Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Plus Update · Double Update in One
After the members' meeting, the entire Bushan Village was immersed in the joy and exhaustion of the harvest.
Just like the old branch secretary said, you can't walk 99 miles and then fail at the last moment.
Corn, soybeans, rice, sugar beets, sweet potatoes, and cotton—they all gathered almost non-stop for the twenty-odd days between September and early October. Every able-bodied person, young and old, joined in the rush to harvest. The temperature had dropped so quickly, and everyone feared a final, unjustified reduction in yields.
With the exception of the corn, which ripened earlier this year, the entire village worked together to harvest it all in just seven or eight days. The rice, soybeans, sugar beets, and sweet potatoes all had similar harvest times, while cotton came later, avoiding the busiest period. The Buxiantun Production Brigade only had about a hundred households, and this year, thanks to Lin Xinghuo's treatment of seeds with a high germination rate, the production team had expanded their harvest. The production team discussed the matter and unanimously decided to harvest the rice first, followed by the soybeans. Since sugar beets and sweet potatoes were stored underground and were more durable than the others, they would be harvested last.
Reaping rice was far more tiring than breaking corn. By the end of the day, not only were my arms so sore I couldn't even lift chopsticks, but even my old waist couldn't move. I might think I was straight, but to others, I was still hunched over like a shrimp. The team leader wouldn't allow the elderly, weak, or children to work; he sent them to the drying yard to turn and break the corn kernels.
Lin Xinghuo participated in the entire harvest rush. She worked with a reckless energy, wielding the sickle with great speed and skill. Everyone whispered, "I heard the Reclamation Corps has a harvester that's like a tractor, uses a lot of oil and can harvest rice on its own—but I'm afraid it can't match our aunt's speed, right?"
Who says it's not? The rice-cutting competition, which used to be held every year, was canceled this year. Every member knew this. Forget the commando or the iron lady; no one could match the Little Fairy's abilities. A barber cutting grass on a person's head couldn't do it as smoothly as she did! She could even wield two sickles. The two people at the Agricultural Technology Station wanted to ask for a camera to film the scene. To these two people, who had signed the contract and had some inside knowledge, they thought Lin Xinghuo was just scattering a handful of soybeans in the dead of night, and then the soybeans transformed into little figures to do her work...
"Or use that yellow talisman to turn it into a big sickle, the kind that can harvest an acre of land with one stroke!" The young apprentice secretly said to the team leader, and there was actually a bit of disappointment in his tone: "Why is it so ordinary?" Lin Xinghuo also admired his imagination.
But the reality was that all her spiritual energy had to be used on the blade. Not to mention that her object control skills were far from the level of being able to harvest ten thousand ears of wheat with a single wave of her sleeve, even if they were, Lin Xinghuo wouldn't bother using them: using all her spiritual energy could only manage ten acres of land, something she could still accomplish with her sickle for a long time. Her spiritual lotus, treasure gourd vine, spiritual rice, and persimmon all relied on this little spiritual energy. Besides that, she also had to practice talismans and spells, so she couldn't squeeze out even a drop of it.
Even the caracals have become deer herders, leading the few remaining moose to haul crops. The chubby little bobcats sit on the deer's heads, and the animals become incredibly obedient, forming a single file to traverse the drying yard and the crop fields without the need for drivers. Anyone who sees this is amazed. The bobcats at Little Fairy's home are truly amazing!
The tiger, Huahua, had been chased by the caracal to guard the valley. Having just become a spirit beast, it needed to settle down in the valley's rich spiritual energy. With Huahua and Black Sable guarding it, Linglian's safety was guaranteed. At the very least, if Huahua howled, Lin Xinghuo and the caracal would hear and be able to rush over.
One day in late September, with the rice harvest almost complete, everyone, despite their fatigue, launched a final push. Two technicians from the county agricultural technology station excitedly boasted about record yields. The station leader even promised to submit a report and apply for a trial plot in Buxian Village, which would be officially approved.
Ordinary members didn't understand what was so great about this experimental field, but the old Party secretary was quite knowledgeable. His eyes lit up: "With the experimental field sign, we can grow whatever we want. There are no production targets in the experimental field." Even if it's only 20 or 30 acres, it can be a big help. For example, planting a few acres of watermelons to satisfy the children is feasible.
Moreover, the experimental fields not only bring independent harvests, but also jobs! The experimental fields can accommodate middle and high school students from the village.
