Director Zhong smiled and said, "Just wait inside. You're welcome. We've been comrades for many years. Why did you suddenly think of bringing this up today?"
He and Lao Li had indeed discussed privately that the barefoot doctor training should be postponed until the first batch of educated youth arrived. Perhaps some of the educated youth already had medical knowledge, so they wouldn't even need training.
Moreover, if the children from the city can get a slightly easier job that allows them to use their strengths, it would be a good thing and the significance of sending educated youth to the countryside.
He and Lao Li both felt that it was unrealistic to expect them to do farm work. Not to mention the city kids, even the kids in their commune, who had grown up eating commercial grain, didn't seem cut out for farm work.
But this was just their opinion, not absolute. Even now, it seemed they might have been wrong. Given such an opportunity, it didn't seem right to leave the members aside and give it to the educated youth.
Director Yan smiled and said, "Last night our brigade held a women's meeting to review the past and look forward to the future. The young women in our brigade mentioned these two things to me.
As you both know, women in a family shoulder more household chores, including shopping and caring for sick elderly and children. Therefore, their demand for sales outlets and clinics largely represents the needs of the general public. So I thought I'd come and discuss this with you today to see if it's feasible.
Secretary Li smiled and said, "What if it doesn't work?"
Director Yan said, "Then analyze why it's not working, and then create the conditions to make it work."
Secretary Li and Director Zhong both laughed, "You're really determined to succeed."
"Of course. If we want to achieve a goal, we must have the courage to move forward and strive for success. How can we start by thinking about failure?"
☆
On the other side, Xie Yun arrived at the grain store, stomped his feet hard at the door to get rid of the snow on his feet, and then went into the house.
"Mom, Aunt Wang, Sister Chen."
"Binbin is here. Come sit by the stove and get some warm food."
"Why."
Zhang Ruifeng helped her take the basket down, pulled her to sit next to the stove, and reminded her: "Don't put your feet too close. The woolen nest is most afraid of fire. It will catch fire if it gets a spark."
"Yeah, I know."
Xie Shen poured her a glass of water and asked her to drink it while warming her hands.
Xie Yun looked at the brand new enamel pot and looked at Xie Shen in confusion. Whose is it?
Xie Shen whispered, "Our mom just sent it today. She also gave us a set of work clothes, gloves, and a towel."
Xie Yun was very happy for Zhang Ruifeng. He took the enamel pot and examined it carefully, saying, "It's really beautiful."
Xie Shen chuckled.
There was no one in the store at the moment. Everyone was doing their own things and chatting casually.
Wang Shuzhen said as she was sewing shoe soles: "I don't know if we'll have a holiday this year. Last year, we didn't have a single day off."
Chen Lihong was sewing insoles and didn't even look up when she heard this: "I just wonder if I can still have the "Remembering the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness" meal on my 30th this year."
Wang Shuzhen: “…”
Xie Yun asked, "What is the "Recalling the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness" rice in our grain store made of?"
Chen Lihong thought for a moment and said, "It's just wild vegetables, tree bark, bran, corn cobs, and a little sweet potato flour cooked together. I don't know what the wild vegetables we ate last year were, but I had diarrhea all night after eating it. I almost lost my baby."
Xie Yun: “…”
Wang Shuzhen was still terrified. "At that time, Xiao Chen was pregnant, more than five months pregnant. She was taken to the health center that day because of the pain. She had to take several days off."
Xie Yun: “…”
Xie Shen: “…”
Zhang Ruifeng: “…”
Zhang Ruifeng said, "Last year during the Spring Festival, our brigade also had the "Recalling the Bitterness and Thinking of the Sweetness" meal. We set up a big pot at the brigade headquarters and steamed steamed buns made with sweet potato flour, bran, corn cobs, and leftover bean curd residue from making tofu. Each person got one. It wasn't very tasty, but it didn't make anyone sick."
Xie Yun asked, "Who cooked the meal last year?"
"Who else could it be? Stationmaster Xu made it himself."
Xie Yun said, "It's very well done. Let's not do it this year."
Wang Shuzhen laughed heartily. "That's what I meant. If we still have the "Remember the Bitterness and Think of the Sweetness" meal this year, I'm going to rush to make it. We can't let him bring trouble to us again."
Chen Lihong sighed and said, "It's Chinese New Year, I still hope to have a few days off."
Wang Shuzhen said, "Just listen to the notice. If you can release it, then release it. If you can't, then you have no choice but to persevere."
Xie Yun didn't say anything, she knew she still couldn't take the holiday this year.
In the past, there were three days of holidays for the Spring Festival, but now, the Spring Festival, as a part of traditional culture, has become the object of revolution.
The Spring Festival must be celebrated, but it must be a "revolutionary Spring Festival." In January 1967, a worker wrote a letter to a newspaper, proposing a "stay home for the Spring Festival" initiative and commenting, "What's the Spring Festival? Our grandest festival has arrived!"
Then, the most authoritative newspaper in the country immediately responded to the public's call and issued a notice to "break the old customs and not take holidays during the Spring Festival". At the same time, it suspended home visit leave and would make it up later.
Major train and bus stations broadcast announcements that there would be no Spring Festival holiday. Many people who had purchased train and bus tickets to go home for the New Year had no choice but to cancel their tickets and return to work.
The same couplet is posted all over the country: Don't stop the war on the 30th, continue the work on the 1st.
Not only were there no holidays, but on New Year's Eve, each unit had to organize a meal to recall the bitter past and cherish the sweet past. During the meal, each unit would play the White Haired Girl on loudspeakers, with Xier's wails shaking the earth.
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