Chapter 105 (1)
Leaders' affairs are often unpredictable, and they may have something more important to do, so they changed their schedule and will not come to Ping'an Village today. Xia Juhua did not mean to blame Uncle Qi at all - he had already considered Ping'an Village enough by letting Qi Weidong come to inform her.
Xia Juhua walked to the Ping'anzhuang production team's construction site, picked up a shovel and started to load soil. Just when she was halfway through, she heard the sound of an engine on the road, and Liu Zhishuang whispered "Mom".
Xia Juhua glared at him and continued loading the soil as if she hadn't heard him. Liu Zhishuang adjusted his expression and followed the loading. Everyone was busy and no one paid attention to the two jeeps that had come on the road and stopped by the roadside.
"Xia Juhua, Comrade Xia Juhua." After Uncle Qi got off the car, he looked around but couldn't figure out who it was, so he had to shout in person.
Xia Juhua straightened up, recognized the person who called her, smiled in surprise, and walked towards them quickly. Halfway through, she remembered something, looked around, and shouted to Li Changshun who was standing not far away with his hands behind his back: "Captain, Deputy Director Qi is here to inspect our brigade."
Li Changshun, who didn't want to step forward, had to come to the leaders with Xia Juhua, with his hands behind his back. He said welcome and took the hand that the county director extended.
Xia Juhua also looked at the leaders eagerly: "Thank you for coming to our Ping'anzhuang Brigade to inspect our work. The leaders care so much about our Ping'anzhuang Brigade. On behalf of all members, I welcome the leaders to criticize and guide our work."
The county director met Xia Juhua twice. She was dressed in a gender-indistinguishable outfit and worked hard with the members. Naturally, he had a very good impression of her and smiled as if it was always on his face: "Captain Xia, you have worked hard. The members of Ping'anzhuang Brigade have all worked hard!"
The county director raised his voice when he said the last sentence. Many people heard it and looked up. They found that their captain's hand was swaying slightly behind his back. So they all smiled shyly at the leaders who looked over and said, "It's not hard, it's not hard."
"Our farmers are as simple as ever." After sighing, the county director asked Xia Juhua: "How many days have you been carrying out this campaign? How many people have participated in the campaign? What are the results? Are there any difficulties?"
Such a considerate leader should understand the real situation. Xia Juhua said proudly, "Reporting to the county director, our Ping'anzhuang Brigade has five production teams, each of which has 200 members, and the total number of people in the brigade is 1,000 to participate in the canal repair campaign. Today is the eighth day of the campaign. The canal between the third team and Ping'anzhuang can be opened immediately. The next step is to repair the canal between the fourth and fifth teams."
The results were so remarkable that the county director smiled even more. He said "good" twice before calming down and waiting to hear Xia Juhua's next report.
Unfortunately, Xia Juhua looked a little embarrassed, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know where to start. She looked at the members, then at the county director, then at the members, and then at the other leaders following behind the county director.
"Comrade Xia Juhua, if you have any situation, just report it truthfully to the county director. The county director is here today not only to inspect the progress of the canal repair of Ping'anzhuang Brigade, but also to help the Ping'anzhuang Brigade solve the problems." Uncle Qi found Xia Juhua's expression familiar, so he simply went ahead for her.
The smile on the county director's face faded a little, but he still managed to maintain it. He nodded and agreed with Uncle Qi: "Yes, Comrade Xia Juhua, your Ping'an Village Brigade has actively carried out production and self-help. The comrades in the county are very moved by your fearless spirit and are willing to help you solve some problems within their capacity."
You see, the leader's words are very tight. He wants to solve the problem within his ability and wanted to half-block Xia Juhua's mouth from the beginning.
Unfortunately, the county director had little contact with Xia Juhua, and he didn't know that Xia Juhua wanted to say something that no one could stop. She sorted out her thoughts and spoke cautiously: "Since the leader asked, I will say what I want to say. The members of our brigade all want to repair the canal as soon as possible to increase the area of irrigated land and strive for a greater harvest."
