"I have two things to tell you today, one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" On September 31st, after the last class, Li Xin walked into the classroom with a smile on her face.
The classroom suddenly became quiet, and the students' eyes all turned to her with a hint of curiosity and expectation.
“No one asked, so I’ll tell you the good news first.
Tomorrow is National Day, so we have three days off. This period is also busy farming season, and many of our students are from production teams, so we'll give you four more days off, for a total of seven days off." As soon as Li Xin finished speaking, the classroom erupted in enthusiastic cheers and applause, with many people shouting.
"It's vacation time."
"I didn't know what to do for seven days."
"Okay, be quiet, now comes the bad news.
"After we get back from vacation, we'll have midterm exams on Friday and Saturday. Everyone, be prepared! Don't just play around and forget about studying." Li Xin's tone grew serious, and the smile faded a bit. The students' laughter and cheers gradually died down, replaced by a tense and uneasy atmosphere.
After saying that, Li Xin smiled, waved to the students, and left the classroom. The students packed their bags and gathered in groups to discuss their holiday plans. Although they were a little nervous about the exams, they were more excited and anticipating the upcoming long vacation.
Outside the window, the setting sun dyed the sky golden, and a gentle autumn breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness. In the classroom, longing for the holiday and study plans intertwined, forming the most heartwarming scene of late September.
The next day was National Day.
That morning, they got up at around five o'clock, and after breakfast, they couldn't wait to rush to the brigade.
The task of watering and caring for the mushrooms at home was given to Yu Yang.
Look, it’s not even seven o’clock yet, and they’ve returned to the team.
At this time, many young members of the production team gathered in the banyan tree square of the brigade.
We are going to hunt in the mountains today. Many people are carrying hunting rifles, ropes, baskets, shoulder poles, hatchets and other tools. Everyone's face is filled with excitement and anticipation.
The sun has not yet risen completely, and only a faint blue-purple color appears on the horizon. The air is mixed with the freshness of soil and dew, which makes people feel refreshed.
Although the 1975 hunting rifle is a bit old, it can still exert considerable power in the hands of these experienced hunters.
"Uncle Xu, I'm back." When Zhang Wenmin returned to the production brigade, he saw that many young team members had already started gathering. He hurried forward and greeted Xu Qunyi in the team with a smile.
Xu Qunyi was not only the team leader of the production team, but he also organized and led every mountain-clearing activity.
"Wenmin, you came at the right time. We were just about to set off. Here's the gun for you, take it." Xu Qunyi showed a kind smile on his face when he saw Zhang Wenmin.
Then, he was handed a gun.
Their production team only has a few hunting rifles, and those who hold the rifles are all good hunters with rich experience. Zhang Wenmin, as a leader among the younger generation, is naturally one of them.
He took the gun and carefully inspected it, making sure it was fully loaded and the trigger was working properly. Once he was sure everything was working correctly, he slung it securely over his shoulder. The wood of the gun was smooth from age, while the cold metal exuded a power that was not to be underestimated.
"Everyone is ready, let's go." Xu Qunyi's voice rang out among the crowd, with unquestionable majesty and leadership.
........。
On the other side, Zhang Qiurui, Zhang Mingqi and Zhang Wenmin separated and went straight home.
After returning home, the Zhang family also prepared things for going up the mountain, including fishing nets, hatchets, ropes, backpacks and some dry food.
In the original body's memory, clearing the mountain every year was a major event for the production team. The production team would start preparations a few days in advance to ensure that everything would be safe when going up the mountain.
The captain organizes a group to hunt in the mountains. After the prey is hunted, it will be distributed according to the population. This is a collective hunting.
In addition, there is another way of hunting which is small-scale hunting by individuals or families. They mainly search for various edible things in the mountains to take home for the winter, or collect some mountain delicacies to supplement their family income.
There is only this one hunting trip every year. No matter what good things you find in the mountains, the people in the team will not ask any questions.
If at other times, you were looking for good things in the mountains and were discovered by a large group of people, then you were digging into the corner of capitalism. If someone made trouble and the matter became a big deal, you would be criticized.
Therefore, every year when the brigade organizes a hunt in the mountains, each household will send someone to search for edible things to bring back.
"Now that you two are back, let's go up the mountain and search for something to eat.
Mingren, both of you should go to Laoer's house. Minghua, you stay home to look after Mingduo and Mingxia. We might not come back for dinner. If you're hungry, make yourself some porridge. Remember to cook more and make it thicker.
If we come back early, we can still have some drinks." When Zhou Guihua saw her little girl and granddaughter coming back, she quickly greeted them and told Minghua to stay home to look after the house.
"Grandma, I will take good care of my sisters." Minghua nodded solemnly like a little adult.
"Then let's go." After each person carried a backpack and took a hoe, a hatchet, a fishing net and a rope, Zhou Guihua led the team, leading Gao Erping, Xie Lin, Zhang Qiurui, Zhang Mingqi and Zhang Mingren to the back mountain of the brigade.
As for the members of the second team of the brigade, most of them stayed in the brigade, including Zhang Ercheng.
On the way, we also met other families from the brigade. We greeted each other and talked and laughed as we went into the mountains.
Once they entered the mountain, they all separated tacitly, so as to avoid looking for food or good things and becoming jealous and fighting for them, which would hurt the harmony and feelings.
The mountain behind is also very large. Hundreds of people went in and dispersed, and in a short while, no one was seen.
Based on past experience, Zhou Guihua and her group specifically headed for areas with lush vegetation and few wild animals. In such places, one could often find a lot of wild fruits, vegetables, or traces left by small animals.
"Everyone, be careful with your steps. The road in the mountains is not like the flat ground. There are many rocks and potholes. Be careful not to fall." Zhou Guihua walked in front and looked back from time to time to remind the people behind her.
"Mom, with so many of us, why don't we split up into two groups so that we can search for more mountain products? What do you think?" Seeing that so many people gathered together and the efficiency did not seem high, Zhang Qiurui put forward his own suggestion.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Guihua stopped, turned around and looked at everyone, with a thoughtful gleam in her eyes.
She looked around and saw that everyone had stopped, waiting for her decision, so she slowly spoke, "Qiu Rui's suggestion is good, but we have to ensure everyone's safety. How about this? We'll split into two teams. Ming Qi, the second brother's family, and I will form one team. Qiu Rui, you, your sister-in-law, and Ming Ren will form the other team so we can look after each other."
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