After dinner, it was completely dark. Zhao Shunsheng smoked a pipe before going out, with Zhao Mingyue following behind to light the way for her father, carrying a lantern. Zhao Minglang hadn't originally planned to go, but seeing his father and sister leave, he went along. Usually, each family sent one representative to the meeting, and Zhao Shunsheng was fine with going, but since Zhao Mingyue was going, Zhao Minglang went as well to ensure his sister's safety.
Moon Bay Brigade is composed of five production groups, with more than 200 households and over 1,200 people, making it a relatively large natural village. The meeting place is the brigade courtyard in the center of the village, where all major brigade affairs are usually held, including meetings, grain distribution, and movie screenings.
Under the hazy night sky, a bonfire burned in the center of the courtyard. Zhao Mingyue looked around the brigade's courtyard; it was still the same as she remembered. Three buildings stood in a triangular formation: the brigade office in the middle, the dormitories for the educated youth to the east, and the brigade's warehouse to the west. Slogans characteristic of that era were painted in white lime on the walls: "Carry the proletarian revolution through to the end," and "Sailing the seas depends on the helmsman; making revolution depends on Mao Zedong Thought." The row of houses where the educated youth lived bore the slogan, "The countryside is a vast world."
Zhao Mingyue glanced at the educated youth's quarters, then turned her gaze back to the meeting hall. Benches had already been set up in the courtyard, and everyone was arriving and taking their seats one after another. Zhao Mingyue sat down with her father. Her bright eyes scanned the platform, which was actually the corridor of the office, slightly higher than the courtyard, with two long tables placed on it.
A lantern was lit there, and only one person sat on the stage. Zhao Mingyue looked at the figure with his head down, writing something, and couldn't help but tense up. She stared intently, as if trying to confirm if she was dreaming. Her index finger curled up and unconsciously went to her lips, biting it with her teeth, afraid that she would lose control of her emotions. She never expected to see him again, especially such a young man.
Zhao Jinyun then came over with a white enamel mug, wearing a khaki Zhongshan suit and a yellow military cap, perfectly embodying the demeanor of a leader. He coughed, cleared his throat, lifted the lid of the mug, took a sip of tea, and then began to speak: "Hey, is everyone here? If everyone's here, let's start the meeting."
The young man, who had been sitting, capped his black fountain pen, looked up, and surveyed the entire hall with bright eyes, saying nothing. Zhao Mingyue stared at him intently, thankfully in the dim light, so no one noticed her direct and bold gaze.
She didn't notice what Zhao Jinyun had said earlier, but at the end she heard him say, "...Let Secretary Shen report to everyone on the specific situation of our village's grain production."
The young man next to him coughed lightly and then began to speak: "It is like this, the total population of our Moon Bay Brigade is 1,221 people, the total grain output is 459,096 jin, and the per capita grain output is 376 jin, which includes the grain handed over to the state."
Zhao Jinyun continued, "Comrade Shen Xuyue has already explained it very clearly. The average grain yield per capita in our village is 376 jin, but when divided among everyone, it's less than that. Most families don't have enough grain to eat. Why is there so little grain? I'm sure everyone knows the reason: our village has too little arable land. So, to solve the grain shortage problem, how do we do it? We should expand the arable land area. Our village committee, after discussion, proposed that the tea gardens be completely cleared this year and terraced fields built to increase grain production."
As soon as the suggestion was made, everyone in the room started whispering among themselves. Tea was originally the main product of Moon Bay, and even the entire county. During the Great Leap Forward, they received a notice from higher authorities to do everything possible to increase grain production and reduce tea production. As a result, many large tea-producing villages destroyed their tea gardens and converted them into farmland. At the time, the village head and party secretary of Moon Bay believed that this was something passed down from generation to generation and couldn't all be wiped out. They did their utmost to preserve the largest tea mountain and secured an annual quota of tea for the government, thus saving the tea garden.