So, is the canal built by our Ping'an Village Brigade of great significance? Such a meaningful thing should not be abandoned halfway? Xia Juhua didn't care how the leaders behind the county director looked at each other, and continued to talk to herself:
"But the leaders have seen the bad harvest this year. With the support of the county's Agriculture and Forestry Bureau, our Ping'an Village Brigade dug several deep wells and managed to keep the seeds and harvest a little. The members said that they couldn't have a harvest and see their fellow farmers starving, so we still handed in the public grain."
The leaders who were listening looked at each other. They all knew that the Ping'anzhuang Brigade did not take the relief rations but instead handed over the public rations. They just wanted to hear what Xia Juhua wanted to say next after she had laid out so much, so no one interrupted Xia Juhua.
Xia Juhua was not one to keep the leaders waiting. Her voice was not clear, let alone pleasant. She just spoke the truth: "After paying the public grain, we considered that other class brothers were in more difficult situations than our Ping'an Village Brigade. We did not ask for relief grain from the collective. We thought that everyone would suffer for a few months, and we would be able to survive until the summer harvest next year."
"It was also because I was too greedy. Inspired by those deep wells, I thought that if all the land in our Ping'an Village Brigade could be turned into irrigated land, then when a drought strikes, it would not only be a matter of preserving seeds, but also a matter of obtaining a bumper harvest. So I called on fellow members to join the canal construction campaign together."
"Our members are highly conscious." Xia Juhua praised the members sincerely: "They heard that they could get a bumper harvest, so they built the canal even though they were hungry. Leaders, if you don't believe me, you can take a look at what our members eat and the conditions under which they were able to build a canal connecting the third team and Ping'an Village in just eight days."
At the end, Xia Juhua was so moved by the spirit of her fellow members that she shed tears.
If a person keeps crying and complaining everywhere, his tears will become worthless, and others will at most say a few words of sympathy or concern in order to get rid of him quickly.
But when a person who has always been strong suddenly bursts into tears, the shock is too strong. Other leaders have never dealt with Xia Juhua and do not understand her character. But the county director and Uncle Qi are both people who have dealt with Xia Juhua. The last time Sun Guizhi framed Xia Juhua in front of the county director, she just treated it as a joke and was not frightened at all. She did not even think of crying and complaining. It can be seen how strong she is.
This strong person shed tears today, but she was not crying for herself, she was crying because she felt sorry for the members.
Although Xia Juhua quickly wiped away the tears and forced a smile to try to cover up her gaffe, the leaders had seen it, and the members who worked close to the leaders had also seen it.
As luck would have it, the members of Team 3 were the ones working close to the leaders.
"Captain, we don't blame you. If you hadn't led the whole team to help us repair the canal, next year our production team's canal wouldn't be connected to Ping'an Village's, and we would have to carry water one bucket at a time to irrigate the fields."
"As long as we have something to eat and are not starving, we can follow you, Captain."
"In a year like this, it's good to have steamed sweet potatoes. You want us to eat white flour buns next year, so you led us to repair the canal. If someone blames you for this, tell me, I want to see how his mother gave birth to him."
As the members became more and more excited, Xia Juhua quickly turned around and waved to them: "Everyone, dig the canal well. The leaders are here to understand the situation and help us solve the problem. I am just telling the truth."
Leaders who come to solve the problem: Is it too late for us to leave now?
It was impossible to leave. The Ping'an Village Brigade had prepared for such a long time, how could the leaders just leave after arriving? Not only could they not leave, but they had to approach the members and chat with them cordially, to understand how many people were in their families, how much grain each person received during the autumn harvest, and whether they could still have food to eat at home...
