Without saying anything, the captain dragged Zhang Xudong out of the yard, not even paying attention to the two bottles of wine next to the bench. As he walked, he shouted into the house:
"Old woman, please put the wine under the tree away for me. It's a gift from Dong Wazi."
"Dongzi, think about it again. Is there any other solution? As long as it can make the members live a good life, I will give you the position of team leader."
"Third Grandpa, please come on. I'm still a child, a baby."
"Yes, you are a treasure, a treasure to our entire team. You want to transfer your household registration back, right? Tomorrow I will ask the accountant, your uncle Dayou, to go with you to handle it. I guarantee that it will be done for you in one day."
"Third Grandpa, please don't. I can handle it myself when the time comes. As long as the brigade can accept us, it will be fine."
"Accept it, you must accept it. Anyone who objects can get the hell out of the village."
"Third Uncle, are there many reeds around here?" Zhang Xudong saw that the captain was getting more and more exaggerated and had to interrupt him.
"A lot, of course there aren't a lot! The river fork not far away is covered with reeds." After saying this, he paused for a moment, and without moving, he stood there and asked:
"What? Do you have any new ideas?" He just said one sentence, and saw Zhuzi coming out of the house, and shouted again:
"Zhuzi, go notify the secretary, accountant, women's director, militia company commander, and three squad leaders to go to the brigade headquarters for a meeting. Run fast, you bastard, and tell them that as long as they are not dead, they must come immediately." After shouting, he urged Zhang Xudong again:
"You little kid, if you have something to say, just say it now. Tell me what you think." Zhang Xudong scratched his head helplessly. "Did you give me time to talk?" Alas, being small means you have no human rights!
"Third Grandpa, if there were more reeds, the brigade could organize a weaving group. We could use the reeds to weave curtains, mats, baskets, mats, baskets, reed fences, and so on. They all make money! The team only needs to invest in labor, not a penny for materials. The reeds we cut during land reclamation can also be used, you see..." Before Zhang Xudong could finish, the brigade leader jumped up and yelled:
"I'm watching, I'm watching shit, I'm watching. You idiot, you have so many good ideas, why didn't you tell me earlier? What's wrong with you feeling good watching everyone starve?
"Go, go, go, hurry to the brigade headquarters and take out everything in your stomach. Even if it's shit, you have to smell it first to see if it smells good or not."
Zhang Xudong rolled his eyes and thought, only whale shit smells good!
The grandfather and grandson chatted and chatted as they came to the brigade headquarters. When everyone arrived, they laid out the four things.
After hearing this, none of the cadres from the various teams objected and all expressed their strong support.
The old secretary said that he would go to the commune with the team leader tomorrow to deal with the thinning of seedlings and dam construction, and he would persuade them to get the job done no matter how hard they tried.
The militia company commander and three squad leaders announced they would begin organizing members to cut reeds and cultivate vegetables tomorrow. The women's director announced they would immediately begin organizing women to form a weaving group.
Everyone's reaction is understandable. Life was tough for every family, eating a porridge made from roots, wild vegetables, and straw all day, barely filling their stomachs. Now that they have the hope of getting food and a full stomach, who wouldn't be anxious?
Then everyone discussed some details, some possible difficulties, and how to solve them. Finally, the old village chief asked:
"Dongzi, do you have anything else to say?"
"I don't have much else to say, except to remind you not to have too many people in the knitting group at once. First, find a few skilled people and figure out what to make, how to do it, and what the necessary steps are.
Then, we'll make some samples and test them at supply and marketing cooperatives or markets. We'll see if our products are lacking or if there's room for improvement. Then, we'll add more staff based on sales.
It's best to first ask someone to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if they have any reed products. If they do, learn from their experience. Only if they have better quality and newer styles will they be marketable."
"Look, the more you read, the more you know. What Dongzi said is something we haven't thought of, right? We can't just rush in and do it. Otherwise, we'll end up with a lot of work and a bunch of terrible stuff. That's not good." Everyone nodded after hearing this.
"Also, do you guys have the energy to work now? Does the team have any food stored? If so, can you give some food to the people who go to work? We can't let people get tired out!" After hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and sighed.
The team leader thought for a while before saying, "There's only a little grain left in the team headquarters, and we're going to use it for seeds. We'd rather starve to death than eat grain and seeds. This is a rule passed down from generation to generation." After thinking for a while, he said:
"I do have some money, but I have no place to buy food!"
"Third Uncle, do you know the current price of grain?" He told everyone the grain prices he knew, and several people were stunned.
The team leader shook his head and sighed, "According to what you said, the entire team's money would only be enough to buy a little over 100 kilograms of sorghum rice."
"Can we find food in the mountains behind our village?"
"The trees on the outer mountains have been mostly cut down, and the drought means the grass hasn't grown. So there's nothing out there. Rabbits and pheasants have all gone deep into the mountains."
"You can't go deep into the mountains. There are wolves and wild boars there. Last spring, during the famine, some people were starving and went into the mountains to look for food. But no one came out."
No one dared to go in after that. Even now, I don’t have the strength to go into the mountains. I can’t even walk into the mountains!”
Several people shook their heads. They discussed a few other things, clarified their respective tasks for tomorrow, and then adjourned the meeting. Of course, Zhang Xudong was free from official duties, so he had nothing to do.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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