?
Huang Jingli was self-aware. Even if she envied others, she knew she didn't work as hard as them and therefore didn't receive any rewards, which was understandable.
The other two men at the educated youth settlement received rewards, but Li Mingkai did not, which made him lose face, so he stayed in the room and refused to come out.
Huang Jingli went to cook, and just as she finished, Lin Xiaoru and Li Mingkai came out.
Lin Xiaoru frowned when she saw that there were only three bowls of porridge on the table. "We have so much grain for a month, and it's all gone so quickly? And during the busy farming season, we eat in the canteen."
Li Mingkai's stomach was growling with hunger, and he was quite unhappy. He only had this one bowl of porridge, and he would wake up hungry before he even went to sleep.
Upon hearing this, and seeing Li Mingkai's expression, Huang Jingli felt a tightness in her chest, her face flushed red, and she said, "Who said we should eat well before the busy farming season so we have the strength to work? Are you implying I'm stealing food? In that case, let's eat separately!" (To be continued.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com