Both men had cigarettes tucked between their ears. They glanced at the cigarettes the Party Secretary offered, took them, and casually placed them next to a large stack of receipts on the scale.
There were already quite a few cigarettes piled up there, neatly stacked.
The captain stood by, smiling obsequiously and saying nice things.
The staff member with the long shovel lazily followed behind the captain, poking at this vehicle a few times, then poking at that vehicle a few times.
The wheat that had been plucked out was poured into a large aluminum plate in his hand.
He finally pinched a few, chewed them a few times, nodded, and that was considered passing.
The captain and his men, who had been so tense they barely dared to breathe, finally breathed a sigh of relief, put on smiles, and let the men of the brigade carry the grain onto the scales.
The accountant stood beside the scale without blinking, staring intently at the weigher's hands and feet, as well as the scale's markings.
As the weigher made a note, he would silently repeat it to himself.
Finally, after all the wheat from the team was weighed, the final numbers were checked.
The accountant had already mentally calculated it and found that it was mostly correct, so he finally felt relieved.
Even though their group was second in line, because there were many people ahead of them, it was already afternoon by the time they finished.
Everyone had experience and brought dry food and water.
When thirsty, drink water; when hungry, eat dry food.
Those who didn't bring water could simply scoop up a handful of water from nearby canals and ponds and drink their fill.
Xu Ningyan carried Gu Zhiyuan's military water bottle with her when she went out today, since it's convenient.
Along the way, this military water bottle attracted a lot of attention; everyone who passed by would take a second look and wish they could touch it.
The dry rations were pancakes that were baked in the morning. They were dry and hard. If you took a bite, your cheeks would ache from chewing, and you still couldn't swallow them. You had to drink some water to soften them before you could swallow them.
Even so, the little kids next to them were biting their fingers, drooling, and watching longingly.
Xu Ningyan quietly stuffed the unfinished biscuit into the military satchel Gu Zhiyuan had given her. The children waited for a long time, and when they saw that Xu Ningyan had no intention of sharing the biscuit with them, they scattered in all directions.
After waiting a while longer, until all the wheat in the brigade had been stored in the granary, everyone dragged their tired bodies home.
Although everyone was exhausted, they all had smiles on their faces.
After all, the summer's grain task was successfully completed, and the remaining wheat could be distributed after returning to the brigade.
For more than half a year, everyone has been craving flour made from the new wheat.
Some families were so poor they couldn't even afford to eat, and they were counting on the wheat they received to save their lives.
Because of hope, the journey back to the brigade felt exceptionally short. We chatted and laughed, and arrived at the brigade in no time.
The brigade leader has already announced that we'll have a half-day off today, and the wheat will be distributed first thing tomorrow morning.
Everyone went home happily, calculating how much their family would receive this year.
Before the crowd had dispersed, several "beep beep" sounds came from the road at the entrance of the brigade.
There were also children screaming: "It's a car! A live toy car—"
car?
Most of the people in the brigade had never seen it before, and even those who had only seen it had only seen the bus that ran from the town to the county seat.
I heard that cars aren't going home anymore; they're craning their necks to look at the road.
From afar, a small military green car could be seen slowly driving over.
Several children were chasing after the car.
After the car entered the brigade, it drove very slowly. The window was rolled down, revealing a familiar face.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Isn't that Pearl from the Xu family? Why is she sitting in the car?"
In everyone's eyes, this car is something only county leaders can ride in. Didn't you see that even commune leaders can only ride bicycles?
What merit or ability does Xu Zhenzhu possess to be able to ride in a car?
People gathered around and started asking all sorts of questions: "Pearl, did you bring this car back?"
"Pearl, is this a relative of yours?"
"pearl……"
Someone even shouted to the back, "Xu Jinlai, you have distinguished guests from the city!"
With a big smile, Xu Zhenzhu waved to everyone and said very politely and gently, "Uncles and aunts, could you please make way for the car to pass by my house?"
The driver honked the horn a few more times, and the crowd reluctantly stepped back a few paces, making way just wide enough for a car to pass.
The car slowly drove past, and everyone stared into the car window.
Next to Xu Zhenzhu sat a young, refined man and a middle-aged woman wearing a blue "Lenin suit." In the front passenger seat sat a middle-aged man who looked very imposing and serious.
The man didn't speak, but merely glanced out the window with a frown, causing everyone to involuntarily take several steps back.
After the car drove past, they patted their chests and looked at each other: "Hey, who was that person? Just one glance at me and my legs cramped up!"
"Absolutely! Just one look from him and I was sweating bullets!"
"Is this what they call the arrogance of a high-ranking official in the city, as described in those plays?"
"Where did the Xu family get this high-ranking official relative from the city?"
"Hey, you guys forgot? Didn't Xu Zhenzhu save someone in the back mountain before? Apparently, she works at the county's machinery factory. Maybe it's the family she saved who came to thank her!"
...
They discussed quietly, and their feet unconsciously followed behind the car, heading towards Xu Zhenzhu's house.
The car stopped in front of Xu Zhenzhu's house, and the area was immediately surrounded by a crowd.
The Xu Jinlai and Xu Baolai families, who were lagging behind, were anxious, but they couldn't squeeze past the onlookers and could only follow behind.
I finally got home and used all my strength to squeeze from the back of the crowd to the front.
The Xu family's gate was open, and Miao Cuihua, having heard the commotion, came out of the house to see what was going on.
I saw my daughter get out of the car first, then help a young, refined man out of the car and stand still.
She looked closely and realized that the man looked somewhat familiar; he resembled Lu Kai, the man her daughter had rescued in the back mountain last time.
His eyes lit up immediately: "A pearl, what is this?"
The front door and the other rear door opened, and the middle-aged man and woman got out, smiling at Miao Cuihua: "Auntie, thank you for raising such a brave and righteous girl! She saved my Xiao Kai's life! We should have come to thank her long ago, but Xiao Kai couldn't get out of bed at that time, and if he couldn't come in person, it wouldn't feel like we were being sincere enough!"
"Now that our little Kai can get out of bed, the three of us have come to thank you in person, Auntie! Thank you, Comrade Xiao Xu!"
He then reached out his hand to shake hands with Miao Cuihua.
Miao Cuihua was extremely excited. She wiped her hands on the hem of her clothes repeatedly before she shakily reached out and grasped the middle-aged man's hand.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say, only managing to say, "It's my duty, it's my duty—"
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