But if everyone is lazy, then everyone will go hungry.
"Dad, will we still be able to have the same harvest as before?"
Old Man Qian shook his head: "Don't worry, your uncle is smart and has already come up with a solution. From now on, whoever does more work will get more. If you think you can slack off and still get the same amount as everyone else, that won't work. It's just a pity about the family's land."
But how could we disagree? This has been going on for two or three years; if it weren't for the remoteness of their area, it probably would have started much earlier.
"Grandpa, we should just do what they say. Can our skinny arms twist their thighs?" The people of Northeast China are known for their toughness, and they're afraid that the villagers might harbor resentment and cause trouble.
Old Qian patted his granddaughter's head: "Don't worry, we old folks know what's going on. We firmly support the big leader. We'll do whatever the big leader says. Let those officials worry about the rest."
The good thing about their village is that most of the people share the same ancestor. Even if there are some outsiders, they can't amount to much. As long as they are united, they can get through even the hardest times. Isn't it much better now than during the years when the Japanese invaded?
Sure enough, the villagers only made a fuss for two days because of the outsiders. However, the village chief always had a lot to say, so things calmed down after a few days. Qian Xiao sighed.
There will be more trouble next year. When we eat in the cafeteria, if we don't eat carefully, we'll start to go hungry. We've only had enough to eat for a few days.
In September, Qian Xiao went to the commune to report for duty. It was quite far from home, but Qian Xiao didn't plan to stay there. The accommodation conditions were terrible; there was only one large room for boys and one large room for girls.
The empty house had only one large kang (heated brick bed). Each person had a bundle of luggage and sat next to the other. If you sat next to someone who wasn't hygienic, you could catch lice or something in no time. Just thinking about it gave Qian Xiao goosebumps.
Today, Qian Sanbao brought his eldest niece to check in. He was worried after looking at the accommodation. His eldest niece has always been clean and never played with the dirty kids in the village. She was only a little bit old and wanted her own room. How could she manage to live with so many people?
"Erdan, you really don't live here?"
"No, I can't stand so many people living together."
"What can we do? This road is far. Can you handle walking it every day? It's okay on weekdays, but what if it rains or snows?"
"It's okay, I can walk. Uncle, do you think my grandpa would agree to let me buy him a bicycle?"
Last year, the reward for what happened included a bicycle ticket and a 100 yuan bonus. With so many rewards, you know that what you found was not ordinary.
"I don't know. Why don't we go back and ask your grandpa? If you get a bicycle, your second uncle and I will take turns picking you up and dropping you off." Although taking his niece to school every day will take up some time.
The thought of it being a bicycle made him incredibly excited. He could already picture himself riding on it, receiving envious and jealous glances from everyone.
Qian Xiao nodded. She said it would be best if she didn't have to come to school, but only to take the exams. However, she didn't know anyone at the commune school, so this was going to be difficult.
She tried her best to study for a year and then go to high school. The conditions in the county town should be better than here, right?
Old Man Qian didn't hesitate much when he heard his granddaughter's suggestion: "Buy it, we'll go to the county town to buy it tomorrow. It will be more convenient to go out with a bicycle."
The old lady was still a little hesitant: "Is the old man really going to buy it? That's so much money! Besides, no one in the village has a bicycle yet. Wouldn't it be too conspicuous if we bought it?"
"It's okay if we don't buy it yet, sir. I'll talk to my teacher tomorrow and see if I can skip school and study at home until the exam."
The old man shook his head: "No, is it the same whether there is a teacher or not? Go buy a bicycle tomorrow. If anyone asks, just say that your father got the bicycle ticket to take you to school."
We couldn't talk about the award, so we used the boss as an excuse. After all, the boss's rank is there, and it's not like we can't get the bicycle ticket. Money is even easier to arrange. Everyone knows that their boss sends money home every month, and he's sent quite a lot over the years.
The purchase of the bicycle caused a sensation in the village. It was said that the ticket was specially sent back by the eldest son of the Qian family to send his child to school. Most people just shrugged and said, "Why is a little girl so precious?"
But the happiest people were their own family. What man doesn't like cars? A bicycle is a car too. The two brothers almost got into an argument over who would give them the money.
Qian Xiao circled the bicycle once. She knew how to ride a bicycle, but the problem was that she wasn't tall enough to carry such a large bicycle with a crossbar. Picking up and dropping off her second and third uncles every day would mean less rest for her, and she still found it troublesome.
Regardless, her family still takes her studies very seriously, and Qian Xiao's words have no effect. As long as it's not the busy farming season, Qian Xiao will have a private car to pick her up and drop her off, which has become a unique sight at the school.
Qian Xiao looked at the junior high school textbook in her hand. She planned to start junior high school in the second half of the year. The current school system is 5-2-2, so she planned to study junior high school for one year and then high school for two years as usual.
So she seized every opportunity to study, since the textbooks at this time were somewhat different from those she had learned before. She couldn't afford to lose this great opportunity because of carelessness.
Everyone in the class ran out of the classroom. Qian Xiao was also annoyed by the noise. She put down her pen and rubbed her wrist: "What's wrong?"
Qian Xiao's deskmate was a petite girl. It was said that her family lived in the commune. The two talked, but not much, because Qian Xiao spent all her free time reading and doing exercises.
"A fight has broken out. Do you want to go and see?"
"Let's go together, why?" Qian Xiao still likes to go see the excitement, otherwise life would be too boring.
"I heard about it too. I have a friend in Class 2 who said that a girl in his class comes from a rural area and they don't want her to continue her studies. They found her a good marriage, but the girl disagreed and came to school on her own. She insists on studying and says she won't get married."
"What? How old is she! She's already getting married?" No, even if we ignore the marriage law now, it's not like we're letting kids in their teens get married.
The classmate looked at Qian with a strange expression and laughed: "What's so strange about that? Many of our classmates are sixteen or seventeen years old, aren't you?"
Isn't her deskmate from the countryside? There are plenty of girls in the countryside who get married at sixteen or seventeen. Why is she acting like she doesn't know anything about it?
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