In recent years, there's been a constant buzz about how studying is useless, saying that after finally making it to middle school, they still end up back in the village farming. The enthusiasm of both children and their parents for school has been dampened. Many students with excellent grades drop out after finishing junior high school, leaving the old Party secretary feeling incredibly upset and unable to persuade them. But the experimental fields have changed things. They're affiliated with the county agricultural technology station, and the staff there are non-staff agricultural technicians, paid by the production team! Middle and high school students who join them gain both respectability and a future, and can even learn some real skills from the agricultural technicians. Seeing this, other parents are sure to envy them, and perhaps fewer children will drop out.
Not only are there experimental fields, but there is also a well-run winery, a medicine shop that is still in the process of being developed, and a mushroom house and oil mill that are about to open... These are all real hopes. The old branch secretary was just about to ask Lin Xinghuo about the mushroom house when he heard the big bell ringing in the direction of the village.
"What happened?"
Not long after, Aunt Wang came running over with a gloomy face. She didn't try to avoid people and said bluntly: "Lingdang was almost dragged into the cornfield. Two bastards were stung by golden-ringed bees... We just met my younger sister bringing her son-in-law back." Firstly, no one was fine. Secondly, Lingdang rang the bell when he entered the village, alarming everyone in the drying yard. There was no point in avoiding people anymore.
Lingling was talking about Cen Dazhu's precious daughter, who had just started at the commune middle school. Old Man Cen and Aunt Cen were heartbroken. Aunt Cen cried for half a day on her first day living on campus, and Old Man Cen, a seasoned farmer, nearly hit himself in the leg with his hoe. If this happened to someone else... the whole family would go crazy, afraid they'd even do something murderous.
As soon as Old Man Cen heard this, the sickle in his hand fell straight towards his feet. Lin Xinghuo saw it and with a flick of her toe, the sickle flipped in the air and landed safely in her hand. Cen Dazhu's face turned purple and swollen. He threw down the ropes that bound the rice, picked up his hoe, and rushed into the village.
The old Party Secretary hurriedly called Huang Dazhuang and several other men to follow: "Hurry, hurry, keep an eye on Dazhu, don't let him get impulsive and kill anyone!"
One of the militiamen called out to Lin Xinghuo, "Auntie, you have to go back and take a look." Dazhu was as strong as a bear, and the general's eyes turned red with anger when he saw him. He really couldn't stop him easily. If Dazhu suddenly swung the hoe out, those two guys would have to die in the village today.
Aunt Wang remembered and hurried over to pull Lin Xinghuo over: "Yes! Xiaolin, you have to come and see it. There's also my younger sister and her son-in-law... Oh, what a good child."
"Why is there still talk about my little sister?" The old branch secretary asked loudly as he trotted along, stretching his old legs. The little sister was talking about Grandma Wei's granddaughter, whose full name was Wei Layue. Grandma Wei's three sons were sacrificed, leaving only this one child. Not only did Grandma Wei love her, but the whole village looked up to her like the apple of their eye. When she was looking for a son-in-law two years ago, all the old ladies and young wives in the village got involved, and after careful selection, they found this young man named Zhou from the forest farm. The young couple was indeed a perfect match, and they lived a sweet life after marriage. Layue was a very kind girl, and she had helped the villagers a lot since she married into the forest farm. Whenever anyone wanted to take the train, she would take care of it herself, and every arrangement was appropriate and thoughtful.
Aunt Wang didn't know what to say. Before she had the time to ask in detail, she saw the man slumped sickly on the cart, looking very unwell.
"Chunfeng was taking care of her aunt, and your Grandma Wei covered her heart when she saw Layue..." Aunt Wang didn't dare mention Layue's emaciated appearance, fearing it would alarm the elderly people still working in the fields. The situation was still unclear, and she couldn't provoke anyone, lest the villagers get angry and grab their rakes and hoes to go to the forest farm to pick a fight.
Cen Dazhu and his group ran so fast that Lin Xinghuo, holding Aunt Wang's arm, couldn't keep up. Luckily, they encountered a caracal convoy of moose and elks, and so they joined the old Party Secretary and his group on a tractor. Lin Xinghuo lifted the caracal off the elk's head and gently patted the moose, sending the elk into a run. Its four long legs spread, and the tractor transformed into a tractor, moving at a fast and bumpy pace.
