“Okay, then I’ll wait for you at the brigade headquarters.” The brigade headquarters is conspicuous in every brigade, so Suti pushed the cart directly to the entrance of the brigade headquarters.
Wei Baichuan felt relieved to go find someone only after seeing his wife waiting obediently there.
Fortunately, he had been to this brigade before when escorting a bride, so he didn't have to ask anyone for directions along the way.
As for the brigade's fields, they're easy to find; the place with the most people is definitely the one.
"Comrade, who are you looking for?" Wei Baichuan's face was conspicuous wherever he went, and many people in the field looked over when they saw the unfamiliar face.
"I'm from Yangliu Brigade. I was sent by higher-ups to paint propaganda slogans. I'm looking for your brigade leader," Wei Baichuan explained his purpose.
Upon hearing this, several people hurriedly went to call for help, looking at Wei Baichuan as if he were some kind of spectacle.
"Hey, eldest daughter-in-law, doesn't that person look like your brother?" An old woman not far away looked up and saw Wei Baichuan, feeling that he looked familiar.
“My brother from my mother’s side? Mother, you’ve mistaken him for someone else. How could my brother from my mother’s side be here? That person came to see the brigade leader. I heard someone calling for help over there.”
Wei Xiuying looked up and saw that the man was so strong and robust, unlike her brothers.
Her eldest brother wasn't this tall, her second brother was much thinner than this man, and her third brother was fairer than him. None of them matched up, so she glanced at him and looked away.
"Did I see wrong?" Wei Xiuying's mother-in-law muttered.
“Mom, you know perfectly well that my sister-in-law’s family is in complete chaos right now. Everyone knows that her father has been arrested.”
Wei Xiuying's sister-in-law sneered at the person. In the past, her sister-in-law had often looked down on people because her father was the brigade leader.
Now that her family has fallen on hard times, she's become a little more obedient. When her brothers from her family come, her sister-in-law feels ashamed.
"Hey, you son of a bitch, what's there to brag about? You're a useless thing that doesn't lay eggs, and you still have the nerve to laugh at me?"
Wei Xiuying's life in her husband's family over the years, while not exceptionally good, was certainly better than that of her sisters-in-law.
She gave birth to a son as soon as she entered the house, and later had a son and a daughter. Now she is pregnant again.
In addition, her father was the brigade leader, so she had been able to do whatever she wanted at home all these years. Even her mother-in-law would never say anything harsh to her.
Ever since her father's accident, her sisters-in-law have been openly and secretly making fun of her. They do it at home, but they don't give her any face in public either. She won't back down.
“You…you…” Wei Xiuying’s second sister-in-law’s eyes reddened instantly. She knew that she was looked down upon for giving birth to three daughters in a row.
But her family wouldn't say this to her face to avoid upsetting her, but unexpectedly, Wei Xiuying shouted it out in front of so many people.
"Alright, stop arguing and get to work." Wei Xiuying's mother-in-law's words silenced everyone.
The others glanced at it but didn't take it to heart. There was plenty of work to be done during the autumn harvest, and besides, everyone was already familiar with Wei Xiuying's family's story, so there was nothing surprising about it.
"Comrade, hello, I am the captain of the Luzha Brigade." The man saw Wei Baichuan and politely tried to shake hands with him.
"Hello, I'm from Yangliu Brigade. I came with my wife; she's the one working in the propaganda department."
Wei Baichuan could tell from his expression that he had misunderstood.
"Where is your wife?" The captain of the Luzha Brigade nodded, then looked behind Wei Baichuan and saw no one there.
Hearing that he was from Yangliu Brigade, I glanced at him again.
"She's at the brigade headquarters." Wei Baichuan led his men back, worried that his wife might be getting impatient.
When they arrived at the brigade headquarters, the brigade leader became much more polite to Suti.
"Captain, are your brigade's propaganda slogans displayed in this brigade headquarters?" Su Ti had just observed that there was nothing on the walls of the brigade headquarters.
"Yes, yes, it's just that no one in our brigade knows how to draw. The last time someone came was a year ago, and it was washed away by the rain long ago."
“Other brigades would write a couple of lines themselves, but our brigade was full of illiterate people. Some educated youth had tried to write, but the team members thought it was too dark and not as nice as the mud wall, so they wouldn’t let us draw anymore.”
The captain looked at her apologetically, worried that if she didn't draw well, the team members might say something unpleasant, and the woman, being easily embarrassed, might cry.
I wanted to give them a heads-up beforehand, because there are quite a few gossipy people in their brigade.
You can't blame them. Their brigade is the richest in the commune, so it's normal for them to have a bit of a temper and high standards.
"Okay, then I'll just draw whatever I want. If it doesn't look good, please give me your feedback and I'll correct it."
Suti could clearly see the arrogance in the captain's eyes; she didn't think her abilities were particularly outstanding.
If the team members are really dissatisfied later, they are welcome to give their opinions so that she can make corrections when she goes to other teams next time.
The brigade leader of Luzha Brigade was satisfied with Su Ti's attitude; he thought that all the people from the propaganda department would be like those last time.
The team members said a few words, then stormed off, never wanting to come to their team again. This time, their attitude was much better.
"You two comrades, you can draw here. I still have work to do in the fields." The entire production brigade was currently engaged in the autumn harvest, so the brigade leader left the keys and departed.
There wasn't much in the brigade headquarters, just a few chairs for meetings and resting.
Having had the experience before, Su Ti and Wei Baichuan cooperated even better this time. When they were tired, they would rest, and occasionally they would look down and smile at each other.
Suti thought that the main crop grown in Luzha Brigade was cotton, so in addition to the slogans, he also drew a picture of the team members picking cotton.
Unlike last time, the font is not horizontal; this time it is vertical, just like a couplet, with a picture of a bountiful harvest in the middle.
"Wife, this is good, it matches the Luzha Brigade perfectly." Having learned from the last experience, Su Ti was much faster this time.
The team was busy, and no one bothered them, so they quietly painted all morning.
"Let's go eat first." Suti saw that it was almost midnight, so she decided to eat first and then call someone over to check on things.
“Okay.” Wei Baichuan helped the person down, then cleaned up all the paint on the ground before entering the brigade headquarters.
Suti took out a scallion pancake from her spatial storage, rolled it with shrimp paste, and shared it with Wei Baichuan. They ate it until they were almost done before they heard hurried footsteps outside.
"Captain, this painting is really beautiful. The people in it look so lifelike." Several people gathered outside the brigade headquarters, looking at the painting with great satisfaction. It was better than the painting done by the last person who came.
"What about those two? They wouldn't have left, would they?" The brigade leader had been busy in the fields all morning, and it wasn't until he finished eating that he remembered there were still people at the brigade headquarters.
"They shouldn't have left; the bicycle is still there." The scorekeeper from the Luzha Brigade spotted the bicycle with sharp eyes.
Wei Baichuan and Su Ti quickly finished their pancakes and came out.
"We were just eating inside. Captain, what do you think of this painting?" Suti had already heard their conversation from inside, and it seemed they were satisfied.
"Good, very good, very satisfied." The team leader smiled at the person.
"Huh? You are... you are Wei's nephew, right?" The scorekeeper felt that Wei Baichuan looked very familiar.
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