The next morning, Zhang Guoqing and his wife got up early, had breakfast, and took their luggage with them to get on a horse-drawn carriage with Zhang's father and mother to Zhangjia Village.
After visiting Zhao Dashan and Zuo Lin last night, the couple planned to stay for a few more days, bring some game to the provincial capital to meet Zhao Chuangguang and others, and then set off back to Beijing.
The couple had cleaned out the Zhangjiacun yard last time. They had thought the house would be covered in dust after so long, so they planned to clean it up thoroughly.
Unexpectedly, not only the bedroom, but even the backyard had been kept clean by Zhang's father and mother. Neither of them knew what to say. He had been worried about his parents since he was away, and he had wanted to be filial to them, but he hadn't expected to burden them.
After putting two quilts and a big pot on top, seeing that everything was done, Zhang Guoqing took advantage of the working hours and went to the production team office with the package.
Even during the winter, when the farm work is slack, there is still a lot of work to do in the team, such as picking seeds, collecting cow dung, weaving wicker baskets, and twisting hemp ropes, not to mention that some people still have to go out to work.
In addition to the farm work that requires going out, a row of women are busy picking seeds on a hot north-south kang in the production team's yard.
Picking seeds is the least busy job in the team. Since there aren't many seeds readily available, every year the team leader has the village women sort out the shriveled, moldy, and bad seeds, saving the good ones for planting next spring.
Although the women chatted about family matters, none dared to take their eyes off the work at hand. Planting and raising these seeds next year would be crucial to their food security, so no one dared to be careless.
Picking seeds is a fun job that everyone is willing to participate in, especially picking peanuts, beans and the like. This is a good job for people who can't even get enough food, and the temptation is quite great.
After the old captain arranged the work, he went to take a look in the house. Seeing that the old women had done nothing wrong, he, an old man, felt it was not appropriate for him to stay in the house, so he asked Ye Zi, the director of the women's department, to keep an eye on it. He was worried that someone would steal the seeds and take them home.
After leaving the house, he began to pace and walked to the pig farm in the back row. Seeing that the pigs and chickens there were growing well, he laughed happily - it seemed that he had not served these ancestors in vain.
When Zhang Guoqing arrived at the brigade office carrying a large bag of old clothes, the old captain happened to be standing at the door. As soon as he learned that this guy had returned to the village, he knew he would come to see him, and he was right.
The old captain looked at him with a smile. "Why are you carrying so many bags? Are you okay out there? How long will you be staying this time?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded. "Inside are all the old clothes I asked for. You can take care of them. The child didn't come back this time, so we will go back in two or three days."
The old captain smiled with relief. "I'll distribute them to the children later. Didn't you embarrass your father-in-law by doing this?"
"My father-in-law is not that kind of person. He has always supported his old comrades."
The old captain said as he walked away, "He's a real man. He's loyal and righteous. What a pity... Remember to learn some skills from him. Even just 20% or 30% will be enough to last you a lifetime."
This was the second time Zhang Guoqing had heard the old captain give him this advice. He didn't ask what the pity was, but just smiled and nodded.
The old captain stood up and walked out of the yard, pointing to the white fields outside. "You've been out for so long, do you still remember working in the fields in previous years?"
Zhang Guoqing understood what he meant. "Remember. This is my root. No matter how long I stay outside, I will never forget that I am from a farming family."
"Alas... remember, no matter where you go in the future, don't learn from those guys who rely on others for power. We, the descendants of the Zhang family, cannot let our ancestors lie in the grave in peace, and we must not do things that make people criticize us."
The old captain finished speaking, not expecting him to respond. He continued in a sad and angry tone, "Not long after you arrived in the capital, the village was forcibly plundered by those guys who took advantage of their power. They falsely passed on an imperial decree, saying that it was a document from above, forbidding anyone to hide food. I'm old, and I can't care less, but those bad guys were so infuriating that they searched all the way to your little yard, and only fled after a few people pointed out that it was your family. Xiaowu, don't pay any attention to these people in the future. They are villains who take advantage of the situation. Be careful when dealing with them."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded, understanding that even if he was at home, he couldn't stop them. But there were some things he couldn't discuss too intensely with the elderly. He changed the subject and chatted about something else.
"Xiaowu is back. Are your wife and son back? Your parents have been looking forward to your return every day. How many days do you plan to stay this time?" As soon as Uncle Zhang arrived at the team, he saw his nephew smiling and chatting with the old team leader.
Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded when he saw him. "The child didn't come back with us this time. He will go back in a few days. How is Uncle doing?"
"What's good about that? These times are tough. Did you see those people fleeing famine when you came back this time? Even if you hadn't come back, I would have written to look for you."
The old captain waved his hand to stop him from speaking. "Don't talk about that for now. This kid is a caring person. He will help when there's trouble. But now is not the right time. The village should just hold on a little longer. If they can't hold on any longer, we can talk about it later."
Uncle Zhang nodded happily. He didn't want his nephew to suffer any loss, but since he was the most promising child in the Zhang family, he always had to do something for the family. Sometimes, being forced to do something on his own initiative made him appear more humane.
Zhang Guoqing had no idea what his uncle was thinking. He had heard a lot of gossip during his return, and he had already made plans. It was just that the time hadn't come yet!
"Luckily you found a dense forest, otherwise it would be hard for us to even get enough to eat. Unfortunately, even the animals have learned their lesson and have fled to the deep mountains. It's too dangerous there, and I don't dare let the young people from the village go there now. Let's just live like this for now, and we'll find a way out when we can't make it anymore."
Zhang Guoqing listened to the old captain muttering to himself, and he didn't hesitate to join in. Who wouldn't want to die unless they were in dire straits? Even if the old captain wanted them to go deep into the mountains, there wasn't a good chance anyone would agree.
"Uncle San, should we turn in the pigs for the team early? We'll have plenty to chew on today."
After listening to Uncle Zhang's words, the old captain hesitated for a moment, and finally told his plan, "Wait a little longer and see what other villages are doing. Some villages don't even have pig hair. The township should have a new policy. Why pay it so early?"
Zhang Guoqing glanced at the two men. It seemed the village wasn't bad; at least they had pigs to feed. So, should he give them the corn and rice bran? He didn't care about the food, but he was afraid they'd take it for granted and ask for it again. But if he didn't give it to them this time, the food would spoil quickly, so he'd have to take it with him.
Alas... I am in such a dilemma!
The three of them chatted for a while and then Zhang Guoqing left on the pretext of something.
At noon, the village canteen gave each person a bowl of rice. Zhou Jiao was lucky enough to get a bowl of chopped cabbage stalks mixed with a little dried sweet potato, and a small, easily disintegrating wild vegetable husk ball.
Even so, the aunties in the village specially gave the thickest ones at the bottom to Zhang Guoqing and his wife, and they also picked the largest vegetable dumplings.
Zhou Jiao began to understand why Xizi and the other children did not follow them back to the village.
Unable to refuse such a generous offer, Zhou Jiao thanked the ladies and enjoyed a loving meal filled with nostalgia. The food wasn't much worse than what you'd get at school.
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