Chu Jianguo gradually consolidated the power of the Revolutionary Committee, forcing Deputy Director Jia to keep a low profile.
Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily. With Deputy Director Jia having been in the area for so many years, Chu Jianguo wouldn't let his guard down and would definitely find an opportunity to get rid of him.
Yu Yin didn't care about the Revolutionary Committee; what she cared about was that she was about to go to support agriculture and learn about farming. Apart from trading land in the space, she had never done farm work before and didn't know if she could do it.
That evening, Yu Yin and Lu Shurui talked about learning to farm.
Where is your school going to provide agricultural support this year?
"The Bulang ethnic township in Bulang Mountain is quite far away, and we won't be able to get back at night. Please be careful at home. We'll probably be gone for about a week."
“Okay, I understand. We’ll stay in the town not far down here and come back the same day. Everything else is fine, but I’m worried that you won’t know how to do farm work and will be a burden.”
Lu Shurui knew that Yu Yin had never done farm work before, and he was quite worried. However, given the current situation, there was no way to escape, so he could only bite the bullet and do it.
"It's alright, just do what you can. There seems to be a tea plantation over there. It would be better if you could be assigned to pick tea."
"Oh well, I don't want to think about it anymore. Let nature take its course. I wonder if Shuqi and the others will need to go down to support agriculture. I should have asked Sister Wang more about it."
Feeling uneasy, Yu Yin went to bed. She would pack Lu Shurui's luggage tomorrow, as he would be leaving the day after.
The next day, Yu Yin and the others had a day off, which gave them a good opportunity to prepare their things.
Lu Shurui is going away for a week this time, so he needs to bring clothes, blankets, shoes, and rain boots. Luckily, it's the dry season now, so the clothes will dry easily. He also needs to bring some food, as the food downstairs won't be very good, and he needs to be well-fed while working.
Yu Yin mixed wheat flour, cornmeal, crushed peanuts, and sesame seeds together to make fried noodles. This was the only food that was easy to carry, wouldn't spoil, and could be eaten simply by adding hot water. She also brought some other pickled vegetables, so that if the other dishes didn't taste good, she could at least have something to eat with rice. In any case, she shouldn't lack white rice.
Yu Yin packed two large bags, one containing clothes and bedding, and the other containing food, along with a lot of dried fruit and other things. When she was tired, she would chew on a handful to cheer herself up.
"That's enough, just seven days. You'll get through it. Keep the fried noodles for yourself. If you don't feel like cooking when you get home tonight, you can make do with a meal."
"And another thing, you don't need to worry."
Lu Shurui was genuinely worried. Yu Yin also had to go down to work, and after a long day, she'd have two little ones to take care of when she got home. It would be exhausting. Besides, the four of them had never been separated, and he was afraid the children would look for him.
That evening, Lu Shurui had a formal conversation with the two little ones.
"Be safe and sound. Daddy will be away for seven days. You must listen to Mommy at home and not make her angry. Mommy has to do farm work, which is very tiring, and she also has to take care of you two at night. Daddy hopes that during these seven days, you can take good care of Mommy in my place and make her work less hard. Can you do that?"
Pingping understood some of it. He knew that his father would be away for seven days, and he, his sister, and his mother would be at home. He had to take care of his mother and sister, and keep an eye on his sister to make sure she didn't cause any trouble.
For a toddler who is not even two years old, there are many things they don't understand, and they just nod in agreement.
An'an only knew that her father was not home. She was a little unhappy and snuggled into her father's arms without making a sound, not wanting him to leave.
Lu Shurui pulled Pingping into his arms and gently patted their backs, silently comforting them.
Yu Yin looked at the three men, the moonlight shining on them as if they were coated with a layer of light. Her heart softened; wasn't this what family was all about?
Yu Yin and the others didn't go to pick tea; instead, they harvested sugarcane.
There are many tea mountains in Menghai, but it's late November now, and the tea leaves are dormant, so there are no leaves to pick. Winter tea is also scarce and not found in this area; Yu Yin didn't really know exactly where.
Brown sugar is delicious, but harvesting sugarcane is really difficult!
Yu Yin now understands a little better those educated youth who tried every means to return to the city; this work was truly exhausting.
When cutting sugarcane, it's important to leave a section; it's better to cut it close to the root for easier drying. Yu Yin started off flustered, either leaving the sugarcane too long or too short, never quite getting the size right. She also struggled with the pressure; too light, and it wouldn't cut through; too heavy, and she risked cutting her leg.
It wasn't even noon yet, but Yu Yinliu was so tired she couldn't lift her arms; her hands and feet felt weak.
Sister Wang is better; she used to do this job and is much faster than Yu Yin.
"Xiaoyu, you haven't been doing any work before, have you?"
"Sister Wang, I've never done this before, it's my first time."
While working, Yu Yin talked to Sister Wang, which helped her to distract herself and forget her fatigue.
"You'll get used to it. This time we can't take too long, at least four or five days. We're in a hurry to harvest the sugarcane, produce the sugar, and support the country's development."
"Yes, I'll try not to hold anyone back."
After talking for a while, I felt my strength return, and I got back to work.
Around noon, Yu Yin and the others went to the designated place for lunch.
Lunch is not provided during the rural support program; participants need to bring their own food. Yu Yin made vegetable dumplings made from a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, which were both a meal and a convenient, unobtrusive dish.
The surrounding area was filled with people preparing to eat, including their colleagues who had come with them, and mostly local villagers.
This was Yu Yin's first direct observation of farmers in this era.
They include Han Chinese and other ethnic minorities. Their clothing, languages, and foods are different. The only thing they have in common is their thin, bony bodies.
No one in this era, including Yu Yin, knew about this, but while the people in the county town weren't fat, they weren't so thin as to be unrecognizable either. Aside from their clothes being patched upon patched, their shoes even had exposed toes, and their faces looked far older than their actual age. They were dark and thin, some looking like skin and bones, somewhat like newborn twins.
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