During the movement, the overall demand for tea decreased, and the tea production and revenue of Moon Bay were also reduced. Without tea income, people's lives depended entirely on food, and their lives became increasingly difficult. Two years after taking office, Zhao Jinyun turned his attention to the tea mountains. He wanted to eradicate the tea gardens in exchange for increased grain production to demonstrate his political achievements.
Shen Xuyue said, "Everyone is welcome to speak up if they have any opinions. Although this decision has been voted on by the village committee, we still need to pool our wisdom and opinions to see if there is a more reasonable solution."
Most people living in that era were limited by the times. Filling their stomachs was the primary task, and they certainly didn't consider the importance of sustainable development. They also couldn't foresee that the movement was about to end and that in a few years, land would be distributed to individual households. At that time, people wouldn't be worried about filling their stomachs, but about not having enough money.
Zhao Mingyue knew, of course, that this approach wouldn't work. Destroying the tea plantation might provide people with a little more food for the next two years, but in a few more years, it would become the root of their village's poverty. Because in this world, destruction is easy, but rebuilding is difficult. Once the land is divided, people's hearts will scatter. Who will then have the charisma, the financial resources, and the manpower to rally everyone to rebuild the tea plantation?
However, Zhao Mingyue also knew that this matter couldn't be discussed in front of everyone; it had to be addressed privately, one by one. Having lived half her life, Zhao Mingyue knew the saying "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." She wouldn't be foolish enough to stand up and declare her opposition in this era where even a single word could lead to a crime. What good would her opposition do? She was just a young girl; people would only see her as someone who loved to show off.
Fortunately, not everyone present agreed with this opinion. People's feelings for the tea garden were much deeper than Zhao Jinyun's. The tea garden, tea picking, and tea making techniques passed down from generation to generation were about to disappear with the destruction of the tea garden. Everyone was still somewhat reluctant to part with it, even though the tea garden did not bring them much benefit at the moment.
That evening, many elderly people expressed their disapproval of the decision, while more young people agreed, because they had hardly benefited from the tea plantation and had no emotional attachment to it. Instead, they felt that the tea plantation's existence had been a source of hunger for them.
Because there were many dissenting voices, the meeting that evening still yielded no results, and it was said that it would need to be discussed again.
After the meeting, Zhao Mingyue said to Zhao Minglang, "Brother, I have something I want to say to Secretary Shen. Will you come with me?"
Zhao Minglang looked at his sister with some surprise: "Why are you looking for the Party Secretary?" Although Shen Xuyue was young, only 24 years old, he had already served as the village Party Secretary for two years. He was handsome, tall, and very humble and polite. He was also a sent-down youth. There were countless girls in the village who admired him. Could it be that his sister also liked him?
"You can come with me." Zhao Mingyue pulled Zhao Minglang's arm and said to her father, "Dad, here's the lantern. Can you go back first? My third brother and I will be back later."
Zhao Shunsheng looked at his daughter: "Mingyue, what do you want with the Party Secretary at this late hour?" A single woman and a single young man together, people will gossip.
Zhao Mingyue said, "It's important. My brother is with me, so it's alright, Dad, don't worry."
Unable to persuade his daughter otherwise, Zhao Shunsheng had no choice but to go back first.
The villagers gradually dispersed, leaving only a few village officials in front of the platform. Zhao Mingyue wasn't in a hurry to go over; she wanted to wait until Zhao Jinyun left. However, Zhao Jinyun spotted the siblings: "Oh, aren't these Minglang and Mingyue from Shunsheng's family? Why haven't you left yet?"
Shen Xuyue raised his head and looked at Zhao Mingyue. The campfire had dimmed, and people's faces were not clearly visible. Shen Xuyue could only see two figures, one strong and the other slender.
Zhao Mingyue had no choice but to walk over: "I have something I want to talk to Secretary Shen about." She then gave Shen Xuyue a shy smile.
