He Tiantian was diligent, which made Aunt Liu much more relaxed and happy.
Aunt Liu was overjoyed and said, "Then we must work harder today, finish early, and rest early."
The two reached the mountainside, found the spot where they needed to cut grass that day, and began to get to work.
This time, instead of cutting one basketful at a time and sending it down the mountain, we cut a whole bunch at once, then spread them out on the ground to dry. In just one morning, they were half-dry. This way, we could hold more grass of the same weight and volume.
The four baskets harvested this morning are more than the five baskets harvested before, which is more efficient. Once they are transported down the mountain, they only need to be dried a little more before they can be stacked together. After the autumn harvest, they can be chopped into smaller pieces, packed into burlap sacks, and stored indoors as fodder for livestock during the winter.
With the help of Professor Gu, Professor Wang, and others, the grass that was lying in the sun at the entrance of the livestock team dried faster after being turned over.
Aunt Liu was naturally very happy that these people helped with the work, and she spoke to them with great kindness and gentleness.
After a few days of rest, except for Old Man Bai who had a broken leg and needed more time to recover, everyone else was able to move around and work again. With enough to eat each day and the occasional chicken soup, the seven of them recovered quickly.
Zuo Li and Xiang Rong recovered the fastest. Even without Secretary Qi's instructions, they had already taken baskets and gone up the mountain to cut grass with He Tiantian and Aunt Liu. Qian Shikun and Sun Sihao were not strong enough to carry heavy loads, so they could only cut grass.
Finally, before the busy autumn harvest season, the livestock team exceeded its target.
Secretary Qi received the grain from the commune for the educated youth and those sent down to the countryside, and distributed it all to them without withholding a single grain.
Secretary Qi came personally, bringing over grain and some daily necessities such as pots and pans.
"Gentlemen, please make do for a while. After the harvest season is over, I will take some people to the back mountain to cut down some trees and set up beds. That way, you can stay more comfortable and warm when it gets cold," Secretary Qi said. He felt that since these people had volunteered to work, he should treat them better.
Zuo Li smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Secretary Qi. The busy farming season is coming soon. Except for Brother Bai, who has a broken bone and can't work, everyone else can work and is ready to follow Secretary Qi's instructions at any time."
Secretary Qi waved his hand and said, "It's not really an instruction. The commune said that after the busy farming season, you should each write a self-criticism report, and the village will write comments based on your performance and send it up. As long as you can do what you're doing now, without talking too much and working too hard, the village won't make things difficult for you."
Xiang Rong rubbed his hands together and said, "Thank you for your care, Secretary Qi. We will definitely work hard."
Compared to having one's dignity trampled underfoot, a little hard work is nothing!
"Alright, the commune was originally going to come and inspect our work, but it's busy with farming recently, so this week's re-education conference has been canceled. We'll make up for past mistakes with labor," Secretary Qi said. He thought, "Can all that stuff produce grain?" He strongly agreed with County Chief Liu's approach: get the grain back, don't go hungry, and then think about other things.
Upon hearing that they wouldn't be dragged out, the men's brows relaxed. They preferred to work rather than be pointed at, pelted with stones and clods of dirt like criminals.
Labor has dignity, and dragging them out like that is to trample their human dignity underfoot.
"I promise to work hard," Xiang Rong said, his body ramrod straight, heels together, almost ready to salute.
Secretary Qi was taken aback, vaguely seeing the shadow of a soldier in Xiang Rong, just like his son.
"Alright, alright, you all get some rest. The food is all here," Secretary Qi said kindly. "If you have any difficulties, just come to me. A good comrade is one who admits his mistakes and corrects them. Learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones is our consistent principle."
To prevent others from labeling him arbitrarily, Secretary Qi first chose an easy-to-wear label for himself.
After Secretary Qi left, everyone thought things would finally be calm and they could focus on large-scale production. But the next morning, people from the commune suddenly came to Qijia Village for a surprise inspection.
"Qi Dazhu, someone has reported you for protecting those who have been sent to the countryside. We cannot tolerate this and you must cooperate with our investigation." A group of people dressed in Liberation Army uniforms, with pens in their breast pockets and green canvas bags slung across their shoulders, walked up to Qi Dazhu, swaggering around. They seemed ready to arrest Qi Dazhu immediately if he resisted or if his attitude was unfriendly.
Qi Dazhu recognized this man; his name was Zhou Sihai, and he was about twenty years old. He used to work as a boiler operator in a textile factory in the county town. Because he had exposed many people and leaders in the textile factory, he had gained the favor of Director Zheng of the commune. Every time Qi Dazhu went to the county town, he would see Zhou Sihai leading groups of people through re-education sessions.
Whether those people were guilty or not, Qi Dazhu didn't know, but he had long heard that Zhou Sihai was no good. However, Qi Dazhu had served as a secretary for many years and had seen the world, so even though he was anxious inside, he remained very calm on the surface.
When Zhou Sihai said that someone had reported him for protecting those who had been sent down to the countryside, Zhou Sihai felt a pang of unease. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that from beginning to end, he had been doing everything according to the commune's requirements. On the surface, he had not engaged in any favoritism or corruption, let alone protected anyone.
Since there are no flaws, there's no need to fear being reported or exposed.
Qi Dazhu, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Sihai's expression, smiled and calmly said, "The day after these people arrived in the village, I started arranging for the entire village to undergo labor reform. Just the day before yesterday, I sent their self-criticisms to the commune, which were approved by Director Zheng. At the meeting, Director Zheng said that with the busy farming season approaching, these people should undergo arduous labor reform to correct their thinking, and then undergo further re-education and write self-criticisms during the busy farming season. I did everything according to the commune's instructions; how could I be protecting those who were sent down?"
Zhou Sihai was taken aback. In the villages he had visited before, he was always respected and treated with awe. Others could only bow down and act subservient in his presence.
But Qi Dazhu remained neither humble nor arrogant; he simply refused to cooperate! Since that's the case, then let Qi Dazhu know what they're capable of.
“Someone has reported you, proving that you haven’t done your job properly. You’ve reached the end of your tenure as Secretary Qi.” Zhou Sihai sneered. “Comrade Qi Dazhu, you have made a serious mistake. I am now giving you a solemn warning: you must draw a clear line between yourself and those people. You cannot make mistakes in your thinking, or you will be punished the same as them.”
A despicable person, a complete and utterly despicable person.
They say I, Qi Dazhu, have made a serious mistake! You think I've made a mistake just because you say so? Don't you even know who you are?!
You think you're worthy?
Despite his disdain, Qi Dazhu dared not relax. Zhou Sihai had previously re-educated many people this week. Now that they were targeting him, he would be constantly harassed if he didn't handle the situation properly.
"Director Zhou, the person who reported me doesn't understand anything about our village. If you don't believe me, you can ask the villagers if I'm acting according to the county committee's instructions," Secretary Qi said solemnly. He had done a good job, and even if other villagers spoke, they wouldn't say anything bad about him.
"Heh!" Zhou Sihai chuckled maliciously, taking out a letter from a shoulder bag. "Others may not know the situation in your village, but this letter of accusation was written by someone from your village. He knows everything about what's going on in your village. What excuse do you have?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com