Careful leaders found that the members of Pingan Village Brigade were quite interesting. Some were very shy and felt awkward when facing the leaders, unable to even speak a complete sentence. However, a few were very talkative, not only answering the leaders' questions clearly, but also complaining in a roundabout way. Moreover, they were well matched, with talkative people beside the shy ones, so that the leaders would not be left alone.
In short, the leaders learned that although the Ping'an Village Brigade had some harvest, after paying the public grain, if everyone did not do any work and ate sparingly on the kang, they could still eat until the summer harvest. Now that they had to do such heavy physical work as repairing the canal, they could not save any more food, and they would probably have to rely on sweet potato leaves to fill their stomachs next spring.
Under such difficult conditions, no member complained about the canal being repaired, which shows that Xia Juhua's prestige among the members is real.
"The canal must be repaired. If necessary, the Red Star Commune can find a way to mobilize members from other brigades..." A leader raised an idea, but Uncle Qi immediately rejected it: "It's hard to say whether the relief rations received by members of other brigades can last until the beginning of spring. If they come to help Ping'anzhuang Brigade repair the canal, how will their work points be calculated and what will happen to their rations?"
Several leaders started arguing, while the county director observed Xia Juhua who had been accompanying him on the inspection.
夏菊花面色十分平靜，就好象領導們争論的不是平安莊大隊的事兒一樣。甚至她還能抽空看着挖渠的進度，遠遠指揮着哪個生産隊的隊長，讓人量一量渠的寬度是不是變窄了，囑咐他們一定不能改變渠的寬度，要把全大隊的渠都修成一個标準。
“夏菊花同志，你最了解平安莊大隊的情況，有什麽想法？”縣主任抛出這個問題之後，所有領導都停止争論，一起看向夏菊花。
夏菊花被突然點名有點兒發蒙：“啥，我，我有啥想法？我的想法就是，社員們要是能吃飽肚子的話，修渠的進度還能加快一些。說不定今年冬天小莊頭的渠也能跟全大隊打通，不用占用來年春耕的時間。”
簡直是廢話。有領導剛想喝斥夏菊花，就聽縣主任又在問：“那咋讓社員們吃飽肚子，你有啥主意沒有？”
被問到這個問題，夏菊花又開啓了看社員看領導就是不把目光定到具體目标上的模式，好一會兒才小心翼翼的開口：“我的想法有點兒不成熟，可能會被誤解，還是，還是請領導們替平安莊想想辦法吧。要是能分我們點兒救濟糧，也能解決我們的問題。”
站在人群裏的齊小叔勉強用咳嗽掩飾住自己的笑容，心說縣主任現在要是還能拿得出救濟糧，還用得着天天不敢在自己辦公室裏辦公，四處躲着各公社主任？
縣主任臉上早沒了笑容：“縣裏的救濟糧，你們大隊就別想了。”
夏菊花十分失望的看了縣主任一眼：“沒有救濟糧呀，可大隊的儲備糧也不能随便動，我真沒有辦法。”
“咳咳……”齊小叔又咳嗽起來。
縣主任和另外幾位領導卻都皺起眉頭，全是若有所思的樣子。夏菊花沒有一點兒心理負擔的看着領導們犯愁，自己回頭看向遠處送飯來的平安莊婦女們。
“這都到中午了，我們雖然沒啥好吃的，可領導們好不容易來平安莊大隊一趟，說啥也得嘗嘗我們農民吃的都是啥。”夏菊花等婦女們走近了，開口邀請領導們吃中飯，帶着一副努力想把領導們從困境中解救出來的緊迫感。
她的話音剛落，遠遠的傳來了拖拉機突突聲，一看，竟是公社張主任坐着拖拉機來了。
他一下拖拉機就去握縣主任的手：“主任，你來平安莊大隊視察，咋不通知我一聲呢。要不是我想向你彙報一下平安莊大隊修渠情況，還不知道你來平安莊大隊了呢。”
縣主任笑呵呵跟張主任握過手，看着他說：“你來得正好，夏菊花同志想讓我們憶苦思甜，可我們都知道農民的糧食緊張，不好意思從他們嘴裏搶吃的呀。”
“當然不能從農民嘴裏搶吃的。”張主任義正辭嚴的說：“走走走，到公社去，我請領導們吃飯，順道向主任彙報一下紅星公社的工作。”
“張主任，”夏菊花弱弱的叫了一聲：“你看我已經通知平安莊生産隊的婦女同志們，她們也把飯都準備好了。也不是啥好東西，就是一人一碗酸辣粉……”
聽說平安莊給領導準備的是酸辣粉兒，張主任完全忘記自己剛才邀請縣主任到公社，要向他彙報工作的話，轉而給他介紹起酸辣粉來：“……主任，你嘗嘗就知道了，別看就是把粉條泡軟了，可調的入味，好嚼還好消化。”
齊小叔有些不明所以的看了夏菊花一眼，發現人正一瞬不瞬的看着縣主任，等着他的決定。齊小叔便自己扭過頭，聽到不知誰吹響了哨子，遠近的社員都已經放下手裏的工具，拍打着身上的泥土，三五成群的找地方坐下了。
“大隊長，我們都準備好了，領導們是現在吃還是等一會兒？”帶頭來送飯的平安莊婦女，遠遠的沖着夏菊花喊了一句。
夏菊花帶着些讨好的笑，對縣主任再次發出邀請：“主任，你就和領導們一起嘗嘗我們的酸辣粉，要是不合口，再跟張主任去公社吃行嗎？”
這樣的盛情，這樣的小心翼翼，任誰也說不出拒絕的話。不過縣主任自有解決辦法：“嘗嘗可以。不過夏菊花同志，我們每天都有定量糧，組織也有規定，不管在哪兒吃飯都要自己拿糧票和錢，你一會兒可不能讓我們犯錯誤啊。”
夏菊花一臉為難：“主任你這麽關心我們，大老遠又是泥又是土的視察，我們哪能收你們的糧票呢。”
齊小叔笑哈哈的打圓場說：“你可別不收主任的糧票，那樣主任還不得擔心，你想讓主任同意你們先借用儲備糧呀。主任，咱們還是跟張主任一起去紅星公社吧，平安莊大隊這酸辣粉太貴，咱們吃不起。”