He arrived at the west entrance of the village almost at the same time as Cen Dazhu.
Cen Dazhutou found his daughter at a glance. Cen Lingdang was fine except for her dirty face. Her clothes were not torn at all. He finally relaxed and rushed over with his hoe in hand, ready to give the two bastards a beating. If not to kill them, he would at least scoop out their four balls! "Dad!" Cen Lingdang, who was held in the arms of Aunt Cen, shouted hurriedly, "Where's the fairy lady? Please ask our aunt to come and save these two people!" She didn't want anyone to die in her hands.
Aunt Cen patted her on the shoulder and said, "What's your aunt?" She was so disrespectful.
When Lin Xinghuo caught up with them in a few steps, he finally understood why the women surrounding Cen Lingdang were so calm - the two people lying on the ground were really miserable, and looked much more like victims than Cen Lingdang.
Cen Dazhu stared at the two men with half-finger-high yellow blisters on their faces, his brow furrowed. Not only were their bodies swollen beyond recognition, but even their clothes were tattered, especially their pants, which were little more than rags. Their legs were covered in scratches. Even the furious Cen Dazhu was a little confused. Had these two bastards really nearly dragged his daughter into the cornfield?
Wei Chunxing poked the blister with a needle. The liquid inside seemed very viscous. Such a large blister only oozed out one or two drops of thick liquid before it was blocked. He wrote down the symptoms in his notebook and said with a sigh, "It's more poisonous. This is the sting, right?"
As she spoke, she looked at Cen Lingdang. Cen Lingdang touched the golden ring bee resting on her shoulder with a distressed look on her face. She nodded and said, "When it stung the first person, its stinger was still there. But when it stung the second person, it fell off. After the stinger fell off, it became listless."
Wei Chunxing shuddered. This sting stung two people. What? Is this not powerful enough?
As Lin Xinghuo approached, the golden-ringed bee on Cen Lingdang's shoulder flapped its wings and flew toward her. Lin Xinghuo caught it and passed a trace of spiritual energy to it from her fingertips. Seeing that the golden-ringed bee had become much more energetic, she pulled a small wooden jar the size of a child's fist from her bag and handed it to Cen Lingdang, "Dip some in it and feed it." This was persimmon honey brewed by the worker bees. It was less than nine days old and still contained some spiritual energy, which was useful for both the golden-ringed bee and Cen Lingdang.
Ever since the golden ring bees in the mountains began producing honey, Lin Xinghuo often kept a few honey jars in his bag to avoid wasting spiritual energy. He would distribute the honey while working during the day. The small wooden jars didn't hold much honey, and the spiritual energy they contained was also low, so ordinary people could still eat a reasonable amount.
Cen Lingdang's eyes lit up. She thanked Lin Xinghuo and went to feed the life-saving bees with the honey. Old Man Cen held his son's hand and said, "Don't worry, find out what happened first. And who are these two bastards?"
One of the daughters-in-law who had just come over with Aunt Cen said, "Uncle, don't ask anymore. We've been looking for a long time, but we really can't tell who it is! Chunxing helped to turn the body over, but there's nothing there."
The old Party Secretary slowed down his voice and asked, "Lingdang, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Cen Lingdang leaned against her grandmother's chest, not too frightened. "The school had a long autumn break, and I was thinking of going home to help with the harvest, so I hurried to our village today. Halfway along, I ran into these two people near Liangzigou in the west mountain. They were squatting in the cornfield, waiting for someone. I had already gone a long way past them when one of them suddenly caught up with me, saying, 'It doesn't matter if there are no fish or shrimp,' and started to pull me into the field. I was stronger than him! He couldn't pull me, so the other one came out to help. When I saw the two of them, I knew I couldn't beat them, so I ran forward."
At this point, Cen Lingdang pointed at the tallest one among the people lying on the ground and complained, "It's him! He ripped open my schoolbag and spilled all the honey my grandma gave me." This was the first time that the golden-ringed bees of the Xishan An family harvested honey. Each household was only given the bottom of a bowl. Aunt Cen loved her granddaughter so much that she scraped it all into a small bottle for her granddaughter to take away. Cen Lingdang was reluctant to finish it, but who knew it would be wasted like this.
