Chapter 311 Chapter 312: Paying Public Grain
The next morning, before daybreak, Zhou's mother called out from outside, "Youngest, hurry up and get up to eat. After you eat, go to Yiding's house and drive the tractor to the intersection so that you can transport the food out."
"Hey!" Yang Chunyan replied in a daze, "Huai'an, hurry up and pay your taxes."
Zhou Huaian rubbed his eyes and sat up, "So early."
"It's time to pay the public grain tax early. Some families line up in the middle of the night." Yang Chunyan said as she got up and lit the oil lamp. She took out the watch under the pillow and took a look. It was not yet four o'clock.
"What are you doing up?" Zhou Huaian got out of bed. "Lie back down and sleep for a while. Get up when the sun rises."
"Hmm!" Yang Chunyan yawned, sat on the bed, thought about it and then reminded, "Huaian, when you get to the grain station, follow Secretary Xu's family or Captain Zhou.
They have a say in front of the inspectors. If the inspectors find fault with you, just bear with it. We ordinary people cannot fight them."
"I see. Worrying so much is not good for your health. Go to sleep!"
"Drive slowly on the road."
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian yawned, went out and washed his face with cold water before he was completely awake.
After dinner, Zhou Huaijun went out with him. When they arrived outside Zhou Yiding's house, one of the brothers went to notify those people to carry the food to the roadside, and Zhou Huaian knocked on the door and entered Zhou Yiding's house.
"I prepared the grain yesterday afternoon and am just waiting for you to load it onto the tractor." Zhou Yiding's family only had him and his younger sister pay the public grain tax, and the total amount was only two sacks and two baskets.
"I went up the mountain yesterday afternoon. I'll tell you later." After Zhou Huaian said this, the two of them carried the grain onto the tractor and put it away.
Zhou Yiding pointed to the bucket under the eaves and said, "There are fish in there for you, including rock carp, crucian carp, and steel loach."
"Thank you, they are all good things. Your sister-in-law said that if you eat more fish during pregnancy, the baby will be smart. When your wife gets pregnant in the future, you should also eat more fish and cook for her at home."
"Eating fish is easy. Wait a little longer and you can find some sandworms for your sister-in-law to eat!"
"Later, you can bring the fish up and we can go together. You can stay on the road with the tractor to prevent someone from taking the sack away."
“Yes!”
Zhou Huaian took out the oil bottle and said to him, "Let me tell you, I went into the mountains with your sister-in-law to dig herbs yesterday. When we were coming down the mountain, we met that bastard Xiong Lao San in the bushes halfway up the mountain..."
"Fuck~" Zhou Yiding turned his head to look at Zhou Xiaomei's room, then lowered his voice, "That bastard Xiong Laosan, he even had the guts to eat a vicious woman like Zou Cuifen in broad daylight?"
"That bastard is just a pig. He likes everything. I would rather use him as a wall crack!"
"That's right, don't think that men don't have demands. If the woman isn't the one I like, I'd rather use the fifth girl."
After the two finished gossiping with disgust on their faces, Zhou Yiding went to open the gate. Zhou Huaian filled the tractor with oil, took out the crank and started cranking it hard. The tractor motor started to make a "thump thump" sound.
Zhou Yiding picked up the bucket of water, and after he drove out, he closed the gate and sat in the driver's seat and went to the intersection together, where they saw Zhou Huaishan and Zhou Huairong waiting there pushing a chicken bus.
"Youngest, you're so brave. You dare to go to my house alone before daybreak?"
"My second brother has gone to inform those families living at the foot of the mountain, otherwise I wouldn't dare come here alone." Zhou Huaian got off the tractor, "Brother, lift it up and put it next to Yiding's house."
“Yes!”
The four of them moved the sacks and baskets into the truck bed and placed them there. Zhou Yiding stayed with the tractor while the three Zhou Huaian brothers went back home to get the grain. It took them several trips to load all the grain onto the tractor.
It was just five o'clock and Zhou Huaishan rode his bicycle into the city to deliver vegetables.
Captain Zhou rode his bicycle to the tractor and stopped. "Youngest, the grain is piled up at the intersection of the brigade's drying dam. Your eldest brother and I will go to line up first, and you will be responsible for delivering the grain to the town."
"Yes, I need your help to deliver the food for my family and Yiding's family later!"
"It's a small matter." Captain Zhou rode his bicycle and took Zhou Huairong away.
Zhou Yiding glanced at him and asked in confusion: "Youngest brother, we are going together too, why do we need to ask the captain to help us pay together?"
Zhou Huaian laughed and said, "Are you stupid? It's not as convenient for us to hand it over as it is for the brigade cadres. They have a say with the inspectors, and it's easier for us to have their help."
"Hehe!" Zhou Yiding pointed at him and laughed, "You cunning old fellow!"
"Come on, come on, there are still two trips to go! Hurry up and load the grain on the drying dam."
"Okay!" Zhou Yiding took the crank, "I'll do it, you just wait."
The two men started the tractor and headed towards the drying dam. They saw some villagers carrying baskets, pushing chicken carts and rickshaws, and walking out of the village towards the town one after another.
When they arrived at the drying dam, the people waiting there loaded the grain into the truck bed. The sacks and baskets were all written with the name of the owner, so even if they were mixed together, there was no need to worry about not being able to recognize them.
Those who loaded the bags first rushed to the town via the small road, while those who didn’t load the bags had to wait for Zhou Huaian to make the next trip.
The tractor rumbled forward and soon caught up with the villagers pushing chicken carts and pulling carts, leaving them behind.
Baima Town can be reached by driving along the national highway. The asphalt road is in good condition and you will arrive there quickly.
The tractor turned left and drove for more than ten minutes to the grain station. Baima Town had only one street, and the grain station was located in the middle of the street.
When they arrived at the grain station, Zhou Huairong came to greet them, "When we got here, there were already more than ten households lined up." They used the baskets they brought to reserve space, and one basket represented each household.
"Brother, you lead the way, I'll follow!"
"good!"
Zhou Huaian followed him into the grain station yard and stopped. He saw that there were already more than ten households waiting in line at the place where they had paid public grain in previous years.
Captain Zhou, Secretary Xu's eldest son, Zhou Huairong and Zhou Yiding climbed onto the tractor and carried the grain down.
After all the grain was unloaded from the tractor, Zhou Huaian drove the tractor back to the village to continue transporting grain.
"Put the sack on top of the basket. It's foggy and I'm afraid it's going to rain!"
"No way, don't the grain stations check the weather forecast before collecting grain?"
A villager in the queue in front of us interrupted: "The weather forecast is even less accurate than fortune-telling. What if we run into this?"
"Yeah, if it happens that year, all the hard work will be in vain."
Zhou Huairong and the others were talking, but their hands were busy. They put the baskets at the bottom and the sacks on top, and lined up in order, waiting for the people at the grain station to start work.
It was just daybreak when Zhou Huaian made his last run. Looking into the distance, there was mist and dew, making it look like it was going to rain.
When we arrived at the grain station, we saw a long line of villagers waiting to pay their grain tax, from the gate of the station to the high wall and all the way to the street.
Everyone had a frown on their brows, without a trace of joy on their faces.
While everyone was anxiously waiting, they also looked up at the sky from time to time, praying silently, begging God not to rain. Even if there were really ten suns and burned them to death, they would not complain at all.
Everyone felt that there had never been a day when they were looking forward to the sun coming out as much as today.
(End of this chapter)
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