In mid-March, the weather in Northeast Province warmed up and the spring plowing season officially began. Schools began to give spring plowing holidays one after another. Even teachers and students returned to their homes to help with the plowing. Su Jin and Yun Feng stayed in the staff quarters.
In their own private plots, Lu Shiyi and Lin Zitao took hoes and started to plant wheat. Many families also started to farm. People in the north planted more wheat. In addition to the monthly rations, the food in these private plots was the family's food.
"Minister Lu, does your family also grow wheat?" Many sisters-in-law looked at Lu Shiyi and Lin Zitao working, while Su Jin and Yun Feng were planting vegetables on the side.
Lu Shiyi nodded: "The food supply at home is not sufficient."
After he finished speaking, Lu Shiyi looked at Su Jin by the field. During the spring plowing holiday on the 15th, he could help plant the fields at home so that Su Jin would not have to work hard anymore.
"Sisters-in-law, what vegetables are you planting this year?" The team members were busy in the fields with hoes, and the military wives gathered with their children.
Su Jin was chatting with several familiar military wives, and she discovered that the people in the courtyard came from all over the country, and each family planted something different in their fields.
Yunfeng took out the remaining vegetable seedlings at home and exchanged them with several military wives with whom she had a very good relationship.
"Sister-in-law, some of them are from Sichuan Province, and some are from Guangdong Province. Every year, we exchange the remaining seedlings." Yun Feng whispered to Su Jin, "This is Mrs. Yu, she is from Guangdong Province. She likes to grow corn to make soup."
Su Jin looked in the direction of Yun Feng's hand and found that it was indeed corn.
However, the best time to plant corn is April to May, and it can also be intercropped in wheat fields.
"Sister-in-law, I want to exchange some corn seedlings, but my family only has pepper seeds, spinach, loofah, eggplant and cucumber," Su Jin followed Yun Feng into the group of military wives.
Sister Yu laughed cheerfully: "According to the rules, we have to call Yunfeng and your sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law, I've already told you to address me by my age, not my military rank. You're making me sound old." Yun Feng waved her hands hastily. "Xiao Jin is also young."
"Sister-in-law Yu, just call me Su Jin." Su Jin pointed to the spinach seedlings beside her, "Sister-in-law, I want to trade with you for corn seedlings."
"The corn seedlings can't be planted yet. They can only be planted next month." Mrs. Yu was slightly taken aback when she heard Su Jin say that. "How much do you want first?"
"My family is from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and my mother used to make soup with corn at home," Su Jin and Yu's wife said, "I want to grow some food."
Mrs. Yu immediately agreed: "My family is raising seedlings now, and we have quite a few. I'll leave some for you."
"Sister-in-law, do you want some loofah seedlings? We have quite a few at home." Su Jin pointed at the loofah seedlings and said, "She got the loofah seeds from the space. There are very few loofahs here."
"Su Jin, are you serious?" Sister Yu asked her parents for loofah seeds, but they only grew leaves and no loofah. "Give me a few seedlings later, and I'll trade you for corn seedlings.
"Sister-in-law, if you plant the loofah seedlings in the private plot in the yard and tie them with bamboo sticks, it should be okay." Su Jin reminded Sister Yu, "I don't know if the loofahs can survive if we move them from the south."
Several sisters-in-law exchanged the seedlings and each planted vegetables in their own private plots, while some scattered the seeds on the ground.
The children were playing at the foot of the mountain, while the team members were planting wheat on the reclaimed wasteland in the yard. The squad leader of the kitchen team secretly hoped that the weather would be good this year, and the autumn harvest should be able to allow the team members to have enough food to eat in the winter.
The situation of the Fourth Brigade was not good. They received grain seeds from the county town, but during the winter break, only a little more than half of the seedlings emerged. Several old masters were worried about the harvest.
"Village chief, do the neighboring villages have enough grain seeds?" The old master looked at Lu Shiyuan and asked, "If there are any leftover seedlings, our team will buy them."
Lu Shiyuan called the old masters to a meeting to see if they could increase revenue by utilizing limited resources.
"The situation in the other brigades is similar. The veterans are working all night, taking turns to raise seedlings. The situation in the first and second brigades is better than ours." Lu Shiyuan was familiar with the situation of the brigades. "Shi Yang, calculate how much money the brigades have left."
Lu Shiyuan and Lu Shiyi broke up, but because Lu Shicheng had a good relationship with Lu Shiyuan, and Lu Shiyuan also had many tricks up his sleeve, he not only kept his position as the team leader, but also kept Lu Shiyang's accountant, but he just sold his job in the city.
"There is a total of 189 yuan available, and we must ensure that 200 yuan remains untouched. If the villagers go to the hospital, it may not be enough." Lu Shiyang heard Lu Shiyi mention the surgery and was worried that the villagers would let minor illnesses develop into major ones.
Lu Shiyuan fell silent. The two brigades offered very high prices. With the help of Lu Shiyi, he also sold the excess grain seeds and seedlings at a high price. He only kept a small part in the village accounting office and put the rest into his own pocket.
"Take 150 yuan to buy rice seedlings. Buy seedlings from both brigades. At least everyone can fill their stomachs." Lu Shiyuan took a few puffs from his pipe and said, "First, call everyone for a meeting. If we use the brigade's money, there will only be 30 or so yuan left. We must vote in the village."
Lu Shiyuan struck the gong, and all the villagers gathered at the edge of the field. After listening to the old masters finish their words, everyone fell silent.
They hadn't thought about the seedlings for several years, and Lu Shiyi no longer lived in the village, so they asked Wumen for help.
"Captain, are these seedlings enough for us to replant?" The villagers heard Lu Shiyuan mention that several villages helped each other and gave the extra seedlings to other villages. Judging from the price, 150 yuan was enough.
"Village chief, the prices asked by the two brigades are too high." The villagers remembered the price the village gave to the other party, and then looked at the price this time.
"Everyone, listen to me. This is a difficult time. The price of grain seeds is already high, and the price of seedlings is even higher." Lu Shiyuan persuaded the villagers. Some smart villagers also felt that the village chief was right.
No one expected Lu Shiyi to help. The villagers had plotted against Lu Shiyi and almost made him lose his job. Even the top leaders vouched for him before the villagers believed him.
"Village chief, you and the two teams should buy seedlings. We also need to have enough food to eat." The team members were silent for a while, and had to compromise after being persuaded by the old masters.
Lu Shiyuan's words also left a deep impression on everyone. A few years ago, when other villages bought seedlings, the team leaders did not tell them the price, so the team members did not know that the price was the same.
"Let Shi Yang take the lead in the afternoon, and a few laborers will follow to pick seedlings!" Lu Shiyi pointed to a few people to follow him to the team headquarters, and the team members continued to work in the fields.
The old masters stood in the field, looking at Lu Shiyuan's back, their eyes becoming even more cloudy.
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