What happened next was even simpler: a single golden-ringed bee, sent out by the hive to search for nectar, caught the scent of honey. Furthermore, the hive had already recognized Xishan as its territory. Liangzigou, a deep ravine running straight up and down the northwest side of Xishan, wasn't far away in a straight-line manner. So the golden-ringed bee flew over in a figure-eight dance. While not intelligent, golden-ringed bees have a keen sense of smell and can easily distinguish between outsiders and their own kind... Thus, the two malicious individuals were doomed.
"After the golden-ringed bee rescued me, the two people lying on the ground looked unwell. I was afraid someone might die if I ignored them, so..." Cen Lingdang scratched her head, feeling a little embarrassed. "I plucked a few corn kernels from the ground. I left the ears for them and tied them to other corns with leaves. I made a mop with straw, moved myself onto it, twisted some straw rope, and tied my hands to the upper half of the corn stalks, hoping to drag them back."
Cen Lingdang pouted: "It's too heavy! I can pull one, but it's hard to pull two."
Lin Xinghuo looked at Cen Lingdang. This girl was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but was almost as tall as himself. It was obvious that she inherited the big and strong physique of the old Cen family. No wonder she could arm wrestle with the bad guys.
Even Cen Dazhu couldn't help but praise his daughter. His good brother Wang Huzi even thought to himself, why didn't I realize that Lingdang's daughter was a bit fierce before?
Cen Lingdang continued: "Luckily I met Sister Layue. She was pulling my brother-in-law on a mop cart. When she saw me like that, she quickly asked me what happened. When I told Sister Layue, she also felt that they couldn't let these two people die outside, so she helped me tie their upper bodies to the mop cart. She pulled from the front and I pushed from the back, and we finally got to the village." There were three people on the mop cart. She and Sister Layue were so tired, how could they have the time to look at their legs dragging on the ground? It was considered that the two sisters had made up their minds that they didn't abandon them halfway! Cen Lingdang, who felt a little guilty, quickly encouraged herself.
"Okay, these two deserve it!" Wei Chunxing listened and fed them some mountain golden ring bee honey according to Lin Xinghuo's instructions. After feeding them the honey, the blisters on their faces obviously shrank a little. Wei Chunxing hurriedly took out his notebook to take notes.
"What do we do next?"
"Little fairy, can you wake them up?" asked Wei Layue, who was supported by Wei Chunfeng.
When the people at the village head saw Wei Layue, they couldn't help but frown: "Little sister, why are you so thin?"
Wei Layue smiled bitterly, greeted her uncles and aunts, and pointed at the two people on the muddy ground: "I think these two might be coming for me, but they missed me and almost got Lingling hurt."
"Two months ago, there was a heavy rainstorm and an accident at the forest farm. Zhou Liang was injured in the lumbar vertebrae by a falling log. The doctor said he would be bedridden for the rest of his life." Wei Layue's eyes were red, but she didn't cry, as if all her tears had dried up. "The Zhou family started to talk about me marrying Zhou Liang's cousin. As long as I agreed, his cousin would be willing to support Zhou Liang for the rest of his life. He was so anxious to take over Zhou Liang's job, but he pretended that others couldn't see it. I would rather take care of Zhou Liang myself than leave us to such a thing!"
"I just didn't expect Zhou Liang's parents to be so cruel. When they saw their son was dead, they just adopted the two little ones and brought them home."
"Zhou Liang was afraid that others would use him to control me, so when the leaders came to our house, he said he wanted to divorce me. The forest farm knew I was the child of a martyr, so they didn't make things difficult and just went ahead with the divorce. By the time I found out, it was too late... But his mother was worried about my father's pension and refused to let him go. She said she didn't want to remarry his cousin, but she had to leave Zhou Liang with a child. They found a temporary worker and asked me to 'collaborate' with her!"
"The Zhou family didn't dare to lock me up, so they deliberately withheld food and water from Zhou Liang and didn't clean up after him, using him to force me to agree. Zhou Liang didn't want to live anymore, he rolled off the kang and tried to freeze himself to death, and his parents were so cruel that they just left him alone!" Wei Layue's tears finally fell. "I chopped the house to pieces with a hatchet, held his mother's neck against his neck, and forced the Zhou family to carry Zhou Liang to the rickshaw... No one else wanted Zhou Liang, but I did! I'll support him! Old Party Secretary, can we settle down in our village?"
The old Party Secretary responded repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Tomorrow I'll ask your brother Dazhuang and the others to go to the forest farm and sign your household registration back."
