Finally, the spot fell on Du Jianshan, who had been specially pushed to the front row by Chen Jianshan, and a hint of approving smile appeared on his dignified face.
He strode to the makeshift earthen platform, took the tin megaphone handed to him by the guard, and spoke in a loud and clear voice that echoed throughout the entire threshing ground:
"Comrades! Fellow members! Today, we are holding this commendation meeting here!"
"The person being commended is Comrade Du Jianshan, a fine soldier of our Production and Construction Corps and a good role model for educated youth!"
"Wow!" Thunderous applause erupted instantly and lasted for a long time.
Wang Tieniu was so excited that his face turned red, and he clapped his hands so loudly it shook the heavens.
Aygul stood in the crowd, looking at Du Jianshan on the stage, her eyes shining like stars in the sky.
The educated youth in the company, especially those who went with Du Jianshan to find water, all stood tall with pride.
On the outskirts of the crowd, Ma Chunmei and her brother Ma Jinbao had faces as green and bluish as the pile of rotten vegetable leaves next to the threshing ground.
Ma Chunmei bit her lip hard, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Ma Jinbao lowered his head, staring at the ground with resentment in his eyes, his mind in turmoil.
On what grounds?
How come this bastard has established himself so quickly after only a month or so?
Why did he get the commander's praise?
These credits should have been his!
It was all stolen by that beast Du Jianshan!
Regiment Commander Zhao raised his hand to suppress the applause and continued, "Comrade Du Jianshan, responding to the call, has taken root in the frontier!"
"Faced with the severe water shortage in the company, he did not wait for help but dared to explore! With his extraordinary wisdom and perseverance, he successfully found a new high-quality water source!"
"It solved the urgent needs of Baiyangbao Company for production and daily life, and also made outstanding contributions to the land reclamation efforts of surrounding companies! This spirit of self-reliance and hard work is worthy of our emulation!"
"After deliberation by the Party Committee of the Corps, it has been decided to confer upon Comrade Du Jianshan the honorary title of 'Outstanding Educated Youth of the Corps' and to award him a material reward!"
Commander Zhao personally and solemnly handed a bright red hard-cover certificate with the gold "Award" character printed on it to Du Jianshan.
Then, the guard brought over a tray covered with a red silk cloth.
Commander Zhao unveiled the red silk cloth:
"Cash reward: 500 yuan!"
"Reward: Ten Industrial Vouchers!"
"A reward of 300 jin of grain, meat, cooking oil, and other daily necessities!"
With each sentence read aloud, everyone's eyes lit up a little more.
Wow! Five hundred dollars! My God!
"And there are industrial vouchers! You can buy bicycles and sewing machines!"
"Three hundred pounds of supplies! How long will that last?"
The crowd erupted in even louder gasps and envious cries.
Du Jianshan accepted the certificate and the heavy tray, and bowed deeply to Commander Zhao and the audience.
Commander Zhao nodded in satisfaction, then dropped another bombshell:
"Comrades! To celebrate the successful resolution of the water problem by the Baiyangbao Company, and also to express our appreciation to the soldiers and educated youth of the Production and Construction Corps who are fighting on the Gobi Desert!"
"The regimental party committee has decided to temporarily move the cultural troupe's performance, which was originally scheduled to be held at the regimental headquarters, to our Baiyangbao Company! Tonight! Right here in our threshing ground!"
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