張主任笑呵呵的看看齊小叔，即不再次向縣主任發出邀請，也沒勸他留在平安莊吃飯，只說：“其實夏大隊長跟我提出過想借一部分儲備糧，增加修渠社員的口糧。”
“也不多，一人一天半斤的補貼就行。我想着他們的水澆地面積要是上去了，來年就能彌補上，還能把儲備糧換成新糧食。可這事兒太大我們公社不能做主，本想今天跟主任彙報呢，主任你就親自為平安莊大隊，幫助他們解決困難了。”
齊小叔幹脆動手拉縣主任：“主任，走走走，咱們連紅星公社都不用去了，直接回縣裏得了。張主任這哪兒是要請你吃飯，分明是想請整個平安莊大隊修渠的人吃飯呢。”
縣主任的身子随齊小叔有拉扯，搖晃了兩下，腳下卻生了根一樣沒動，眼睛看的是夏菊花，問題也是抛給夏菊花的：“夏菊花同志，你能保證明年夏收，平安莊大隊儲備糧全部補齊？”
他的面容是前所未有的嚴肅，眼神是前所未有的犀利，說完話後的嘴角抿成了一條線，把牙齒緊緊護住，誰也別想從他臉上看到一絲松動。
夏菊花的目光仿佛在與縣主任對視，又仿佛透過縣主任看到了別的東西，她說：“主任，我敢保證。我就不信這旱災能一直持續下去，也不信湙河的水老是這麽半幹着。只要湙河有水，我們修好了水渠，還怕不能增産？別說補上儲備糧，就是把所有儲備糧都換新糧，我們平安莊大隊也能做到！”
“走，咱們就嘗嘗平安莊大隊的酸辣粉兒有多好吃。”縣主任抿着的嘴角張開了，說出來的卻是關于中午飯咋解決的問題。
齊小叔與張主任暗暗對視一眼，都從對方眼裏看出欣喜。他們都是沉得住氣的人，生怕夏菊花沉不住氣，追問主任能不能動用儲備糧的事兒，不錯眼的看着夏菊花把主任讓到了平安莊生産隊社員休息的地方。
還沒走近，酸辣調料被開水激發出來的氣味就撲鼻而來，寒冷的天氣裏，白氤氤的蒸汽伴着酸辣氣還有一點兒油香，讓人聞後忍不住又抽抽鼻子，想再聞一聞。
“挺香呀。”相比沉得住氣的縣主任，齊小叔這個副手表現得沒那麽沉穩，開口就稱贊說：“夏大隊長，你們要是天天都吃這個，可不比吃白面差。”
趙仙枝不是憷頭的人，聽到齊小叔的話本能的頂了一句：“咋能不比白面差呢，這東西也就是吃個熱乎，要講頂餓還得是白面。”
幾位領導都笑了起來，難得看到齊副主任被一個農村婦女頂得啞口無言，現在不笑誰知道有沒有下回。
齊小叔讪讪的接過趙仙枝遞過來的碗，問：“這裏頭是紅薯粉吧？”
趙仙枝快人快語的說：“可不就是紅薯粉。多虧了我們大隊長春天的時候，請來了農技站的林技術員，帶着我們種了不少紅薯，要不家家還不知道是啥光景呢。”
縣主任喝了一口湯，只覺得入口之後一股熱氣直沖鼻腔，剛才站在寒風裏被吹的發冷的身體，毛孔都擴張着，暖和了過來。
他忍不住說了一聲不錯，才接着齊小叔的問題和趙仙枝的答案接着問：“你們各家的紅薯，都漏成了紅薯粉，沒損耗嗎？紅薯粉是不是不如紅薯頂餓？”
趙仙枝不知道損耗是啥，就自動忽略了一這個詞，只回答自己能回答得出來的：“咋能不如紅薯頂餓呢。領導你不知道，蒸紅薯也就是吃的時候頂飽，可要論頂餓，還真不如這紅薯粉。別看好幾斤紅薯才出一斤粉條，可吃的時候連上湯水，又暖和又飽肚子。”
說完，敬佩的看一眼端着一碗酸辣粉兒的夏菊花說：“要不我們生産隊的人咋就服我們隊長呢。按說誰家有手藝，不是自己藏着掖着生怕人家學去。可我們隊長不光手把手教我們漏粉兒，還教我們咋吃才好吃，要不以前大家吃粉條，就是炖菜的時候擱一把，還老覺得沒肉不好吃。可農民一年能吃幾回肉？現在可好了……”
夏菊花不得不放下碗，叫了一聲：“仙枝，快給領導們調粉吧。”讓你送飯，不是讓你給我評功擺好的。
聽出夏菊花不想讓自己誇她，趙仙枝小聲向縣主任抱怨：“我們隊長就是這樣，自己幹了啥事也不願意讓人說。你說她明明幹的都是好事兒，說說咋啦。”
縣主任見夏菊花看趙仙枝的眼睛已經瞪了起來，有些好笑的對趙仙枝說：“沒事兒，你只管說，有我們在，你們大隊長不會說你的。”
