The benefit of involving the entire village was that even in the face of the movement's impact, there was no need to worry. No one would betray the village, as everyone knew the source of their current good life. Although no one delved deeply into the details, everyone understood that their current ability to eat and wear warm clothes was entirely due to the village production team, and there was also the fat meat to be exchanged!
Initially, the exchange was conducted every three days, covering only firewood, rice, cooking oil, and salt. Later, it was exchanged every seven days. Gradually, as people's families accumulated enough food and could afford it, they increased the exchange rate to half a month, and now to a monthly basis. The exchange items also expanded significantly, initially expanding from firewood, rice, cooking oil, and salt to include vegetables, meat, eggs, milk powder, malted milk, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, pots, bowls, ladles, basins, clothing, shoes, underwear, autumn warm clothes and pants, winter thick cotton-padded jackets and pants, cotton, cloth, thick door curtains, toilet paper, cooking oil, salt, soap, laundry detergent, facial oil, and even medicines for common ailments like colds, fevers, and diarrhea. Smaller items like reading glasses, thimbles, scratchers, spittoons, and plastic shoe soles were also available. Villagers could freely exchange their work points at the production team warehouse according to their needs.
Professor Dong also wanted to add the thirty-eight legs used for weddings at the beginning, but Jiang Huashu stopped him. Everyday items are easy to hide and explain, but if people from the commune saw the sewing machine and bicycle, it would be difficult to justify it. Moreover, all the villages within a dozen miles are relatives. If someone rode the bicycle to visit relatives and was reported by other villages, it would be terrible. Such items that were afraid of being reported were added seven or eight years later.
Guanjia Village, nestled deep in the mountains, was already isolated from the outside world, and now it was even more so. All goods within the village could be exchanged for work points, making it almost impossible for the people to leave the village. This completely cut off contact with the outside world, effectively protecting the villagers from the impact of the movement.
Across the mountain, in Lijiawan, the situation was similar, even busier than Guanjia Village. Every day, they dug up wild vegetables, wild fruits, wild delicacies, and traditional Chinese medicine from the mountains near Lijiawan. To preserve moisture, they delivered them back in the morning and afternoon, then returned with cartloads of food, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, pots, pans, cotton, clothes, and bedding. The people of Lijiawan, taking advantage of their geographical location, secretly established chicken and duck farms in the mountains with Professor Dong's "help" and consent. Fifteen elderly men were responsible for raising the chickens and ducks every day. The people of Lijiawan were also remarkably united. Jiang Huashu's henchmen, the team leader of the Lijiawan Production Team, brainwashed them every four or five days, telling them to shut up, especially the wives. Anyone who told anyone about it back home would face the consequences.
The original plan was to bring Chunsheng and his siblings along with the second batch of people sent into the space, but later on, Chunsheng and Chunyang's wives' families also expressed their desire to go along. Not only that, Chunmiao also hoped to bring her in-laws along. So, Jiang Huashu asked them to properly deal with their family affairs before entering. As for the third batch of entrants, they also included some people mobilized by Fifth Grandpa. These people have lived in the mountains for a long time and have no contact with the outside world. Fifth Grandpa contacted them through Suihe before. Suihe had lived in the mountains for a long time before and was very familiar with these people. Everyone here has their own story and they had to go up the mountain out of desperation. Some were once bandits and soldiers who turned over a new leaf, and some had committed crimes outside and hid in the mountains. In short, if these people disappeared, the outside world would not look for them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
