Liu's father discussed the matter with the village officials and solicited everyone's opinions. Because Mingzheng had helped build one of the two tractors, the village unanimously decided to give Mingwu a tractor driver position. As long as he passed the tractor test in the county, his ranking among the local drivers would be considered. Although some villagers privately expressed dissatisfaction with Mingwu's decision, they didn't dare speak out publicly. After all, the village would still need Mingzheng's help with many things in the future.
In addition to Mingwu, the village plans to select two more tractor drivers, based on their ranking in the county exam. The one with the higher ranking will become the official tractor driver of the village, and the remaining one will be a backup. If one of the tractor drivers in the village is busy, he will take over.
On the fifth day of the second lunar month, the village began recruiting tractor drivers. Because the village's tractor drivers were well-paid, earning ten work points per day, based on a 360-day work year, plus a three-yuan annual subsidy, village officials set restrictions on applicants: they must have an elementary school diploma or higher, be in good health, and be between fifteen and forty. Girls and women were also allowed to participate, but in addition to meeting the above requirements, they also had to be strong and have their family members' consent.
In the end, there were twenty people in the village, including three male educated youth, who signed up, including a girl named Liu Shengnan.
Seeing that there were still too many people, Liu's father and the village cadres had no choice but to go to the commune to get a test paper. In addition to Mingwu, four people were selected based on their scores: Han Chen, Liu Shengnan, Zhou Bing, and a young man from the village named Liu Chuanlai.
On the fifteenth day of the second lunar month, Mingwu and his five companions set out for the county transport factory to learn how to drive. Half a month later, their assessment would also be conducted at the transport factory.
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