趙仙枝看了夏菊花一眼，向縣主任嘆了口氣：“我也知道我們隊長是被逼的沒辦法了，才不得不想着法子讓大家吃的順口點兒。要是有白面的話，誰願意天天吃粉條子？還不是紅薯不好放，怕爛了開春沒吃的，大家才白天修渠，晚上還得回家漏粉兒。”
“現在你們家裏也是天天吃酸辣粉嗎？”縣主任問趙仙枝。
趙仙枝笑了：“哪能天天吃呢。我們生産隊一人才分多少紅薯，還能架得住天天吃？就是各樣糧食都摻着點兒糊弄肚子，時不常的還得摻點兒麥麸。”
縣主任也聽說過平安莊大隊買麥麸的事兒，接着問：“那你們大隊還得多買點兒麥麸呀。”
趙仙枝很遺憾的搖頭說：“買不成了。現在誰不知道麥麸是好東西，哪輪得到我們平安莊大隊買。人家挂面廠廠長嫌我們隊長上次買的太多，早說過不賣給我們了。要是能買到麥麸，我們隊長用愁成這樣？”
這下子輪到張主任咳嗽了，他不知道趙仙枝是不是夏菊花有意安排的，看這眼藥上的，怕是挂面廠廠長又得挨頓批。
縣主任不再提問，他得消化一下自己得到的信息。看來夏菊花是真的走投無路了——修渠會戰的事跡縣報已經報道了，肯定不能半途而廢。可社員們餓着肚子，光憑精神支撐不了幾天。本來可以用麥麸救一下急，麥麸還買不到了……
林林總總的困難那麽多，縣主任都替夏菊花愁得慌。
當領導的人，就是要替下級及時解決困難，才能讓他們沒有後顧之憂的工作。主任等幾位領導都喝完了酸辣粉，笑着說：“吃人嘴短，咱們也不能光喝人家平安莊大隊的酸辣粉兒，正好商量一下，咋解決他們急需要糧食的問題。張主任旁聽一下，回頭公社記錄一下。”
張主任老老實實點頭，從兜裏掏出一個小本來，做出要記錄的樣子。夏菊花則帶着趙仙枝幾個離得遠遠的，免得領導們以為她要偷聽人家開會的內容。
其實到了開會的程度，領導心裏已經有了大體想法，只是要統一一下大家的思想。班子成員都在，沒用五分鐘夏菊花就被叫了回去，由縣主任嚴肅的跟她談話，傳達會議精神：
“夏菊花同志，經縣革委會班子成員一致研究決定，平安莊大隊可以暫時借用儲備糧，用于修渠會戰社員補貼口糧。不過不是無償的，明年夏收後，平安莊大隊必須足額補齊動用的糧食，你們能不能做到？”
能，咋不能呢。今年平安莊生産隊的糧食都能打到四百斤，夏菊花相信只要水跟得上，來年打個五百斤不是啥問題。
不過她臉上沒有過多驚喜的表情，聲音也有些忐忑：“主任，我們按夏秋兩季補上行不行？你也看到了，我們漏的粉兒不比正經糧食差，能不能……”
縣主任回頭小聲跟齊小叔等人說了幾句什麽，最終同意平安莊大隊可以分夏秋兩季補足儲備糧，卻不同意用紅薯粉補充。
這也不錯了，夏收補進去的只能是小麥，可秋天卻可以補進玉米高粱。
夏菊花臉上終于浮現出動容，帶着幾分激動，向所有領導鞠躬：“太感謝領導了，你們幫我們平安莊大隊解決了大難題，社員們知道後，一定幹勁更足，争取早日把全大隊的水渠打通。”
她自己激動不算，回身就向着遠近幹活的社員們喊了起來：“同志們，縣領導考慮到我們平安莊大隊的困難，同意我們每人每天動用半斤儲備糧，這是領導關心大家的身體，大家要感謝領導的關懷，撸起袖子加油幹，早點兒把咱們的水渠打通，早點還上儲備糧，別讓領導為難。大家說是不是？”
“感謝領導關懷。”近處的社員聽到夏菊花的喊聲，跟着她喊了起來。
遠處的社員聽到近處的人在喊，在各自隊長的帶領下，也揮動着胳膊，喊出了第二波：“感謝領導關懷。”跟傳來的回聲一樣。
貧農主任孫慶林發揮的時間到了，他舉起大喇叭，轉着圈揮動胳膊：“大幹苦幹，早日打通水渠。”
這下子遠近的社員都聽清了，大家的聲音終于彙聚到了一起：“大幹苦幹，早日打通水渠。”
夏菊花随大家喊口號喊的十分賣力，幾句下來臉漲得通紅。齊小叔拉了她一下，她向孫慶林使了個眼色，後者快步過來，把大喇叭遞給縣主任。
縣主任沒有推辭，舉起喇叭沖着大家說：“社員同志們，你們辛苦啦。看到你們在大災之年，還積極興修水利，我代表縣革委會，對你們的革命精神，表示崇高的敬意。”
