A sharp whistle sounded, and those who were still working hard stopped what they were doing. They came out from the fields in groups of three or four, still talking.
"Tell me what you were thinking about coming out to work on this very day?" complained a dark and thin man carrying a hoe.
"It's not very good. The ground hasn't thawed completely yet. We can only dig a shallow hole with a hoe. It's tiring." The people walking with him also complained.
"It's just like you said. I worked up a sweat but didn't do much work. It was all wasted effort."
The person walking past them turned around and said, "Why are you two complaining again? How will you get work points if you don't work? How can you get food without work points?" These two people complained all day long, as if they didn't have to work if they talked too much.
The dark, thin man disagreed. "That's not what you mean. We have to wait until the ground is fully thawed before we can plant the seeds, right? Isn't it just a waste of time to come out so early?"
The man who had just been complaining with him quickly stopped the dark and thin man's increasingly loud voice.
"Shh, please keep your voice down, otherwise the team leader will hear you and scold you. We will just do whatever the leader arranges. Anyway, one more day of work means one more day of work points." He just said it casually, but he couldn't let the leader make a big deal out of it.
The man in front nodded: "You're right. Otherwise, I'd stay at home. But there's no one to give me food."
The dark and thin man stopped talking and had to be careful with his words now: "Hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave. The little water in my stomach has been gone by now. I don't know if my wife at home has prepared the meal yet."
The men who were talking hurried home. This was not the busiest time, and no one would let them eat anything dry. If it was watery, they would just urinate twice and it would be gone.
April in Northeast China appears to be a season of revival, but only the farmers working in the fields know that the soil is still frozen underneath.
It is not easy to work in the fields at this time, so every family sends out strong laborers to work. Those with less strength cannot dig the ground.
A group of grown men get together and gossip a lot. They seem to be no worse than the aunties at the village entrance. They chatter about all kinds of gossip, and it seems that they are even more lively than what their wives say.
Behind the group of people was a thin figure walking. The clothes he was wearing looked even more tattered than those worn by others, and the clothes hanging on his body looked empty.
People in this era are all thin, but this figure stands out as being particularly thin.
The little figure had a head of short, somewhat uneven hair that was a bit rough and yellow. This was normal, as it was difficult for everyone to get enough food, so few people had shiny black hair.
This man's face was very thin, and his cheeks looked a little sunken, which made his big eyes stand out particularly well. His beautiful eyes coupled with his somewhat unrecognizable face did not make him look good, not to mention his dark and yellow face.
The trouser legs were obviously too short, and the exposed ankles were so thin that it looked as if the thin ankles would break if one was not careful while walking.
The man lowered his head slightly, dragging his farm tools behind everyone. He walked silently alone and did not come forward to talk to everyone. He looked like a taciturn person.
The captain looked back, shook his head and sighed. The middle-aged man walking beside the captain also looked in the direction the captain was looking, shook his head and sighed.
The captain lowered his voice and asked, "How are the old couple from the Chen family?"
The middle-aged man also lowered his voice: "I think she's still energetic, but I feel sorry for Ye Zi."
"Have you contacted Chen Dasheng?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. "I've written several letters, but no one has replied. If only I had a phone number, I could at least call and ask what's going on."
He also asked the old couple of the Chen family for the phone number, but they both said they didn't know. He didn't know whether they really didn't know or just didn't want to tell.
The captain put his hands behind his back and said, "Forget it. If you were thinking about your family, you would have replied long ago. You still don't understand. People are pretending not to know."
The middle-aged man also knew this. If it weren't for the pity for Ye Zi, who would bother to take care of the Chen family's affairs and make himself sick?
The captain stood still, and the middle-aged man beside him also stood still.
The villagers passing by greeted the two men: "Captain, Village Chief, why don't you leave?"
"It's okay, go home and rest, you still have work to do tomorrow."
"Well, we'll be leaving first then."
When most people had left, the silent little figure behind them slowly walked up to the two of them.
Chen Ye also stopped. In the countryside, the people he could not afford to offend the most were the village officials.
"Uncle Zheng, Uncle Wang."
Only when she spoke did people realize that she was a little girl. If she hadn't spoken, she would have looked like a boy who hadn't grown up yet. No wonder she didn't want to go up and talk to those old men.
Chen Ye didn't move either, waiting for the team leader and the village chief to question her. She walked at the back. These two people were probably waiting here because they had something to say to her.
The captain's surname is Zheng. According to the villagers, he had fought against the Japanese before, so he looked so murderous. Anyway, the villagers were quite afraid of him.
However, in Chen Ye's heart, the team leader is a good person. At least he is fair and just, and he will not favor others based on their behavior. Only with such a leader can the villagers live in peace and avoid causing trouble.
Wang Weimin, the village chief of Fengshou Village, no, it should be called Fengshou Brigade now.
He is an old fox who looks honest on the surface but is actually full of tricks. He cooperates with Captain Zheng and makes all the people in Fengshou Village obey him.
Captain Zheng nodded and frowned as he looked at the little girl in front of him. Not to mention that she didn't have any weight on her body, it was nothing surprising that there were many people like her nowadays.
The clothes on his body look like they have cotton wool showing through them, and the cotton wool is hardened and yellow. These clothes are definitely not warm, not to mention that his trouser legs are exposing his ankles. In this weather, won’t the child be frozen?
Village Chief Wang looked at Chen Ye with a smile: "You kid, why are you working here now? You'll be tired in a while. If you don't take a good rest now, your body won't be able to bear it."
"You are still a child, and you are in the growth stage. Don't rush to do too much work."
Chen Ye smiled innocently, "Uncle Wang, I'm very strong. I thought if I could do more work, I could have more food at home."
Speaking of food, Wang Weimin had nothing more to say. If Ye Zi had not been so capable, the two old people in the Chen family's eldest branch, along with Ye Zi, would have starved to death long ago.
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