Huang Dazhuang, Wang Huzi and others stiffened their fists and immediately wanted to beat up the Zhou family who were doing nothing.
"My household registration can be transferred, but Zhou Liang..." Wei Layue felt his parents wouldn't budge. They were still relying on their useless son to demand more compensation from the forest farm. Furthermore, the forest farm had a security department, so the couple really had no fear of trouble from Buxian Village.
Lin Xinghuo thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Your last name is Zhou. I remember Director Zhou of Fangmaji Commune has relatives working at the forest farm?"
The case of Fei Xinli and Qu Xiangjin implicated many people, with Fangmaji Commune being the hardest hit. The seed station staff who had helped block Buxian Village were sent to a labor camp. Only Director Zhou, the top leader, escaped unscathed due to his contribution in transferring Fei Xinli to the city. Director Zhou was the current head of the Zhou family, and with clan values still strong in rural areas, her words could be more effective than even the forestry farm leaders' presence.
Lin Xinghuo excelled in the barefoot doctor training program, earning her considerable attention from Director Zhou. Regarding the Fei family case, investigators were likely to question her, given Fei Ping's past pursuit of her. However, during the initial investigation, Director Zhou and the commune police station chief avoided implicating themselves in the case. Perhaps Director Zhou simply didn't want to implicate an innocent orphan, but Lin Xinghuo still remembered her kindness and later reciprocated by healing her old injury. With the help of the old Party secretary, the relationship between the two sides remained harmonious over the past few months.
Hearing Xiao Lin mention Director Zhou, the old branch secretary immediately thought: "Director Zhou should be Zhou Liang's cousin, this relative is not far away. She can take care of the affairs of the Zhou family!" It's not even the fifth degree of mourning yet.
"Director Zhou's old injury has healed, and she will be transferred back to her original unit after the autumn harvest. It's better to do it sooner rather than later. Just hand over the evidence, and she will definitely take care of it." Lin Xinghuo looked at the two people on the ground: "These two?"
Director Zhou herself was a tough cookie, no shortage of ruthless men. She'd already been very strict in keeping the Fangmaji clan under control. Lin Xinghuo suspected she wouldn't leave the Zhou family at the forest farm unattended when she was about to leave her hometown for a promotion and return to her original position. She might even make an example of someone to warn her clan members.
As long as there is evidence.
Wei Layue pointed at the taller one and said, "This one is probably Zhou Liang's cousin. The other one might be the one they hired to 'trap the grain.'"
Lin Xinghuo nodded, picked up two long needles from Wei Chunxing's hand, without squatting down or aiming, he waved his index and middle fingers holding the long needles, and two cold lights flashed - the next moment the long needles were nailed into the philtrum of the two men.
"Ah!" The scream that did not sound like a human voice instantly scared away the birds that were resting on the old tree.
Like loaches being boiled in a pot, the two pig-headed men jumped more nimbly than the monkeys.
Lin Xinghuo glanced at Wei Layue with his distinct black and white eyes, and Wei Layue reacted quickly and shouted, "Zhou Gangzi!"
The tall man, who was covering his mouth and turning around in pain, reflexively looked at Wei Layue.
“That’s him!”
"Da Zhuang, take the militia and take these two people to the commune." The old branch secretary pulled Huang Da Zhuang over and instructed: "Don't mention the bell. Just say that these two people are imitating the old society's style and don't treat women as human beings. They also want to kill my cousin and bully the relatives of martyrs..."
Lin Xinghuo put his hand on Wei Layue's wrist, frowned slightly, and then let go: "I'll go see Grandma Wei."
Wei Chunfeng, who was standing by, heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this, and hurriedly helped Layue: "Hurry, let's follow the little fairy." Who knows, her brother-in-law may be able to cure her!
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The author has something to say: Yu proudly puffed out his chest: Here comes the extra chapter!
Note: Labangtao is an old custom. In the past, when the husband was seriously ill and could not support his wife and the elderly, the wife would find another kind-hearted man to take care of the family after obtaining the husband's consent. After the husband's death, the wife would marry this man and continue to live together. Today, this custom is almost extinct.
The man from outside is called "Taoguzi" and the original man is called "Benjia". Living together is called "Labangtao", with "Taoguzi" being the main earner of the family.
In the 1990s, there was a TV series called "Love Debt", which tells the story of ganging up on others.
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