夏菊花和幾個生産隊長，默契的帶領社員鼓掌。經久不息的掌聲停下後，縣主任接着說起了平安莊大隊一年來抗旱的突出事跡，取得的在豐碩成果，還有這一次大修水利後的美好前景。他向社員們鄭重承諾，如果平安莊大隊還有啥困難，縣革委會知道後，都會積極為平安莊在隊解決。
領導的講話水平，讓夏菊花的思想得到了升華，她帶頭舉起了胳膊，高喊：“不怕困難，争取更大的勝利。”
社員們一齊附合：“不怕困難，争取更大的勝利。”
直到領導們的吉普車看不到影了，夏菊花還覺得自己耳邊回響着剛才的口號聲，她問陳秋生：“我最後喊口號，是不是嗓子劈了？”
陳秋生笑着給她端來一碗水，一邊看着她喝一邊說：“挺好的。我看領導們都挺高興，都說等咱們的渠修好了，他們還來參觀呢。”
“渠都修好了，他們還來幹啥？”夏菊花邊往平安莊挖土的地方走邊說。
陳秋生：領導要是知道他們對平安莊大隊的作用，僅僅是拍板可以借用儲備糧，心時會咋想呢？
對于平安莊大隊的社員來說，領導咋想的真不重要。他們知道的是，自己可以每天領到半斤真正的糧食，不用幹活幹到一半就身子發軟，恨不得靠到哪兒歇一會兒才好。
肚裏有了糧食，大家挖渠的勁頭更足，沒等進臘月，就已經轉戰到了四隊與五隊未打通的地界，劃定了各生産隊的位置，接着挖渠。
等到陳秋生提醒夏菊花，該問問收購站是不是交任務豬的時候，夏菊花才看看四隊五隊快打通的水渠，問：“五爺不是該過生日了？”
陳秋生有些無奈的笑了：“五爺是臘月二十三小年那天的生日，還有七八天呢。我看不等到小年，四隊和五隊間的水渠就能打通。隊長，你看是不是撤回幾個人去，該忙活忙活咱們生産隊的事兒了。”
夏菊花連忙向他擺手：“可不敢現在往回撤人。咱們生産隊的人要是撤了，那幾個生産了的人都沒心思幹活了。我還想着讓大家加把勁，争取年頭把小莊頭的渠也修上一半呢。”
陳秋生把兩手揣到袖子裏，嘴不停往出呼着哈氣：“這死冷的天兒，刨一下就一個白點兒，想把小莊頭那點兒渠修通了，不比四隊五隊現在剩下的省勁。”
誰說不是呢，前幾天下了一場小清雪，雖然不大可也讓大家看到了希望，社員們的幹勁就有些松懈——老天要是下雨水的話，何必費勁修渠呢？
可夏菊花想的是幾年後大包幹，因為水渠占誰家的地産生的無窮無盡的矛盾，和最後擱置在半道上的水渠，咬咬牙說：“費勁也得修。他們的渠通了，全大隊就連到一起了，來年還得還儲備糧呢。”
陳秋生見李長順慢慢走過來了，不再多說，自己帶着平安莊的社員拼命去了。
李長順見自己來了陳秋生就跑了，有些不滿的說：“秋生那小子現在也滑頭了，咋見了我就跑了，是不是背着我跟你說啥呢？”
夏菊花連忙說：“他能說啥，就問問我五爺的生日快到了，是不是還跟去年一樣給五爺過生日。大隊長，我是這麽想的，大家夥都累了快一個月了，等小年那天給大家放天假吧。”
李長順有些羨慕的說：“你不是想給大家放假，是想着你們全生産隊一起，給五爺過生日呢。”
看破不說破，老同志你咋忘了呢？夏菊花控訴的看着李長順，沒說話。
This winter, the members of Ping'anzhuang Brigade worked much harder than in previous years. In the past, after the winter, everyone did odd jobs in the production team, not like now, digging hard frozen soil every day. Fortunately, everyone saw the results, and there was a food subsidy every day. Generally speaking, everyone was satisfied, and Xia Juhua's prestige was established.
