When the village accountant arrived, the commune was also worried about the grain situation. Several villages were severely affected by the disaster. Fortunately, it was the day of the grain delivery, and the villagers were either on their way to deliver the grain or at the commune. Otherwise, the casualties would have been even more severe. However, the villages were flooded, and the grain losses were heavy. The application for relief grain from higher authorities had not yet been approved, but even if relief grain were allocated, it would be limited. The commune leaders had been so worried about the grain situation that their hair had turned white in the past few days.
After reading the letter brought by Accountant Liu, and learning that a batch of grain had been discovered on the hill behind Chaoyang Brigade, the commune leader was so excited that his hands trembled. He immediately contacted someone and followed Accountant Liu directly to Chaoyang Brigade.
As soon as the commune leaders arrived at the entrance of Chaoyang Brigade Village, they encountered villagers who were waiting there. The villagers excitedly led the commune leaders directly up the mountain.
The commune leader looked excitedly at the cave full of grain and grasped Liu Zhiqiang's hand with trembling hands.
"Great...great...our Chaoyang Brigade is saved."
"Zhiqiang! Don't worry, I promised you what you wrote in your letter. And there's Comrade Gu Nanxun from your village, right? Don't worry, the commune won't forget Comrade Gu Nanxun and Comrade Lin Qing from your village either."
The commune leaders were so excited they were incoherent. If they applied to the higher authorities to exchange these refined grains for coarse grains, they could get at least 3 to 5 times more coarse grains. If they converted them into sweet potatoes, they would get even more. In addition, with the relief grain subsidies from the higher authorities, although their Chaoyang brigade would still have a hard time, they still had hope of getting through it.
All of this is thanks to Comrade Gu Nanxun and Comrade Lin Qing of Chaoyang Brigade. The commune leaders secretly vowed to commend these two comrades.
The commune leaders acted swiftly. Instead of leaving the grain on the mountain overnight, they carried it down the mountain in the dead of night. All the able-bodied men of Chaoyang Brigade were mobilized. With flashlights and torches in hand, they carried sack after sack of grain down the mountain. Sweat streamed down their faces and into their eyes. They pulled up the hems of their clothes, wiped the sweat from their heads and eyes, and continued to grin. That night, everyone in Chaoyang Brigade was too happy to sleep. Although their stomachs were growling with hunger, smiles still appeared on everyone's faces.
"Captain, the commune has taken away the grain, what are we going to do!"
"Yes, we can't let them take the grain away, or we'll starve to death!"
"Yes, we can't take it away! We absolutely cannot take it away!"
"..."
Because the granary of Chaoyang Brigade was flooded, the grain carried down from the mountain yesterday could only be stored at the brigade headquarters for the time being.
Early in the morning, the villagers arrived at the brigade headquarters one after another, looking forward to the brigade distributing grain. However, they did not expect that before they received their grain, the commune's grain trucks arrived first.
The villagers immediately protested. They grabbed their hoes, surrounded the grain, and resolutely refused to let the commune personnel take it away.
"Fellow villagers, the commune has promised to give us enough coarse grains. We're just sending the fine grains away first, and the coarse grains will be sent to us soon."
"No way! Why should we take this food? It's our grain! Why should we take it away?"
"Yes, we can't take it away! Why can't we take it away!"
"Anyone who takes away our grain will be killing us!"
"..."
Upon hearing that the grain was to be taken away, the village women immediately protested. They lay down on the grain sacks and refused to be pulled away by anyone.
"Fellow villagers, I know what you're worried about. This grain can not only save the lives of the villagers in Chaoyang Brigade, but also many more lives. The commune is not taking your grain. The commune will exchange the grain for coarse grains and then distribute them to you. This way, more lives can be saved. Please believe me, fellow villagers, I will definitely give you enough grain."
"It's not impossible to transport the grain away, but you must bring the grain that you're exchanging for us. Only when you bring the grain can you transport the fine grain away."
Hearing the commune leader's words, the villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. They understood that it was impossible to keep all the grain. If they could exchange it for enough coarse grain, that would be acceptable. After all, they just wanted to survive. As long as they had enough grain to live on, they wouldn't be picky about whether it was fine or coarse grain. The reason they didn't want the commune to take the grain away was because they were worried that if the grain was taken away, they wouldn't get any coarse grain.
Actually, the whole thing they did today was planned by the brigade leader and the others yesterday, and the idea was even suggested by Gu Nanxun! Yesterday, after the grain was transported, the brigade leader called Gu Nanxun to a meeting with everyone. Everyone was worried that after the grain was transported away, the commune would go back on its word and not give them any coarse grain, or only give them a small amount of coarse grain. So Gu Nanxun came up with this idea to the brigade headquarters.
The brigade leader wasn't distrustful of the commune leaders; it's just that sometimes, the commune leaders had no choice but to consider the well-being of their own brigade members first. Once the grain was taken away, it was beyond their control, so this was the only method they could use.
When the commune leaders saw that the villagers were unwilling to budge, and that they unanimously demanded that they be given coarse grains first before the fine grains were taken away, the commune leaders had no choice but to agree after some discussion. The trucks returned along the same route, and when they came back, they were already loaded with two trucks full of grain.
The villagers cheered as they saw the full load of grain. Without the brigade leader's prompting, they helped unload the grain. Soon, all the grain was unloaded, and even the fine grains were taken away. The villagers looked at the brigade leader with shining eyes.
The brigade leader had the accountant bring out the team's work points. After looking at the total and counting the coarse grain that had been transported, he realized that they could get 80% of the work points for everyone. The brigade leader was overjoyed and said to the villagers, "Everyone go back and get your grain bags. We're distributing the grain today."
"Clap clap clap... Clap clap clap..."
"Great! The grain has been distributed! The grain has been distributed..."
As soon as the brigade leader finished speaking, enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from the crowd. Soon, some villagers went home to get their grain bags, while others lined up right there on the spot.
"This time, the grain can only be distributed to everyone for their work. The remaining 20% will be made up for next year. In addition, this grain was discovered by Comrade Gu Nanxun and Lin Qing, who were educated youths. We must thank Comrade Gu Nanxun and Comrade Lin Qing for their contribution to us all."
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