Zhao Jinyun turned around and glanced at Shen Xuyue, then chuckled, "You young people can talk things over, I'm leaving now." As she left, her gaze lingered on Zhao Mingyue's face and body, making Zhao Mingyue feel as if that gaze were a venomous snake, making her extremely uncomfortable. Zhao Minglang pulled her behind him.
Shen Xuyue put down the pen and notebook he had already put away, then sat down and looked up at Zhao Mingyue: "Is there something you need?"
Zhao Mingyue looked at Shen Xuyue, who had a smile on his face, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down: "Secretary Shen, I would like to ask you your opinion on converting the tea garden into terraced fields. Do you also think it should be cleared away to make farmland?"
Shen Xuyue looked at Zhao Mingyue with some surprise. He knew this girl, but they had never interacted before. The reason he first paid attention to her was because her name had the character "yue" in it, which was a homonym for his own name. He pondered for a moment and said, "In recent years, the county has assigned very few tea production quotas, resulting in very low income. The entire tea garden has been almost idle, which has led to a decrease in the income shared by everyone in the past two years."
“I know the reason, but I want to know if Secretary Shen thinks it should be changed?” Zhao Mingyue looked at Shen Xuyue.
Shen Xuyue hesitated for a moment, then said, "In my honest opinion, converting the tea garden into terraced fields is not suitable. Firstly, tea gardens are a traditional industry inherent to our Moon Bay. Although the tea industry is not doing well now, it doesn't mean it won't do well in the future. Secondly, converting it into terraced fields will increase the water demand, and it will be difficult to maintain arable land. If the weather is favorable, it will be fine, but if there is a drought, it will become very troublesome." Shen Xuyue's considerations were very comprehensive.
Zhao Mingyue smiled. He was indeed knowledgeable. Although the terraced fields had a bumper harvest in the first year of the renovation, they encountered a drought in the second year, and the terraced fields yielded almost no harvest. Later, they stopped growing rice and started growing soybeans, peanuts and the like.
Zhao Mingyue nodded: "I think so too. I don't think it's wise to convert the tea gardens. In the long run, tea will still be our main industry. Although the output has decreased temporarily, I believe that the country will develop soon, and the demand for tea will still be very large in the future. So I think it's best to preserve our traditional advantages. Converting the land to farmland may solve everyone's food problem in the short term, but it's putting the cart before the horse. Preserving the tea gardens is a sustainable economic model that can also benefit future generations."
When Shen Xuyue first heard the term "sustainable development" from Zhao Mingyue, he thought about it carefully and found it to be of profound significance. He was very surprised and looked up at the girl standing in front of him. She was only a teenager, yet she knew this principle.
Zhao Mingyue said with a smile, "So I think our village's decision still needs to be discussed more carefully. What do you think, Secretary Shen?"
Shen Xuyue didn't reply for a moment, but looked up at Zhao Mingyue, his mind preoccupied with the idea of sustainable development. Zhao Mingyue lowered her head, and her eyes met Shen Xuyue's. Their eyes locked, and a strange flutter stirred within them.
Zhao Mingyue quickly looked away, and Shen Xuyue lowered his head imperceptibly: "What you said makes sense. Our village branch needs to discuss this matter properly."
Zhao Mingyue added, "If the tea garden were converted into farmland, the slope of that area would be too steep and the soil too loose. Not only would it be difficult to retain water, but heavy rain would likely cause soil erosion, affecting the farmland below." The tea garden has a very steep slope, making it unsuitable for conversion into terraced fields, which is why it was left as is in the first place.
This was the second word Shen Xuyue heard from Zhao Mingyue tonight—"soil erosion." He was very shocked. If she were an educated youth from the city who loved to study, she might know about these things. But Zhao Mingyue was clearly a rural girl who had attended junior high school. He never expected her to have such unique insights.
“I understand. Comrade Zhao Mingyue, I will think carefully about what you said tonight and bring this up again at the village committee meeting.” Shen Xuyue felt that if a mere rural woman could have such a far-sighted and macro-level perspective, how could he, a village party branch secretary, make such an obvious and basic mistake?
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