Delivering the assigned pigs was not the responsibility of just one production team in Ping'an Village. Xia Juhua and Li Changshun gathered all five production team leaders at the local area and held a brief meeting. They decided that on the twelfth day of the Lunar New Year, everyone would gather at the brigade headquarters and go to the purchasing station to deliver the assigned pigs.
Now the brigade has its own tractors. If one truck cannot fit two tractors, they can run two trips. This is a much easier job than lifting by hand. Captain Niu admired Xia Juhua and gave her a thumbs up: "Captain, you are the one who got these two tractors."
Li Daniu and a few others looked at Captain Niu with contempt, but no one stood up to refute him - the two people driving the tractor were Xia Juhua's biological son and a member of Team 3. If they dared to say a bad word about them, the production team's pigs would definitely have to be carried to the collection station.
On the day when the pigs were delivered, although they did not need to be carried to the purchasing station, each production team still had to carry the pigs from the production team to the brigade headquarters. When the five pigs from each production team were gathered together, it was immediately possible to tell which production team's pigs looked like.
Needless to say, the fattest pigs were from Ping An Village. Each pig must weigh 230 to 240 kilograms. Li Dan kicked the pigs from his own production team in a proud manner and said, "What a shame! How can it weigh 180 kilograms?"
Compared with the pigs in Pingan Village, the pigs in their production team are malnourished.
Pingan Village earns much more money than their production team just by delivering the task pigs! No wonder Niu Laobie always wants the young man from their production team to marry the daughter of Pingan Village. If they really marry her, maybe she will bring the craftsmanship of Pingan Village to their production team.
Li Daniu looked at the members of Ping'an Village who came to deliver pigs with shining eyes, and silently calculated in his heart which of these people had a daughter of the right age to form a pair with which young man from their small village.
The people in Ping An Village were frightened by Li Daniu's eyes. They stood far away from him unconsciously and whispered, "Is Li Daniu crazy? Why does he look at people like that?"
"Who knows? Our production team was going to deliver pigs. I saw him staring at us as if we were a piece of fat meat."
"Speaking of fat meat, it's still more satisfying when we eat the dishes after slaughtering the pig. I heard that we're celebrating Fifth Master's birthday together this year." The person who spoke had no idea that he was being ridiculous: "Didn't our production team keep three pigs this year? How much meat should each person get? I think the three pigs we kept are fatter than the ones we handed in. They should be as fat as five fingers."
From talking about Li Daniu's eyes to imagining how much pork each person would get this year, the topic changed smoothly. Xia Juhua listened and began to look forward to the Little New Year's Day.
Days passed quickly when there was hope. On the day of the Little New Year, Xia Juhua did not even go to the brigade headquarters, but went directly to the yard of the Fifth Master to pick up the old man and go to watch the pig slaughter.
Fifth Master was wearing a brand new coat and a pair of new cotton shoes. Xia Juhua couldn't help but smile and said, "Fifth Master, you look so energetic. You look ten years younger."
Five Masters Habits