At around four o'clock in the morning, wisps of smoke were already rising over Zhangjia Village. Apart from the women who had gotten up early, men of all ages, carrying hoes, were already busy with farm work on their private plots.
In the distance, besides the crowing of chickens in various courtyards, there were also the sounds of people shouting at their men and children to eat.
As soon as Father Zhang entered the village with his hands behind his back, he was discovered.
"Second brother, why are you back so early?"
"Have you eaten yet? Did you finish the porridge at home?"
Father Zhang smiled and shook his head. Many families only had two meals a day, except when they were busy with farming. How could he have the nerve to take advantage of them?
"My sister-in-law hasn't come back yet?"
"The child's mother is chatting with Second Aunt at the village entrance and will be back soon."
"That's good. If you need help, just give me a shout."
"Okay." Zhang Dad went around greeting everyone, but he couldn't find the old captain. But he wasn't in a hurry. Since he was here, he would leave in the afternoon.
When passing by Uncle Zhang's house, Dad Zhang paused and stepped into his house, just in time to see his niece-in-law carrying pig food.
"Second uncle, you're back to the village."
Father Zhang stretched his neck and looked towards the main hall. "Where's your father?"
"He and the child's father are in the private plot. Come in and sit down first. I'll go call them back."
When Zhang Dad saw her put down the bucket, he quickly waved his hand and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll find your dad later."
"It's okay, it's very close."
"No need, the pigs are screaming with hunger." After saying this, Father Zhang turned around and walked out towards Zhang Guoqing's yard.
Zhang Qingshan's wife stood at the door waiting for him to leave and enter the yard. She curled her lips and sighed regretfully.
Aunt Zhang came from the backyard and saw her eldest daughter-in-law not doing her job again. She couldn't help but ask, "The pigs are squealing with hunger, what are you looking at?"
"Mom, Second Uncle is back."
Aunt Zhang glanced at her and lowered her eyes. "What's there to say about your second uncle coming back? Doesn't he always come back every few days?"
"He just looked for his father before he even came home."
Aunt Zhang nodded and said, "Don't meddle in the master's business. Go feed the pigs. Your father will be furious when he comes back and hears about it."
After hearing what she said, Zhang Qingshan's wife quickly picked up the bucket and walked to the backyard, calling her two daughters in the kitchen to come and help.
Aunt Zhang shook her head. This daughter-in-law really didn't know how to love her daughter. She wouldn't regret it when she got old. She was already a grandmother, and she didn't bother to give any advice. What was the point of saying more if no one listened?
When Zhang's mother entered her yard carrying a fish in one hand, she saw her husband heading to the backyard. "Why are you working right after you come back?"
"I feel uncomfortable when I have nothing to do."
Zhang's mother laughed and scolded, "You are destined to suffer so much."
"Where did this catfish come from? It's not easy to get some meat in the village, so I'll just postpone it in the future."
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I don't understand this. This was given to me by my second nephew at the village entrance. This kid is still thinking of our family's favor."
Father Zhang has many nephews. If his wife hadn’t asked him to think of a favor, he wouldn’t have been able to guess which one it was.
"Send some brown sugar as a return gift later."
"That's what I was thinking," Zhang's mother continued cheerfully. "Xiaowu's Aunt Ye is truly amazing. I think the little kid is fine now."
"A broken bone needs to be healed for a hundred days. Have you told your nephew and his wife?"
"That young wife is very careful. This is a boy, so she mentioned it all without me saying anything. But this child is too naughty. I heard he went climbing trees again a few days ago..."
When Mr. Zhang saw his wife walking towards the kitchen, he had no intention of going to the backyard for a moment, so he stood in the yard and listened to her muttering.
"...Why aren't these kids as sensible as our Ping'an? They're so old, not to mention Ping'an, they can't even compare to our Liuyiwuyi."
"Dad, let's go to Beijing to see our grandchildren at the end of the year. I feel uncomfortable just looking at the photos Jiaojiao sent me without seeing the children in person."
Zhang Dad laughed out loud. "Okay, I'll do as you say. Are you going to stay here for the winter? I have to go see how our Xiaowu is doing."
The old couple often talked about going to the capital, but until now they had not yet made the trip. Besides the fact that Zhang's father was a temporary street worker, the travel expenses were a pain in the ass.
When the loudspeaker sounded at Shanggong, Dad Zhang pushed away the straw duster handed to him by his wife and dusted himself off.
"Come back early at noon, I'll make you catfish stewed with eggplant." Mother Zhang watched her husband leave, and seeing that he was about to go back to the fields to help.
"Old woman, I'm not a child." Father Zhang laughed heartily upon hearing this and waved his hands behind him.
The horn signaling the start of work sounded, and all the members gathered in front of the production team yard. The old team leader in front quickly called out everyone's names and arranged everyone's farm work.
After watching them disperse, he would then patrol from the wheat fields to the rice paddies with his hands behind his back. If he came across any lazy members, he would scold them and then give them some encouragement.
He had used this tactic of giving someone a slap and then a candy for years, and it seemed to still be quite effective. In fact, besides his prestige, there was another major factor.
If a member who was called out by him repeatedly failed to correct his behavior that day, half of his work points for that day would be deducted. This two-pronged approach kept the team's morale high over the years.
This arrangement made the educated youth comrades who had been here for several months very happy. They were worried that the communal meals would not be shared, and they were even more worried that they, the outsiders, would be bullied.
But the reality is more optimistic than they imagined. Compared with other places, people here have all the advantages of people from Northeast China.
They are enthusiastic, sincere and honest. They will give timely advice on many daily life issues and the help they can provide is not vague at all.
In the words of the old ladies in Zhangjia Village, it is not easy for children from the city, so they should help as much as possible.
Such a simple sentence often moved the five educated youth, who were far away from their families, to tears. Therefore, they cherished this kindness even more.
While the educated youth in other production teams tried their best to ask for leave and slack off during the busy farming season, they still followed closely behind them working day and night.
The old captain was now strolling slowly towards the rice paddies. He intended to see the five young men pulling up the rice seedlings for the first time and to ask the villagers to take better care of them.
Now that they are here, and it seems like they won't be able to go back for a few years, he has to make plans for these children. He can't let them not be able to tell the difference between weeds and rice.
He was quite satisfied with these five young people. Raising rice seedlings in the spring was hard work, and the rice fields were covered with ice, but these kids still insisted on working with everyone else.
If he hadn't forced the two girls to work in the wheat fields, they would have probably fallen ill. So, after the rice seedlings were grown, they were faced with the strenuous work of leveling and harrowing the land. The five girls asked to join the group.
Composting, pulling up seedlings, transplanting rice seedlings. Even with back pain and leg pain, and leeches biting their calves, these children never flinched. Compared to the teams next door, these four children were more clever, diligent, and understanding, so the old team leader didn't want to overly mistreat them.
Arriving at the edge of the field, the old captain looked at the educated youth not far away, who seemed to be moving more slowly than the villagers. He didn't call out to them. Slowness is good; it shows they're carefully identifying the situation.
He was also worried that these kids might act without restraint in order to finish the work.
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