Chapter 182 All Going Up the Mountain, Yam
Gu Yuehuai arrived at the village entrance following the sound of the bell. The members of the commune had nothing to do and were worried about the food shortage. When they heard the bell, they packed up their things and gathered at the village entrance to see if the branch secretary had any solution.
Gu Zhifeng and Gu Tinghuai also came, and they waved to Gu Yuehuai.
Although there is no shortage of food at home, at times like this we must stand together with the other members, otherwise we will easily arouse suspicion.
Wang Fu seemed to be in better spirits today. He said, "Comrades, although we have a long holiday, the food shortage is urgent. The team has organized us to go up the mountain to find food!"
Upon hearing this, all the members looked at each other.
Wang Fu added: "Of course, this is not mandatory, but there are wolves and wild boars in the mountains. It's not safe. If the team doesn't organize everyone, we won't be able to go into the mountains. We can get traps to catch wild boars and rabbits. We won't starve to death!"
At this time, someone in the crowd shouted, "Secretary! When will the work points be exchanged for food? Who will go first and who will go later?"
This topic immediately caused a stir. The team had limited food, so whoever changed first would get it first. For a moment, the members looked at each other with vigilance and everyone started arguing.
"My family is an advanced member of the cooperative, and we are all strong laborers. When exchanging work points, we must be given priority!"
"Bullshit! My family is a model worker. Why should I exchange food for your family first?"
"I have old people and young children at home. If I don't have food, I can't survive. Secretary, we are all from the same brigade. You can't just stand by and watch us die! My whole family, old and young, depends on that little bit of food to survive!"
“…”
Gu Zhifeng looked at the villagers around him, with pity and sympathy flashing in his tiger eyes.
They all experienced the famine years together. At that time, corpses were everywhere and eating one's own children was a common occurrence. Some even left their homes to seek a living in distant places, and even now no one knows whether they are dead or alive.
At the end of the day, these people are just trying to survive.
Gu Tinghuai turned his head to look at the calm Gu Yuehuai and whispered, "Nannan, how do you think the secretary is going to distribute the food?"
Gu Yuehuai pursed his lips and looked at Wang Fu, who was standing at the top with his back straight. His spirit today was completely different from yesterday, which showed that he had already made up his mind and knew how to deal with this group of difficult members.
She opened her red lips slightly and said calmly, "Count the grain in a comprehensive way and distribute it equally."
Hearing this, Gu Tinghuai was stunned and said in a lost voice: "Equal distribution? Would everyone agree to that?"
As the saying goes, "Work points, work points, the lifeblood of commune members!" This is the remuneration for labor. How much grain each household can get at the end of the year depends entirely on this. Because of food shortage, it is not distributed according to work points, but equally instead. Who would be willing to do that?
Families with many strong laborers earn more work points and are "food-surplus households" every year. Equal distribution is equivalent to distributing their own grain to "food-deficient households" in disguise, which can cause a lot of trouble.
Gu Yuehuai curled the corners of his lips: "What if they don't want to? If it's not shared equally, someone will starve to death."
In his previous life, Wang Fu announced the decision to distribute food equally when his hair was almost turning white with worry. The team did cause a big commotion, but if they didn't do that, it would be a big problem who would get the food first and who would get it later. It wouldn't make sense to give it to anyone first.
In the year of famine, in order to ensure the survival of everyone in every household, everyone finally agreed to this decision.
Gu Tinghuai sighed, his face full of melancholy.
Gu Yuehuai's "guess" was soon confirmed. Wang Fu, who was in the head position, was silent for a moment and said, "We are all from the same team. We have known each other since childhood and see each other every day. At this critical moment, shouldn't we unite and tide over the difficulties together? Therefore, the team decided to distribute the food equally to every household!"
After these words were spoken, the crowd was quiet at first, and then they became completely excited.
The members of the "surplus grain households" immediately shouted: "Why? Why should we divide it equally? My family has a lot of strong laborers. We have saved up so many work points this year. If we divide the grain equally, won't it be all in vain? Why should we work for nothing?"
The "food-deficient households" were overjoyed after hearing Wang Fu's words. After all, they had to borrow food every year because they were hungry. But this year, they could share the food equally. This meant they got a great deal. They praised him again and again: "The secretary's decision is for the survival of our entire brigade. It's correct! If the commune doesn't care about us, the brigade will. We agree!"
The crowd split into two groups and began to argue fiercely.
Wang Fu, however, had a calm expression on his face, not at all fazed by the situation. After all, he had already thought of this outcome when he made the decision. Now that there was no fight, it was already better than he expected.
After everyone argued for a long time, Wang Fu raised his hand and rang the bell.
“Boom—boom—boom—”
The bell rang in everyone's ears, and the scene became quiet in an instant.
Wang Fu tapped the pipe in his hand and sat down on the stone under the big bell.
He said, "The team has already made a decision. No matter how much you object, it will be useless. In the current situation, we can only ensure our survival. Everything else is secondary. I hope you comrades can treat it rationally. When the situation gets better next year, we will compensate you."
Wang Peisheng echoed from the side: "Now, we should not focus on the little food left in the team. We should think about how to live better! We live by the mountains and rivers, catch fish and shrimps, trap rabbits and wild boars, and we will never lack food. But you should know that it is not only our Dalaozi Production Brigade that is short of food now!"
"If we don't make plans for the future, will we regret it when the other brigades have looted all the food? By then it will be too late. When we are hungry we can only eat grass roots and tree bark!"
"Okay, we've said everything we can and should say. Go back and pack your bags, and let's organize our way up the mountain!"
Once the two village cadres said this, it was a done deal.
Wang Peisheng's words obviously touched the hearts of all the members. Indeed, the mountain is so big and the river is so deep. If you don't go to find food, someone else will. By then, what will be left for the Dalaozi Production Team?
The members of the cooperative had their own thoughts, but under the circumstances, they did not continue arguing and went home to carry their baskets and pick up their baskets.
Gu Zhifeng and Gu Tinghuai also went back, while Gu Yuehuai walked towards Wang Fu and asked, "Secretary, do the educated youth want to go up the mountain together? There isn't much work to do in the feeding office, so it would be nice if we could go together to find food."
Wang Fu took a puff of his pipe, smiled bitterly and nodded: "That's right. At this time, we should find as much food as possible. Xiao Gu, go and inform the educated youths to go up the mountain together. It's difficult in the team..."
Gu Yuehuai listened to Wang Fu's sighs, pondered for a moment, and said, "Secretary, I know there is a wild yam field on the mountain. Now is the season. Let's go there before other teams do. We should be able to get a harvest."
Yam has large tubers and white, tender and juicy flesh. It is rich in sugar and protein and can be eaten raw or cooked.
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